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You'd been friends with Five Hargreeves ever since you were kids. He wasn't one to make friends or be nice to people who weren't his siblings, at least not at first glance. But you had become one of the few people he accepted into his life.
It was almost like an honor that you were aware of at all times.
You were ordinary, no one special. It often made you wonder why Five even cared to talk to you. In a sense, you understood how Vanya had felt for all those years until she discovered her powers; always shut out, belittled, never truly belonging with the Hargreeves family.
One day you had asked Five about it, why he even bothered to be around you. It had been a few weeks after his 18th birthday, after everyone's 18th birthday actually.
The two of you were sitting outside in the grass, watched the other siblings play around and do stupid nonsense. Luther and Diego were fighting again, about something trivial that you had forgotten by now. Maybe there wasn't even a real reason this time.
Five sat in the grass, propped up on his elbows to watch his siblings with hawk eyes, even though he pretended that he didn't care about them.
You knew him better than that.
"Why do you bother?"
Five looked over at you at the sound of your voice, a frown on his face.
"Bother about what?"
You sighed and sat up properly, your hands tangled in your lap. You looked over at the other Hargreeves siblings where Allison had now stepped in between the fighting brothers.
Anything was better than to look at Five.
"I'm ordinary. I don't matter. Why do you care about me?"
You were met with silence from your friend for a long time. You grew more tense with every second and tried to distract yourself by staring ahead to the chaotic scene that played out in front of you.
Diego had turned away, arms crossed in front of his chest and a frown on his face. He still spat insults at his brother but finally left after he managed to land one especially painful hit below the belt. Luther tried to surge forward to hit him but Vanya stopped him by force.
You flinched when you felt a hand on your arm and looked up to meet Five's intense gaze. In all of the years you'd known your friend, you hadn't seen that facial expression much. It was that intense stare that still carried softness, and you'd only ever seen him look at his siblings like that, Vanya especially.
"You might be ordinary, Y/n, but you matter. You're special to my whole family, they all care about you."
A small smile pulled at your lips.
Five took a deep breath and then looked you right in the eye as he spoke, "You're special to me."
You'd suddenly felt the urge to kiss him. It was the first time you'd ever experienced that feeling with Five in all the years you'd known him.
He smiled softly and then pulled back his hand.
"Now I have to solve this shit, I'll be right back."
And then, he was gone. He appeared in the middle of his arguing siblings and started to yell at them.
You just shook your head and smiled to yourself, Five's words still echoing in your head.
As the years went by, you never lost your connection to Five. The two of you were almost inseparable, always around one another. You were the only person apart from Vanya who could calm him down when his temper made him see red.
But to you it was so much more than just looking after a friend. You had a crush on Five. You'd never really told anyone about it but somehow your friends seemed to know.
At least everyone except for Five.
It wasn't as if you were embarrassed about your feelings but it was difficult with everyone making sly comments at the most inconvenient times. You'd spent quite a few lunches with the Hargreeves family and while you loved your friends they could become annoying.
This time you sat in between Vanya and Five, happily munching on your food. But you could feel someone eyeing you and when you looked up from your pasta you found Allison watching you. There was an amused grin on her face and you already started to worry.
You knew that smile.
"Hey Y/n, that guy you like… How long until you ask him out?"
You could almost feel the heavy silence that settled in across the table. Luther grinned into his pasta and you tried to murder him with a death stare.
Sadly it didn't work.
Five turned to you slowly, and you wanted the floor to open up and swallow you whole. Vanya softly placed a hand on your arm in silent support.
"You like someone?"
You knew that tone in Five's voice. You'd heard it so many times before when he threatened his siblings, that low rumble when he tried to mask his anger.
You kept your eyes fixed on your plate. "Yeah."
Five leant forward, elbows propped up on the table while he folded his hands. You glanced at him and instantly regretted it. His jaw was clenched and he had that cold stare again that you only ever saw when he was angry.
"Why don't you bring him over sometime? I'd love to meet him."
Luther choked on his pasta and coughed. Served him right…
"Um… I don't know if that's a good idea."
This time, you did look at Five. He raised an eyebrow, lips pressed together into a thin line. It was almost scary to see him like that.
"And why? Don't you want us to meet him?"
The room had fallen silent. You could feel everyone's eyes on you and the only thing that helped you keep your sanity was Vanya's calming touch on your arm.
You shook your head and turned back to your pasta. But Five wasn't done yet.
"Are we not good enough, is that it? We're weird, huh? We're not ordinary like you!"
You gripped your fork with so much force that, powerless and all, you still worried it might break in half.
"That's not true and you know it!"
You stared at your friend, tears burning behind your eyes.
You'd always wondered why the Hargreeves' even bothered to have you around. They assured you that they didn't mind that you didn't have powers like them, that they still cared about you. Vanya especially always made sure you knew that they saw you as one of them, equal, even though you weren't special.
And Five just managed to squish all of that hope when he slammed his fist onto the table with so much force that the dishes clattered.
"If you really cared, you would've told me. I thought we were friends. But I guess you're just like everyone else."
With that, he disappeared in a puff of blue light and smoke.
You finally broke down completely, tears streaming down your face as you sobbed.
Vanya softly pulled you into her arms and let you cry into her shoulder. "Happy, Allison?" She asked while she ran her hands across your back in a calming motion.
You didn't see Allison's face but you could hear the sincerity in her voice when she answered.
"I'm sorry, Y/n, I didn't want this to happen."
You just huffed and continued to sob into Vanya's shirt.
Five didn't come back for the whole evening.
Five really hadn't expected things to go sideways like this. He was used to chaos since his siblings were a bunch of idiots, but this? This was a new level of bad luck.
He didn't even know how it had happened.
Five could still remember your laughter ringing in his ears as you giggled at one of Diego's jokes. Now that you had started to ignore him after that damn fight, it was strange to see you so carefree and close with someone else.
Five was about to turn to Vanya to comment on it when he heard a gunshot. The words turned to smoke in his brain.
Two people in suits and bunny masks walked towards the group, guns pointed at his siblings. And at you. He had no idea who they were but he knew they meant trouble.
"Fuck."
Five could see his siblings shield you from the guns as if on command. He looked over at you and his heart sank. He'd never planned to get you involved in his business, not like this. He couldn’t remember that he'd ever been so worried for anyone before who wasn't one of his siblings.
The person with the pink bunny mask tilted their head to the side, as if they were considering if they should shoot or not.
Five narrowed his eyes at the pair.
If they dared to hurt his family, he'd rip them to shreds.
And then shots were ringing in his ears and bullets were flying. He jumped, trusted Diego's ability to keep them all safe while he grabbed one of the guns, the one Blue Bunny Mask was holding, and fired.
They both fell to the ground, dead.
Five's adrenaline was pumping in his veins when he turned around to his family to see everyone unharmed. They stood in a circle, eyes fixed on the floor.
Then he saw the body.
Vanya looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Five… Y/n– "
He was next to you in a heartbeat. Your clothes were stained with blood and the stain kept growing, and growing, and growing. His hands turned red when he reached out to hold you, to do something, anything.
Anything. He would do anything.
"Five…"
Your eyes were slowly closing, your bloody hand almost limp on his arm while he carefully pulled you into his lap.
"No! Don't you dare, Y/n. You won't leave me, not like this!"
Five desperately pressed his hands onto the wound, or at least where he suspected the wound to be. His vision was turning blurry. Sobs shook his body when your eyes fell shut, and he pulled you against his chest, clinging onto your lifeless body with desperation.
He had always thought that he was so smart, had fought countless times with his siblings and Reginald about how much better he was than the rest. And yet, he couldn't do anything but cry while he clutched your body, his hands shaking from the shock or the pain, he didn't know.
If only he'd paid attention to Grace's talks about how to patch up someone who was hurt. If only he hadn't thought about himself and himself alone. He'd thought they wouldn't need to know about medical stuff because how could they ever get hurt? They were invincible.
Apparently, nobody was. Not even Five himself.
He looked down at your motionless face and your lifeless eyes staring up into the sky. That blinding smile he loved so much was gone, wiped out by a stray bullet.
Just because he hadn't been able to protect you...
But if anyone could change things it was him.
Five closed his eyes, tuned out the voices of his siblings, their hushed whispers and attempts to console him.
And with one last deep breath, he jumped.
Five had never felt the desire to jump back minutes before. He'd been fascinated by the thought of jumping years, centuries even. It had been his goal, his personal challenge that he had butted heads about with Reginald more than once.
But this time, minutes mattered. Seconds.
A few seconds was all he needed.
The events replayed around him and Five's stomach twisted when he reappeared in a swirl of blue smoke and light. He took a deep breath, standing up on shaky legs.
A gunshot rang through the air.
Five looked around to see his siblings in the exact place they'd been in before, Vanya next to him, you in the middle. A lump grew in his throat as he caught the scared look in your eyes. He so desperately wanted to tell you that everything would be okay, that he would do anything to protect you.
Anything.
"Vanya, Diego, protect Y/n!"
The gunfire started all over again.
He took out the shooters, watched their blood splatter onto the pavement. His own violence surprised him. It was almost shocking to see.
When Five turned around, he searched for you, and a shaky breath of relief escaped him when he saw you step out from behind Vanya.
In the blink of an eye, he stood before you and pulled you into his arms, clinging to you for dear life. He could feel you return the hug, and as you buried your face in his neck he swore he'd never been so relieved before.
"Five…"
Five didn't let you finish your sentence. He moved back just enough to cradle your face in his hands, pressing his lips to yours. His heart almost burst when you wrapped your arms around his neck and returned the kiss, your soft lips moving against his.
He could die like this, it didn't matter.
Your cheeks were flushed when you broke the kiss. Five had never truly realized before how beautiful you were when you were flustered.
"I won't lose you again. I'll keep you safe, I promise." He whispered, voice barely stable enough to get the words out.
When your eyes widened in shock, he realized he'd just told you the truth completely by accident.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Five cursed himself. He looked you in the eye and sighed.
"I watched you die. I couldn't– " A lump formed in his throat. "I couldn't let that happen. I can't lose you, you hear me?"
You nodded slowly and he pulled you back into his arms.
Someone loudly clearing their throat caused Five to snap his head around at whoever had dared to interrupt the moment. His eyes found Luther, and he already plotted another murder when Klaus came into view, a smile on his face.
"This is all adorable and I'm so happy for you guys but we need to go. We just killed someone in broad daylight."
Five looked over at the two bodies on the pavement. The blood had formed a puddle that grew steadily.
"That's what they get when they try to kill Y/n."
Allison let out a pointed cough behind him.
"I hope you consider that we could've died too."
Five just shrugged and grabbed your hand.
"Honestly… no."
He dragged you away, leaving the others to run after him. A few curses rang out behind him, one especially creative one coming from Diego.
It didn't matter. You by his side was all he needed.