"How the Cards Fell" I Five Hargreeves x Reader I

Fate and the Power of Chaos

//my friends don't walk they run//

"Are you going to tell me what that was about?"

Five slipped the address into his pocket, his expression giving nothing away. He shrugged at me, barely paying attention to what I was saying. "It doesn't concern you –" he blinked, "--until it concerns me, yeah?"

"I'm concerned for you."

Adamant about leaving me in the dark, Five turned back to his coffee. It must have been a stale taste, but those bitter tastes appealed and agreed with Five. 'Five has a stomach of iron', Grace used to say. She would smile endearingly and add, 'his taste buds are like yarn'. Five had a sweet tooth for marshmallows, but rarely did he consume any other kinds of sugar.

The milkshake went down easily. I hadn't tasted anything so luxurious in at least two years, maybe longer.

"So when are you going to tell me your next plan of action?"

Then I heard it.

Third Person's POV

Y/N wasn't a stranger to fighting. Hell, she'd been training all her life for battle against heartless criminals, brainless scumbags, her own siblings and even helpless innocents in simulations that Reginald had made her slaughter. But trained assassins?

Well, Y/N was good, but she wasn't that good. Her eyes twitched towards her shirt sleeve where the Card hid, then to the reflection in the metal bell on the countertop. She could see them outlined in the dim lights. The restaurant seemed hazy, somehow, as if a shadow had fallen over the sleepy cafe. Six men, wearing uniforms. Carrying rifles. They weren't looking at her, though. They had their gaze set on Five, who in turn seemed unconcerned.

He sipped his coffee amiably, as if didn't have six guns pointed at his head.

"That was fast." Calm, composed. It was times like this when Y/N realised she didn't recognize Five. He had the cold eyes of a killer. " Thought I'd have more time before they found me."

Though Five spoke directly to Y/N, his eyes never left the butter knife on the counter. Under his breath, he caught her attention. "Come towards me, love."

Y/N slipped off the barstool, aware of the watchful eyes of their would-be attackers.

"Okay, so let's all be professional about this, yeah?" the man closest to Five's head muttered. "On your feet. Come with us. We'll talk."

Five put the coffee cup down. Y/N's hand found his leg as she turned slowly to face the men. She recognized none, but assumed that Five did. Though she craved conflict, she avoided it as much as necessary, trained to control herself. It had been a while since she'd fought back full force, let alone fought Cardless.

It had been a while since Y/N had been allowed to use her powers.

And she was desperate to.

"I've got nothing to say." Five nodded.

They weren't listening anymore. Their trained eyes were locked on Y/N. A hint of recognition was what Y/N sought. She wanted them to know what she was capable of, wanted to feel their fear, fear for their future, fear for their lives.

"That's Y/N Hargreeves." one of them murmured. "The Chaos."

"The Seer," Y/N corrected, stretching her nimble fingers. "Whichever."

"But she was locked away ages ago," he uttered. "She's insane. Killed people with those playing cards, didn't she?"

"It's not polite to talk about women like that," the girl's face clouded. "Quite disrespectful."

Five hushed her. The hand that slipped onto her waist was gentle, but firm enough to pull her back towards him. The circle of safety. Any point of contact with Five would ensure her security.

"It doesn't have to go this way," the man's feet shifted. "Think I wanna shoot a kid?" he paused. "We'll take the girl. She's got a mighty reward on her head. But you –" he looked at Five. "We just want to talk. Don't need to go home with two dead kids in my conscience."

Five scoffed, final amusement showing through his raised eyebrows. "I wouldn't worry about that. You won't be going home."

"Oh, Fivey, please let me take this one," Y/N smirked, her eyes lighting up at the thought of real prey. These men might not have been easy targets, but it was in her nature to try.

"It'll exhaust you."

"I don't care."

Bullets flew everywhere as Five spatial-jumped Y/N away from the pieces of metal. Her breath caught in her throat as she bit back a retort of Five's rude intrusion. He was nowhere near able to listen. In a split second, he had removed his tie to strangle one of them, stabbing the other in the eye with a pencil.

Blood flowed, Y/N grinned.

She spread her hands. "Fate." Four of the men collapsed, their eyes momentarily clouded as they met the worst fate that their brains could design. That was the delight in Y/N's power. The extent of torment was completely dependent on her victim's imagination. The worst thing they believed would happen to them came true. Whether it was death, entrapment in the fiery hell of their minds, endless pain and suffering – it all came true.

Y/N crossed her arms to watch as one of them turned to dust, the other was covered head to toe in angry sores, the third's brain exploded in a bloody tangle of flesh and the fourth simply keeled over in plain death.

"Y/N – you're –" the first sign of panic came from Five, and Y/N realised she was in the line of fire. Five stood between her and the other two men still alive, his body like a shield. Fear crossed his face, but Y/N ignored him. Though she basked in the release of her powers, she wasn't stupid enough to let the others escape.

"It's fine," she spoke, though before the words had fully left her mouth the exhaustion hit. Five was stupidly, utterly ridiculously correct. The extent of her powers didn't reach as far as they did when she had the Cards.

"You fucking idiot –" No sooner had Five spoken, was another round of bullets fired. Five grabbed her by the arm, blinking them out of the restaurant.

Gunshots lit the stage and from the safety of the darkened street, Y/N realised that they'd shot each other. Satisfied, she gave into the tiredness and her legs collapsed underneath her.

"This is why you shouldn't have–"

Y/N gasped for air, "Enough with your lectures, can't you see I'm dying?" She coughed, a weak smile on her face. "I want to see the stars, Five." she mocked. "Take me to the roof before I leave this world forever."

The running joke about death didn't fly well with Five. He supported her from behind, holding the limp girl up with his arms looped underneath hers.

"You think you're so funny," he scoffed. Y/N could feel the world spinning. The Card on her wrist was humming for her to wake up but she was just so tired. So...so...tired.

"Do you forgive me?" Y/N asked bleakly. "Five?"

His voice was quiet in the steadfast silence of the empty street. Even in the fading corners of her mind, Y/N prayed that he would answer. The jig was up. The facade had melted, leaving Y/N with the utterly horribly feeling of vulnerability.

Before she could wait for an answer, the lightswitch in her brain clicked off and Y/N fell into a state of glorified unconsciousness. She always felt that sleep was euphoric after using her powers.

The warmth in his voice was unrecognisable as he looked down at the girl. Her face, which he knew so well. The curve of her lips and the way her hair parted. The slight opening of her mouth as she breathed.

"There was never anything to forgive."

_