Bound by Duty | Five Hargreeves

18. Heaven's over now

The five of us sit around the table in the living room, a few bowls with unusually large spoons along the table, and a large bowl of Jell-O and something else. "Ya'll know, Jell-O used to be a delicacy." Elliott says, "You know, in— in order to make it, you gotta boil down a whole mess of hooves... you know, horses, cows, pigs, it doesn't matter."

I raise an eyebrow, leaning back on the couch beside Diego, who was sharpening his knife. Luther and Vanya sat opposite us, both looking incredibly bored. I didn't blame them. Elliott had been rambling for some time now. "But not everybody has a mess of hooves just lying around." Elliott continues, "It wasn't until, uh... a couple of sassy New Yorkers figured out how to dry it out so that the rest of us could have a... chance to enjoy this ambrosia."

"If we have some, will you shut up?" Diego asks, glances glancing over at Elliott with a tired expression on his face. I huff, hitting his arm. "Ow... sorry." He mumbles.

Elliott nods slowly, "Maybe... here." He leans forwards, grabbing a spoon and pouring some of the Jell-O stuff into a bowl. I wince at the look and sound of it, like a thick bowl of slime.

Luther furrows his eyebrows, slowly ripping his gaze off of the Jell-O and turning to Vanya. "How are you feeling?" He asks, ignoring the sludging sound of the Jell-O thing Elliott had made.

"Pretty shitty, to be honest." The girl replies, leaned back on the couch with a bored expression on her face. Her arm draped along her stomach as she lazily rests her eyes on Elliott's Jell-O crap.

Diego hums, flipping his knife around in his hand as Elliott puts his bowl in front of him. "Where would you say you are on a scale from one to... ending all life on this planet?"

I smack his arm, harder this time. He hisses, leaning away from me and rubbing his arm. "Really?" I snap, to which Vanya only exhales.

"Diego, put the knife away you idiot." Luther mumbles, leaning forwards as if Vanya can no longer hear him. "She's fine."

"The last time I saw this one, she had me suspended mid-air, sucking the life out of me with energy tentacles." Diego responds, his voice scarily low and quiet. "I think I'm allowed a little time to process."

Elliott points towards Vanya with wide eyes, "Oh, I would love to see an energy tentacle." He grins, causing Vanya to simply raise an eyebrow.

"I don't remember what I did," Vanya sighs as Luther shakes his head towards Elliott, "But I'm sorry..." She shrugs, tilting her head. "If... if that means anything."

Diego stares at her for a moment, before putting his knife down. "It does." He responds, nodding to her and offering a small smile. "Just going through a lot right now." He leans forwards, "There's this... girl that I like." A small smirk forms on my lips, Lila. "I thought she liked me, but turns out that she's..."

The door opens, and a gorgeous woman's laugh echoes throughout the whole building. I exhale, "Thank god." I whisper, getting up with a short hiss and limping lightly over to the bannisters.

"Is anyone here?" A woman asks as the others approach behind me, "Hello?" My gaze fixates on a gorgeous dark skinned woman in a yellow and white stripy dress, as well as a skinny tall man with amazing hair speaking in French... alongside a very displeased looking Five.

"Oh..." The man, who I'm assuming to be Klaus, mutters as they notice us up on the balcony, "Wow... I know this is impossible, but... did we all get sexier?" He asks, to which I raise an eyebrow. "And who is that pretty thing?" The man grins, pointing towards me.

I let out a small giggle, leaning against the banister and scrunching up my nose. "Vanya..." The woman, Allison, whispers, catching my attention.

"I can't believe I have a sister." Vanya responds, her tired expression long gone— replaced by a proper happy smile. My smile falters slightly as I remember Lila, and how she hadn't returned. She was probably somewhere with mom.