His Only Hope

Hangover

Five sighed impatiently and turned to face Reginald as well. "How 'bout we save you some time? Give you the 'no' up front. We're not the least bit interested in this bullshit plan you've been cooking."

"And does your little Number Eight agree?" he asked brusquely, turning to face you. You bit your lip, avoiding Five's gaze as you shrugged.

"No. I don't."

"Eight!" Five hissed, but you still refused to meet his gaze. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

But you didn't want to die.

"I don't want to die," you said, your voice quiet. At least you could be honest about that much.

Hearing that, Five went silent, and you snuck a peek at him. He was staring down into the abyss, his eyebrows pressed together and his jaw tensed. "My future self said to let the world end. There has to be something beyond this. You aren't going to die-"

"With your plan, you cannot confirm that. But with mine you can." There was a pause in which Five glanced up at him in disgust. "Mind if I join you?"

"Actually, we'd appreciate some solitude," Five began, but then he sat next to him so Five was between you two. "It seems we won't get any," he mumbled under his breath as Reginald took his bottle and swigged from it.

"Dear God!" he exclaimed softly, and Five nodded knowingly, his expression distant.

"Mm-hmm. Louis XIII, it ain't." He turned to look at the emptiness in front of you again, and you leaned forward to peer at your sort-of father.

"I've had worse. It is impressive, isn't it?" he asked, referring to the glowing orange clouds in front of you.

"Very," you said softly, crossing your ankles and leaning back on your hands. Your palms dug into the gritty pavement behind you, and it left you feeling oddly grounded.

"Of all the ways we could've screwed the pooch, this way is the most complete. I'm relieved, actually." He waved his bottle at the air in front of you. "This time everything goes. There's no... commission, no leaping away. No life spent going mad with the desperation to see a familiar face." His eyes landed on you for a moment before returning to the clouds. "And no more losing people. I believe there's something beyond this. There has to be." His words were firm, stubborn. He truly believed himself.

"You never forget your first. The first time your world ends." His words surprised you, and you furrowed your brow. But were you even surprised? Things were so fucked up by now, it wasn't even that odd to realize your adoptive father had lives many different lives in many different worlds. "You never stop wondering if you do enough to save the people you love."

"Did you?" you asked quietly, leaning forward again to catch his eye. His eyes became even more hooded for a moment before he spoke.

"No. But I was hoping you children could help me out with that."

"And there it is," Five mumbled huskily, turning away and taking another long drink from his bottle. "Sorry, Reg. I got a message from the future."

"What future?"

"My future self told me very explicitly not to save this world."

Reginald laughed, and you raised an eyebrow, feeling oddly protective of Five even though you didn't agree with him.

"You are an arrogant son of a bitch, aren't you?" Five chuckled and turned away, surprising you. Usually he would've gotten frustrated. "'Future you'. 'Present you'. The past is as much a mystery as the future."

"Thanks to you and Allison," you grumbled, and he sighed impatiently.

"You both ruined your lives once before by not listening to me. Are you prepared to do that again?"

You bit your lip so hard it hurt, sliding your hand into Five's carefully. "Please," you whispered, gently brushing the back of his hand with your thumb. He sighed, working his jaw, before looking away from Reginald and gripping your hand tighter.

"Fine. I'll attend your stupid meeting."

"So will I," you added immediately, a hopeful smile spreading across your face.

"Excellent!" Reginald exclaimed, quickly standing up.

"If," Five began, pressing his lips together in a fake smile. "You tell us what happened with you in the Buffalo Suite last night. Who were you talking to? Was it Klaus? Was it Ben?"

"No one. I was alone. Though I doubt you were in any condition to remember. We should go. Don't want to be late for the meeting." He turned and walked off stiffly, leaving you lost.

You squinted at Five in confusion, grasping for a memory. "Buffalo Suite? We were together the whole time. What do you mean?"

Five turned to look at you with a frown, pushing his jaw out in frustration. "You were drunk. You probably just forgot."

"What happened?" you asked, growing frustrated. Why couldn't you think straight?!

"Reginald was conspiring with somebody-" The street rumbled threateningly, and you stumbled to your feet, dragging Five with you, and both of you fell to the ground as the street crumbled into oblivion where you had just been sitting. He landed between your legs, and you let out a surprised huff of air, wrapping your arms around his chest from behind protectively. "Shit," he gasped, turning to face you. You brushed a lock of hair out of his face, trailing your fingers along his jaw gently.

"Saved ya," you said with a small smile, and he scoffed, getting to his feet and helping you up. "Why do you even keep trying, Five?" you asked quietly after a moment. "The world is just going to keep ending over and over again."

Even though he didn't want to save this world, he still truly believed there was something beyond this. That this wasn't the end.

He paused, staring at the sky as he thought about it. "Because of you," he said finally, intertwining your fingers. "You're my only hope, (Y/N). I'm doing all of this for you," he said as you began walking toward the hotel once again. "Not Reginald. I still think it's wrong."

"I know," you said, snuggling into his side and resting your head on his shoulder. You walked back to the hotel together, finally separating when you walked through the revolving doors. You yawned as you walked into the reception area, jumping a bit in surprise when your siblings began shouting - or rather, cheering - at you from the little seating area.

"Whoo, yeah, Five! Here they are!" everyone yelled, some of them standing up and clapping loudly. You groaned and squeezed your eyes shut, head pounding. "(Y/N)! Looking good!"

Your eyes snapped open along with your mouth, and you stared at everyone, shocked. "What? How do you... know my name?!"