Piano lessons - Five Hargreeves

pt 1

Reginald valued physical and intellectual knowledge out of everything else, added to that he believed that old socials skill were essential in order to win every mission, that's why he made sure that his children would learn how to dance and that's the same reason why the seven Hargreeves kids were sitting one beside the other in front of a opened pianoforte, waiting for their father to enter the room and introduce them to their new teacher.

"Mastering an instrument can be useful for any type of undercover mission, much like dancing." Had told them the old man when he introduced them to the already taken decision of inserting a music class in between their normal classes and training.

The kids stood up as soon as they heard the door open, Reginald walked in, his cane clacking with his shiny shoes, another set of steps behind him.

"Children, great your new teacher. Miss Y/n L/n" announced Reginald stopping in front of the kids, a young woman beside him, she must have been not even 5 years older then the group of thirteen years old looking up at her.

The girl waved, a warm smile on her softly tinted lips, she was wearing a white loose country dress that reached three quarters of her thighs in the front and nearly her ankles in the back, a deep u neck stopping just at the right point to reveal her cleavage but not to expose her modesty. Brown heels sandals were covering her feet, no socks or collants on. And a brown school bag was hanging by her shoulder down until her hips, over the bag on her ears she had long dangly earrings

The kids looked at her with mouth slightly a gap, they would have never thought their father would hire someone less then a strict teacher, always dressed formal and possibly with a ruler in hand.

"Hi everyone, I'm Y/n, I'm miss Fedorov substitute, she had an accident yesterday so she called me to teach you some basics, hoping that she will leave the hospital soon." She greeted kindly, she even bowed her head slightly. None of the kids had ever been treated with such warmth.

"Miss L/n I expect for the kids to learn fast and efficiently, there is such short time for this class. So I require perfection." He said turning towards the girl who nodded confident even if she had a lump stuck on her throat.

"Excellent, then I'll leave you, if you need anything, Pogo, whom you meet earlier, will be at your service." He trailed walking to the door and than closing it behind him. The girl finally breathed again, so loudly it felt like she might have been drowning. She turned towards the kids that had set back down no word uttered, they must have ben a little over 13 years old but strangely they were close to impeccable in their manners. That weirded Y/n out, she was no stickler for rules when she was their age. Not that she is years older now.

"Ok, alright." She started a little awkward under the 7 children eyes. "Does anyone play an instrument?" She asked, silence was the only answer until one little hand shot up. "Yes, dear?"

"I play the Violin."

———

It's been weeks now, Y/n had managed to teach the basics of the pianoforte to every kid and eventually introduced a few of them to a set of instruments to which they were interested too.

"Alright kids, today pick your instruments we are going to play Johann Pachelbel, anyone remembers the title of the piece?" She asked while entering the room, her now floral country dress was swinging behind her fast clacking steps and her beg was dropped on the floor leaning to a piano leg. Voice overlapped loudly, with people arguing a little about who said it first and who was so dumb they've gotten it wrong. Y/n laughed at them, she wasn't amused she was just happy to see them finally speaking up a little.

"It's the Cannon in D, you idiots, we've practiced two weeks ago." One sentence was clear enough for the young woman to hear so she grasped on that.

"That's right Five." She smiled the group quitting down at hearing that. One particular thing that made Y/n the favorite of the kids was her ability to make their number sound like real names, Reginald rarely called them without the word 'Number'.

"So why don't we start from you, we are going to practice one by one, two times alright? I'll be there to help." She asked but it really wasn't an option to discuss, she had learned that when Reginald had schedules prepared and ideas that had to be tone she had no voice on the matter, she only could try to lessen the burden on the kids by being her nice and kind nature.

———

Five was in the pianoforte room practicing softly the Moonlight sonata from Ludwig van Beethoven, door open, his other siblings were around the house spending their free hours trying to be normal kids for once. But Five wanted to already do it flawlessly, he didn't want Y/n's assistance, he could do it perfectly on his own.

With all the thoughts about not liking the older girl presence and her aid he failed to hear soft clacks stopping at the door.

Y/n was looking at the young boy huffing at the piano, his hand repeating the same pattern of notes for at least 5 times before finally managing to get the notes right, she could see his eyebrows furrowed in frustration or irritation, she didn't actually know which one of the two, but she knew that Five was a kid that had a lot of those emotions in him.

"I believe that the piano would appreciated being pressed more gently." She voiced, Five body tensed up and is gaze flew up from the finger board to the door were his teacher was standing yet in another dress. He grunted annoyed at the smile she was showing, how was it that this young adult that was 4 years older than him ended up teaching such a difficult art as this? Wasn't she too young? That would be hypocritical of him, since he already was a mathematician at the age of 13 years old.

The clacking distracted him from his thoughts, the girl was walking towards him, the attitude of someone that had lived more years than they were showing. "Let me help you." She didn't even ask, she set beside him, elbows almost brushing, bodies so close, she smiled and nudged him to play, and so they did for half an hour before she had to walk away again under the gaze of the boy that could do nothing more then admire her glowing skin and silky hair that he had almost touched.

———

Five's disappearance surely affected Y/n too, being a kid that was around their age made it possible that she had seen all of them like siblings, so when Five never came back she got affected too in her own way, in private she always tried to look around for him hopping to find him and bring him back to the academy, but years passed and she had lost hope. After finishing her class she was not allowed to interact with the kids again so she never saw them even if sometimes. But at night while playing the old piano her grandmother had given her when she was as young as when she had meet them, she would still remember and picture the kids looking at her fascinated.

She was playing on the back porch of her house, the garden she had grown in the back yard was adorned by little lights, to remember the kid she started playing 'Moonlight sonata' her eyes closed and so engrossed by the music that she failed to hear loud small steps on the wood, walking up the small set of stair that allowed the connection between the house and the back garden.

"Gentle." One word made her jump in her own skin but actually she was frozen there, hands overing the fingerboard, eye traveling up. There he was, a 13 years old boy still dressed in the Umbrella academy Uniform.

"Five?" She asked, her body untensing, her lips smiling up at him. Five had missed that smile so much, always vivid in his memory, he slid his hands in the pocket of his shirts and with a half smile nodded. "You look just like the day you disappeared." She chuckled in disbelief. He did not look a bit different which confused her, but she was so happy to see him.

"It's what happens when you mess up the equations to come back here." He said like she would understand what he's talking about. She could not understand it, but she somewhat could emotionally show him that she felt his discomfort in his new body.

"What do you mean?" She asked standing up, her feet free of any restriction, she was no taller then when they had separated. She walked up to him and ruffled his hair softly just to actually prove he was there and that he was not the product of her imagination.

"I mean, I am not supposed to look 13 years old."