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THE sun disappeared behind the bleak building of meritech, causing the city to be engulfed in the dark sky and illuminated only by the lights of windows and streetlights. rose and five sat in the cold plumbing van awaiting a certain doctor to exit meritech. their tired eyes and jittery hands from drinking too much coffee made them feel the need to turn away and go home, but not tonight. as there was far too much at stake for them to give up because of their own selfish needs. thoughts buzzed around their heads as they stared at the front of the building.
'i wonder what's going on with mom. it would be important if luther called the meeting. actually, no it wouldn't, it's luther. he thinks monocles are important.' rose stops staring at meritech and turns to look at five, 'did five really mean what he said yesterday? does he really love me? i know that the end of the world makes people do crazy things, but five doesn't seem like the type.' rose sighs, turning back to the building.
"hey, i've been meaning to ask you something" five says, turning to rose "yeah?" rose replies, turning back to five. "did you happen to hear anything i was saying to delor- the mannequin last night" rose feels blood rush to her cheeks and her heart begins to pound out of her chest "you know i can't lie to you five" she responds with a soft smile. five clenches his jaw and turns back to the building he had been staring at for hours.
rose sits up in her seat and inhales deeply, "i love you too five." rose grabs five's hand and he looks back at her softly. "i always have and always will, no matter how long we have left" a smile appears on both of their lips as five brings his hand up to her, carefully moving rose's stray hairs behind her ear, moving his hand onto her cheek. they sit for a while, lost in each other's eyes as they begin to move in closer to each other. "five" rose says, her eyes moving from five's loving ones to a familiar man she had caught in her peripheral vision from across the street, leaving the doors of meritech. five turns to what rose was looking at. mr bigg walks down the concrete stairs holding a duffel bag and towards a car parked outside the front. he talks to the driver before placing the duffel bag in the car in exchange for a yellow envelope.
"what the hell is he up to?" five questions as they watch him stuff the envelope in his coat, looking around to see if anyone was watching. "he didn't have that bag when he went in" rose tells as mr bigg walks away from the scene. five intertwines his hand with rose. flash. they appear in an alley. rose and five walk swifty to the end of the dark nook, never letting go of each other's hand, as mr bigg walks hurriedly to a car parked at the opposite side of the street.
"come on" rose whispers, pulling five towards the car mr bigg was sitting in. "not tonight rosie, we'll do it tomorrow" he whispers back, pulling rose back into the alley. "ok. let's go home, i'm dying to see how our dysfunctional family has handled a situation without us." he nods his head with a chuckle as they walk out of the alleyway towards their home, the only warmth being in their hands and hearts.
as they turn the corner, five lets go of rose's hand, causing rose to stop in confusion. five shrugs off his blazer and carefully places it on rose's shoulders. "you're as cold as ice" he whispers, intertwining his hand back with rose's. "that's what they all say, hargreeves" she whispers back as they begin to walk, rose leaning her head on his shoulder with a smile.
as they reach the desolate building they call their home, they immediately notice the door open wide for strangers to waltz inside. "what the fuck" rose whispers as she lets go of five's hand, opening the gate and walking up to the door. she opens it wider and sees the smashed chandelier on the ground and several bullets covering the tiled flooring. five walks in following rose's footsteps. he walks past her, picking up a bullet off of the floor. he examines it closely before throwing it back on the ground "shit, it's them." he mutters to himself before walking into the living area.
rose looks around with a concerned look on her face, walking up the stairs to the art room. "mom?" she asks, staring at her mom who was sitting limp, sitting in her usual spot, staring down at the floor. "mom?" she asks once more, walking quickly to her.
rose stares at her lifeless face through the tears which had welled up in her eyes. "no, no, no, no, mom." rose whispers, grabbing ahold of her hands. the tears fall down her face, pain weighing heavy on her chest. rose looks down at her mother's hands, noticing the rectangular cut that was made in her forearm. blood-like grease had dripped down to her hand, wires poking out of her arm and wires that were lighted blue, flickering. rose wipes her tears away, causing grease from her mother's arm to smear on her cheeks.
rose stands up and walks away from her mother, rage coursing in her veins. 'this wasn't the doing of strangers' rose thinks as she stomps down the stairs to the living room where diego, allison, vanya and five were standing.
rose stands at the doorway, staring at the three siblings, hatred in her eyes. "which one of you killed mom" she mutters, the three look at each other in shock and confusion, "i said. which one of you killed mom." she shouts. vanya and allison look at each other in disbelief as diego looks back at rose in shame. rose walks towards diego slowly. "you killed mom. after everything she's done for you" rose cries, raising her hand to hit diego, staring into his saddened eyes, she relaxes her hand back to her side in apathy. walking out of the room and running up to her bedroom, slamming the door. she rests on the back of her door, sliding down to the floor in exhaustion.
flash. five teleports into her room, immediately noticing her on the floor, her head in her knees. he rushes over to her, wrapping his arms lovingly around her. "shhh, it's ok. it's all going to be ok."
