#vanya fluff

[star-sim]

head over heels ☆ sunghoon park

☆ spider-man! sunghoon x single mother! fem! reader ☆ summary: being a single mother was hard, especially when you lived in such a bustling, yet crime-ridden city. as a mother you personally dislike spider-man, even if your toddler son was obsessed with him. thank goodness, you have your best friend, sunghoon, to help you out at times. but little do you know, that same best friend of yours was spider-man. uh oh! ☆ genre: spider-man! au, friends to lovers, reader is a single mother, riki is your kid lol (can be interpreted as either adopted or biological), baddie reader alert! , down bad! + protective! sunghoon, slow-burn ish/very subtle romance ☆ warning(s)? minor violence ☆ word count: 16.9k words ☆ based off of "head over heels" by tears for fears, also i hope this reads as comic-booky lol

reblogs and feedback is appreciated!

"Sunghoon, is it just me or is Spider-Man the worst thing that's ever happened to this city?"

Sunghoon dropped the kitchen knife in his hand, the one that he was currently using to dice a few carrots.

Clunk!

The man looked over his shoulder to where you were.

It was only a few minutes ago that you came back from work— your 9-5 office job. The moment that your apartment door slammed shut, you kicked off your god-awful shoes, threw your keys aside, and made your way to the kitchen, where you found Sunghoon peacefully already making dinner.

It wasn't abnormal for Sunghoon to be casually in your apartment. In fact, it was more than ordinary.

Sunghoon was a good friend, someone that you had an infinite amount of trust in. Sometimes, your boss liked to fuck you over and make you work overtime, and sometimes your coworkers were so insufferable that all of your energy was spent, so it was convenient that Sunghoon would hang around your apartment and watch over it, and when the time came, make you dinner.

He never minded it. He actually quite enjoyed it. A lot.

Especially because house-sitting came with an extra responsibility: taking care of your son, Riki.

You were a single mother with a full-time job. Of course Sunghoon wouldn't mind taking some of the load off your back.

Currently, you sat at your kitchen table, flopped over yourself. You were still in your work clothes, your face still made up. Your feet ached, and your eyelids felt heavy.

You never questioned why Sunghoon had so much time on his hands, enough time to babysit and house-sit for you. 

"Y-Yeah," Sunghoon answered, clearing his throat. "The worst."

Yes, he did have a job. Yes, his job had relatively short work hours. Yes, it paid pretty well. 

And it was because Sunghoon was Spider-Man. 

But you didn't have to know that.

"Riki's been napping since he got home from daycare," Sunghoon changed the subject. "He wouldn't stop calling out for you, so I had to show him a picture of you for him to fall asleep."

At the mention of your son's name, you perked up. Almost as if all of your tiredness melted away, you jumped to your feet, disappearing into the hallway. 

Sunghoon couldn't help the grin that seeped onto his face when you came out with Riki, your one year-old son scooped up in your arms. From the kitchen, he could hear you coo at your son's sleepy face, giggling to yourself as Riki clutched onto you, digging his face into the crook of his neck.

"Riiiikiiii-yaaa!" you drawled, your voice sounding brighter. "I missed you, baby."

Sunghoon laughed, nearly chopping off his finger when Riki babbled some incoherent string of sounds, still sleepy from his long afternoon nap. 

You brought Riki into the kitchen, sitting him down onto his baby-chair. 

Sunghoon listened quietly, his attention directed at making the best meal possible, as you chattered with your son.

There was something so joyful about hearing you gush over Riki's every attempt to pronounce literally any coherent word, squealing when he managed to say, "dog." 

"Mama!" Riki exclaimed, making grabby hands at you. From his peripheral vision, Sunghoon could see you melting, instantly scooping your son back up again, peppering his chubby cheeks with kisses.

One of things that Sunghoon loved about you: your endless devotion to your son.

You'd lay down your life for Riki, and it was one of the most loveable things about you.

"Hoo!" Riki laughed. "Hoo!"

The second thing that Sunghoon loved about you? Your son himself.

"Sunghoon, Riki wants you," you said, a smile in your voice. Riki couldn't pronounce Sunghoon, or even Hoon, so he instead opted for the much easier option: 'Hoo.'

Sunghoon instantly dropped his kitchen utensils, quickly washing and drying his hands. You hoisted up your son, carefully placing him into Sunghoon's arms while still having a gentle hold on him.

Sunghoon took the child.

Riki was a beautiful child. Sunghoon had spent a lot of time with him, to the point that he grew very fond of him. If there was something that he and Riki had in common, it was their love for you.

The three of you stayed like that for a few pulses: Sunghoon embracing Riki, while you stood close by, your hands still holding onto Riki.

Sunghoon could see both the tiredness and love in your eyes, and the youthful glimmer in Riki's chubby face.

There were moments like this, where you and Riki were simply close to him, relying on him for whatever support he could give, Sunghoon wished it could last forever.

Then, the three of you sat down to eat. 

The rest of the night was quiet. You bathed Riki while Sunghoon prepared his clothes and diapers, and at the end, the two of you tucked Riki in.

"Good night, Riki," you whispered, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

You were already at the doorway, fingering the light switch, when Sunghoon's eyes glazed over Riki. 

"Good night, kiddo," he said quietly, so quiet that even Sunghoon couldn't hear himself, before ruffling Riki's hair.

"So, how was work?"

Perhaps, one of Sunghoon's favorite times of the day was after dinner, after you both washed up and Riki was in bed. 

The two of you liked to hang around your living room, and just talk. It wasn't like you had any good work friends to talk to, but you didn't mind. After all, you had Sunghoon.

It was another one of those especially stressful and hectic days at work, so Sunghoon brought out a bottle of champagne.

"So bad," you huffed, reclining back on your couch, throwing an arm over your eyes. "So fucking bad."

Sunghoon nudged you with his foot, handing you a glass of sparkly champagne. Then, he rested at the head of the couch, gently taking your head into his hands and placing it onto his lap. His lanky fingers made his way to your shoulders, pressing down onto them. Slowly, he began to massage you.

"What happened?"

You groaned, sinking back into the warmth that was Sunghoon's fingers. "My fuckass boss. Decided to make me do the intern's work because I was five minutes late."

"That sucks," Sunghoon murmured, his fingers digging into your skin in a way that made you sigh in relief. "Is he giving you a hard time?"

"Always," you sighed. "I don't know why Choi promoted him. He's got a stick up his ass."

Sunghoon frowned.

He heard you cuss out your shitty boss and coworkers all the time, but he knew deep down, no matter how much you despised them, you would never abandon ship. It was in your blood to care too much, to put your all into something— anything— and expect nothing in return.

And that's what Sunghoon loved so much about you. 

That's right, loved.

He threw that word around a lot when it came to you, but he truly meant it. 

Sunghoon loved you. He didn't know how, whether it be as a friend, or as a lover, but he loved you and that's all he needed to know. 

He loved you since the day you met in your senior years of high school. 

He loved you when you cradled his face as he shed hot tears over his heartbreak. 

He loved you when you and him snuck around the college dorms, creeping into each other's rooms to enjoy late-night ramen.

He loved you when you met your (now ex-) boyfriend Taehyun, and he didn't even think of loving you any less when you announced that you were having a child with him three years after graduating college.

And he loved you now as you slept peacefully on your couch, curling up against what warmth Sunghoon could give you.

Sunghoon gazed at you.

How could he not resist falling in love with you?

Your eyes kept fluttering as they were shut, your hands randomly twitching at times. You've been working so hard to provide for you and your son, while also sacrificing your time to spend with Sunghoon.

Sunghoon was pulled out of his thoughts when his phone rang. It was loud, loud enough that Sunghoon jumped and your body instinctively jerked in its place.

"Shit— shit!" 

Of course Sunghoon knew exactly where his phone was. He shot a spider web across your house to grab his blaring phone.

Under the dim light, his blue phone screen illuminated the room.

Incoming call... Mr. Lee, it read.

Uh-oh.

Sunghoon was about to take the call, when he noticed you stirring in your sleep.

"Sung...hoon?" you muttered softly. Sunghoon immediately darted to your side.

"Shhh, it's nothing, [Name]," he said gently. He reached out to cup your cheek, to which you nuzzled your face into his palm, softly letting out a sleepy whimper. "Go back to sleep."

After a few moments of stirring, you fell back into your slumber.

Sunghoon glanced at his phone.

Incoming call... Mr. Lee. He couldn't miss it.

Then he glanced back at you, laying on the couch, shivering into yourself.

Fuck it.

Sunghoon scooped you up in his arms, doing his best to be gentle with you. As the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, it wasn't always easy trying to control his spidey senses and heightened abilities. But when it came to you, it almost came naturally.

He carried you to your bedroom, tucking you in with as many pillows and blankets as he could find.

"Good night," Sunghoon whispered. He stared at you for a few moments, his eyes studied your face. He swiped his tongue over his bottom lip, before swallowing down hard. Would it be weird to give your forehead a kiss? He didn't even kiss Riki, because he didn't feel like it was his right to. Sunghoon sighed. He turned away from you, taking one more glance over his shoulder before he turned off the lights and shut your bedroom door.

(Of course, Sunghoon went to go check up on Riki before he cracked open your apartment window, already in his red and blue glory.)

"Yes, yes, I know, Mr. Lee," Sunghoon muttered into his phone. "I know, I'm already on it. Yes. Okay. Bye."

Sunghoon huffed to himself as he jammed his phone into his pocket, muttering curses under his breath.

A bank robbery on Main Street, nothing to be surprised at. The city's crime-rate had been increasing lately, much to Sunghoon's chagrin. The cold air kissed his masked cheeks as he swung from building to building.

It had become a routine for him. Every night, after listening to you talk enough for you to insist that he went home, or staying up late enough to see you fall asleep, Sunghoon usually found himself doing his night patrol. It was mundane, a slow and conventional routine, but Sunghoon loved it.

Seokmin Lee, or DK, was a man a few years his senior, and also the man employing him. To put it simply, DK was a bit of a mad scientist, and under certain circumstances, Sunghoon and him met. After a spider bite, DK's genetically modified organisms, and a lot of crime-fighting, Sunghoon became Spider-Man.

As Sunghoon peeked over the hedge, he watched the group of burglars sneakily creep out of the dark bank. It was insane to him how poor the security was, but what was more concerning was the cartoonish sack of money the robbers were carrying over their shoulders, and the fact that they were wearing black and white striped shirts. They looked like the robbers in Riki's kiddy cartoons. 

If Riki was here, Sunghoon thought, he'd probably start laughing.

In one fell swoop, Sunghoon swung down to the robbers, landing a kick square on one of the robbers' heads.

"Agh—!"

"Good evening, gentlemen," Sunghoon greeted calmly, but his voice was filled with contempt. With one of the assailants knocked down, Sunghoon put his hands on his hips, cocking his head. "What're you up to tonight?"

He gazed at their faces: painted with horror and terror. Why didn't they even think of wearing masks when committing a crime? How dumb were they?

"S-Spiderman?!"

There's a pulse of silence, where Sunghoon just stared at them incredulously, almost expecting some sort of retaliation. Even though he was masked, his expression read, 'Can you guys try to put up a fight at least?'

"Get him!" The robbers yelled, beginning to charge at him.

"Let's not be ridiculous, guys" Sunghoon said exasperated, sighing. 

He shot a web at two of the robbers as he attempted to attack him, before wrapping the white ropes around them, sticking them together. Another burglar tried to sneak up behind him, but they were almost pathetically too slow for his spider-like abilities. 

Within minutes, Sunghoon had the criminals tied up with spider webs. He'd already called the cops.

"Curse you, Spider-man!" 

Really, tonight was playing out like one of Riki's cartoons. It was almost funny.

"Yeah, yeah," Sunghoon waved off, brushing off any dirt on his suit. Before he shot a web up to a building, Sunghoon turned over his shoulder. "Next time, get better outfits. You guys look hilarious."

With that, Sunghoon began swinging away, ignoring the curses from the little criminals, whose cries got smaller and smaller.

The worst part about dealing with crime in this city was the outcomes. People saw that other people were attempting to commit crimes, leading them to want to commit crimes too. It was a never-ending snowball effect. It seemed like every day the crime was just escalating. A few months ago it was just petty theft and the occasional mugging every week. Now it seemed like there was some large scheme every day.

If the helicopters flying overhead and the police sirens weren't telling enough, the entire city was awake once again, trying to catch a glimpse of the commotion down on main street.

Checking his phone, there were already several news outlets trying to get a quick buck from reporting the situation. That was probably one of the worst aspects of crime-fighting: the concerning amount of people trying to profit off of it. They just loved to use Sunghoon's red and blue likeness on the front covers.

Truthfully, Sunghoon didn't care about fame. He couldn't stand the reporters shoving microphones in his face. 

He only agreed to be Spider-Man for one reason and one reason only.

Ding!

Sunghoon slipped his phone out of his pocket.

[name]: just woke up i heard there was a robbery 

[name]: you went home right? are you safe?

The corners of Sunghoon's lips lifted briefly. You had a specific way of showing you care for him, and it was exactly this.

sunghoon: yeah i'm safe

sunghoon: i just went out to get you more groceries

sunghoon: youre missing eggs and milk

[name]: thank you hoon, you didn't have to

But he did have to.

After all, you were you, and you deserved nothing but the best. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to take some responsibility off your shoulders.

sunghoon: i'll be back in 10

sunghoon: go back to sleep

Sunghoon was true to his word, as he returned within 10 minutes, with a bag of groceries in hand, to see you curled up on the couch, waiting for him to return. He couldn't help but smile.

"Hoo!" 

Riki?

"Hoo, Hoo!"

Sunghoon was shaken awake by a weight on his chest, and soft, chubby hands grabbing his face.

If it weren't for his incredible spider abilities, Sunghoon thought that he would have punted someone. Luckily, he didn't, because it was Riki that was waking him up.

"Riki?" Sunghoon said groggily. Taking the child in his arms and holding him close, Sunghoon sat up. He noticed that he was back in your apartment, sprawled out across your couch. He squished Riki's cheek, earning a giggle from the baby. The man rubbed his eyes, yawning. "Where's your mom?"

"Right here," your voice entered the room, a slight smile in it. Sunghoon whipped his head around to see you standing at the doorway, in your work clothes. 

You slinked over to Sunghoon and Riki. 

"Good morning, Sunghoon," you smiled at him.

Sunghoon blinked at you. "What time is it?"

"Almost 8AM," you answered smoothly, taking your son out of Sunghoon's arms and stroking Riki's hair.

Sunghoon immediately jumped to his feet. He usually woke up an hour or two before that to prepare breakfast for you! 

"Oh shit—!"

"Relax," you put your hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze and pushing him back down onto the couch. "I already made breakfast. Riki's already fed, too."

Sunghoon watched as you gave Riki a peck on the cheek, before giving your kid back to him.

"I'll be back by 6," you told him as you slipped on your shoes, "Breakfast is on the table, just heat it up if needed."

"Right," Sunghoon nodded slowly. "See you. Have a good day at work."

"You too," you said in a sing-songy voice, before heading out the door, leaving Sunghoon and Riki alone.

.

.

.

"Mama!" Riki cooed, making grabby hands at the door.

Sunghoon gently bonked the baby's head with his fist. "She just left."

Riki's lips formed into a pout, his eyebrows furrowing together as his chubby cheeks puffed out. 

"Mama!" he argued back.

Sunghoon couldn't help but poke the kid's cheeks. "I already said, she just left."

And cue the tears.

Sunghoon and Riki had beef. Nothing serious, just that Riki, even if he was an actual baby, liked to bother Sunghoon. And because Riki was already so much like you, it was hard to say no to him. Even so, he found himself butting heads with the child from time to time.

As Riki wailed, Sunghoon sighed, hoisting him up. 

"What am I going to do with you..." he muttered to himself.

"Ah wah mama! (I want Mama!)" Riki cried, squirming against Sunghoon's chest.

Days with Riki were fun. 

And exhausting. 

But more fun than not.

It usually started with feeding him, but thanks to you, he was already fed. The daycare didn't open until another few hours, so in this time Sunghoon found himself being the most shameful version of himself that he could think of. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. But it was definitely a side of himself that made him cringe.

Case and point: Sunghoon's dreadful baby voice.

As he sat against the living room floor, Sunghoon let Riki sit on his lap against his chest. For such an active child, Riki especially liked it when Sunghoon read to him. 

So that's what Sunghoon did.

Riki's little baby books were the interactive kind, the ones where the little caterpillars sprawled across the cardboard pages were fuzzy and the pop-out orange tree in the corner actually smelled of citrus.

It was unfortunate, at least to Sunghoon, because he always started off the reading with a completely normal voice, and by the end, he'd be talking to Riki with a high-pitched baby voice.

"Feel the grass, Riki," Sunghoon guided Riki's much smaller hand to the furry grassy patch on the book. He didn't even notice the way his voice got softer, going up airily at the end of his sentences. Riki babbled at the feeling of the soft texture under his fingertips, his eyes squeezing together as his high giggles filled the room. Sunghoon grinned. "Feels nice, right?.

Riki laughed again, clapping his chubby hands. 

"I bet it does," Sunghoon rubbed his knuckle against Riki's cheek. 

"Hoo!" Riki babbled suddenly.

Sunghoon picked the baby up, placing him on his feet and turning him around so that Sunghoon could see his face. Placing his hands on Riki's side to stabilize him, Sunghoon hummed. "What's up?"

"Hoo!" Riki repeated again, making grabby hands up at him. "Ub! (Up!)"

"Aren't you a little too old for upsies?" Sunghoon asked Riki as if he wasn't one year old, but still complied, lifting the kid up and resting Riki's face on his shoulder. Riki really liked it when Sunghoon carried him around while he did stuff, probably because Sunghoon's height made it a thrilling experience for him.

Sunghoon really enjoyed Riki's presence, even if the kid liked to give him hell. 

Which was why he narrowed his eyes, looking around suspiciously as if you were there to catch him red-handed, before he tossed Riki’s small body into the air. 

If Riki was any other normal baby, he'd scream in fear. But he wasn't. So all Riki did was let out an excited squeal. Almost immediately, Sunghoon shot a web at him, yanking him down from the air and into his arms in an instant.

"You better not tell your mother," Sunghoon booped Riki's nose as the baby clapped his hands, giggling. "She'll kick my ass if she knew that I was throwing you around."

And she'd also beat my ass if she knew that I was Spider-Man.

Speaking of which...

Sunghoon knew better than anyone how you felt about Spider-Man.

In short, you hated him. You hated Spider-Man, and you almost never failed to let Sunghoon know that.

You had a pretty simple reason: even if Spider-Man was a crime-fighter, the way that he was publicized made him more like a celebrity than a public servant. Because of this, people chose to commit more crime in the hopes of getting some sort of attention, which completely defeated the purpose of having a crime-fighter like Spider-Man.

Sunghoon was mere weeks into his job as Spider-Man, in the middle of bandaging up the cut on his hand that he got from fighting crime, when you suddenly barged into your apartment, throwing your bag aside as you exasperatedly began ranting about how a run-in with Spider-Man caused complete and utter hell for you when you commuted back from work. 

Many months later you still carried that sentiment.

And if he had to be honest, Sunghoon had to agree with you.

It wasn't like he detested being Spider-Man. After all, it paid his bills and allowed him to watch over you and make sure that you were safe. But, still, he wasn't a fan of the media coverage.

All he wanted to do was protect you and Riki. Was that too much to ask for?

Would Sunghoon ever tell you that he was Spider-Man? Probably not. Would you be mad at him for being Spider-Man? Probably. But would you shun him? Maybe for a month, but not any longer. Still, Sunghoon wasn't afraid of going no-contact with you for a month. It was the fear of disappointing you and losing your trust.

He'd rather die than lose your trust!

But sometimes it was difficult to conceal his identity.

Like right now.

The day went on as per usual: Sunghoon played around more with Riki, before taking him to daycare. Then, Sunghoon went to do his Spider-Man activities, before picking Riki up again. It was the end of a stressful week, so you came home early and announced that you made dinner plans for the three of you.

And that's how Sunghoon found himself sitting in a fancy dimly-lit restaurant. Across from him sat you, wearing a dress that made him stare at you for a little longer than he should have. 

Maybe it was the jazz music playing in the background, or the way that your gloss-laden lips clung to the delicate glass of champagne that you swished in your hand, but Sunghoon couldn't take his eyes off of you. 

Thanks to the fact that Riki was sitting at the table with his baby high-chair, two of the waiting staff had already mistaken you and Sunghoon for a married couple. Not that Sunghoon minded. And it didn't seem like you minded either, because all you did was throw your head back with a laugh and clutch Sunghoon's arm.

In fact, if Sunghoon had to be honest, you've been confusing him lately.

Or maybe he was confusing himself.

Because he swore that your eyes have been lingering on him lately, running over his figure from time to time before you cracked that little smug grin on your face— the type of grin that made Sunghoon shrink into himself. You've been touchier, holding his arm in the crook right in between your chest, almost like you knew that it would make him nervous. You began picking up this habit of looking at his lips, then gazing back up at his eyes, before licking your own lips with a smile. It was driving him crazy.

Why was he feeling this way?

And more importantly, why were you torturing him like this? You were a mother, you were someone well-respected and feared in your workplace because of your sheer ability to read people. You knew your effect on people, so you must know what you were doing to him. Right?

"Sunghooooon," you sang, resting your face on your hands, propped up in a way that made it impossible to ignore how good you looked tonight. Sunghoon was pulled out of his thoughts, his eyes quivering over to you. "What're you thinking about?"

Sunghoon blinked a few times. "Nothing."

You rolled your eyes playfully, reaching across the table to gently hit his hand. "Don't lie to me. I know when there's something on your mind."

"Lie!" Riki giggled, repeating your words like a little parrot. "Lie! Lie!"

"See?" you ruffled your son's hair. "Even Riki agrees. What's up?"

Sunghoon opened his mouth to speak, but he was distracted when you reached for your glass of sparkly champagne once more, bringing it up to your lips. 

"What?" you cocked a brow at him as he stared at you. "We drank with each other last night. What's so surprising about me drinking right now?"

Sunghoon gulped. 

You were scary like that, always so straightforward. It made him piss himself, but it also made him want to melt into a pile of mush. 

"It's nothing." He cleared his throat. "I'm just stressed about work."

"Awww," you frowned. "What happened?"

Sunghoon was talking straight out of his ass, because you reached over the table, beginning to play with his hands. Your eyes were trained on the shapes that you drew on his palms, but you hummed from time to time as words tumbled out of his mouth.

You had to be doing this on purpose.

It was weird, because Sunghoon never felt this way around you. What he felt toward you was quiet, something that was a basic fact to him. But now, all he could do was watch as you fed Riki airplane-style, making funny airplane engine noises as your baby laughed, trying to calm the beating of his heart.

Why did you have so be so attractive? Why was he feeling so warm?

It was a peaceful dinner, save for the war beginning to bubble inside of Sunghoon.

That was, until a loud crash rang through the restaurant. Then, there were whispers, car sirens, and at last, shrieking. The jazz music stopped as a hush fell over the restaurant. 

Your first instinct was to take Riki out of his high-chair and into your arms, so you did that.

But the moment that you brought your eyes up to where Sunghoon should have been, he was gone.

Like, absolutely gone.

His seat was empty. His plate of food, as fell as his folded cloth napkin and silver cutlery, were left exactly as you last remembered. Sunghoon simply disappeared all of a sudden.

But before you could even say his name, another crash rang through the restaurant as someone screeched, "Giganto!"

Giganto was a self-proclaimed supervillain on the rise. The last time that you heard about him was a few months ago, when he tried to pull off some stupid scheme to take down Spider-Man. It was a pathetic attempt. But now he was back, with admittedly impressive equipment and a nasty spandex suit.

Based on your understanding of the layout of the restaurant, it seems like the front portion of it was crashed into. Which meant that the front entrance was 100% not an option. 

And that became even more apparent to you when Giganto, in his pink spandex glory, began cackling villainously, announcing his arrival. What he said in his very unnecessary villain monologue was unknown to you, because you were too distracted by Riki, who was beginning to tear up in fear.

"Shh, shh," you held your son against your shoulder, your hand coming up to cup his ear. You pressed kisses on his face, petting his hair in an attempt to calm him down. "Baby, Baby it's okay. We're okay. Don't cry, Mama's here—"

"Run!" someone shrieked as another contraption began prowling into the restaurant. It was massive and made of some metal, some sort of machine that Giganto probably made to assert his dominance. It didn't matter to you. What did matter was the two people that you cared about: Riki, and.... hey, where's Sunghoon?

Your feet were just about to start moving when your eyes glazed over Sunghoon's still-empty seat. Your heart dropped to your stomach.

"Sunghoon?" you said to yourself, your eyes wide as they flickered around the slowly-crumbling restaurant for any familiar sign of your best friend. "Sunghoon!"

"Hoo!" Riki cried out.

You couldn't find him, amidst all the dust and hoards of people running past you.

You felt Riki's tears wet your shoulder.

You had to get out of here, if you wanted to save yourself and Riki.

But Sunghoon...

If you did not start running now, you would die. Riki would die.

I'm sorry, Sunghoon, you squeezed your eyes shut, before your feet picked up. You ran, you ran as fast as you could, trying your best to ignore your motherly instinct to stop and kiss Riki as he wailed. You didn't even realize it until your face was wet that you, too, were crying.

It could be fear, it could be uncertainty, it could be because your own son was sobbing. Or maybe it was guilt. Guilt because you could have waited for Sunghoon, but didn't.

Guilt, because you made it out of the crumbling restaurant, but Sunghoon did not.

Guilt, because you left your best friend to die.

You didn't know how long you ran, but you ran far enough that you could no longer hear the helicopters and screaming, only your and Riki's sniffles.

"Shhh," you shakily consoled Riki, rubbing circles on his back, doing your best to ignore the weight on your chest. "It's okay, Baby. We're okay."

But you knew you weren't. Not after what happened back there.

How could you abandon him back there, when he's done everything for you? How could you do him like that, as if he wasn't the sole reason that you weren't dead in a ditch right now? You were a horrible friend, and an even worse person for letting that happen.

All of a sudden, you were lifted off your feet. Literally. One moment you were walking under a streetlight, the next you were in the air.

"S-Spider-Man?!"

With one hand wrapped tightly around Riki, your other hand came up to grip the hero's bicep. Your stomach did flips as you looked down, seeing the city beneath you.

"Hey there," his voice was solemn.

"Where the—" you squeezed your eyes shut as you peered down— "Where the hell are you taking us?"

You felt Spider-Man tense under your touch, almost like he was wincing.

"I-I'm taking you home."

Your eyes narrowed. 

Was it normal for a superhero to be stuttering as they save a civilian?

"And you're taking me home because you know where I live? How?" You felt bad for being so cold, for being so incredibly frigid toward him, but you couldn't let your guard down. Not when you were 100 meters in the air holding your son. Not when you already lost Sunghoon back there.

"I don't," Spider-Man quipped quickly. It was now that you noticed the cut on his shoulder, with dark red blood seeping out and exposing his skin. "Will you show me the way?"

You glanced down at Riki, who was now beginning to fall asleep. He was unlike you in the way that he liked thrill, even when he was just a little baby

You couldn’t say that you were happy with who Spider-Man was, but you were not going to reject the help he was giving you right now. Not when your son was on the line.

You huffed. “Make a turn right here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Spider-Man muttered.

You did not know why, but it seemed like the sound of the hero’s voice made Riki stir.

“Hoo,” Riki babbled sleepily. “Hoo…”

Sunghoon.

Again, you felt Spider-Man tense.

“My friend…” you began, swallowing your pride. “His name is Sunghoon. I-I couldn’t find him back there.”

Spider-Man hummed.

“Can you… I mean— Do you think you can look for him? I’m really worried.

Spider-Man gazed at you, looking at you with his masked face. For some reason, you thought that he was grinning behind the mask, and you almost began shouting at him. But the hero only nodded, saying, “I promise you that he’s safe, Ma’am.”

You looked at him pensively, doubt painted across your expression as you chewed on your lip.

“But if it makes you feel better I’ll look for him.”

You nodded slowly, still doubtful.

The rest of the trip to your apartment is quiet.

Sunghoon 100% expected you to start yelling at him the moment he appeared in your apartment doorway. And he 100% was going to smile through all thirty minutes of it.

“You’re so fucking stupid, why did you disappear like that?! Do you know how much that scared me?! I thought I lost you and you died, Oh my God you’re so fucking annoying, I was losing my mind—“

Sunghoon was laughing at you as you lightly punched his arms, his sharp canine teeth peeking through, when he noticed the glassy sheen over your eyes. 

You had tears in your eyes, hot tears that you were blinking back as worried words spilled from your lips. Immediately, Sunghoon stopped his laughing, throwing an arm around your shoulder and pulling you close.

He was happy that you cared about him so much, unable to hide the way his lips still pulled upwards as you pressed your face into his chest.

It was late at night by now. Riki was already sound asleep. There was something about the way you sobbed in his arms that warmed his heart, that someone as strong as you would allow him the privilege of seeing you tremble. 

"I didn't know you cared so much, [Name]," Sunghoon teased. He expected you to hit him again, tell him to shut up, and maybe bite back a laugh, but all you did was shake your head.

"No," you murmured against his shirt. "I failed you."

"What're you talking about?" Sunghoon squeezed your shoulder. "You didn't fail anyone."

"No..." you squeezed your eyes shut, clinging onto Sunghoon even harder. You stayed like that for a little bit, simply holding the man in your arms like he'd disappear. Then, you pulled away, letting your gaze meet his. "I... I ran away when I should have waited for you."

Sunghoon only stared at you confused.

You licked your lips, your expression pinching. "I-I got scared so I ran, I ran so far away a-and—" you let out a heavy breath, pushing your face into your hands— "I-I'm such a shitty friend, Sunghoon."

Sunghoon blinked.

.

.

.

Oh!

Sunghoon remembered now, the way he disappeared from the face of earth the moment that disaster struck. One moment he was trying to breathe when you looked at him, the next he was in a tight spandex suit. 

Of course you had to 'abandon' him. Sunghoon was Spider-Man! There was no way that you would be able to stay back to wait for him.

It should be easy to explain to you, that you could not have possibly been at fault, because the situation was already imbalanced to begin with.

But there was just one little problem!

How was Sunghoon going to explain this to you without revealing that he's Spider-Man?

Sunghoon pulled his lip between his teeth, unable to hide the awkward-panicked expression painting itself on his features as you cried into his shoulder.

Curse you for being such a caring person, he sucked in a sharp breath. 

He didn't like seeing you cry, so he needed to dig himself out of this one soon.

What the hell was he supposed to say now?

"D-Don't cry," Sunghoon's lips moved on their own. "It's not your fault."

"It is though!" you cried.

"No..." Sunghoon let his panic mode take over. Quick, he needed to make something up. "I-I... It was my fault. I.. uhh..."

The man's eyes darted over to the kitchen, where in the rack lay plates, bowls, and Riki's baby utensils.

Ah, Riki.

It was a small inside joke between Sunghoon and you that Riki was always gassy. After all, he was a baby.

"I needed to use the bathroom really badly," Sunghoon swallowed all his pride. "A-And I was there the entire time... because it was really bad."

You pulled away from him, taking a look at his face. If it wasn't for the awkward topic at hand, you'd call out how uncomfortable he looked. Your brows furrowed, confused.

"What are you talking about?"

Sunghoon blinked a few times. "There was no way that you could have waited for me... I was in the bathroom the entire time..."

"Doing what?"

"You know..." Sunghoon felt his face warm up. "Doin' my business..."

"Oh."

.

.

.

Sunghoon wanted the floor to open up below him and eat him whole, because within seconds, your distressed, pained crying face melted into a massive smile. You threw your head back, your eyes crinkling into thin crescents, sweet laughs mixed with sniffles spilling out of your lips.

Sunghoon stood there, ears and cheeks pink, with his dignity shattered in his hands. He wanted to die, yes, but it made him feel better than you were no longer crying, just laughing. He couldn't help but feel a grin grow on his face.

"I'm sorry, Sunghoon," you squeezed his shoulders, wiping your eyes-- tears not from crying earlier but from laughing so hard. The way you brought your hand up to ruffle his hair, a reassuring smile on your face, made Sunghoon feel like a child, only furthering his embarrassment. "I didn't mean to laugh."

Sunghoon's lips pulled downward, forming an unintentional pout.

"Awww," you patted his head even more, "I appreciate your honesty. It takes a lot of courage to admit that."

It was definitely hard to stay embarrassed when you were so gentle about it, reassuring him every other sentence that you weren't judging him.

Sure, Sunghoon just embarrassed himself in front of you, but it was better than having to see you cry over something that you had no agency over to begin with.

Anything for you.

"Papa!"

"R-Riki, I'm not your-"

"Papa!"

No, no, no! This cannot be happening right now!

It was another afternoon of looking after Riki. 

Riki just got back from daycare, and took a long and cozy nap. Sunghoon shook him awake an hour later. However, instead of Riki's wide owlish eyes blinking a few times before recognizing Sunghoon's face, exclaiming "Hoo!" as he always did, Riki seemed to learn a new word.

"Papa!"

Papa.

Riki knew the word mama. Of course he did, he knew you.

However, from the beginning, Riki never knew his own legal father, Taehyun. Sure, Taehyun dropped by ever-so-often, but he was no more than a stranger to Riki than a random person on the street.

Riki never says papa. 

But now he just called Sunghoon papa.

Sunghoon had been spending the past 10 minutes trying to get Riki to call him Hoo again, but it seemed like nothing would work.

Sunghoon held both of Riki's tiny hands.

"I'm Hoo," Sunghoon said slowly. "Say it to me, Riki. Say Hoo."

"H.... H..." Riki began.

"That's right, you're almost there."

"H...H..." Riki's expression pinched. "Papa!"

"No!"

Truth be told, Sunghoon wanted to cry.

Riki calling him Papa and basically recognizing him as his father figure? The thought of it made Sunghoon tear up already.

He always tried his best to be there for you and Riki. To say that you and Riki were the joys of his life would be an understatement; Sunghoon did everything, even undertaking sketchy hero jobs, for the sake of you two. It wasn't like he expected anything in exchange. In fact, Sunghoon didn't even expect to be considered part of the family.

"Papa!"

"Riki..." Sunghoon's chest tightened at the little proud smile painted across Riki's face. "Riki, I'm not your—"

Ding dong! the doorbell rang. 

Leaving Riki on the couch, Sunghoon opened the door without a thought.

Big mistake.

Because the person standing loud and proud at the door was the worst person that Sunghoon could think of.

"T-Taehyun?"

Taehyun Kang, the legal father of Riki, and also your slightly-obsessed ex-boyfriend.

Sunghoon gave Taehyun a once-over. Taehyun was dressed in a crisp dress-shirt, almost as if he was dressed up for a date. He held a bouquet of flowers, his hair slicked back neatly. 

The moment that Taehyun's eyes fell upon Sunghoon, his eyes narrowed, something that wasn't surprising. You and Taehyun dated for a few years, and during those years you were friends with Sunghoon, too. Taehyun was always malicious towards Sunghoon, something that both you and Sunghoon never understood.

Sunghoon was in love with you, yes, and that love extended to respecting you and your relationships. He never did anything in all the years that you were with Taehyun.

"What are you doing here?" Taehyun spat.

"I'm—"

Taehyun pushed past Sunghoon, stepping through the doorway. "Whatever, where's [Name]?"

"She's—"

"Papa!"

Shit.

Taehyun perked up at the sound of Riki's voice, rushing to the living room and throwing the bouquet aside. Taehyun scooped Riki up into his arms as he coddled him dramatically, exclaiming, "Why didn't you tell me he learned that word?"

Sunghoon's heart sank. Was it bad that he felt a twinge of jealousy? Maybe Riki said papa and thought of Taehyun and not him. After all, Taehyun was supposed to be his father, not Sunghoon. But still. Did Taehyun spend nearly every waking minute with Riki? Did Taehyun put in any effort to spend time with Riki, other than a visit every three months? Has Taehyun ever even changed Riki's diapers? Brush his teeth? Make him breakfast?

Sunghoon felt his blood boil as Taehyun pranced around your apartment— the apartment that he had no right to claim— with Riki in his arms, saying that he was anything close to being Riki's papa.

"Tae!" Sunghoon could hear Riki exclaim from the other room.

"No, Riki," Taehyun said. "You said it earlier. I'm papa."

"Tae!"

"Say Papa, Riki."

"P... P.... Tae!"

Taehyun barged back into the living room, where Sunghoon sat patiently. The moment that Riki saw Sunghoon's face, he cried, "Papa!"

"He just said it again!" Taehyun was bright, but his face fell the moment that he saw Riki's grabby hands at Sunghoon, coupled with the way that Riki squirmed in his hold. Taehyun whipped his head around. He pointed an accusatory finger at Sunghoon. "You!"

"Papa!" Riki said, this time smiling brightly at Sunghoon, something that he hadn't done once at Taehyun.

Sunghoon couldn't help but bask in the sick satisfaction he felt, but he hid it under a scowl. "What?"

"You're stealing my family," Taehyun claimed, his expression painted with anger. 

"I'm not," Sunghoon said calmly.

"You think I'm stupid?" Taehyun pressed, placing Riki down. "I know that you've been in love with [Name] since the beginning, and just because me and her are on a break, you think that you can just swoop in and play Prince Charming."

"I—"

"No, I know!" Taehyun raised his voice. Riki hated it when people raised their voice, silently cowering into himself. Taehyun would have known that if he put any ounce of effort into Riki. "I don't know what you did to Riki, to make him think that you're his father, but it's fucked up. You're fucked up. You will never be a part of this family."

Sunghoon stayed silent for a few moments. The air was tense, so silent that the only audible sound was the sound of Riki's breath.

Sunghoon sucked in a sharp breath.

"What's Riki's favorite color?" was all he said.

"W-What?"

"I asked," Sunghoon looked at Taehyun boredly. "What's Riki's favorite color?"

Taehyun's eyebrows crashed together. "Why does that matter?"

"You're his dad, aren't you?" Sunghoon said simply. "You should know."

Taehyun's expression stayed scrunched together, but no words fell from his lips.

That's right, he doesn't fucking know.

"It's black." Sunghoon got up to where Riki was, scooping him up into his arms, to which Riki giggled and exclaimed Papa! quietly. "Did you know that Riki needs to hold a stuffed toy to sleep? Did you know that his favorite one is a stuffed dog named Bisco? Did you know that Riki's favorite song is Beat It by Michael Jackson?"

Sunghoon stroked Riki's hair, relishing in the way Taehyun dug his nails into his palms, his ears burning red. "Taehyun, what's Riki's dominant hand?"

Taehyun gulped. "Isn't he right-handed?"

"Nope," Sunghoon couldn't hide the satisfied grin on his face. "He's left-handed. In fact, he is allergic to the chrysanthemums that you brought over there."

The room went silent for a few more pulses.

"I might not be Riki's father, but you aren't either," Sunghoon said calmly, strolling over to the front door. "Please get out."

Taehyun never left quicker (and he took the flowers, too).

The apartment was quiet again.

Sunghoon didn't know how to feel.

He would be lying if he said that Taehyun's words didn't get to him. 

But Sunghoon also felt anger and satisfaction. Taehyun had no right to call himself a part of your family. He made you suffer, both in the past and now. He was a shitty co-parent and an even shittier dad to Riki. Sunghoon hoped that Taehyun understood his place now.

"Papa..." Riki murmured as he crawled toward Sunghoon, nuzzling his cheek into Sunghoon's hand that came up to cup his face.

"That's right," Sunghoon whispered. "Papa's here."

The day went on as normal after that fiasco.

At least, that's what Sunghoon thought.

Because after putting Riki to bed, you led Sunghoon into your bedroom.You locked the door, making Sunghoon gulp.

The serious expression on your face, and the way that you crossed your arms over your chest, freaked him out.

"Sit down." And he did so immediately, sitting his ass down on the bed the moment those words left your lips.

Sunghoon felt like he was a child about to be scolded. He chewed on his bottom lip, wringing his fingers as he carefully watched your standing figure.

"I got a call from Taehyun earlier," you said, your back turned to him.

Shit.

"Said that you were being disrespectful and brainwashing Riki." Sunghoon gulped as you glanced over your shoulder, your eyebrow cocked. "Care to explain?"

"I... I..." Sunghoon's mouth felt dry as he scrambled to gather words. "R-Riki started calling me p... papa, and Taehyun thought that I was brainwashing Riki into thinking that I was his dad, or something..."

You clicked your tongue, about to say something, but Sunghoon continued.

"I just— I just told him that he should be around more if he wanted... if he wanted Riki to call him papa," he added quickly, a grimace falling upon his expression, wincing with the way you took a deep breath.

Did Sunghoon overstep boundaries? It wasn't like you loved Taehyun— in fact you've been done with him for a while now— but it was an irrefutable fact that Taehyun was there before Sunghoon. Was Sunghoon wrong in thinking that he was even a part of your family? Was he getting ahead of himself? What if both you and Riki saw Taehyun as Riki's father figure and not him?

"Hey," Sunghoon was pulled out of his thoughts when you put a hand on his shoulder. "Relax. I'm not mad at you."

"Y-You aren't?"

You scoffed. "Of course not."

You rubbed your temples. "I'm more mad at Taehyun for barging in and causing a ruckus. Did he say anything else?"

"He said..." Sunghoon bit down on his bottom lip. Should he tell you this? "Never mind."

Your brows furrowed, pressing further. "What did he say?"

You sat down beside Sunghoon on the bed, noticing the way a deep frown painted itself on his features. You took his hand into yours, squeezing it. "I'm on your side, Sunghoon. I won't be mad."

Sunghoon licked his lips. "Just that... I will never be a part of your family."

He continued before you could respond. "I don't think I am... It just bothered me a little bit."

Your face scrunched, before you pushed Sunghoon's shoulder so that he laid down on the bed. You took his head onto your lap, gently running your fingers through his hair. Sunghoon let out a surprised squeak, shuddering at the feeling of your fingers. He pursed his lips, unable to hide his flustered expression.

Your face scrunched, before you pushed Sunghoon's shoulder so that he laid down on the bed. You took his head onto your lap, gently running your fingers through his hair. Sunghoon let out a surprised squeak, shuddering at the feeling of your fingers. He pursed his lips, unable to hide his flustered expression.

"You don't think that you're a part of this family?" you asked, your voice quiet. Sunghoon could hear the hurt in your voice.

"I..." You aren't going to bite, you never do. "I'd like to be... but it's not my place to say whether or not I am."

You clicked your tongue, anger rising in your tone. "And it's Taehyun's place to?"

"W-Well—"

"When has he ever done anything for this family?" your voice was filled with indignation, but your hands stayed gentle in his hair. "Taehyun will never be even half the man that you are, Sunghoon. He'll never do any of the things that you do, and that's because he's dead to this family."

You patted Sunghoon's cheek, making him look up at you. Your gaze softened, your lips curving up as you gazed at Sunghoon's wide, dark eyes. They were shiny, almost glossy, as if he was tearing up. "And I think Riki calling you papa is a testament to how much you mean to me and him. You're our family, Sunghoon."

The room was silent again. You and Sunghoon stayed like that, gazing at each other for what felt like years. 

You felt all types of emotions, the main one being sheer anger. Who did Taehyun think he was? And even more importantly, how dare he take his audacity and hurt Sunghoon?

Sunghoon was your savior, he really was. You had no idea what you would do without him.

Watching as he tried to discreetly wipe the tears in his eyes, you threw your head back, letting a few chuckles fall from your lips.

His earnesty, how willing he was to help, and his sensitive side were all things that you cherished about him; they were all things that made you fall in love with him.

You don't know when it happened, or when you realized that you, in fact, loved your best friend, but it didn't matter that much. 

It didn't help that Sunghoon was so painfully obvious. You didn't want to get too ahead of yourself, but you weren't stupid. You noticed Sunghoon staring at you for a little longer than he should, the way he got nervous whenever you touched him. It was adorable.

If you had less self-control, you would have grabbed Sunghoon's face and kissed him so hard that he'd see stars. After all, for all the little things you did in the hopes of driving him crazy, his wide eyes staring at you like you were some god drove you crazy.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to loosen up a bit. 

After all, Sunghoon had to endure Taehyun and the trouble that he brought. He took it like a champ. 

He deserved a kiss, didn't he? For everything that he's done for you, for all the trouble that he's gone through. You figured he deserved a reward.

Slowly, you brushed Sunghoon's bangs away from his face, exposing his forehead. His shiny eyes followed you as you readjusted your position so that you laid beside him.

"[Name]?" his voice was a small whisper. God, you just wanted to eat him up.

You hummed, as you leaned closer to him. Sunghoon watched with fluttering eyes and a beating heart. Your face was inching so close to his that he was sure that you could hear how hard his heart was beating. 

Was it just him, or was it getting hot in here?

Sunghoon's stomach did a flip at the way you gazed at him with lidded eyes, your beautiful lips parted. Oh, if the sky didn't part open and swallow him whole right now. You were so close, so close that he could feel your breath on his cheek.

If you didn't pull away now, Sunghoon thought that his fingers, which were now getting sticky with webs that came out when he couldn't control his nerves, would shoot actual webs.

"Sunghoon," you finally said, your hand coming up to gently guide his face, making him look straight at you. He faltered under your gaze. 

"Y-Yes?"

There, you did it again— that thing where you glanced down at his lips for a few moments, before flickering back up to his eyes with a slight, smug grin. You were driving him crazy.

"Can I kis—"

Knock knock!

"Mama! Papa!"

Both you and Sunghoon immediately pulled away from each other, sitting up. You rushed to your bedroom door, opening it to find a tearful Riki (with Bisco his stuffed dog) in hand. You were quick to scoop him up, though you noticed the awkward expression on Sunghoon's face.

"What?"

How could you act like nothing happened?

"I-I—" Sunghoon stammered, his face bright red and his hair disheveled. He couldn't hide his disappointment now that you weren't close to him anymore.

You rolled your eyes playfully. "Calm down, you dork."

With that, you left the room to go comfort your son, leaving Sunghoon alone, his mind fried and his cheeks pink.

Except, you came back within a few moments, this time without Riki.

With one hand, you grabbed Sunghoon's shoulder. With the other, you took his face, taking the poor man by surprise. Gently, you pressed your lips onto the corner of his lips, placing down a soft, chaste kiss.

It was a short, innocent kiss, one that barely lasted a second.

But Sunghoon froze, his mind filled with nothing but you, you, you.

"Happy now?" you rasped against the shell of his ear before pulling away. You chuckled at the way Sunghoon watched you with eyes as big as saucers, his entire face and neck now red, so warm that you could feel it radiating off of him.

That was scary about you, how you could read him so easily. You had him in the palms of your hands, ready to eat him up and play with him like he was putty.

You got up to leave, but when you got to the doorway, you stopped. You turned over your shoulder, a sly grin spread across your face.

"By the way, Sunghoon," you purred. "You should probably come quick. Riki just had a nightmare. Think he needs both mama and papa."

Shit, you were going to kill him.

"Papa!"

No, no, no! This cannot be happening right now.

Why did Sunghoon agree to this?!

A few days ago, DK told Sunghoon about an absolutely appalling opportunity: a Spider-Man meet-and-greet.

Sunghoon didn't know what sick person had this idea, but he reluctantly agreed.

And that's how he found himself on a Saturday afternoon sitting at a Spider-Man fan convention. He could be at home, spending time with you and Riki, but no, he's here taking pictures with little kids. 

A few kids already spilt their juice and slushies on him. Mothers shoved their babies in his face, while squealing middle schoolers took the most indiscreet pictures of him. It was hot, and Sunghoon was getting tired of putting on his customer-service voice.

Just as Sunghoon was about to sigh for the nth time that afternoon, he spotted two familiar faces in line.

Yours and Riki's.

You looked annoyed, maybe just as annoyed as Sunghoon was feeling, while Riki had the brightest smile on his face.

When he realized that you and Riki were in line to meet him, Sunghoon tried his best to speed through all the pleasantries and selfies.

And at last, you were up next.

"Hi, Spider-Man," you said quietly through gritted teeth. It was obvious that you were only here because of Riki.

"Hi, ma'am," Sunghoon said as curtly as possible.

Your face scrunched, unable to hide your disdain for Sunghoon as Spider-Man. 

"Uh, this is Riki, my son," you said, carefully handing your son over to the hero. You sighed, reluctantly taking out your phone to snap a few pictures. "Riki really loves your work."

"Smile for the picture, Riki!" you said, and that's the only time that you've smiled in the past ten minutes.

And then, the worst words tumbled out of Riki's mouth.

"Papa!"

Um.

What?

Sunghoon should have known. Last time, when he was carrying you and Riki through the sky, Riki recognized him as "Hoo" almost immediately.

And now, it seemed like Riki could still recognize him, this time as papa.

Sunghoon tensed up, and he froze up even more when Riki began to snuggle up against his blue and red - clad chest, giggling, "Papa!"

You looked horrified, your mouth agape and your brows knitted together.

"I-I'm so sorry, Spider-Man," you stammered, taking Riki back into your arms. "I don't know what's gotten into him."

"It's— ahem— fine," Sunghoon quipped. "Have a nice day, ma'am."

Sunghoon found himself frowning the entire time, until he checked his phone.

[name]: spiderman wants to be you so bad 

[name]: riki called him papa

[name]: sorry but youre the only papa i know

He couldn't help but chuckle at that.

Sunghoon has been acting strange.

You knew it better than anyone else. 

It all started after another city-wide crisis. Giganto, the mad supervillain that Spider-Man's been fighting with for months, spread some contaminant in the water supply. This could have been avoided if Spider-Man just left the city, but alas, a few people had to be hospitalized. After that, the city's crime rate ran up the walls.

It wasn't difficult to notice it, the way Sunghoon's face scrunched up like he was deep in thought more often than not, the way he was quick to object you going out to the convenience store after dark, the way that he disappeared for a few hours at a time, suspiciously aligning with news reports, and most noticeably, the way that Sunghoon winced every time that you named Spider-Man.

You weren't stupid. In fact, you couldn't tell if you could just read Sunghoon well, or if he was just horrible at hiding how he felt.

As of now, you had a few suspicions, but all of them centered around one thing: Sunghoon had some affiliation with Spider-Man. He had to have, it was the only thing that made sense.

"I really don't think you should, [Name]," Sunghoon reasoned with you one night, his hands buried in his hair. 

"Why not?" Tonight, you wanted to test the waters even more. Sunghoon seemed to get antsy whenever you went out at night alone. "I'm just going to get groceries. We ran out of eggs."

You had your back turned to him as you jammed your feet into your shoes, but you listened closely to the worry in his voice.

"I-I can go get it tomorrow morning," he stumbled over his words. 

"What difference does that make?" you pressed. "Eggs that I buy at night are the same as eggs that you buy in the morning."

You reached for the door. "I'll be back in 20, promise."

You didn't know what switch flipped, but it seemed like as the door hinges turned, Sunghoon reached for your hand so fast that you didn't even see him moving. Has he always been that fast?

His grip was firm.

"I'll go with you," Sunghoon said solemnly.

You narrowed your eyes. "Suit yourself."

That was your tactic, pushing Sunghoon's limit until he had no choice but to take action. 

He was iffy about you going out at night, so you made sure to do it more often. Each time, he insisted that he went with you. It was funny, because he'd follow you like a guard dog, so willing to fight anyone that even so much as looked in your direction.

"Relax, it's just some kid."

"He looked at you funny."

"He looks like he's nine years old. He is not an assailant."

"But he can be."

You didn’t mind that Sunghoon wanted to go with you. It gave you an excuse to hold his hand, and snuggle up against his side in the cold hair. Sometimes, he’d give you his jacket, and you got to be engulfed in his scent. As long as you got to spend time with him, you figured that you didn't mind.

It was now that you realized just how strong Sunghoon was. He carried bags of groceries like it was nothing, and when you and him kicked pebbles along the sidewalk, he kicked his pebble with such minimal effort, yet it still somehow flung across the street at lightning speed.

But along with sticking with you at night, he texted you a lot more during the day, asking if you were okay. Did he think that you wouldn't notice?

What threw you off even more was when he randomly caught a fly with his bare hands, crushing the poor thing right between his fingertips like it was nothing. Since when did he have such precision?

Sunghoon has been acting strange, and you were going to get to the bottom of it.

Sunghoon narrowed his eyes at his phone screen for what felt like the millionth time this week. 

It was noon now, Riki was at daycare and you were at work. 

It was no secret that the crime rate was rising at an alarming rate. Sunghoon found himself fighting crime after crime, nearly blowing his cover multiple times.

As Sunghoon swung from building to building, he gazed down at the cityscape. It was still early in the day. He could see school children playing ball, laughing as if there wasn't a robbery just down the street. Businessmen in crisp suits pranced around the sidewalks like they owned the place, while public transitters waited around for the bus.

It was still crazy to him, how any one of these people could be the next person that he had to fatefully stop from committing a crime. 

The only good things about being Spider-Man, at this rate, was that he could easily watch over you throughout the day and that he could help people. If he got another microphone shoved in his face, Sunghoon might become the criminal.

"Are you serious?!" Sunghoon couldn't help but exclaim as he peered over the ledge. 

He was on his daily patrol, checking alleyways and stopping muggers, when he spotted a child, no older than ten, getting robbed. 

Seriously? A child?

Sunghoon sighed.

"Oi!" Sunghoon shouted as he swung down, extending his leg so that he could land an easy kick on the assailant's cheek. Maybe Sunghoon put a little too much force, because he swore he heard a cracking noise. As he landed, he made sure to stand in front of the child, shielding him from the assailant.

"Hey man," Sunghoon said smoothly, yet even through his masked face his contempt was apparent. "You realize this kid is like seven, right? Stop trying to rob children."

The assailant groaned in pain, still keeled over on the ground, so Sunghoon took that moment to usher the child away, leaving the two in the alleyway. 

The assailant was holding his nose, and that was when Sunghoon realized that he was bleeding.

He looked up at Sunghoon angrily, stumbling to his feet. "You broke my nose!"

Sunghoon shrugged. "You attack children. What about it?"

The assailant growled angrily, fumbling with the knife in his pocket as he charged toward Sunghoon.

Sunghoon sighed, rolling his eyes.

With the amount of media coverage Spider-Man got, he would expect people to understand by now that attacking him head-on was just impossible. Every single headline boasted about Spider-Man's super-human abilities, yet here people were, acting dumb as fuck.

Almost like Sunghoon could see movement in slow-motion, mere milliseconds before his assailant collided with him, he shot a web at the wall, flinging himself up to the wall. 

"C'mon man," Sunghoon taunted. "You're faster than that."

Before the man could respond, Sunghoon swung down and kicked him in the abdomen. He tried to get back up and land a stab at Sunghoon, but alas, he was too slow.

"I'm serious," Sunghoon chuckled, but behind his mask he was completely blank-faced, nearly bored. "You need to be a little faster if you wanna catch up to me."

With one more kick to the stomach, the man was down for good. Sunghoon dialed the police, and with that, he left.

Because he had witnessed a child get mugged earlier, Sunghoon's first instinct was to check up on Riki's daycare.

Sure, Riki was basically a baby, but the thought of a child being attacked made Sunghoon a little worried for him.

In fact, the thought of Riki being in danger made Sunghoon worried about you. Should he go check up on your office too?

Sunghoon's sure that you've noticed by now, how increasingly nervous he got about your safety. At first, he tried to conceal it better, but it got harder as crime increased.

If Sunghoon had superhuman levels of hearing, his ability to identify your voice from miles away must have been god tier.

Sunghoon clung to the walls of your office building, pressing his chest against the hard brick in order to not be as obvious. Stealthily crawling against the wall, Sunghoon finally found the window right where your office was.

Peering inside, Sunghoon could see that you were talking with one of your colleagues. You were smiling, laughing from time to time. It must have been a friendly conversation.

Sunghoon pressed his ear against the wall, letting his enhanced hearing do the work for him.

"Do you have any plans this weekend?" your colleague asked, leaning on your desk.

You hummed, typing away and half-listening. "I'm spending time with my family."

Your colleague smiled. "You and Riki?"

You shook your head absent-mindedly. "Me, Riki, and Hoon."

Sunghoon cracked a grin.

"Oh? Who's Hoon?"

Your eyes flickered away from your computer screen. "Sunghoon? He's my...." you trailed off. What was Sunghoon to you?

"Your?" Your colleague looked at you expectantly, but when you bashfully smiled, she gasped. "Don’t tell me…”

"W-Well, I mean— He's a good friend—"

"Tsk, tsk, if he really was a good friend you wouldn't struggle so much to say that." Your colleague sat down. "Do you like him or something?"

"Of course I do. He's a good friend—"

"That's not what I meant."

You huffed. 

Sunghoon held his breath

"I think I... love him?" you said it like a question, but you didn't look uncertain. The rest of your conversation was pretty plain, just exchanging pleasantries and chuckles about family life.

Meanwhile, Sunghoon was completely zoned out. A gunshot could fire right beside him and even then he wouldn't be fully conscious and in his body.

You? 

Loved him?

Ohmygodyousaidthatyoulovedhim.

It was getting bad, how much those words affected him. Each time Sunghoon forced himself to recover mentally, your words would replay again in his head, making him squeeze his eyes shut and feel the heat rush back to his face. Sunghoon felt light-headed. If it weren't for the stickiness of his spiderwebs, Sunghoon would have fallen off the building by now.

Was he dreaming?

Sunghoon bit down on his lip to stop the dumb, dopey grin threatening to spill across his face, but alas, a simple glance at you through the window again had his heart jumping.

He felt like a high schooler, getting all giddy again as if no one has ever loved him before.

Well, it was true though. No one has ever loved him before, not in the way that you've loved him.

Maybe Sunghoon was right for being so protective of you over the past few weeks.

You couldn't even bring yourself to be mad at this point, rather just amazed beyond words at the goddamn audacity of these people.

"I don't have money," you said simply, rolling your eyes.

"Are you sure about that, lady?"

You huffed. "Yes, I'm a single mother. You think I'm rich?— Ow, okay sorry."

You were just minding your own business, walking to the subway and thinking about how much you hated your boss, when you were pulled into an alleyway. You were lucky (if this could be considered lucky at all) that you were just getting mugged, who knows what else could have happened?

It was a group of three men, two holding you back and the other trying to extort you of your money. Unfortunately for them, you didn't have any cash on you.

The cold brick wall pressed harshly into your back, hard enough that you nearly winced in pain, but you made sure to show no signs of discomfort or struggle. That would make you seem weak, and if you wanted any chance of getting out unscathed, you should probably avoid showing any vulnerability.

"I can PayPal you," you said simply, your gaze bored.

"We want cash, lady."

You huffed. "I already said, I don't have cash on me. Do you have ApplePay?"

The men groaned.

You had a simple plan: continue to play dumb and keep suggesting alternative payment options to distract them, and when the time came, you'd land a kick to the crotch and make a run for it. A lot of people liked to pool at the convenience stores and bakeries nearby, so it shouldn't be difficult to catch their attention.

"What about Venmo?" you asked, your tone purposefully squeaky and annoying. "Or Zelle? I have a lot of money on Zelle."

You blinked at them, feigning some semblance of naivety, watching in near-satisfaction at the way their faces distorted incredulously.

And just as the three men shot each other looks, trying to reconvene, you realized that maybe your bit off more than you could chew. 

Maybe acting stupid wasn't the best idea, especially in the face of three people filled with the intent to rob you.

Slap!

Because the next thing you knew, your cheek was hot and prickling with pain, your eyes burning with tears from the sheer impact of that palm against your face.

Your jaw went slack in pure shock. Did they just—

Slap!

"Shut up, you bitch!"

Woah.

You opened your mouth to let out another witty response (which was probably already a bad idea to start with), but you're cut off when you're suddenly pushed all the way up against the hard brick wall. Your cheek was pressed against it; it was rough and cold.

Grubby hands patted you down, searching for any spare cash left in your pockets. You cringed as they searched through your long-discarded purse for the third time, only to find chapstick, lip gloss, and a bunch of cards. 

"Come on, woman, you need to have some money on you!" you heard one of them mutter, the rancid smell of cigarettes filling your nose. 

"I already said," you huffed, letting out a small yelp of pain as they shoved you against the wall again, your lip scraping against the rough brick. You tasted blood. "I don't have cash on me—"

They shoved you even harder this time, holding you by your head. Your entire cheek was pressed up against the wall, your eyes squeezing shut as pain shot through your head. Maybe you shouldn't have talked so much smack, because now you were feeling light-headed from the sheer impact.

You couldn't see what happened in the next few moments, but you were suddenly lifted in the air by strong arms, strong arms that almost felt familiar. You heard some yelling and shouting, and a few more sudden groans of pain. 

It took you a few moments to realize that it was a certain blue and red superhero scooping you up, and it took you even longer to realize that it was this same hero that had gently placed you up on the ledge, before going back down to the alley to wreak havoc on those men.

It was horrific, the way that Spider-Man raised his fists, crashing them down on these men so hard that you could see the dark red blood stains seeping onto his spandex costume. The painful cries, the sound of Spider-Man's fists making contact with their bodies, it was all a terrible sound.

You watched silently, slack-jawed.

Spider-Man always had a more action-packed fighting style, utilizing his webs and arsenal of abilities and gadgets to make a spectacle of his fights (whether intentional or not). 

Yet, here he was, using nothing but his bare hands to beat these men to a pulp.

It made your head hurt, everything. Even from the ledge high up, you could smell the must, blood, and sweat. It made you feel sick.

You could feel yourself lose all energy, deflating. You just wanted to go home, and feel your son and Sunghoon's warmth.

Riki, you thought as you watched in horror.

"Hoon," you whispered, barely audible even to yourself to the point that you didn't even realize that you said it.

Then, everything stopped, and suddenly you were up in the air again.

You mustered all the strength you had left in yourself to become aware of your surroundings. "Spider—"

"Don't talk."

So you didn't.

As you felt your mind cloud up, you could only think of a few things.

First, that your entire body had a subtle ache.

And second, that Spider-Man's voice sounded really familiar.

“Where were you? Why do you have a cut on your lip? Why were you out so late?” were the first words spilling out of Sunghoon’s mouth the moment you appeared in the doorway. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Why would you stay out when it’s dark—?”

You appreciated the concern, but you simply did not have it in you talk to him. You were exhausted, and even more mentally drained. You walk past him, ignoring Sunghoon's bombarding questions, completely oblivious to the way he pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth, rubbing his bruised knuckles as his brows crashed together.

"Why aren't you answering me?" Sunghoon clutched your shoulder, his eyes filled with concern. You missed the ring of red around his eyes, too focused on your own bloody lips to see the even larger gash slowly healing on Sunghoon's cheek. His breath was heavy, almost like he'd been running around like crazy.

You let out an exasperated sigh, your tired eyes fluttering over to him. The events that transpired earlier were not a big deal to you, but it sure did suck the energy out of you.

Sunghoon cupped your cheek, taking your face into his hands. He studied your expression, brushing his finger against your cut lip. When you hissed at the sensation, Sunghoon sucked in a sharp breath, before his face pinched.

"This is why I told you not go out after dark—"

"Not right now, Sunghoon," you grumbled, pulling away from him. You let out another sigh. "I don't feel like having this conversation right now."

He reached out for you, but you turned on your heel, heading towards Riki's room.

"How's Riki?"

Sunghoon stared at you, before swiping his tongue over his lips. "I-I'm serious, [Name]. We can't keep having this conversation."

"Not right now," you repeated yourself, not even looking at him.

"No!" Sunghoon cried, his outburst making you stop and cock a brow at him. "We need this conversation now. Y-You— It's not safe anymore."

You narrowed your eyes at him.

"Just, don't go out anymore," he stumbled over his words, yet his face was solemn. "Please, just come home early. And if—And if you want to go out, I'll go with you."

Maybe it was because you were already having a bad day, or maybe you were just tired, but you felt anger begin to bubble inside of you.

These past few weeks, Sunghoon had been protective of you. It was endearing sometimes, but now it was getting ridiculous. You were capable of handling yourself, and if you weren't, that was your own responsibility to take care of, not his. You appreciated the concern, but not his visceral disapproval of any time you even decided to step outside.

"Sunghoon," you said calmly, trying to keep your irritation at bay. "I'm a grown woman. I can go outside by myself."

"No," he shook his head vehemently, taking your hands into his. "You don't get it. You don't know what's out there. It's not safe for you."

You tried your best. You really tried your hardest to swallow all the hot anger threatening to tumble out of your lips. You dug your nails into your palms, taking slow breaths as Sunghoon gave you a lengthy lecture about why you weren't prepared for the 'outside world' anymore.

It was difficult. You couldn't be angry that he cared about you, that he was so worried for your wellbeing. But as more words about how you couldn't possibly handle yourself outside were bleeding into your ears like shrill pots and pans to the point that it was unbearable to listen to.

"Am I weak to you, Sunghoon?" you finally interrupted him amidst his tangent.

"What? No, I—"

"Then why do you keep acting like I am?" No, you shouldn't be raising your voice at him like this, not when all he was doing was showing you how much he cared about you. Each word was calm, but you felt the venom seeping in with each syllable. "I'm tired of it all. I'm tired of how you act like I'm incapable of defending myself."

"But—"

"I don't want to hear it anymore," you grumbled, rubbing your temples and turning your back to him. "Please. I just want quiet right now."

The two of you stood in silence like that for a few pulses, the air tense— the most tense that the two of you have ever been.

The silence was broken when Sunghoon took in a deep breath, cracking the front door open, before stepping outside and quietly shutting it.

The entire apartment was deathly silent. With what remaining energy you had left, you retired to your room. The moment your back hit the mattress, your heavy eyelids shut.

Meanwhile, Sunghoon took a stroll along the apartment complex. The cool air kissed his cheek, running through his hair.

Was he wrong for worrying about you so much?

Should he have approached things differently?

How was he going to resolve this now?

Maybe Taehyun was right, that he was trying so hard to be a Prince Charming of sorts– your knight in Shining Armor.

It was never Sunghoon's intention to make you feel weak. 

He was just scared. When he saw you in that alleyway, his blood ran cold, and all he could think about was protecting you.

The mere thought of you getting even more hurt than you already were frightened Sunghoon.

Sunghoon wasn't sure how long he spent outside, but it was long enough for his skin to feel cold to the touch.

After collecting himself, Sunghoon had a plan to resolve this bump along the road: he'd go inside, apologize, and explain himself clearly. Anxiety gnawed at him from the inside out, but he knew he had to make things right.

But as Sunghoon made his way back to your apartment door, taking in a deep breath before he reached for the door handle and rehearsing what he wanted to tell you in his head, something interrupted his thoughts.

First, it was the sound of glass breaking.

Then, the sound of Riki crying, and at last, your screaming.

And when Sunghoon busted down the front door, he found the entire house empty, save for the shattered glass window of your bedroom.

"Shhh, Baby don't cry," you shakily breathed, holding Riki close to your chest. "It's okay, it's okay— Shhh."

The last thing you expected was to be kidnapped by Spider-Man's number one opponent, the supervillain Giganto.

But here you were, tied up at the hands and feet, trying to hush Riki’s wailing. You’re not sure where Giganto took you, but it looks like the local ice rink. The humming of the ice rink filled your ears, the icy frost beginning to rise in the facilities kissing your skin.

But here you were, tied up at the hands and feet, trying to hush Riki’s wailing. You’re not sure where Giganto took you, but it looks like the local ice rink. The humming of the ice rink filled your ears, the icy frost beginning to rise in the facilities kissing your skin.

It all happened so quickly that you could barely remember how you got here. The hair on your hands was standing up, a chill running down your spine. The entire facility felt empty, only the sound of your breathing and Riki's crying reverberating off the walls, but you knew better. Giganto took you here, so he must be nearby. You didn't even know why he wanted you to begin with, but now you had to deal with the reality of it.

You thought back to Sunghoon.

Wasn't this what he was warning you about? Why did you have to be influenced by your feelings like that? If you just listened to him and acted maturely, this could have been avoided... right?

You couldn't imagine how he felt now. He was just trying to protect you, and you just threw it back into his face. This was the second time that you were shitty to Sunghoon; how could you say that you loved him when all you did was be an asshole to him?

You would wallow in self-pity, but you had Riki to protect now.

Your eyes flickered around the dark and empty facility. Any moment now, Giganto could appear and kill you, or something.

You didn't know much about Giganto, other than that he had the ability to change sizes. That is, he could become very large or very small in an instant.

"Riki, breathe baby," you huffed, hoping that the fast beating of your heart would slow down soon enough for you to think straight. You swallowed the lump in your throat. For the first time ever, you wished that Spider-Man would come and save you from this maniac.

"Well, hello there."

Speak of the devil.

From the shadows emerged a man. He was in a skin-tight suit, with a mask hiding everything but his eyes and mouth, similar to Spider-Man. What made him stand out was the gadget in his hand. It was a gun-like gadget of some sort, glowing bright green.

You narrowed your eyes at him as goosebumps rose on your arms.

"Giganto," you questioned, your voice hoarse from screaming earlier, "Why did you take me here?"

The supervillain grinned, taking his time as he promenaded around the rink. Was he wearing ice-skates? How pompous.

"Is it that hard to figure out?" Giganto mused, his fingers running along the edge of his gadget. "Why don't you take a guess?"

You had no answer. The only thing that made sense was that you were a civilian and a resident of this city. What other connection to Giganto did you have other than that?

You stayed silent, holding Riki even closer to your chest as you realized that Giganto was walking— err, skating?— towards you. Your shoulders tensed, trying to pull your curled up legs to your chest.

"Relax, woman," the villain huffed. That's when you realized that he wasn't just holding that gadget, but various other... cones? They looked like those tiny plastic traffic cones at Riki's daycare. Giganto began to place them adjacent to you. "I'm just setting up for a game."

A game?

Just when you thought that Giganto probably forgot about your earlier question, he skated back to where he was previously.

"So, you have a guess yet?"

You would have said something witty, but you remembered what happened last time you tried to use your words to get out of something.

It was distracting you, the way that Giganto was paying extra attention to the gadget in his hands, brandishing it and shining the thing like it was a jewel.

And it seemed that he noticed this too.

“Oh this?” the villain threw his head back, letting out a laugh, a laugh that you knew too well to be fake because hey, working in an office with shitty coworkers and an even shittier boss made you receptive to it. “It’s just what I call a Size-inator!”

He let out another string of cartoonishly villainous laugh, nearly comical how enunciated it was. It was so ridiculous that Riki stopped crying, sending you a confused look. And when all you did was stare at him like he was a maniac, Giganto stopped laughing.

“Isn’t this impressive?” Giganto threw his hands up in the air. “Gee, you people are never satisfied.”

You nodded slowly. He looked so excited about this Size-inator, almost like he was just waiting for you to ask about it. You wouldn’t mind doing some talking. After all, it could buy you time and information.

“Right…” you nodded slowly. “So this Size-ometer-"

“Size-inator,” he corrected you.

“Yeah, yeah, this Size-er,” you waved him off, “What does it do?”

"Thought you'd never ask!" Giganto threw his hands up into the air theatrically. He snapped his fingers, and in an instant, all the lights turned off in the ice rink, only a spotlight shining over the villain. "The Size-inator is a device designed by moi. I can shoot whatever I want— he pointed the gadget to one of the cones he placed down, pulling the trigger. In an instant, the cone shrunk— "And it will change in size!"

"Pretty neat, isn't it?" he looked at you slyly.

You nodded slowly. "So it's a shrink ray, basically."

"Nuh-uh!" Giganto's outburst made you cock a brow at him. "It's a Size-inator!"

"Right."

.

.

.

"So... Where's Spider-Man?" Giganto asked, teetering on his ice-skates like a teenage girl waiting on her crush.

Your face scrunched.

Um.

How were you supposed to know?

"Uh, I don't know?" you said, your tone questioning your own certainty.

Giganto's face morphed into an incredulous one. He pointed an accusatory finger at you. "Don't lie to me, woman!"

You shook your head, shrugging vehemently. "I really don't!"

Giganto skated up to you, his ice-skates scraping up against the ice to make a shrill sound. He peered down at you, his eyes suspicious even through the mask.

"So you mean to tell me that you've coming home to the same apartment as Sungjoon Park everyday and you didn't know that he's Spider-Man?" the villain eyed you suspiciously.

Sungjoon Park?

"What are you talking about? I only know a Sunghoon Park—"

At the sound of Sunghoon's name, Riki stirred. 

"Papa!" he exclaimed, wriggling in your hold.

"Yeah, yeah, Sunghoon Park, or whatever," Giganto waved off. "You didn't know that he's Spider-Man this entire time?—" he pointed at Riki— "You have a child with him!"

Crash!

Before you could even process things, a massive crash rang throughout the entire facility, followed by the sound of car sirens going off and glass breaking.

"Oh! Gotta goooo!" Giganto sped away, summoning his other little gadgets, presumably to go check up on the commotion outside. "Don't you dare try to escape, woman! I'm always watching!"

And then you were left alone again, in the middle of a cold ice rink.

Tap, tap.

Sunghoon? 

Spider-Man?

Tap, tap.

You knew that Giganto was a maniac, but you didn't know that he was that insane.

Tap, tap.

That wouldn't make any sense.

Sunghoon might be associated with him somehow, but your own best friend as the Spider-Man?

No way.

Tap, tap.

And now that Giganto was gone—

Tap, tap.

That tapping sound was going to drive you crazy—!

"Pssst!"

You shot your head around. No one was there.

You looked in the other direction, then all around you. No one was there either.

"Look up here!"

You whipped your head up to the ceiling, where a massive opening had been created from the rubble. And lo and behold, there hung the one and only friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

"C'mon, [Name]," he said, reaching out a hand to you, "Take my hand and we'll escape."

Your eyes widened into saucers, bulging out of your head. You swore that you've heard that voice before, and as you flashed through all of your memories, you could never recall an instance where Spider-Man's voice matched with that of Spider-Man. Instead, all the memories lined up with Sungh—

"Papa!" Riki cried.

That's something that you could never wrap your head around. Riki seemed to call only Sunghoon papa. Yet, he's been calling Spider-Man papa, too.

You kept your eyes trained on the hero's wide, white eyes, your mind running on its own while your mouth moved. 

"I-I'm tied up, Spider-Man," you stammered. 

A familiar voice, papa, a weird obsession with crime and safety, it all didn't make sense.

Spider-Man dropped down from the ceiling, carefully untying the ropes wrapped around your hands and feet.

"Are you okay?" the hero asked, helping you stand up with wobbly feet. To your surprise, Spider-Man clutched your chin, forcing you to look at him. In his other hand, he held Riki, to which Riki began snuggling up against his chest. And then, worried words streamed from his lips, in a tone that you knew all too well. "Did he do anything to you? Are you hurt? Can you stand?—"

For a split second, you thought you were going crazy. 

For a split second, his voice sounded exactly like Sunghoon's: with the same breathiness, the same cadence, and of course, the same exact concern that made your heart melt.

For a split second, you could almost see Sunghoon's thick eyebrows furrowing behind the mask, worry strewn all across his expression.

"Sunghoon?"

Spider-Man froze, going frigid all the while Riki continued to nuzzle his face in his strong chest.

Behind the mask, you could see almost exactly how Sunghoon would bite down on his tongue, his lips parting while his eyes flashed around the room; his nervous tick.

"Sunghoon," you whispered again, this time with a type of desperation that you never knew you had. You could feel your chest pounding, the sound of your heart thrumming against your ribcage filling your ears. "Sunghoon, please."

Please tell me it's you.

Slowly, you reached up to cup Spider-Man's face, and to your surprise, the hero leaned into your touch.

"[Name]," Spider-Man whispered shakily, so low that you could barely hear it.

Hearing it roll off his tongue, that confirmed everything that you needed to know.

Everything crashed down on your shoulders at once. You felt all types of emotions—confusion, anger, surprise, shock— but all of them fell short in the face of the overwhelming urge to throw your arms around his shoulders and feel his warmth.

But before you could, another crash rang through the facility. 

And there, standing at the doorway was Giganto, in all his spandex glory pointing his Size-inator right at you and Sunghoon.

"Don't you dare move!" his voice boomed.

"S-Sungh—" you felt a panic course through your veins. But, that panic was replaced by the feeling of strong hands around your waist.

"Don't worry," Sunghoon breathed against the shell of your ear. You could hear the grin in his voice. "I got this."

Everything crashed down on your shoulders at once. You felt all types of emotions—confusion, anger, surprise, shock— but all of them fell short in the face of the overwhelming urge to throw your arms around his shoulders and feel his warmth.

But before you could, another crash rang through the facility. 

And there, standing at the doorway was Giganto, in all his spandex glory pointing his Size-inator right at you and Sunghoon.

"Don't you dare move!" his voice boomed.

"S-Sungh—" you felt a panic course through your veins. But, that panic was replaced by the feeling of strong hands around your waist.

"Don't worry," Sunghoon breathed against the shell of your ear. You could hear the grin in his voice. "I got this."

Sunghoon shot a web back up at the ceiling where the opening was. 

Giganto loaded his shrink ray, and in that moment, you squeezed your eyes shut, bracing yourself for what was to come.

Yet, instead of feeling yourself shrink into oblivion, you felt your entire body lift up into the air, before being hoisted back to your feet.

"You don't trust me?" Sunghoon grinned into your ear, his hands still wrapped tightly around you.

You opened your eyes slowly. You were on a rooftop.

"Woah..."

With Riki back in your arms, you looked down to see the vast cityscape below your feet. The dark blue night sky was peppered with white splotches of stars and satellites. The lights were beautiful, so beautiful that you couldn't tear your eyes away from it.

The feeling of Sunghoon's warmth behind you, as well as Riki's little giggles, made you melt.

"W-Where are we?" you asked, your eyes still glued to the view.

"Far," Sunghoon breathed against your ear. Then, he pulled away from you, gently guiding you to a ledge in the inner perimeter of the rooftop. "Far from Giganto."

And as he began to slink away, your eyes widened, reaching out to him instinctively. "Where are you going?"

Sunghoon turned around. He ruffled Riki's hair, then brushed his gloved finger against your cheek. 

"I need to go fight Giganto," he said simply.

Before you could protest, Sunghoon clutched your chin, making you look at him.

"Well, you said that Spider-Man was useless," you could hear him grin behind the mask. "This is my one time to impress you. I'll beat him up really good, I promise."

His tone was light-hearted, trying to make you smile, yet you only chewed on your lip, looking on hesitantly. 

"I'll be safe," Sunghoon reassured you, leaning in closer to you. 

You looked at him with clouded eyes. "Are you sure? What if you get hurt?"

It was funny, how the roles were now reversed: now, it was you worrying about his safety.

"I'm strong," Sunghoon chuckled, flexing his bicep. "The strongest."

You still looked apprehensive, so Sunghoon leaned in even closer, cupping your cheek.

"Don't worry about me," he said lowly, his hands holding you like you were a delicate piece of glass. 

You swiped your tongue over your bottom lip, sucking in a sharp breath. You nodded your head, almost as if you were trying to convince yourself, before meeting his eyes.

The two of you stared into each other's eyes like that for a few pulses, getting lost in the comfort of each other, a momentary escape from reality.

And then, letting all of your inhibitions run free, you grabbed Sunghoon's masked face, and pressed a right where his lips were. You pulled away quickly, but this time, you had a determined look on your face.

Sunghoon stood there frozen, suddenly dazed as he brought a hand up to cover his mouth, flustered.

"Well?" you grumbled, averting your gaze. "What are you waiting for? Go impress me, Spider-Man."

Sunghoon never turned on his heel and began swinging away any faster.

Sunghoon flushed as he heard you giggling from the other room.

He hated the media, he hated it so much.

But, he had to admit, he was grateful for all the news outlets this one time.

Because truth be told, they caught some pretty badass shots of him kicking Giganto's ass.

Not because Sunghoon personally wanted cool pictures of himself, but because now you and Riki were rewatching clips of the fight in the other room. Riki giggled, exclaiming every other second and clapping his hands cutely, while you cooed not just at his cuteness, but at the way Sunghoon's muscles flexed in each shot.

He had to admit, the camerawork made the fight look a lot more intense than it actually was.

What actually went down was pretty simple.

Giganto made Sunghoon play a game of some sorts, some supervillain version of laser-tag. Sunghoon was going to be in ice-skates, and he was going to have to evade Giganto's Size-inator. The villain chose ice-skating because apparently it was way harder to move around in ice-skates than not. However, he completely forgot two very important facts.

The first one was that Spider-Man was... Well, Spider-Man. Sunghoon's abilities were heightened to the max, so his reflexes and physical capabilities transcended whatever man-made gadget Giganto had.

The second one was that Sunghoon was kickass at ice-skating, all thanks to the many times that he'd gone with you and Riki. There was something about showing off how good he was in front of you, the literal love of his life, that shaped Sunghoon into the absolute pro at ice-skating that he was now.

It's safe to say, Giganto's defeat was pathetic. He was arrested, and his identity was revealed to be some corporate slave trying to reach stardom through criminal activities.

Sunghoon had to force himself to take deep breaths, stifling the stupid grin threatening to spread on his face as he heard you and Riki's giggles.

"Are you guys ready to go?" he poked his head in through the doorway. "Oh wow."

There you were, wearing a pretty dress that hugged your body a little too well. Sunghoon's jaw went slack as his eyes glazed over your figure, gulping audibly as you made your way over to him.

"Hey there, Handsome," you purred, sliding your hands up his chest.

"Hi." No matter how long he's known you, how many times he's seen you in a figure-hugging dress, how many times you've kissed him until he saw stars, Sunghoon felt like putty in your presence.

"I love you in this color," you mused. You were definitely doing it on purpose, running your nails against his arm and getting all touchy.

Sunghoon's mouth felt dry. Was it getting hot it here, or was it just him? "Th-Thank you."

Linking fingers with Sunghoon, you pushed your chest forward and up against his chest.

"You know," you breathed against his neck. You smelled so good, your scent filled Sunghoon's head deliciously. "I've been waiting for tonight all week."

Sunghoon's palms were getting sweaty, goosebumps rising on his skin and the hairs on his neck standing up. "R-Really?"

"Of course," you cooed, before pulling away. You did a little twirl for him, showing off your dress.

"I'm ready," you smiled, your glossy lips moving in a way that made Sunghoon feel light-headed. You looked delicately over your shoulder, bursting out laughing. When Sunghoon peered over your shoulder, he also couldn't help but let chuckles fall from his lips.

"Riki, baby, what are you doing?!"

Riki was dressed up, but poor baby must have been tired, as he was all curled up against the floor, dozing off like nothing else mattered.

Tonight was a family night.

The plan was to go out for dinner as a family, and after, go home and watch a movie. It was a simple plan, but a plan that made Sunghoon all giddy with excitement. Riki wailed a little bit when you two woke him up, but just seeing you and Sunghoon's face made him peaceful in an instant.

Hand-in-hand, you, Sunghoon, and Riki walked off into the night.

And Sunghoon thought, there isn't anything else in the world that he could ask for.

Not when he was able to spend the rest of his life with his little family.

Not when he was head over heels in love with you.

[d1ana-m0nd]

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

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

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

➢ Word Count : 11,660

➢ Links : Masterlist && Character Profile

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

Chapter 5: Number 5

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

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

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

“Why didn't you say something sooner?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Whose head?”

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

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

Luther then returned the eyeball to Five.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Well, it's a long story.”

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

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

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

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

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

“So... you were a hitman?”

“Yes.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

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

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

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

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

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

“Dave!”

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

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

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

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

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

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

“Master Klaus?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Symptoms of what?”

“The jet lag. Full body itch.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What difference does it make?”

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

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

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

“Yeah, I'm ten months older now.”

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

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

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“What do you care?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What?”

“I'm not giving you a ride.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

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

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

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

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

“Eight weeks.” The servant replied.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Begrudgingly, Number Four looked away and blew a raspberry.

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

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

“Don't hit me, asshоlе!”

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

“Because I lost someone!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“How could you possibly know that-”

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

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

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It's a probability map.”

“Probability of what?”

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

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

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

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

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

“Oh, yeah... “

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“We don't do this kind of thing.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“More impossible than what brought you back here?”

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

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

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Why?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“How'd he find us?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“What? Come on.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“In case they make a move on you.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hazel quipped, “Probably us too, right?”

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

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

“About what?” She narrowed her eyes at the boy, suspicious of his proposition.

“Well, I don't believe that's any of your concern.”

The woman was hesitant to trust the ‘traitor’ of the commission but she shrugged it off. “Just don't tell her about the briefcase.”

“Fair enough.” Number Five nodded as he backed away slowly and returned to Luther’s side.

The woman in a bob cut headed to the nearest phone booth and began dialing down their superior’s number, while the larger brunette still had his gun directed at Five as he slowly walked backward and to his partner’s side. From time to time, the dark-skinned woman would look over her shoulder to check if Five or Luther were doing anything dubious.

“What happens now?” Number One asked.

The boy stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Now we wait.”

Only the sound of the wind whistling was heard, till an inaudible chime at the distance could be heard thus catching four people’s attention. Even if they had different goals, they all had the same question, “What the fuck is that? ”; They all kept their eyes on a bright vehicle that was heading in their direction with the music at full blast, it was playing the orchestra tune of ‘Ride of the Valkyries’.

“Is that her?” The dirty blond-haired male asked but, the brunette didn’t have an answer to his brother’s question because he was just as confused as he was.

As the ice cream truck passed by the Boy and Spaceboy, they incidentally caught a glimpse of the culprits: Y/N, Diego, and Klaus. The curly-haired man waved at his brothers as he was carelessly steering the wheel, while Diego and you were holding on for your dear lives. Ironically, the one who looked like he was the most scared - Diego - is the same person who was screaming at Klaus to go faster, and the only sane one - you - was discouraging your masters from becoming more reckless. At this point, Five and Luther were not surprised, just confused at the abrupt appearance.

The short brown-haired boy thought aloud, “What the hell are they doing here?”

Diego shouted as he closed his eyes and held onto his seat, “Go faster!”

“With pleasure!” The seance laughed maniacally as he stomped on the gas pedal resulting in the ice cream truck accelerating.

“I beg of you Master Klaus please don’t!” You pleaded as you finally understood why his driver’s license was taken away.

“It's a setup!” The hitmen began shooting up the ice cream truck and the defenseless numbers, the sound of their bullets echoing as they landed a hit on the truck. Swiftly, Luther used himself as a shield for Five as his brother hid behind him.

The colorful truck hit the assassins, they were supposed to be thrown backward and then rolled on the floor, yet they were frozen in mid-air the truck collided with their torsos but the after-effect never happened. The other stray bullets that were headed to both the ice cream truck and the two numbers were slowing down and then stopped altogether. Confused, Five came out of his hiding spot, whilst you were busy trying to process why everything froze, you tried to shake Klaus and Diego’s sides but neither of them responded. You were about to go outside the ice cream truck and check out what was going on when a new voice spoke up.

“Neat trick, isn't it?” Before Five there stood a tall sophisticated woman with silver hair: She wore a dark coat, sunglasses, and a small hat with a small veil attached to it, while carrying a briefcase in her other hand. With her free hand, she removed her veil and glasses to reveal her devilish expression that neither the sunglasses nor the veil could hide.

You froze up in your spot, your hand withdrawing from the car door. Even though you have never fought with villains by the Umbrella Academy’s side, this woman gave off the same air as the villains that the other Numbers spoke about as children.

“Hello, Five. You look good, all things considered.”

“It's good to see you again.”

You peeked from the car window, trying to hide your presence from both of them. You couldn’t help but be in awe of the small brunette. He stood before the mystery woman with his hands in his pocket, as though she was not a big threat. Though, knowing him, he was probably holding a weapon hidden in his pockets ready to charge at the woman when the opportunity came.

“Feels like we met just yesterday. Course, you were a little bit older then.” She joked then added. “Congratulations on the age regression, by the way. Very clever. Threw us all off the scent.”

The former assassin of the Commission merely rolled his eyes. “Ah, well, I wish I could take credit. I just miscalculated the time dilation projections, and... Well, you know. Here I am.”

“You realize your efforts are futile.” Five’s former superior faux a smile, “So why don't you tell me what you really want?”

The young man said, “I want you to put a stop to it.”

You felt a drop of sweat drip down your forehead as your face shifted into a look of disappointment; you expected more from Five, and that’s why you didn’t think he would resort to this. Though, you suppose you couldn’t blame him since at this point a lot of people were getting involved: the academy, Diego’s ex-girlfriend, and civilians. He probably assumed compromising with the enemy is the best solution for now.

“You realize what you're asking for is next to impossible, even for me. What's meant to be is meant to be. That's our raison d'être.”

The boy pulled out a gun and angled it to Handler’s head, “Yeah? Well, how about survival as a raison? ”

“I'll just be replaced.” The tall woman shrugged, her fake smile not faltering. “I'm but a... small cog in a machine. This fantasy you've been nurturing about summoning up your family to stop the apocalypse... is just that. A fantasy.”

Her heels clicked as she took steps to close in the distance between her and Five “I must say, though, we're all quite impressed with your initiative, your... stick-to-itiveness, really quite… quite something. Which is why we want to offer you a new position back at the Commission, in management.”

“Sorry, what's that now?” He chuckled in disbelief as he lowered his gun a little, obviously intrigued by the proposition.

“Why would they offer a job after his betrayal? ” You asked yourself, your brows furrowed at the mysterious woman.

“Come back to work for us again. You know it's where you belong.”

“Well, it didn't work out too well the last time.”

The silver-haired woman shook her head as she corrected him, “But you wouldn't be in the correction division any longer. I'm talking about... the home office. You'd have the best health and pension, and an end to this ceaseless travel.”

“You're a distinguished professional in-” The Handler looks down at Five’s uniform with a strained smile that was tempted to chuckle, “-schoolboy shorts. We have the technology to reverse the process. If Rossweisse came along with you, her blood could be of use to speed up the reversal process, and I heard she’s a good fighter, yes? She could be of use to the correctional division.”

The servant’s eyes widened as you straightened up a little, you were tempted to speak up and accept the offer so you could finally redeem yourself. But, Five’s words brought you back to reality.

The angry boy replied, venom seething through his words. “I’m the one you are offering the deal to, not her so leave her name out of your mouth.”

You slouched in your hiding spot and averted your gaze to your master. This was confusing… Why didn’t he just accept the offer? This way you could redeem yourself for your past mistakes and he would return to his proper age. It was practically killing two birds with one stone yet, he chose to discard a tempting offer. However, now that you think about it, there is a chance the commission would use that offer to their advantage but, if this was about not getting others involved anymore, it’s kinda pointless now… They need as much help as they can get to arise victorious from this apocalypse.

“I mean, you... you can't be happy like this.” The woman pointed out in a soft tone as she casually pushed the gun down.

Number Five insisted, his grip on the gun tight but the weapon was pointed downwards. “I'm not looking for happy.”

“Master Five please don’t lower your guard! ” You silently cried as you readied your retractable staff ready to intervene. Though, you were hesitating because every time you tried to help or obey an order it seemed like you always messed things up. The thought of not being of any use to the academy but, being the cause of chaos resulted in a tear running down your cheeks then another.

Tears began streaming down your eyes followed by your nose sniffling uncontrollably, you did your best to wipe your tears away with your sleeves. The irrational fear of the Monocle or the other Numbers seeing you like this was at the back of your head, you didn’t want to get caught- No, you can’t get caught. Not right now. The familiar wave of panic washed over you, more irrational thoughts flooding your mind as your rationality and sense of reality slipped. Your breaths came in short, desperate gasps that you struggled to quiet down but, it only grew louder. The feeling of your head pounding and your head spinning overwhelmed your senses that you couldn’t process what was going on anymore in the outside world; The only thing you could think of was that you had to stop, you were a mess. This is not how a servant should be acting, this is not what the patriarch of the household expected from you. Out of desperation, you dug your fingers into your skin to wake you up from your despair, whilst you used your free hand to bite on to muffle your cries.

Whilst you were spiraling in your misery, the high-ranking commission individual and the traitor were busy conversing.

“We're all looking for happy.” The cheeky woman’s smirk widened slightly, noticing that her target was faltering, and then she caressed Five’s cheek. “We can make that happen. We can make you... yourself again.”

The small brunette sighed and gestured to his siblings who were frozen in time, “And what about my family?”

“What about them?”

“I want them to survive.”

The silver-haired woman turned her head to check on Five’s siblings, “All of them?”

“Yes, all of them.” He confirmed with a firm tone.

“Even Y/N Rossweisse?” The woman wore a Cheshire grin as she tilted her head a little as though she was recalling something. “From what I recall in Vanya Hargreeves’ autobiography, she’s deemed like a servant and an outsider of the family. And the book even states you dislike her, you sure you don’t want to use the opportunity to get rid of her?”

The boy clicked his tongue, “Dislike is different from hate.”

“She may not be a Hargreeves but there are people out there who will cry for her. Heck, the others might get mad at me if they find out I abandoned her. ” He internally remarked.

Five may act like he does not care about anyone but, he is observant. He knows how close Diego is with you for your shared fear of needles, how close you were with Vanya because you always followed her around, how you always did your best to stop Klaus from causing any more trouble for himself and others, and probably Allison since she grew a soft spot for children ever since she became a mother.

“Well…” The Handler retrieved her glasses from her coat pocket and equipped them again, “I'll see what I can do.” She brought out her hand to Five, “Do we have a deal?”

“One thing.”

While time was still frozen, the brown-haired boy hurriedly grabbed the gun that Hazel dropped and removed the magazine then threw both of them in different directions. He then turned his attention to the bullet heading towards Luther’s direction then adjusted its course. Once he was satisfied with his work, he finally shook the Handler’s hand. For a brief moment there was a bright light and the sound of electricity zapping, when they disappeared time took its course.

You were so busy trying to calm yourself down that you didn’t notice that everything went back to normal. The orchestra tune of ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ continued its chime and the ice cream truck continued moving forward then, the truck collided with the assassins’ torsos, thus they were thrown a few feet away whilst groaning in pain. The stray bullets that were shot earlier finally penetrated the truck and missed Luther. The colorful truck kept moving till it crashed against the masked men’s car, resulting in Klaus and Diego being thrown back in their seats but, due to your position you were thrown forward consequently your head crashed against the dashboard which led you to pass out.

“Good God, Rosie!” Klaus hurried to your side. He carefully examined your state. You were bleeding, a large gash on your forehead as brittles of glass were lodged onto your skin with remnants of tears still present across your skin.

Panicked, Luther looked around because one of his siblings who had common sense just vanished. “Five?”

“Oh! Ow!” The man dressed in black cried out in pain.

Spaceboy frantically screamed, “Five!”

The dirty blond-haired man kept looking around for Five but, when he saw the hitmen began shakily gathering themselves despite being recently run over and getting hit in the torso. He turned his gaze to his family who were still in the ice cream truck, he noticed that they had not left the vehicle yet. They probably needed a distraction.

Luther shook the briefcase to catch the enemy’s attention, “Come get it!” Then he quickly threw it as far as he could.

The ape-man hybrid ran for the ice cream truck to assist his siblings, while Cha-cha ran for the briefcase and Hazel ran for the discarded gun. Once he arrived, he quickly scooped up your passed-out form in his arms as Klaus aided Diego to the other car. Oddly enough, they managed to assist the injured ones, while they were screaming their lungs at each other as they retreated to the car.

“No!” Hazel got a hold of the gun and tried shooting at them but there was no magazine, “Shit!” he grunted and threw away the gun out of frustration.

“Get in the car,” Luther ordered as he placed the knocked-out H/C maid in Klaus’ arms and Diego hurriedly scooted over to give you and Klaus more space.

The larger male went to the driver’s seat and hastily started the car, as his brother anxiously screamed. “Luther, go! Go! Let's go!”

When Number One finally managed to get the car working, the engines revved its excitement for their escape. When he pressed the gas pedal the tires began screeching and they finally left their perpetrators in the dust. From the back of the car, Klaus flipped off the hitman with two middle fingers, “Woo!”

“Damn it!” The man approached Cha-cha’s side to check on the briefcase but all they saw was random junk in the briefcase. The woman threw the decoy and kicked a random junk as she screamed, “Shit!”

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[itstheghostofmypast]

Simp For You

Five x (f)Reader

Genre: Angst + Fluff

Requested by: @imherefortea (birthday request)

Summary: Perhaps she had read one too many novels and classics, while romance was not part of the agenda, a hero was, one that would bring her a bouquet every morning, sing to her every night and love her for eternity. Emotions and love were mere signs of weakness, or at least qualities upheld by fools- Five Hargeeves was no fool, both logic and rationality were his tools, yet, for her, neither functioned properly. Yet, neither were willing to let up their beliefs nor were the two willing to let up on one another.

Word Count: 6k+

The thing with feelings and emotional representation were not attributes Five was against, but he felt the need not to express them to or for anyone. Especially since he had decided to travel back in time to proceed with saving the world- the only addition to his plan was Y/N, someone he had met back at the commission.

Although their first encounter was not when he had noticed her, in fact, he pretty much ignored her- not intentionally, but because she was part of the insignificant, someone who was just supposed to correct the timeline and hand him the files- do all his paperwork.

On the other hand, Y/N was unable to 'ignore' him, for the encounter that he considered as their first meeting was not their first meeting for her actually. In fact, before him being introduced to Y/N by the Handler, the girl had been saved by him a few days back, as such;

Today had been a shitty day at the commission, more paperwork, more mistakes to correct, more bad coffee- ew just ew, her entire day was ew. Not the best choice of adjectives but it was true, to top it all off, as she was walking to her residence -a cozy little apartment a few miles away from the Commission building- it began to rain. No, mother nature had perhaps tipped a bucket load of ice-cold water on her. Maybe it was the screams of the falling droplets or her blurred vision, but she was unable to hear the blaring horns of the bus driving right at her as she crossed the street. Much like every animal, she remembers freezing and staring at the bright white lights waiting for the angel of death to pull out her soul before the immense pain could hit her system. Fortunately for her, a second before she made contact with the metallic giant a flash of blue blinded her, after which she felt like she was being spun at unimaginable speed. 

"You okay?" Her eyes snapped open at the stranger's -good-looking stranger's- voice. She could sense an undertone of concern in his question, though his expressions showed more anger than concern of any kind. Perhaps because she was still in his arms and had shown no signs of moving.

"I- Uh-"

"I don't have time for this." he sighed before setting her down, patting his coat and looking around, "Try to look both ways while crossing the road, and oh- the pavement is used by pedestrians, not the damn road." with that and a flash of blue he was gone, leaving an everlasting impression on her. This was technically how they had met, not that he remembered, she believed he just needed her to remind him, he was a clever man after all. 

Unfortunately, even after THREE YEARS of working with the dunce he had not even batted an eyelash at her, let alone have a whole ass conversation. No hint, no comment, no compliment, nothing had made him even glance up at her from the paperwork she handed him before every mission. By the end of the third year, she had practically given up, he was no knight in shining armor sent to pull her away from her mundane life, he was not her Zorro or Hercules- three years of simping after a man who probably doesn't know her name gone down the drain, what a waste.

Perhaps that was what fate was waiting for all along, for her to stop trying. 31st December, New Year's Eve, a night where everyone gathers around, parties hard, does questionable things in the name of celebration, and often wakes up hungover the next day- starting the new year right. Y/N however, was never made for such loud parties or rowdy crowds because they were annoying and just stupid and she had no one to share her new year's kiss with- there it's been said, and honestly as pathetic as it may sound, it was the truth, the haunting thought that would linger at the back of her mind, but on occasions like these, it would come prancing forward to knock on her door every few hours. 

Metaphorically speaking, or so she thought because when there was an actual knock on the door, she glanced at the clock, 10.59 PM- she wondered if she had attracted a murderer to her apartment. Placing the bowl of raw cookie dough on the coffee table and pausing a rerun of her favorite sitcom she pulled on her cardigan, shivering at the cold air that her blanket had been protecting her from for the past few hours.

Opening the door she came face to face with what an author could describe as the most 'annoyed' face in the world. Five Hargreeves in the flesh, standing there in all his suit-cladded glory, frowning at her, eyes boring a form of annoyance that could scare off just about anyone, but she wasn't just anyone. She was his filer, his desk worker, his partner- which was exactly why when he found a mistake in the file she had left at her desk for him, he decided to go ask the slacker if she would prefer to quit herself or have him report her to the Handler.

"Mind explaining this?" he slams the file in her chest, as she caught with an uff, "Thought you were better than the rest of the slackers," huffing he stuffed his hands in his pockets, before looking around at the apartment's door frame then the corridor then peaking over her head as she read the file, into her apartment- simpleton. He thought to himself before glancing back at her, watching her mumble to herself as she read each line, her eyebrows knitted together as she licked her bottom lip, a habit of hers, something she'd do when she was concentrating. The first time he had noticed it, he had thought she was flirting with him, much like the many other desk freaks did, which led him to turn even colder to her, only to realize after a while that this was a habit, rather than an antic to get into his pants. Nonetheless, he was still irritated by her carelessness-

"Umm...Mr.Hargreeves."

"What?" 

"Where did you get this file from?" She asked, totally confused.

"From your desk. You left it for me there-"

"No...I didn't, you had no missions for today and...I took an off today, did you not...notice?" she trailed off at the end with a defeated sigh, handing the file back to him, and giving him a tight-lipped smile.

"Why would I notice that- who put it on your desk then?"

"Probably the person who wrote it." sighing, arms crossed she leaned against the doorframe.

"What-"

"Not that you noticed the change in writing style either, this was written by Beatrice." She motioned towards the file, "It's in a faded beige file and it's typed in black ink. I type in blue ink and use black files or envelopes unless we're sending it to you through the pipes. My guess is she had a date with her field agent, considering he does know she exists and thought of putting it on my desk, knowing you'd probably pick it up and the train engineer is supposed to have a heart attack before the express mail train slams into the other upcoming one, he doesn't fall asleep. If I'm correct you or well Brian- Beatrice's field agent was supposed to induce a heart attack, enabling the tragedy of Ogden, Utah to occur." 

"Oh." was all he could manage to say.

"Indeed, Oh." with that she straightened up and nodded at him, "Happy New Year, Mr.Hargreeves." before closing the door, only to be stopped by his hand as he pushed it open. 

"Wait, but what about- you need to come to the Commission and file this correctly."

"What? No, are you kidding me?"

"Clearly, I am not, the timeline is important-"

"Not really, time is irrelevant here." She shrugged, "And anyway, it's her file, her fault, just slap it back on her desk and-"

"I'm not asking, I'm telling ya!" He snapped at her, causing her to flinch, biting her lip to hold back the rush of emotions, she had never imagined him using such a tone with her, let alone yelling at her. She took a small step back, shaking her head slightly, staring at the floor, the angelic, god-like image of him shattering in her mind. Not only did he not recognize her work, but also thought she'd make such a mistake, and he had the nerve to come up to her apartment and yell at her.

"What is the matter with you?" he groaned, checking his wrist watch, "We don't have much time-"

"What's my name?" she muttered, catching him off guard.

"What?"

"I said, do you know my name?" she asked, tears threatening to fall at any given moment as she glared at him through glassy eyes.

"What is the point of that question, of course, I know your name, it's -" he paused, thinking to himself before shaking his head at something and blinking away with a flash. 

Sighing in defeat she finally closed the door and went back to her couch, wrapping herself in the warm, heavy blanket. Three years of working together, of writing his reports for and after the mission, adding a small 'tips' section and sometimes maps of areas he could rest or eat at just because she thought that's what a good partner would do- three years of time wasted on a partner who didn't even bother learning her name.

Jolting awake at the sound of something falling followed by a hiss she fought off the blanket that had somehow put her in a chokehold. Finally managing to push it off she gasped for air, only to lock eyes with forest green hues, emitting a, "WHAT THE F***"

"Happy New Year to you too."

"WHY ARE YOU HERE- DID YOU EAT ALL THE COOKIE DOUGH?"

"Well, I came to tell you I had to file the report myself, no thanks to your stubborn ass and complained about Barbra or whatever."

"What-"

"Also, Y/N, what kind of fool do you take me for?" He asked, sitting crossed as he side-eyed her while watching TV.

Frowning at his question she scooted further into the corner of the couch, "So ya read my name of the file-"

"No you desk worm. I've known your name since day one." He sighed, turning to look at her cocooned form, feeling somewhat guilty as trailed off, "Just didn't realize how useful those tips were."

Her ears perked up at that little compliment, instantly threw off the blankets, and stood on the cold floor, hands resting on her hips as she let out a smug huff, "Well then, guess we learned something today, didn't we?"

"That you're a lonely worm? I already knew that though." 

"You can be mean sometimes Mr.Hargreeves," she muttered looking at the screen and then at the clock, it was an hour past midnight, what a way to start the new year.

"Anyway." Getting up he patted the invisible dirt of his clothes, "I'll see you at work tomorrow, and I prefer if you call Five. Mr.Hargreeves makes you sound like a gold digger." Before she could react he blinked away, sowing the seed of a relationship that was soon going to blossom into a full-blown field.

The best thing to come out of that weird night was that much to everyone's amazement, Five had begun to warm up to his  'desk worm'. More importantly, he would sit at her desk after missions, as she wrote the report. Usually, he'd be drinking his coffee, watching her type, pitching in a few details from time to time, and earning a comment from her. Many, including the Handler, had tried to eavesdrop on their conversations, for getting Five Hargreeves to say or talk in any decent manner was next to impossible.

Herb had forgotten his wallet at work, so decided to head back to the Commission. Naturally, he had expected the place to be empty, minus the security guards, but was amazed to enter the workplace to find Y/N laughing at a Five who seemed to have been glaring at her, face flushed. So, like any nosy little office worker, he hid behind the wall to listen to them.

"I did not save you."

"Yes! You did! I can't believe you didn't remember me!"

"Why didn't you tell me then?"

"It's embarrassing."

"Well, they do say never meet your heroes."

"They're right, I thought I was miserable. No, Five Hargreeves has it worse."

"Welp, that's the last time I will converse with you."

Herb heard a chair screech followed by her laughter, causing him to panic.

"Wait! A gentleman is supposed to drop the fine lady home!" She said grabbing her purse and linking her arm with the taller man, looking up at him with those shiny expectant eyes, earning an eye roll from him, though he didn't pull away.

 The two walked out of the office, passing by SMALL GUY who was hiding behind a file cabinet, bickering about tomorrow's mission and other useless topics one could think of.

Y/N didn't care how long it was taking to peel off each layer or break down every wall he had built around him, she was just glad that he was letting her to do it. Five on the other hand was extremely conflicted, on one hand, he had his own plan and on the other his heart had begun to slowly blossom every time he was near her or thought of her. When he joined the Commission he had planned on going solo for the long run, no friends meant no liabilities and no lover meant no weakness- or so he thought.

If it wasn't her obnoxious laughter that would get his heart racing, it was the unasked-for, but somewhat welcomed, touches. From the way her fingers would brush against his while handing him a file to the night she held his hand to comfort him when he had 'accidentally' ended up telling her about how much he missed his family. That cursed night at her apartment had his brain ready to fight his heart-forcing him to spend the entire night awake in the guestroom. 

Regardless, he had always been a firm believer in "You may not be able to control your emotions, but you can control your actions." That is until she turned 29, well, technically it wasn't her age that had affected his policy but her simple invitation to a bar for some "birthday drinks", sure did a number on his rationality. All he remembered from the merry little event was the low-cut dress that she had chosen to adorn that night and that they may have had a drink too many, cause after she purred out his name, he blacked out. The next morning he woke up with a massive headache and her next to him. 

Not the way he had ever assumed he'd start a relationship this way, but then again he had never thought he'd be in one in the first place.

The first thing he had to learn while being with her was that they were very different. He was blunt, rude, and straight-up obnoxious (words of other people, not his), she was polite, considerate, and to some extent a bit too nice. Another thing about her that he had to embrace was the difference in love languages; he would consider small gestures, like making her coffee or arranging her files at her desk- barely anything physical. Y/N on the other hand loved physical affection, from cuddling to holding hands to just sitting next to him, close enough for their shoulders to touch. At first, it would bother him, the lack of human contact for all those years had him irritated by the thought of love. To some extent he had assumed that this was a tactic to assert dominance, a routine conducted by the Handler- but over time he had realized how her actions were genuine and filled with love. 

Love, she loved him, and to his surprise when the first time the words 'I love you', had been uttered to him, he had instantly responded with 'But I can't love you.' leaving them both standing there in the middle of her apartment, staring at each other.

"Oh-"

"Wait, I - Y/N it's not like that, I-"

"It's okay Five- I mean it's not okay okay but I- " she paused, vision turning blurry before sniffing to hold back her emotions. 

He reached out to touch her only for her to take a step back, "Y-you can go if you want, I'll clean up myself-"

"That's not what I meant." His voice held a certain edge to it as he watched her clean up the place where they had been watching a movie- the movie now forgotten. He was pissed, more at himself than her, it's not like he had asked her out, she did and he had other plans too and- all his thoughts came to a halt when he heard glad shatter followed by a yelp. 

Blinking into the kitchen he saw her standing next to what appeared to be a broken glass, holding onto her other hand that was bleeding.

"Shit."

"It's fine, just go." 

Blinking in front of her, he gripped her wrist, staring at her. Glaring up at him she was about to retort but when their eyes meant. Now, as sappy as it could sound, she could literally see an internal argument swirling within his forest hues- she knew that look. The look he'd give when he would be trying to outdo his heart in a battle with his 'logic'.

"Five."

"Wait. I'm thinking."

"About."

"You know what."

"You don't have to force yourself to love me-"

"I'm forcing myself not to."

That was all it took for the two to realize how he had confessed back to her, admitting he had felt the same way about her. 

"Why?"

"No, you'll be in danger and become a liability and I have other plans and-"

"You'll be happy for once?"

He doesn't remember the last time he had ever let his heart win against his mind, but perhaps the reason for the argument siding with his heart made it easier for him to rule it out, allowing him to break free from the restraints that had held him down ever since he had time traveled. 

Although they were ready to move onto a stronger and more important change in their relationship, he had been ever so kind to set ground rules;

"Rule number one, you will do as I ask if we're in danger, your life matters more than anything."

"Rule number two, you will STAY PUT, and I mean it, none of that hero shit."

"And most importantly, if I ever disappear or am no longer here, you will move on."

Simple right? 

Not really.

For at that very moment, the Hargreevs were staring at their 13-year-old brother arguing with another teenager, who had fallen out of the portal behind him, in the kitchen.

"Umm...number Five-"

Not now Luther. I have bigger fish to deal with-"

"Why are you mad?!"

"WHY AM - OH MY - GOD YOU - "Everyone in the room could see the boy malfunction until he paused, taking a deep breath he exhaled and looked at his siblings, "What's the date?"

"Five I-"

"Not. A.Word," he growled, not even sparing her a glance.

"But-"

He shushed her by placing a finger on his lips then pointing with that same finger with his brows raised, seething out a "Silence from you."

That was the first time the siblings had seen their brother in a long time, and it horrified them how he had turned into a worse nutjob than they had imagined.

...

After the little kitchen fiasco, Y/N was instructed by Five to stay in his room.

"WHY ARE YOU LOCKING THE DOOR!"

"Clearly because you can't be trusted. Nor can the idiots outside, so make yourself comfortable or something." He yelled from over the door and stomped back down the stairs to get a cup of coffee.

"What're you looking for?@ Klaus asked, feet perched up on the table, "Scratch that, who's that wee lass locked up in your dungeon of a room?"

Clicking his tongue he threw another empty can away, "My wife- well, that's it, gonna get myself a cup of coffee"

"Excuse me? Your what?" Allison spat, arms crossed as she looked at him with raised brows, causing him to turn around and glare at her, "What part of that statement was unclear to you?"

"I mean I'm just amazed someone would even go out of their way to spend more than an hour with you, let alone marry you." She snorted, glancing at Diego who entered the room.

"Heard you got divorced by the way." Smirking at her scowl he blinked away. Initially, he was going to go get coffee but then the thought of locking her upstairs was bothering him even more, which is why he blinked into his room, only to find her tying up his bed sheets. 

"What are you doing?"

"Redecorating."

Cue him dragging her to the doughnut shop with him, grumbling his way there as she swung their hands back and forth, "You never listen, I mean I told you- we've been married for so long and-"

"Oh look we're here."

The argument did erupt until the two were actually sitting and waiting for their coffee. 

"Rule number three..." Five glanced up from the map the man had made for him on the napkin, noticing how his wife was just staring ahead as she began speaking (never a good sign), "What about it?" he muttered casually.

"Did you always plan on leaving me behind?" 

"I-" he paused, causing her to look up from her doughnut, was he really going to not answer her again, if she hadn't jumped into the portal behind him, he would've just left her, wouldn't he?

It amazed her how well he could still easily shut her out, even after being married for so long, sometimes she would feel as if she was completely bare in front of him, while he stood there, layer upon layer, gazing at her with an air of mockery. 

"Five I-" she was cut off by the sound of the bell, pausing when she felt him grab her hand and give it a little squeeze. She could hardly react before she was blinked out into the back of the shop. 

"Wait-" he grabbed her face and looked at her, trying to console the pain in her eyes, "I'll be back, don't move." before blinking away.

That was the first time she had experienced the adrenaline, the fear, and the anxiety that came with the job, being a desk worker had protected her from all these things, he had protected her from all these things, but now that she was here, she had begun to understand why he wanted to leave her behind. To some extent she had wanted to apologize to him, beg him to leave her behind so he could carry out his task, but on the other hand, she knew she couldn't survive without him, she needed him to be able to live on. 

"What do you mean to leave you?" he asked, as he stared at her, the two were making it back to the house. He was holding onto her hand, pulling her closer ever so often.

"I mean, I understand if you want to leave me behind, " her words stung him more than she could ever imagine, but she could see that as soon she glanced at his furrowed brows, eyes sharp as he stared ahead. 

"You say that so casually, yet, you're the one who made me believe in love," he whispers to himself, entering the quiet Hargreeves mansion, hopeful that everyone was asleep.

"I- no, Five, what I mean is, I now understand what you meant when you said I'd become a liability." she pulled on his hand, only for him to slip it out of her grasp and go to the mini bar, grabbing a bottle and glass. He was in no mood for this conversation,  no mood for her insecurities, no mood for her selfless nature. For once he was glad that she had decided to be selfish, to follow him here, sure, he wasn't happy about her being put in danger, but feeling her next to him, knowing she was with him, especially after the commission sent people for him, made him realize how even if he had left her behind, they would’ve gotten to her- doing God knows what to extract information out of her.

"Five, please talk to me." 

Klaus slowly peaked up from behind the couch, a lover's quarrel was more entertaining than listening to Ben yells at him.

"What do you want me to say Y/N?" he sighed, pouring himself a glass, "Please enlighten me, what happened for you to follow me here but then" He took a swig f his glass, gulping it down in one go before slamming it on the counter, smacking his lips as he glared at her.

She flinched at his tone, he had never used that tone with her, let alone yell at her. "I-" words caught in her throat she looked at the ground, gripping the ends of her coat's sleeves, "I just...thought...maybe- I mean I." her words dying out as the rush of emotions finally started taking over, one of the many things that made the two different.  While he was a being more composed than the statue of Buddha, she was a whirlwind of emotions, moments away from breaking loose. The only thing the two did have in common was their ability to bottle up their feelings. 

"Aw no, little girl, don't give up." Klaus whispered, earning  a "shush" from Ben who was standing next to Y/N then looking at Five, "Klaus, defuse this situation, say something so they stop arguing."

Shaking his head in response he leaned back down on the couch, he wanted to see the drama, not a part of it. 

Sighing in defeat she looked at her shoes, he was right, why did she follow him, why did she decide to put him in more danger than he was already in, why was she making it more difficult for the man who had saved her numerous times - at this point, she was sure it was the raging teenage hormones, because the moment he called out her name again, with that sweet, calming tone, she broke down, sinking to her knees.

Five watched her struggle with her words, he knew he was pushing it too far, not once in the time of being with her had he done this. Usually, because she was the more upfront one out of the two, saying what was on her mind, asking for what she needed, doing what she felt was right, like how she'd throw away the file he'd be reading after coming from work, "prepping for the next mission"

"Woman! I was reading that-"

"Come to bed, it’s a simple mission, we've gone through worse."

We, that's what was bothering him, since when did they go from "We" to "i", "me" or "you". Singular pronouns were barely part of her vocabulary, so what had happened for her to suddenly say this? Was he scared? Of course, he was afraid, he had been with her for so long, relying on her for so long that the thought of her leaving midway may have bud some form of separation anxiety. Yes, he had wanted to leave her behind, but perhaps those three seconds he spent staring at the portal, back in the 60s were him waiting to see if she would follow, or at least come looking for him. Hypocritical, it was, but he had never claimed to be some saint, he was a walking canister of red flags. It was her, she was the pure one, the proof of innocence and humility, if anyone out there deserved true, ultimate happiness, it was only her and if the world was not always at war with him, he would've spent time trying to give it all to her.

He looked at her, wanting to continue but froze when he saw her crumble before him, instantly blinking next to her as he held her close, whispering nonstop apologies. Kissing the top of her head,  heart squeezing when he felt her grip on his jacket, mumbling how much she loved him but was afraid. 

"I know you are. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, my love." 

That very night- when Klaus was knocked out Ben saw a different side of Five, one that he had not seen even when he was alive, the way Five was holding onto her, assuring her of how much he loved her but would also keep her safe, how sorry he was that he dragged her into this. Ben had never known Five to be one to give value to emotions, let alone use any words of comfort. 

It was safe to say, over the next couple of days, Ben had developed a certain bond with the girl, not that she knew he existed, but he felt like he owed it to Five- or rather he felt like Five deserved to have that ounce of security and happiness kept safe and alive. Sometimes Klaus couldn't find him, he'd call him but he wouldn't show up, he'd look for him, call him out had him thinking his powers were losing their effect. In actuality, Ben would be following her around, while she would make little trips to the library to find books for Five or sometimes the doughnut shop to get something. He knew she wouldn't know about him, perhaps he wanted to befriend her, someone who was not a Hargreeves, someone who was not a freak. So, he was content, watching over her like a guardian angel, even if she didn't know he existed

Or that's what he had thought.

"It's all right, I'm fine, I feel safe with you," she said buckling up in the truck, the one they had just stolen, and fixing her attire, the first thing she had done after coming to the sixties, got a pair of pants, after following Klaus catfish old rich women, and create a cult- technically that wasn't how hippie culture had come to being, her inner 'desk worker' kept on reminding her, but since their arrival had already messed up the time, might as well lets these people do whatever they want.

"Why thank you, that brings me great joy" Klaus chided, as he stepped on the gas, the beads on his weird beard jiggling.

"Not you, Ben." She said simply, flipping onto the page she had bookmarked in her book, the only activity that would remind her of her husband.

"I- who?" Klaus squeaked, Ben, who was sitting in between the two gasped, turning to face her, "Yo, did she just-"

"No, I can not see him, but I know he's here, I read about all of you, from the diary your father wrote- snagged it off Leonard, so, I figured out, the mysterious feeling of being watched came was not me losing my mind, but that your brother never crossed over." She mumbled, turning to another page, "Thank you, Ben, I'm sure Five would appreciate it."

"You sure are something, doll," Klaus muttered as he saw Ben smiling like a five-year-old child who got that very special toy he wanted.

It was after this confession that she wanted to see Ben and get to know him better, Five had told her about his siblings but had mentioned how Ben was one of the most innocent ones. That's why she wanted to meet him, something she told Five, a few minutes before they were going to go back to their usual timeline.

"You know, I saw you die." He whispered, sitting next to her on the stairs of the porch, looking at the bodies, "I almost broke my promise."

"Almost" she smiled, reaching for his hand, gently placing her head on his shoulder, playing with his fingers, "I knew you'd save me, oh, by the way, did I tell you, Ben has been my guardian angel all this time."

"I had a feeling," he whispered, bringing her hand to his lips, pressing them against the back of her hand, "Glad you figured it out, my clever little desk worm."

"When did you figure it out?" She asked, pulling him up to his feet as she stood up too, going to where everyone was not standing in a circle, "When you told me about the book floating above your head, you would've loved him if you met him."

WRONG

"Five!" she gasped, ducking when a tentacle almost hit her, missing her but almost hitting Five who had blinked away. 

"Nice to see you too Ben" he yelled, sitting on the top of the railing, "Mind not aiming at my wife, she's not like us."

For a split second, Ben stopped, glancing at her before nodding towards the exit, "Scram kid, and get a new boyfriend."

.

"So, that was Ben?" she asked, pressing a napkin against Five's bleeding forehead.

"An asshole, yes." Klaus groaned, staring up at the sky, "Is it me or were they better than us."

"Who were you kissing by the way," she asked, both lost in their own little world, "You" he responded simply, ignoring the headache and the way Allison was screaming at him to figure this out.

"Hey, love birds, what do we do now?" Diego asked as the lot walked out of the park, pausing to look up at the billboard of the Sparrow Academy. 

"Find a place to rest and think?" She said, tugging on Five's hand who was focused on something else, "Hmm? yeah, sure."

.

"What are you, a commie?" Diego groaned, as Five flopped on the bed, ignoring him before mumbling something and knocking out, knowing Y/N was in the same room as Vanya and Allison.

Y/N had left the sisters alone, they seemed to be having a moment, and she did not want to be part of it. She had decided to take a shower, changing into some sweats she had bought with a card she had swiped off someone on the streets, pickpocketing was one of the only few tricks Five had taught her- never how to hold a gun though, said she was too pure for it.

Making her way down to Five's room, she heard the boys shuffling and arguing inside,

"Fuck- KLAUS, I said chocolate!"

"It is chocolate my bro- only with a dash of-"

"Hey Five, where do you want the presents?"

"By the table you big ape."

"Klaus, please get a decent cake."

Cake? Opening the door, which as per expectations was unlocked, she met with 4 pairs of panicked eyes, a pair belonging to her husband in a bathing gown, squeaky clean. She could see some balloons on the ground around a table, on top of which was a reddish cake, poorly wrapped boxes on the other end.

"Surprise~" Klaus sang weakly as Five face palmed, Diego hiding the gift he was holding in his hand behind him, Luther just standing there frozen. "What are you - what is happening?" she asked, entering the room, before looking around.

"Its- I thought you were asleep." he muttered going over to her as he held her hands, "Happy birthday my love." he smiled, kissing her forehead, "I'm sorry I didn't remember earlier, I don't know how it slipped my mind." he muttered, "I didn't get you anything special but-" he paused when he felt her envelope him in a hug, almost crushing the air out of him as she let out a small sob.

"Aw, don't cry" Klaus clapped from behind them as Five pulled her away, wiping her face with his sleeve. "We're here." Victor declared as they entered the room, Allison behind him, "I brought the pastries, which weren't cheap by the way- are we late?" She asked, eying Y/N who was busy unwrapping a gift.

"No, Mrs.Five Hargeeves was early," Diego said as he took the box of treats from her, and placed them on the couch. 

She gasped at the mini journal, flipping through the empty pages, ready for her to fill. Caressing the blue leather, she didn't know what she'd fill it with, but she knew by the end of the year it'd be filled to the brim. Honestly, she was surprised about how he remembered this, their little tradition, admist this chaos, he'd get her a journal each year, for her birthday, telling her that even if he was not there anymore, their memories would be engraved in letters, ones she could go through whenever she missed him. She didn't know when she had begun crying, only realized it when she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up to see Five, smile at her, not his usual cheeky confident self, but a smile of reassurance, one he gave her when he had rejected her confession, when the two had realized a child could never be part of their marriage when they had lost their little turtle.

"I'm sorry." he whispered, only for her to shake her head, "Please don't be, I'm just glad I'm with you."

"So am I."

None of them really knew what was going to happen to anyone, what was going to happen next, if there was ever a moment for them to find their own happy ending, but at the end of it, she knew that Five would find a way. She believed in that blindly, after all, he was her savior, he was her knight in shining armor sent to pull her away from her mundane life, he was her Zorro or Hercules- her idiot husband. Her one true love.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A/N: Thank you @imherefortea for requesting this and an EXTREMELY BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I am so sorry for how long this took- it's a shit load of, I lost motivation, and I thought since I missed the deadline I'd write something longer to my laptop stabbing me in the back like Brutus. EITHER WAY- I hope you like it and thank you so so so so very much for being this patient with me.

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[ar3-y0u-l0st]

》 🅃🄷🄴 🅄🄼🄱🅁🄴🄻🄻🄰 🄰🄲🄰🄳🄴🄼🅈

Requests: Open / Closed

"There's no such thing as good guys and bad guys, there's just people"

- LUTHER HARGREEVES

- DIEGO HARGREEVES

- ALLISON HARGREEVES

- KLAUS HARGREEVES

- FIVE HARGREEVES

You're my favourite drug

- BEN HARGREEVES

- VANYA/VIKTOR HARGREEVES

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

(*) Will not, under any circumstances, write smut

(**) If you're into them then I won't deprive you ig

[pumkshrark]

Bones seen enough tt and made an edit in season 5 in general, he killed me, but this does not negate the fact that I dance furiously under him

[hihomeghere]

Meet The Family: Part of the Tesoro Series

Five Hargreeves / F!Reader

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Of what?” Five asked exasperated.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“How long were you there?” Luther asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Heart failure, huh?”

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

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

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

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

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

-

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

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

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

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

“I’m tired.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“No! Never!” You say waving him off.

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

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

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

“Yes sir.” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I’m an asshole.” 

“Yep.” You say nonchalantly.

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

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

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

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

[middleearthpixie]

Can you please write a fic where Thorin falls in love with a human girl, but he thinks she is disgusted by his looks? 🙏

Hi there, Nonny!! I know it took me forEVER, but here you go and i hope you like it! 💜

The Harp

Summary: You and Thorin are friends, but then you find out his feelings for you run deeper, and he’s holding back because he feels he is not good enough for you.  

Pairing: Thorin x fem!Reader (post-sack of Erebor, pre-quest for Erebor)

Warning: None. Just fluffy fluff

Rating: G

Word Count: 4.7k

***

He came into the dining room at the same time each evening and always sat at the same table—the one in the far corner, which was also the darkest corner of the room. He was polite, but kept to himself and you noticed how he always sat with his back to the wall and rarely did his eyes pause from scanning the room. 

The other diners eyed him with just as much suspicion but then again, they all eyed each other with suspicion as well. It was second nature to this lot, as they came from all four corners of Middle Earth. No one was actually from Emyn Vanya. No, every warm body had come from somewhere else to this tiny village on the outskirts of everywhere and yet somehow in the middle of nowhere. Some came to start over. Some came to forget. Some came to do both and some were just passing through. But everyone was from somewhere else and almost no one wished to discuss where that somewhere else might be.

You couldn't help but notice him, for he was a dwarf and the Grey Gander did not see many dwarves in their dining room. And not only that, but he was a handsome dwarf, to boot, with black hair, touched here and there with hints of silver, that spilled over his shoulders in a long tangle of curls. His most striking feature was his eyes, however, for they were the most piercing shade of icy blue you’d ever seen. There was a hardness within those pale eyes, one belied by his polite demeanor and deep, if soft, voice. 

Night after night, this man came in alone. He sat alone. He spoke to no one other than you when you approached to take his order, just as you did this evening. He was polite, if reserved, and spoke only when absolutely necessary, which was an interesting change from the patrons who grew louder and more opinionated as they dove further and further into their cups. 

“Welcome back,” you said with a smile as you approached him. “Might I fetch you a drink to begin?”

“Thank you. A tanked of ale would suit.”

“Of course. And do you know what you’d like or are you still trying to decide?”

He looked up at you with those striking eyes. “The hunter’s stew.”

His order never varied and you were certain you could just bring him a bowl of the stew without asking, which was why you couldn't resist a bit of playing with him. “I think we should start calling that your usual. Perhaps we should change it on the menu itself.”

That earned you one of the dwarf’s rare smiles. “I am not so certain that is necessary.”

“Well, you’ve been in here eight of the last ten nights and have yet to order anything different.” You couldn’t help teasing him. You sensed a hint of sadness in him, one that might explain the hardness in his eyes. And while it was a bit of a risk, teasing this man you didn’t really know, you had to admit, his smile made the risk worthwhile.

“But,” you added, taking your teasing further than you normally did, “you would have to tell me your name first. I certainly cannot ask to rename it Dwarf Stew. That would give the wrong impression, don’t you think?”

A darkness flashed through his eyes and you knew you’d overstepped. Your mind raced as you struggled to come up with something to smooth over his obviously ruffled feathers, knowing your employer would be furious if your flippancy drove away a paying customer. “I mean… that is… I apolo—”

“No,” he interrupted softly, shaking his head, “there is no need to apologize. And you’re right, it would sound odd. So, I suppose then, it would only be fair to tell you my name, wouldn’t it?”

Your heart beat a little faster at that. Perhaps it was but your imagination, but his voice sounded lower than it normally did. Lower and bit growlier. Had he, by any chance, noticed you the way you’d noticed him?

No, that was madness talking. Very few people noticed you aside from being their serving girl. You tended to blend into the background far too easily and since so many people in Emyn Vanya were only passing through, they paid little heed to you.

Still, that didn't stop you from replying, “It would, yes.”

To your surprise, that earned you a laugh. A genuine, honest-to-goodness laugh and one that sent flutters through you as it rolled across the small table in your direction. Like his voice, it was low and silken, and those flutters made you forget your own name for a moment.

“Very well,” he nodded, his eyes meeting and holding yours, “I am Thorin.”

You offered your name in return and added, “It’s wonderful to make your acquaintance, Thorin.”

“And yours as well.”

Heat climbed into your cheeks and you ducked your head, saying, “I will be back in a few moments with your ale,” you hesitated, then added, “Thorin.”

“I will be here.”

Thorin sat back as you darted off and couldn't believe his cheek. What had possessed him to even think to flirt with you? Your interest had to be only because he was a paying customer, because there was no way a woman as beautiful as you could possibly be interested in him. 

The first time he stepped into the Grey Gander, he’d noticed you at once, noticed how easily you smiled and joked with the tavern’s patrons. Your laughter was a silvery melody that made everyone turn in your direction and smile even if they had no idea what it was that made you laugh. 

He noticed everything about you—from that amazing smile and intoxicating laughter to your beautiful eyes and easy grace with which you moved about the crowded dining room. You never seemed impatience, or irritated, and even when someone gave you a hard time about something, you never lost your temper and somehow managed to defuse the most volatile of situations. 

The second night he’d come in, he’d witness such a scene, almost reaching for his sword, propped against the table, when the giant of man actually grabbed you by the arm. He had no doubt he’d have intervened if you needed it, but you didn’t. You smiled at the man as you peeled his fingers from your wrist and very sweetly informed him that if he touched you again, you’d turn him from a rooster to a hen in one fell swoop. 

It was at that moment, Thorin lost his heart.

A foolish notion at best, as you would never feel about him the way he did you. Why would you? He was a dwarf. He had no home. He had been in line for a throne, but now supported himself by moving from place to place, taking work where he could find it. 

That was what brought him to Emyn Vanya. His trade was blacksmithing and the village needed one. So, there he was, in the dining room of the Grey Gander, admiring you from afar and wishing he stood a chance at winning your hand. 

It was just as well, for what did he have to offer you? A king with no kingdom was no better than a pauper, really. Not to mention, he certainly couldn’t compete with the men of Emyn Vanya, who were all taller, slimmer, and far more attractive than he certainly was. You would be a fool to even consider him.

But, he watched you from afar, watched as you moved from table to table, how you brought a beaming smile to the face of an old crone, how you soothed angry children bickering over a toy, how you made a crying infant smile by making silly faces until they could do nothing else. 

How you focused on him as if he was the most interesting man in the room and not, for lack of a better phrase, a homely, homeless refugee. 

If only…

He sighed as you approached with a tankard in one hand. His heart beat so much faster when you met his gaze. His mouth went as dry as the plains between his lost kingdom of Erebor and the city of Dale after the dragon Smaug torched it from one end to the other.

You set the tankard before him. “Your supper will be ready in but a few minutes, Mr. Thorin.”

Mr. Thorin. He smiled, shaking his head. “No Mister. Thorin is just fine.”

“Oh, well that wouldn’t be proper now, would it?” Your eyes almost sparkled as your easy smile curved your lips. “After all, we only just met.”

“This is true,” he nodded, reaching for the tankard. Then, on impulse, he added, “Perhaps you might join me one evening?”

You looked taken aback and he immediately berated himself silently. You fool! What is wrong with you?

But then you smiled. “I think I would like that. I have an off night tomorrow. Would that work for you?”

He was stunned, not only by your agreement, but by your suggestion. No woman ever approached him that way. He’d always been the one to ask. You were bold and he admired that. So, he nodded. “That would work just fine for me.”

“Wonderful. What time?”

“Half seven?”

“Half seven it is,” you told him. “And I’ll be back in but a moment with your supper.”

****

What were you thinking? How could you just blurt out an invitation to him that way? He must think you a harlot, or a wanton woman for doing so. 

But at the same time, as you smoothed a hand along your skirts, you had to admit, you looked so forward to seeing him without having to wait upon him. It was a nice change of pace for you. A break in the monotony of your life that was work, sleep, and more work.

You’d told him where you lived, a rundown little flat above the florist’s shop, and at half eight, when the knock came at the door, you nearly jumped clear out of your skin. Then, laughing at your foolishness, you hurried to the door, before he thought you’d changed your mind and left. 

You smiled as you pulled open the door. “You are early.”

“I allowed myself extra time in case I found myself lost. I’m still new to these parts and this town takes a bit of getting used to.”

“If you remember the streets run east and west, and the avenues run north and south, you might fare better.”

He bobbed his head. “I would, but there are three florists on this street alone.”

“It is a very competitive business in Emyn Vanya.”

“So I’ve noticed.” 

You hesitated a moment and then stepped aside. “Come in.”

As he stepped over the threshold, you tried not to dwell on how shabby your flat was, with its scratched and scuffed hand-me-down furnishings. After you paid your rent and made certain there was food on the table, there was not much money left for luxuries such as nice furniture. Normally, it didn't trouble you. This was your home and you thought it cozy, if a bit rundown. But, when you tried to see it through Thorin’s eyes? 

You saw exactly how awful it must have looked to him. Threadbare sofa. The armchair had a hole in the cushion thanks to a broken spring, which meant that not only was stuffing peeping up from the hole, one received a nasty poke in the backside, should they think to sit there. 

And of course, there was that awful water stain in the far corner. You had no idea from where it had come, only that no matter how much you tried to paint over it, it bled through. You’d given up trying when paint fell into the luxury category.

But, he reached up for the frogs at his throat and then whisked his cloak off to drape over his arm. “This is lovely.”

Lovely? You looked about, wondering exactly what he found so lovely about it. “It’s a bit… ah… worn, don't you think?”

“Lived in, is how I would describe it.” He smiled at you. “Homes should be lived in. That is how they become such. Otherwise, they are but houses, flats, nothing more than buildings.”

You looked back at him. “Lived in?”

He nodded. “Lived in.” 

Then he looked back at you and for a moment, you were rendered speechless. Did he have any idea whatsoever as to how handsome he truly was? Because if he did, he certainly did not act as if he did.

Of course, you kept that to yourself, especially when that night, a deep friendship was born. You had dinner together on the nights when you weren’t working. You spent off days together, sometimes running errands with each other, sometimes just doing nothing. He had a knack for the acrostics printed in the village newspaper and the two of you spent your share of days or nights looking up which answers you thought would work. It didn't matter. He had quickly become your dearest friend and while you loved that, you’d also begun thinking that perhaps there was a bit more to your relationship than only friendship.

It was too bad he’d never given any indication at all that he saw you as anything more than a friend.

So you stayed quiet. Autumn gave way to winter and the Yule holiday was only a few days off when you made your way to Thorin’s forge at the northern end of town. A bitter cold wind whipped down the narrow alleyway where his shop was located and you didn't have to look to know you were near it. The carved wooden sign identifying the forge creaked on its hooks as it swung in the wind. Through the swirling snow, you could still make out the word etched into the wood. 

Blacksmith

Beneath that word, Thorin had carved symbols as well, and when you’d asked, he’d smiled and explained that they were a language called khuzdul, which was his native language, actually. He’d attempted to teach you some of it, and showed nothing but patience as you fumbled over seemingly simple words. Little by little, though, it became easier and left you wishing you had something like that to share with him. 

But then you found something. One night, over several goblets of wine, he confessed that he once played the harp, but had lost his when he’d lost his home, but that was all he would say about either the harp or what happened to his home. So, you’d saved a bit of your pay each week and put it aside and then went to the music shop at the far end of town and found what you’d hoped would be a suitable replacement harp. It wasn't a big, grand instrument, as those were far beyond what you could ever hope to afford, but you hoped he’d like it the same. You couldn’t remember the last time you were so excited and impatient to give someone a gift as you were this one, which was why you braved the worsening weather.  

So there you were, at the far end of a gray-shingled building with a roof in need of repair, listening to the almost melodic sound of metal striking metal. The closer you drew to his workshop, the warmer the air grew and as you rounded the corner, a blast of heat hit you square in the face. It was a welcome sensation as your cheeks felt quite numb from the cold. 

He had his back to you and heat shot through you at the sight of him, shirtless in deference to that blasted heat, the muscles in his back and along his shoulders bulging as he held a piece of iron in one hand, a hammer in the other. The clang rang through you when he brought the hammer slamming against the iron, again and again and you couldn't help but just stare. 

Your eyes roamed over his naked back, heavy with obviously well-earned muscle, and inked with black lines of varying sizes that covered his entire shoulder, stretched across his back, and into the opposite shoulder as well. You had no idea what the symbols and lines meant, but they looked very similar to the ones carved into the forge’s sign, so your guess was they were dwarfish runes or words.

The heat in the forge was brutal regardless of how cold it was beyond the walls. Sweat prickled along your back as you stepped closer. You didn't want to startle him. The iron with which he worked began with an orange glow, but slowly, as he pounded it flat, the glow faded and when he set down the hammer and used a pair of tongs to pick up the flattened piece and thrust it into a tub of water, steam actually rose from the tub.

“Thorin?”

He jumped, letting go of the tongs as he spun around and now heat shot up into your cheeks at the naked chest you found yourself staring at. Like his back, his chest was just as broad, with black hair swirled from one nipple to the other and down across his belly. More symbols had been inked across it, meeting with the design on his left shoulder.

“I am so sorry,” you stammered, tearing your eyes from that impressive sight to meet his startled blue eyes, “I was trying not to startle you.”

“What are you doing here?”

You hugged the package close. “I had to go and pick something up and thought while I was out, I’d stop by.” You peered around him, at the iron still resting in the water. “What are you making?”

“A sword.” He reached for the towel draped over the workbench and swept it across his forehead. “You should not be in here. It’s far too dangerous.”

“I will come no closer then. But tell me, who commissioned the sword?”

“No one. It is mine. I work on it when I’ve a bit of free time.”

“Might I see?”

“It’s not even close to being finished.” He came around the bench and stood before you. His black hair was damp at the temples. 

“You don't have to stop on my account, you know.” You took a step closer to him, the urge to reach out and touch him so powerful, it nearly overwhelmed you. You wish you had the courage to tell him how you’d come to feel about him, as you’d had when you’d left your flat. You’d left there full of fire and determined to confess your feelings for him, but unfortunately, by the time you reached his forge, that courage evaporated like the water in the tub had. 

“It would be rude of me to continue.”

“Not at all. I think it would be fascinating, watching you work.” 

His gaze shifted slightly to his left and you followed it to see what he looked at—a heavy dark gray henley lay draped over a chair by his desk. Without thinking, you shifted the package to one arm and reached out to catch him by the upper arm as he stretched for his shirt.

“Wait, don’t,” you said, shaking your head.

“Don’t?”

You nodded. “I—what is this?” You traced your fingertips along the thick black lines curving his shoulder, unable to believe your own brazenness but unable to halt your touch as well. 

“It’s my… my… it’s a raven,” he managed, his voice deep and huskier than usual. He cleared his throat. “The symbol of my clan, and my family crest.”

You could not keep yourself from tracing along those lines as little by little, the image of a raven wearing a crown slowly showed itself to you. You’d held back from telling him how you felt for so long, now that the opportunity to perhaps go beyond friendship had presented itself and you were not about to let it slip by. But… you had to be careful. It was a delicate matter and that called for delicate handling. The last thing you wished to do was destroy your friendship with him.

With that, you lowered your hand “It’s lovely.”

“Thank you.”

“This is for you, by the by.” You pressed the package toward him. “I know Yule isn’t for several more days, but when I went to pick this up, I grew far too impatient to wait.”

He stared down at it. “What is it?”

“Well, you have to open it to find out.”

He took the package and slowly unwrapped it and then just stared, his blue eyes growing shiny as he murmured, “How did you know?”

“You told me, silly.” You nudged him with your shoulder. “Remember? We were talking about how my neighbor plays the harpsichord and how awful it sounds and you told me you once played the harp. So, I asked Mr. Trumble if he could find me a harp for you and he did me one better. He made this.”

“He—” those blue eyes met yours, wide and incredulous—“made this?”

You nodded. “He did, indeed.”

He gazed down at the harp, and then back at you. “I—this—this is beautiful. I thank you.”

“There is one condition to it, however.” You nudged him once more. “You must play it for me.”

“Oh, I couldn't now. I’d be far too rusty.”

“Well, once you flake off all the rust.”

“Fair enough.” He offered up a smile brighter than any you’d ever seen from him. “You shouldn’t have done this, though. Save your wages, don’t spend them on me.”

“I didn't mind.” You shrugged as if you spent that kind of money all the time. “And it’s Yule, so it was but a small sacrifice.”

He stepped closer. “This is the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me, you know. I will treasure it. And you.”

And with that, he leaned in and to your surprise, pressed his lips to yours. You froze at first, caught by utter surprise, as this was the last thing you’d expected him to do. For one maddening moment, you wondered if perhaps you were just imagining it.

But then, his lips moved softly against yours and your toes actually curled in your sensible boots when he brought his hands up to cup your face, and you knew that this was, in fact, actually happening. And how wonderful it was! The sensations that rippled through you were soft and sweet, the crisp, coarse hair around his mouth tickling at first, but then you found you didn't mind it so much as it was a caress of its own. 

Your head did a slow spin, his kiss leaving you lightheaded and when your hands came to rest on those massive upper arms of his, your fingers pressed into muscle that greatly resembled stone of their own accord. You were afraid your weak knees might buckle on you at any moment.

His kiss was slow and sweet, teasing and gentle and when his lips parted and his tongue swept gently along yours, your head spun even faster. A rush of heat swept through you. Your lips tingled. Your heart beat harder and faster and it took every bit of will you had to not melt right into his arms. 

When he drew back, his eyes were soft, swirling with an emotion you couldn’t quite place and he seemed as breathless as you were as he murmured, “I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time now.”

“What?”

He nodded. “I do and I did and now I just want to do it again.” Then he paused, a hint of sheepishness creeping into his smile, into his eyes, “Unless, of course, you’d rather I didn’t.”

“No, I’d not rather that at all,” you told him, smiling as you curved a hand against his cheek. “In fact, I’d like it very much if you would do it again. And again. And I think you should keep doing, no matter where we might be.”

A low chuckle rumbled up from the depths of his chest. “So, I am not about to send you screaming into the snow?”

“Hardly.” 

“Are you certain? I mean,” he rubbed his bearded jaw ruefully, a sheepish smile coming to his lips, “I know people whisper about me and poke fun at me behind my back.”

“They whisper about you because they are fascinated by you. And no one pokes fun at you. I know they think you’re quite an excellent smithy, judging by what I’ve heard. And I won’t even tell you what the women say about you.”

To your surprise, his sheepish smile faded and a darkness came to his eyes. “I can only imagine.”

“Have I said something wrong? I thought I was complimenting you. Do dwarves not like to hear how handsome they are thought to be?”

“Handsome?” He snorted as he shook his head. “That’s kind of you, but I’ve seen my own face and that is not how I’d describe it.”

“Well, perhaps you should but have Mr. Sinclair examine your eyes, for you are not only handsome, but very handsome.”

He stared at you, clearly not believing a word you said. “Thank you, but you are just being kind, as you’ve been since we met.”

“Thorin,” you caught his hands in yours, “I’ve been wishing you’d notice me as more than simply your friend, that you’d kiss me, and perhaps I’ve been too brazen in taking the first step. If you wish me to leave you alone, I will.”

“Leave me alone?” His eyes went wide and he shook his head once more. “No, no, I don’t wish that at all. In fact, I—”

A scarlet flush swept up into his cheeks and he went quiet. You waited for him to continue, your heart hammering away at your ribs. All you wanted was for him to pull you into his arms, to tug you flush against that massive chest, and kiss you until you forgot your name.

“You what?” you asked softly.

“I lied. About the sword.” He smiled then. “It’s for you, actually. For Yule. I meant it to be a surprise.”

“For me? But I don't even know who to wield one.”

“Worry not, for I will teach you. When the weather breaks.”

“You did this for me? You would do that for me?”

He nodded. “I would do anything for you, you know.” His eyes softened then as he smiled. “I love you.”

This was the last thing you ever expected him to say and you could only stare at him for a long moment, as your stupid brain forgot how to process words. The best you could muster was a whispered, “What?”

“I love you. I’ve been wanting to tell you for some time now, but how could I when I thought you would be embarrassed to be courted by me. So, I relegated myself to knowing we would only ever be friends, but now…”

“Embarrassed to be courted by you? Are you mad, Thorin? Are you absolutely and completely mad? Because you would have to be to think any woman alive would be embarrassed to be courted by you.” You shifted to wind your arms about his neck. “And no one has ever made something for me. At least, not something as beautiful as a sword. So, if I didn't already love you in return, I would have most definitely fallen at this moment.”

He smiled. “So, all this time, it would’ve only taken a sword to win your hand?”

“I’m a very simple woman, Thorin. You should know that by now.”

Your heart skipped a beat as he eased his arms about your waist, pulling you flush against him. He leaned closer, his lips just brushing yours as he murmured, “I’ll keep it in mind.”

You tried to think of something witty to reply with, but then his lips met yours once more and rendered words unnecessary.

***

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[ghysry]

okay but i seriously have been mulling over this for ages and have not voiced it whatsoever but imagine instead of them idk DYING i wouldve killed to have a season where they band together to assassinate their dad lols and redo everything so they end up great and alive and in their own timeline where the apocalypse never happened and vanya got her violin first chair fairly with christmas dinners and celebrations together andUGH

Saw the first and second part of your ask (if I'm certain that's the first and second part) and I think it's a pretty good idea (+ Angst easily flocks to us🙏)

Tagsies: FIVE ANGST....No reader insert for this one folks.

Diego & Five sibling fluff at the very end guys trust trust me it's not heartbreaking at all

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

"Do you know who we are? Do you want to know who I am?"

It's a strange thing; his family. He doesn't know exactly what they are to him, well, no, he does - they're his family, the people he bared through the apocalypse for, the people he now rarely sees on Sundays. They agreed to it before, always meeting up on Sundays under the big old oak forest that replaced the daunting mansion they grew up in across different timelines. First, Viktor cancelled his plans sometimes, then always, then they rarely saw his face around anymore. Not that they blamed him, not really, all of them did it too. One by one, they'd cherry pick the best times to cancel their plans and make up varyingly worrying excuses on how they wouldn't make it to the outing this time, or next time, or ever.

Five likes to think he doesn't ask for a lot, he likes to think he doesn't ask for anything at all. Never once in his life, after the first time he asked for something, did he ever do it again. Because what he asked for was freedom, and when he first did he was thirteen. He came back to the present as a fifty-eight year old man stuck in a teen body, with a vow to never ever even think about asking for something, so when he felt the ever growing hole in his chest consume him whole and collapse into his chest when one by one his siblings kept cancelling, he kept his mouth shut and went to the big oak forest on his own. Sometimes he feels childish, because instead of growing up and compartmentalizing it like he always does, this time he solves it by curling up under a tree and trying to silence the world with a shut of both his eyes.

He also likes to think he blames his father for everything that happened. But he doesn't - not that he can't, he does have the ability to, and he should; that much he knows, but he won't. He carries the blame for everything that happened on his shoulders, and every little mistake goes straight into the ever growing black hole in his chest that has already consumed him. He can't blame his siblings, they act the way they act because of their father, but he can blame himself. He, of course, had the least problems out of all of them, just going through an apocalypse, being turned into a human weapon, hunting down and killing thousands of people..it doesn't phase him, not one bit. So why does this phase him?

Where'd all his siblings go?

It felt like they ran away from him. Blinked out of his life and got stuck in their own personal future where they have families to take care of and friends to meet up with, so he also buried himself in work, found a good job that accepted his face and appearance along with his skills, stopped visiting the oak tree, stopped curling underneath it, stopped asking where his siblings went; he was making progress. He thought. The good kind of progress where you're changing the world for good and all. He made friends, kind of. He'd rather stick to co-workers than calling them friends, but he talks to them and they talk to him so the world feels a little less lonely but it doesn't feel enough, either.

Now, surrounded by his siblings, he could stop asking where they went. The first thing he noticed was a scent in the longue they sat in, acorn, burns to smell, artificial. He's sure acorns don't smell like that, he's tried to eat plenty when he was in the apocalypse - it never worked. The only reason they were together again was because, against all conventional means, they needed to kill their dad and Five told them it would save the world. The wandering eyes convey a story, like they've definitely played this play before, heard this tune before, seen the show..they get it, no matter how many metaphors Klaus has to say to try and brighten up the room. Five is just glad they didn't bring any of their kids here, the look on his siblings faces was daunting.

Five, out of anyone, would know that his siblings, though they do blame their father, cannot kill him. No, the twitching in their hands and the sideways look they give to the plant in the corner trying to avoid the topic says so, it's loud, embarrassingly loud - so he comes to one conclusion. He kills the father, it ends. When he planned it out, it honestly felt better in his imagination, the bloodshed, finally killing the man who has plagued his siblings for so long, finally freeing them of their abuser, but for some reason it didn't. It just felt worse, and worse, and worse. Every time he looked down at his hands he'd see the blood, the blood of his father, the blood of the man who was supposed to raise his siblings,

Of the man who was supposed to raise him.

He sat on the edge of the chair this time, hair tussled with restlessness, eyes almost blurry from having stayed up so long, for so late, for how long? He doesn't remember, nor does he really care. He's been spiraling for days and he feels his insides turning out and his lungs expanding when he exhales - his hands are too still, too still, there's too much blood, too much, and there's someone behind him, and..

"Five?" Diego's voice rang out in his head, he takes a pause to acknowledge it, trying to figure out if it's actually his brother calling out to him or just a projection inside his head that feels too real. The hand on his shoulder and the jolt causing him to jump up only slightly, though, further proved his hypothesis - yeah, it's Diego. He doesn't respond, not yet at least, he has to try and come up with a reason as to why he's been staring at his feet and his hands for hours now, and why he jumped at the feeling of someone's hand on his shoulder. He doesn't feel real yet and it's troubling him, like a big cinder block has made it's way to the black hole in his chest but somehow, even with all his calculations about this kind of problem, the cinder block manages not to get sucked in, and instead of a hollow feeling, there's just something weighing on his chest and his ribs this time.

And Diego, instead of waiting for an answer, takes his time to slowly but surely wrap his arms around his brother. "It's okay, I know," does he? "I know." He does.

[aintitfierce]

a doodle

i'll scan it in Properly eventually. i want to try coloring it first ghhfie

i've been thinking vanya might be kinda cute with even more fluff

[atom-writings]

Sleepy cuddling with Ivan :3c

(HWS Russia x Reader) Sleepy Affection!

(Gender Neutral) Scenario ~ A/N WAIT THIS IS A A THOUSAND WORD.S WHOOPS. UM. IM NORMAL ABOUT RUSSIA (LYING LYING) I HAVE NOT BEEN DREAMING ABOUT THIS FOR YEARS (LYING I AM A LIAR I AM LYING)

Trigger Warning: None, just Fluff!

Meteorologists had predicted a large snowfall. While you had told Ivan that you would leave before it got too bad, that plan ended up dead in the water. Or more accurately, dead in the snow. Before you knew it, the ground nearly rose to your knees. That’s fine, right? It’s really no problem, staying with your boyfriend. That was… until the power went out… along with the heat.

He tugged on your shirt lightly, rubbing the collar between two of his fingers. In the background, the fire crackled quietly. The scent of a warm fireplace nearly drowned out your boyfriend’s faded cologne. He always smelled faintly of roses, something close to what you’d find in your grandmother’s home.

Months earlier, you recalled him mentioning that he had lived in this home for centuries. Which, to be fair you could’ve guessed. Normally it would be nothing more than an annoyance, how it creaked and groaned keeping you up at night. But now, its ancient architecture meant you two had nothing to worry about. The fireplace meant you two could make it through the night in comfort.

So there you two lay. A short distance away from the fireplace cuddled up on an old mattress he had dragged downstairs. On top of you lay layers of quilts and ratty old blankets, all of which smelled of must and people you’d never meet. 

“Крошка? Are you still awake?” His voice startled you out of your thoughts.

“Yeah…”

“Why?” He readjusted himself, sitting up and facing you.

“W-Why? This isn’t the ideal situation to sleep in, Vanya.” You replied, looking up at him in confusion. He paused for a minute, lost in thought, before reaching out and holding your shoulder tightly.

“I understand. We just have to get through one night. I am sure your hotel will have the power back by then, and you will be alright.” 

He laid back down, “Will you let me warm you?” 

A light pink rose to your cheeks, and you rolled to look away from him. Sure, you had been plenty affectionate with each other before, but nothing like this, “If you’re fine doing so… aren’t you cold too?”

“Of course. But I have been cold many times before,” Ivan responds as he presses himself against your back, “Besides, I cannot help but be slightly delighted by this arrangement.”

“You’re happy about this?” Your tone rises.

“As I said, only slightly. It reminds me of many nights I have had before.” He wraps his arms tightly around your waist, drawing you closer. You can feel his hot breath on the back of your neck, along with his eyes resting intently on you.

“I would have thought that an immortal would try to ignore any memories. Don’t they just make you sad?”

“Sometimes, yes. The world has changed very much. But I try to not let that bother me. It is all about looking on the bright side. Years ago, I could not have been seen with you. But now…” Ivan leans forward, laying his head in the crook of your neck. “We can be here… together.”

Smiling to yourself at his sudden affection, you begin tracing light patterns on his arms. Quickly, you hear him sigh, muffled by your neck.

“Be the romantic all you want, I still want our power back at least.” You joke.

“Really? I do not mind.” 

“Psh, of course, you don’t. But I’m a little used to the comforts of modern life.” He returns your playful tone with a smile.

“I enjoy this. It reminds me of nights spent with my old family. We would have to sleep like this often in the winter as well.” Although he smiles, you can hear his tone drop.

Although you had been dating for almost a year now, he rarely talked about his family. You had gathered that he had sisters… at least one… and maybe a brother at some point. There were pictures of this home, filled with people, placed everywhere throughout the home. Yet, they never seemed to be the same people. And anytime you would become curious as to why he would brush your questions off.

“Your family?”

“We never had much money. I was lucky to receive this home from the Tsar many centuries ago. It protected us well.” He lets go momentarily, just to grasp for your hand as his voice falters. 

You wiggle out of his hold, turning around to face him. His eyes soft, lost in memory, suddenly transfixed on you as you grabbed his hand. He leaned into your touch as you caressed his cheek and squeezed his hand tightly.

“It’s nice to know you have happy memories with them. Whenever you mention them usually, you seem so sad. I can’t stand to see you like that.”

Ivan closes his eyes, relaxing his tense face. “Those are not happy memories. It makes me sad to think about those why we had to huddle in those winter nights.”

“Then why did you bring it up?” Your face turns to concern as you begin running your hands through his soft, silvery hair.

“Because I am not sad right now. Regardless of how it reminds me of my old family.”

“H- Why? I know I would be upset if I were you right now.”

He opens his eyes, staring intently into your own, “Because I have done this with my old family,” he smiles lovingly, “and now I have done it with you.” 

As you look up at him in confusion, he simply draws his quilts tighter to the two of you. Grinning, he continues, “I did not think I would ever do this again. It means that even in this world I do not always recognize, I will still find my new family.”

Bringing your hand, still tightly holding onto his own, up to his face, he kisses your knuckles lightly, “You will be my new family. We are together here, like I was once with my family, and that is all that matters, любимый.”

Despite the intense emotionality of what he just declared, his face betrayed nothing but peace. “V-Vanya…” you pause, “I love you.”

“I love you too. While you sleep, I will make sure you are safe.” He put one hand behind your head, pulling you forward to kiss your forehead.

“Thank you, my love.” You say before closing your eyes, leaning back into his chest.

“Сладких снов,” he whispers, before falling asleep to the crackling fire himself. With you safe in his arms, everything felt just as he had wished it to be for centuries.

[madebyrolo]

Ignoring Prank / Five Hargreeves

She/her pronouns

Fluff

Enjoy!!

____________________________

Y/n's POV

I went over to the Hargreeves mansion while the team was out training because I was bored and I wanted to wait for five and the others to hang out. It's been an hour and I was thinking after having a peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich and pretending to be apart of the academy while using Alison's extra uniform(god you would do it too don't laugh.) you know what would be fun to do, a prank. And what better sibling to do it on then the most. mature ,serious,stern,angry eyebrows Hargreeves sibling (and my lovely boyfriend) five.

Even tho five may seem like a though guy, he is a MAJOR lover boy in private. I know that after a long day of training he's going to want to cuddle and just want some love and comfort. Thinking about it, this prank might be too mean....Yolo.

-Time skip 30 minutes-

I hear the door open and there faint voices which mean it's go time.

I walk down stairs and start to greet everyone but five. Since Klaus and Ben are literally my besties go up to them first.

"OMGGGG KLAUSYYY I MISSED YOU" I say while giving him a big hug.

Five notices but you are bestfriends and klaus can't really be competition because he's five and Klaus is, well yk Klaus.

"Y/N/N YOURE HERE FINALLY. BEN NEEDS SOMEONE ELS TO HANG OUT WITH. He's

So clingy girl....." he says while hugging back.

"I heard that" said Ben

"You were supposed too" Klaus responded

"Klaus leave Benito alone. You just don't appreciate him like I do" I said while giving him a peck on the cheek and a hug.

I know what I was doing.

Five sees this and he doesn't think any much of it because you guys are also besties.....right?

After Y/n says hi to the others (expect for five), she goes upstairs with Klaus while Ben takes her by the hand and they follow Klaus.

-Fives POV-

Diego whispers a snarky comment  my ear "woah Benito getting girls who would've though..."

"Shut.up." said I with a Locked jaw.

"Diego leave five alone y/n and Ben don't have something going on." Said Luther

"Yea they're just friends. Me and Luther are like that" Alison said but that didn't help because everyone knew there was something between them.

"I'm just saying Ben and y/n have been getting closer. They're always doing their own things and running off to his room" said Diego

That got me thinking. It's true what Diego is saying. They've had their own special connection before we started dating. Did y/n ever have feelings for Ben and does she still have them?

"Diego enough stop it. He's just messing with you five" said Vanya attempting to ease my thoughts.

"You're right! I'm just probably jumping to conclusions. They're just close like Luther and Alison...." Diego said while leaving the room.

With that comment I felt a pit in my stomach.

My face fell. Is y/n cheating on me? She didn't even say hi to me and she ran off with Ben.

I blink into my room.

-in fives room-

still his POV

I lay down on my bed and just think. Does she not love me anymore? Am I boring her? Is ben better then me? How is that even possible ? He's quiet,shy,kept to himself ever since he was young but never around y/n. Whenever she was here he would just change into this whole different person. That's what y/n does. She lights up a room. Her confidence,her energy,her smile,her personality, her eyes. Everything about her is perfect I can't blame Ben for liking her.

-Y/n's POV-

It's been like 5 hours and I still haven't seen or talked to five. He's been in his room this whole time. I feel bad. Does he know I'm ignoring him? (He obviously does you're his girlfriend.)

It's getting late and I'm sleeping over so I head to fives room.

-entering fives room-

I see him laying in his bed. I can't tell if he's sleeping or not but he doesn't sleep till 10 and it's 8:45 pm rn

"Hi love" I say  but I hear no response.

I get in bed with five and I try to cuddle with him but he just stays still.

"Fiveee" and still no response

Who knew my ignoring prank would turn into him ignoring me.

"Five I know you're not sleeping talk to me"

"Go talk Ben."

So that's what this is about.

"What do you mean?"  I tell him

"What I mean is that you guys are way closer than we are." He says while sitting up.

"You guys are clearly perfect for each other. You guys are practically glued to the hip and you've just hung out out with him for 5 hours instead of me, your boyfriend"

"Five are you seriously jealous of Ben?" I said

"No it's the fact that you completely ignored me all day and expect me to be fine with it. I'm your boyfriend. Not Ben." Five responded.

I move onto his lap and cup fives face

"I only want you. I love you five. You're my boyfriend and the thought of me being with anybody els doesn't even exist in my world. Don't you ever think that I would leave you because I wont. Ever I swear." I say while I kiss him.

He kisses me back and we just continue for what seems like forever.

"I'm sorry y/n. I don't know why I jumped to conclusions. It's just that Diego got to my head and..."

"Diego. You seriously listen to Diego? The dude who treats his knifes as a gf. He cares for those knifes more than his own siblings."  I say trying to lighten the mood.

Five smiles at the comment

"There's that smile."  I say while placing kissing all over his face"

After I good make out shesh we end up cuddling asleep. I will NEVER tell him that was a prank because I know he would try to get me back and it would be 100x worse.

_________________________________

After a year I’m back 🥹

It’s summer break so might start writing again

[star-sim]

plushies and pouts ☆ riki nishimura

☆ non-idol! boyfriend! riki x fem! reader ☆ summary: that one time that riki punched your plushie and you got mad at him. ☆ genre: fluff!! riki has beef with your plushies #loser ☆ warning(s)? n/a!! ☆ word count: 1.2k ☆ can't get bf! riki outta my head good lord

"Look, Babe, I'm sorry—"

The silence was piercing. You didn't even spare him a glance, only ignoring Riki as you quietly snuggled up into your pillows (and not him, who was laying mere inches away from you).

Riki wet his lips. 

"I didn't mean to," he continued, reaching for your hand. You shot him a glare and jerked your hand away before he could even touch you. 

"Don't say that to me," you snapped, your tone harsh and cold. "Say that to the person you hurt."

With that, you turned back to your phone, scrolling away and ignoring your boyfriend, you lips painted with a small pout.

Riki sighed.

Just minutes ago, the two of you were all over each other, lips connected as you hungrily kissed each other. 

Today was supposed to be one of your lazy days spent with Riki. The moment that Riki texted you that he was here, you pounced on him, crashing your lips against his almost immediately. He loved it when your fingers tangled in his hair, pulling it gently as your plush lips pressed soft kisses along his jaw.

Riki hadn't seen you in a week or two, courtesy of grueling schoolwork. 

How was he supposed to stop himself from getting too eager?

Riki eyed the Strawberry Rilakkuma (aptly named Kkumi) plush strewn across the floor, its round body faced down.

You had two policies for Riki when it came to hanging out in your room.

Policy #1: Respect all your plushies. That means to not hit them, to not call them mean names, and to treat them with kindness. 

Policy #2: If you and Riki were going to do anything on your bed, whether it be making out or cuddling, you had to turn every plushie around so that they wouldn’t have to watch. According to you, you and Riki were your plushies’ parents, so it would be traumatizing for them to watch you and him make out.

Listen, Riki usually followed your rules perfectly. He treated all of your plushies with kindness.

But with his hoodie draped over your shoulders, with the way that your perfume was filling all his senses as you pulled his hair, with the way that you were all pressed up against him giggling into his ear while pressing sticky kisses against his neck— How could you expect him to stop all of a sudden just so that he can cover your Rilakkuma plush’s eyes?

"Riki—" you had murmured against his lips, your hands sliding down to his shoulders to give them a squeeze, "Riki, wait—"

He had ignored you, only gripping your waist to pull you even closer. 

"Ri—"

Riki cut you off with his lips, relishing in the way you let out a squeak. You melted at his touch, rendered completely helpless, something that made him grin against your lips.

And just as he thought he successfully shut you up, you swiftly pulled away from him. You were breathless, your pupils blown out yet filled with desperation. 

"Kkumi's watching," you breathed, swiping your tongue over your bottom lip as if that didn't make Riki's stomach do flips. Who was Kkumi again? Oh, it was your Strawberry Rilakkuma plush.

Riki clutched your chin, leaning in to kiss you, but you pushed him away. 

"Kkumi is a plushie," Riki rasped, bringing up his large hand to cup your cheek. "He can't see a damn thing."

"Kkumi is our child," you furrowed your brows, poking him in the chest. "Imagine if you saw your parents making out."

Riki shrugged.

The next moments were a blur.

Riki reached across your lap and grabbed Kkumi the Strawberry Rilakkuma plush. With one hand, he threw the plushie into the air, and with the other, he smacked it down to the floor, sending the plushie across the room. 

A shrill scream ripped from your throat as you watched in horror, your beloved Rilakkuma plushie wallowing on the floor below you. 

"Riki, how could you?!" you immediately jumped to your feet, picking Kkumi off the floor and cradling his poor face against your chest. 

"He's a stupid plush," Riki murmured, frowning when you shot him an offended look.

You scoffed. "He's not stupid!"

"He is."

And that's how Riki found himself you-less, all cold now that you were ignoring him.

Fine, maybe he went too far throwing and punching your plushie, and maybe he shouldn't have called it stupid, but it simply wasn't fair! Your plushies got to see you everyday and sleep with you every night, and he didn't.

He glanced at Kkumi the Strawberry Rilakkuma, his eyes hardening at the darn thing. Was he seriously going to apologize to it?

Riki's eyes flickered over to you, the upset pout on your lips. Oh, how much he wanted to kiss them right now. You'd whine and push him away, but Riki knew that you'd melt. Still, he knew you were serious. You took every and all matters related to your plushies very seriously.

Riki sighed. Making sure that you were looking, he got up to his feet, stalking over to Kkumi on the floor. He grabbed the plush's face and held it by the ears, taking a good look at its fabric face.

"I'm sorry," Riki said through gritted teeth, (not-so-)sneakily peeking to see if you were watching. "I'm sorry for hitting you and calling you stupid, Kkumi."

He waited a few seconds. Surely you'd let him kiss you again after this, right?

"Kiss his forehead," you ordered, your arms crossed over your chest.

"W-What?"

"You heard me," you rolled your eyes. "You've been a bad father. That's your child there."

Riki stared at you incredulously. You only stared back with a quirked brow, almost as if you were testing him. Riki sighed once more.

The things that he did for you.

Riki brought the bear's forehead to his lips, pressing a kiss to it. Riki could hear your judgy eyes, so he took it a step further. 

Awkwardly petting the plush's head, Riki robotically, though gently, said, "I'm sorry for being a bad father. I'll do better in the future."

Riki whipped his head over to you for approval. You narrowed your eyes quizzically, before you took in a deep breath.

"Do you forgive me—"

"Fine," you muttered, opening your arms. "I forgive y— Ack!"

The moment that those words came out of your lips, Riki jumped on you, nuzzling his face into your neck.

"I missed you," he murmured against your skin. 

"It's been ten minutes," you flicked his forehead gently, though your hands took their place in his hair.

"Well, it was the worst ten minutes of my life."

You didn't say anything else, so Riki took that as a sign to snuggle up even further against you, his large body draping over you. You were so warm, and soft, and comforting, Riki couldn't imagine living another moment not close to you. He felt so calm. Maybe it wouldn't hurt if he just closed his eyes a little bit, after all, you were with him, engulfing him with your warmth.

Slowly, Riki drifted off, with nothing but the image of you in his head.

(Though, a few hours later, when the both of you woke up, you went to grab a glass of water for the both of you. Riki made sure that you were nowhere to be seen as he raised his fist towards the many plushies lining your bed, punching them square in the face. Sorry, he loved you, but his beef with your plushies would be endless.)

[d1ana-m0nd]

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

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

➢ Description : A Q&A video with Y/R/N and Aidan Ghallagher featuring a special guest that no one expected.

➢ Word Count : 2,390

➢ Links : Masterlist && Character Profile

➢ Note : Not gonna lie, I am uncomfortable about writing a real person 😭, well, real people in general. That's why in this fanfic, Mr. Gallagher may come off as OOC. So please don't be surprised that I focused more on the reader's chaotic energy to contrast with Mr. Gallagher's tame personality. For the record, Y/R/N means your real name.

Q&A with Aidan Gallagher and Y/R/N ft. Special Guest

Aidan Gallagher smiled, his dimples defining his cheeks, and smiled, “Hey guys! So today we will be having a Q&A again with Y/R/N.”

The actress beside Aidan wore a big smile, she raised her hands and her limbs while the stool she sat on was unbalanced which ended up with her falling on her back. “Ow! Ow!”

“I already warned you, so I’m not even gonna bother saying it.” The brunette chuckled lightly, as he assisted his fellow co-actor to stand up.

“Shut it, Gallagher.” Y/R/N rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the camera, “Anywho, the Q&A will be brief since there were only two questions sent to us.”

The actor noticed the co-actor wore a slightly disappointed look, prompting an amused look to settle on his face. “I thought you didn’t want to stay in the studio that long.”

“I mean, yeah, I don’t wanna stay that long,” She rolled her eyes along with the card she was reading, “But, why does my manager get a lot of questions!?”

“It's not my fault, I’m more interesting than you.” A voice behind the camera called in, prompting the actress to flip off the bird at her manager. Conveniently, the camera cuts off.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

The brown-haired male read the question out loud, “So the first question is from @groovydazephantom - My question for both Aidan and Y/R/N is whether they have played any pranks on each other or have they played a prank together on an unsuspecting victim?”

“This doesn’t count as a prank. One time, my manager and I were making maruya, it is called ‘banana barbeque’ in English, and well, Aidan walked in on us making them. He asked what we were making. And at the time, I was not paying attention to the conversation because I was watching over the bananas, though my manager had a brain fart at the time. After all, she forgot what maruya was called in English so she just said ‘vegan barbeque’.” The girl recounted as she struggled to bite back a laugh.

“Imagine my surprise when I found out that the barbeque was very sweet.”

The actors laughed in unison, Y/RN was leaning her arm on Aidan’s shoulder as she was laughing as the boy covered the lower part of his face and used his free hand to settle on his thigh. Once they both calmed down, the actress retracted her arm from her friend’s shoulder.

Aidan answered, “Though to answer that question, we have never played any pranks on one another. Well, not intentionally, at least.”

The (your hair color) haired girl read it loudly. “Moving onto the second question, the second question is from @inkedeye2345 - I have a question for Y/R/N and Aidan, do you guys romantically like each other, or just in a friendly kind of way? Cause I kinda ship-”

With a confused expression on her face, the actress turned to the co-star. “Am I too affectionate on camera, enough for them to misinterpret it?”

“Well, I can see why they would misinterpret it but,” The actor grinned at his friend, “You're just physically affectionate. Behind the scenes, Y/R/N is very affectionate with the other actors and staff, she gives surprise hugs from behind or tackles them with hugs. That’s why most of the posts with Y/R/N are just her holding onto someone or hugging them.”

“Well, besides me being physically affectionate to my co-workers and my friends. Please remember that we are friends first, and coworkers second, who are working in the same show, so we would appreciate it if you did not ship us so our working environment isn’t affected. You can ship the characters we play as because, obviously, they are meant to be each other’s love interests but, please don’t let your shipping be overwhelming to the point that it affects our careers.”

The brunette looked at the actress mildly surprised though he seemed proud but, instead took advantage of the situation to tease her. “Oh wow, I didn’t think you had a brain in there-” The girl got off her stool and was ready to wrestle him then, the cameras cut.

ㅤㅤㅤ❲ T H E ☕ S E R V A N T ❳

A girl with a light blue pixie bob cut comes into the frame and sits on the stool. She straightened herself and fixed her bangs a bit even though it still covered her eyes. Several hair accessories decorated her hair as she wore a black long-sleeved shirt underneath, layered with a graphic t-shirt and a pair of green cargo pants.

She shyly waves at the camera and then speaks, “Hi! I’m Diana, Y/R/N’s manager and today I’m here to answer the questions that were sent to me.”

“For this special chapter- And yes, I am breaking the fourth wall because, at the moment I am drained from writing the fifth chapter.” Diana ‘looks’ away with a strained expression as she covers the lower half of her face, “I don’t think my brain and back can handle another writing session. That’s pretty much why this chapter is very scuffed.”

“Besides, I wanted to spoil you guys for my eight-month absence so I went out of my way to write a long chapter and a bonus chapter for you guys. So here you go! And just for clarification, I would have done a Q&A between Aidan and Y/R/N for this chapter special but I didn’t receive enough questions from the last chapter so I decided to just make a chapter special focused on (what I believe to be) questions the readers have in mind.”

QUESTIONS ABOUT WRITING:

Q1: What’s your writing process?

This is rather complicated since I have two writing processes. However, I took the time to make two flowcharts just to show the process with a brief explanation included. By the way, the flow chart templates used in this post do not belong to me, I used the free templates that were available in Canva.

If you want an in-depth explanation regarding the process, just ask me in the comments or send an ask regarding it because I’m willing to delve further into the process. I’m not going to go into detail here because I don’t think some people are interested in that but, I am allowing you guys to reach out to me if you want writing advice or want to learn more about writing.

Q2: Why do you take so long to publish a chapter?

Firstly, I have ADHD. For the record, I am not using it as an excuse, just dropping it off because you guys need context. Due to my late discovery of the disability, I started with a messy life with me struggling with school, my hobbies, and my mental health. Thus, led me to keep pushing off my passion projects, like this writing blog.

Secondly, I had a boyfriend at one point, and now he’s my ex-boyfriend. Before I discovered my ADHD, I made an unwise decision to confess to that jerk, then, later on, dedicate my 6 months to that jackass, only to realize how it was one-sided, only to find out that he accepted my confession out of pity then, and then found out from him that he cheated on me. Besides that unwise decision, at the time, I thought I would dedicate more of my time to him if I stopped my hobbies to spend more time with him.

And lastly, I am in college, like everyone else I was cursed with growing up, and I am taking a lot of time to adjust to this new environment. It doesn’t help either that I am still trying to organize my life with the help of professionals and a lot of research on my end. At the moment, I want to focus on adjusting to this environment before I integrate my hobby.

In conclusion, external factors like my disability and my new environment are the reasons why I take so long to publish. We do not talk about thy ‘boyfriend ’ since he doesn’t exist in Ba Sing Se.

Q3: What do you use for your writing?

Applications:

Google Document / Notes - auto-save, on the phone you can write offline

Google Translate - read the text(s) out loud to analyze if it sounds natural

Tumblr / Pinterest - prompts, dialogues, ideas

Extensions:

Grammarly - edit

Wordtune / Quillbot - paraphrase

Power Thesaurus - gives definition and synonyms

Q4: Do you plan on making another fanfic series in the future?

I plan to make two more fanfic series for ‘One Piece’ and ‘Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse’.

If you have any questions regarding making fanfic or writing in general, feel free to drop them in my ask box or the comments in this post! I’ll answer them to the best of my ability but, I cannot promise I will respond on time though. So I apologize in advance for the late response.

QUESTIONS ABOUT FANFICTION:

Q1: Why did you discontinue ‘The Servant’ fanfic series? Do you plan to pick it up and finish it in the future?

If you missed the announcement, here's the post. And I responded to the second question in this ask. If I do change my mind in the near future, I will make an announcement regarding it.

Q2: What are the things you wanted to add in the fanfic but never got to?

➢ In season 2, I was debating whether Y/N would be a bartender or a pole dancer. I couldn’t really decide so I planned to make a poll once I finished writing season 1.

➢ In season 2, I was thinking of giving Y/N a scythe. However, I dismissed the idea since I was not sure how the fight scene with Lila worked, the final battle I mean.

➢ In season 3, Y/N is a bellgirl assisting around the hotel, and a girl tries to flirt with her but the girl is awkward about it and ends up asking her friend (in their native language) what she should do. Y/N understands their conversation and misinterprets it as the girl being unable to speak English so she speaks to them in their native tongue. You can imagine how that ends lol.

➢ In season 3, when Victor comes out, Y/N is supportive but is awkward and unsure about what to do. Kinda acts like those parents who try too hard to be supportive.

Q3: Who is Y/N Rosseweisse based on?

The Servant is based on Rita Rosseweisse (HI3), Noelle (GI), and Baam 25th (TOG).

I don’t recall why I based Y/N on Rita Rosseweisse but, I think my decision was influenced by the fact that I was playing HI3 at the time. I liked how elegant and graceful she was, and how she held herself. As for Noelle and Baam 25th (S1), most of their personality influenced her character, the same can be applied to Baam 25th (S2) and Rita but it will only become more apparent in the TUA S2 though.

Here are the traits that Y/N got from the mentioned characters: humble, polite, obedient, will do any means to attain the goal (in S2), commendable work ethic, eager to learn, hard worker, empathetic, calculating (in S2), put the academy’s needs first before her’s (more will be revealed on S1 Chapter 8 or 9), naive, socially awkward, inexperienced, perfectionist, detached from society, distant.

Baam 25th’s ability to master things at first glance / Technique Replication / Instant Learn is one of the powers I gave her. In season 1, I don’t get to focus on this but, in season 2 when she gains more experience in the real world and learns new things, she will start to use it more often though it’s more treated like something she can’t control, since she was never trained properly by Reginald Hargreeves.

Q4: What is your biggest struggles when writing the series?

You guys won’t believe this but my biggest struggle is actually writing a chapter. It’s a common struggle for writers but, I think this is a common struggle for any creative individual. It sounds so bloody ridiculous but, I can’t bring myself to sit my ass down and pull out my google docs. I always end up getting distracted with things that aren’t related to the task at hand. One minute I’m researching adrenaline, then the next thing I know I’m looking up ‘Which side of the body hurts the most when stabbed? ’ If you're curious, the answer is front because that’s where most of the organs and pain receptors are, you can still survive if stabbed from the back though your lungs and spine will be the main target, and there is a slim chance of you surviving if your spine got bye-bye.

If you have any questions regarding the fanfic, feel free to drop them in my ask box or the comments in this post! I’ll answer them to the best of my ability but, I cannot promise I will respond on time though. So I apologize in advance for the late response.

BONUS (ALTERNATIVE ANSWER):

The (your hair color) haired girl read it loudly. “Moving onto the second question, the second question is from @inkedeye2345 - I have a question for Y/R/N and Aidan, do you guys romantically like each other, or just in a friendly kind of way? Cause I kinda ship-”

Y/R/N looks at Aidan excitedly, to which the boy nods. “Well, I and Aidan weren't sure when to share this but, we are seeing each other. At the moment, we are still in the courting stage.”

The brunette grabs her hand and begins drawing circles on the back of her hand, “I'll be honest, I didn't think she was old-fashioned.”

His girlfriend puffed out her cheeks at him then blew a raspberry as she averted her gaze, and covered the lower half of her face as she spoke in a muffled tone. “I'm an old-fashioned romantic, you're lucky I didn't force you to sing something cheesy.”

“Why are you covering your face? You know I'd willingly do that.” He laughed.

“CUT THE CAMS BEFORE YOU START FEELING EVEN MORE SINGLE!” Diana screamed from behind the camera.

( Note : This bonus scene isn't real or canon in the behind-the-scenes AU, I just made it for fun so please don't take it seriously. )

➢ Taglist : @igotanidea @incapableofanything @kumioon @buuhsworld @stray-npc @sunsunhe @x0xodnvt @theredvelvetbitch @yoashh @keowthedino @snoopyluver20 @sol3chu @instabull @d-a-r-k-s-w-a-n @supernova25 @venuseuripedis @cluelessteam @lovely-maryj @cultish-corner @fionaapplelover2010 @inkedeye2345

➢ Note : If your username is highlighted blue that means I cannot tag your blog. I suggest you either follow my blog and turn on your notifications or you turn on your subscription to the masterlist. "Reblog to support your favorite writer" belong to @/benkeibear

[kaybreezy3000]

The Anti Hero's Pitfall of Arrogance

Five Hargreeves / Female OC

What happens when you disarm an exceptionally arrogant person, one that is a self-absorbed, teleporting, teenaged superhero? The answer is not great things.

(Chapter One and Two Post)

- This AU starts off when the Hargreeves are 16 and but is based off the show. It's going to give you a look inside Five's mind at that time of his life and not all of it is good, but I promise it's not all bad. I always make sure to give our boy his day to shine.

Warnings and Tags: sexually explicit content, flashbacks, teen bad behavior, survival horror, bad decisions, regret, POV Five, aggression issues, suffering, humor and angst and fluff, redemption, sweet Five and mean Five in same story, Dolores is a factor, hurt Number Five, Five makes fun and dirty check lists in this one, Young Five is really something, Starts as him in his teens then the rest he is 21, Plot twists and many tags left off to avoid spoiling the story, shocker ending

-this first post will be 2 chapters, the story is 44,600 words, 7 chapters total, posts will be every 5-6 days till done.

⚠️-this has some sexually explicit parts but also a real story and not really about all that stuff as much as the rest. If you want to avoid that particular type of explicit material, click my AO3 link at the end of this post and read the version on there instead. It has warnings for start and stop points to read the story without the mature content.

Chapter One: Fateful Days

I was always anxious after our missions, but not because of what we had just done. It was because I knew that we’d be thrown in front of the cameras, expected to perform another kind of show for the public. As we sat in our line of chairs waiting for reporters to call on us, instead of making my nerves easily seen, I carefully controlled my facial expressions and tried to hide my bouncing knees by discreetly pressing them down under my sweaty palms.

My answers to their questions always came out smoothly, not even the slightest waver in my voice. Years of practice learning to hide any sign of fear paid off in those moments. I was a perfectionist in all things, but in gaining fans, I failed because I know that I came off as the most arrogant and aloof of any of my siblings, but it was better than looking weak.

Number Five Hargreeves was not the most likable of the superpowered members of the infamous Umbrella Academy, but I pretended not to care about that and so many other things.

Our life at the academy was extremely private and exceptionally challenging, but it was while placed in the spotlight that I struggled the most. Those were the times I found it hardest to hide how young and inexperienced I really was when it came to anything that really mattered in the real world.  

My indifference towards everyone was part of a façade, but also not. My behavior at home wasn’t much different than my public persona. I always knew the answers; I was always better than everyone at everything. This kind of thing, the missions, being the heroes, it was what we were made for; or that’s at least what dad always said. And I was damn sure going to be the best at it, and everyone was going to see that, including my family.

Not all of us had so much pride when it came to our powers or public appearance. Some of my siblings felt the exact opposite about all this, but me being me, I didn’t see anyone else’s suffering as relevant when it came to my flawed view of the big scheme of things.

I should have.

Constantly edging out my family because of my dickhead aspiration to best them was just as prevalent when we were all sixteen as it was when we were very young. Only then, I no longer would bat an eye over their private tears and their personal sorrows. Before that, sometimes I would make myself available to them. I would every so often try to comfort Klaus by reading to him to drown out the ghosts as he tried to fall asleep, or I would sit with Vanya just so she didn’t feel so alone. Ben and I often shared the same interests academically and he was the only one I considered anywhere near my equal in all things intellectual. But by the time we hit our teens, even he and I rarely spoke unless necessary.

At only thirteen years old, the cutthroat mantra we were brought up on was backfiring. Instead of being the team dad wanted, we were pulling away from each other.

As my own way of dealing with all the mental manipulations and general bullshit of our home life, the older I got, the colder and more closed off I became. I wasn’t the only one doing this. We all lacked when it came to handling anything emotional, but I was the biggest offender.

That was probably why, that fateful day, I wouldn’t let anyone else snag the fan letter that was tossed out over the loud line of spectators. I had to win.

It happened while we were doing our final photo shots for the press on the stairs of the courthouse. With my eyes gazing out at our admirers through my mask, I saw the girl that threw it, and next to me, I knew Luther and Diego did too. The girl was the type that caught everyone’s eye.

Even someone as self-absorbed as me could see that she was very attractive.

Based on what I could tell, she was the same age or near it. Based on her clothing, I quickly determined that she attended one of the city's prestigious private schools that was focused on the arts. It was one that was specifically for those that were musicians or dancers and destined to make their careers in that area. The dark blazer and matching pleated skirt weren’t that much different to ours, but the crest near her lapel showed that she wasn’t just an obsessed fan trying to dress like us, though the crowd was full of those too.

She was different. She was special; we all knew it. Her long strawberry blonde hair was slung over her shoulder in a tight braid, and when her big blue eyes met mine, she smiled in the most curious way.

My self-assured smirk faltered in an instant.

Being I was neither tall or strong, or funny or even charmingly ridiculous like Klaus, none of the fangirls or guys usually paid me any attention. Her looking at me in a flirtatious sort of way was entirely new territory for me and I didn’t know how to react to it.

The small white envelope with red lip prints pressed along its seal perfectly matched the girl’s lips that threw it. My plan to piss off my brothers in any way possible was still in place when it landed at my impeccably polished dress shoes. I stomped on it, then bent over and snatched it up before either could pry it out from under my foot.

If I remember correctly, Luther said nothing, but he did roll his eyes at me before he went back to waving at everyone like he was a princess on a float at Disney World-not that I had ever seen one of those, but I had seen pictures.

Diego elbowed me in the ribs as discreetly as possible, then angrily complained, “Stop trying to steal the show. You did enough of that in there with your cocky little stapler stunt and all your flashy-flashy teleporting crap. You are such an asshole, Five. That was meant for me!”

I would have nailed him back, but my death glare would have to do, because dad was watching our immature exchange, a scowl making his usual displeased face even more unpleasant.

It was not that I craved the attention of our female fans the same way that they did. No, that wasn’t it. For me, it was all about the satisfaction to beat them at anything and everything. What I did inside the bank to one of the would-be robbers was merely me doing my job. Fuck Diego and his stupid knifes. If he doesn’t like that I’m better at taking people out with nothing but office supplies than that’s his problem not mine.

I clenched the letter, determinedly keeping it from their greedy hands because I knew all too well that my brothers weren't much better than a pack of wild dogs fighting over a bone when it came to attention and if I let my guard down, the letter would be gone. Pivoting to my left to block Diego's next attempt at getting the letter, I also did my best to search for the girl who threw it, but to my disappointment, she was gone.

Looking back on it now, as I stare down at my feet trudging along with the worn heels of my boots scraping across the broken and burning hot pavement, I wish for nothing more than the chance to go back to that day, or even to the next day, so I could do just about everything differently. I wish that I would have not shut my family out in thinking I was doing something good for myself.

I wish I hadn't done what I did to that girl.

I wish I had the guts to walk away from all of that like she said I should do.

I walked away alright, just not the way she meant.

Now, all I want is to get back to fix this.

Now, my whole focus is surviving long enough to find a way home, which also reminds me that I wish I hadn’t stepped on that shard of glass that sliced through the side of my boot, causing a deep gash in my right foot.

The dried blood from three days ago is crusted to the torn leather, and the color of it reminds me of her lips and that deep crimson red on that letter.

I can almost feel them. They were the first and last real lips I ever...

Anyway ...  Now is not the time to dwell on all that. I will always wonder who she really was and why she did what she did. But, right now, it’s looking like I’ll never know the answers to those questions.

Right now, things aren’t looking too hot.

Actually, they are, that’s the problem.

It’s very fucking hot.

The unforgiving sun is burning my back through my clothes, but I can’t take them off because they are the only thing protecting my skin from the sun’s scorching rays. Wandering in the heat of mid-day this time of year is not the best idea, but when we woke this morning, we had to go. If we hadn’t, we would have been sitting ducks, waiting the entire day out in the open, frying on the pavement, and that wasn’t smart either.

My breaths are becoming shallower despite my physical struggle to keep pulling Dolores and our meager belongings behind me in my cart. The strap around my waist that’s attached to the wagon is digging into the protruding bones at my hips. I can feel my skin rubbing clean off me because it’s already chafed from days of endless walking. I keep tripping more and more over the last hour or so, and I’m finding that my eyes keep closing for minutes at a time.

I stopped sweating a long time ago.

I am out of water.

I am not stupid. I know this isn’t good, and neither is the fact that I can’t feel my right foot anymore, but I refuse to stop to rewrap it or to stop and eat the contents of one of my unlabeled, beaten and bent canned goods. I rationed what we have with us, and I can’t eat for another ten hours.

Being dehydrated is nothing new and even turning back now, it’s still two days’ time to the last place that may or may not still have drinkable water.

As for my foot…

I will be okay. It will heal.

I will find water. That’s the biggest problem at the moment. I just wasn’t planning on this oppressive heat or that there would be no rain in the last two weeks. As I lay with Dolores last night, staring up at the stars, we could hear thunder to the west, coming from the direction we’ve been heading, but again the rain never came to us. Everything is drying up. The earth is cracking, and the roads are buckling in the heat wave that’s making it feel like we are in a furnace even at night.

For the last two days there has been nothing but windswept open areas. We haven’t found shelter because there’s nothing other than collapsed structures that at one time had been someone’s home, but now are nothing more than scattered rubble.

It’s like something blew everything around here clear off their foundations. There have been no abandoned cars along the crumbling road.

Seeing the very decomposed or skeletal remains of the passengers as I trudge by them would be a welcome site at this point.

As far as I can see, there’s nothing but minimal indications of long ago burnt vegetation. That may mean this had been cleared farmland. This being a rural area could explain why there is nothing out here, but it could also mean that I am nearing something horrible.

I am leaning on something horrible because this looks like another planet. One that looks like it never had the ability to maintain life.

I clearly went the wrong way. I like to pretend I’m smart, but that’s just one of my many issues. I lie to myself all the time and I always have.

Smart people don’t propel themselves blindly, teleporting forward twelve years in time to escape a life that can never be escaped, only to go so far that they end up at the end of the world, too pathetically weak to function and with no fucking clue how to get themselves back.

Yup. Stupid.

Maybe I am getting better with this whole lying to myself thing if I am openly admitting that.

“What do you think, Dolores, am I getting better owning up to my vast supply of shortcomings?” My voice comes out hardly a whisper on my cracked lips. I don’t even turn to look at her. I don’t have the energy.

‘I think we are in trouble. We need to turn around before it’s too late.’

Dolores ignores my ill-timed attempt at humor. She sounds scared, and she is right about turning around.

She never lies.

This was not where I meant to end up in a world where I’m the last living creature among the other few scurrying insects, and not to wherever the hell I am at, which is maybe still somewhere in bumfuck Pennsylvania.

Arrogance as my perpetual guide, and despite her warning, I keep on walking, dragging her along.

Depending on how you look at our codependent situation, she has to follow me. I like to pretend it’s willingly, but even as convoluted as I can make things in my brain, even I know the truth about that , but like usual, I am good at ignoring the truth. No wonder Dolores didn’t find that funny.

No wonder she is scared.

Since day one, Dolores has been unwavering in her vow to stay by my side, and to be whatever I need her to be. But now, as her partner and her only friend, and because we share much more than a platonic love at this point, it’s not fair of me to cause her so much distress. As I slowly pull her along, I can feel her worried eyes looking at my back and I hate that in doing this to myself, I’m doing it to her too.

“I’ll go just a little further, up over this next high ridge.” My torn fingers slipping out from under my waist strap, I point to what I mean, which isn’t more than another quarter mile.

My arm flops at my side after only having lifted it for the briefest moment. I don’t even bother to push down on the handles again or to slip it back under the strap before lurching along again.

“If I don’t see anything promising at that point, then I’ll turn back,” I reassure as my eyes scan the horizon ahead and the heat ripples off the ground cause the image in front of me to blur.

I know I took a wrong turn somewhere days ago, but that’s just it, in the apocalypse, every turn is wrong. It’s only by luck that I ever find anything helpful, like food, or any other supplies that might keep me alive. Even looking in obvious places, like in ruins of what was once a grocery store, or a pharmacy, can turn up next to nothing. It all depends on how damaged the area is. As we are finding, since we left the city and moved away from the devastated coastline, destruction seems to be everywhere, but this area is the worst I have ever seen.

It figures that when I finally venture out beyond the usual 100-mile radius I’ve been scavenging for the last five years that I’d go in the one direction that led me to this.

Road signs are sometimes still there, sometimes not, and even with maps for navigating it is hard, and that’s because almost nothing looks the same.  'Welcome to this town' signs are a huge help, but they are also a cruel reminder of the amount of life lost in each empty civilization I come across. Many signs are simply gone like everything else.

One big empty world, and to make things worse, now I think I’m lost in the wasteland.

I am in the middle of nowhere of Nowheresville and I don’t know what else to do besides keep walking.

I’ll certainly die if I stop.

“I know you’re scared, sweetheart. I will be okay; I promise I won’t leave you.” This time, my attempt to make Dolores feel better about my deteriorating condition is only in my head, and this time my reply isn’t just to her.

My mind is only half here on this desolate stretch of nothing. At least I’m aware of it, so that must mean I’m not fully hallucinating, which is great news. I do that frequently, and it’s for various reasons, like accidental high level food poisoning, fevers, being offensively drunk, general craziness, you name it.

When I say that I’m not leaving them, I mean my siblings too.

I never stop seeing the faces of the people I love but regarded with so much indifference.

Their blank and bloodied expressions, some crushed almost beyond recognition, some charred almost black, they all stare up at me from the remains of our burning home as I scramble to dig them free.

I never stop trying to tell them that I’m sorry, but they never reply.

They can’t because they are all dead and so is everyone else.

I’ll admit, I am not just dehydrated. I have an infection from that damn gash. The antibiotic I’m taking must not be good anymore.

The worms spill out of Allison’s broken skull as I pull her along to bury her with the rest of my family, but even that doesn’t make sense. They weren’t rotting when I found them. The rot came later.

Somehow even though it’s been years since this smell filled the air, I am hit with surges of smokey burning flesh, the scent coating my tongue, making my stomach instantaneously roar with sickening nausea but also ravenous hunger.

Nearly falling this time, I trip causing my injured foot to twist in an unnatural way. As I try to swallow my body’s attempts at forcing a dry heave, it’s with no saliva to help it along and the desert in my throat nearly chokes me. I cough on the upthrust of bile, the pitiful sounds of my gags are as weak as I feel.

I painfully stumble over my own feet, but manage to stay upright, swaying as I force my eyes off the quivering ground. I try focusing them instead on an area of broken road a few feet in front of me. One foot in front of the other, I keep moving, eyes ahead this time so I don’t fall over another large crack in the road.

My mind screams at me. ‘They aren’t here. You buried them years ago! Focus or you are never going to make it. You have to make it back; that’s all that matters.’

Dizzy, and confused, I try to remember again why Dolores and I are here. My plan was to search outside the city for anything to make our life easier. Something like a more forgiving weather pattern for example. Surviving the first several years in a suffocating nuclear winter and then the actual winters after that with only a handmade shelter and a sea of broken concrete around me has been working, but there must be places that were left in better, more livable conditions.

I can’t get physically strong enough to get back if I am starving all the time. I can’t get back if I freeze in the next few months when winter hits us again. I can run my numbers and figures, calculating the ways I can get back to them from anywhere. Being a few blocks from my childhood home, so close to the red waters of the toxic ocean while living in the ruins of the city library isn’t getting me any closer to them.

Dolores and I have been walking for forty-six days, seven hours, and thirty-six minutes, and my plan had been going fairly well until a week ago. Getting us away from the densely populated coast proved an okay move until I found myself in a very rural area, lost, and in the middle of a major weather change that I had no way of predicting.

After hardly surviving our last brutal winter, I thought there was nothing worse than the bitter cold, but right now, with my body literally cooking and no way to get out of the heat, I am finding that it may have been a major miscalculation to come so far into the unknown.

The valuable liquid remaining in my body is abandoning me in sheets of sweat again and that is just another not good sign.

Neither is the unexpected view of what appears to be a gigantic hole in the Earth. It covers the landscape as far and wide as my eyes can see. As I slowly make my way towards it, the road ends. There’s no more blacktop. It’s just dirt.

I can just make out the edge of the crater. The bottom of the abyss is empty as the rest of my world.

Just one massive hell.

“Dol-or-es… I messed-up ag-ah-in. Um-so- I shoo-d ha..ve listen-”

Just before the ground slants at an impossible angle, an angle that looks like it’s coming way too close to my face, that’s the thought that I can’t articulate that takes me away into the darkness.

I should have listened to her, only I don’t mean Dolores.

Chapter Two: Rain

After that weird exchange with that girl on the street, an unfamiliar excitement filled me. I wanted to read the note, but I couldn’t because we were still supposed to be smiling for the cameras. Then after our final group picture for the press, we were loaded into our waiting cars.

Klaus flopped himself down on the back seat next to me, causing me to have to move in the middle, which I knew was coming.

Not a second later, Diego took the remaining space to my right, glaring at me resentfully. “I mean it, man. That hot chick wasn’t trying to throw that letter to you. Just give it over. Why do you even want it? It’s not like you like girls or anyone else for that matter.”

I stared straight forward, my lips smugly pulled to the side. “I think that girl most certainly intended for me to get her little love letter and just like always, you are jealous of me.”

“Fivey you like girls, don’t you?” The way Klaus asked it and looked at me, it’s like he really thought that’s what this was about.

It wasn't.

Diego snorted out an obnoxious laugh as he pushed his knees into the back of Luther’s seat in front of him, while also taking up even more of my room in the middle.

“Five, doesn’t feel anything for anyone and if he did happen to swing the direction of the ladies, he wouldn’t have a clue what to do with one, especially not a total fox like that. Did you see those legs in that outfit, dude?”

Luther piped in his two cents worth next. “I did.” He turned back with his big muscular arm on the console so he could face us. “And Five, yeah, really? Diego’s surprisingly right for a change. What’s the deal with that letter? You could care less about our fangirls or guys, not that I’m saying it matters if you like guys or girls or whatever,” he blabbered.

Klaus laughed, interrupting Luther’s attempt to belittle me or support me or whatever that was supposed to be. “Oh...buddy, I saw them too, and though I don’t usually get a boner over the more delicate of the stems dancing around in this garden of life, I’ll admit, that girl was something, and I’d make an exception to stick it in her any day.”

At this point, I noticed our hired driver looking back at me through the rearview mirror with a look of disgust in his eyes. I supposed that this was not what he was expecting from the world's infamous superheroes. Turns out, the joke was on him and everyone else because we were way more immature and even more emotionally stunted than your average teens.

“Dude, stop kidding yourself. You’d fuck anything with legs.”

“True,” Klaus agreed to which Luther mumbled something apologetically to the driver.

Fuck me, I wished I was in the other car even though that meant I’d be with dad. My jaw twitched as I tried to ignore all the idiocy. The car pulled out, and rather than acknowledge the two morons or answer Klaus’s question, I looked out, hoping to see the girl again.

My hand wrapped tighter around the letter in my pocket, my smile returning as I thought about how she looked at me, and how mad they all were about it.

After sitting for a debriefing with The Monocle, one that was filled with ridicule even though we completed the bank mission successfully, we all sat for our usual mostly silent dinner, and then finally after hours of waiting to be alone, we were released and allowed to go to our rooms for the night.

I didn’t hesitate. In a flash, I was in my bedroom located in the third-floor attic space. Rushing out of my portal, moving a few steps to my desk, I pulled the chain on my lamp, filling the small room with warm yellow light.

My shaky fingers carefully worked open the letter as I sat down in front of my piles of notes and books. The kiss imprint was placed over the seal, but I did my best not to ruin it.

For as little as I thought or cared about girls, right then, you’d hardly believe it. I felt so unlike myself. My heart was racing as I unfolded the piece of paper inside.

Reading the first line, my heart felt like it stopped altogether.

Holy shit. She did write it for me. I was just being a jerk about all that, but…

What in the…

What is that supposed to mean?

My mind raced with the implications of the words, ‘I promise I will make it worth your while.’

I flipped the envelope, looking down at the red kiss she left me.

Did she like me? Like, like, like me?

I felt stupid even thinking about that question, but I couldn’t help it. It was like I was pissing brain cells and turning into Diego.

Our fans were known to pick favorites and collect our little plastic figurines and buy our posters, but I never thought I was one of those coveted idols, or that I was anything like my brothers when it came to irrelevant things like girls and who they ‘liked.’

The idea of this girl having pictures of me in her dorm room made my face feel hot.

She couldn’t get me out of her head…

Meticulously showering every part of my body and fighting for room in our shared sink area to finish my nightly routine didn’t help calm me down. Lying in bed trying to forget the letter and the girl was getting me nothing but more antsy.

It’s not like I never thought about girls. Diego was wrong about that. I was a teenager with rampant hormones running through me that caused intense feelings that occasionally couldn't be denied. When that was the case, I quickly took care of matters and moved on, nothing more.

I knew it was normal bodily function for someone my age to be stimulated with the simplest of things and end up with a hard on, or to experience the wonders of morning wood or mid-night wood accompanied by arousing dreams that seemingly come out of nowhere. I wasn't embarrassed by my need to pleasure myself. Like everything else, I approached it practically and efficiently, taking things into my own hands (or literally into my own hand as it were), and then after letting go of some of my millions of thoughts and a little bodily fluid I didn’t need, I was free of all that again.

Not everyone in this household was as discreet about their masturbation sessions. I had walked in on Klaus too many times to count while he was in the showers going at it. He may be a lot of things, completely uninhibited being one of them, but at least he cared enough to know that I was attracted to women not men. The shower thing with him and I and my blasé reaction to him jerking himself in there very frequently while I was in there too was probably part of that, but clearly my other siblings weren’t sure which way I ‘swung’ as they put it.

I couldn’t really blame them for their jokes. I never joined Klaus when he snuck out to meet our groupies for whatever they did together, but I had heard him and Diego going on and on about their various supposed exploits that they each have made when it came to those types of things that were intimate in nature. As much as I hated to admit it, if I had tried to talk to them about it, I am not sure what I would have said. They were right, I didn’t know anything about girls other than the basics that we learned in anatomy and physiology. And I was not intimate about anything unless you counted getting smacked in the face or getting choked out as intimate.

I hated not knowing things.

Fuck Diego and his teasing, and screw Luther and his perfect ‘I’m better looking than you’ thing he was born with. The more I lay there, the more I felt like I had to go meet the girl. I was curious what it was all about, but to be fully honest, I wanted to go because I thought that I knew what this was about and simply meeting me wasn't all she wanted.

This was my first chance to be around a girl alone that wasn’t one of my sisters. Who knew what could happen. Maybe something good?

At eleven fifty-five. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had looked at my window about a million times thinking about those red lips and that picture perfect smile. Just the letter afforded me major bragging rights but meeting her and the rest of it that could happen, yeah.

I had to go or I'd drive myself crazy wondering what I'd missed. 

Springing from my bed, inelegantly tripping over my own feet while on my way to my wardrobe, I tore off my cotton sleep pants and t-shirt.

Flinging the doors open revealed what I knew all too well. I had nothing other than academy uniforms to call my own. With a cursed fuck it, I mechanically dressed as I always do, my practiced hands neatly pushing up the knot on my tie before pulling my vest down over the top of my stupid shorts. Knee socks and shined black shoes on, I was the picture of… Well… Myself, I guess.

Looking in the mirror, I threaded my fingers through my hair making sure it was lying flipped to the side like I preferred.

Glancing at my clock showed that I had exactly four minutes.

Blinking myself down to the street was nothing. If I really wanted to, I could blink blocks away or even further, but to do that, first I would need to know the coordinates of where I’m trying to land, or I would at least need to be able to see it or have been there before. I had never been to the corner of 25th and Park, but I knew approximately where it was, and if I wanted to get there in time, teleporting was the only way.

That was not super brilliant if I was shooting for blending in since I was dressed in my well-known Umbrella Academy uniform and I was going to have to use my power, but I had no other option. That blunder alone proved how little I was ready for the real world and how different I was to normal people.

By that late hour, the streets were thankfully mostly free of pedestrians near the Academy, but I knew that wouldn’t be the case closer to downtown.

Making sure to land out of sight, I blinked a block at a time, heading towards my destination. Each spatial jump left me feeling energized, with not even a hint of fatigue. Dad would be proud of me for that if not for the fact that I'd just snuck out of his house.

It took me nine blinks to get there, but even then, I wasn’t unsteady when my feet hit the pavement of the alley a block down from where the girl was supposed to be waiting for me.

It’s then that I noticed a storm was coming. The faint flashes of light followed by the sound of rumbling thunder were letting me know that our little rendezvous couldn't be outside unless it was very short.

Again, the reality of her waiting for me hit home. All of a sudden, I was not so sure of myself. I had no idea who she was or what this was really about. Even if this resulted in me finally having some experience with the opposite sex, this wasn't a good enough reason to do this. It’s not like I’d brag to my dumbass brothers about it if something did happen with the girl. I also could just lie and pretend I met up with her. I was no storyteller but I was sure I could come up with something that would make my brothers just a little less full of themselves when it came to me and my lack of knowledge as it pertained to girls.

What I was doing was so stupid and I knew it, but I couldn't help myself.

Glancing down the street, I didn't see her, but I did see other people. This area wasn't nearly as upscale as the block and surrounding properties of the upper east side where I lived. Here, there were cheap bars and clubs on each block, and the homeless were front and center nearly everywhere you looked.

Why would she ask me to meet her here?

As a man with a grizzly beard and a cart pushed past me from down the alley, he asked me for some change. I told him I didn't have any money, which was sadly true.

As he cussed me out and moved on, I found that I was really starting to regret my hasty decision to come, but that's when I saw her. I didn’t know how I missed her at first. It might have been because she was sitting on the sidewalk with her back against the darkened window of the corner store.

With a black baseball cap pulled down low as she played the guitar sitting in her lap, I just thought she was one of the many street people sitting out panhandling.

Ignoring the next guy asking me for change and the strange looks of a couple that staggered past me, I stepped out of the shadowed side street to get a better look at the red haired girl. 

Sure enough, it was her. I could see that long braid, same as before, slung over her shoulder. She was dressed totally differently, not that I expected her to be wearing that short schoolgirl skirt, but I also didn’t imagine faded cargo pants, combat boots, and the baggy sweatshirt.

I could just make out the sound of strings being strum and the faintest sound of a female voice as I watched her.

Curiously, I felt drawn to her despite my new reservations. That was until a man stopped and dropped a few bills into the guitar case at her feet. She looked up, her smile of thanks as bright and warm as the one she'd given me earlier that day.

I stopped advancing, and my jaw dropped.

Tucked in tightly at her side was a duffle bag. The same kind that all the people out there seemed to have on them.

It dawned on me that she was homeless.

Why else would she be out here that time of night playing for money? I had so many questions, only one being, why wouldn’t her parents care where she was?

I couldn’t take my eyes off her as I back pedaled. Due to my inattention, my back ran right into a guy that looked like he could stomp me into the ground if he wasn’t so drunk, or if I couldn’t just as easily drop him in less than a second flat thanks to Reginald and his constant training. 

I was in a daze as he shoved me aside and yelled, "Get the fuck out of the way kid!”

As I staggered, I heard her soft voice.

“Five?”

My neck snapped back her way.

Oh shit.

Righting myself, I stopped mid step in my retreat, but even as she stared at me, like a coward, I blinked away.

This time when I landed, it was with much less grace. I fell out of my portal, back on my ass, catching myself before my head slammed into the air conditioning unit behind me. Panting from shock and the jump to the rooftop across the street, I edged myself to the ledge of the building to look down at her.

She was standing there with her guitar in hand, motionless as she looked at the spot I had been standing in.

She raised a hand, rubbing her cheek as she frowned.

I felt like a first-class piece of shit.

I didn’t even talk to her but I thought I was more than willing to do other things with her that did not involve talking. Who does that? What was wrong with me?

I felt disgusted but I quickly swallowed it down. 

Even sitting there knowing what I just did looked bad for so many reasons, I remained frozen as I watched her slowly turn around and begin to pack up her things. She crouched, taking the bills and change out of the case, stuffing her loot in the front pocket of her hoodie. Then, snapping closed the hard leather case, she didn’t so much as look back in the direction I had been before she took off down the street.

The first of the raindrops were beginning to hit the ground, pelting my hair and my shoulders. Instinctually, I pulled my academy jacket tighter around my middle even though it wasn't that cold.

The area we were in was nowhere near that private school whose uniform she was wearing, and she wasn't heading in the direction of where there was any housing that I was aware of.

I followed her.

I needed to know if I was right. A part of me, one that I didn’t want to admit was there but very much drove me in everything, needed to prove that she was not someone I should be associating with. I knew that sounded bad, but it was the truth I had been raised to believe. People like me didn’t talk with people like her.

Making sure to stay back so she couldn't see me, I went after her. She led me a few blocks away to an even more dilapidated and industrial looking area of the city that was not far from the docks. That was where I saw her enter what looked like an abandoned building. I knew it was not in use because it was boarded up. The only reason the girl got inside was because she knew that one of the boards was only being held on by one nail so she could swing it aside and disappear in the darkness.

I was right.

Why I didn’t stop there, I still don’t know.

Waiting just a few minutes to make sure she didn’t come back out, I entered the building the same way she did. It was nearly pitch black inside at first. My eyes had not adjusted to the dark because the boards were blocking most of the streetlights from shining inside the entire ground floor. When I could see, all around me was garbage and what looked like old moldy couch cushions and things that people must have used at one time or another while they squatted in there. But other than the obvious drug paraphernalia that showed at one time others had been using the place, the floor was quiet, and the girl was nowhere to be seen.

I knew she came in, and I didn’t see her come out, so I kept on looking. It wasn’t until I reached the top floor, by way of taking the stairs and blinking myself along when things didn’t look safe, that I heard her and the sound of water trickling as it made its way in through hidden parts of the building. Even with that and the sound of the hard rain falling on the roof, I could tell that she was singing again.

She had a very nice voice.

This floor of the building was like the others, only it wasn’t as dirty and it looked like no one ever ventured this far inside. From what I'd seen, the building should be and probably was condemned, and nobody should be there, but yet she was.

Unable to drop it even though I knew I was right; curiosity drove me closer to the sound of her voice softly echoing through the large mostly open floor.

The closer I got to her, the more I could hear the rain. It sounded like it was pouring down, splashing against something.

As I crept closer, my shoes ever so quiet on the gritty floor, I saw what appeared to be a small office enclosure off to the side of what was probably at one time a busy workspace full of factory workers.

Peering inside the glass windows, I could see her bag and her guitar case, but she was not there. I moved around the barrier into what appeared to be her makeshift home. I noticed mats laid out on the floor, made up like a bed and the blankets wrapped in plastic to keep them semi-clean. There were personal items, dozens of candles, and small stacks of books, the titles I couldn’t make out in the darkness.

It was bizarre, all of it was but her voice felt like it drew me to her. The beauty of the vaguely familiar French lyrics, ones of love, happiness and the beauty of life, rather than sadness and being utterly alone in a dirty warehouse in the murky darkness, were creating a strange sort of paradox of contradictions. 

♫ Quand il me prend dans ses bras (Hold me close and hold me fast)

Qu'il me parle tout bas (The magic spell you cast)

Je vois la vie en rose (To see life in pink...) ♫

I knew that I could escape again in less than a second, and I knew that she was just around the other wall of windows. I could see her now, but it was clear that she couldn’t see me.

Her body was outlined by the ever-present city lights coming in from outside.

It looked like she was…

I couldn’t tell.

Brave or stupid, I came closer, moving around the farther side of the office enclosure.

Like a statue frozen in place, my eyes felt glued to the scene before me.

The rain was cascading down from a hole in the ceiling, one that wasn’t much bigger than a few feet but had clearly been there long enough to cause the roof to bend down near it due to rot.

The girl named Phoebe, was under the sparkling spray and she was completely naked.

Her arms were up over her head, drawing her hair back from her face as she angled it up, reveling in the chilly stream as bubbles slipped over the mounds of her breasts, down her flat stomach, and between her legs where they chose a path down either of her milky white legs.

I could smell the faint scent of the soap she held in her hand, the feminine rosy scent of it a stark contrast to the musty building around us.

Her calf muscles balled up as she rose on her toes as if she might just fly away. She looked like some kind of otherworldly angel that was above all the decay around her.

Her eyes were closed, and she didn’t open them as her hands slid down her body, rubbing the sudsy bar slowly over her chest with one hand while the other slid down between her legs.

I was in a trance as I watched this, fully aware that the sight was causing things to stir in me in places they shouldn’t, but I was unable to stop myself from looking. I didn’t even realize I had made an embarrassingly throaty sound until her eyes flew open, their piercing aim falling directly on me.

After the initial shock of seeing that she was being ogled by a perverted voyeur, those lupine eyes narrowed and that seductive looking smile of hers thankfully appeared.

“Five! You came back!”

She actually looked happy about that fact, and not at all bothered that I was still staring at her.

When I said nothing, the girl reached up to her towel that was hanging on nail sticking out of a pillar, not even fully wrapping it around her as she rushed my way.

“I thought you changed your mind. I am so happy you didn't," she chirped.

Now that she was standing right in front of me, dripping wet, with those eyes peering up at me and her towel dangling in front of her, I could see something else going on in her expression, but I didn't understand it. I just couldn’t put a finger on it. But she did put a finger on me. 

I watched it happen as if in slow motion. She reached out and touched my arm, gently pulling me with her back towards the crude area where she slept.

"Come on," she whispered, and her touch and the sound of her voice sent waves of heat over my already burning skin. 

Even if I had wanted to blink away from her at that point, my body wouldn’t let me. 

Link to chapters Three and Four

Poor Five, so broken...

Thanks for joining me for another one of my Five-centric stories. The next post is coming soon but if you can't wait, click below.

Link to this as well as my stories and art on AO3

Link to my other posts on Tumblr

[villainwritesbites]

Summary:

And then, suddenly, it was all over. He fell to the ground, briefcases flung next to him… he heard footsteps hurrying toward him from inside. The door flung open, and two figures stood there - his mother and… “Welcome home, Number Five,” said Pogo. Time Travel/Watching The Show fix-it fic based on this concept.

Rating:

Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

Gen

Fandom:

The Umbrella Academy (TV)

Relationships:

Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Everyone

The Umbrella Academy - Relationship

Number Five | The Boy & The Handler (Umbrella Academy)

Characters:

Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)

Luther Hargreeves

Diego Hargreeves

Allison Hargreeves

Klaus Hargreeves

Number Six | Ben Hargreeves

Vanya Hargreeves | Viktor Hargreeves

The Handler (Umbrella Academy)

Lila Pitts

Dr. Pogo (Umbrella Academy)

Grace Hargreeves

Hazel (Umbrella Academy)

Cha-Cha (Umbrella Academy)

Eudora Patch

Additional Tags:

Time Travel

Fix-It of Sorts

Characters watching the Umbrella Academy

Family Bonding

Family Fluff

Fluff and Angst

Hurt/Comfort

Family Feels

The Hargreeves | Umbrella Academy Need a Hug

The Temps Commission (Umbrella Academy)

Creepy The Handler (Umbrella Academy)

Bad Parent Reginald Hargreeves

[mistresskayla-blog1]

**My Past Lovers Series**

The Crooner

Characters: Lawrence x OC Kayla Crowe

(please forgive the images. Its a facsimile. I could not find one exactly right for him. His hair was dark red, and sat much like RA's during Uncle Vanya. Which is super sexy haircut I think. And he had a bit of a five oclock shadow, but not as precise as RAs of course. we didnt take selfies back then either, so I had to remember him, from, well memory).

Characters: Kayla Crowe x Lawrence (lover)

Fandom: Original Content  (Kayla Crowe universe – My Past Lovers Series)

Word count total: 4.5k  (2 parts)

Warnings: fluff, angst, one-night stands, p in v, oral (female receiving), showering together, condom use, intimacy, sweetness, karaoke, limited exposure, psychosexual attraction.

Kayla saw him get on stage, knowing some mutual friends, but never seeing him before. He was tall, with shady ginger hair and the brightest green eyes she’d ever seen. Kayla was instantly attracted to him. He was wearing a suit casually on his lithe frame. It made him even more dapper, in the stream of spotlights as he stepped up to the mike, on Karaoke night. He handled the microphone like an old friend, loosely, but focused, and spoke a lilt of pure velvet against her ears, singing “I’m Just A Gigolo” by Louis Prima. He sang it with style and panache and she felt her core twitch in response, as if he was singing for his freedom in some way, she was captivated. After he finished, she was up a few spots next.

Kayla kept her distance, watching him a bit, as he watched her. She belted out one of her regular favorites, “Criminal” by Fiona Apple, and he kept his eyes locked on her, despite a few ladies stepping up to him during her chorus. She didn’t make direct eye contact, and sang to the crowd, who were spell bound for those 4 minutes. She finished and saw him move to her friend Andrew, who was just as tall as him, whispering in his ear. Kayla moved back to her seat towards the front of the bar and sipped her drink. He stayed at the far end of the bar near the stage, keeping in conversation with his friends, whom were by coincidence hers as well. Kayla finally got her courage up, finishing her drink and walking up to Andrew and his friend.

“Hey Andrew, whose your friend?” Kayla asked, eyeing the shorter of the very tall men before her. Andrew was blonde, wide shouldered and gorgeous, but she knew he was off limits, and she respected that. But this other man, was a free agent in her mind until she knew otherwise.  Andrew smiled, with a wink in his smile, “Oh, this is Lawrence,” he made a sweeping hand gesture as Lawrence stood tall, “Lawrence, this is Kayla,”.  Lawrence smiled widely at her, “Hello,” she thought he was going to kiss her hand, but instead he kept his back rod straight and it was just the playfulness in his eyes that she saw.

“You were really good up there”, Lawrence began, half shouting over another participant who was butchering a rendition of My Girl. Kayla blushed, “Thanks. The crowd isn’t bad tonight”.

“Oh, are you here a lot?” Lawrence asked. Kayla nodded, “yeah about 4 nights a week actually”, She looked down a bit at her lemon water. She invited Lawrence back to the seating in the corner. She was sober as a judge and she still was drooling over him, in her mind. She hadn’t really dressed for that kind of interaction, but she was glad she had on sexy underwear. She sipped her drink, “I haven’t seen you around before, how do you know Andrew?”

Lawrence looked behind him, and chuckled as Andrew gave him a knowing look, “I moved away, and came back. Just had a -  (he paused fiddling), well anyways, I won’t be here long maybe another month, but I thought I would look the old gang up”. Lawrence smiled, but there was a sad story behind it.

Kayla kept her eye contact, “Ahh. I see. Well its still nice to meet you. Andrew and the gang are great. They have really made me feel welcome in the company”. Lawrence nodded, “He has his moments, I think they may be meddling right now, however”, Andrew stepped up to him then, shoulders on Lawrence’s back.

“You take care of our boy huh, Kayla?” Andrew said, smiling broadly and winking stepping away from them and exiting the bar. Kayla giggled up at Andrew, “Sure, of course, hes in good hands”.

Lawrence looked at Kayla then with a bit more interest, “Have a good night”, he said, to Andrew, without looking at him. The women trailing behind Andrew was smiling at Kayla too and gave her a hopeful look.

The bar started to drift towards the doorway as the night wore on. Lawrence and Kayla sat together and chatted in a way that can only be described as heated awkwardness. Comical chit chat that usually happens between two people that are sexually charged for each other and cannot do anything about it before finding out basic relationship status or locale of apartments. Lawrence made the first move, so to speak and offered to walk her back to his place for a night cap. Kayla agreed.  

Kayla had always heard that phrase in film, but never in her life, until now. Her boots were not made for walking this evening, but she did her best to keep his pace of long legs and as she walked with him through the downtown and all the way to his flat, she was nervous and excited. A guy that looked like this, into her? It was too much, but she endeavored to make the most of it. Even though she kept saying stupid things, he really was gracious, and funny and warm.

The walk took about 25 minutes from the bar and she listened as he spent most of the time telling his life story to her. She made quips and tried to offer antidotes, but basically she just let him talk. They both laughed at the same things and talked a bit about other life challenges. She learned he was fresh off a relationship, but long enough that he was able to talk about it. He was a chef and was moving to Atlanta from here. Here being Chicago. Kayla’s apartment was much closer to the bar than Lawrences’ but it housed some unruly roommates, so she opted to his, not knowing if she was getting laid or not, as open as he was he was still hard to read. He said his car was parked at home, that was comforting. Kayla’s car was sitting at her apartment as well. Though it didn’t go anywhere much except for a grocery run every few weeks. In your 20s you can live off a lot less actual food, and mostly caffeine and liquor.  

Kayla knew the part of the city his apartment was in, but about halfway through the walk, she was starting to get a bit nervous, it was nice that he wanted to walk though. It wasn’t the normal response back then. Get the girl home and start things was really the plan for guys usually. But he had watched her at the bar, not spoken up, chatted, and took a long stroll, laying his past out before her like breadcrumbs through the forest.

His voice was a mixture of softness and deepness, and he smelled absolutely fantastic in the warm summer breeze that blew by them every so often on the sidewalk. Kayla's feet were killing her by the time they got to the apartment, and she was a bit sweaty in her jeans and blouse. Her heeled boots clacked into his flat. It was a single man’s furnished apartment, some things in large boxes in the living room. Dishes in the sink, he worked very long hours, he said when she went for a glass to get some water out of the tap in the galley style kitchen.

Lawrence was straightening up his bed absently, as she came into his room. His smile was a soft smirk, like he was nervous too.  He came around the other side of the room towards her and stepped up to her. She had removed her boots and was now about 3 inches shorter against his 6’2” height, making her 5’8” seem much smaller. His hand went towards her face, and paused midair, as he leaned towards her, “Can I kiss you?” he asked, Kayla was so shocked by the question she nearly didn’t respond. She just nodded, murmuring a yes and he cupped his hand to her cheek and kissed her softly. It was the gentlest she had been ever kissed. And her heart immediately fluttered. He started to undress her, first and she moved to undress him.

Lawrence unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down slowly, revealing her lacy panties, which he pulled down slowly as well, coming to his knees before her. She bit her bottom lip in anticipation at his next move. But he simply rose to his height again, kissed her, and pulled her into himself, in an intimate hug. Kayla brought her arms around him in response, and ran her fingers up his spine, while his lips moved onto her neck and down to her shoulder.

They kept kissing in the bedroom and then as they both stood naked to each other, then he led her to the bathroom and started the shower. Lawrence led her into the shower first, then stepped in. Closing the patterned glass door behind him. They were now in the shower together, and able to see in the light over the pedestal sink what each other looked like plainly. He was immediately aroused and eager to touch her. She looked up at him like a fascinated sculptor looking at clay. She moved to touch his lean and slightly chiseled stomach, the warm water cascading down both their bodies in the shower. He cupped her breasts and Kayla let out a moan of acceptance. The sound of kissing, water trickling filled the small bathroom in ambient resonance. Lawrence spoke to her in praise, “your so beautiful,” Kayla smiled, trying to accept the compliment, she was hypnotized by this moment, standing bear in front of a man she hadn’t slept with yet.

It was a novel experience to be sure. No one had ever been so careful or so consensual with her before. She almost didn’t know how to respond, so she just continued to touch him and let him kiss her. The hot water vanishing the sweat from their bodies, for now. He turned her in the shower so he was on the spicket side of the tub, and now Kayla was facing the opposite wall. Lawrence’s hands were exploring her body, and he continued to kiss her water laden skin. The water stopped and he slid the glass door open, steam pouring out of the tub. Kayla exited first and stood dripping wet on his bathroom rug. Lawrence grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her, kissing her again on the mouth. He was so sexy, so tall, so gentle, Kayla just existed in this moment, trying to remember how to seduce a man. She was well able, but following his lead in this moment was way more enjoyable.

“Your so sexy, do you know that?” Lawrence said as they entered the bedroom again.

Kayla sat on the edge of the bed, and Lawrence gleamed at her, his hands on her thighs as he got to his knees before her. His eyes were hungry and curious, and Kayla was aroused even more, “Can I taste you?” Lawrence asked and Kayla’s pussy was aflame. She nodded, a slight groan coming from her throat.

Lawrence smiled ruefully, and dove his head between her legs, his kisses becoming more and more intimate in the shadowed bedroom. Kayla fell back on the bed and let him devour her in the lowlight. Just taking in sensation, the more his tongue played, the wetter she got. He flicked her clit, and her hands made it to his hair, as she gasped, “Gently, please”. Lawrence chuckled, “as you wish”.

Oh that did it. Kayla felt that micro-orgasm flush her cheeks, no one drops a Princess Bride line in her presence without some kind of reaction. Lawrence rose between her legs and his frame was hovering above her now, his lips wet from her folds pushed into hers then, he was panting a bit in eagerness. His cock rod straight against her thigh.

She looked at him, as he hovered, “Condom?” she mumbled. And he snapped back a second, reaching his long arm towards a bedside table drawer. Yanking it open and pulling one out. He ripped it open with his teeth, right by her face and expertly placed it on himself. His smile was beautiful as he looked down at her, he looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He just moved closer to her, and his cock slid in effortlessly. It was long and lithe just like the man. Kayla clung to his frame as he pushed all the way in, and then slowly, and beguilingly made little thrusts in and out. Playing with her, like an musician to an instrument. Her pants and moans were music to his ears, and he kept kissing her for as long as possible before breaking off to pull out and roll her over. He lifted her hips up and took her from behind, his thrusts becoming more and more quick.

Kayla arched her back and turned to look at him a moment, his brow was sweaty and he looked like he was on the brink. His pants and groans were sexy as fuck, and she moved swiftly to stop his machinations.

“Where are you going?” he asked, surprised.

Kayla turned around on her knees, “You are laying down, its my turn now”, a glint in her eyes, Lawrence smiled and gulped. Then nodded compliantly. Lawrence laid on his back and Kayla straddled him, rubbing her slick pussy against his cock, in a tease, she eased onto it, inch by inch, her pussy pulsing against him. You could see his face clench in response, then he eased back, watching her. Kayla rubbed her own breasts, so Lawrence’s hands found their way to them as well, pinching at her nipples, as she yelped in delight. Kayla’s hand drifted to her clit, and she made little circles around it with her index and middle fingers. She looked at him, in his grace on his back, then closed her eyes and started to grind on him.  

“Oh god.. you feel amazing, …Kay – la” Lawrence cooed, his resolve starting to break as she ground into his hips faster, then slower, than faster again, bringing her own orgasm to its full illumination. Kayla started to moan louder and stronger and Lawrence followed her on that path, his hands gripping her hips and ass, as she went faster. He thrust up from underneath and she let out a loud gaspy moan. He gritted his teeth and cackled proudly, moving faster then her. She fell upon his chest as he thrust harder and faster from underneath. Her pussy fluttered and squeezed and he came hard inside her, the condom nearly bursting against the pressure. Though he had finished, he was still stroking, lazily. Kayla shuddered against him, and made little mewls, as she kissed his neck and shoulder. Lawrence rolled over to her side, and smiled at her, her eyes were drifting open and closed in sated sleepiness.

Lawrence cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, and meaningfully. His eyes searched hers a moment, as hers eyes flickered open. “Do you need anything?” he asked her. Brushing her hair away from her face and leaving it at her shoulder. She shook her head and closed her eyes again, smiling.

Lawrence moved to the bathroom, removing the condom, discarding it in the trash bin and wiping his cock and balls off with a rag on the sink. He splashed some water on his face and dried it with the towel hanging on a circular hook on the wall. He padded out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom and found Kayla snuggling under the covers of his bed. Lawrence crawled in with her and laid his long frame against her curvy one. His hand resting against her hip, facing her. She opened her eyes, as he kissed her again. Then he rolled to his back, and she cuddled into his chest, tucking herself under his arm.

She was halfway between sleep and wakefulness and he started to chat again, Kayla opened her eyes, to look up at him. Her hand resting over his heart. Lawrence put his hand over hers, and he sighed happily.

“God, that was good. I think you healed me, Goddess that you are”, Lawrence said aloud.

Kayla smiled, “Yeah, I do that sometimes. I’m glad I could be of help.”

Lawrence hugged her then, against his chest, kissing the top of her head, “You did. I thank you, sincerely”.

“Well you seemed so sad when you sang, I had to make you feel better”, Kayla mused.

“Is that it? Is that how I convinced you here, it was all your doing?” he chuckled, and she did too.

“No, I just thought you would be fun to get to know. And I was right.” Kayla answered.

Lawrence held her close and sighed again, then rolled to his side, Kayla spooned him, her arm draped over his side. Her lips marking kisses against the back of his neck, until it was just her soft breath on his skin. They both fell asleep relaxed.

(part 2 will post in a few days, just dripping for effect, hehe)

Taglist:

@sweetestgbye @lathalea @legolasbadass @richardarmitageshands @evenstaredits @middleearthpixie @riepu10 @richardarmitagefanpage @enchantzz @littlesweetdressmaker

thanks to my lovely ladies that support my stories, and there unwavering devotion to RA!!!