𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐌𝐂𝐅𝐋𝐘 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ━ five hargreeves²

16│YOU WIN SOME, YOU THREESOME

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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀʀᴛʏ ᴍᴄғʟʏ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪɴ sᴏᴍᴇ,
ʏᴏᴜ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇsᴏᴍᴇ ꒱　


❝ YOU WISH YOU COULD
PULL OFF THESE SHORTS! ❞

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Four-year-old Number Eight came skipping into the library after the annual blood draw (read: scientific test) her father had in place. "Five!" she called to the boy. "Hey, Five!"

He looked up from his work with irritation evident on his face until it softened when he realized who was calling him. "What's up, Lexa?"

The girl scrambled onto the seat next to him, beaming happily. "I figured out my power!" she crowed.

Not bothering to tell her to quiet her voice, he gave her an interested look. "What is it?" Five had figured out what his was a few months ago.

"Pogo was in charge of the blood draw, right? Well, I remembered the last time I did it, it hurt a lot and it was really pointy and I really, really didn't want to have it prick my skin. Well, when he went to stick the needle in me, it broke! He tried stronger and stronger ones but all of them broke!" she said all of this in a rush, leaving the boy to comprehend her story as she told it.

Once she finished, he frowned. "Dad's not mad at you, right? For breaking his needles?"

The blonde laughed. "No, silly! He realized what my power was. I'm invincible!"

Relieved that she wouldn't be in trouble, he gave her an amused smile. "No, Lexa. You're invulnerable."

She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "No, I'm invincible!"

He sighed. "Invincible means you can't be beaten. Invulnerable means you can't be harmed."

Eight crossed her arms and tilted her head up defiantly. "I don't believe you."

With another long-suffering sigh, the boy got down from his chair and disappeared in a blue flash, both to practice and show off his skill. Not quite advanced at it yet, he accidentally ended up in the historical section. Now out of sight, though, he walked the few rows to the reference section, pulled out a dictionary and disappeared again, this time several feet away from the table.

After he climbed back on his chair, he flipped open the dictionary and pointed to the two definitions. "See, Lexa? You're invulnerable."

"I'm still going to call it invincible for ever and ever."

"Well, you're going to be wrong for ever and ever."

She gave him a stubborn look. "Well, I don't care."

"Sometimes I wonder why I even try," he complained dramatically, earning a giggle from the girl.

For some reason, that made his stomach warm pleasantly. They sat in silence for a minute as the girl continued to enjoy her revelation of power and Five couldn't help but watch as she wiggled quietly in her seat like an energetic puppy. He'd never seen a puppy in person, of course, but he could look at Alexa and picture one just fine.

"Lexa?"

"Mm?"

"Why do you like spending time with me?"

She shrugged. "You talk to me."

"The others do too," he pointed out. 

The girl shook her head. "Not like you, though." She began to tick them off on her fingers. "One is too bossy. Two is too quiet. Three doesn't like me. Four is okay but he's kinda dumb. Six is cool, I guess and Seven is too, but you're different. You're brilliant, Fi, and you talk to me like I'm smart. I know the others don't mean to but they treat me like I'm the baby." She shrugged and then continued as if her words had no affect on him. "Besides, when I hang out with you, it makes me feel like I'm winning all the time." When Eight turned to look at him, she waved her hand in front of his face. "Five? Fi? Are you in there?"