|Doppelgänger| Five Hargreeves

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟐

A knock on "my" door was heard by me as I shuffled around the wardrobe in one of the corners of the room. The champagne bottle on the desk by my side was opened and already half empty. That's what they called drowning your sorrows, I suppose.

_"I know it's you, Five. You can come in."-He was the only one who would knock.

Slowly, the door creaked open, and light footsteps entered the room before it closed again. I grabbed one of the Sparrow uniforms and pulled it out of the wardrobe, raising it to my chest.

_"Do you think red is my color? I think it's more maroon than red, actually."-I turned to face the boy and show him the outfit I held close to me. His brows were slightly furrowed, but he eyed me from top to bottom.

_"I thought we were both done with uniforms."

_"Oh yeah, we are, definitely. But can you believe the other Y/n has actual clothes in her wardrobe? I wonder if she snuck out often or if for some reason dad is more tolerant in this timeline."-I grabbed another outfit from the wardrobe, this time a black casual dress, and showed him. It would fit my body perfectly. She died pretty young, after all.

_"I was expecting to talk to you about more than just fashion."-I let out a sigh after hearing him, and threw the uniform on the bed. There was no way to avoid this now since Five had no "end of the world" to solve.

_"Fine. Ask whatever you want, but turn around. I'm gonna change."-I waved my hand at him, and he only shrugged and obliged to my command. I took off my white shirt.

_"Why is it that your mother is a sensitive topic?"-I paused for a second, but shook my head and continued to undress.

_"Are you really gonna start with the difficult questions? Usually people avoid them 'til the last second."

_"I can come back to it later, then. Are you still mad at Viktor?"-I grabbed the black dress and slipped it on. I zipped it on the back to a certain point, but the rest was unreachable with my hands.

_"Yeah. And there's no quick way to fix that. A little help, please?"-I looked behind my shoulder, and watched as he turned to face me and stepped closer.

_"I talked to him. He does regret not telling you, if it makes things better."-One of his hands rested on my waist as the other pulled on the zipper. I felt the dress fitting better now.

_"If regrets and apologies actually made things better we wouldn't be stranded in this timeline. As I said, no quick fix for this. Thanks."-I turned around to face him as well, letting out a deep sigh. His hand was still on my waist, and I took it as an opening for me to rest my forehead on his chest in a hug.

_"...My birth mother died right before dad adopted me into the family. She was murdered, and I became a 'runaway', so Reginald decided to pick me up from the streets to become your substitute."-Those words were painfully difficult to say out loud, especially because I hadn't said them since I was a kid.

Five was silent after I said that, but his arms tightened around me. I wrapped mine around his torso as well, sinking my face further onto his chest. I didn't feel the need to cry. I was more comforted than anything, actually. He smelled of champagne. I probably did too.

_"Why didn't you tell me this before?"-His voice came out almost as a whisper. I separated from the hug just enough for me to see his face.

_"Because I hate the way you're looking at me right now."- I smiled slightly. My hands reached for his face, as I lightly caressed his cheeks.

_"Anyone else can pity me, I couldn't care less. But, please...Not you. You're the only one I won't allow."-He looked me in my eyes. He understood what I meant to a certain extent. I felt his thumb caressing my back.