𝐗𝐈𝐗
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dedicated to sselenophiliaaa <3
𝟏𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕
I woke up to the sound of Five's gentle snores. His arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, molding our bodies together. The ringing in my ears and my throbbing headache were the only things that told me I'd got completely wasted last night. I guess I was mostly thankful that I couldn't fully remember everything. It saved me the embarrassment of thinking about whatever happened with Five last night. Although, that said, I know I wouldn't have hated it.
The warmth of his body so close to mine made it just that much harder to get up, but I managed to wriggle out of his arms. As I sat up, I noticed my dress/suit disregarded in a heap on the floor. Five's suit was beside it.
Stretching out the stiffness in my limbs, I forced myself to get out of bed and headed towards the closet.
There wasn't much, but I found a basic t-shirt and some shorts. I hardly needed the shorts though, since the shirt reached halfway down my thighs. Still, it was basic decency.
Five rolled over, yawning as he did. I admired how is hair fell in his eyes, how his lips were slightly parted in sleep. Then I noticed the dark bruises around his neck.
I rushed to the closest mirror, seeing the same marks scattered across my neck and jaw. Shit.
I began rummaging through the drawers of the vanity in search of a concealer. Much to my surprise, I managed to find one in a similar shade to my skin tone-it was a little too light, but only noticeable if you were looking for it.
I did my best to cover up the bruises, though they still peeked through slightly. At least it was something.
"Morning, love." Five's sleepy voice startled me. I hadn't noticed I'd woken him with my searching.
"Morning." I smiled back, suppressing a giggle at his messy hair. To put it nicely, it resembled a bird's nest. It was cute though.
"You sleep okay?" He yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. I nodded in response, making my way over to him.
"You might need some of this." I held up the concealer, as he raised a brow. I pointed to my neck, gesturing for him to look at his own. He stretched and lazily walked over to the mirror. I giggled when his eyes widened slightly at the marks.
"Oh..." He sighed, suppressing a smile. "Do it for me, would you?"
I nodded, gesturing for him to sit down so I could cover his neck (if your skin tone is different to Five's, just pretend there's another in his shade).
He pulled me into his lap, his hands resting on either side of my waist. I swallowed my nervousness and tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. He allowed me to dab down the concealer with my finger, only pulling away twice when it hurt too much.
"Sorry-" I apologized when he winced away, though he shushed me and leaned closer again.
When I'd finished with the concealer Five brought his head back down. He stared longingly at my lips, as I bit back a smile.
"I love you." He whispered, leaning into my lips. He pressed a soft, short kiss to them, before pulling back, "You know that, right?"
"Yeah..." I nodded, sighing in contentment, "I know..."
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𝟑𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕
Y/N slunk down the stairs, sweeping the remaining slumber from her eyes. This morning with Five hadn't been as awkward as she'd expected, and she was glad to say she would no longer die a virgin. At least that was one thing checked off the list.
"Hey!" Klaus' voice echoed from nearby, dragging out the 'y'.
Y/N turned towards the direction of the noise, seeing the man stood in his underwear. Though he was also wearing a blazer?
"What'd you get up to last night, amiga? You completely disappeared."
Y/N could already feel her face flushing darker, but she tried hard not to make anything too obvious.
"Oh, nothing really." She shrugged, approaching Klaus. "Got tired. Went to bed."
Klaus was silent for a moment. "With Five?"
Klaus chuckled as her eyes widened before him.
"Don't worry. I won't tell." He grinned, sending Y/N a wink. She swallowed her embarrassment, averting her gaze to the floor.
"I hate you." She muttered, though a grin was already spreading across her face.
"No you don't."
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𝟏𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕
I waited patiently outside the room as Klaus fumbled around with something. I could hear him rummaging through the drawers for something to wear.
I still hadn't quite figured out how he'd known about Five and I, since we'd snuck off, but I supposed there was no use in fretting about it now. I should just try to prepare myself for the inevitability of everyone else knowing.
"All done." Klaus pulled back the door, posing on the other side. He wore a plain black t-shirt and jeans. "We're matching!"
I looked down at my own shirt, a smile pulling at my lips. We were, in fact, matching.
"Coincidence?" I questioned, a hint of sarcasm playing in my tone.
Klaus grinned. "Sure."
We made our way back downstairs, catching sight of the rest of the Hargreeves sat around the lobby. Well, all except two. I still hadn't found Five since I'd left our room this morning, but I was sure he was here somewhere.
"Hey!" Lila called, seated beside Diego. She brushed her hair from her eyes. "Where'd you go last night? I was looking for you!"
"Oh?" I tried to keep my tone even, focusing on the second part of what she'd said. Thankfully, it seemed she wasn't yet aware of where I had been.
"Shots." Though it was a one word answer, her expression said it all. As did Diego's incredulous one.
"That's why you were looking for her?" It was clear in his tone that he was scolding Lila's irresponsibility, and I allowed a giggle to escape my lips. Lila rolled her eyes but sent me a smirk.
I took a seat beside Klaus, who sat beside Ben. It seemed only a second later when Sir Hargreeves and Five entered the lobby. His eyes immediately found mine, and his lips curved into a soft smile. Without even thinking about it, I mirrored his smile perfectly. A round of cheering, clapping and applause filled the lobby, along with a few whistles, though I had zero clue why.
"Woo! Five! Yeah!" Klaus cheered, as Lila and Diego got to their feet. The former jumped up onto the loveseat.
"That speech last night! Wow!" Diego's words made no sense at all and I tried to recall Five's speech. I must've been too drunk to remember that part.
"Brought me to tears you big softy."
Viktor grinned, "I especially liked when you referred to us as a family bound by destiny and love."
Five was quick to shut him down though. "Okay, enough. It was the booze talking. In the light of day you're all still deplorable."
"Drunk words and sober thoughts." Although I still had no recollection of the speech, it didn't mean I couldn't still tease him about it. Klaus seemed to agree, cheering a 'Yeah!'.
As if his only life goal was to bring us bad news, the man before us interrupted, "Your day's about to get worse."
"The Norse has seven sleepers. The Blackfoot, seven stars. As a boy, I heard the legend of the seven bells."
Cool. So, what exactly does any of this mean? All I could gather was that seven seemed like his lucky number.
"All these stories are the same. The village is under threat by flood, by fire, by a night that never ends. A shaman brings his disciples to a sacred cave. He tells them if they can ring the seven magic bells, the village will be saved, and all will be restored just as it was."
"Reggie." Lila raised a hand, her head rested on Diego's lap. "Can we get a little less Brothers Grimm and more 'What the hell does this have to do with us?'"
The man's face turned solemn, and I was reminded of a grumpy gnome. Huh.
"There is a truth to these myths. None of you can deny what's going on around us. All of existence will be gone by the end of the day, but whoever or whatever wove together space and time, they left a way to put things back together if the universe ever faced total annihilation."
Great explanation, Reg. But what the fuck does this all mean? And, like Lila said, what does this have to do with us?
"There is a portal in the universe. I built this hotel around it, and on the other side is the answer."
"And...we're supposed to, what? Just stroll in there, ring some bells, and fix this shit?" Luther's tone was mocking, but I supposed he was correct. It would've been a whole lot easier if Reg had just said that in the first place though.
"Sarcasm aside, you are mostly right." Mostly? Here it comes... "Except for the guardian."
Ah, there it is. The inevitable news of our deaths. Man, I just love living in the future.
"What kind of guardian?" Viktor's innocent tone seemed out of place in the current situation.
In comparison, Diego's dark one fit right in, "Kinda guardian that does this. He has a sword."
Reggie's tone remained monotonous. "It is a force to be reckoned with."
"See? Yeah, this is where you lose me." Luther sighed, exasperated.
"This is where he loses you?" Lila muttered, "I checked out at the sacred cave."
"Why would the builders of this back door need to have a guardian?"
Sloane pointed a finger at Reg, as if to say 'I know!'. "Ah! To protect it from people who want to use it for nefarious means."
"That is correct, Sloane." Her answering smile was enough to say she was proud for knowing the answer. Ben's expression was the complete opposite though, a mix of gloom and irritation.
"So I guess it's gonna take all of us to defeat the thing that's protecting the bells."
Yeah. Wait. No. Count me out.
"You're actually buying his crap?" Five raised a brow.
"How is a guardian and bells any crazier than time travelling briefcases and assassins with cartoon masks?"
"Actually, she's got you there." Luther admitted, sending the lobby into a hushed silence.
Eventually, Ben stood.
To no one's surprise, the kiss-ass of a fully grown man joined Reggie's side. "I'm in." To everyone's surprise, or at least mine and Lila's, so did Diego. "Me too." Lila muttered a small 'ow' when her head fell from Diego's lap as he stood. "But I think some of us should stay back. Like Lila." Hearing his protectiveness of the woman almost made me smile, but I bit it back quickly. Lila didn't seem nearly as happy with the decision. "Uh...or you can stay, and I can go." "No." Allison's interruption ruined the moment. Though this didn't seem like anything too new for her. "This is bigger than all of us. Nobody can stay back." What about me? Y'know, the idea of being obliterated sounds a lot less painful than getting my fingers sliced off. "You, my children, are all that stands between us and oblivion. Are we ready to go?" Maybe I should speak up. After all arguing with them in my head isn't going to help. "Well, I say we vote." Viktor's rather responsible suggestion was met with Ben's hard tone. "This isn't a democracy."
For the first time since the beginning of the conversation, I finally spoke. "Maybe it should be." Ben's cold glare met mine and I instantly felt the shivers creep down my spine. "Whoever gave you the right to speak? You aren't a part of this family. It shouldn't matter anyway, since you don't get a vote." Sure, I'm not part of the family. But according to the original timeline, he wasn't either? Or at least not this version. "Do you ever get tired of all the shit that spews from your mouth? Although your head is so far up your own ass I guess it's all the same." I hissed. "Maybe that's why your nose is so brown too. Not only are you the world's most insufferable kiss-ass, you're also such an egoistic prick that you feel the need to kiss your own ass too."
My words were followed with complete silence, before Lila not-so-successfully stifled a laugh. Five cleared his throat, though I could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke again, "I'm with Viktor and Y/N. We vote." Reg looked incredulous. "The world is ending, and you want to count hands?" "You're asking us to risk our lives." Luther argued. "I think it's only fair you give us some time to discuss it." When Reggie simply looked between the faces of everyone sat down, Luther added, "Privately."
The man sighed before striding away, his head as high as ever. Ben remained stood in the same position, keeping his glare icy and threatening. I offered him a mocking grin. "Why don't we meet back here in an hour?" Luther suggested, earning a chorus of 'yeah's and 'sure's.
I carefully got to my feet, sending one last smile to Ben, before making my way to the elevator.
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i'm sorry y'all have been waiting so long, but finally, a new chapter ! :)
idk if i'm gonna update next friday, but i'll try. for now, i'll be going back to updating once a week, just bc i'm not use to it anymore. ty all for being so incredibly patient, and i love u guys so much <33
have an amazing day/night mls <3
-eva xoxo