𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐌𝐂𝐅𝐋𝐘 𝐄𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 ━ five hargreeves²

14│A SIMPLE TASK

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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀʀᴛʏ ᴍᴄғʟʏ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴀ sɪᴍᴘʟᴇ ᴛᴀsᴋ ꒱　


❝ LISTEN TO ME YOU
USELESS PUKE BAG! ❞

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Nighttime sometimes found Alexa hungry. To help with this, Five usually spacial jumped to the kitchen to prepare their favorite snack before returning to share it with her. It was far safer for only him to leave the safety of their rooms since he had the most direct path. Now, the blonde crept silently down the stairs with bated breath as she prayed her father wouldn't find out that she was awake and up.

She let out a relieved sigh as she successfully reached the bottom stair and quietly made her way to the kitchen. On autopilot, she sleepily pulled out a loaf of bread, peanut butter and marshmallows. Without thinking, she arranged four slices of bread on the counter and steadily prepared two sandwiches.

When she was done, Alexa put back her ingredients and picked up both, taking a bite out of one. She'd eat half and then jokingly give it to Five before giving him his actual sandwich. She smiled as she imagined his indignant response. The lights suddenly flicked on, causing her to jump and her eyes to stretch almost comically wide as she looked frantically for the intruder. With her sandwich halfway to her mouth and her other hand preoccupied, she knew she was caught red-handed. Her heartbeat slowed when she recognized the brunette girl standing shyly in the doorway. "Jesus, Vanya, you scared me!"

The girl flinched. "Sorry," she apologized quietly. "I didn't mean to."

Alexa gave her a slightly irritated look. "What are you doing down here anyway?"

She shrugged. "Couldn't sleep." Then, timidly, her gaze flicked to what her sister was holding. "What's that?"

"None of your business," the blonde shot back sharply. "I'm leaving now, don't let Dad catch you on the way back."

As she made a move towards the door to push past her sister, Vanya spoke again: "who's the second sandwich for?"

"Five." Then Alexa flinched. "Nobody, I mean," she tried to cover it up.

Vanya's face seemed to soften and the blonde's irritation grew. Couldn't her sister leave her alone? "You know he's gone, right?" Vanya asked softly. "He hasn't come back yet."

Alexa stilled, her heart suddenly twisting painfully. She'd forgotten he was gone, so used to their late-night rituals. To cover up the sudden grief that washed over her, she snapped, "of course I know he's gone. This is in case he comes back and he's hungry."

She turned on her heel and made her way back to the kitchen to pull a plate out of the cupboard and placed the uneaten sandwich on it. Then, she put the plate on the floor of the entryway to the kitchen to be sure Five wouldn't miss it if he came looking for a snack.

"Make sure you leave the lights on so he can see it," she said shortly, covering up the spark of fear at the thought of Five leaving again if the house was dark. "And leave me alone."

The blonde stalked past her sister still carrying her half-eaten sandwich. Vanya lingered in the doorway to the empty kitchen feeling her own sadness at the thought of their absent brother. Quietly, to no one, she whispered, "I miss him too, you know."

Sometime later, Pogo would make his way to the kitchen for a cup of tea and step in the first of many midnight snacks that the blonde would leave behind.