The Sparks Between Us | Five Hargreeves x Reader

FOUR

༻ Y/N'S POV ༺

I sat silently in the chair, my posture perfectly straight, hands folded in my lap as I observed the dynamic between Five and his family. Two of them were staring at me, their expressions tinged with confusion and suspicion. Five, undeterred, placed a cutting board on the table with a decisive thud.

"What's the date?" he asked, his tone brisk as he moved toward the shelf to grab a loaf of bread. "The exact date."

"The 24th," replied a small woman with dark hair, her voice soft yet wary. She was seated near the edge of the table, her eyes darting between me and Five.

"Of what?" Five pressed as he returned, clutching the bread in one hand and a knife in the other.

"March," she clarified.

"Good," Five murmured under his breath, slicing into the bread with precision, his movements sharp and deliberate. I remained still, my optical systems passively scanning the room and its occupants.

Suddenly, I registered movement—a finger hesitatingly reaching toward my face. I turned swiftly, locking eyes with a tall man sitting cross-legged on the table. He flinched the moment my head snapped toward him, his hand retreating as though he'd been burned.

"So," the man began, his tone gruff but demanding, "are we gonna talk about what just happened? And what that thing is?" He gestured toward me with a vague wave of his hand.

My head tilted slightly as I processed his words. "Thing?" I echoed, my voice neutral, though I could detect the faint tension rippling through the room.

I focused my scanners on him, analyzing his appearance and demeanor.

Initiating Identification Protocol...
Subject Detected: Luther Hargreeves
Alias: Number One
Classification: Human-Augmented Hybrid
Genetic Enhancement: Simian-DNA Integration
Physical Traits: Abnormal Muscular Structure; Ape-like Proportions
Age: Approximately 29 Years (Subject appears older due to temporal anomalies)
Emotional Readout: Suspicion... Curiosity... Defensive Alertness...

Five ignored Luther's pointed stare and casually placed the bread down on the table, seemingly unfazed by the tension simmering in the room. Luther, however, couldn't let it go. Rising to his feet, he looked at Five with a mix of disbelief and frustration.

"It's been seventeen years," Luther said, his voice low but loaded with meaning.

Five didn't even flinch. "It's been a lot longer than that," he replied nonchalantly, vanishing in a blink and reappearing behind Luther to grab something off a shelf.

Luther's broad shoulders stiffened at the sudden movement. "Yeah, I haven't missed that," he muttered, turning just enough to keep Five in his peripheral vision.

"Where'd you go?" another voice asked, belonging to a man seated further down the table. His tone carried a mix of curiosity and doubt.

Five straightened, his back to the group as he rifled through the shelf. "The future. It's shit, by the way," he answered matter-of-factly, disappearing again and reappearing at the head of the table with the grace of someone completely accustomed to bending space to his will.

"Called it," the man muttered with a self-satisfied grin, leaning back in his chair.

Five shrugged, opening the fridge to retrieve a jar of peanut butter. "I should've listened to the old man," he admitted, his voice laced with both annoyance and resignation. "Jumping through space is one thing. Jumping through time?" He closed the fridge with a deliberate thud. "A toss of the dice."