𝐌𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐐𝐬 || five hargreeves ¹ [✔]

𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 || 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐈𝐑

— ❝ PRETTY BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE, PAUL BUNYAN! ❞

── ⋆⋅☂︎⋅⋆ ──

    NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE FAMILY MEETING wasn't the highlight of their father's funeral. After Luther desperately tried to reason with his siblings like he didn't accuse them of premeditated murder just moments before, and falling upon deaf ears, each sibling resided to their preferred choices of solitary confinement until it would be time for the memorial.

Rin found herself wandering into Five's bedroom again. This time she sat at his desk, scanning over the many books that filled the shelf against the wall to her right. He always was the bookworm of the family. There was a poster on the slanted wall, seemingly towering over her where she sat, of the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robots fighting. A dry chuckle left her lips, remembering how much he'd loved that toy when Rin had managed to buy it for him for his twelfth birthday.

"You're a piece of shit, you know that?" Her voice sounded unbearingly loud in her own ears against the silence. She stared at the poster, shoulders slumped and hands limp in her lap. With one final deep sigh to clear her foggy mind, she stood and walked up to his bed, slightly ruffled from where she had laid.

She fell to her hands and knees, lowering her head to the floor to hopefully find what she was looking for. There wasn't much under his bed, only two storage bins, probably filled with old toys he wasn't ready to get rid of yet, and scattered stuff Rin couldn't make out. Then her eyes landed on the prize. She pulled the rickety toy into the light, blowing off as much of the dust as she could.

The yellow platform started to shine through, the red and blue robots in the two opposing corners looking brighter already. She placed it gently on the bed, like it would fall to pieces if she made any wrong move. "I need you back here, Five. I miss you so much, I just need a sign that you're still... out there." She said absentmindedly.

She toyed with the red buttons, pressing them at random and watching the robot glide and punch in response. A laugh tumbled out of her, slowly turning into broken sobs as a memory flooded her mind.

"C'mon, you always win!" Rin whined as she collapsed back onto fluffy pillows, the dramatic act drawing a soft giggle from Five. He still held onto the two light blue joysticks, nagging the girl to keep playing. It was way past their bedtimes, the soft glow of his night table lamp the only source of light in the room.

Mom had already done her final rounds of goodnight kisses, so they wouldn't get caught. "You can cry about it or you can beat me. Your choice." Five shrugged cockily as Rin sat back up and prepared for the twentieth round. Her nineteenth loss of the night.

"You're a meanie." Rin stated, staring the boy right in his green eyes which were squinted challengingly. She made the first move with her red robot, lunging towards the blue and punching blindly. Five's eyes widened and he tried to keep his composure, sending back returning blows.

The two were so invested in the fight that when the blue robot's head popped high off of its shoulders, Rin loudly shouted "Yes!" as her fists flew up in victory. Five couldn't help but laugh at how ecstatic she was.

"Shh!" Five hissed against his own wide smile. "Someone's gonna hear!" They burst out into a fit of giggles, trying their best to muffle them with each other's palms.