𝑖 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢. [𝐴𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑛/𝐹𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠]

☂︎︎𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠☂︎︎

A dying fire still crackled in the fireplace of the academy. The fire casted a soft, warm glow spilling across the room, outlining all of the furniture with a brown orange. Earlier, the whole room was lit up with life as the fire roared in its place, almost having to turn off the heater, it was that warm. But, as time went on, it died down, as did the members of the academy. Prior to this moment, they were all huddled around it with their blankets and pillows and staring at its flames with such an innocent fascination. The way the bright oranges and reds licked upwards left them silent. But as the night progressed, one by one each member headed off to bed. Until there were two left.

Number Eight and Number Five sat by each other, knowing well that they were not going to be sleeping in their beds tonight. In silence they stayed there; maybe for a couple minutes, maybe an hour. All of the time slipped by like a hazed blur, yet they did not care much. It was at least an hour, since the fire was almost no more. Five yawned and rested his head on Y/N's shoulder. And with a quiet request sent to the girl, the two traveled up to the couch and slumped into its cushions.

She laid down on her back and opened her arms invitingly to the boy, and he carefully crawled over to her with his blanket, and placed himself gently on her body with a huff. His head was buried in the crook of her neck while his arms wrapped around her waist, as did Y/N's. And just like that, the two's mind's drifted away into nothingness as sleep overcame them.

-

Small whimpers and whines awoke the sleeping girl from her deep rest, her eyes slowly opening to adjust to the light. It was still night time, most likely around 2 am. The fire finally died down to a single ember, and left the room smelling of burnt wood. Not that anyone minded; in fact, that was how they liked it. The room was the very definition of comfort and tranquility, despite the whimpered cries that filled the space with a deep sadness.

The blanket felt like a dead weight as Y/N slowly pulled it down, revealing a shivering boy still on top of her. Warm tears slid down his cheeks and onto her neck due to his face still being buried in it. His grip was terribly tight around her waist, and she murmured, "Five? Are you okay?"

Five shook his head, and nuzzled his face deeper into her. The sound of his continuous crying led to her frowning. When others were upset or crying, it caused her to become emotional as well. It wasn't helpful in any situation that she was in. "Did you have a nightmare?" Her hand ran through his hair slowly, attempting to calm Five's crying down.

"Y-Yes." He sniffed and fell into a fit of quiet hiccups.

His crying carried on as she shushed him sweetly, reminding him that he was all okay. She knew he had trouble sleeping lately and struggled with awful nightmares. Even one time she was woken by him in the midst of the night, quietly asking if he could sleep with her because of his horrid nightmares that caused him insomnia. It broke her heart to no end.

"Do you need to talk about it?" She whispered into his ear after she waited a while for him to attempt to calm down.

A shaky sigh left his lips as he shook his head no, and he adjusted his position on her to get more comfortable. The sight Y/N found nothing short of adorable, and she internally cooed t him. Sure, he was an intimidating, cold-hearted Hargreeves during the day, but he was allowing the girl to know that wasn't the case whatsoever. When they were alone, his voice would go soft, and his usual scowl he wore on his face faded away into a soft smile, and he would be pleasant. Now the adjective 'pleasant' was not usually used while describing Five Hargreeves, but sometimes he had his moments.

Dark eyelashes batted as his eyes fluttered closed once again, letting exhaustion take over his mind and body. For a moment, she had forgotten he was crying moments before, since he looked so peaceful laying atop of her. She then feared that his dreadful nightmares would crawl back into his tired mind, disturbing his peaceful slumber again.

Leisurely, her hand traveled down to the bottom of his shirt, and slipped her hands underneath the light blue fabric. His green eyes opened, darkened by the absence of light, and he looked up at her while propping his chin up on her chest. Y/N smiled and slowly began to scratch his back up and down, and his eyes fell closed a second time. She was careful to not guide her hands too far down his back when she drew her attention away to study his beauty.

Reds and pinks lined his puffy, weary eyes, and his cheeks were painted with a light blush. His eyebrows were no longer furrowed, and his mouth fell slightly open as he sighed with content. It was easy to say that he was the most beautiful boy she has ever laid her eyes on. Any other boy's looks were nothing compared to his comely face.

When she began to scratch his sides and his shoulders, he sighed deeply and nuzzled his face under her chin with a shiver. A small kiss was placed on her skin when his face was hidden from sight. And as he settled more into her embrace and her soothing scratches, he began the process of falling asleep all over again.

Y/N softly smiled at this, suddenly feeling fatigued as well. Her thoughts were clouded with wondrous thoughts of her and the boy in her arms as she slowly let her eyelids cover her darkened vision. The world faded around her until it was just her and Five. The two of them staying with each other, forever. A whispered 'I love you' was audible from his lips, as she tiredly returned it, and her fingernails that glided on his skin slowly halted to a stop once she and him fell into a deep, deep slumber that they so desperately needed.

❤︎❤︎❤︎

:/