THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY
fractured || five hargreeves x reader

CHAPTER SEVEN: NOT EVER AGAIN

Written By: peachyhxlland

°•.☆.•°

"Luther, why are we in a ball pit?" Five asked, feeling a little irritated because everyone was seated in the ball pit, away from the other guests, to talk. It was a miracle that the kids weren't around tbe ball pit as they have been busy around the slides and swings. Ben, on the other hand, decided to remain outside the ball pit but close enough to hear everything that was going on. "We asked for a discreet place."

Ben was basically hauled into the ball pit by Luther and forced to take a seat. "There's no more private area than the ball pit, okay?" He told Five. "Do you rather go outside? It's freezing out there!"

You smiled and patted Luther's back. "I like the ball pit idea, Luther, thank you."

Luther put his palm over his chest and gestured for everyone to see you. "See, (Y/n) gets me! She is more appreciative of me than any of you guys. Maybe you can learn a thing or two, Five."

Five rolled his eyes and took a sip of his beer. Diego leaned in Luther's direction so you wouldn't hear what he was going to whisper to him. "Where's Allison?"

"Oh, she quickly left. After I told her that (Y/n) was back, she panicked." Luther answered. "But don't worry, Lila is on her way to come and get her."

"And when all hell breaks loose?" Diego questioned as he glanced at you. "(Y/n) and Allison didn't exactly end on good terms before the timeline reset."

"Diego, we have no powers," Luther reassured. "(Y/n) can't harm her." After Luther said that, his ease turned to stress. "Okay, scratch that; don't let (Y/n) near any potential weapons."

Diego glanced at Five. "We should probably get her far from Five then."

"Why?"

"Our brother was a former assassin, Luther. The little dude has a gun."

Luther quickly nodded. "Right." As soon as possible, he crawled across to sit next to Five, Diego sat on your other side. Luther flashed Five a smile. "Hey, there, brother."

Five cocked an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"So, uh, question: did you bring your gun?"

"It's hidden in my car; why?"

Luther put his hand on his chest and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God."

Five knitted his brows suspiciously, wanting to know why Luther was behaving strangely. "Is there a problem, big guy?"

Luther gave Five a tensed smile and tried to shake his head in a calming manner, but he ended up shaking his head too fast. "No problem at all, brother mine."

"Luther, you're still a terrible liar."

Luther groaned, finally giving in, and leaned toward Five's ear. "We're trying to keep (Y/n) away from any weapons nearby," He whispered hurriedly.

Five, feeling a little uncomfortable that Luther was way too close, leaned back a bit. "Why are you trying to keep her away from any weapons?" He whispered.

"Y'know... the Allison and (Y/n) situation..."

Five immediately understood and nodded. "Ah, well. Get scared if she uses these plastic balls around us as weapons."

Luther laughed and took Five's comment as a joke, but when Five gave him a deadpan look, he stopped laughing. Luther frowned a little bit. "You don't know that."

"Remember when we were kids? She's second place to me when it comes to combat. She even used a slipper as a weapon." Five explained as he sipped on more beer while Luther remained quiet as he recalled the moments when all of you used anything as a weapon when you were kids.

Diego, on the other hand, gave you a smile and gave you a gentle nudge in an attempt to draw your attention away from Five and Luther. "So, (Y/n), what really happened to you?" He asked.

"How did you even get here?" With his arms folded and his eyes fixed on you, Ben inquired. "You're here while Sloane isn't. You both disappeared, after all."

"We haven't heard anything from you all these years, baby sis." Klaus chimed in into the conversation. "Wanna share with us what happened after you came here in the reset timeline?"

You dragged your legs closer to you and hugged your knees. "I was in a coma." Luther and Five soon turned their focus to you. You tightened your grip around your knees as you became aware of everyone's attention being focused on you. "And..."

Since you weren't sure what to tell them, you decided to prepare yourself by closing your eyes. When you opened your eyes, you found yourself in a familiar place in your mind. You saw your older self, sitting on a deep red couch, sipping a glass of whiskey, dressed in a black dress. "Go on, tell them." When you remained silent, your older self stood up and slowly approached you. "Tell them what you have been doing all these years."

"It's better for them to not know right away," You answered. "I'll tell them when the time is right."

Your older self circled around you while she gazed at you. She came to a halt in front of you and smiled. "I can feel you slowly breaking, (Y/n)," Your alternate self stated. "I already told you those pills won't keep me away forever."

You remained silent once more as you watched your older self turn her back to you and walk towards her red couch. "You tried to be so innocent and calm about all of this." She turned around and sat back on her red couch. "But you are nowhere near innocent. This facade of yours will shatter and be revealed, and I'll be sure to watch you finally succumb to your anger."

Your lips twitched upward a little. "You'd be surprised."

As soon as you open your eyes, you find yourself back in reality. Everybody still had the exact same expression, you realized as you turned to glance around.'Good. Only seconds have passed.'

You hear footsteps and voices nearby before you get a chance to say anything more. When you and the others turned around, Lila was pretty much dragging Allison, who was not looking at anyone, not even at you. When you finally got a good look at Allison in person, you saw that she was attempting to flee. "Lilaa!" Even though Allison was whining in a whisper, you and the others could hear her.

"Allison, come on, you're being dramatic." Lila groaned. "My kids are better behaved than you are right now."

You were hoisted out of the ball pit by Luther, who got anxious and rose to his feet. "H-Hey, Allison!" He greeted Allison while he was still carrying you. Confused and perplexed, you turned and stared at Luther.

Allison finally stopped struggling and slowly turned around, seeing you being carefully placed down on the ground outside of the ball pit by Luther. Five crossed his arms, his eyebrows raised, and he glanced at Luther. "You sure that was a good idea, big guy?"

Luther smiled nervously. "Yeah, of course."

Diego approached Five and Luther and took a spot beside them. "Good job, you idiot; you made it easier for (Y/n) to attack her."

With a sly smile on his lips, Ben even followed along with his hands tucked into his pockets. "You're giving Allison an early death day today, huh? Way to go, Luther."

"We can hear you three." You suddenly spoke out loud, which made the boys flinch. "You guys are shit at gossiping."

After the guys had stayed quiet, you and Allison stared at each other. Lila leaned against the ball pit that Klaus was standing next to, feeling the awkward tension in the room. "I don't know what I thought was going to happen, but somehow the awkwardness is probably worse. This is a disaster waiting to happen." She whispered to Klaus.

"Allison looks like she's ready to bolt," Klaus commented.

"Um..." Allison made the decision to break the silence between you two. "(Y/n), I-I didn't expect to see you—"

You crossed your arms and tilted your head, giving off an unreadable expression. There is silence for a little while before you finally answer. "Here? Totally a coincidence. Alive? Are you disappointed?"

Allison instantly reacted by shaking her head. "No! Of course not. I'm really glad you're alive and well." Allison shifts uncomfortably, glancing around at the others who are nearby. "H-How are you?"

Your eyes narrowed slightly, and your calm facade cracked just a bit. "Worse than you, I assume." You feigned a smile. "I mean, you get to have your daughter and husband in this timeline. What I got were torturous years. Seems fair, doesn't it?"

Allison is taken aback, guilt flashing across her face. She struggles to find the right words. "(Y/n)... I'm sorry."

You held your hand up to stop Allison from talking and shook your head. "I don't want to ruin the party. It is, after all, our niece's birthday, the same niece I wasn't able to meet or visit for so many years." You sighed and turned to walk away, but not before giving Allison a final glance and looking back at her with a mixture of resentment and sadness. "I wish your sorry could change things, Allison. But it doesn't. We both know that."

Allison and the others were left behind when you turned to leave. Lila felt Klaus leaning near her ear. "That was... something." He murmured. Five leaped off the ball pit right away and chased toward you. Five hurried after you, passing some adults and kids along the way until he eventually discovered you drinking a drink and admiring a family of four. Five started to move in your direction, but he stopped when he noticed Danielle standing next to you. "How are you?" He heard the girl ask you.

"Like I need a heavy drink," You replied as you drank down your orange juice. "Perhaps stronger than orange juice."

Looking at you worriedly, Danielle frowned. You put your cup down on the table and let out a deep sigh. "Everything feels... different. I felt so excited about meeting them again, but something was off. Maybe it's because Viktor isn't here yet, or maybe it's just my resentment, but... I don't know." You bitterly laughed as tears welled up in your eyes. "It seemed like they looked fine without me."

Five felt terrible for eavesdropping, but he stayed out of sight.. Danielle shook her head and faced you towards her by turning your head with her fingers. "Hey, I saw how they reacted, okay? They were really sad without you. Did you see how excited they were to see you again? You matter to them the most." She reassured you and held your hand to comfort you.

Five furrowed his eyebrows, and his eyes narrowed. He struggled hard to maintain his composure, and as a result, he emerged from his hiding place and approached Danielle and you. "(Y/n)."

A grin appeared on your face as soon as you saw Five. "Five," You greeted him. "What are you doing here?"

Five tucked his hands into his pockets. "I wanted to talk to you about something. That is... if you're free."

You glanced at Danielle. "I have to go, Dani. Thank you so much." You embraced Danielle and pulled away until you noticed she was still holding your hand. "Dani?"

Five lowered his eyes on Danielle's hands holding yours, and his eyes immediately moved to stare at Danielle, his jaw clenched in annoyance yet his expression remained stoic. Danielle stared at Five in return, and the corner of her lips twitched up. "Take care of her, Five."

"I always do, Danielle."

"Really? Then why'd you lose her?"

You looked on in confusion and disbelief at what you were seeing, while Five's eye twitched a little, his anger with Danielle building. Danielle was forced to release you as Five, putting on a fake smile, grabbed your waist, and pulled you towards him. "And I'm not losing her again," Five stated. "Not ever again."

Danielle and Five glared at each other for a moment before Five took you by the waist and left. Danielle rolled her eyes and gave a sneer. "Dickhead." She whispered under her breath.

Five's annoyed scowl never left his face as you two continued to walk together. "Shithead." He made sure you couldn't hear him as he muttered under his breath.

-•-°-•-°-☆

I realized how slow-paced the story is right now. We'll get somewhere, I promise! :')

I ALSO DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE JEALOUS SCENES WAAA—