dead upon arrival || ben hargreeves

//2: thank god for orange chicken//

2002

The whole idea behind this plan was nerve wracking, terrifying even. Lying to mom wasn't even the hardest part, Pandora had been doing it for years since they moved. No, the hardest part, the fear was that they'd get caught. Though it was just a donut shop, nobody would care, right?

Robin Green, mother to both Marin and Pandora, shut off the light to the twins' bedroom with a soft, "Goodnight," before she herself went to bed, right after planting a kiss on both of their foreheads. The twins stayed in bed for at least five minutes before they heard a soft knock on the window leading to the fire escape. Pandora got up, tiptoeing over to window. Ben was crouched at the window with Five behind him. She quietly urged Marin to come open the window with her as carefully as possible. The twins lifted up the window, thanking the heavens that the wind wasn't heavy that night.

"You guys coming?" Five whispered. They nodded, Marin getting help from Five while Ben pulled up Pandora.

"Hi," Ben said shyly.

"Hi," Pandora said with a little laugh.

While Five blinked to the ground, Ben, Marin, and Pandora carefully climbed down the creaky fire escape and onto the cool asphalt ground. They turned the corner to see Luther, Diego, Allison, and Klaus huddled together in their jackets, patiently waiting for the others to get there. "Finally," Diego said, his stone cold face turning into a small smile when he saw Pandora. "H-Hi Pandora," He stuttered out. She exchanged her hellos with him and the rest of the academy before Luther suggested they should all leave.

Ben and Pandora walked behind a very chatty Vanya and Marin, enjoying the company of one another without sharing a word.

A short walk later, they got to Gritty's Donuts, the only light on besides the main sign was the neon animation of a yellow hand dipping a donut into a cup. Everyone got to the main door, turning away to keep a lookout for Five while he blinked into the shop and let them all in. Allison turned on the lights to the seating area and the donut display, the kids crowding at the donuts to choose what they wanted. Vanya quickly grabbed two glazed donuts, one for her and one for Marin, napkins under each one.

Ben urged Pandora to sit down in another booth from the rest of the kids while he grabbed her favorite donut, referred to by Five as a, "Chocolate Heart Attack."

"Hey I got you your favorite before Klaus got them all," Ben smiled as she sat down by her, "You know how klaus is."

"I know exactly how Klaus is," Pandora replied, biting into her donut, "Thank you Ben."

Ben just nodded in response, biting into his own.

"I guess training was rough for the rest of you guys too, and that's why we're getting donuts tonight," Pandora commented as she pulled one knee to her chest.

"Training is just rough in general with Dad, I don't really know when I have a good day or a bad day in training," Ben shook his head, "I guess it's measured on how many uniforms I go through."

Pandora pursed her lips for a moment, then grabbed Ben's hand that was lying on the table, a common thing pandora did for Ben whenever he was distressed about his ability. "Ben, one day you're never going to have to use your ability ever again," She told him, "and I'm not going to have to use my power ever again either."

"One day," Ben said.

"One day."

Present Day

It was late in the morning when Pandora woke up, her head pounding from all the crying she had done after her and Marin left the Academy. She rolled over to her left side to see that Marin had placed the broken head of Ben's statue on her dresser. Pandora squeezed her eyes shut to prevent anymore tears from welling up, short flashes of the fight that took place flashed across her memory. She took a few deep breaths before removing herself from her bed.