The Space Between Us (S1) || Five Hargreeves x Reader

☕️ Chapter Seven ☕️

"I survived on scraps, canned foods, cockroaches, pretty much anything I could find." Five chuckles weakly. "You know the rumor that Twinkies have an endless shelf life?"

After taking a sip of the freshly brewed coffee, with sugar and creamer of course, I nod. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, it's shit. I knew it wasn't true to begin with anyway." Five replies and takes a sip of his coffee.

"I can't even imagine..." Vanya says in disbelief.

"You do what it takes to survive or you die." He explains. "So, we adapted. Whatever the world threw at us, we found a way to overcome it."

"We?" Vanya asks.

"It's the Delores person, isn't it?" I question and sigh. "Why won't you just tell me more about her?"

Five ignores our questioning of Delores and raises his cup up. "You got anything stronger?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I do." Vanya leaves to go get him a stronger drink.

"Stronger? Should you even be drinking something stronger with your body?" I ask.

He shrugs and gets out of his seat. "I'll be fine."

Vanya finishes pouring his glass and hands it to him to which he immediately takes a sip of it then chuckles dryly. "You both must think I'm crazy."

"No." Vanya starts stammering. "It's just...it's a lot to take in."

"Exactly what do you not understand?" Five asks.

I hop out of my seat and join them in the kitchen area. "Oh, I don't know, maybe you coming back after seventeen years to tell us that the world is ending in eight days, or maybe the fact of why you didn't just travel back to begin with."

He scoffs and looks over at me. "Gee, I wish I had thought of that, if only I had."

He puts a serious face on. "Time travel is a crapshoot. I went into the ice and never 'acorn-ed'. You think I didn't try everything to get back home? Back to the only family I know?"

"I'm sorry." I apologize. "But it's like Vanya said, it's a lot to take in."

"If you grew old there, you know, in the apocalypse, how come you still look like a kid? Why is Y/n a kid again? She didn't even go with you." Vanya asks.

Five walks past her and to the sink. "I told you already. I must have gotten the equations wrong, as for Y/n...I'm not completely sure just yet."

"Well..." Vanya drawls. "Dad always use to say that time travel could mess up your mind."

"Yeah. He even said, well, practically yelled that at you just before you went 'bye-bye'." I say, adding a mock goodbye wave.

He turns around. "This was a mistake. You're both too young and naive to understand. Come on. We're leaving." He makes his way to the door.

"Young and naive?" I question his choice of words and follow after him, quickly. "Five! We just told you that it's a lot to take in."

He stops at the door, making me bump into him. He turns around toward me. "You just don't understand it because of your youth."

I cross my arms. "So, you're saying I don't understand because I'm mentally younger than you?"

He nods. "In a way, I guess I am."

I roll my head around. "Do I look like a joke to you? Tell me, damn it! Do I honestly look like a joke to you?"

"No." He immediately answers. "Never."