Open | Chose your adventure

[n5]

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! ]

Comments

[ouiking_ouija]

He gave a little shrug, "Pretty much constantly." He knew it was something that would ease in a day or two, especially if he kept hydrated, but that was easy to forget, especially when his sleep and meal schedule was basically 'whenever he got around to it', which he knew didn't help.

He did, however, shift forward to drag a zippered canvas bag with a stamped 'emergency preparedness kit' logo on it, unzipping it to sort through the contents before handing Five two pill bottles, "Painkiller and a caffeine pill, you'll want two of the first one and half of the second, that way you won't actually stay awake, but it'll help the painkiller work faster." He had carefully and meticulously removed any and all of the remaining illicit substances from his room, but he'd kept anything that might have a practical use.

"And if it's been a while since you ate, you should probably eat something, otherwise you'll just get queasy." That one he knew from experience, and while he knew Five didn't like people -namely any of the rest of them- trying to take care of him, and so he hoped that just offering instead of insisting would actually work.

[n5]

"You can still nap here, it's your bed." Klaus needs it just as much as him and Five feels tired enough still that he could sleep for a whole day, if the shivers don't wake him up before that. It feels wrong to make his brother stay away from his own bed even if he knows it isn't the first time the other man has done it for his sake.

Taking the pills with a slightly shaky hand, Five gives a brief nod. His eyes go to the kit and he's relieved to see that everything is there is suitable for all audiences, so to speak.

"Thank you, Klaus." Contrary to popular belief, Five is capable to show gratitude and be polite. He might not like being seen that a kid but Klaus handled his youthful look better than most. "I've gone longer without food, trust me. If I ate anything now I'll be seeing it a few minutes later."

[ouiking_ouija]

Everything in the pouch was a standard bottle, none of them the thick orange plastic of prescription bottles, though there was also a box of band-aids and a roll of paper tape along with a few other odds and ends he thought might come in handy.

There was a small smile at the thanks, followed by a shallow shrug, "Just because you're an insufferable know-it-all doesn't mean I'm just going to let you suffer." There was no real bite in the insult, in fact it bordered on being a term of endearment. At the mention of food making a return trip, he fished another pill bottle out of the pouch to offer it over as well: "Anti-nausea. Because you really should eat something with those, even if it's just toast or something light and bland."

[n5]

One of the other things Five was surprised not to see on that kit was the thread to suture wounds. And then he remembered that not everyone got shot at or suffered murder attempts on a daily basis.

"Ah..." Now, those pills really sounded like a Gdsend and they distracted him from their previous conversation.

It was sweet of Klaus to care and he had no idea how to react to such thing. God, he will be happy if the stomach cramps he's been getting all day turn into something more manageable. After another 'thanks' an a gulp of water, the new pill was gone and Five eyed the door with something like dreadful resignation.

"I'll go to the kitchen to grab some toast then. It's better if I don't jump." He's too sick and who knows where he can end, he doesn't want to risk it.

[ouiking_ouija]

He reached over to pat Five's knee, since it was what he could reach without being completely awkward, "It's okay, I'll do it, you should rest up, not like I'll be getting back to sleep again soon anyway."

That and he had to get another glass of water, since Five had finished the one he kept next to the bed, and he should probably eat something himself while he was at it, since he couldn't even remember if he'd had breakfast, which, if he hadn't, might account for the fact that he needed to sleep like he had instead of just napping wherever was convenient like he usually did.

[n5]

His first instinct is to argue, even if the pain in his body is telling him not to be stupid and accept the help. Klaus has been very patient so far and he deserves to be listened too, even if it makes Five flush a little in embarrassment.

"Thank you." He was saying that a lot today, uh? Another clear sign that he wasn't fully feeling like his usual self. But no one had looked after him since they were kids and it meant a lot to him.

There was a high chance that while Klaus was gone, Five borrowed again under as many covers and clothes as he could find and dozed off again. However, he made a point of staying close to the wall and felt enough space for Klaus to lie down once he came back.

[ouiking_ouija]

He did actually tuck that knit wrap in now that Five was actually awake and wouldn't be startled awake by his doing so. Of course, he also expected that he was going to get batted away in the process, but that was fine too, especially when his response to the thanks was: "Yeah, yeah, love you too."

He did definitely move out of smacking range once he'd said it, smiling crookedly and heading down to the kitchen to make toast. He also made a mug of chamomile and peppermint tea, since that would be good hot or cold, and could be used to take another dose of whatever Five needed after his nap.

It didn't take him more than about ten or fifteen minutes to get to the kitchen, make the toast and tea and return, nudging the door open with a shoulder, plate of toast triangles in one hand and mug of tea in the other, "I'm baaack."

[n5]

Five let out a half startled, half indignant yelp when Klaus tucks him in, hissing a not a little kid! at him as the man was leaves. Being enveloped in tighter clothes is too comfy to stay mad for long. He's got better things to do, like fall sleep almost immediately. When his brother comes back Five looks like a content cat and only opens an eye briefly.

"Yay." The reply is flat an without an ounce of actual cheerfulness but Five does give Klaus a snicker. He's shivering less despite the red flush of his cheekbones seems to be forever present.

[ouiking_ouija]

He had grinned at that yelp, and at the response that followed, because, really, it was about what he'd expected it to be, and he was mostly just thankful that Five hadn't actually tried to bite him.

He couldn't help but grin at the response to his return, setting the mug carefully on the dresser and offering over the plate of toast, "Probably easier to eat if you're kind of upright, but if you want to have a go at it still laying down I won't stop you."

[n5]

There was no guarantee that Five wouldn't scratch him the next time Klaus attempted to coddle him but he considered bitting to be unprofessional. Biting was more Diego's thing, which might explain why his brother was wary of that.

Five stared at the toast with some apprehension, as if ti had personally offended his mother. His stomach still felt weird and he didn't want to make a mess if he suddenly got sick. Maybe he would have time to teleport to the bathroom if that happened. With a long-suffering sigh that made it clear he was humoring Klaus, but without further protests which made it more obvious he appreciated the food in some way, he sat up on the bed. Immediately, a full body shudder rippled it's way through his body, ugh.

"L-lets get this over with." He grabbed the smallest piece among the toast triangles, leaving the others for Klaus "When was the last time you ate?"

[ouiking_ouija]

He gave a little shrug at the question, snagging one of the triangles for himself and setting the plate aside so that he could snag the freshly-empty wastepaper bin next to the bed, putting it within easy reach just in case the anti-nausea tablet didn't work against Five's queasiness and the toast turned out to be a bad idea, mostly just so he'd have something handy because Klaus didn't entirely trust his ability to jump at a time like this, not if he was still feverish.

He plopped himself down facing the opposite direction, leaning against the foot of the bed, one leg curled up underneath him and the other hanging off the side of the bed, foot swinging idly, "Can't remember." He said around his mouthful of toast, just in case the shrug hadn't been answer enough.

[n5]

Five eyes his brother's brothers with curiosity and then with relief. If he was honest with himself, Five didn't fully trust his powers tonight and throwing up would be shameful enough that he would go into hiding for three days. He shook his head at Klaus' confession.

"Why? We have plenty of food in the house." And to him, who had to go to great lengths to make sure he found anything to fill his stomach while in the future, not eating regularly when you have the chance it was such a wild concept to understand. Unless...

"Does your stomach hurt too? Cramps?" He was aware those were some of the symptoms of withdrawal. "Maybe we could ask mom to make some soup."

[ouiking_ouija]

He shook his head then, "No, I'm alright, I just ...kind of forgot." His brow furrowed, because that just made him sound like an idiot, "I'm pretty sure I had breakfast, but after that I got busy and just kind of lost track of time."

'Busy' in Klaus' case could mean any number of things, though this time it mostly meant trying to figure out what some of the louder, more insistent ghosts wanted and how he could help them with it, just in case helping them actually made them go away, and tests so far were inconclusive, and then multiple failed attempts at getting a nap.

[n5]

Five paused in his munching, gave a nod, and then took another bite of the toast. That was apparently a legit excuse to him. God knows he lost track of basic necessities constantly, like proper sleep, when he was focused on something or working on equations. The only times he slept during the week when they were trying to stop the apocalypse was when he was drunk or unconscious.

"It happens, I..." Five stopped again, nose scrunching up and eyes widening. Oh, no. Not now. His free hand flew to his face to pinch his nose but he was too slow.

The boy sneezed and space jumped out of view.

Only to re-appear a second later, on Klaus's lap, with a small shriek of frustration.

[ouiking_ouija]

To his credit, Klaus didn't shriek in turn, but he did make a startled, half-choked noise, stuffing the last bite of his toast into his mouth so that he could bring an arm up to keep Five from falling off the side of the bed.

What he said, once he'd actually managed to chew some of that bite of toast was: "Shorter range, maybe you're getting better." Or maybe it had been a fluke, but he was trying to be optimistic about it.

[n5]

Five started to curse like a goddamn sailor under his breath. His face was flushed and he was pinching the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache. God, this was so embarrassing. Just kill him.

He didn't pull away from the arm saving him from a fall, grateful for that. He looks over his shoulder at Klaus, eyes glassy and voice filled with the kind of borderline frustration that made it sound as if he was about to cry.

"I just want this shit to be over already. Knock me unconscious." Best plan, right?

[ouiking_ouija]

"Benadryl." He replied, nodding once, "Can't sneeze if you're unconscious is their unofficial slogan. Antihistamine, allergy medication." He leaned over to retrieve the pouch again, sorting through it and making a triumphant little sound when he found what he was looking for, popping one of the vibrantly pink tablets out of the foil backing, "Tea should be cool enough to drink. And with that on top of everything you've had so far, we've essentially given you a deconstructed cold and flu tablet. I should... probably just get some of those next time I'm out."

He did prefer having the individual dosages of each thing just in case he didn't need everything that was in the cold-and-flu tablets, but it couldn't hurt to have some on hand just in case.

[n5]

The thoughtful look on Five's face made it clear he was seriously considering if being punched unconscious wouldn't be quicker. Since his head already felt like it was being split open, he rejected the idea and gave a nod.

"Please." He reached for the tea as Klaus suggested, holding it with both hands carefully just in case he sneezed again and they had an accident. Is the last thing they needed. "We can go shopping once we had some rest. Maybe we should take Vanya to an Otolaryngologist, I'm not sure if his right ear took much damage after the gun went off so near it."

Both Klaus and him know how much gunfire close to you sucked. Five didn't had to go into specifics as to why, he had seen Klaus cover his ears at loud noises often enough.