umbrellajackassery | Open | Chose your adventure

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Open | Chose your adventure

1- We're canceling the apocalypse

The world ended.

Twice.

And both times, that wasn't quite right with Five Hargreeves. So he got back in time to change it, taking his family with him. They were, after all, the ones to blame for the long list of mistakes that culminated in their sister blowing up the moon. If Vanya was the bomb and Harold Jenkins was the fuse, Reginald Hargreaves was without a doubt the maker of the explosive. They had to do better this time and they had to do it together.

Time traveling was a messy business, more so when you were doing it in a rush and without the proper calculations. But they made it back in time to the morning of their father's funeral, in one piece against all odds, and after some trouble, their brother Ben was back with them.

His family was alive, hurt but whole.

Five gave a small smile before his eyes rolled back into his head and he promptly passed out from the effort, nose bleeding.

2 - (You Give Me) Fever, In the morning child, Fever all through the night

A few days later, the pain in his body had yet to subside and Five wondered if it could be a permanent effect of time traveling. You could only gamble with time so much until it started getting pissed off at you. His family was still dealing with the last week's events, either mourning, keeping to themselves or thinking about the future, but everything was relatively stress-free.

For the past 40 years, Five has never lived a single day that wasn't pressure-packed. And now, his body has decided that ey, this would be the perfect moment to crash. Bright lights made his eyes burn and increased his headaches, his throat hurt so much that he had stopped eating, his cheeks were constantly flushed and he felt hot a minute and freezing the next.

But the worse of all was that he sneezed.

Actually, the worst of all was that the sneezing made him space jump without intent or control. So far he had accidentally teleported himself to the basement, atop the kitchen's fridge, to the bar -knocking several bottles in the process-, to their mother's lap while she was sitting in front of the paintings, and into the bathtub.

The alarmed and frustrated shriek that Five gave out could be heard all around the house after a sneeze had teleported him to the chandelier, leaving him holding onto it for dear life several feet above the ground.

3- Another One Bites The Dust

When tiredness got too much or he had accidentally teleported himself somewhere, Five gave up and slept. Never in his room, if he could avoid it. He hadn't used it for decades and it was a reminder of the life he had lost, filled with books and toys and memories of a lost innocence that felt unpleasant.

Vanya's room was spartan and clean in all ways Klaus' wasn't but both reflected their owners and brought Five a sense of comfort, familiarity. Allison's bed was the comfiest, a soft mattress and softer pillows, while Luther had the biggest one. Five liked to curl into a ball in the middle of it and let himself feel small for once.

Diego and Ben's rooms hadn't been used in some time but Grace made sure to keep them both clean and they had signs of his sibling's personalities all over the place. A peaceful sleep still didn't come easy, though, with the fever only making his usual nightmares worse.

4- Wildcard

[ Do you want Five anywhere? Feel free to write your own starter, I'll adapt! ]

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Well, apparently Five is really out -- when he reaches to pull at the hem of Klaus' shirt, Klaus just blinks slowly down at him. There's a few options, of course, but the path of least resistance is just to shift with the tug and half-sprawl next to the smaller man.

He ends up settled next to him, pawing up for his pillow to at least stuff that beneath his arm, propping himself up to take a better look at Five and, after a moment of hesitation, put the back of his hand against his forehead. That's how you check for a fever, right?

Frustration at the blanket he wanted not budging, or what his sleepy brain categorizes as 'blanket' anyway, almost makes Five wake up. Klaus moves right in time and instead, the teen lets out a soft sigh and rolls closer to the new heat source by his side. He seems to have some difficulty breathing. His skin is hot to the touch and Klaus might notice he's running a Fever.

Back when he lived in the apocalypse, getting sick or injured was a lot of trouble. Five had learned to stitch and treat himself but there weren't a lot of meds around and the ones he found eventually expired after a few years. He got used to a lifetime of suffering illnesses without any medicine and now he's here, he didn't even think of using them.

Five might've managed to pass out in the right bed for this particular occasion, honestly. The nightstand next to Klaus' bed is a veritable pharmacy of legal and less-than-legal drugs, including both fever reducers (also worked with headaches) and decongestants (they were great for helping with sleep).

The water glass next to the bed isn't even all that old (by Klaus' standards)! He frowns, though, and gives his brother's shoulder a light jostle. Fevers take priority over sleep.

"Hey -- sleeping ugly."

There's something moving, pocking at him, and Five is having none of it. He grumbles and tries to bury his face in the nearest surface, which is Klaus' chest, and it's a combination of his cologne and the voice what finally gets him to crack one sleepy eye open. It looks a little bloodshot and unfocused too.

For someone so usually alert as Five, it's taking him some good seconds to identify who is in front of him. Why is Klaus in his room? He doesn't have time for this, so he rolls over, grabs the closest thing available to cover himself, that happens to be a bright pink boa, and mutters:

"...go away."

At least Klaus isn't shocked by Five's appearance -- he's seen worse in the mirror on a good day, honestly -- when he opens an eye. He sighs, exasperated, and shifts so that he can take hold of Five's wrist, turn his hand over.

"I solemnly swear that I will shut the fuck up as soon as you take this handful of pills. " Right, because taking a bunch of unlabeled pills from his brother's hand was going to be totally safe, right?

...this time? Yes. Next time? Well, it's a dice roll.

Five has never been high on contact. Four decades without it during the post Apocalypse and then his time working for the Commission, where others only touched him when they were trying to cause pain, made him wary of it. He pulls away or stops any touch from happening almost every time...except today.

He's too slow to react and when Klaus grabs his wrist, talking nonsense. All Five can think is that his brother's hand are pleasantly cold against his feverish skin.

"W...what." He looks at the pills and then at Klaus, confusion written all over his face and voice painfully hoarse. "I don't want to get high. Get out of my room, I'm trying to sleep." Because he ever did that in his room, of course.

"You're in my room, asshole." At least when he says 'asshole', he somehow manages to make it sound affectionate. Klaus settles his other arm around Five's shoulders, reclining more comfortably in the bed.

Yeah, he's definitely not going to be going anywhere -- especially not when Five is this sick. He might not be great at the whole caregiver song and dance, but he can at least be a warm body and a drug pusher. He's even got practice at that last one.

"Oh..." Five doesn't look bothered by the insult, Klaus' tone makes it clear he doesn't mean it in an offensive way. Looking around the room, Five sees first the amount of stuff scattered everywhere, the walls covered in all kinds of texts and drawings, and some hideous shirts. Plus, of course, the colorful boa that he's somewhat reluctant to pull away from him because it's super warm.

"I'm not sure how I got here." His memory is fuzzy at best, the fever makes it hard to tell when he's awake or he isn't. Maybe this is a dream too because Klaus hasn't mocked him yet and doesn't look like he plans on kicking him out. But this isn't right and after a full body shudder, Five shakes his head a little hoping that will help him focus. "I'll go."

Edited 2019-03-17 00:53 (UTC)

And sure, under normal circumstances? Maybe he would've kicked Five out. If he had someone in here with him? Absolutely. But now, Five is ill, and he's still his brother, and he's really the only one who even bothered to ask him how he was doing, honestly --

"Like hell," he mutters, keeping his arm around Five's shoulder and applying a light pressure against him to boot. "Take the fucking Tylenol, Five."

If Klaus had company with him, Five would have been the first to leave them to their business. He might be a stubborn ass when important things were at risk but he could respect certain boundaries.

It's only when Klaus curses that it dawns on Five that they're still touching. There's some squirming, he's not used to this, but he's not actively trying to leave anymore. From all his brothers, he trusts Klaus the most.

"Tylenol?" He eyes the pills again, no longer with suspicious but with something akin to realization. As if he's remembering that yes, people take meds to feel better. What a wild concept. "You could have said that from the beginning."

The pre-teen says in a soft voice, which is more or less Five's version of 'thank you', as he takes one of the pills. For a second it looks like he's considering swallowing it dry, like an animal, but then he spots the glass of water. God, he feels so parched.

"Right, I'm sure your delirious brain would've parsed 'Tylenol' much better than 'pill'."

He passes over the water glass. At least since it's Klaus, it's got one of those ridiculous curly straws in it already -- so with minimal finagling, Five will be able to get water out of the cup without sitting too much further up.

Klaus, it seems, is satisfied with Five no longer trying to leave -- he actually grabs a fistful of what seem to be actual covers and tosses them over Five's legs -- for the moment.

"You know how long you've been like this?" He's guessing 'no', but it isn't like he's going to do anything differently anyway, he's just trying to -- make conversation.

"You could just have told me you were offering me meds and not random drugs you have in your persona." Five thinks it's a legit complain. He also knows Klaus is trying to do better about the drugs, so he says that without the usual venom in his voice.

The straw gets the corner of his mouth to curl up for a second or two. Much like the scattered clothes everywhere, this is one of the things that scream 'Klaus'. He swallows the water and drinks the pill before this brother notices the smile, holding the cold glass carefully against his forehead a moment later and ignoring his brother. It almost looks like he's not about to answer, even after Klaus pulls some more covers on top of him.

"Define 'like this'."

"Sweating like you're coming off heroin, first of all." Oddly specific, Klaus, but -- well, he ought to know. He passes over the second Tylenol and pointedly also doesn't touch on the fact that he's been doing better, thanks, instead waving a hand to the side.

"And also acting like you're freezing."

Specific but sadly accurate. Five gives him a glare but he doesn't even have enough energy to keep that up. He takes the second pill with a shaky hand.

"It's cold in the house, the insulation always has been shit." After medicating himself, he leaves the glass on the table, reaches for the covers over his legs and drags them up to his shoulder, curling on his side. "I'm fine, just tired. Your room's warmer than mine."

He looks at Klaus pursing his lips and okay, that looks like a pout, but he would swear it's not. He's also silently hoping Klaus won't argue because while Five knows he's pushing it, that with not showing any intentions of leaving the bed at all, he feels rather miserable.

He's about to give him a hard time about it, honestly, but it isn't as if Five hasn't already shown on several occasions to care for him. When the teen wraps himself up in the blankets Klaus just shifts, rolling onto his side so that he can continue to keep an eye on his brother.

"I mean, you're right about that. Paper thin walls." He's sure everyone heard all his dirty laundry during his teen years (not that he cares, honestly).

He drops the back of his head to the back of Five's neck absently -- he knows that's one of the places that cool skin feels best when you're feverish like this -- and then decides, grudgingly, "If you're tired, then get some sleep. I'll crash whether you're in here or not." Which is almost certainly not true, but it's the thought that counts ... right?

They can leave the snarking for another day, hopefully after both had much-needed sleep and don't feel like they're dying.

It's strange for Five to stay this close in such a narrow space with someone else, or at least this close with someone who breathed and moved, unlike certain mannequin lady that was his only company for so many years. He's not sure if he likes it but it's not as threatening as he imagined.

"It wasn't always bad. I could hear Vanya playing the violin from my room." It was soothing and even if she was still learning, he could tell their sister had the skill to be breathtaking with her music. Funny how terribly right he's been about that.

Talking only this briefly had drained any energy Five has managed to regain, he gives Klaus one last wary look after that affirmation but closes his eyes again. His brother's forehead resting against him makes the boy stiff in surprise for a second before he relaxes. That's...kind of nice. " Thank you."

"Mm. And I could hear Diego's shitty taste in music," he mutters, letting his eyes slide shut now that he's settled behind him on the bed. Sure, now he's the one who's got the makeshift covers to contend with, but his coat is practically a blanket on a bad day, anyway.

True to his word, it really isn't long until he falls asleep -- although he won't stay out for long, if past history is anything to go by. Hopefully Five's sleep is a little more restful and restorative.

Five's reply is an amused, soft huff. God that was terrible, he remembers now and somehow it's one of these memories he had forgotten about Diego after so many years away from his family.

There's so many things missed and forgotten that spending time with his family both hurts and helps. But now, staying like this with Klaus is nice, sickness notwithstanding, and Five soon falls sleep.

Sure enough, Klaus sleeps for just over an hour before he's waking up with a start, sweating cold bullets and snapping himself up to sit in a way that makes him wince the moment that he remembers he isn't alone.

"Shit," he mutters quietly, bringing a shaking hand to rub over his forehead and trying to calm down his breathing so he can focus enough to figure out whether he's managed to disturb Five or if his brother is so deep in fever-sleep that he's stayed asleep. He's hopeful for the former, selfishly, even if the latter is what would be better for Five.

The movement jostles Five away, his usual alertness dampened by how sluggish sleep and the sickness are making his movements.

"Wha..." The boy shifts and leans on his arms to look up. Five's hair is mussed and his eyes are tired when he finally managed to focus them on Klaus. His brother doesn't look good, which get Five more alert in seconds. "Is everything all right? Did I get you sick...?"

Well, double shit.

He makes a soft half-whine and puts his hand over his mouth both to stifle the sound and to quell any residual nausea that he might have, shaking his head insistently as he looks over to Five.

God, he still looks terrible. "-- nah. 's fine, man. Didn't mean to wake you."

"S'ok. You look like crap too."

Protectiveness over his siblings trumped uncomfortable sickness, even if Five's bedside manners still needed some work. He reaches out to press his hand against Klaus' forehead to check for a fever.

"Do you want some water?"

No fever -- only sweaty, clammy skin. The hand against his forehead is nice, though, and he leans minutely into it while he focuses on his heartbeat.

"Yeah. Yeah, I should get some water..." Because obviously he's in a fine state to get out of the bed. It wouldn't be the first time he'd half-staggered down the hallway to the bathroom to drink or splash water on his face or dunk into the bath to try and shake off voices, even.

Five can't possibly be much colder than Klaus, that with his own elevated temperature, but it's more clear to him now the other man's shivers are due to some sort of night terrors.

"Stay. I'm rested enough for a jump or two now. The pills helped." .

Father pushed him this much when he was little and had just discovered his power. The man wanted to know how many jumps Five could make in a row, what distance he could cover, if freezing or scalding temperatures affected the jumps...Funny days, those. He couldn't even walk after the experiments, now it wasn't so bad.

He waits a few more seconds before retreating his hand, a blue glow surrounding him before Five is gone. If there's the sound of a chair falling coming from the kitchen, well...little accident happens.

When the boy comes back, he's holding a tray with a big jug of water, so they don't have to repeat this later if they get thirsty, and a small, two clean glasses full of water and a damp towel. He leaves the tray on the bedside table pretty quickly, it's heavy and it doesn't look like Five is really able to handle its weight for much longer.

"There..." One of the glasses is offered to Klaus and with his left hand, Five grabs the towel and presses it against his brother's nape.

Klaus is just about to protest when Five goes off on one of his jumps. He shouldn't be surprised, based on how their father had always treated their training, but that doesn't mean he likes the idea of him going off when he's still ill.

He's back without incident (more or less) quickly enough, though, and Klaus puts one hand over Five's once he settles the towel against the back of his neck, the other around the water glass.

"...thanks." And then he's blowing breaths through pursed lips like he knows he ought to to calm down. He's 90% of the way there.

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