The Sparks Between Us | Five Hargreeves x Reader

TWENTY-FIVE

—————༻☂︎︎༺—————
༻ Y/N'S POV ༺

The rain outside drummed against the windshield, soft and rhythmic, as if time itself was slowing down. The sky had begun to turn a deep shade of gray, creeping closer to darkness. Allison was still inside with the cop, and the faint hum of hospital activity carried through the air.

I glanced down at my arm. The bandage I'd wrapped earlier was loose now, frayed slightly at the edges. Slowly, I began to unwind it, careful and deliberate. As the fabric fell away, it revealed pristine skin—or what passed as skin for me. The wires beneath were no longer exposed, the circuitry repaired itself seamlessly, leaving no trace of the damage that had been there hours ago. I flexed my fingers experimentally. No resistance. No fault lines.

I dropped the bandage onto the floor of the car, but my eyes were drawn instead to the dark fabric crumpled at my feet: Five's academy blazer.

Reaching down, I picked it up carefully, holding it in my hands as if it might shatter under the weight of my touch. The material was small, tailored for the boy he once was. The edges were worn, faint scuffs from countless missions. A couple of bloodstains stood out starkly against the dark fabric—remnants of battles fought, struggles endured.

For a moment, I simply held it, tracing the lapel with my fingertips. Then, as if compelled by something beyond me, I slid it back on. The weight of it settled over my shoulders, not heavy but significant. As soon as the fabric brushed against my skin, I closed my eyes.

Initiating Memory Retrieval Sequence.

The code flashed behind my eyelids, lines of green and white light streaming across the darkness.

SEARCH PARAMETER: FIVE HARGREEVES
LOADING...

Flashes of moments came like echoes in my system.

• MEMORY FILE 172: Commission Headquarters.

Five was younger, smaller—angry, always angry. His voice sharp as he barked orders, but his hands trembled ever so slightly. He never let anyone see it, but I did. I always did. "You stay close to me, no exceptions," he'd said. His eyes burned with a determination that made it impossible to argue.

• MEMORY FILE 204: Abandoned Timeline Loop.

It was just him. The world had collapsed into static around him. the remnants of a failed mission. He was sitting on the edge of a ruined building, the faint glow of a dying sun casting long shadows. "I didn't ask for this," he said, his voice quieter than I'd ever heard it. "But if I don't fix it, no one will." He said sitting by himself offering no words because none were needed.

• MEMORY FILE 291: The Umbrella Academy, Current Timeline.

The first time we arrived back here. The others stared at me like I didn't belong, like I was something foreign in their chaotic family. But Five had stood beside me, his gaze sharp, daring anyone to question it. "She's with me," he'd said simply, and that had been enough.

ERROR: MEMORY FILE CORRUPTED. REPAIRING...

A sudden glitch. A burst of static in my system. My head tilted slightly as I processed it, my internal coding scrambling to restore the corrupted file.

REPAIR FAILED. FILE UNAVAILABLE.

I opened my eyes abruptly, my systems jolting me back to the present. The blazer was warm against me now, carrying the faintest trace of his scent—a mix of coffee, gunpowder, and something unnameable but entirely him.