The Sparks Between Us | Five Hargreeves x Reader

EIGHT

༻VANYA'S POV༺

The morning light was weak, filtering through the blinds, and I stood before the mirror, almost mechanically going through my routine. The quiet hum of the apartment felt oddly oppressive. My hands moved almost without thought as I opened the cabinet under the sink, took my pills, and swallowed them down with a glass of lukewarm water.

I shut the cabinet with a soft click and took a moment, staring at myself in the mirror. A sigh slipped from my lips, then I slipped on my coat and grabbed the case with my instrument. The heavy weight of it felt strangely comforting, but even that couldn't shake the gnawing feeling of worry that had started to settle in my stomach.

"Five?" I called out, my voice echoing off the walls in the otherwise silent apartment. The quiet felt unnatural, but there was no answer.

I walked down the hallway, the sound of my boots clicking on the floor, and peered into the living room. Still no sign of him. The couch was untouched, the air thick with stillness.

"Five?" I called again, louder this time, but the silence stretched on, suffocating.

A small knot of frustration tightened in my chest, and I muttered to myself, "Shit." My hand instinctively reached up to rub my face, trying to shake off the feeling of unease. But that's when I saw her.

Y/N. She was still sitting in the same chair from last night, perfectly still. The faint hum of her charging was the only indication she was even alive. Five had left her here.

I felt a cold rush of dread settle over me as I noticed the note on her lap. No sign of Five, no word from him.

I set my instrument case down on the couch, trying to steady my breath as I crossed the room to her. Her face was serene, almost peaceful in its stillness, but something about it made my heart tighten. I hesitated for a moment before I reached down and picked up the note. The paper felt cool between my fingers as I unfolded it and read aloud the words scrawled on it.

"Turn on the small blue button on the back of her neck and hold it for three seconds to turn her back on."

My eyes flicked back to Y/N. She was still, almost lifeless. I didn't know what Five had been through with her, but I knew enough to understand that this was something different. Something I wasn't prepared for.

I knelt beside her, my fingers trembling slightly as I moved a strand of hair away from her neck. There it was—a faint, almost invisible circle under her hair. My breath caught in my throat as I hesitated for a moment before pressing it, holding it down for three full seconds, just as the note instructed.

Nothing. I waited, the seconds stretching on, every breath feeling like it belonged to someone else. Then, suddenly, there was a soft hum—barely perceptible at first.

My heart skipped as Y/N's head jerked up, her eyes snapping open. They were glowing—an intense, electric blue—before flickering back to their normal color. For a moment, she blinked as if trying to make sense of the world around her. She was alive again, but in a way that didn't quite make sense to me. I could see the faint confusion in her expression.

She turned her head to me, eyes locking on mine, her gaze sharp.

_______________________________

༻ Y/N'S POV ༺

My systems groaned back to life with a low whirr as my processors fired up one by one. The darkness behind my eyelids faded, replaced by harsh, glaring lines of code running across my vision.