Hi I’ve made a discord server for writers who need to get their WIPs done.

Check it out and maybe join in for a writing marathon at some point.

So it’s a new year and first of all good luck for 2022 anyone that’s still here.

Second I wanted to tell ppl I have been writing a lot of short stories for a creative writing masters and if I’m honest it’s kinda based off the detective story Lana on the case o did years ago.

It’s funny and it’s found family and I’m proud of it even if no one is reading it.

I’m aiming to make it a collection of short stories that follow Detective Carter a man as kind as he is stupid and he is the most good natured man you will ever meet. And his long suffering and brilliant partner and daughter figure Lisa Cain and ex spy who became a detective to ease her boredom.

I currently have a few disconnected stories following these charecters and if anyone wants to read them I can post them upon request.

I just wanted to say that I’m FINALY getting over the burn out and that maybe fanfiction may follow. I’m not sure what if yet but once I find a show or film that catches my spark I’ll let you know.

Happy new year

No one can convince me this fucker isn’t the good omens second coming of Christ.

He delivered to all the horsemen and it was death himself that saw he died none of the others but especially war.

Hell used him so they could stack the odds in their favour in the war, waiting until he was dead to begin the apocalypse

Also his wife maud, her name means battle and is biblical

Why Are You Here?

Part 2:

The air in the room seemed to grow very thick as the two brothers stared at each other neither really believing what they saw.

For Diago he was seeing a face he had long since assumed was gone forever, a brother that abandoned them and left a hole in their family that was never to be filled again.

For Five he was realising he had gone much further forwards then he ever imagined. It made him feel both excited and honestly terrified at his own power. How could he come so far without even realising it?

The silence dragged on, neither wanting to break the fragile composure they currently had.

Thankfully it wasn't left to the brothers to take the first step but instead a nurse who awkwardly knocked on the door carrying a tray of food.

“I hope i'm not interrupting” she cleared her throat shifting under the pair of eyes that snapped towards her. “The doctor said he will be needing something to eat.”

Diago looked to his brother, however fucking crazy this current situation was the ratinal part of his brain knew that whatever questions he had (and there was a shit ton of them) could wait until after Five didnt look like he was about ready to pass out.

Five stared at the woman not saying anything as she placed the tray onto his lap and shuffled out with an uncomfortable smile.

Diago sighed and leaned back in his chair waiting for Five to hurry up and eat so he could finally start to figure out what the hell was going on.

But as seconds ticked by Five remained perfectly still staring down at the boxes of food letting his dark hair fall onto his face.

At first Diago thought maybe being down a working arm was getting in the way and Five was just too stubborn to ask for help…

But then a cold realisation settled in his stomach as he watched Five cautiously poke the container of jello.

He didn't know what was in front of him and he didn't know it was safe.

Diago escaped his fucked up family home over a decade ago but it looked like Five had only just left.

Wordlessly Diago took one of the sandwiches from the tray and took a bite. He hated doing this, showing his own brother that it was safe to eat and that it wouldn't hurt him.

The worst part was that it was working, Five ripped off a small piece of the bread and began to slowly eat.

Bit by bit they continued this, with Diago tasting first then letting Five finish the rest until the tray was clean save for a few crumbs and empty packets.

Everything about Five was skittish and untrusting, it hurt to see honestly. In Diagos mind Five was always so big and strong abel to stand up to Dad when no one else could.

Now though, seeing him though his adult eyes Diago could see what he really was. And that was a worryingly skinny and hurt kid.

An abused child that wanted so desperately to protect his siblings that he made himself the target.

How could Diago ever think he willingly left them?

“What year is it?”

Five was so quiet Diago almost thought he imagined him talking.

“What?” he asked, swallowing the lump in his throat that had formed over the last few minutes.

“What year is it Number Two.” Five said louder this time.

“2018… October to be exact you just missed our birthday.”

Five nodded solomly “ok. Ok i can work with this, i just have to go back and…” he trailed off looking down at his damaged body.

His arm was currently in a white cast carefully held close to his chest in a sling. Diago assumed his leg was similarly encased in plaster hidden under the thin blanket.

Five swallowed nervously, his eyes skittering across his injuries finally realising just how bad it all is.

Diago decided now was the time to step in.

“Five what's the last thing you remember?”

He looked down at his free hand for a moment. “I was fighting with Dad at dinner, I wanted to time travel but he said I wasn't ready. I ran out and i did it… but then nothing.”

“Yeah that would be you getting hit by a car. You appeared in the middle of the road. Considering how fast the guy was going, you're lucky to be alive.”

“Lucky?” Five turned to glare at Diago in a way that sent flashes of nostalgia and also made him wonder how he ever found tiny Five intimidating.

“How can I be lucky when I'm stuck useless in bed until I can teleport again? Time travel was hard enough to do with all working limbs; it's practically impossible now.” Five pulled at his hair.

He was clearly frustrated but something felt off to Diago.

While he didnt understand time travel the same way his brother did then surely it didn't matter when he left he would end up exactly when he left. The only problem was Diago knew Five never made it back home.

Did that mean his brother is going to die here? Or maybe decide to stay?

He knew which he would prefer, even without the morbid possibility Diago would want him to stay, Reginald was a monster and Five was his favourite punching bag.

It was something Diago never really noticed until his brother was gone and that buffer zone they grew up with was ripped away.

Diago took a deep calming breath “look, like it or not you're stuck here for a while. You can either mope around the whole time or enjoy the future. You can even stay with me so you don't have to deal with Dad.”

Fives brow creased “you don't live at home anymore?”

“Five im almost 30, only Luthers stayed at home and even he ended up leaving a few years ago.” Diago rolled his eyes watching as the wheels in Fives head turned.

“Who’s Luther?” He asked confused.

Shit. Diago compleatly forgot about the name thing.

“Mom gave us normal names as a 16th birthday gift, One is Luther I’m Diago, Three is Allison, Four is Klaus, Six wa- is Ben and Seven is Vanya.”

God that reminded him Five didn’t know about Ben.

How the hell was he supposed to tell him his brother died only a year after getting his name?

Thankfully he was saved from having to worry about it for the moment because Patch walked in carrying two large disposable cups of coffee.

“So you're awake then” she smiled thankfully saving Diago from explaining the fact Luther is living on the moon while he rents a boiler room.

Five glared at her “who are you?”

She placed the coffee down to remove her badge and show it to him “I'm a police officer, I was the one to find you and call Diago. Are you up to answering some questions?” She asked clearly, having no idea what she had just walked into.

“What kind of questions?” Five asked suspiciously. They had always been trained to distrust the police, to never tell them what was going on at home and well… Diago realised why once he left home and found it wasn't normal for a kid to be held underwater so long they realised they could breathe the stuff.

“I just want to know your name and if there's a parent or guardian i can call. I saw your tattoo but i still need to hear it from you so i can release you into Diego's care if you want.”

Diago had always been impressed with how she handled herself around victims.

Diago was all sharp edges and quick words never really bothering to comfort while he got information.

It wasn't that he was uncaring, he just always figured the best way to help someone was to get the bastard that hurt them in the first place.

Five just glared at her, his annoying stubborn streak flaring up at the worst possible moment.

“His names Five and he is my brother” Diago supplied, earning the glare turned on him instead for his betrayal.

“Five as in…”

“Yeah one and same. Look Patch I need you to do something for me. You need to make this case disappear, don't let the driver report anything and don’t leave a paper trail” Diago asked standing up, taking the cups from her and placing them down on the bow empty seat and leading her away to the corner of the room.

“Dad is well connected and richer than God, if he finds out Five is here he will take him legal or not”

“I can’t just make the kid disappear” she replied chewing her lip as she glanced over at Five watching them with annoyance. “I’ll keep the tattoo quiet but anything else is a crime.”

Diago smiled, honestly it was more then he was expecting “thanks, I owe you one.”

“By my count it’s more like ten” she snarked back lightly punching him in the shoulder.

As her touch lingered on his arm Diago couldn’t help but wonder if something was still there.

If he could just tell her he still loves her maybe things could go back to how they were.

Then a empty chips packet hit the back of his head and the magical moment that held the potential to fix his relationship was broken.

“Quit talking about me like I’m not here!” Five snapped getting ammo ready for another throw.

Patch just chuckled “oh yeah you two are definitely related”.

She stepped away from Diago and sat on the edge of Fives bed handing him a business card. “If you need anything I want you to call me ok?”

Five turned the piece of card over in his hand sceptically “and who are you exactly?”

“I’m someone you can trust.”

Five responded with a snort.

This time Diago couldn’t blame him, Reginald had a way of taking any trust you had and step on it. There was a time in his life where he trusted his family with his life.

Then after Ben died and everyone left one by one that unbreakable bond he had relied on for years shattered.

Diago half expected Five to spit in her face, instead he looked to him and Diago realised that the relationship his siblings had was still alive and well to Five.

It was a new kind of terror to realise a child trusted you enough to look for your guidance, he wanted Diago to give him the right answer.

The Five who had always been so sure of himself, who would lead his siblings in a way no one else could, who in his arrogance acted like the smarter person in the room and everyone knew it was true… he wanted his big brother to tell him if it was safe to trust a stranger.

A police detective too.

It was weird, but then again what about this situation wasn’t?

As if he were just testing the waters Diago gave a tiny almost missable nod.

And just like that Five relaxed and tucked the card safely into his arms cast.

“While I can’t see myself ever needing help from the likes of you I’ll accept the offer” Five huffed.

“In case you're curious that’s the closest to thank you your gonna get”

Patch just chuckled again “well your very welcome then.” She glanced over at Diago before returning her attention to Five “I’ve got to head to work now but please might or day if you need help please call.”

This time Five only nodded which was good enough for Patch as she got up to leave.

“Oh Diago one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

She tossed him a small wad of cash that Diago didn’t want to know how she got.

“Buy the kid some clothes and some real food. And Raw eggs don’t count.”

With that she was gone leaving the brothers once again in an awkward silence.

“Your girlfriends weird.”

“Shut up” Diago grumbled as he went to find whoever the hell it was that could discharge Five and he could get him home.

——————

It took three separate doctors to finally find one that was willing to release Five into his care.

Even then there was a pile of paperwork to fill out.

It was worth it though as soon as he got Five into a wheelchair and saw him visibly relax upon finding out they were getting out of there.

As suspected his leg was in a cast up to the knee. Something Diago was almost thankful for considering the little shit tried to wheel himself away while he was wrapping things up with a nurse.

Something told him if he could walk there was no way he would have caught up with him.

It was an uncomfortable drive back, mainly because Five had to half lay out on the back seat to fit his leg in.

Even trying to hide the pain he was in Diago heard every sharp intake of breath he made anytime the car went over a bump in the road.

The worst part however was when they got to the boxing club and Five raised an eyebrow.

“The old man fall on hard times or something?”

“No, dad doesn’t pay for my apartment this is… temporary until I can find a better place”

Like he’d been telling himself for the last three years, he was just looking for something better…

“It looks like a dump” Five grunted as his chair was pushed over the threshold.

“Better than the academy let me tell you that”

Thankfully Five didn’t try to argue after that and instead focused on taking in the gym.

However the world had a way of always pissing on Diego's parade as Al spotted the two of him.

“Diego! You piece of shit you were supposed to mop the floors today!” He yelled scurrying over. He looked like he was about to co tinge when he saw Five.

“Who’s the kid.”

“The kid can talk.” Five growled.

“He’s my brother, I just picked him up from the hospital. Look I know it’s a lot to ask but do you mind if he stays a while. Just till I can set us up somewhere permanent.”

They both knew Diego wasn’t going anywhere. He had been saying the same line every couple months for years now.

“I’ll see if there’s another cot spare” he replied wavin them off.

Al didn’t know everything about Diego’s past, he made sure of that, but he knew his family life was bad.

If he wanted to put two and two together about why Diego was now bringing a never before mentioned younger brother home from the hospital he wasn’t about to stop him.

“Thanks Al.”

“Yeah yeah, just don’t forget to mop!”

Diego snorted. They both knew he had more important things to do now.

He wheeled Five into the boiler room choosing to ignore the multiple snarky comments of the places appearance, smell and overall shabbiness in favour of dumping him next to the bed.

“Bathrooms there, kitchen, tv and bed everywhere else”

“Nice to see the old man was wrong about us not needing him” Five mumbled.

God yet another thing Reginald has always held over their heads.

The idea that if they left they would have nothing and no one…

Was he really wrong on this one?

Hell if it weren’t for Patch and Al, Diego would have nothing but a box of cold pizza to offer Five.

“It might not be the Ritz but it’s warm and dry and far away from Dads bullshit.”

“I imagine Number three had a lot to say about the decor” Five said as he picked up a pair of discarded shorts and dropped them again in disgust.

“Allison hasn’t exactly seen the place.”

Five nodded “I guess if you're not planning to stay long you really don’t want to give her ammunition like this.”

Man this was going to be tough.

“Actually Five we don’t really-“

A knock at the door cut him off.

It couldn’t be Al already, but it’s not like anyone else would be there.

Cautiously he opened the door the find a ‘Hello’ tattooed hand shoved through the gap.

“Do me a favour dear brother mine and let me in. I’m in desperate need of a shower”

Diego groaned as he opened the door to Klaus “it really isn’t a good time right now.”

“It never is for you” Klaus teased as he shoved his way in “just because you like to spend your nights clad in leather and climbing through strangers windows”

“Seriously not now” Diego tried to block his view but it was too late.

The plastic bag filled with all Klaus owned in the world was dropped to the floor and his already pale skin dropped a few more shades.

“D-do you see a little number Five or is it just me?”

Five turned to see him blinking in surprise “number Four?”

Diego sighed, clamping a hand on Klaus’ shoulder “he’s here Klaus and he’s alive.”

Protection Squad

@causeimanartist sorry this took so long I have like 5 WIP’s rn

Spending your days as a billionaire that takes canon fodder away from villains by offering potential henchmen jobs has made Bruce a target on more then one occasion.

It was fine, he could handle himself just fine, like the time some poor assassin had grabbed him from behind only to wake up a week later in hospital with no memory of the entire thing.

The problem was when somone publically declares they had their sights on him.

Funny how willing the entire police force is to work over time when it’s the local rich guy that funds half the city’s infrastructure is threatened.

Usually Bruce spends a few weeks in a dingy Gothem PD safe house having to make small talk with skittish officers and wait till somone eles saves the day.

It was torture.

So of course when mad hatter appeared on TV and said he planned to kill Bruce at midnight he was not going to spend his entire day with people he can’t stand playing nice.

“Get to Gothem I need some body guards for show”

That was all he needed to say for Clark and Diana to fly down mid press conference just in time for Bruce to assure everyone he would be fine.

The plan was to deal with Mad Hatter soon as the three of them were out of sight, unfortunately the hotel they chose was currently surrounded by the press and even Bruce couldn’t find a way out.

“On the bright side you get to hang out with us” Clark smiles as he closed the blinds on a particularly determined photographer.

“While I’m always happy to catch up this isn’t exactly what I had in mind” Bruce sighed drumming his fingers on the desk he had claimed as his work station.

He had spent the last two hours combing through possible leads and so far had come up with nothing.

“Well we could always make out a little” Diana suggested with a shrug. She was just as bored as Bruce.

Unlike Clark who could spend days in one place not really doing anything the other two were already going stir crazy.

Bruce looked tempted for a moment, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks before he cleared his throat and made a big show of turning back to his work.

“I just need to figure out Hatters game. And why me.”

“Erm your a billionaire and public face of Gotham.” Clark supplied.

“Yeah but going after public figures isn’t Hatters style, he settles personal grudges and I havnt done anything to piss him off.”

Clark and Diana exchanged a look which made Bruce bristle “not as Batman.”

“Maybe it’s about Wayne tech then? Has your company done anything that could set him off?” Clark asked literally hovering over Bruce’s shoulder to look at the screen.

Clark may have been a super powered alien and one hell of a reporter but he had no fucking clue what Bruce was looking at.

It just seemed like a huge list of sprawling random numbers and letters.

“That’s what I thought, I started by combing through the personal expense accounts of board memebers where they ussually hide fishy percheses but other then the usual prostitues nothing illegal”

“Your ok with members of the board getting prostitues?” Clark asked raising an eyebrow.

“As long as their respectful to them yeah I don’t give a fuck. Besides I’ve hired a good chunk of them, Katie down in public relations can speak seven languages and now gets health care.” Bruce shrugged missing the jealous expressions that crossed the others faces.

They knew Bruce wasn’t exactly the play boy he pretended to be.

Hell as far as they knew the only reason he wasn’t a virgin was cause Talia and Catwoman got there first.

It didn’t change the fact that whenever they heard stories about him with hordes of women a red hot jealousy burned in their guts making them want to slam him against the wall and remind him who really loves him.

The pair were pulled out of said thoughts by Bruce letting out a honestly pretty cute “ah ha”.

“What is it?” Diana asked joining Clark in the hovering.

“It wasn’t under the table that’s why it took me so long to find it. Honesty is hard to find these days.” He chuckled as he pointed at a news article from a couple of weeks ago.

A local theatre had burnt down and the Thomas and Martha Wayne foundation pledged to rebuild it.

That was easy to ignore as just another charitable even the company did.

The problem was that it pulled all the publicity was another local theatre that was doing a production of Alice in Wonderland.

Looking through the advertisement Bruce could see that it was clearly a trap made by Hatter that failed because no one bothered to go.

“He blames me for his last plan failing. I bet the Batmobil he’s in the theatre.”

“Ok I’ll tell the commissioner Batman told us where to find him and go pick him up.”

Clark headed for the door only to be met with a crowd of flashing lights.

It was so bright everyone in the room overed their eyes.

There were sounds of a scuffle but Clark and Diana couldn’t see anything.

“Please turn off the flash” Clark said as the lights continued with no click...

No click of the cameras mechanism...

Clark was around cameras all day he knew what they were supposed to sound like and this wasn’t it.

He took in a deep breath and blew into the crowd sending them scattering to the other side of the hallway.

The strange thing was that even with the cameras knocked out of their hands they continued to press an imaginary button.

Cold dread settled into Clark’s stomach when he realised they were all under mind control.

He quickly turned round to see Diana rubbing her eyes and Bruce lying of the floor.

“Bruce!” Clark yelled as he sped over hands hovering in terror.

Diana gently pushed him to the side as she rolled Bruce over.

There was a gash on his forehead sluggishly leaking blood but his eyes were quickly flickering open.

He looked up at Clark and Diana’s worried faces and gave him a crooked smile.

The kind that only they were allowed to see and no one else.

“Don’t be mad but I figured this would happen.”

“Did you use yourself as bait?!” Diana let go of him and let him flop harmlessly back to the floor.

Bruce let out a soft groan as he gestured to the unconscious Mad Hatter on the other side of the bed.

“I figured if we didn’t find out where he was he would come himself. Especially with the entire of Gotham talking about where I was hiding out.” Bruce pulled himself to his feet and pulled a pair of hand cuffs out of god knows where and secured Hatter.

“Ok but how did you take him out when we couldn’t even see.” Clark asked already picking up the phone to call the police for a pick up.

Bruce just smirked at them knowingly “because I’m Batman.”

The next hour was spent with the police dealing with Hatter and his victims.

After the camera incident they decided having any media around was a security risk and had them clear out.

Bruce had managed to avoid going to the hospital mainly thanks to having fucking Superman flutter around his injury like a mother hen.

The officers found it kinda funny how nervous the superhero’s were around their little billionaire.

Almost made them feel proud.

The trio were eventually dismissed and assumed to have gone their separate ways.

Which was the plan until Bruce grabbed the two super strong hero’s and pulled them into a empty utility closet like they were kittens.

The following make out session more then made up for the stress of the day.

Right up until one officer wearing a body cam opened the door to see the three wrapped up together.

It bought Gotham PD a few new squad cars and a coffee maker to keep that footage from being leaked.

Alfred did however still manage to get a copy and laughs about it whenever he can.

One good thing did come out of the situation though.

Whenever Bruce Wayne was publicly threatened the police saw no reason to step in.

After all when your banging Earth most powerful superhero’s who needs protection duty.

They did feel bad for Batman though...

Poor guy must feel like such a third wheel.

Merry Christmas

They only ever got one thing for Christmas as kid and that was their names.

It was nothing and at the same time everything to them.

Once they went their separate ways everyone celebrated in their own way, some big while others were small and personal.

Vanya was the one to suggest they share Christmas at the mansion this year.

It was the first time they had all been together for the holidays since before Five had disappeared and to say she was excited would be an understatement.

Five on the other hand was dreading the day.

He had started out apathetic towards it but as the day grew closer and his nose got steadily more stuffed, his head aching and his breathing worse he began to wish for the gathering to be cancelled.

Logically he knew that if he told his siblings he felt sick they would be more then willing to cut down the days plans to just simply sitting around and opening gifts.

But that would involve communicating his feelings and well being with anyone other then Dolores and that was not gonna happen...

And he didn’t want to disappoint Vanya.

So when the day came and Five felt an intense pain behind his eyes he ignored it in favour of crawling out of his bed before Klaus could in-act his loudly whispered plan to jump on him and scream it’s Christmas.

Five opened the door and winced at the light stepping into the tall shadows his brother was creating while he animatedly chatted to bed.

“I didn’t think you could wake up this early” Five croaked coughing to clear his throat and hoping Klaus wouldn’t notice.

Thankfully he didn’t seem aware of anything out the ordinary as he grinned down at his smaller brother.

“It’s Christmas! It’s not really waking up early today.” He laughed whether at himself or somthing Ben said Five had no idea.

He didn’t care either as he stepped around him and headed down the stairs gripping the banister so tightly his knuckles were as white as the snow outside.

The others were already sat around the living room exchanging various brightly coloured packages and smiling.

Five glared at then through the painful light of the tree and took a seat next to Diego.

“Well don’t you look cheerful today” Allison chuckled paying no attention to Klaus who draped himself across the back of her chair and took a package from her hand.

“This is my happy face.” Five grumbled “my sober version anyway.”

There was scilence for a moment before a laughter tumbled through the group.

“Ok mr grinch, atleast try to have fun. Here I got you this” Vanya smiled sheepishly as she handed over a small wrapped sylinder.

Five examined it for a moment before tearing open the paper to see a light blue mug reading ‘oh shit I’m 60’ on the front.

“Bit too early for my 60th... but thanks Vanya.”

That seemed to act as a signal for the others to drop their various gifts on him.

Klaus made him a scarf that he claimed doubled as a gun cozy.

Luther got him a book on Astro physics.

Allison got him a fancy coffee maker and a large stack of refill pots.

Diago gave him a nice throwing knife set.

And Ben popped in to say merry christmas.

Once he got through his they all looked at him expectantly.

This was the part he had been really dreading.

See between keeping the commission off their back and looking 13 with no money Five hadn’t exactly been able to get his siblings any gifts.

So he was left with no other choice but to degrade himself.

“You each get one hug lasting no more then ten seconds each. They may be collected at an-“

Five was of course cut off by his family rushing him in a group hug heaving him trapped against the couch.

Normally he would have teleported away but he did promise...

Also given how floaty everything had grown over the last few minuets he doubted he could anyway.

He counted to 15 when Klaus finally broke them away by exclaiming “Five your burning up!”

This resulted in various ya da reaching to feel his forehead some he managed to bat away.

Some unfortunately he didn’t.

“Jesus Five” Diego hissed as he pulled his hand away “why didn’t you say you were sick?”

For a moment Five was quiet, then in a small voice “I didn’t want to ruin Christmas.”

Whatever angry was there evaporated and instead was replaced with loving concern.

Vanya grabbed an ice pack while Diego draped a blanket over Fives shoulders and gently lowered him into a lying position.

“Get some rest bro. Christmas can wait a few more hours. And hopefully then you can enjoy it too.”

If it weren’t for the fever or the fact he was on the cusp of sleep Five likely would of stayed quiet.

Instead he added softly as his eyes fluttered shut.

“I love you all.”

It truly was a Merry Christmas

Big Brother Klaus

The Twinkie Incident:

Klaus never expected waking up in a world of death to be a blessing.

But after three months of no screaming ghosts and a little brother he adores with all his heart he almost didn’t want to find a way back.

It had been a time of mixed emotions when he woke up half-buried by rubble surrounded by ash and the bodies of his siblings.

He barely had a moment to comprehend the fact they had failed when a small shaking mass launched itself at him and grabbed onto his tattered coat like its life depended on it.

This, of course, turned out to be Five which made things much less awkward when Klaus thought maybe it was some random kid.

It was nice to see his brother again even if it was in hell.

What followed was a lot of crying on both sides, Klaus cried plenty so he didn’t really mind he was doing it.

But he could never remember a time Five had been comfortable enough to be weak around his family.

Hell for most of his life Klaus assumed Five simply didn’t feel.

He learnt pretty quickly he was wrong.

As time passed the two stuck together and despite Fives stubbornness and Klaus being well Klaus they were as happy as two people can be when the world ended.

Klaus was fine to live here with his brother foraging during the day and spending the nights in the ruined library just hanging out.

Then the day that changed everything.

Being homeless for a good chunk of his life, Klaus had eaten more than his fair share of expired food and was confident he could tell what was safe and what wasn’t.

So when he found a Twinkie and handed it over to Five to eat he didn’t give it a second thought.

Then night fell and he was reading a sappy romance novel when Five slowly wandered into his room and plopped down on the end of the old bed he dragged in there.

“Taking a break?” Klaus asked not bothering to look up.

Sometimes when the math got too frustrating Five would do this. He would chill for a while then go back to work recharged.

Five nodded, letting out a small groan as he curled up small enough to pull what was unoccupied of the blanket over him.

“Huh, usually I have to force you to go to bed. Having a bad day bud?” Klaus chuckled.

However, when he only got another groan in response he decided to look over at Five.

And what he saw made his blood run cold.

Five was a sickly grey colour and was shivering despite the thin layer of sweat covering his face. His eyes were scrunched up in what he could only assume was pain.

Panic took hold as Klaus dropped his book and put a hand to Fives forehead feeling his chest tighten upon finding an alarming heat there.

“Fuck. Ok, Five I need you to tell me what’s wrong.”

Klaus tried to keep his voice steady. The last thing he needed was to scare Five more than he likely already was.

“My stomach hurts.... I threw up a lot” he mumbled.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!” Klaus wanted to be mad but he was too fucking terrified right now to bother.

“Ok. OK, everything is going to be fine, we just need some fever reducers some water and wait this out ok.”

Five responded by leaning over the bed to throw up in the trash can.

This was bad.

How had Five gotten sick so suddenly?!

He pushed the question to the back of his mind for now as he ran to their medical chest and began tearing through it for what he needed.

There wasn’t much since Klaus had been using a lot of the supply to keep from going through withdrawals and upon realising they were out of painkillers he hated himself for it.

He did manage to find some fever reducers and hoped they would be ok for a child.

He didn’t really have any other choice though as he handed a couple to Five who swallowed them dry.

Klaus tried to hand him a bottle of water but it was swatted away.

“Can’t... just throw it up... can’t... waste it” he mumbled curling up in a small shivering ball clearly trying to find some kind of comfort.

“You need to drink Five. You won’t get better if you don’t” Klaus pleaded and kept pushing it to his brothers lips till he finally gave In and had a few sips.

Klaus sighed, it was good enough for now.

He tried to get up to get a cloth and some water to get the fever down but found his coat caught in Fives vise like grip.

Admitting defeat he lay down and pulled his brother onto his chest pressing the bottle to the back of his neck.

Five barely slept that night.

Tossing and turning with Klaus spending every moment trying to keep his fever down.

It took two days for it to break and by then the two of them her beyond exhausted.

Klaus sat slumped against the wall running his fingers through Fives greasy hair.

His brother was safe... for now.

He had already figured out that it was the Twinkie that did this.

That he nearly killed his brother because he was careless with a snack.

Suddenly he didn’t want to stay here forever, not if it meant one little slip up could make him lose Five.

He couldn’t go through that not again.

The Link You Knew And Loved

In many ways Zelda was jealous of Link.

He got to rest and recover while she gave everything she had to fight the calamity.

But still that didn’t change the sheer unbridled joy she felt when it was all over and her knight stood before her.

“Do you remember me?” She asked with a smile.

It used to be a running joke between them after Zelda realised she oftern left Link waiting outside of places he couldn’t go for days on end.

It became a sort of greeting between the two. A familiar comfort from home that after such a hard won battle she was sure they both needed.

All she had to hear was ‘I’m here arnt I?’ and she could hug him and know everything will be alright.

“Your Princess Zelda arnt you?”

Those simple words made panic rise in her throat “L-Link, are you ok?” She asked trying swallow her fear.

Maybe Link had hit his head during the battle or was in shock.

To not be sure who she was well... that can’t happen.

“I heard your voice, it woke me up and told me to save you. Everyone told me to save you because you knew me and apparently I knew you.” Link continued handing over the slate where the pictures she once took still remained after all this time.

“What do you mean by apparently?” Zelda asked taking it from his hands to see the image of all the champions together.

“I don’t remeber any of the past people tell about. I don’t know who those people in the picture are, I don’t know who you are and I don’t know who I am.”

Bile rose in Zelda’s throat.

How could this have happened?!

The healing Shrine was supposed to save Link! Not just keep his body while his spiret passed on.

Zelda didn’t even realise she was crying until the drops blurred the screen.

“I never realised what you suffered while I was gone. Do you not remeber your father? How when you became a knight he charged through the crowds to lift you up in the biggest hug I had ever seen?”

Link shook his head no. His face cast downwards his hair covering his expression.

“W-What about your mother. We based the champions tunic on the dress she always wore when she saw to the injured.”

The shake of the head was shorter this time.

“Your uncle! Please you have to remeber him?! He took you in when you parents died. He was so kind and loving and you once told me that even when you lost him too he would never leave your heart! Please Link tell me he wasn’t taken from you too!”

“I...”

Zelda felt a moment of hope.

“I didn’t even know I had an uncle.”

She couldn’t help the gasp as Links shoulders began to shake.

“Why can’t I remember my family? Wasn’t it enough that all I’ve done since waking up is try to save Hyrule? ISN’T THAT ENOUGH ATONEMENT FOR MY MISTAKE A HUNDRED YEARS AGO?!” Link screamed upwards tears streaming down his face.

Zelda reaches out to him. Her fingers inches away, but too afraid to touch him should he shatter.

“I thought saving you would give me back my past.” Link whispered not even reacting when Zelda threw caution to the wind.

“I’m so sorry Link. I can’t return your past, even telling you about it really won’t change the fact most of it’s gone. You don’t deserve this my brave knight. I’m so so so sorry!” Zelda felt Link crumble inwards dropping to his knees and taking her with him.

They stayed there sobbing for what felt like hours before the silence was broken by Link.

“I’m sorry you lost him...”

“Who?” Zelda asked softly.

“The Link you knew and loved.”

Blue Sparks

Part 1

Klaus remembers the day Five was ripped apart.

It was coming to the end of a week-long punishment that Five had practically begged for by yelling at the dinner table and making a run for it.

Maybe he would have gotten away and had a chance at life if Mom hadn’t caught him and snapped a collar around his neck that shocked him every time he tried to teleport stopping himself before the blue was able to form around his hands.

Five dropped to the floor panting as their father came over to him and delivered a swift his from his cane across the cheek “as my other attempts at punishing you have clearly been ineffective for the next month you shall do without your powers.”

At first, Klaus was jealous.

Not only were Five powers the best begin with now he got a break from training too?! How was this fair?!

It seemed the other siblings felt the same as they continued to eat while Five pulled himself up and stumbled back to his room moving up the stairs like a kicked dog.

Only Vanya went to check on him that night, the others pretended they didn’t hear the crying.

The first day didn’t seem so bad.

Sure Five was sporting a nasty bruise on his cheek but he only had to take part in group training and after that was allowed to go study or some shit while Klaus was given his private time slot to suffer even more.

He couldn’t help but shove him to the side as they crossed paths in the hall only feeling a little bad when on instinct Five tried to teleport away and ended up on his knees gasping in pain.

It seemed like everyone had decided Five deserved more punishment as come meal time his cutlery was dulled, his chair had a tack on it, his juice was taken and whenever Reginald wasn’t looking someone would steal some of his food.

Whenever Five tried to do anything about it Luther would tip him off his chair knowing that would make him try to teleport and end with him being shocked.

By the second day it had almost become a twisted game.

Anyone who got Fives extra training particularly seemed to enjoy getting him shocked, after all by then the collar didn’t even seem to hurt him much.

At the end of the third day Klaus was woken up by someone in the bathroom throwing up. He decided to investigate just in case it was Ben.

He was greeted with the sight of a very pale Five flushing the toilet and wiping his mouth.

“You ok?” Klaus asked softly.

“You care?” Five responded groaning slightly as he put a hand on his stomach “I think somethings wrong with me”

Klaus rolled his eyes “Yeah I could of told you that... do you think you’ve got the flu?” He asked taking a step back.

Five shrugged “I don’t know. If this lasts any longer I’ll talk to mom.”

“Lucky you're not doing your personal training then” Klaus huffed bitterly “do you know I got yours today, it was hell so thanks for that.”

Five narrowed his eyes for a moment “what is your training anyway?”

That caught Klaus off guard. No one asked that it wasn’t like they weren’t supposed to talk about it... just no one did.

“Dad locks me in a graveyard so I stop being scared of ghosts. You?”

Klaus was expecting something easy. After all what kind of training could you even do for teleporting?

“I guess he wants me to be able to use my powers when I’m scared too” Five finally  said.

“Yeah but what does he do?” Klaus tapped his foot impatiently”

“It changes every time. He liked burying me alive for a while but when I figured out how to teleport without moving he switched things up with basic forms of torture. Before the... dinner incident it was waterboarding.”

The information hung heavily in the air.

Klaus had no idea that... Five was being tortured for hours daily and not even letting slip what he was going through.

Suddenly trying to run off to a different time made a lot more sense.

Klaus didn’t know what to say. He just stood there so long that Five took it as a sign to leave.

He stepped out back to his room just give Klaus a slipping glimpse of the harsh red burn around his neck.

Five wasn’t at breakfast the next day.

That seemed to be enough to end the teasing from the others and replace it with worry.

The last time Five hadn’t been present was after a mission and he got shot in the gut and needed to spend a few days recovering.

When Mom made an appearance she was quickly hounded with questions from her children.

“Where’s Five?!” Came out the front runner and therefore was answered first.

“Your brother is going to be spending the day in the infirmary. He should be fine but has got a fever so do not disturb him.” She smiled as she returned to making pancakes.

Guilt made its home in the sibling's guts.

Getting shocked over and over again as well as having your food taken could make anyone sick let alone someone as skinny as Five was.

Klaus felt particularly bad because he knew something was up but still let him go to bed to suffer alone all night.

Maybe that was why he snuck down to see him while Reginald was distracted with Allison rumouring Luther into thinking he was an alien.

He snuck down keeping an eye out for both mom and Pogo letting out a sigh of relief when he finally got down and saw Five lying on the bed.

Is usually pale face was flushed red and his breathing was a little more laboured then it should be.

“Five?” Klaus asked quietly trying not to look at the needles hungrily.

They likely didn’t have anything that would make the background screaming go away and if his hunch was right, we're just filled with antibiotics for the burn on Fives neck.

There of course was no answer and Klaus sighed.

Of course, if he’s sick he wouldn’t be awake to chat.

He really only came here to see he was ok and well... he looked a lot worse than he did last night.

He shifted awkwardly “I wanted to say sorry for how I treated you this last couple of days. What dads doing already sucks and we shouldn’t have made it worse. I hope you get better soon Vanya’s gonna be sad if you can’t listen to her play.”

With nothing else to say Klaus awkwardly stepped out of the room.

He assumed he hadn’t been caught but considering the next day when he went to check in on Five again, he found the door locked someone must have seen him.

Klaus decided to just wait until Five was better to talk to him and apologise properly... and maybe talk to him about private training again.

He wanted to help his brother and maybe be helped in return.

It couldn’t hurt to have a teleporter on your side when you're locked in a hellish place surrounded by screaming angry ghosts.

It happened at 4 am exactly.

Everyone but Klaus was fast asleep so they didn’t see the start of it.

He was staring out the window doing his best to ignore the crying woman on his bed when a familiar flash of blue appeared outside.

At first, he assumed Five got the collar off and was testing out his powers.

Then Dad, Pogo and Mom all ran outside and started yelling.

The really weird thing was that the blue glow around Five that normally dissipated in less than a second was still there.

Almost like when Ben let out the horror a blue glow came from his chest.

Five screaming was what made Klaus run down to the garden though quickly followed by the others.

For once Reginald was too distracted to notice his children breaking the rules and was instead yelling over the harsh wind and screams “the power levels have grown too high for his body to contain them any longer. I believed number Five may have use as a battery but I underestimated how fast the charge would build.”

As he spoke the glow in Fives chest seemed to crack outwards splintering out until it covered his entire body and his eyes glowed blue.

“Sir how do we help him?” Lither asked as though he could just strong arm Five into being ok.

“I’m afraid number Five is in reachable now. Return to the house at once.” He snapped but Klaus wasn’t going to have that.

He wasn’t sure what exactly he was thinking as he ran over and grabbed Five my shoulders his hands burning from the heat coming off him.

“FIVE! Please, can you hear me?”

Five slowly nodded tears streaming down his face “it hurts... so bad”

His voice was distant like it was being carried away to some distant land.

“I know! You’ll be ok! I promise you're going to be fi-“

Klaus never got to finish that sentence because Five began to crumble away into a shower of blue sparks.

He did the only thing he could and pull Five into a hug right as his body dissolved into nothingness.

Klaus was left kneeling clutching the air in shock.

He could hear his siblings screams and cries behind him but he didn’t care.

Five was gone.

He frantically began looking around for Five to appear as one of the many ghosts.

Getting more and more frustrated.

“You won’t find him number Four. While number Five is gone he is likely not dead in the same sense you are accustomed to. He has been erased from existence in a way.”

The news was like a punch to the gut.

Their brother was gone.. as good as dead and Reginald didn’t even care.

Klaus was, of course, punished the next day. They all were.

But it seemed like no matter what they went through the pain of having Five torn from their lives like that was worse than anything their father could throw at them.

They grew closer in their grief and guilt. Even Vanya was included.

Ben dying was really what forced them all to move out and go their separate ways.

Being together to be picked off one at a time just hurt too much...

Klaus lost touch with the others but was content with drugs and being followed around by Ben forever.

That is until a blue sparkle caught the corner of his eye and every familiar scream lit up the night.

Like A Dream

When you’ve completed your life’s mission, what do you do?

How can you ignore the crushing terror of looking back on your horny story of a life and act like it doesn’t bother you?

Five normally tried to find this answer at the bottom of a few bottles but his stupid child body tended to get too sick to continue after a glass these days.

He hated that almost as much as the void of unknown that stretched ahead of him.

He didn’t sleep anymore.

Too scared that he will wake up in the wasteland choking on ash and screaming for help from someone... anyone.

He would often pass out after a few days in random places and wake up in bed. He assumed one of his siblings or Mom carried him there but they were merciful enough to never bring it up.

Five was currently on day four of being awake and everything was pretty floaty as he flicked through the various tv channels.

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

Five didn’t react to Diego's voice as now was about the time he came in from his vigilante work anyways.

Five simply shrugged “and your tracking mud through the house again. Guess we both lose our deserts tomorrow”

Diago huffed as he dropped down on the couch next to his younger brother.

“Anything good on?”

“Not unless you suddenly think shopping channels are worth watching” Five handed over the remote when Diago held his hand out for it.

He fiddled around for a few moments before landing on an old Disney movie.

“Have you seen this one?” Five asked watching as the brightly coloured animals helped the girl clean the home she broke into.

Diago nodded pulling the blanket from the back of the sofa over the two and wedging a pillow between them which Five slowly relaxed onto.

“Yeah, I binged as much of the stuff dad never allowed the first night I was alone. Movies came right after pizza on that list”

Five chuckled softly not even noticing when Diago switched off the lamp leaving them with only the light of the tv.

“I got to try my first pizza on my first time alone too...”

Five didn’t continue and Diago didn’t push him.

He used to think Five didn’t talk about the apocalypse because he wasn’t proud of what he had to do to survive.

Then as time went on and he heard Five wakes up screaming pretty much every night he figured there was something deeper going on.

“You should try the place downtown. It’s the best in the city.”

Five glanced up at him with a cocked eyebrow teasingly “and you’ve tried all the pizza the city has to offer?”

Diago rolled his eyes “just watch the movie Five.”

A quiet huff was the only response he got as his attention returned to the screen.

By time Snow White bit into the apple Five was fast asleep, and come closing credits he was cuddled up to Diago like a little teddy bear.

At some point, Diago drifted off too only to be awoken by Allison walking down the stairs and quickly shushing her when she opened her mouth to speak.

“I see the plan worked then. Allison smirked down at the sleeping Five.

Diago smirked brushing the hair out of his brothers face glad for once he can sleep soundly.

“Like a dream.”

Why So Quiet?

“Don’t be selfish”

“Just think about what she has to go through”

“She’s giving her everything so why arnt you?”

“Don’t even pretend to struggle like she does.”

Link knew that when he was selected to be Zelda’s guard that things would change and that her needs would have to come first.

He just didn’t realise that it meant they always came first even when she wasn’t there.

What many people seemed to forget was all those sleepless nights Zelda spent studying, all those trips up the mountains to the springs, all those labours she went through Link was there too.

He was there to put his body between her and the danger to keep her safe even while she made it hard.

The amount of times she had hidden from him forcing him to search for hours in the cold rain only to find her back in the castle library next to the fire with satisfied smirk on her face at having made him give up.

Ever since she realised she could force him to leave her alone by going to Gerudo town she spent as much time as she could there and Link was left standing out in the sun waiting for her.

He once tried to talk to the guards hoping maybe they of all people may understand the crushing weight he was under.

“The princess has to deal with a destiny too! So like a Voe to complain while he slacks off.”

It made him burn with shame and anger.

Why did everyone forget he was destined to fight too?! That it was his job to put everyone above himself, to help Zelda with her destiny while he figured it out all alone.

There’s only so many times a person can be told to stop complaining and to shut up before they do.

Link stopped talking all together, he stopped expressing his emoutions and let his misery hide within him knowing no one would care if they knew.

The pair were trenching through the snow in search of a rare plant Zelda beloved had healing properties.

Every few feet she screamed at him to leave her alone. Link just let it happen.

What was one more insult on top of the mountain she had already thrown?

The wind was picking up making Zelda stumble for a moment which in turn made Link reach forwards to steady her.

“Don’t touch me!” She snapped slapping his hands away from her “why do you have to be so creepy following be around like a lifeless statue. Can you even speak?” She glared as Link pulled his hands away to his chest and his hands curled into fists.

“Y-yes... I- I can- can s-speak.” Link swallowed as he stuttered out his words.

He had been trained for so long to be silent that talking now was nearly impossible for him.

“Why do you sound like that?” Zelda asked crossing her arms in distain but her glare lessened as she looked him up and down like she was searching for some kind of reason.”

“I d-don’t kn-ow. I u-used to be f-fine... it’s e-easier t-to d-do my j-job w-when I’m quiet”

Her eyes narrowed “yeah why’s that.”

“Y-your l-less likely t-to t-ell me to s-shut up”

Link watched as Zeldas brow creased in confusion.

She didn’t tell him to shut up did she?

Then again she can’t remeber the last time Link had spoken to her this much. He always just seemed like a shadow... and not a real person so it was fine to take her frustrations out on him.

“There’s got to be more to it then that. Everyone says you don’t talk”

“E-everyone t-tells me to s-shut up.” Link admitted shifting akwardly.

He felt panicky speaking so much. Like if he kept going his voice would shatter and fly away in the wind never to be used again.

“Everyone tells you to shut up? Why would they do that?”

Link opened his mouth to speak but instead a quiet squeak came out. Looks like that’s all he would be able to manage for now.

With a quick movement he asked ‘do you know sign?’

When Zelda nodded yes he continued.

‘Everyone sees what you have to do for your destiny and they just see me as somone following you around waiting for my time to come like it’s easy. Do you know what I do every day?”

This time Zelda shook her head no.

‘I keep you safe and follow you around Hyrule while you run away from me. I don’t get a break until you are asleep and that break is practising my sword skills. My life was given to you because of destiny and I will do what I must but no one cares how hard I work. Or that any trial you do I am right there too. All they see is a glorified body guard complaining about a job thousands would kill for. No one cares about the weight I carry because all they see is you the chosen princess and some kid that found a sword.’

By time he had finished Links hands were shaking and he stopped looking at Zelda ready for whatever she had to say about that.

Hopefully she wouldn’t yell at him too long it was already cold enough with the sun up.

“Oh Link I... I had no idea you felt like that. I just saw you as an annoyance that followed me around that you clearly were handeling all this so much better then me so it was ok to treat you the way I did... I have people I can talk to, Urbosa my maids and even my father but... Link why not say this to your family surely they would listen to you?” Zelda looked worried as she spoke.

As if she suddenly understood how her actions had hurt a boy that did everything for her.

‘I don’t have a family anymore. My father was a knight and he died but that’s all I know’

This news seemed to make Zelda feel even worse.

Link really had no one in this world, he was alone and whenever he tried to open up to others they made it about her... then again she did the same thing.

She swallowed her pride and fell into step next to him.

“Well I hope some day you can find somone to share with. Until then we should get going.”

It wasn’t much.

It would still be many months before they grew close enough for Link to share how he felt again and this time with his words.

But for now it was a start and things had begun to change.

Creators Block

The day seemed like any other.

Patton was happily baking away in the kitchen while Logan supervised to make sure nothing got cut off or set on fire.

Virgil sat on the couch scrolling through his phone while Roman rambled on excitedly about his newest idea.

“Now while she is already a detective and a spy, she is also a huge lesbian and the reason she can’t solve the case is that her partner is too cute for her to concentrate.”

Virgil tended to just let Roman carry on until he ran out of steam but it seemed like he had this entire thing figured out and that usually meant Thomas would be able to relax and create something so he was happy.

He decided he should encourage him... just to keep Thomas happy of course.

“Cool so what are their names and backstories”

The change was instant.

Roman looked up in surprise which at first Virgil assumed was in response to him actually engaging but then all the colour drained from Romans face.

Then his clothes leaving him an off grey colour.

His eyes seemed to harden to a cracked stone as he began to slouch forwards his limbs heavy and his breathing slow.

Virgil realised too late what was going to happen and despite launching himself forwards he wasn’t able to catch Roman before he fell.

The sound of a body hitting the floor and a panicked Virgil letting out a shriek sent Logan and Patton running to them.

They were greeted with an odd sight.

Virgil was failing to hoist Roman up leaving him half slouched on the ground as he frantically tapped him on the face.

“Virgil what happened are you ok?” Patton asked fussing over him while Logan took Roman from the anxious side arms and placed him gently on the couch.

“Roman he’s... he.” Virgil tugged at his hair.

Why was no one reacting to Roman! Something was clearly wrong! What if Remus became creativity and Roman wasn’t needed anymore so his life force was sucked out of him.

What if they had to deal with Remus everyday!

What if he never got to spend time with Roman again?!

Every new thought triggered another panic attack making his breaths come faster and faster.

“Virgil I need you to count in random numbers for me can you do that?” Logan asked firmly taking hold of his shoulders as a grounding presence.

“6...2...19...69...420, 11, 57, 1”

As he counted Virgil found his panic slowly fade as his brain concentrated on the task and not the fear.

“Good. Now, are you hurt I know Roman isn’t exactly the lightest” Logan asked looking him over for any signs of bruises or bleeding.

“I’m... I’m fine it’s Roman look at him.”

The other two sides glanced over their shoulders before Patton gasped.

“Oh kiddo is this the first time you’ve seen with her creators block?”

Virgil blinked in surprise “creators block?”

“It is the name given to when a person is unable to create something but for Roman as he is creativity he is essentially unable to exist. Think of this like the gems in Steven Universe retreating within their gems. They are fine but it will take some time for them to return to normal and all you can do is be patient and make sure he is safe.”

Logan sighed “I will admit when I first saw this occur I was not prepared to deal with it.”

“He cried” Patton added “but to be fair so did I. We didn’t know what was happening and if Roman would be ok. Sides can’t die but... you weren’t here when Creativity split. We thought it was happening again and we would lose Roman like we lost Romulus.”

As Patton's bottom lip began to quiver Logan cleared his throat “he will be fine in a day or so, just leave him be and try not to worry”

“Yeah like that’s something I can do” Virgil rolled his eyes deciding then and there that there was no chance in hell he was leaving this spot until Roman was back to his wonderful load and annoying self again.

That’s how the sides ended up gathering in the living room and making a pillow next to Wait it out.

They had one giant sleepover knowing it would really begin when Roman came back to them.

Three days later Virgil was napping on the other side of the couch when he felt his blanket pulled away from him and a very sleepy Roman grumble about sharing.

He wanted to scream in joy and let the world knew he was back.

But everyone was asleep and according to Logan blocks tend to wipe Roman out so he would need his rest.

Considering that Virgil had no choice but to pull the prince into his side and drape the blanket over the two of them and fall asleep FINALLY content knowing Roman was back.

Why Are You Here?

Part 1:

Travelling through time felt like finally scratching an annoying itch.

For Five it was a relief to know he was right! That he knows his powers better than anyone and that even he could still be surprised by them now and again.

He got exactly 2 jumps before his joy and feelings of accomplishment was knocked out of him.

Literally.

The funny thing about time travel is that he had no real way of deciding where he landed physically so the fact he was in the middle of the toad shouldn’t have been a surprise.

Being hit by a car was still, however.

Five felt the air forced out of his lungs as he spent a peaceful moment weightless before everything came crashing down as he smacked against the hard concrete and felt the sickening sensation of his skin being torn away by the ground and his bone snap in his arm.

Five was no stranger to pain. His personal training with his father saw to that.

But as his head made contact with the ground and stars danced in front of his eyes he felt waves of pain and panic grip him.

The last thing he saw before he finally passed out was strangers running towards him and all he could bring himself to think was that how pissed Vanya would be when she found out he got hurt.

                                                           ~~~

Patch was not having a good day.

It started with her alarm not waking her up in time so she had to rush out of her apartment and forgetting her keys in the process.

She hated the idea of being late to work but as she stood outside waiting for her slow landlord to get off his butt and let her back in she had to just sit on the steps and watch the traffic go by.

The cold weather really didn’t help her bad mood and she was sure nothing could make it worse.

Then she heard a scream and looked up in time to see a blue light fade away and more importantly a car slam right into a kid.

She was up and running kneeling at the unconscious boy’s side even before the driver had gotten out.

“H-he just appeared! I tried to stop but-“

The man was clearly in shock but Patch didn’t have time to deal with him as there was currently an injured child that needed her attention.

She pointed at a random bystander “you call an ambulance”

She didn’t watch to make sure they did as she told and instead went through her first aid checks.

The kid was breathing and had a strong pulse with was good.

The real issue seemed to be the odd angle his arm and leg were at. Along with what she suspected was a break the right side of his body seemed to get a fair bit of road rash leaving a painful looking bleeding layer of skin a cloth along his shoulder and face.

What really shocked her though was when checking him over she found a tattoo.

And not just any tattoo, the umbrella academy.

“Who are you kid” she muttered to herself as the ambulance arrived and a paramedic gently pushed her out of the way.

A quick flash of her badge later she found herself riding in the back of the ambulance and being allowed as far as the waiting room while the kid was in surgery.

It has already been an hour and she knew she couldn’t put off the call any longer.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Diago can you swing by the hospital. I think I’m gonna need your help.”

Patch could hear the distant sounds of movement and a door slamming behind him down the phone.

“The hospital?! Are you ok?!” He asked clearly running.

“I’m fine, I just helped bring in an unconscious kid that apparently just appeared out of nowhere in a flash of blue” honestly if Patch hadn’t caught the tail end of it she would never have believed the driver. “He was wearing the academy’s uniform and... Diago he had the tattoo is there any chance your dad started a next-generation?”

There was silence for a moment.

“I... I don’t know I haven't really been back there in a while. If the kid does belong to the old man I’m sure he’ll show up to claim the kid. We can’t let that happen if he is from the academy there’s no way in hell I'm letting him go back.”

Of course, Patch watched to probe for more information but he hung up on her.

She let out an annoyed groan and glanced at the clock.

This really wasn’t her day.

                                                           ~~~

It took Diago exactly twenty-two minutes to break every speed limit he could and get to the hospital.

He wouldn’t be surprised if he got half a dozen tickets when he got home but right now that didn't matter.

What did matter was finding out what the hell was going on.

The nurse was helpful enough to show him to the room the kid had been put in, Patch was already sat inside scrolling through her phone while the small figure slept in the bed next to her.

He felt unusually nervous and sick.

What if Reginald had been hurting kids like he used to hurt him and his siblings and they had no idea all this time?

He was supposed to be a fucking hero and the idea that it could have been going on right under his fucking nose made his blood boil.

“H-hey Patch.” Diago swallowed as he quietly entered the room catching sight of the familiar tattoo on the small pale arm.

“Hey, he should wake up soon. Broken arm and leg, some nasty road rash and a couple cracked ribs. It’s bad but he should be fine with some rest.” She replied looking up at him and offering a soft comforting smile.

“Good... Any word from...”

She shook her head no and Diago felt a small weight lift from his shoulders.

He beat them here that meant he could keep the kid safe now.

“So people say he just appeared in the middle of the street?” He asked trying not to look at the bandages that hide the needle in the kid's arm from his view.

“Yeah, didn’t one your brothers teleport?”

Diago nodded grimly “Yeah Five... he disappeared when we were kids. I kinda figured he died but maybe this kid is his and dad got a hold of him”

Diago frowned in thought.

It isn’t an impossible theory that Five somehow knocked up a chick while on the run and the baby inherited his powers. Reginald bought a bunch of babies before so why not again?

“When he wakes up try not to overload with him questions hey?” Patch patted him on the shoulder walking past “I’m gonna grab a couple coffees be right back.”

Diago nodded taking her seat by his side.

He sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes when the boy began to stir.

He let out a small groaning noise followed by a hiss as he pulled himself up into a sitting position and looked around.

Time seemed to slow down when they locked eyes.

Diago suddenly realised that this kid didn’t come from Five but he was him.

“Five?”

He squinted at him for a moment before his eyes widened in shock and he asked in a terrified whisper already knowing the answer.

“Number 2?”

Why He Cares

@taylortut sorry this birthday fic took so long

Max never really understood why David tried so hard with him, why he spent so long trying to help someone that openly mocked him.

Max always figured it was just David being David and left it at that.

Then the day David’s mother came to visit happened and suddenly everything made sense.

It was a few days after parents day when the car pulled up in the camp.

It was sleek and flashy pulling everyone’s attention instantly even while Gwen and David tried to keep them away.

While the campers all ran over save for Max David let out a long groan of frustration as a woman stepped out.

“Ex girlfriend?” Max snorted, “I never took you for the cougar type but hey props to you for not planning to die alone.

Now normally this kind of comment would be met with a disapproving look or a lecture he would ignore.

Instead all David did was mutter “get the campers inside Gwen.”

“What’s wrong who is that?” Gwen asked noting how his normally relaxed cheerful demeanor was replaced with something much more serious.

“Someone who doesn’t belong here” with that he stormed over, the sea of campers parting in surprise seeing David acting like this.

“Ah David there you are, I was just telling these Erm delightful children that I’m allowed to be here.” She laughed flipping her bleached blond hair.

“Children get away from her. She’s a stranger and dangerous” David was clearly forcing a smile as he stepped between her and his campers.

“Dangerous? Of David really again with your dramatics I would have assumed you’d be over that nonsense already.”

She opened her arms to him in a clear offer of a hug but David simply ignored her and continued to herd the children to Gwen who was making progress getting them all inside the mess hall.

Funny thing about when you see the nice one with that kind of look in his eyes is that no one really wants to know why it’s there.

Well except for Max.

“Jesus David I was kidding about the ex thing but you really are acting like she’s some kind of heartless monster.”

Without missing a beat, she turned her attention to Max “Oh has he been telling stories about me? While I suppose I can’t blame you for missing the resemblance I do look far too young to have a son in his twenties.”

“Holy shit! David is this your mom?!” Max exclaimed already thinking about how he could exploit this knowledge.

“She is yes. Now please go inside Max I would prefer to deal with this alone.” David said calmly but his mom began to laugh taking a cigarette out of her bag and lighting it up.

“Look who finally got a back bone. Then again I guess it’s easy to stand up to a little kid. Or maybe you grew out of being a pussy.” She smirked as she waved her cigarette at him.

Max didn’t miss the way David flinched or stepped further in front of Max.

“Why are you here” David gritted our his eyes not leaving the flowing end.

“What can’t a mother come visit her fuck up of a son to see what he’s up to these days?”

“It’s not like you’ve been bother to be a mother for the last 24 years so yeah I’m curious why you're suddenly Interested now.” David snapped visibly shaking.

She rolled her eyes “Fine you got me. Your dad kicked the bucket and left you the fucking house. I need you to sign it over to me.” She explained as she fished out a stack of papers and waved them in his face.

“Not like you’d even want the place. You slept outside most of the time anyway”

It was a jarring experience for Max to suddenly realise with a cold horror that maybe him and David weren’t so different.

So while David started down at the documents in her hand Max did the only logical thing he could think of.

Pick up a big rock and throw it through the window of her car.

The change in her demeanor was instant.

Gone was the above it all stuck up attitude she had since she arrived, replaced with a screaming bitch.

She grabbed Max by the arm and squeezed so hard he was sure there would be a bruise tomorrow.

“You little shit! Do you know how much this car fucking cost me?!”

“A night with a sleazy guy at a hotel I bet.” David grabbed her wrist twisted t back and then promptly slammed her face through the unbroken window.

Max was dropped to the ground to stare in disbelief as kind sweet gentle David without hesitation or apparent difficulty shoved his own mothers face through glass.

“Let me make one thing clear. I’m not the scared little kid hiding under the bed from your drunken rages anymore. I’m not a violent man, I live every day doing right by these kids like you never did for me. But you fucking touched one of my kids.” He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out tossing her to the dirty ground.

Her nose was broken and dripping blood onto her white blouse.

“I will never let you hurt any of them like you and dad hurt me.” He stood over her looking much taller than he did when she arrived.

“If I ever see from you again or if you tell anyone about this I’m bringing you down with me. I still have plenty of scars from when you couldn’t find an ashtray.”

He spat picking up the scattered documents and quickly scribbling his name across the line.

“Take the fucking house. I don’t care just never bother me or my kids again”

David dropped the papers in her lap before he turned to Max and offered him his hand.

In a daze Max took it and let him help him up while David’s mom scrambled to her car and drove off into the distance.

“You shouldn’t have done that you know.

She could have really hurt you” David said softly checking over the red area where Max had been held.

“David are you... how did you...”

Max couldn’t bring him to ask, he didn’t even want to think about how this explained so much about David, especially his love for the camp.

It was his escape from... that. His only way out from a life of fear and pain.

Of course he wanted Max to see Camp Camble as his home too... so he could see it as his escape.

“Don’t worry about it Max. Just know that no matter who it is I’ll always keep you safe” he smiled offering him his hand to hold.

Max reaches out to take it before shaking his head “just because you saved me doesn’t mean shit. Your still a dork.”

A soft smile crept across David’s face.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Max found himself smiling back as the two headed to meet with the others know they had some explaining to do.

He’s Squishy

@causeimanartist man this took a while lol

Funny thing about Batman is that when you first meet him everyone just kinda assumes he's ‘something’.

No one is quite sure what but there is an agreement amongst all the heroes and villains that interact with him that Batman must be more than human, after all, he can be thrown off a roof and be up and about the next day.

When Clark and Diana first started getting close to Bruce they hoped he would open up about what it was that made him so special.

Afterall Clark was always happy to answer any questions on being an alien and Diana never shut up about her home amongst the Amazons. Yet despite talking about detective work and science he never told them what he was and honestly, as more time passes the more it began to hurt.

“Do you think maybe… he doesn't trust us?” Clark asked nervously while Bruce was in the other room preparing a bowl of popcorn for their movie night. It had been a challenge to get him to say yes until they mentioned they were planning to work their way through the Sherlock Holmes movies.

He said yes very quickly after that.

“Bruce is complicated and as much as I hate it he's damaged, for all we know whatever reason he has his abilities is tied to his past trauma.” Diana sighed stretching out on the couch giving her poor legs a break before Bruce returned to fill up the now empty middle space “maybe he will tell us one day maybe he won't We can't let it change anything between us.”

Clark nodded solemnly “I know. It just feels like all this progress we made with him doesn't really mean anything if he won't tell us something like this. If we didn't figure out who he really is for all we know he would never have told us and then maybe we would never have become so…”

“Close?” Diana finished for him. She hated to admit it but the same nagging doubt had been at the back of her mind. “He cares about us as much as we do him. We have to trust that.”

“Trust what?” Bruce asked walking in carrying a large bowl of popcorn that was likely the work of Alfred judging from the lack of burnt chunks peppering the food.

“Nothing. Nothing it's fine” Diana said quickly wanting to avoid the topic and not ruin their nice evening but it seemed like Clark decided enough was enough.

“Bruce be honest you trust us right?”

Bruce looked stunned for a moment, setting down the popcorn on the table in front of them “Of course I do, what kind of question is that?”

“it's the kind that comes up when you've been keeping secrets from us since we met. Bruce, why have you never told us what you really are?” Clark continued.

For a moment the two believed they had made the right decision up until the colour drained from Bruce’s face and he began to have a panic attack.

It was nothing short of terrifying watching a man who had stared down Darkside and threatened to blow up his entire freaking planet on a bluff begin to crumble in on himself.

Super speed meant Clark got to him first but he just fluttered around in worry not sure what to do.

Diana however gently pushed him to the side and took hold of Bruce’s shoulders.

“Copy my breathing Bruce. In and out. In and out.”

It took a few minutes before those awful gasping breaths turned into more steady be it still a little shaky ones.

Eventually, though Bruce let out a slow steady breath and gently pulled away from Diana. “I never really lied to you guys. I just assumed since I had the surgery that it wouldn't matter or that it wouldn't matter to you in the first place. I'm sorry I wasn't upfront with the fact I'm trans I just-”

“That you what?” Clark asked in confusion.

“The fact that I was born a woman I assumed that's what all this is about.”

And just like that Clark looked back on his poor choice of words and began to feel very guilty “What no Bruce that never meant anything to us i didn't even know.”

“Me either but the sex one is born as means nothing in my home i assumed the same was here, Clark was simply referring to the mysterious nature of your powers.”

Bruce stared at them for a moment before he began to laugh.

Even after all this time, it was still a sound that left the two heroes weak at the knees no matter the situation but they managed to snap out of it in time to ask the important questions.

“What's so funny?” Diana crossed her arms glancing at Clark just in case there was a joke she was missing. He, however, looked as confused as she was.

“I don't have any powers I'm just a normal human. Did you two really think I was a meta all this time?”

“I honestly thought you were a vampire or something.” Clark coughed awkwardly.

“I believe some kind of healing magic or ability,” Diana added.

This, of course, sparked another fit of laughed that was only stopped by the pair each grabbing a hand and pulling him onto the couch.

“Sorry it's just well i assumed you knew.” Bruce snorted.

“If we knew you were squishy do you think we would have let you pull half the shit you do?!” Clark asked thinking back on the amount of times he had seen Brucheadfirst first into the fire to save the day.

Diana began to dwell on all the training sessions where she failed to hold back, how she could have easily punched a hold through him.

Either way the two of them were very much freaking out.

“You still fight someone with Kryptonite how's that any different?” Bruce asked raising an eyebrow.

“Because that stuff hard to get hold of, you can get a knife from Walmart.” Clark exclaimed “wait all those times you'd been hurt but turned up to the watchtower the next day you were still hurt.?”

“You were hit by a bus yesterday and you seem fine.” Diana’s eyes narrowed catching onto what Clark was saying.

Without any warning she lifted up his shirt to reveal a patchwork of scars and bruises of varying ages decorating his skin.

“BRUCE! You shouldn't have patrolled with this.” Clark hissed x-raying his chest and finding a couple set broken ribs as well.

“ What else would i have done?” Bruce rolled his eyes going to stand up but instead was pulled into a hug by the pair.

“We care about you! Please don't make us lose you.” Diana said softly as Clark nodded.

Bruce sighed realising things from this point on we're going to be different if he liked it or not.

In all honesty it wasn't too bad, the league did notice Batman being tailed by Superman and Wonder Woman a lot more often.

The biggest difference was that it seemed like Batman had lost his healing ability, any time he was hurt on missions we would take time off to go to the medical wing and actually recover.

Those with powers felt sorry for him, while Alfred was already planning the wedding as to keep his idiot of a son with those that finally made him look after himself.

Bruised Ego

Based on art by @reachingforthesun

Creativity is a fragile thing really.

It is a construct so dedicated to a task that it will stop at nothing to be perfect, so of course when it is mocked it can really hurt.

In Romans case though the pin is much more physical then most.

The video had been a failiour, it was experimental sure but he had poured his heart and soul into it only for everyone to hate it.

Thomas eventually took the video down in response to the flood of angry comments and declared they wouldn’t be doing that again much to the relief of everyone.

Well everyone but Roman.

“It wasn’t that bad... thebidea was good atleast right?”

“The idea was awful, look how it made people react!” Virgil replied rolling his eyes.

The pain blossomed instantly against his ribs like somone kicked him with heavy boots. It took all his self control not to stumble backwards.

“Sorry kiddo but he’s right. You gave it your best but it just didn’t work out this time.” Patton meant well but though his tone was kind the words hurt.

This hurt was in the form of a deep ache working it’s way up his arm like he had sprained his wrist.

“Thomas cannot afford to waste his time with videos that won’t produce positive buzz. To put it simply you failed this time Roman” Logan said as bruises snaked their way up his neck and started to appear on his face.

“Don’t worry buddy I know you didn’t mean to screw up we still love you” Thomas smiled and cuts began to open on Romans skin.

He dropped to his knees gasping as blood trickled from his nose and various cuts across his body stained his white shirt red.

The change of the groups collective mood was instant.

The judgmental attitude was gone replaced with concern.

Unsuprpsingly Patton was at his side first Roman! What’s wrong what’s happening?!” He asked looking to Logan for answers but receiving nothing but a startled look of fear.

“B-bruised ego” Roman managed to get out before he flopped to the ground and curled up in himself.

All he wanted to do was hide in his room and feel sorry for himself.

“What do you mean bruised ego?” Thomas asked looking only a little better off then Virgil who was on the verge of a panic attack.

“Ever heard of taking criticism to heart? Well this is what happens” Roman whispered half hoping they wouldn’t hear him.

He didn’t want to lie to his family but he also didn’t want them to worry about him. Then again he was already well past that.

The problem was that he was only half a side.

The ‘good’ creativity filled with harmless fun and games.

But those were exactly the kind of creativity that could be destroyed by enough criticism.

They were fragile ideas that required people wanting to keep them good for them to remain that way...

Remus never suffered like this when his creations were brought into question. As far as Roman could tell he was the only side this kind of thing happened to.

“The comments on the video did this?” Roman was surprised to hear Logan sound so angry.

Sure he was annoyed a lot but never angry.

Roman shook his head no.

A horrified gasp cane from Virgil “it was... it was us... wasn’t it?”

This time Roman nodded yes and watched as his friends... his family realised what they had done to him.

They all started apologising at once. Talking over eachother as they crowded round Roman to help.

Logan began to patch him up while Patton ran his fingers comfortingly through his hair. Virgil kept a constant stream of chatter up to fill the silence between Roman hissing with pain whenever the bandages were pulled a little too tightly.

And Thomas... well Thomas was quiet just watching all this unfold with a guilty expression.

It wasn’t until Patton and Logan decended into Romans room to set it up for him to get some rest did he finaly step forwards.

“Does this happen everytime I don’t like your ideas?”

Roman didn’t want to answer... but he couldn’t refuse Thomas.

“Yeah... it’s ussually less then this but I get bruised and stuff.” He mumbled and watched Thomas’ face fall.

“If I’d known... god I swear I would never have-“

“You needed to say those things though! I’m creativity and it’s my job to give you ideas and it’s your job to decide which ones are actually worth something. I care too much about your dreams to let this get in the way” Roman sat up pushing away Virgil as he tried to help him.

“I’ll be fine in a few days but if you just take every single one of my ideas then you won’t be. Let me do this for you Thomas.”

Thomas looked away “I never want you guys to suffer for me. There has to be another way.”

“What if we were kinder with our criticism?” Virgil offered taking a deep breath “Roman I think your amazing but you shouldn’t be willing to sacrifice yourself. We should take the ideas as something to build up not destroy... even if the thought of doing them scares me hurting you triggers my fight or flight more then anything else.”

Roman smiled up at him before letting out a tired sigh “ok. We will try it your way... tomorrow.”

Virgil nodded “tomorrow. Get some rest.”

With that Roman descended into his room right into his bed.

It had been set up with snacks and books to keep him occupied while he healed. A mountain of stuffed toys had been placed around along with a get well soon card from Patton that brought a smile to his face.

Roman doubted this would be the last time he got a bruised ego but he had a feeling this would be the worst his family would ever let it get.

Something Fishy

The thing about the end of the world is that it boiled the oceans.

This was a fact that Five stumbled across a few months into his time there. Up until he came across the seemingly unending salt plains covered with ash and decay he had believed the ocean would be his saviour.

That he could live off the fish and not have to worry about where his next meal will come from.

He spent the next four decades longing for the ocean but never getting it.

When he returned he was far to focused on saving the world and before that their dad had only ever let them eat artificial foods filled with vitamins and likely steroids.

So at the age of 58 Five never actually ate fish before in his life. Perhaps that was the reason he agreed to ‘bonding’ time with Klaus and Diago eating sushi that Mom made them.

“So it’s raw fish? No offence mom but it doesn’t exactly sound appetising” Diago examined the rolled piece turning it around slowly like he expected it to bite him.

“Oh come on I’ve seen you crack a raw egg into your mouth for breakfast. Just eat the damn thing” Klaus rolled his eyes as he ate his own letting out a loud and vaguely inappropriate noise of enjoyment. “Holy shit guys it’s amazing!”

Diago looked at him skeptical before taking a small bite, quickly followed by him eating the rest. “Fuck that is good. Try it Five.”

Five had originally not planned on actually eating the sushi.

Desperate times in his life had forced him to try and eat whatever he could find including a raw rat he came across when spending a few days trapped in a collapsed building.

He had been so young and scared back then. It seemed crazy to think back on it now.

He looked at what he logically knew was perfectly safe to eat but felt his stomach flip. Five doubted his brothers would force him to eat it if he just explained how much he didn’t want it.

But that would also involve having to admit to his feelings to the people he’s closest to and that just not who Five was.

So despite the intense desire to teleport away Five instead stuffed the whole thing in his mouth staring his brothers down the entire time.

For his first experience ever eating fish it was good.

Mom clearly knew what she was doing and while the taste was unusual it wasn’t bad.

It was nice to share something with his family that didn’t involve saving the world.

The lump forming in his throat making it hard to swallow was unexpected.

Five didn’t think he was that emotional.

He coughed to clear his throat.

“Too much to swallow?” Diego asked patting Fives back and glaring at Klaus when he helpfully added “that’s what she said.”

Five wanted to tell them to shut up but the words died in his throat coming out as only a squeak and more coughs.

He found it quite difficult to breath.

His eyes began to water as he coughed air not getting through despite having already sprayed the table in front of him with what he had in his mouth.

It felt like he was pushed underwater, everything was distant and kinda floaty as white spots danced in front of his eyes.

He could see Diageo’s lips moving but his voice was drowned out by the sound of his own heart beat.

The last thing he saw before the black spots consumed his vision was his brother shouting frantically and pulling him into his arms.

—————

One goddamn day!

Just one day where they could just have fun like a family was that too much to ask?!

Diago has been so excited to spend the day with his brothers and mom, just to chill out and talk like when they were kids and would sneak out for donuts.

It had been fun for a while as well. Klaus was being... well Klaus and Five was actually engaging with them for once.

It was all so perfect right up until Keith started coughing.

At first Diago had dismissed it as the food going down the wrong was. Then he watched as his little (older) brothers face started to swell up.

“Five? Shit Five can you breathe?!” Diago asked knowing it was a dumb question because clearly he couldn’t.

He was making this awful gasping noise like a fish left on dry land waiting to die.

A jolt of terror ran through him as Five crumbled to the ground staring up at them his dazed unfocused eyes.

They had to act now!

“G-get mom” Diago tried to swallow his fear but his hands were shaking because oh god Five wasn’t breathing!

Klaus pushed him to the side “she won’t get here in time”

He sounded oddly calm as he pulled a lighter from his pocket and took a knife from Diagos belt.

Fives lips were turning blue and his gasps cane less and less frequent.

“He needs to breathe now or risk brain damage” Klaus took a moment taking a deep breath and Diago wasn’t sure why until he cut into Fives neck and shoved a straw into the hole.

Diago as a cop had been trained in first aid. He knew what Klaus was doing and that it was the only thing that returned colour to their brothers lips and let his chest move up and down so easily again.

That didn’t change the fact that he felt like he had just been punched in the gut seeing him plunge a knife into the body of their tiny 13 year old brother.

Hardened vigilante or not it wasn’t easy to see a kid bleed.

Diago imagined Klaus felt the same.

Unfortunately they didn’t have time to deal with this new layer to their trauma because Five needed help now!

Diago scooped him up into his arms and took off for the infirmary sparring just enough time to tell Klaus “get mom”.

In the end she beat him there and already had the room prepped for surgery with a epi-pen ready.

No matter how much the two wanted to stay in there the sight of the needle sent the two out.

One to avoid temptation and the other to go throw up in a trash can outside.

They waited though.

For an hour they sat in silence waiting for word.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Diago eventually asked.

“The army... turns out they didn’t really care what you got in your rations even if it could kill someone” Kalus shrugged looking down at his hands.

He had already cleaned the blood off them but they continued to shake.

“You did good” Diago gripped his shoulder offering a comforting smile “he would have died without you.”

Klaus snorted “trust the old guy to survive the apocalypse only to nearly be taken out by some sushi”

“Once he’s better we need to make sure he knows he can never live this down... also get rid of all fish products in the house, just to be safe.”

The two laughed until Mom came out and disposed of her gloves.

“He’s going to be just fine. He’s sleeping right now but you can see him.”

That was all they needed.

The two ran in to see Five lying in bed with bandages around his neck and looking much better.

Diago felt like he could breathe again.

Five was safe...

———

Five woke up the next morning to an ache in his throat and his siblings sat around his bed all fast asleep.

He was of course curious as to what happened yesterday that resulted in his current situation but...

Seeing his family all together with no threat of the world ending hanging over their heads he felt himself relax back into his pillow and drift back to sleep.

His family was safe and so was he, and right now that’s all that mattered.