THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY
fractured || five hargreeves x reader

CHAPTER FOUR: YEARS LATER...

Written By: peachyhxlland

°•.☆.•°

Years have passed, and Christmas is right around the corner. Christmas lights were strung around the buildings and trees, lighting up the entire town to the point where a street light was essentially useless. Inside the Lake Front Inn, there was a tournament being held while the song Santa Baby started playing.

"Your play, Gene," A woman called out to her husband. Like other players, the couple was paired off and pitted against two men as they played together at a table.

"Thank you, Jean." The woman's husband replied with a knowing smile as he placed a 10 of Clover card down.

One of the men, Merle, scoffed and placed down an Ace of Clover card. Jean softly gasped. "Ooh!" She glanced at her husband before looking at Merle. "Look at Merle. Big dick move."

"Don't be using that language." The other guy named Milt scolded Jean.

"What? You're gonna lay me on your lap and spank me, Milt?"

"Nothing wrong with a good spankin'," Gene remarked suggestively while winking and smirking at his wife Jean.

Jean winked back and placed her 9 of Hearts card. "Trump," She proudly announced, earning both disappointed sighs from their opponents. "Thank you for the setup, Gene."

"You are welcome, Jean." Gene turned his stare to Milt. "You just got euchred, peewee."

Milt became pissed and slammed his cards down. "The hell with this, Merle."

"Yeah," Merle replied as he and Milt proceeded to stand up. "Let's find another table, huh?"

Before the two men could even walk away, Jean spoke up. "Game's not over, fellas."

Merle scoffed. "It is for us."

"Oh, all right." Jean sighed. "So, I'll put you down as a forfeit, then?"

Milt furrowed his eyebrows in disbelief. "Says who?"

"League rules," Gene answered.

"Walk away, and you're out of the tournament," Jean added with a mocking tone. The two men groaned before sitting back down on their chairs. Jeane smiled. "They're back."

Turning his gaze away from his wife, Gene saw a man in the distance. The man in the black jacket gave Gene a blank look, motioned for him to go outside to the parking lot, and turned to leave. In an attempt to get Jean's attention, Gene cleared his throat. Jeane noticed it instantly and turned to face the two men, tapping the table with both hands. "Gotta whiz." She made a fake yet simple excuse to get off the table.

"Right behind you," Gene replied as the couple stood up.

Merle sputtered. "Oh, for Christ's sake."

While Jean was walking away with Gene, she reassured Merle and Milt. "Come on. Don't get your boxers in a bunch. We'll be right back."

After gathering their winter coats, Jean and Gene made their way directly to the building's underground parking lot and approached the man who was leaning against his car. "I'm Dr. Jean Thibedeau, and this is my husband, Dr. Gene Thibedeau." She introduced both her and her husband to the man.

"Don't need your names," The man replied as he slammed his blue briefcase on top of the back of his car. "Don't care who you are."

The man opened the briefcase and showed the contents to the couple. "Cash or trade, straight up. And hurry up, by the way, my boss is impatient."

Books, clothing, documents, and DVDs were all packed inside the suitcase. Jean dug through the bag and discovered two DVD versions of Love on Loan 2, but the front covers were not the same. Laura Hokstad and Tom Holland were on the first cover, and Allison Hargreeves and Tom Holland starred on the second.

"Oh, Gene, look." Jean gasped. "Love on Loan." Jean kept staring at the two DVD covers while Gene took a closer look. "Gene, look at the name. Hargreeves!"

Gene started to chuckle. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, yes. I see it."

The man noticed their delight and smirked. "Ten grand for the pair."

The married couple turned their heads toward the man in shock. "Ten grand?" Gene questioned in shock. "The best we can do is five."

"This ain't a negotiation, pal. Ten grand or fuck off."

Jean turned around to look at her husband, who gave her a nod. Jean sighed as she laid down the two DVDs and brought out her money. She hesitantly gave the money to the man who snatched it off her fingers. "Good call."

Failing to notice Gene as he turned to walk away from his wife to retrieve something out of his jacket, the man turned back to count the money. "Hey." Gene caught the man's attention, and before the man could react, he shot him point blank in the head.

Jean glanced at the dead body on the ground and was unfazed. "Nice shot, hon." She shut the suitcase closed after she complimented her husband.

Gene walked towards the man's dead body. "Knew he'd be a bleeder. Head the size of Jupiter," He complained as he knelt down and took the money. "Since when did his boss start hiring assholes like him?"

"Now, now, Gene. We don't want to talk shit about his boss. After all, his boss has been nothing but helpful and kind to us by giving us these artifacts," Jean reminded him before taking the suitcase and walking towards Gene. "Oh!" She noticed dirt and a dot of blood on Gene's face, and she removed it, earning a smile from her husband.

"Think The Boss will get mad at me for killing one of their employees?"

"I'm sure The Boss will understand. The man's a piece of shit anyway."

°•○●○•°

You were slipping away from reality; you can feel it. Your mind was too far gone as you stared at the pool of blood you had caused a man working for Hargreeves Enterprises. You were dealing with the man in the basement of Reginald's home, and some of the man's co-workers were around to witness what punishment you're going to give the man. The man pleaded for his life and wanted to go home to his family.

You didn't like that.

You didn't like how he was so happy with everything you could have. You were beyond envious. 'Why can't I have what the others have?' You think to yourself.

Out of rage, you just split the man in half, using your powers from his head to his crotch. Undoubtedly, no one saw your subtle flick of the wrist. No one noticed your blank and emotionless eyes staring at the man bleeding on the ground. Around him, the man's coworkers started to worry, but they were afraid to move for fear that they would be the next to go.

The man was surrounded by a frantic of people who were finally moving, but you ignored them and walked away calmly. Someone caught your arm as you were walking, and you turned your head to the side to see Reginald giving you a very angry glare. "What have you done?" He questioned angrily.

"You told me to deal with his insubordination," You replied. "And I dealt with it."

"Number Eight..." He warned.

"That's not my name. Not anymore."

Reginald huffed, composing himself. "I gave you these particles to protect this world, not to abuse your powers."

You stared at him coldly as the corner of your lips twitched upwards so slightly. "You gave me these powers; now deal with the consequences of them." You gave him a long stare before leaving Reginald to deal with the mess.

You made your way to your bedroom from the basement. As soon as you realized there were a few blood droplets all over your face, you immediately hurried to the bathroom and cleaned your face. You washed your face and then opened your bottle to take two pills. You threw your head back as you gulped down the two pills. After swallowing the pills, you leaned your head down and clenched your eyes shut while your hands formed into fists.

"(Y/n)..."

You opened your eyes and found yourself in your mind, where you saw your other self holding a glass of red wine. Your alternate self smiled as she approached you. She looked older than you, indicating she's in her 30s—your right age. "Those pills won't keep me away forever," She stated, referring to the pills you took a second ago. "You're just making yourself more miserable."

"Oh, well, I love the feeling of being miserable," You replied as you walked around the area. "I'm getting used to it, and I don't care if I overdose myself as long as I keep you away."

You saw yourself clicking her tongue and shaking her head. "You keep seeing me as this alternate version of yourself or your other identity, but I'm not. We're just the same person, except I'm fueled by your negative thoughts and feelings."

You cocked an eyebrow as you crossed your arms. "You look calmer than you're supposed to be."

"Ah, well, you let your rage out on that poor man, didn't you? Now, I'm calm, and you know how much destruction I can do when I'm in control." Your older self stood in front of you and lifted your chin up. "You never learn your lesson, don't you?"

You kept quiet while she continued to talk. "Bottling up your feelings every single day in every different timeline. I like the small progress, but that isn't enough."

"Because if I did, you'd be free," You replied as tears welled up in your eyes. "And I don't want anyone anymore. They've been through enough. I want them to be happy."

Your older self feigned a frown as she tilted her head at you. "Don't you want to be selfish just for once?"

"What?"

"They get to have their happy endings while you suffer alone?" Your alternate self smiled. "But with me, of course. Tormenting you every single day. I wanna feel bad, but that's my job. Keeping you fractured over and over again until you... finally break."

With a gasp, you realized you were back in the real world. You gave yourself a long, hard look in the mirror before staring at it and giving it a hard punch. A few fragments of the shattered mirror landed on the sink. Your knuckles were bruised and bleeding from the blow, but your scowl lingered.

You sucked in a deep breath and drew your fists away. You stared at your broken reflection for a moment before leaving the bathroom. You tend to your injuries and wrap a bandage around your hands by the window. You sighed and looked out your window.

With a wistful gaze at the moon, you start to think about the things that have happened to the moon. A lot of things have happened on and because of the moon. After Reginald had put his wife there to keep her safe, Luther remained there for a long time, and in the first timeline, Viktor used it to kill the world. However, the moon was still breathtaking to see, in spite of its own adventures.

You were aware of Luther's deep connection to the moon. That was where he lived, after all, and he was Spaceboy after all. Additionally, he gifted his spouse Sloane with an engagement ring crafted from moon rock.

You, on the other hand, hoped that Five was the one gazing at the moon rather than Luther. 'Maybe if we're staring at it together, he can still feel that I'm still here.'

Your heart stung at the thought of him. The only thing that reminds you of him are clocks, his watch, and the thought of tomorrow.

"Do you... wanna... go out...? Tomorrow...?"

"Tomorrow sounds good."

The first failed date...

"Today is our tomorrow's date."

"Let's do it tomorrow? For real this time."

The second failed date...

"I guess we never gave up hope on one another, huh?"

"Because we're each other's Tomorrow."

The conversation in Pennsylvania...

"You did all of this...?"

"Yeah. I mean, do we still need to wait for another tomorrow to continue our date?"

"So, when did you plan to do this?"

"A while ago. The world is ending anyway. Why not have the date today? A date at the end of the world."

And finally, the first successful date...

After the events in Hotel Oblivion, you weren't sure that you were able to see him again. To see him again tomorrow. And when you opened your eyes from a long coma, sorrow enveloped you with a cold embrace as you were met with Reginald and Abigail instead of the eyes of your lover.

The thought of him being dead with the rest of your family haunts you in the back of your head. What if you failed to save them? What if they don't exist in this universe? Are you all alone here?

You kept waiting for a very long time, but you never found any signs of their existence. It was driving you to insanity. You were being driven insane by it. As much as you wanted your hallucinations to be true, you had to face the fact that they were just in your head and that they weren't.

Everything has been so fractured. You're a mess.

Nevertheless, you were desperate to see Five once more. To reach out and touch him once more. To feel his embrace again. To give him an unending kiss on his lips. To cling to him and never let go.

Although you say this many times, maybe when tomorrow comes, he'll show up and be back.

-•-°-•-°-☆

I have to republish because it started kinda glitching.