THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY
fractured || five hargreeves x reader

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE LOVE EXPERT

Written By: peachyhxlland

°•.☆.•°

When you and the others got to Sy's laundry shop, you saw that the door was unlocked. You followed the others inside and rubbed your fingers together before putting them back in the pockets of your black bubble jacket. The bubble jacket Luther handed over you kept you warm during the cold weather today, even though it was too big for you.

"Looks like he bailed." You told everyone when you all saw that the laundry shop was deserted and that the only thing left on the counter was a note. "Dude flew the coop." You looked at Five and frowned. "Should've at least shot him when I had the chance."

As he took the note, Five furrowed his brows in uncertainty. "Since when did you have murderous intentions?" He discovered that the note turned out to be a map after giving it a closer look. "Maybe somebody got to him." He implied to everyone.

"He did say he was in danger." Diego added.

"Look at this." When Five brought over the map to Diego, he pointed out that a circle had been drawn on it. "New Grumpson, Maine."

"The hell's in New Grumpson?"

"Maybe Sy's daughter, Jennifer." Lila suggested.

"Or maybe that's where our dry cleaner scampered off to." Allison also suggested.

Leaning on the counter, Viktor let out a sigh. "Yeah, or maybe this is all one big setup."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Five sighed.

"Hell yeah." Diego grinned with excitement and determination as he pulled out the keys of his minivan. "Road trip."

The others groaned because not only did it take hours to get to New Grumpson, Maine, but they were also all feeling under the weather because of the effects of the marigold inside of their bodies. Nonetheless, Diego took off from the laundromat, and you and the others trailed after him outside. As the three of you walked side by side, Lila wrapped her arms around yours and Viktor's and pulled you both together. Allison, on the other hand, was assisting Ben, who was having difficulty getting to his feet.

"Are we really doing this?" Viktor asked Diego as he and Lila were walking like drunk people, and you were the only one attempting to keep them both in balance.

"Hell yeah, we're doing this." Diego replied.

"You do realize we have three small children, yeah?" Lila pointed out to Diego, who stopped walking. You and Viktor tore away from Lila and clung to each other as Diego turned to face Lila while you and the others kept walking.

As Diego and Lila were talking about their plan and what to do with their kids, you saw a phone booth in the area. "I gotta make a phone call." You headed over to the payphone while Viktor stayed behind with the others by the minivan.

After inserting some coins into the payphone and pressing a few buttons, you were left waiting for someone to pick up the call. "Hello?" You heard Danielle's voice on the other end. "Hi." You greeted. "Listen, I think I'll be out for a few hours? A day? Or a few days? I can't really tell."

"What? Why?"

With a sigh, you rested your head on the phone booth. "Um, rescue mission."

"Resc—okay, (Y/n), what is going on?" Danielle asked worriedly. "We're supposed to be friends, but you're keeping me in the dark lately. I'm starting to worry."

"I-I'll explain everything to you soon, okay?" You tried to reassure Danielle. "For now, can you please take care of Ms. Snowpeach for me? I promise I'll make it up to you when I get back."

You heard Danielle let out a long sigh. "When do I ever say no to you? I got you. Always." Danielle chuckled, causing you to crack a smile. "You're the best, Dani. I'll try to be back soon, I promise."

"Okay. You owe me one after you come home."

'Home...' You smiled somberly. "Bye, Dani."

"Bye!"

With a deep sigh, you ended the call. You walked out of the booth to join the others standing outside the minivan. You witnessed Diego and Lila reaching an agreement and observing the rekindled flame that had first sparked between them years before. Observing the pair stroll in the direction of the minivan made you smile.

"First mission back, baby!" Diego declared, stumbling around his keys with an immense amount of eagerness. "We're back. We're back. We're back. Out of the way." He opened the minivan for you and the others to enter.

You watched as Lila and Five argued about who should sit in the passenger's seat. It was as though Five and Lila were siblings, shoving each other away. "I'm in the front!" Lila argued.

"I called shotgun!" Five argued back.

"Since when?"

"Since now. Shotgun!"

"Everyone in!" Diego shouted.

Lila huffed and quickly wrapped her arms around your forearm. "Fine. I'm stealing (Y/n) from you then." Before you two got inside the minivan, Lila stuck her tongue out at Five.

Five scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Not like you've done it before, shithead."

"I heard that!" As soon as Five sat in the passenger seat, Lila let out a gasp and gave him an abrupt smack in the head.

"Everyone in!" While they all climbed inside the car with caution, Diego shouted once again.

"Why are you yelling?!" Allison complained as she stomped her feet in annoyance.

"First mission back!" Diego yelled at Allison as a response.

"Shut up!" Ben groaned loudly

Once everyone was inside, Diego opened the driver's seat. "Get in the car and turn on the heat!" Allison exclaimed as she watched Diego enter the vehicle and close the door, and she kicked the driver's seat.

Luther was sitting far behind in the van. Ben, Viktor, and Allison were sitting together by the next row, while you, Lila, and Klaus were seated behind Five and Diego.

"First mission back!" Diego hammered his fist against the car's roof and let out a scream of excitement.

"Why are you so loud?" Five complained.

"Woohoo!" Lila gave a cheer of excitement as well, but Viktor was covering his ears with discomfort caused by the loud noises made by her and Diego. Allison folded her arms and became silent, while Klaus was breathing in and out of a brown paper bag and Luther was just holding it together at the back. Ben attempted to join in on the energy with Diego and Lila by bouncing his head up and down. "Hell yes! Let's go kill this bitch!"

Everybody froze and pondered what Ben had just said. Ben couldn't figure out why he was the center of attention when you and the others turned around to face him. Allison turned to look at Ben. "This is a rescue mission."

After giving it some time to think, Ben nodded slowly. "Right. Yeah, sorry."

°•○●○•°

Diego smacked himself in the face and yawned as he drove the minivan to keep himself awake. Five stayed awake to keep Diego company while you and the others dozed off. You've been on the road for hours, and you even took a little break so the others could throw up. They eventually started to feel a little bit better after they finished vomiting.

Five caught a glimpse of you and saw you snuggling with Lila. You were laying your head against the window, and Lila had her head resting on your shoulder. For a moment, Five smiled at you, then turned to face Diego. "Do you want me to drive?" He asked.

"Nah, man. I'm good." Diego replied. He looked at Lila before looking at Five. "I think she's cheating on me," He whispered to Five. "She goes places at night. She goes places, and she lies about it."

Diego furrowed his brows, and Five cast a quick glance at him. "I thought she mentioned being in that book club?"

"Yeah, what is it?" Diego questioned. "A book club of two, Five?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Last night, I followed her. She was in some café with some guy. Some Greek-looking son of a bitch with a creepy mustache."

Five slightly frowned. "The mustache was creepy?"

"Oh, yeah." Diego scoffed. "Sleazy as hell. Just pencil-thin. You know what I mean?"

Five was ready to punch his brother for basically making fun of him in front of him, but he remained calm. He let out a sigh. 'Jesus, this couple.' Five thought to himself. He is not the kind of person who wants to get in the way of any couple, married or not. Five wanted Diego and Lila to talk with each other, so he decided not to rat Lila out. "Diego, whatever this is, trust me... it's nothing," He reassured. "You guys got the house, a family. Only an idiot throws that away."

"So am I supposed to just ignore it?" Diego asked. "Say nothing?"

"You'd think that would be the safest option," Five replied. "But if you want to save your marriage and keep your family, talk to her about it. This is why communication is the key to relationships. When you bury it and cover that shit with concrete, you'll grow bitter and she'll slowly drift further away."

Diego cracked a soft smile. "Spoken like a true love expert." He chuckled softly. "You've changed, Five, in a good way."

Five chuckled as well. "Ah, well. After that Hotel Oblivion incident, I grew tired of being angry all the time. I mean, I can still feel angry sometimes, but..." He sighed. "I'm mostly miserable when I thought she was dead."

"Do you miss it? I mean, your old job in the Commission?"

"The killing? No. But if I have to kill someone or anyone again to save her and you guys? I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Diego turned to look at Five with a warm smile on his face. "You're a good brother."

With a small smile, Five cast a quick glance toward Diego. Diego and Five did not realize Lila was staring at Diego when she woke up and opened her eyes.

-•-°-•-°-☆

I'm sorry for not updating as frequently as I did before! I've become busy with college stuff. So, here's a little filler chapter for now. I hope you guys like it though, especially the changes I made:')

I debated over whether I should add the road trip scene where they puked all over, but I thought about everyone who might get triggered by it (especially people who have emetophobia). Honestly, it was a disgustingly funny scene to me, but I can't bring myself to write that scene.