Aidan Gallagher character imagines

When It Hurts - drabble

From all of the shit he's been through, Five breaks down, even though he's consciously a 58 year old man, sometimes he still feels like the 13 year old boy who wounded up in the apocalypse, alone and afraid. 

Y/n finds him curled into a ball and immediately sits next to him, their instinct is to hold him but they knew that to Five, it is a touchy subject.

"Do you want to be alone?"

Five slowly shakes his head as he cries, not really caring anymore if someone saw him.

"What can I do?"

Five turns to Y/n and hugs her.

They are shocked by this, but they immediately hold him.

They stay like this for a while, Y/n doesn't mind the vulnerability from Five, as he cries on their shoulder. Y/n starts rubbing his back and Five takes sharp breaths as he tries to calm down.

The first thing that is said is, "its okay, it's okay to be not okay."

Y/n then goes to stroke the back of Five's head.

Five is starting to feel a little better, he realizes that he loves being held like this, he hasn't been held or anything since he was 10.

Five’s breathing becomes regular and his tears start to dry, but he doesn't want to stop hugging yet.

He feels y/n start to detach and in a gravely, squeaky voice he begs, "Don't let go, please."

"Oh my.." y/n whispers. And goes back to hold Five again.

Five closes his eyes and breaths in their scent, savoring this feeling.

"Do you want to talk about it?"
"What’s going on?"

"I don't know,  I.. everyone just doesn’t understand."

"Understand what? "

"That I'm trying to save you all and everyone brushes it off."

"I guess it's just hard to believe. "

"Well, they all can die, like I care."

"Hey, don't say that. They're our family and you love them."

"I'm sorry, you're right, I just want it to stop." He weeps.

"Hey," you push him gently to see his face and wipe his tears from his cheeks. Five closes his eyes for a moment and breathly sighs.

"You're here, everything's going to change."

"And you're not alone, not anymore."