𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 - 𝑓. ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑠

020. CHILDREN OF THE CORN

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CHILDREN OF THE CORN ☂︎︎

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SHE HAD FOOLISHLY FALLEN ASLEEP.

Luckily, but not so kindly, she was shaken awake.

By nature, she assumed danger despite the soft taps she was receiving and her pillow subconsciously warped into a dagger. When her eyes opened to Five whose eyes gazed at hers as though saying "Really?" although the soft smile on his face said the opposite. Charlotte sighed, the pillow returning as she picked herself up off the bed. "When did you get back?"

"Half hour ago," he said, eyeing the open door.

Her brows furrowed in worry. "Is everything okay?"

Before he could reply, a loud groan filled the opposite room followed by murmured words from Lila. Charlotte grimaced. "What happened?"

"My dad shanked my brother." he stated dully and without surprise. "Glad you didn't come now, huh?"

"The opposite." she retorted, standing up and taking a sip of water that he had placed on the counter for her. "I could've helped."

He rolled his eyes, allowing her to take notice of the slight flow of blood on his neck. "Yeah, well, you got a good night's sleep."

She fell into line beside him as they exited the room. Her arm held him still as he glared at her in confusion. He paused as her fingers lightly trailed across the skin of his neck, the purple haze dancing across the cut leaving a slightly ticklish sensation and meanwhile the proximity of her touch left a similar one that he guiltily noticed more than the counter. "Yeah, well.." she mocked. "Maybe you're the one who needs sleep."

Five tapped her forehead back, almost afraid to have her so close. "I have coffee."

"That's not sleep." she replied seriously.

Their bickering continued till they reached the doorway where Diego's groans of pain interrupted the tension laced conversation. Lila was hunched over his blanketed waist with a pair of pliers and steady hands. Five sighed. "Oh. He isn't dead."

It was her turn to shove his side at his attempt at hiding his worry. He approached his exhausted brother as Charlotte leaned against the door. Lila looked up. "Disappointed."

"Oh, to see you? Always."

He reached for a napkin and Lila sighed. "So much hostility in such a tiny package." she watched as he dabbed the napkin on his neck, wiping away the remaining blood. "Did you cut yourself shaving? I could teach you to shave like a big boy."

She could sense he was annoyed with Lila and she hoped his temper would be contained. "No, I just ran into an old family friend." Snoring softly lulled behind her. With a slight turn of her neck she saw Elliot, still tied up and asleep in the chair. "You didn't untie him?"

"Was I supposed to?"

---

After untying Elliot and making herself a shitty decaf which was then thrown away by Five who made her what he deemed "a perfect decaf" they waited over coffee. One highly caffeinated and one heavily lacking. He took the shared moment as an opportunity to ask the questions he'd had no time to ask her before and he chose the blunt statement route.

"What's with all the batteries in your apartment?"

He watched as she grinned. "Experimentation. Takes me back to the old days."