𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ━ five hargreeves³

19│WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS

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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘ. ᴘᴀɴ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ
sɪᴅᴇᴡᴀʟᴋ ᴇɴᴅs ꒱


❝ LET US LEAVE THIS PLACE
WHERE THE SMOKE BLOWS
BLACK / & THE DARK
STREET WINDS & BENDS  ❞

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Alexa woke slowly the next morning. It wasn't the automatic wake-up that came with a blaring alarm or a disoriented consciousness that followed a day of travel. It was more of a soft alertness as she was roused gently from sleep. As her eyes blinked open to the warm light of the Kugelblitz, she wasn't certain if she was awake or if she was still dreaming.

A cool breeze brushed against her bare skin, causing her to shiver and pull the sheet up to her shoulders. As she adjusted to being awake, she stretched luxuriously before she rolled over. The girl's eyes widened with momentary surprise as she took in the still-sleeping boy next to her. Five's hair stuck up in odd directions while his mouth hung open slightly. His head was turned towards her but he was laying on his stomach; one of his arms was outstretched in her direction while the other was draped off the bed.

Her memories from last night came back in a sudden rush and she blushed as she recalled what they'd. . . done last night. Her gaze travelled across his exposed back as the sheet only came up to his shoulder blades. The blonde's face warmed further as her thoughts skittered towards the gutter as. . . ways that she'd like to wake him up came to mind. Settling for the tamest option, she reached forward to gently push the boy's dark strands out of his face. As expected, the action caused him to stir. When his eyes flickered open, he smiled sleepily at her. "Hey."

"Morning," she greeted him fondly. "How'd you sleep?"

"That was the best night's rest I've had in a long time. Maybe ever."

Alexa smiled bashfully. "Really? It was that good?"

Five smirked at her in return. "I'd say. Come here."

He shifted so that he was lying on his side and lifted up an arm. Her expression brightened happily as she moved closer to curl up against him. Her eyes fell to the new tattoo on his chest. It had been a bit of a surprise to see it but otherwise hadn't been off-putting; she'd only made sure to be extra careful around the sensitive area. She lifted her hand to trace the lines of ink with a feather-light touch, earning a sharp intake of breath in response. The boy quickly caught her hand to intertwine it with his own. "Careful. If you keep doing that we might need a morning round."

The corner of her lips quirked up. "Who's to say that we weren't gonna do that anyway?"

"Really? It was that good?" the boy echoed her previous question, though this time it was said much more smugly.

"Shut up," she grumbled with faux irritation.

He chuckled quietly before they fell into a comfortable silence. It lasted for several long moments before he couldn't resist the urge to ask a question he'd been dying to know the answer to. "Lexa?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I. . . ask you something?"

Her eyes flicked open again to meet his. "Of course. You can ask me anything. You know that."

"Right," he agreed. "Uh. . . when-when we were doing that mediation thing. . . what. . . did you see?"

Alexa frowned with some confusion. "What do you mean?"