|Doppelgänger| Five Hargreeves

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟔

 First person pov

_"...That Lila. He likes her, doesn't he?"-I asked, my voice a bit quiet as I adjusted myself on the passenger seat of the car. We were driving for about half an hour, and were still kind of far from Vanya's location. I tried to start a small conversation to avoid the tension I felt.

_"Who likes her?"-Five asked, clearly tense too as his question was unusually stupid for him.

_"Diego. Who else would it be?"-I glanced at him to see him looking straight at the road with focused eyes.

_"...Yeah, I think he does."-I sighed at the response. Can't believe I didn't get to meet my brother's little evil girlfriend.

_"I missed out quite a lot, haven't I?"-I looked out the window, feeling some guilty in the pit of my stomach. I kept thinking I should've looked more for my siblings. Maybe if I did, things would've been easier for Five.

_"A bit. But so did I."-I looked at the boy as I sensed a hint of sadness in his voice. My brows furrowed when I saw him gripping the wheel harder.

_"What do you mean?"

_"...They've been stuck here for months, Y/n. Even years. Including you. And I'm the one to blame again."-He started tapping his fingers nervously, clenching his jaw as he spoke. I wasn't that surprised with what he said. The boy tended to act tough in front of our siblings, but I knew he blamed himself for basically everything that had happened to us.

_"You're not. It's not your fault, Five. If you hadn't brought us here, we would've died in the apocalypse. You saved us."-I spoke softly, fidgeting with my fingers. If there was something I was grateful for, was for Five's help. I couldn't even imagine how I would feel to see all of humanity dead, including the ones I considered family. I couldn't imagine being the only one alive because of my powers. And still, Five once was in that situation.

_"Yeah, and now there's another doomsday coming, one I'm not so sure I can stop."

_"We can. We're all trying to stop it this time. We'll do it, Five."-I turned to look at him, sitting a bit sideways on my seat. He looked at me too, as we were driving in a deserted straight road, and it wouldn't be that bad if he got distracted for a second.

_"...I don't want to see that again. I don't want to see you dying."-He gave me a look that could've broke my heart. I've never seen the boy so desperate. He seemed on the verge of a very needed breakdown, but also seemed to refuse giving in.

We stayed in silence for a few seconds after what he said, and I could tell he got even more nervous with the sudden absence of my voice.  But I didn't know if anything I said would help him.

_"...Can you pull over for a second, please?"-I spoke softly, and he raised a brow in confusion, but did as I asked. As soon as I felt the car stop it's shaking due to the motor, I jumped in Five's arms, making him gasp in surprise and catch me impulsively.

_"We're not dying, Five. Trust me. Everything's going back to normal. Everything's going to be okay. It's hard, but we're getting there."-I whispered in his ear while hugging him tightly. I felt his muscles relaxing under my touch, and his head burying itself on the crook of my neck, making me slightly shiver.

_"Thank you, Y/n."-His voice was muffled by my skin, but I still understood him perfectly, which made me form a small smile.

_"I should be the one thanking you..."-I slowly pulled away from the hug, to stare at Five's eyes. Still gorgeous as ever. My smile only got bigger, making him smile with me. We probably looked stupid without the context, but I really didn't care.