Wonder • Five Hargreeves

44

I Heard a Rumor

After Luther left, the chaotic trio (Quad, really, with the ghost of Ben) and Pogo were left standing silent in the kitchen. Pogo glanced back at the group, nodded in acknowledgment, and then slunk off. His shoulders and his spirits drooped with despair. The remaining group looked back at themselves silently, until something occurred to Five.

"Wait what did you say?" Five whipped to look at Winnie with alarm on his face.

Winnie blinked. "He left his waffles."

"No-" He shook his head quickly. "Before that, earlier in the conversation. After Klaus told us Dad killed himself."

Winnie tapped her lip and tried to think back. She honestly said a lot of things- it was hard to keep track when most of it went unacknowledged. Lets see... sex waffles, suicide, paintings, pogo...

"Oh! My paintings. About a week before Dad died, he had all my finished works collected. I was just left with abandoned projects- stuff I lost the vision for. I didn't mind, I just thought it was odd." Winnie told him and shrugged.

Five grabbed her, pulled her close, and kissed her hard on the mouth. "Winnie you are a genius."

Winnies eyes were dazed, but she still nodded in agreement. She opened her mouth to ask why, but Five wasted no time in explanation. He just kept her close and shoved them through space into a swirl of crackling blue energy.

Klaus looked tiredly at the now empty space of the kitchen. There went his rallying meeting. He just shrugged and looked at his ghostly companion.

"Listen Ben- I know. Those two are always in their own little world."

Across the house now, Five and Winnie reappeared. It was some forgotten wing of their estate, with the same ornamental turkish carpets and a wide collection of paintings and collector items hung and displayed about. Winnie gripped Fives arms like a startled cat upon their reappearance, but the man was already distracted by looking around the doorways of their new location.

"Five, while I do have a thing for you taking charge-" The blonde calmed her startled heart. "A little warning goes a long way!"

Five let go of her and jogged ahead and then backwards. His eyes shot around looking for the specific door.

"It got me thinking..." Five said softly, spinning. "Winnie.. Klaus told me once that you never stopped loving me, is that true?"

She really was not expecting that question.

Winnie suddenly found the hem of her skirt very interesting. She picked at a string and then did a half shrug. A girl usually so confident in everything that she did- but it was always the topic of Five that she felt the most naked to the eye.

"Yeah... Of course I never stopped loving you."

Five looked back at her, hearing the way her voice softened a little. Their eyes met, but his were burning with a love so deep it made any sense of smallness escape her. He came back over and took her hands "I never stopped loving you either, Winnie. I only asked that because- does that mean you never stopped looking for me either?"

Winnie shook her head and then her eyes widened. "Oh. OH!"

"Winnie, how long have you been predicting the apocalypse? How else did Dad know to kill himself a week before the world ended to bring us all together?" Five finally threw his hands around him. "And where did Dad hide your paintings?"

"Hide?" Winnie laughed and pulled him backwards. "Don't be silly! Why would he hide something I can't even see? He might've taken things from my studio, and my guess was that was enough so the rest of you didn't catch on."