definitely maybe i will live to love || Five x Reader/OC ||

tryin to get away into the night

I Think We're Alone Now

You don't think your family has ever wound up in the sitting room all together as much as you have in the past few days. It's not the worst, but it does remind you of the impending problems that are closing around your throat.

Luther and Klaus won't stop looking at you, and you're sure it's because of the teensy bloody nose you got after Vanya's power surge. Ben. Always ratting on you. You'd glare at him, but you're not sure where he's at, so you'll save it for the right moment.

Once Pogo sits down and Diego guides Mom beside him and Patch, Five stands, hands in his pockets, expression grim—but not hopelessly grim. That's a good sign.

"The temporal distortion machine was never a long-term safety measure," he says. "And, fortunately, it gave me enough time to come up with a plan that just might work."

"Well, what is it?" asks Luther.

"With the Commission out of the way," Five rationalizes, "then we won't have to worry about them trying to kickstart the end of the world."

Nobody has told Vanya she causes the end of the world. You hate this ugly but understandable secret you've all kept from her. You can see how it might make things worse, but you see how hiding the truth has its merits. If Vanya doesn't expect herself to cause the end of the world, then she won't have that insurmountable pressure on her soul and ultimately blow up because of it. On the other hand, maybe telling her that the Commission intends for her to end the world will help keep her powers under control due to what's at stake.

You're at a loss, and so is your family. In true Hargreeves fashion, you all fall into the habit of believing that if you don't say something out loud, it technically isn't a problem.

"We can't take on the entire Commission," Five goes on, "especially on their home turf, but I can infiltrate and do some subterfuge. Sabotage. Destroy them from within."

Wait. You notice the change from plural to singular pronouns in regard to the family. "Hey, hey," you interrupt, earning a half-scowl from Five because he didn't want to be caught this early. "Um, why did you just switch to talking like you're going to be the one doing this alone?"

Five grimaces resignedly.

"Because that's his little plan," Diego says. "Go in solo since the family is too much of an effort to incorporate."

"That's—" Five pulls his sneer back before he can fully lash out at Diego's interpretation of the dilemma. "That's not the exact reason." He points a finger in no particular direction. "As much as this family could cause complete and utter chaos at the Commission, we can't all be there. It'd be too much danger—not to mention suspicious. It'd never work. If I go alone, however, then it's a more believable setup."

The moment Five takes a breath, the rest of you jump in to argue with him, voices overlapping to point out all the reasons why this is a bad idea.

In return to your dissents, he gives you all a heart-stopping glower. "Let me finish explaining." As an afterthought, Five tacks on, "Please," at the end of his sentence.

He gets an array of glowers in return, but he's allowed to continue.

"Alright. Thank you. As I was saying." Five straightens his tie. "Cha-Cha is going to be the key to contacting the Commission. She'll inform them that I want to make a deal in exchange for my family's safety because I know we can't outrun the Commission forever. Let me make it clear that I still would be betrayed even if my intentions were true. Nobody breaks their contract and gets away with it. But I'd at least have some security for a while before it all went to shit. So. I'm going to use that time to my advantage.