Promise [Number 5 X Reader]

- Prepare For Trouble -

" . . . Do you and . . . the other me . . . have a good relationship?"

You pondered his statement, flipping through every encounter you'd had with him since he had returned in an instant. "You know, now that you mention it, we've never really talked about it. We're kind of . . . aware of how we feel, I think? But neither of us have really come right out and said it."

"Why not?"

You laughed dryly through your nose. "Why do you think? We've been scrambling around trying to stop the end of the world."

The grey Five didn't have a reply for that, and looked over his shoulder at the brunette Five. Just then, you heard your Five shout, "You wish you could look this good in these shorts!"

The small burst of laughter that escaped you seemed to startle the Five standing next to you. "Sorry, I just realized that yo-he sounds like he came from the east coast . . . Like Jersey or New York, y'know? It's something about how he says his vowels when he's pissed." Another chuckle emanated from your mouth.

There was a small silence, save for your shoes hitting the metal of the bridge. You could feel Commission Five's eyes on the side of your head again, and you pointedly looked over at him. "Sorry," he said quickly, seeming to recall your words from earlier. "You really care about him, huh?"

Your reply was immediate, "Of course I do." Your mouth opened again before you could stop, "I know this is probably the last thing you wanna hear . . . but I was actually kind of glad when he came back like that."

"Angry?"

"No, as a teenager." You weren't sure what face you had made, but it seemed to have an effect on Five given the pitiful expression he wore. "It kind of made me feel like I wasn't alone . . . old brain, little body, y'know?"

"That's right, you're probably thirty now," he remarked quietly.

"Mm-hmm." You scratched the back of your neck timidly. "If I had to be with anyone, I honestly don't think it could be anyone else but Five."

"Really?"

"Believe me, when I thought he was gone, I tried - which was a trip all on its own." You shuddered at some of the memories that stirred up. "People who matched me mentally were only into me because of my physical age, and people that matched my physical age didn't understand me the way I needed them to." You heard your Five shout some obscenities at some innocent bystander and you sighed, "As hostile as he can be at times, he's really the only person there is for me."

Another pause from your temporary companion. "What if I had come back like this? Would it have been different?"

You looked into his old eyes, and without missing a beat, "Absolutely." He seemed quite surprised by your answer. "Think about it: if his old brain hadn't been crammed into, well, him, then we wouldn't have understood each other at all. He wouldn't have understood that, despite my physical appearance, I'm the same age as everyone else in the Academy - because he wouldn't have gone through the same thing."

He let out a puff of air, "That's a lot to take in."

"I imagine it is." He didn't flinch under the scrutiny of your gaze. "One more thing, though." He looked down at you, brow lifting at your glower. "You and Luther have been acting a bit . . . squirrelly. I can't kill you because it'll kill my Five, but if either of you do anything, that isn't according to the deal . . . Well, you can find out yourself if you're willing to screw things up."