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it didn’t occur to the group just how lonely five was during the apocalypse until he had come down to breakfast in shorts and his classic white short sleeved shirt. his legs weren’t covered by his typical knee socks, and instead they were bare and shown to the world. his shoes thudded against the stairs as he came into the kitchen, looking for a pot of coffee. he didn’t seem to notice the way his siblings stared at his body as he searched for an empty mug. he huffed in anger before finally finding an unoccupied cup in the cabinet. allison slid into her seat and klaus bit into his bagel with no emotion. luther sighed and sank down into his seat, which skidded across the floor in response. five quickly turned to see what caused the noise and rolled his eyes when he saw it was only luther. ”i see spaceboy still hasn’t realized he has super strength.”, he joked before taking a long sip of his black coffee, “god, this coffees gross.” he coughed out and looked up at the group. “sit.” diego ordered and pointed to the seat with one of his many knives. five rolled his eyes once more and pushed his chair and sat down. “what happened now? do we need to kill another parent?” five groaned and placed his chin in his hand. vanya shook her head and sighed, “five....what happened?”, she whispered to him. “what?”, he asked and looked at her strangely. “it’s okay, you can tell us.” allison said softly and placed a hand on his resting arm. five raised an eyebrow and tightened his grip on his coffee mug. klaus stared at the boy for a few more moments before pulling his gaze away. “cut the bullshit! why are you covered in scars, kid?” diego snapped and five chewed his lips nervously. “i was stuck in the apocalypse for years, number two, maybe that’s why.” five shrugged calmly. luther nodded and allison removed her hand from five before sitting back. “stop lying.” klaus whispered and five’s eyes snapped over to him. “shut up, klaus.” five hissed and vanya looked between the pair. “what’s going on?” luther asked angrily and diego continued to okay with his knife, “what are we missing?” he asked the group. “klaus, drop it.” ben mumbled in his ear and klaus shook him off. “no, i’ve kept quiet for years, ben.” klaus sternly told him and he lowered his feet from the table to the floor. “he did them to himself.” klaus locked eyes with five and ben stood directly behind him, tracing the scars on his arm. five shivered under the cold chill and shook his head. “don’t be ridiculous.”, he told the group and stood up from his seat to walk over to the pot of coffee to refill his mug. “i’m not being ridiculous! you did it even before you left!” klaus exclaimed and threw his arms into the air. “is this true, five?”, vanya asked her brother with teary eyes. “it doesn’t matter anyways....” his voice waved in and out. the group seemed to get collectively sad at the new revelation. “why didn’t you tell us, five?” luther asked the younger boy, who took a sip from his mug. “it isn’t as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be.” he calmly told his siblings. allison scoffed and folded her hands on the table, “are you serious? you could’ve died!”“but i didn’t, did i?” five countered and she groaned in frustration. “that’s not the point.” luther stayed angrily at the time allison had just received. “then what is the point, luther? huh? what is the point of all of this?“, five asked with watery eyes and a shaky voice. his siblings leaned back and let his words wash over them. after a few minutes of silence, vanyas soft voice rang out , “why?”. five sighed and shrugged, “i don’t know...it made me feel...real.” he told them all honestly. “real? what the hell do you mean real?” diego asked the small boy sitting across from him. “i felt normal, like i wasn’t alone all of the time, i felt lonely, i guess.” five rubbed the back of his neck and sighed awkwardly. the group fell back into silence and five smiled shyly. “well, this has been fun but i’m gonna get going.” he told the group and waved goodbye before vanishing from the room. “wait, don’t go!” vanya yelled before he disappeared from the kitchen. “so what do we do now?” allison asked while rubbing her forehead, luther and diego shrugged in response. “great going!” ben complained to klaus. “i know, okay? stop rubbing it in.” he folded his arms and stood from his chair, ben raised his arms and surrendered. “what?” diego mouthed to the other three siblings still sitting and then all shrugged to him. ___________________ five fell onto his bed roughly and rolled onto the floor loudly at around eleven pm. his head ached and he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep on his bed but unluckily, his siblings had heard him and rushed in. “finally! where’ve you been?” vanya exclaimed and allison let out a content sigh. “we looked everywhere!” she told him. “family meeting. now.” luther sternly told everyone and they all rolled their eyes. “don’t you think you’re taking this leader thing too seriously?” five asked his twin brother and luther glared down at him. “jeez, fine. see you down there.” and just like that, five was poofing out of the bedroom down to the living room. the others quickly ended down the stairs and took seats on the couches. five sat on the counter between the two couches and klaus laid sprawled out on the couch with his head in vanyas lap. allison sat in the center of diego and luther on the opposite beige couch. “you can’t just run off whenever, five.” luther told him and five scoffed. “i’m fifty eight years old! i’m twenty eight years older than all of you!” he yelled and diego grunted. “doesn’t matter anymore, right now you’re only thirteen.” he told the younger boy. “i could kill you with one hand and you think just because your voice dropped, you can control me?” five sassed and klaus dramatically gasped. “watch it.” diego growled and allison laid a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. “i’m not going to be treated like a child just because i’m in a kids body.” five told the group and jumped down from the counter. “listen here, i’m in charge! so what i say, goes. got it?” luther asked and five rolled his eyes. “you might be number one but you don’t know shit. none of you do! you all sit around here pretending like you’ve got your shit together, when really, you’re all falling apart.” five snapped and klaus shot up from his spot on vanyas lap. vanya began to pick at her nails nervously while allison tried to keep the boys from attacking five. “easy now.” she muttered to luther and diego, who were trying to get to said boy. “uh guys...” klaus mumbled as he watched five sway back and forth. “guys!” he called and they all looked at him. “look!” klaus ordered and pointed to five, just as he began to fall to the floor. diego ran to him and caught his head just before it hit the ground. “oh my god! he’s bleeding!” vanya pointed to his right arm and they quickly removed his jacket. there was blood seeping through his sleeves of the white shirt. diego carried five up the to the infirmary room where grace/mom was sitting. “mom! fives been in an accident!” allison quickly told the robotic woman, who chuckled. “oh sweetie, it’s okay. i’ve patched him up like this before, he’ll he fine.” she shook her off and quickly began to remove his tight shirt. vanya gasped at the sight of his body and allison’s eyes widened. klaus and ben froze in their spot and diego turned his whole body around. luther seem unaffected by the whole thing. grace hummed along to the music inside her head as she stitched up his arm and wrapped a bandage around his wrist. she lowered his socks and rolled his shorts up a bit before spraying them with antibacterial spray, much like she did when he was younger. “mom? how long has he had these scars?” vanya asked and grace closed her eyes for a moment before they popped back in open. “he’s had them since his ninth birthday.” she told them with a smile and unrolled his shorts before pulling his socks back up. “oh! i almost forgot!” she laughed shyly and unbuttoned his shirt carefully. she quickly repeated her bandaging steps and rebuttoned his shirt. “he did it again?” pogo asked from the doorway and luther turned quickly. “again? so it has been going on for years?” luther asked the monkey. “yes, master luther, five has been self harming since he turned nine.” pogo clarified to the group and allison gulped, “did dad know about this?”. pogo nodded, “of course, he’s the one who found him after he cut too deep.” diego covered his face with his hands and vanya bit at her bottom lip. “i had assumed that mister klaus would’ve told you.” pogo told the group while klaus looked to the ceiling, trying to hide his face from the group. “klaus?”, luther questioned and ben sighed from behind klaus’ back. “mmh?”, klaus replied. pogo sighed. “mister klaus was with your father when he found mister five passed out in the bathroom many years ago.” he explained and klaus sighed. the room fell silent for what felt like the hundredth time that day until they all heard five stirring awake. “he’s awake! i’ll go make some cookies!” grace announced and pogo slowly followed her from the room. diego kept his face covered until he heard fives voice coming from the bed. he let out a soul crushing cry and his shoulders shook. “diego?” vanya asked and pulled him into her arms. “it’s okay, he’s awake now.” she mumbled into his ear and he nodded quickly, gripping her shirt. luther and allison shared a concerned looked with each other and ben and klaus traveled over to fives body. “hey bud...i missed you.” klaus lightly punched his arm awkwardly and five rolled his eyes. “what happened?”, he groaned as he tried to sit up. diego snapped away from vanya and tried to push him back down. “you fainted.”, diego gently told the boy.