☂ 𝑰𝑵𝑺𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 || 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝙷𝙰𝚁𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙴𝚅𝙴𝚂 𝚡 𝙾𝙲 || 𝑩𝑲. 𝟐 ☂

15. DINNER WITH THE DEVIL

"Wow, she drives a hard bargain..." mumbled Elaina as she scooped a spoonful of the ambrosia. "But there's no way it could be that easy," she said, shoving it in her mouth before immediately scrunching her face in disgust.

"Killing the Board of Directors isn't an easy feat, hon, which is why she wants me to do it. The job itself is difficult and intense,"

She spit the ambrosia out in the sink, discarding the cup and the spoon as well. "Not if you have me there helping," responded Elaina, turning on the water to rinse it all down the drain.

Five looked at her intently. "This isn't like our missions when we were children or fighting the bad guy trying to kill us. These are innocent people, Elaina. I'm not putting that burden on you."

"What burden? It's for my family, I don't care what I have to do," she stated firmly, crossing her arms. "Like I told you, you're not doing this alone."

The boy watched her contemplatively before nodding. "Alright," he sighed. "But this only happens as an absolute worst case scenario," he said, sticking his hand into his blazer and pulling out a folded piece of paper. "This is our first option," he unfolded it and turned it around to reveal that he too received the invite to their father's supper.

"So you got one too," stated Elaina, pulling out her own invite and showing it to him. "Found mine at Birdie's. Looks like we all have been invited to Sir Reginald's 'light supper'."

"It appears so," he said, placing it back in his blazer. "This is our chance to speak to Dad about time travel and what he knows to get us out of here."

"I'm so excited," grumbled Elaina unenthusiastically as she tried walking past Five, only for him to reach out and grab her arm gently.

Five brought his hand up and brushed a straggling piece of hair from her face. "I know you've been dreading this moment, but when we meet with him, you must be on your best behavior, Laney." he said gently. "We can't afford scaring him off,"

"Nothing scares, Dad," she responded instantly. "You won't have to worry about that,"

He gave her a tentative stare. "Elaina..."

She sighed before rolling her eyes. "I won't misbehave. Promise," she said, crossing her heart with her pointer finger. "Okay?"

He eyed her for a moment, before giving her the benefit of the doubt. "Thank you," he said, giving her a small smile.

"I'm only doing it for you, lets get that straight," she informed him, shoving a pointer finger into his chest.

He chuckled lightly, covering her hand with his as he stared down at her. "A sentiment I appreciate greatly. Now," he said quietly. "How do I repay you?" he pulled her closer, leaning his face into hers. Just as their lips were about to connect, Tony's face flashed in Elaina's mind, making her jerk away suddenly.

Elaina forced an awkward laugh when she noticed his confused face. "Sorry, ambrosia breath," she quickly lied, pulling away from his grasp. "I'm, uh, going to go brush my teeth," she said, swiftly walking away to the bathroom door. "See you in bed?" she questioned just as she was about to shut the door.

Five nodded slowly. "Yeah... see you there," he responded with furrowed brows.

Elaina forced a smile before disappearing into the bathroom. Five looked at the door dubiously, his instincts telling him something was off with her behavior. Five hummed skeptically before pushing himself off of the archway and going into their room.

~.~

Elaina somehow managed to keep Five at arms length throughout the following day, guilt slowly starting to eat at her each attempt he made at her for affection. She could tell that he was starting to get suspicious, but he didn't mention anything. The pair made their way to the Southland Life hotel for their dinner date with Sir Reginald. Five held out the invite and compared the address to the hotel, nodding in approval.