Right Back Where We Started [Five]

Nineteen

What do you miss about kindergarten?

Emery didn't know Five was capable of surpassing the levels that he did last night. What levels, not even Emery could specify but the boy sure as hell passed them.

Five Hargreeves woke up hungover and disoriented on one of the shelves in the kitchen. What was once used to serve menu items and plates with burgers and soups alike now housed the unceremonious Hargreeves boy as he all but fell off the damn thing.

"What happened last night?" Five mumbled, voice breaking from disuse as he rubbed his eyes.

"You we're drunk as a skunk." Emery said from where he was seated cross legged and leaning back on a chair he had brought out and positioned so he was near Five when he woke up. "I didn't know someone was capable of getting that intoxicated." He mused.

"Oh, shut up." Five groaned swatting Emery away like he was a pesky fly though he was not in fact a fly nor was he close enough for Five to actually hit. The boy rubbed at his eyes and then his head. "Something happened- something... I can't remember." He banged a fist on the countertop and nearly suffered for it when a pile of bowels clanged to the ground. The boy winced at the sound. "It was something important. "Goddammed... mannequins."

"Mannequins? Really Five?"

"Not mannequins." Five said, groaning as he stood up and stretched, joints popping and he sighed when the tension gave out. "At least I don't think so." He added.

Emery scoffed and pushed himself up from the chair to help Five to the sink. "Wash your face. Your mouth too. It smells like you made out with expired lobster." Emery instructed as he went back for Five's coat, smoothing out the wrinkles and handing it back to the boy when he had finished.

"Thanks." Five said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he shrugged the jacket on with the help of Emery and waited arms up by his side as Emery fixed his collar and buttons that had come loose during the previous nights' festivities. "I need some air." He said when they were finished, beginning the walk out of the kitchen and into the main hall.

"You know, you have a pretty traumatizing speech last night." Emery said as he walked beside.

"How so."

"You insulted Luther in twenty different ways and then proceeded to all but ball your eyes out in adoration for the way the venue looked like the inside of Beyoncé's dress."

"Did I really?" Five asked duly as he pushed the great doors of the lobby with his flailing strength and into the apocalypse soaked world.

"Indeed. And then proceeded to run down the hall with mannequin parts saying they were the ghost of Dolores coming to haunt my ass for stealing you from her. You also provided some pretty interesting stances on political topics I hadn't even known existed until last night while you were simultaneously shoving shrimp and a margarita down your throat." Emery said finally, sitting down on a cliff in the road where half of it had given way, fallen into the depths of what may as well be Tartarus.

"Oh." Was all Five said as he sat down beside Emery and let his head fall onto his shoulder. "Sorry."

"Don't be. It proved to be wonderful entertainment." Emery said.

"No, sorry you had to witness that."

"It's fine, really." Emery said, consoling the boy as he shut his eyes tight against the world; against the apocalypse. It was right in front of them. Smoke and ash and bits of building circling around the Kugelblitz that had grown significantly longe since it's short time in the cube Christopher, Sloane, Emery, Lila, and Viktor had constructed. It was horrifyingly beautiful.