Chapter Text
They were all standing outside in the backyard, anxiously watching the chaotic blue hole cover their heads.
It all stopped and went quiet again when a body flew out of it and fell flat on the ground. The Hargreeves siblings got closer to the person on the floor, it looked like a body small enough to belong to a middle school child. They stopped in front of the bony kid laying face down on the ground wearing a large dirty shirt, some old trousers, and no shoes.
When the boy groaned all six siblings stepped back, prepared for anything even if the individual looked too weak to attack them.
He finally looked up at them with a strange expression of fear and a bloody looking black eye. His dark buzz-cut hair was dusty, his clothes were soaked from the rain, his skin was as pale as a ghost and he was shaking from the cold.
Klaus was the first to point it out what they were all thinking “Is it just me or is that little Number Five?”
It was an almost unrecognizable version of their brother, Number Five had always being prideful, elegant and aloof, but right now he looked nothing more than pitiful.
Luther pointed out the obvious “He looks so young…” and at that exact moment, the boy’s eyes rolled up and he fell completely unconscious.
Allison’s motherly instinct kicked in and she started giving orders “Luther, pick him up and get him inside!” she yelled and turned to Klaus “Go find some blankets!” and then to Vanya “Go look for mom!” she finished her commands and everyone obeyed.
Once inside, Luther placed their smallest brother on the couch close to the fireplace to warm him up. Klaus rushed into the room with the blankets and towels, like he was told to, and placed them carefully over the boy. The rest of the family all sat on different seats around the kid.
Ben was sitting right beside Five, he was invisible to everyone except for Klaus who was listening to his worrying comments, “He looks so skinny like he hasn't eaten in months!”
Vanya came in last with a little scandal “Mom doesn’t want to come! She says she has to make more cookies.” She finished irritated by their mom’s weird new attitude.
They didn’t have much time to handle their mom before their former missing brother jumped awake screaming in anguish “NOOOOOOOOO!” with his green eyes looking too big for his face and blood leaking from his red nose.
Everyone focused on him, he stopped screaming and cleaned his nose with his sleeve. Five looked around with a disoriented expression, he didn’t seem to recognize any of them.
The other Hargreeves just stared in silence without knowing what to say, until Diego got up and approached Five slowly. He got to the couch with his hands in the air to show he means no harm, and he asked warmly “Five? Is it you? Are you okay?”
Little Number Five was now looking down at his own bare feet, he was whispering gibberish and shaking his head right and left. He refused to look up at Diego so the older one lowered himself and angrily tried to get his attention “Hey! Where have you been? It’s been seventeen years!”
Five flinched violently at Diego’s loud voice “I’m sorry sir, I shouldn’t have screamed, I’m sorry, please don’t punish me” he hiccupped. Fearful tears ran down his pale checks while the older ones all felt their hearts in their throats.
Diego was in the verge of tears as well, he whispered “Five…What the fuck happened to you?”