The Angel of Small Death || Five Hargreeves

x. so go easy on me

The Hargreeves children stood around the elevator, waiting to reach the lobby. Klaus was sitting on the floor, his legs spread out, taking up most of the standing room. He was heavily sweating, holding onto his chest.

Allison sighed, "Well, that went as well as any Hargreeves family function."

"I feel so violated!" Klaus called. "I need an herbal bath. You had no right to possess me."

Everyone looked down at Klaus's ramblings to no one in particular. Most would blame his crazy-talkings on all of the drugs he did, but his family knew better.

Allison turned to Luther, "Congratulations."

"For what?"

"I think that's the first time you've ever stood up to Dad."

Vanya leaned closer to Diego, "Are you okay?"

He seemed to be stressing out over what his father had said. He held himself up with an arm on the wall, just staring down at his shows. "So much for having my back in there. Team Zero, my ass. The only one who stuck to it was Blondie over here and she's not even a part of this family."

As soon as the elevator doors opened, the siblings walked out, trying to get out of the building as quickly as possible. Liv took her time, knowing that she would be taking a long walk home if Five had yet to forgive her. She knew he had not, but the chances of it occurring wasn't zero. 

Liv sat on the curb watching as the Hargreeves family members vacated the lot. Vanya and Diego were talking to people through car windows as she waited.

Diego talked to a blonde woman who was sitting in Reginald Hargreeves's car. She had instilled the vehicle into her brain after seeing it at the Consulate. It was a nice car, definitely belonging to a rich man.

As soon as Diego started to walk away from the car, Liv called after him. "Hey! Diego! Are you heading back to Elliott's?"

"Why do you want to know?" He asked, not turning back to see her. He opened his car door as Liv approached the car.

"I was just wondering if I could get a ride. Five is- well- he might be a while. It's fine if you can't, I can take the bus or something."

He took pity on her, "Just this once, kid."

***

Five and his estranged father sat at the bar of the Tiki Room as a bartender made them drinks. It was an odd experience for the both of them. Five seeing his father for the first time in more than forty-five years, Reginald meeting the children he never knew he had. It was a lot for one day.

"You seem to be the sensible one of the bunch," Reginald said.

"That's because I'm the oldest. You know, technically I'm older than you right now."

"Cognac?"

Five smirked, "Just a smidge."

"The other night you quoted Homer at me. Why?"

"You forced us all to learn it as kids. In the original Greek, no less." Reginald and Five lifted up their glasses of alcohol, toasting each other, before taking sips of the liquid. "The world ends in five days if we don't get out of the timeline."

"Worlds end. Paleozoic, Jurassic, and so on."

"We can do something about this one."

"Man's greatest flaw," his father acknowledged, "the illusion of control."

"I need your help. All right? You're my last sane option," Five begged. "Otherwise, I gotta make a deal that I really don't wanna make. What do you know about time travel?"