#badkittywrites

He had you pinned against the wall. His hard body was pressed against you as he held you up, his fingers digging painfully into your thighs. The dishes in the nearby kitchen cabinets were rattling as he went at you harder. His quiet grunts matched the rhythm of his shamelessly desperate fucking.

He was breathing loud and fast, his chest heaving and glistening with sweat as his piercing eyes met yours. You clung to him, moaning and begging for more. He would give you whatever you wanted. But he wasn’t going to be gentle about it.

When he kissed you, you could feel his true intentions. He wanted you to notice him. To see him for who he really was. And you did. You had told him so, plainly and to his face, but apparently that wasn’t enough. Because despite this being the fourth little rendezvous of yours, he wasn’t letting you in.

You leaned in, caressing the back of his neck while quietly moaning his name. Your mouth pressed against the underside of his jaw, the salt of his skin coating your lips. You trailed them down the side of his neck, softly. You felt him falter. He stopped, holding you still, and he let out a soft sigh. It didn’t last long.

“Stop it,” he told you harshly. The undercurrent of panic was palpable.

“Why?” you breathed out, warming the crook of his neck.

“I don’t know,” he said in a rare moment of honesty. “Just don’t.”

It was there… just a tiny little crack in the nearly impenetrable wall that he had built around himself. Barely visible. Almost enough for you to slither into, but not quite.

He continued to fuck you, each angry thrust harder than the last, punctuated with deep kisses that he tolerated because they were on his terms.

When you came, loudly and startlingly, he watched your face until he couldn’t hold back any longer and you were both trembling and panting.

Afterwards, when he let your feet back on the ground and you got your bearings again, he was still holding onto your waist. You pressed your forehead to his damp shoulder. When you lifted your head, you smiled, feeling satisfied. He wore his usual expression of worry and regret.

“What’s the matter?” you asked, somewhat irritated since you already knew the answer.

“I don’t think we should–”

You didn’t let him finish before you were letting out an exasperated sigh. “Five, I really thought we were past this by now.”

He shook his head and looked at the floor. “I know.”

Against your better judgment, you placed a hand on the side of his face. “Just let me in. You can’t even decide if you like me or not if you won’t even talk to me.”

Five stepped away, grabbing his boxers off the floor and tugging them on. “I talk to you.”

You laughed and started pulling on your own clothes that were scattered around. “Ok, yes, you do talk to me. But only when I force you to or hunt you down. And you never tell me anything important.”

A brief smile flickered over Five’s face. “Hate to break it to you, honey, but I don’t have much to tell.”

“Bullshit.”

Five stepped into his pants, zipping them up before pushing his hair off his face. “What about you? I don’t see you spilling your guts, either.”

“Maybe that’s because it’s hard to talk when you’re shoving your dick down my throat two minutes after you open your door.”

He looked momentarily scared, but then he gave a snort of derision. “I thought that was what you wanted.”

“I do. Doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy my company. Doesn’t mean you can’t come find me once in a while. I’m not going to keep chasing after you, Five. I don’t care how much I want you.”

He was visibly taken aback. Not by your threat but by the fact that you said you wanted him.

He tucked his hands into his pockets. “I never asked you to chase me. In fact, I distinctly remember telling you to leave me alone.”

“And yet here I am,” you said snarkily, gesturing to the room around you. “Again. When we both know there’s no way in hell you would have let me in if you didn’t want me, too.”

He didn’t seem to have an answer for that. Your body softened a little and you pulled your shirt over your head. Then you approached him, taking one hand out of his pocket and holding it in yours. Shockingly, he let you.

“The sex is good, Five. Really good. But I can get good sex from someone else. What I want is you. The real you.” You could feel his body tensing again. You tentatively closed the gap between you, leaning in so that your mouth brushed his cheek. “You’re more than this. Show me.”

He flinched, pulling his head back. “You’re a kid.”

You exhaled loudly and rolled your eyes, dropping his hand. “Fuck, this again? Give it a rest, Five. I don’t really give a shit about the age thing.”

“Maybe I do.”

You shook your head. “No you don’t. You just think you do because at some point you decided that gave you morals. Which is total bullshit.”

“You know nothing about my morals,” Five said with a sneer.

“No, I don’t. Which is the whole point!” You stopped, took a breath, and put your hands on your hips. “Why is it such a bad thing that I want you to open up a little? Why are you fighting me so hard?”

He didn’t answer but you could already see that the tiny little crack you had made was sealing up again.

“I’m sorry,” he said tersely.

You nodded and gave a small smile while you looked at the floor. “You don’t have to be sorry, Five. Really, you don’t. And I’m not even mad.” You shrugged and grabbed your purse off the kitchen table. “Can’t say I didn’t try, though.”

On the way out the door, you looked back. “I’ll see you around, ok?”

Five nodded dumbly, still standing in the same spot. You shut the door behind you.

A week passed, and then two. Five went back to his normal routine. Coffee, job, coffee, home, eat, sleep, coffee… repeat every day with maybe a few additions here and there. Like drinking too much and jerking off. Those things didn’t have a set schedule.

He did his best to avoid you again, blinking in and out of his apartment as much as possible, staying away from stairwells and the communal mailboxes. His eyes would flit nervously towards your door when he walked past on his way to the garbage chute. He seemed to have a lot of garbage these days.

One time there was a knock at the door, late at night when he was watching TV. He had smiled to himself before cockily striding over to the door. When he answered it, however, it wasn’t you. Instead, a very tipsy, disheveled man hung onto the door frame and asked Five if Margaret was home. Five had slammed the door in the guy’s face.

Just like after the first time you had kissed him, despite his internal conflict, you had gotten the better of him. He found you creeping into his thoughts while doing mundane tasks. Once he had a dream about you, which proved you were sneaking into his subconscious, as well. The details of the dream had been hazy when Five woke up, but he knew it had entailed you softly moaning his name.

Your absence around his apartment had not gone unnoticed. After a while, he stopped actively trying to avoid you and made himself more visible around the building. He hung around the mailboxes much longer than was necessary, pretending to be engrossed in a flyer about an upcoming food drive, or a pre-approved credit card offering. Finally, on the third day of Five very graciously making himself known, he saw you on your way to the elevator as he was locking up his door.

You didn’t look over in his direction, which he thought was odd. In a moment of stupidity, Five blinked a few feet down the hallway, hoping you wouldn’t notice, and then walked casually the rest of the way to the elevator. The doors opened just as he arrived and you both walked inside.

You smiled at him. A nice, neighborly, polite smile. You were wearing running shorts and a tank top, which Five tried not to care about.

“Hello,” you said, as if you were greeting the mailman.

“Hey,” Five said, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels.

The elevator started making its way down.

“How have you been?” you asked, much too casually for Five’s liking.

“Fine. And you?”

You shrugged. Indifferent. “Good, thanks. It’s nice to see you again.”

Five nodded. “You too.”

You were silent for a while and then the elevator reached its destination. The doors opened and you walked out with a wave.

“Have a good day, Five!” you chirped, before setting out on your daily jog.

“You, too,” he answered. But you were already putting your earbuds in, so he doubted you heard him. What the hell was that? he thought bitterly.

After that interaction, Five started to have… feelings. He wasn’t sure what these feelings were, exactly, he just knew they were starting to consume him. He was used to being consumed with things. Obsessing over things. But usually those things had to do with the end of the world or impossible, supernatural physics that only he could comprehend. This was not that.

This was something raw and primal; eating him from the inside. And it was pissing him the fuck right off.

Now, instead of avoiding you or not avoiding you, he started to seek you out. He would catch you in the hall and engage in conversation, an act that he would have never stooped to before. You were never mean or catty, which you had every right to be. You didn’t ignore him or try to walk away. You were casual. Breezy. Passive.

Which was a thousand times worse.

“Are you doing ok?” you would ask, with a little head tilt.

She pities me, Five would think and he would cringe inside. “Yeah, doing fine. You know, the same,” he would say.

You would nod, understanding that yeah, things probably were the same.

Sometimes you chatted about the weather. One time you had laughed at something unintentionally funny that he had said and you touched his arm. Briefly, with just the tips of your fingers brushing against the fabric of his shirt, but he had felt every bit of it. He had thought maybe that was a cue. That you were starting to come around again. But then you said a cheerful goodbye and walked away.

On one occasion, when Five was coincidentally strolling past your end of the hall, he was stopped in his tracks. Ahead of him, right outside your apartment door, was a man. He looked to be in his twenties, with sandy blond hair that was combed neatly to the side, and a toned physique. His salmon-colored polo shirt showed off his prominent biceps. You were laughing at something the man had just said. His voice had a deep timber to it.

As Five approached cautiously, assessing the situation, you saw him and waved him over.

“Five, this is Tanner. He just moved in last week.”

Tanner? This guy’s name is Tanner? Give me a fucking break.

“He’s in… what did you say? 524? A floor below,” you continued to explain with a smile on your face.

What’s he doing on this floor then? You lost, Tanner? Can’t read the numbers on the elevator?

Tanner grinned handsomely and stuck out his hand. “Hey, nice to meet you.”

Five stared at the manicured hand for a beat too long before offering his own. He shook it firmly. Very firmly.

“Five.”

When he didn’t expand on that introduction, there was a moment of awkwardness, before you broke in again.

“So, Tanner and I were just talking about the roof party next week. Are you going?”

“What roof party?” Five asked, slightly harsher than he had intended.

You sighed. “Didn’t you get the tenant newsletter?”

“We have a tenant newsletter?” he asked, genuinely confused.

You giggled and Five liked the sound of it. He grinned. Then stupid Tanner butted in again.

“Well, I know I’ll be there.”

“Great,” Five said in a way that meant anything but great.

You cleared your throat. “You want to come, Five? It might be fun. You know… have some drinks. Maybe talk to some people? Be social for once?”

Five didn’t like the way Tanner was smiling his big stupid grin in his direction, and he didn’t really appreciate your insinuation, either.

Five smiled a wide, dangerous smile. “Sorry. I’m busy that night.”

“I didn’t even tell you what night it was,” you retorted.

“I’m busy every night, turns out,” Five said, eyes narrowing.

You rolled your eyes. “Ok. Well, if you can find the time in your very busy schedule, please join us. It will be nice to have you there.”

If there had been anything in your voice that suggested you actually wanted him there or that you were sad he wasn’t joining you, Five couldn’t detect it. You sounded polite. Indifferent.

Five stared at your lips and he was overcome by the horrible sensation that he just might grab you and kiss you, right there in the hallway, and he couldn't think of anything worse.

“Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.” He looked at Tanner and nodded curtly.

“See you around,” Tanner replied as Five spun on his heel and strode back to his apartment.

See you around, Tanner. Hopefully in a body bag.

Five felt like he was going crazy. Which, let’s face it, he was no stranger to. He kept thinking about you. How you had tried… really tried… to get him to open up. Just a little. You hadn’t even wanted that much, really. Just a little something to prove he was the man you imagined him to be. Instead, he gave you nothing. Except an aching jaw and a marked up neck.

He had been close. When his eyes were closed and he kissed you, and he felt your body soften under his touch. When you had murmured his name against his throat and your fingers massaged the back of his neck. He almost cracked. Almost broke down and admitted to you that he wanted something more. Almost.

After that first time, when Five made you strip in the hallway, just to prove a point, and then you got the best of him, he was shook. At the time, he had thought maybe he would try and loosen up a little. But then the next day dawned, and along with it, all of his hang ups.

The truth was, neither of you knew the other that well. He had no idea what your favorite movie was, or where you grew up. He knew nothing about your family. And you knew nothing about his, except what was in the news. He didn’t even know what your place looked like. You could be the most annoying person on the planet, for all he knew. Although he doubted it.

But the fact that you had wanted to know him, even when he had given you no signs that there was anything in there worth knowing, was what was keeping him awake at night.

No one wanted to know him. Hell, even his own family kept their emotional distance most of the time. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Five closed himself off; he knew that. But somehow you saw through him, which was baffling.

On the night of the building roof party, Five stayed home. He thought about just going out to a bar and hanging out there, but he knew you were up there. You and fucking Tanner.

So, he sat there, listening to the faint thump of the bass through the walls and the distant tinkle of laughter, and stewed.

He imagined that big dumb ape putting his arm around you. Telling you jokes and making you laugh. Getting you another drink from the bar until you were nice and tipsy. Five knew what you were like when you were tipsy, that much he did know about you. It did not help matters.

“Fuck,” Five whispered out loud to no one, hitting his thigh with his fist, as he sat slumped on his couch.

After a couple of his own drinks, Five started to imagine worse things. Like Tanner plowing you against a wall. Or in the elevator. Making you moan. Making you come.

By the time he heard the music stop upstairs and the party winding down, Five was a wreck. The only reason he hadn’t gone charging up there to drag you back downstairs like a caveman was because he knew it was all his doing. It was his fault you were with Tanner. But that didn’t make him any less angry.

He leaned his forehead against his door and listened. He heard the elevator doors open. He heard your voice. And then… he heard Tanner’s deep one mixing with yours.

He couldn’t make out the words, but you were laughing. The voices were fading quickly, which meant you were walking towards your apartment. Together.

Five balled up his fists. His teeth ground together. His nostrils flared.

He held it together for a good five minutes or so, just standing there, fuming, with one hand on the doorknob. Until he snapped.

Stalking down the hallway, his eyes dark with anger, Five arrived outside your door. He took a breath and raised his fist, but came short of knocking. He didn’t want to give Tanner any chance at an exit.

With one blink, he was standing in your living room. Five had never been inside your apartment before. He took a brief look around. The floor plan was identical to his, only with a much more homey appearance, with artwork on the walls and throw pillows on the couch. From the looks of it, you liked the color blue.

There was no one in the living room or the kitchen. Just as the horrible realization that you must have been in the bedroom sunk in, Five saw you. You were coming out of the bathroom with a plush, white robe tied around you. You jumped when you saw him.

“Five!” you screamed. “Jesus, what the fuck are you doing here?”

When he didn’t answer, just stood there staring, you continued.

“How did you even get… fuck, you blinked into my apartment? Are you insane?”

“Probably,” he answered through labored breaths.

You shook your head and pointed at the door. “Please leave.”

“No,” he said. “Where is he?”

“Who?”

“You know who. Tanner. I know he came home with you.”

Your eyebrows raised in surprise. “Five… I don’t know what the hell–”

“Yes. You. Do,” he fumed. “Is he in the bedroom?”

“Wow,” you breathed out angrily. “Not that it’s any of your goddamn business, but no. He’s not here.”

“Bullshit,” he spat out. “I heard him walk you home.”

“Yeah, he did. He walked me home and left. Not an uncommon thing to do for a woman alone at night,” you explained, folding your arms across your chest.

Five blanched. He was trying to figure out if he believed you. He had been so sure. All of those scenarios he had dreamt up in his mind had seemed so plausible.

“He’s really not here?”

“No.”

His entire body started to relax and he unclenched his fists. The muscles in his jaw softened for the first time all night.

“Why do you even care, Five?” you asked him wearily. “You made it very clear that you wanted nothing to do with me.”

“I know.”

“You had your chance. Many, actually.”

“I know that, too.”

You sighed. “So, what? You’re jealous now?”

“Jealousy doesn’t begin to cover it.”

You paused. “You didn’t want me, but no one else can have me? Is that it?”

Five stared you down and nodded slowly. “Yep.”

“Fuck you,” you spat out. “I’ve moved on.”

“Why?”

You blinked at his question. “Why? Because you rejected me, Five. You fucked me and then refused to acknowledge any feelings whatsoever.” You smiled ruefully. “And that’s ok. That’s who you are, I get it. But trying to pull anything remotely real out of you is exhausting. It just wasn’t worth the effort anymore.”

Five nodded thoughtfully. Then he looked you in the eyes. “I have issues, I admit it.”

“Well, good. Admittance is the first step. But I’m not going to be your therapist, Five.”

“I don’t want you to be my therapist.”

You threw your hands in the air again. “Then what do you want?! I don’t understand!”

“I want you,” he stated simply.

You scoffed. “It’s too late,” you said. But your voice broke a little and your eyes skirted away.

He took a step towards you but you didn’t move. Another step and another, until he was standing so close you could smell the scent of bourbon and faded after-shave. You could see the tiny speckles in his green eyes.

“Is it too late?” he asked.

You nodded, but your breath caught in your throat, giving you away.

“I’m sorry,” he said and for the first time ever, you saw some of that exterior actually crumble away. “I want to try.”

“Why me? There’s plenty of women out there that would be happy to let you try on them.”

He paused. “Because you dared to call me out. You never backed down, even when I was horrible to you. You aren’t afraid of me. That doesn’t happen very often. And if it does, it usually doesn’t end well for the other person.”

“It didn’t end well for me, either.”

Five brushed his thumb over your cheek. “I’m sorry.”

You nodded. “Thank you.”

He smiled softly. “Does that mean you’ll give me another shot?”

“What about the age thing? That gap’s not going to change, you know.”

“I’m working on making peace with that.”

He started to lean in but you put a hand on his chest and he stopped. “You have to give me something, Five. Or I can’t believe you.”

He paused and you could tell he was terrified. The silence stretched on until he finally spoke. “Yeah, alright.” He audibly swallowed. “I hate being alone,” he whispered. “I’m used to it, but that’s not the same thing. I hate it.”

Your mouth opened to praise or reassure him, but instead you answered with your own confession. “I’m scared of being invisible. That no one will ever remember me.”

Five nodded his head in understanding, but he didn't try to assuage your fears. Instead, he kissed you. And you let him.

It was the first time he’d ever kissed you without some inner war going on inside himself. He didn’t hold back but he didn't try to possess you either. It was deep and passionate, and you brought your arms up to wrap around his shoulders while he threaded his fingers through your hair.

His taste was familiar and his body was the same, but there was something different. There was more than just a crack in the wall now. An entire brick had been eroded away and you could see inside fully for the first time. You weren’t sure what was there, but it was bright and warm. Like rays of sunshine making their way out from behind a dark cloud. The cloud was still there. But now so was the sun.

Just as you were losing yourself to each other, a sharp rap at your door jolted the two of you apart. You still had your arms around him as you both looked over at the door.

“Who the fuck is that?” he asked.

You shrugged. “Beats me.”

Five let go of you, marching towards the offender, not bothering to ask you if he could answer your door. You figured there was going to be a lot of those types of moments going forward. Where he was going to take charge without your permission. You smiled to yourself, not exactly minding.

Five unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. There stood Tanner with that playboy grin on his face. In his hand was a bottle of wine and two wine glasses.

“Hey, I figured if you were still up, we could continue the party in–”

His invitation was cut short as he realized it was not you he was talking to. Tanner blinked in confusion and then looked around him, as if he may have gotten the wrong apartment.

“Five?”

Five smiled back like the cat that got the cream. “Oh, hey Tanner, good to see you. What can I do for you?”

Tanner blinked again. Then he looked over Five’s shoulder at you and back to Five again. You were frozen, unable to speak. You just stood there, watching it all happen, with wide eyes and a mute mouth.

“Well, I… I wasn’t expecting you here, I guess,” Tanner stammered out, his annoyance starting to show through as he was finally starting to grasp the situation.

“Yeah, just kind of an impromptu visit, I guess you could say. We were just headed to bed, though, otherwise I’d invite you in.”

Tanner opened his mouth again, but Five intervened. He snatched the bottle of wine out of Tanner’s hand.

“Pinot grigio… perfect! Thanks, buddy,” Five snarked. “And thanks for stopping by.”

Then before poor Tanner could defend himself, or retrieve his bottle of wine, Five slammed the door directly in his dumbstruck face. Five flipped the deadbolt extra hard, just to make a point. He turned to face you, holding up the wine.

“Nice guy, that Tanner. He brought a gift.”

You didn’t say anything, but you brought your hand to your mouth in incredulity. Then you burst into laughter.

“Holy shit… Five… you’re terrible!” you chided between giggles.

Five gave a chuckle and he set the bottle on the coffee table. “I thought that had already been established.”

As your laughter started to die down, he sauntered back over to you. “Where were we?” he asked with a smirk.

“I think we were just going to bed,” you answered.

“Ah, yes,” he said, right before grabbing you and blinking you into your bedroom.

You were slammed against the wall as Five began to devour you, pinning your wrists above your head with both hands. You folded immediately, with no resistance.

“I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise I’ll be gentle,” he warned as his teeth scraped down your neck.

You moaned out loud and pushed your hips into him. “You know I don’t want gentle.”

A growl rose up from his chest as he sucked a red bruise on your shoulder, adorning it with a ring of his teeth marks.

“Here’s what I can promise,” he breathed out, holding your face firmly by grasping your chin. “If I see that living Ken doll hanging around you again, I’m not going to be so neighborly next time. Understand?”

You nodded with a small smile. “He’s kind of a jerk, anyway. He tried to touch my butt in the elevator.”

“Oh, he’s a dead man,” he hissed out between clenched teeth.

“Don’t worry, Five,” you said. “I only get naked in public for you.”

He let go of your face, but kept your wrists pinned to the wall. One corner of his mouth twitched up. “Let’s keep it that way. Or else a warning will have to be printed in the next tenant newsletter.”

“And what would it say?”

Five pressed himself against you, flattening you against the wall. His lips brushed against yours. “That you’re mine, and everyone else better stay the hell away,” he said, sending a shiver down your spine and a rush of warmth between your legs.

He kissed you again, in that same way that you had come to crave. His lips crashing against yours like he had limited time. Urgent and desperate.

He stopped again, searching your face. “I’m not fucking around. You wanted me to show myself to you, well this is it. When you are mine, you are mine. I won’t try to control you, but I also won’t share. I can’t help that.”

“I understand,” you said quietly, your chest heaving in anticipation. “And I’m ok with that.”

Five let out a long breath and closed his eyes, like he had finally relieved himself of a heavy burden he had been carrying. When he attacked you again, he didn’t stop. With one hand around your wrists over your head, his other ripped the belt off of your robe. He slipped his hand inside, his palm warm and smooth against your naked waist as he rested it there, just above your hip.

“Good girl, being ready for me,” he praised darkly next to your ear, before biting at your earlobe and shoving his knee between your thighs.

You gasped loudly, but it was cut off as his mouth covered yours again. All you could do was squirm against him as the hard bulge in his pants pressed against you.

“Do you know what you’ve been doing to me these last few weeks?” he asked in between ravenous kisses.

You whimpered as an answer, your head tipping back while he slammed his hips into you.

“I’ve been going insane,” he snarled.

Five let go of your wrists and shoved the robe off your body. You were left naked and exposed, your back flat against the wall, while Five boxed you in. Trapped.

His hand slipped between your legs, his fingers finding you already soaking wet for him. When he dragged them, slowly… lightly… through your slit, his eyes never left yours. You bit at your lower lip and writhed beneath his touch. When you tried to wrap your arms around his shoulders, he immediately withdrew. He grabbed your wrists and pinned them to your sides while you moaned pitifully.

“Not yet,” he warned you.

When he dropped to his knees, gazing up at you with a look so devastating you almost cried, he grabbed your hips in his hands. Having him kneeling before you, when it was usually the other way around, had you holding your breath.

He dove between your legs with no hesitation. The warmth of his mouth and the pressure of his tongue against your clit had you reeling and you let your head fall back against the wall with a shaky groan. You felt him smile against you before continuing to consume you, slowly and deliberately; bringing you to the edge before backing off again. He laughed when you bucked your hips into his face, prompting him to push you back against the wall and hold you there.

“Five,” you whined pitifully. “This is torture.”

“I know that, sweetheart,” he said, as if that were perfectly obvious.

When he licked a long, wet stripe over your clit with the flat of his tongue, you thought you were done for. But instead of giving you more, he stood up.

Panting loud and hard, you locked eyes with one another for just a moment, as if making sure you were both thinking the same thing. You must have been, because when you started to hurriedly unbutton Five’s shirt, he didn’t protest. He stiffened a little, you could see that, but he let you undress him. Another first.

When you tugged the sleeves off his arms and threw the shirt on the floor, you ran your hands down his firm chest. He didn’t back away or try to hold you down. He leaned in, bracing himself with a hand on the wall behind you.

He kissed you while his other arm wrapped around your waist and he drew you in with a hard jerk. His large bulge was pushing into your hip as he held you against him. You slid your palm over the straining crotch of his pants and he groaned into your mouth.

Five panted heavily and closed his eyes as you continued to rub your hand firmly over him. “Fuck,” he whispered. He opened his eyes and met yours. “On the bed,” he ordered gruffly.

Obeying, you crawled onto your double bed, leaning against the padded, fabric covered headboard. Your entire body; skin, muscles, blood, bones, had been ignited by Five. You were burning for him and you could hardly sit still.

Five was in no hurry. He took his time. Standing before you, with the most smug, casual smile on his face. He was loving the fact that you were dying for him. As you watched him, he never broke eye contact. When he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his fly, he did it methodically; enjoying your torment.

When he dropped his pants and boxers and stepped out of them, you sucked in a loud breath. You knew what was next. It was your turn to be on your knees. But just as you were about to move, Five shook his head.

“Uh-uh,” he said. “Stay right where you are.”

To your surprise, he climbed on the bed with you, on all fours, until he was hovering over you. He kissed you again, biting at your lips before pulling away. He gave you a crooked smile and looked from your face to the top of the headboard and back again.

“You’re going to need to hold onto something.”

You let out a short, quiet laugh but then you realized he wasn’t kidding. He was waiting for you to complete his instructions. What you really wanted to do was wrap your entire body around him. But he was withholding himself from being touched at the moment. With a smirk, you reached behind you and grabbed onto the top of the headboard.

Five nodded in appreciation before taking your hips and dragging your forcefully towards him as he kneeled on the bed between your legs. You squealed as your body jerked forwards, but you kept your hold on the headboard. He leaned over you, positioning himself at your entrance while he covered your hands with his own. Then, with another cocky smile, he slammed his cock inside you.

You cried out at the same time that he let out a loud groan. Your body was shoved back again, and you lifted your legs so that your thighs were around his hips. He looked down on you, his eyes closing blissfully before opening again. His hair hung in strands over his eyes, with his chest rapidly rising and falling.

While you both braced yourself with the headboard, Five began pounding into you. Each thrust moved your body back and forth, with his dick penetrating you roughly and fully each time. You couldn’t even moan or scream, you could only gasp or bite down on your bottom lip.

Five emitted soft, guttural noises from his throat, his eyes alternating from watching you intently and fluttering shut. His mouth hung open as he panted loudly.

“God, you are worth every second of the torment you have put me through,” Five hissed.

“Five, I didn’t–”

He slammed into you again, cutting your words off by making you whine. “I don’t care.” He was using all of his strength to fuck you as hard as possible. “Don’t ever fucking do that again.”

“Five,” you managed to get out in between gulps of air. “It’s so… oh god… you’re so…“ Your sentence trailed off before you could finish, your brain wasn’t even functioning properly.

He gave one more rough drive into you before stopping, his breath ragged. He smiled, teasingly. “So, what, honey? Tell me.”

You shook your head and licked your lips. Your arms were aching and your pussy stung from being stretched and fucked all to pieces. “So fucking good,” you rasped out. “Keep going.”

Five let out a quiet chuckle before letting go of the headboard, freeing your hands as well. You didn’t move because you weren’t sure what his game plan was. When he lowered himself, pressing his chest to yours and smoothing your hair gently with his hand, he kissed the side of your jaw.

He was still buried fully inside of you, but he switched from hard banging to rocking gently into you. He kissed your neck and cheeks, his dark hair softly grazing your face. You let go of the headboard and slowly moved your arms around him, placing your palms firmly against his back.

He didn’t object or make any comment, so you held him tighter. You brought your legs up around his waist and started to move your body with his. Five lifted his head, locking eyes with you. You tentatively placed a hand on the back of his neck, caressing it with your fingertips as you gazed into his eyes.

“Is this ok?” he asked, a look of genuine concern written on his face.

It wasn’t lost on you that he had never asked for permission before pounding violently into you every time. The intimacy was what made him ask for consent. You nodded with a small smile and he returned it with his own.

When he kissed you, it was the same passionate, desperate way he always kissed you, but his body wasn’t rigid and tense like he was in fight or flight mode. He relaxed into you. The muscles in his shoulders and back began to soften. He felt pliable, almost liquid, compared to how you had known him before.

His rhythm had slowed, but he was still fucking you raw and deeply; pushing his entire cock inside of you before pulling back and easing it in again. Each drag through your tight core had you on the edge again.

You broke away from his kisses, pressing your fingers into his shoulders and brushing your cheek against his.

“You don’t have to be alone if you don’t want to be, Five,” you whispered. “I’m here.”

He gave a small moan and pressed his face into the side of your neck. You felt him nod.

“You are not invisible,” he told you, his lips gliding over your skin. “And I sure as hell remember everything about you.” His forehead came to rest on yours, his eyes closing with a sigh.

You came simultaneously, with both of you clinging to the other while you cried out his name and he cursed in growls and hisses close to your ear. He was shaking and trembling in your arms, the muscles that had just been softening under your touch seizing up again and spasming against you.

When you loosened your legs from around his waist and Five pulled out, he was breathing hard and fast. He gave you another kiss before collapsing next to you. After another minute of trying to catch your breath, you realized he had not said anything or looked you in the eye again. He was still there, his body touching you, but you could feel him changing again. Not like before, when it was immediate regret and self-loathing. More like confusion. He was paralyzed with uncertainty.

Five didn’t protest, though, when you took his hand and pulled his arm over your side and around to your front, your back flush with his chest. You threaded your fingers through his as he molded his body to yours. You were both damp and sticky with sweat and cum, but it didn’t matter. After a few moments, you felt Five press his face into your hair.

“I don’t know how to do this part,” he said softly with a small laugh.

“That’s ok,” you answered, bringing his hand up and kissing his knuckles. “I do.”

There was a pause and he shifted a bit behind you.

“So… what? We just lie here like this?”

You giggled. “Yeah, that’s the idea. Why? You got somewhere else to be?”

Five snorted. “No.”

“I promise I won’t keep you hostage. Just… relax for a minute.”

Your thumb rubbed back and forth across the back of his hand. After a minute, he kissed your shoulder. “This is kind of nice.”

“See?”

Another few minutes went by without either of you speaking. Five inhaled the scent of your hair and you traced your fingers over his arms. When you felt his breathing become slower and deeper behind you, you whispered to him.

“Are you falling asleep back there?”

“Hmm? No,” he slurred.

You smiled and loosened your grip on his hand, inching away. His arm dragged reluctantly off of you. He started to sit up, but you patted his shoulder.

“No, stay. Just hang on a second.”

Five looked hesitant, but he let you pull back the covers on the bed and he moved over so he could make room for you. Then you turned out the light on the nightstand and curled up against him. This time, he pulled you in with no prompting, wrapping his arms around you while you laid your head on his chest. You let out a long, contented sigh and he kissed your temple.

“Is this going to be weird in the morning?” he asked sincerely.

“I don’t know,” you said honestly. “I don’t think so, though.”

Five was thoughtful for a second and then he raised your face up with a hand on your chin and kissed you softly. He traced his fingers lightly down your cheek. “You really must have made me crazy, because I don’t think it will be either.”

You kissed him again before snuggling deeper into his arms while he stroked your hair. Five laid there, listening to the sound of your breathing and felt himself starting to drift off again. Before he fell asleep, he thought about everything he wanted to know about you. In the morning he would start with breakfast foods. Did you like pancakes or eggs? Coffee or tea? Once he knew, he would make them for you. That seemed like a good start.

Then you two would go from there.

You hadn’t meant for it to get this far. The actual assignment and the reason that got you into this mess in the first place had ended weeks ago. And, yet, here you were; slumped in a chair in the back corner of a shadowy bar, with a black hoodie pulled over your head. The beer in the glass in front of you had barely been touched. You needed to stay laser focused.

When he walked in, you sunk down in your seat a little more, plastering yourself against the wall next to you, your pulse quickening. Not that he even glanced in your direction. He headed straight for the third stool at the bar, just like always. He nodded familiarly to the bartender, who greeted him and immediately placed a glass of amber-colored liquid in front of him.

Maker’s Mark Kentucky bourbon. Neat, you recited in your head. Although, sometimes it was a single malt scotch. Not tonight, though. Tonight was bourbon.

He wouldn’t talk to anyone, except maybe a few words with the bartender. He’d have two, maybe three drinks, leave cash on the bar before he left, and then slip out into the night again. He’d walk the few blocks to his apartment and disappear inside. Always alone.

A few times some interested women had tried to sidle up to him, flirting shamelessly in an attempt to capture his attention. He would be polite, but obviously uninterested, until they gave up and moved on. Just thinking about those women make your skin prickle.

You don’t even know, you would seethe to them inside your head. You don’t even know how special he is.

You didn’t even know what you would do if he took up one of those offers with a woman. Probably something extremely embarrassing. But luckily, that hadn’t happened under your watch. Yet.

And now, as you studied his mannerisms that you already had memorized and would replay in your sleep later, you thought about how all of this happened. You used to be a normal, fully-functioning, logical and rational person. A professional, above all else.

But then your obsession with Five Hargreeves began, and all of that rationality flew out the window.

*****************

You stared at the file your superior had just slapped on the desk in front of you. When you saw the name, you looked up.

“Is this a joke?” you asked, incredulously.

Your boss shook his head. “Not a joke. Sorry, but the order comes from above.” He pointed at the ceiling.

You scoffed. “This is insane. You realize this is insane, right?”

Your boss nodded and sighed. “I understand your hesitation—”

“Hesitation?” you said, standing up to face him. “You want me to tail Five Fucking Hargreeves for two weeks, write up a report, and turn it in like he’s… like he’s…” you trailed off, unable to come up with the right word. Normal? Ordinary? Sane?

“A field agent,” your boss finished for you. “He’s subject to the same rules as every other Commission agent.”

You barked out a sarcastic laugh. “That’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard. Come on, what’s this really about?”

Your boss looked around and then leaned in, lowering his voice. “All right, look. I don’t know what the story is, ok? All I know is that the big boss wants a detailed report on his whereabouts in and out of headquarters. Maybe they think he’s up to something, I don’t know. But it’s not up to me. And you’re the best liaison I’ve got.”

The Interdepartmental Liaison Division, or ILD, was the branch of the Commission that worked to make sure all employees were adhering to the rules and regulations of the company. They made observations and reported back to the administrators. In short, they were snitches. And everyone hated them.

Anytime someone from the ILD would walk down the halls of headquarters, people scattered like bugs. No one wanted to be watched or reported on, regardless of whether they were following the rules or not. The majority of the staff didn’t trust the administration anyway, so having any attention drawn to yourself was usually not a good thing.

Because of this, the liaisons learned to be stealthy. They were lurkers in the shadows. Flies on the walls. They tracked and sniffed out rumors, and sometimes bought their information from less scrupulous employees.

You were the ILD’s best agent, hands down.

It’s not like you loved ratting on your co-workers, but just like everyone else in that building, you weren’t really given a choice. And if you were destined to that department, you might as well excel at the job. The more of an asset you were to the company, the less corporate bullshit you had to deal with.

Some employees, you knew, were favored more than others, and had certain privileges that others did not. There were people that were exempt from the rules everyone else had to follow. You certainly thought that out of anyone, Five Hargreeves, was one of the privileged few.

Having only been at the Commission for a little over a year, you were unsure of how and when Five arrived here. But given your expertise at eavesdropping, you knew he’d worked here a few different times. And, apparently, in a couple different bodies.

This time around, Five was back after reportedly saving the world more than once. But, due to lack of options and overall restlessness, he decided to come back. You heard he’d demanded several perks that would normally never be agreed to. But, for him, they were.

You knew the demands included, but weren’t limited to: no tracking chip, no on-site residence, no partner. That, on top of his natural ability to teleport, made him nearly impossible to keep tabs on.

You’d seen him around headquarters, though. In your daily wanderings and assigned tracking, you crossed his path a few times. He never paid you any notice and you barely had enough time to contemplate any feelings about him one way or another. But what you did notice was how everyone else reacted in his presence.

ILD agents were given a wide berth, but not in the same way that Five was. When he stalked down the halls of headquarters… and that’s what he did; stalked… no one stood in his way. With his head down, eyes focused in front of him, you weren’t even sure he was aware of the reaction he received.

Conversations turned to whispers, groups dispersed, stares were blatantly averted. Then, when he passed and was out of sight again, things returned to normal.

During one of your encounters with Five, you were so enrapt in everyone else’s behavior that you didn’t bother to change yours. While you continued on your path down the hallway, he continued along his, going the opposite way. You didn’t avoid eye contact or slow your stride. Why should you? He was only a person.

As you passed one another, you saw the tiniest flick of his eyes in your direction. Anyone else probably would’ve missed it. It was there and then it wasn’t, and then he was on his way to his destination and you were on your way to yours. You barely thought about him after that.

“Fine,” you snapped back at your boss, swiping the file off your desk. “But if he gets any wind that I’m tailing him and reporting back, it’s going to be both of our heads.”

Your boss nodded, looking a little ashen. “I’m fully aware. Another reason I’m putting you on the job. Less chance that I get caught in the crosshairs.”

You’d stayed up late studying what you could of Five’s file. There wasn’t much, all things considered. You were fairly certain a lot of information had been left out. It was clear, though, that the higher-ups in the Commission were curious about Five’s personal life. They hated that they couldn’t track him off the clock, or know who he spoke to outside of headquarters. They wanted to know anything and everything, no matter how small of a detail. And you were supposed to give all of this to them.

Without him knowing, of course.

During your time in the ILD, you had designed a set of rules for yourself that you always adhered to:

Report all verified facts truthfully

Be respectful of the subject’s physical boundaries (aka – no casing locker rooms, bathrooms, etc)

Never make it personal

The next day, you prepared to start your investigation. You weren’t nervous, even though you knew how dangerous he was. But you were used to dangerous people. The entire building was full of them.

Like all field agents at the Commission, Five didn’t have an office. Agents came and went according to their assignments. When they weren’t in the field, they were at home. For all others except for Five, that meant one of the drab, identical homes provided by the company and situated on headquarters’ campus.

Five was allowed to live wherever and whenever he desired, and according to the file, that was his own apartment in the city in the year 2026. Once he was done with a job, he’d come back to headquarters, fill out whatever paperwork was required, and leave again. He was also the only agent that was allowed to use a briefcase for personal reasons.

Your plan was to catch him when he returned from an assignment and then use a briefcase to follow him to his home and observe his actions there. The Commission was providing the whereabouts of the apartment and the case would already be programmed to take you there. There was no need to track him on a job; the switchboard operators took care of that. And while the Infinite Switchboard could be used for outside tracking as well, there were rules against that. And the Commission loved their rules.

You waited around headquarters, making it look like you were busy doing various tasks, and even tracking some of the other employees to report on later. You kept a close eye out for Five, though, and when you saw him appear out of nowhere and head to the briefcase room, you were on high alert.

Five returned the case he’d used for the mission, signed a few documents, nodded once to the woman that worked the room, and grabbed a new case. Without even looking up, he was gone again. Home, you assumed.

You followed directly behind him, appearing via your own briefcase in 2026. It was nighttime and the city was alive with the sounds of traffic, sirens, and voices from all around. The buildings, store fronts, and streets were lit up with bright white and neon lights. You let your eyes adjust and blinked to clear your head from the time jump.

You saw him, crossing the street, and heading into the tall, multi-story apartment building on the other side. You quickly followed, making sure not to get run over in the process, and let Five slip inside the main door. After a few seconds, you made your way there. The front door was glass and you could see a set of stairs leading to various floors above. There was a list of names next to buzzers to your right. You scanned them, but none of them read “Hargreeves” or “Five”.

You pondered the building thoughtfully and took a look around. Across the street, where you had originally appeared, was another tall apartment building. This one, however, was under construction, with scaffolding all around the outside walls. It didn’t look like it was occupied at the moment.

You scanned the windows above you and then the darkened ones of the empty building across the street. If you got lucky, it was possible that Five’s apartment window would be visible from the roof of the other building. Chances were slim, but it was worth a shot, anyway.

Unlike Five’s ability to blink through space, the briefcases could only blink through time. So, that meant any tracking was going to have to be done on foot. After climbing ten stories, carrying that damned case, and trying to suck air into your burning lungs, you arrived at the door to the roof. The door was already propped open, so you headed outside.

The night was cool but not cold, and the city was much quieter from that height. You were alone up there, and it was dark, but you clutched the briefcase tighter, knowing that if anyone tried to jump you, you could just blip your way back to headquarters.

Approaching the ledge of the roof, you looked out onto Five’s building. You had a small bag with you that contained your notebook for recording and a pair of high-powered binoculars. Taking them out, you did a cursory scan of the apartments that had lights on and blinds open. Then you began to look a little closer. Every so often, another light would pop on, showing you the insides of a person’s home.

Then, you saw it. A corner window on the sixth floor. Someone clicked a floor lamp on and passed by the window, and sure enough, you saw the familiar image of Five Hargreeves in perfect view, backlit by the lamp he had just turned on. There were no blinds or curtains, or at least there weren’t any that he closed.

You watched him, with his face much closer than you’d ever seen it before, thanks to the binoculars. You weren’t sure what you had expected, but he looked decidedly normal. Like he was just a man, returning home from a day at work, and relaxing for the evening. He threw his coat over a clean, if slightly beat up sofa, and loosened his tie. He had a beer in his hand that he must have grabbed from the kitchen on the way in. The Commission briefcase sat next to him on the floor.

You saw him lean back, take a drink of the beer, and pick up the TV remote on the table in front of him. You couldn’t see the screen from your position, but the flickering lights of the television illuminated his face. He flipped channels until he must have found something he was interested in, and set the remote down again. Then, he slumped further down in his seat and closed his eyes.

Lowering the binoculars, you took a look around you. The roof was small, but secluded, and sheltered from any major wind or rain that may occur. There was a folding chair in the corner that looked halfway decent. You nodded to yourself. This would make a good enough place for a stakeout.

For the next week, you developed a routine. In the mornings, you would travel back to your apartment at headquarters; shower, eat, and sleep a little. Then, you would type up the information you collected in preparation for the report you’d have to turn in. Not that there had been much to report.

As it turned out, Five was a pretty simple person. He worked, came home, ate, and slept like most other people. He didn’t seem to have any friends or people he hung around with. Once in a while one of his family members would come by his apartment to visit for a short while. You knew who they were from Five’s file. Usually it was his brother, Klaus. But once it was Diego, although he didn’t stay for very long.

On three occasions, Five left his apartment building and walked two blocks south to a dive bar. When he did that, you had to run down the stairs of your building, and follow him at a reasonable distance while trying not to gasp loudly for air and draw attention to yourself.

The bar was called O’Malleys and the second L of the sign above the door had fallen off some time ago. You couldn’t follow him inside without being discovered, since the place was too small and he might recognize you from the Commission, so you waited around in the shadows until he emerged an hour or so later and made his way back to his apartment again.

When you turned in your report at the end of the first week, your boss looked it over.

“It doesn’t say anything about mental status in here,” he said.

You knew that was something the Commission always wanted to know. They wanted to make sure their agents weren’t cracking up from the pressure. Or getting too soft.

“Not much to report,” you said with a shrug. “I don’t think the guy has any emotions, to be honest. Except maybe perpetual irritation.”

“Hmmm,” your boss said with a snort. “Well, I guess they get what they get, then.”

On the ninth day of tracking Five Hargreeves, you still hadn’t witnessed anything groundbreaking. Although, you had started to become a little enthralled with his general dark and brooding demeanor. And, while you had never paid much attention to him before this assignment, you had started to notice just how good looking he was.

With that chiseled face and sharp, green eyes framed by dark lashes, and a body that was toned and lean from years of training and fighting, it was impossible not to notice. All of those hours you spent staring at his face from behind your binoculars were getting to you. You saw that face even in your dreams.

So, when you watched Five walk into his apartment after an assignment that ninth night, you expected to see the same determined and fierce face. But even from a distance, before you could pick up your binoculars, you could see something was different. He held himself differently and his normal purposeful stride was off. You saw him enter the building and then you waited the minute or so it took for him to climb the stairs and get to his apartment. When the light clicked on, you zoomed in on him as he sat down on his couch. He had skipped grabbing a beer on his way in.

The hardened ferocity and irritability were gone. The stony, impassive gaze was gone. Even the slight amusement that would sometimes flicker over his lips while he watched some show, or when his family came to visit, was gone.

There was a different look now. Pain.

You actually let out a little gasp when you saw it. It was like a completely different person had taken over the only other version of Five you had seen up to that point. His facial features had softened and his eyes were devoid of their usual spark. There was a crease between his brows that wasn’t there from annoyance or anger. Instead of the impenetrable Five Hargreeves that you had been tracking, there was a sad and defeated man in his place.

You saw him flop onto the couch, like his body weighed a thousand pounds, and he rested his elbows on his knees. He dragged both hands through his hair and then down his face. And then he just stayed like that for a few minutes; with his head in his hands. When he finally raised his head again, you had expected to see signs of tears. But there weren’t any. Just that hollow, far-away look of a man beaten down by life.

After several more minutes of Five staring forlornly at nothing in front of him, he suddenly stood up. He grabbed his coat off the back of the couch and headed for the door. When you saw him emerge onto the street below, he looked like his old self again. Strong, persistent, formidable. You knew by the direction he was walking that he was headed to O’Malley’s. He turned a corner and then he was gone.

Instead of dashing down the stairs like you usually did, you sat back in your chair, deep in thought.

You’d never in a million years have guessed that Five could look so broken like that. And what had made him break? You knew he’d seen and done a hundred terrible things in his lifetime, but as far as you knew, he’d always taken everything in stride. Nothing seemed to faze him.

Apparently, you’d been wrong.

You couldn’t stop thinking about him after that. Even when you weren’t tailing him, you were thinking of him. Of the pain on his face and how sad, but also beautiful, he’d looked.

As you wrote out your next report, and you came to the section on mental status, your fingers lingered over the typewriter keys; hovering. This change in demeanor you witnessed is what the admins upstairs wanted to know about. This would have been a juicy detail for them to latch onto.

You assumed that Five would have rather died than to have that side of him revealed to anyone, let alone the sharks at the Commission. But you also had your rules, and number one was to report all facts truthfully. And number three was to never make it personal.

Well, fuck the rules. I made them, I can break them if I want.

You typed “Mental status: unremarkable/unchanged” and finished the report. You smiled to yourself, because now it was official: you knew a secret about Five Hargreeves that no one else in that building did. Just that small little notion was enough to send a tingle down your spine.

As the rest of the second week went on, you became more and more consumed with Five. You still watched him through your binoculars and followed him to the bar and to anywhere else he wandered. But now, you studied him with so much more intensity. You watched his face for any flicker of emotion. You studied his body language and the way he moved and spoke.

The more you watched, the more you started to notice. A tiny upturn of the corner of his mouth when a small child on the street laughed joyfully. The way his jaw clenched with annoyance when having to endure a particularly chatty person. How he rolled his shoulders back, just slightly, in preparation for anything he was gearing up to do. The insanely attractive way he’d rake his hand through his hair while in thought or with frustration.

When his brother Klaus would visit, Five’s tightly wound stature seemed to relax somewhat. And while much of their visits were spent with Klaus talking and gesturing like he was in a heated game of charades, and Five rolling his eyes and shooting back with clipped rebuttals, the interaction looked natural and comfortable. When Klaus would leave and Five would shut the door behind him, he always smiled to himself; just a little.

One night he fell asleep sitting up on the couch and you watched him as he breathed deeply with his eyes closed and his lashes fanning over his cheekbones. You watched him sleep for nearly an hour until he woke with a start, breathing hard and looking around in a panic. Then he rubbed his eyes, turned the light off, and went into his bedroom for the night.

You wanted so badly to follow him into that bedroom, and if you had any way to do it without getting caught, you would have.

You started to imagine scenarios where the two of you were together. In bed in your apartment, you’d lie there and think of all the ways those hands you’d studied for hours on end could touch you. You were dying to see him up close and personal, without the aid of binoculars. You wanted to know what his skin felt like and how his hair would feel if you ran your fingers through it, and how he smelled.

You’d never seen him with a woman but you had a feeling that intensity he carried around with him would transfer over to any relationship he may have. And you were positive he fucked like a God. Of course, that was speculative, but you knew him better than anyone else at this point, so it seemed reasonable.

More than anything, though, you wanted to know him when he was at his worst. You imagined being the only one that could comfort him in his time of need. You wanted to be who he came to when he needed someone.

It was getting dangerous; you knew that. You were most definitely breaking your number three rule of not making it personal. But it was so hard to stop. You just wanted to know more and more about him. You started shortening your time at your own apartment so you could hang around headquarters longer, in the hopes of catching him in the halls between assignments.

When you would see him in the building, your breath would catch in your throat and your entire body would flood with heat. Your initial instinct was to turn away or shrink into the shadows, but you would force yourself to watch as he strode by. You couldn’t risk missing anything.

On one of those occasions, you had been so flustered that you dropped the small purse you’d been holding and the contents spilled out onto the floor. There wasn’t much in there; just some cash and cards, your I.D. and some lip balm. You saw Five glance over in your direction as you cursed and stooped down to scoop up your items. When you stood back up again, he was gone.

When you turned in your report at the end of the second week, your boss looked it over with a frown and then sighed.

“Alright, well, that’s it then,” he said casually.

“What’s what?” you asked.

He gestured to the paper. “Two weeks of being observed by our best liaison and nothing of note. That’ll be good enough for administration. For now, anyway.”

You chewed at your bottom lip, trying to hide your anxiety. “What do you mean? My assignment is finished?”

Your boss nodded. “Yep. Good work, though. You never even got caught, which is pretty impressive.” He took another file off his desk and handed it to you. “Here’s your next one.”

You stared at the file but you didn’t take it from him. Instead, you started internally panicking. “You know, two weeks isn’t really a long time in the scheme of things. Especially when we’re talking about Hargreeves. The man is practically a ghost. If they want more intel, I just need more time.”

“Nah,” your boss said with a shake of his head. “What you got is fine. If they want more, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, take this one.” He shoved the new file toward you again.

As you left the ILD, file folder in hand, you could feel your palms growing clammy with anxiousness.

I won’t be able to see him every day now. What if I don’t see him ever again? I don’t think I can do this.

Your mild panic attack was in full swing when you happened to catch Five leaving the briefcase room. You stopped in your tracks, eyes wide, as he walked directly across your path. As usual, he didn’t look up, but this time you could see why.

He was covered in blood. Red splatters painted his face and hair and the crisp white collar of his dress shirt. His shoes left bloody footprints in his wake. And he was pissed. If you had seen other workers scurry out of his way before, that was nothing. People were practically diving out of the way, ready to throw themselves through windows if necessary. Anything to avoid a run in with Five.

With his hands balled into fists and a permanent snarl on his face, he looked like some sort of feral storybook beast after ransacking a small village.

Fuck.

You were the only one that didn’t turn their back and walk away. Instead, you followed him with your eyes, observing every movement with your heart in your throat. As he passed by, you caught the scent of sweat, copper, and something that reminded you of ocean air. When he turned the corner at the next hallway, you let out a long release of the breath you’d been holding.

While you stood there, trying to pull yourself together, you saw the blood-stained footprints on the tile, marking Five’s path through the building. You wondered why he wasn’t just going back to his apartment, but maybe he had to turn right back around and go out on another job. Or maybe he had to report back to someone first. That could’ve been the reason he was in such a rage, among other things. You had come to learn that Five hated the bureaucratic bullshit of paperwork.

Trying to look as casual as possible, and using your skills as a liaison, you strolled in the same direction as the footprints. When you rounded the same corner that Five had taken, you saw where they were leading. To the locker room.

You hung back, trying to blend into your surroundings and peruse the file you had in your hands, as you decided your next move. A handful of men streamed out of the locker room, a couple still only half-dressed, looking grateful they’d escaped unscathed. After a few minutes, you assumed Five would remain in there by himself, since word would have traveled fast and no one wanted to take the chance on meeting him face to face in such intimate quarters.

There was only one rule left out of three and you were about to break it.

Be respectful of the subject’s physical boundaries.

After scanning the area around you, you moved forward before you lost your nerve. You got to the men’s locker room, paused with your hand on the door, and then slipped inside. The room was pretty basic, as all things at headquarters were, with a few aisles of metal lockers and some benches for changing. Off to the right were the showers.

The locker area was empty and you could hear water running in the other room. On one of the benches nearby by was a pile of clothes. A suit, by the looks of it. As you got closer, making sure to walk extra lightly, you could see the suit, shirt, and shoes were covered in a splatter of blood. The blood was dry now, and it had turned a dark burgundy on the collar and cuffs of the white dress shirt.

You stared at the pile for a minute. Then, looking around you, you picked up the shirt. It was still warm from Five’s body and you caressed the fabric a little between your fingers. Then you raised it to your face and brushed it across your cheek. It was soft and smelled like the same intoxicating combination that you had noticed when he’d walked past you, only stronger. You took a deep breath and closed your eyes.

This is bad. But I don’t care.

You knew you were on limited time, so you reluctantly set the shirt down on the bench, being sure to place it in the exact same spot. You turned to leave, but the sound of running water caught your attention again.

I shouldn’t but…

Your desire to sneak a look was stronger than any scruples you had, and so you made you way stealthily toward the shower room. You held onto the corner of the doorway while you peeked your head around. The showers stalls were small and made of white tile with an opaque shower curtain to close for privacy.

Five was the only one in there, so you knew right away which stall he was in. You could see his feet beneath the curtain. The water running into the drain was tinged a slight pink as the blood washed off his body. Even though the curtain was pulled closed, there was a small opening where it didn’t quite meet the wall. You craned your neck to get just the right angle.

When you saw him, you put a hand over your mouth to cover your gasp. He was facing away from you, toward the shower stream, but you could see his entire body. Or, at least, the back side of it.

He was so beautiful you wanted to cry. Like a marble statue with a perfect ass. There were a few scars that were visible across his back and one on his shoulder. His dark hair was wet and he used a hand to slick it back off his forehead. His shoulders rose and fell with his heavy breathing as he dealt with whatever anger or frustration he was feeling.

You knew you had to go. It was just a matter of time before someone walked in or Five saw you. But you couldn’t look away. It was impossible. Then you saw him lean against the side wall of the shower, his eyes closed, and sink to the floor, his knees drawn to his chest. He put his head in his hands, just like the time you’d seen him in his apartment, and he let the water run over him in sheets.

You took the tiniest step forward, like you were going to go to him, but you caught yourself. As much as it broke your heart to see him like that, there was no way you could intervene. So, you just stood there, helpless, as this hard, strong, and ferocious man tried to come to grips with whatever nightmare he was forced to live with.

I wish I could help you. I wish I could be with you. I wish you were mine.

Five eventually stood back up and turned the water off. At that moment, you made a quick turn to leave as quietly and as quickly as you could. On your way out, you smashed your knee into the corner of one of the benches. It hurt like a motherfucker, but you had to stifle your cry and hobble out of there before Five realized you’d been there.

Once you were back outside, you whimpered and rubbed at your knee. That was definitely going to leave a mark. No one was around, luckily, so you walked back down the hallway, looking as innocent as possible, and blended into the daily crowd of Commission employees.

The next day, when you walked into the ILD, you approached your desk and found a tube of lip balm lying in the middle. It was the same type that you had lost when all of your things had spilled out of your purse in the hallway. But this one was brand new. Vanilla Honey. The flavor you always used.

You looked around but you were the first one in that morning and there was no one else there. You frowned and slipped it into your pocket. You’d ask about it later when your other coworkers came in.

Days passed and then weeks. You did your job as required and reported on anyone you were assigned to. You typed up your reports with professionalism and talked with your boss and coworkers. But it was Five that always occupied every moment of your days and nights. Any down time you had was spent following him or thinking about him. Five Hargreeves was your obsession and you couldn’t seem to stop.

You started stealing briefcases so that you could follow him to his home again. You would plant yourself at O’Malley’s to wait for him to come in, so you could watch him from the corner. He never saw you and he always left without even a glance in your general direction.

At work, he came and went as usual, with folks scattering and parting like the Red Sea whenever he walked by. To everyone else, he was a dangerous weapon just waiting to explode, but to you he was much more than that. You’d seen his pain and his sadness. You knew how lonely his life was. And yet, you had to keep all of that to yourself.

One night, when you got home from work, you noticed that the flower planter on the porch looked brighter and perkier than normal. You’d been neglecting its care lately, since you’d been preoccupied with Five. You checked the soil with your finger and found it was wet. It hadn’t rained in days.

You assumed one of your neighbors had come by to help out your poor, ailing plant. Probably Janet next door; she was always out tending to her own garden. You’d have to thank her the next time you saw her.

Now, tonight, you were back at O’Malley’s, with another stolen briefcase, stalking a man that didn’t know you existed. Knowing full well that getting caught by the Commission, or Five, would put you in serious danger.

Five finished his bourbon, setting the glass on the bar top with a quiet clink. You waited for him to flag the bartender down for another round, like he always did, but instead he threw a few bills on the bar top and slid off his stool. He headed to the door and left without a look back.

You started to scramble for your things. You hadn’t been prepared for him to leave this soon. You rummaged around in your pocket for enough money to pay for your beer and left it on the table. Then you grabbed the briefcase and hurried outside.

Outside, in the crisp night air, you looked to your left, which was the direction Five’s apartment was. You didn’t see him anywhere along the sidewalk and so you turned to your right. There he was, with his unmistakable form and stride, about a block ahead of you. It was odd he would be going somewhere else instead of home, so you were definitely curious. You followed in the same direction.

After two more blocks, you closed the gap somewhat and were now closer. But not too close, of course. You watched with confusion as Five slowed at an alley that intersected two tall buildings and turned the corner, disappearing from view.

You stopped, not knowing what to do. The smart thing would be to just leave and go home. But there was no way you’d be able to leave without knowing what he was up to. Slowly, you approached the entrance between the buildings. You glanced around the corner and saw only shadows. You heard no footsteps or voices, either.

Steeling yourself and taking a deep breath, you crept into the alleyway. There was a large dumpster against one of the walls, and you hid the briefcase behind it for safekeeping. Maybe that was stupid, and left you no way to escape, but it would also make you clumsier by carrying it.

You made your way deeper into the alley. There was still no sign of anyone and you were starting to feel uneasy. Five must have blinked away somewhere after he turned the corner. You were disappointed, but you had to get going. When you made your way back to the dumpster, you reached behind it and felt nothing. Confused, you crouched down and peered closer to the dirty ground. Still nothing. The briefcase was gone.

Holy shit. This is really, really bad.

Then you heard a voice from behind you.

“Lose something, agent?”

You spun around, yelping with surprise, and came face to face with Five Hargreeves. He was standing there, your briefcase in his hand, and his head tilted slightly to the side. His eyes flashed with anger and your pulse pounded in your ears.

“What? No. No, I—” you stuttered.

He cut you off. “Save it.” He smiled ruefully. “I know all about you, Madam Liaison.”

“I’m only doing my job,” you answered, doing your best to stand tall and not let your hands shake. He was staring at you so intently, though, that your entire body was in danger of collapsing to the ground.

Five nodded, thoughtfully. “I know that.”  He took a step closer to you. “The thing is… you turned that report in over a month ago. And yet, here you are.” His voice was calm. Smooth. “Why is that?”

You swallowed. The faint moonlight that was breaking through the clouds above illuminated one side of his face. You pulled the hood of your sweatshirt off your head in an attempt to appear less stalkerish.

“They wanted more intel on you,” you lied. “They weren’t satisfied with the initial report.”

One side of Five’s mouth curled up and he stepped closer to you again. He shook his head. “You do realize I’m not an idiot, right? That I’m pretty fucking good at stalking people myself?”

“I wasn’t stalking,” you lied again. “I’m a liaison, it’s my job, I—”

He closed in on you, grabbing your arm, but not roughly. This was the first time you’d been this close to him and the warmth of his hand on your arm had your lips trembling.

“Stop with the lies,” Five said, cutting you off again. He studied your face, intensely as always, and his gaze moved from your eyes to your lips. His voice softened. “I know who you are.”

Your heart rate skyrocketed and you were starting to break out in a sweat as the realization that Five had been onto you this whole time washed over you. You tried desperately to maintain your dignity. You held your head up.

“And who am I?” you asked, as haughtily as you could manage.

Five broke into a grin. He was still holding onto your arm. “I know you’re the best liaison in the ILD. I know you live alone and don’t have many friends. I know you like vanilla honey lip balm and Sam Adams Cherry Wheat beer, and that you’re a shit gardener. And I know you’re either really brave or really stupid for stealing cases from headquarters.” He paused, still staring. “How’d I do?”

Your eyes widened and your heart thumped wildly against your ribs. You wanted to cry or scream, maybe. He’d known all along. Then something else hit you.

“Wait,” you croaked out. “That was you that gave me the lip balm and watered my flowers?” Five raised an eyebrow and gave a very tiny nod. “Why?” you asked, truly dumbfounded.

Five’s fingers tightened just slightly around your arm but his facial features softened. “Everyone has a file. Even you.”

You realized what that meant and your eyes filled with tears. He’d read your file and everything about you. He knew your whole backstory and why you’d ended up at the Commission in the first place.

“So, you feel sorry for me, is that it?” you asked pitifully.

Five shook his head. “No. But I know what it’s like to lose your entire family. Maybe not in a car accident, but just the same… I know why you ended up here.” He paused. “Because you wanted to hide from the pain.”

You took that in and wiped the tears from your eyes. You nodded. “Turns out it just follows you wherever you go.”

“Yeah. It sure does,” Five said, matter-of-factly, before switching gears again. “Now, you can either go back to headquarters and we’ll pretend this never happened.” He paused. “Or, we can get to know each other the old-fashioned way. No files. No stakeouts.” He held the briefcase up. “Your call, agent.”

He was so close. Closer than you’d ever been to him before. The moonlight was faint, but you could see all the details of his face that you had previously only viewed through binocular lenses. You were having a hard time concentrating because all you could think about was how he didn’t know the full extent of your feelings for him.

“I… I…” You felt like your throat was closing up. “I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do,” Five said with the most infuriating, cocky smirk.

And then suddenly you didn’t care about your nerves or what he did or didn’t know. He was there; right there in front of you, and he was offering you a choice. Without a word, you grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him toward you, your lips meeting his with unrestrained hunger.

He didn’t pull away or even hesitate. His free hand came to rest on the back of your head and he deepened the kiss, matching your intensity. When you finally parted, you were both breathing heavily. You waited for him to say something else, but instead, you were being dragged through the ether of time and space.

Five’s blink felt nearly the same as using the briefcase, only slightly rougher. Like experiencing turbulence on an airplane. When you came out of the portal, you were standing in his apartment.

You took a look around, bewildered. It was like being transported onto a movie set. You’d been watching him for so long that it was surreal to be standing in the same place you had only observed from afar.

“Is this ok?” he asked you, setting down the briefcase and pulling you close to him.

You nodded. “Yes, it’s ok,” you said quietly.

He was looking at you in that same intense way he’d done in the alley. He brushed the back of his fingers over your cheek, gently.

“Let me ask you something,” he said and waited for your small nod. “Why me?”

“I was assigned to report on you,” you answered.

“No,” Five said. “I mean, after that. Why did you keep watching me?”

You were nervous, but his hand was on the small of your back, the warmth pooling there through your shirt. And he was looking at you with an expression you had never seen on him before. Something like wonder. You relaxed a little.

“Because I saw you, Five,” you said. You tentatively brought your hand up to his face and gently pushed a few stray hairs off his forehead. “I saw the real you.”

Five swallowed loudly and he looked away from you for a second. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

“Yes, it is,” you assured him. “It really, really is.” You debated against saying anything else, but you figured there was no point in holding back now. “Once the assignment ended, I just couldn’t bear to let you go.”

Five leaned down and kissed you. It was softer and gentler than before and he cradled your face in his hand. When he pulled back, he said, “I’ve seen the real you, too. And I think you’re beautiful.”

You smiled and Five kissed you again. He held you tighter and you could feel the strength of his arms around you and the firmness of his body.

“I’m sorry, Five,” you said in between kisses. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he told you. Then he drew back and smiled. “I’ve had my eye on you for a while now. I just didn’t think you’d be interested.”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise. “You… you knew who I was even before this?”

“Of course, I did. I know everything.”

“How? You’ve never even paid me one bit of attention,” you told him, slightly annoyed.

Five chuckled. “You’re the only one that doesn’t run and hide from me like I’m some medieval lord coming to seize your livestock.”

You giggled. “That is kind of the vibe you give off.”

“So, why don’t you run?” he asked.

“Because I’m too busy trying to breathe to run,” you said quietly.

Five raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

You nodded. “You quite literally take my breath away.”

“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. He pulled you closer with a sharp tug, leaning down and dragging his lips across your cheek and jaw. “I’d like to make you breathless right now.”

Your gasp was swallowed up by more of Five’s urgent kisses as his hands roamed over your body. You raked your hands through his hair and trailed your nails down his neck and over his back. He shivered and made a soft groaning noise into your mouth.

The palms of his hands were warm as they slipped under your shirt. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion but somehow also impossibly fast, and it was hard to keep track of what was going on. You knew you wanted whatever was happening, though, that wasn’t a question. And as Five tore your shirt over your head and unclasped your bra, you didn’t hesitate to start unbuttoning his own shirt; feeling the heat rise off his body.

When he dropped to his knees, right there in front of you, and started to unbutton your jeans, you thought for just a moment that you must be dreaming. No way was Number Five Hargreeves, of all people, kneeling before you. He was tearing your pants down your legs and you stepped out of them and kicked them to the side.

Left in just your underwear, your chest heaving and your mind reeling, you followed Five’s movements as he ran his hands up your thighs and back down again, over the backs of your knees and calves. He noticed the small bruise on your knee that you’d gotten when you ran into the bench in the locker room that day.

Five brushed his thumb over the small mark and leaned in to kiss it. He looked up at you; lips still pressed to the inside of your leg. He smiled.

“Should’ve let me take care of this bruise in the shower,” he told you; that half-smirk playing on his face. He kissed you again, further up your thigh. “It would have made for a better day, anyway.”

Your face burned a bright red. He knew. How the fuck did he know?

“Five, I’m—”

“I know what you saw,” he said, quieter. The tips of his fingers grazed just inside the material of your underwear. Despite the shiver it sent up your spine and everything else that was happening, you still couldn’t help but wish you’d worn something a little sexier than your plain, cotton panties.

“I didn’t mean to,” you whispered.

Five gave you another gentle kiss; this time onto the crease between your leg and hip. You bit at your bottom lip.

“But you did see,” he said.

You nodded. “Yes.”

He looked up again, his hands gripping your hips. “And you still didn’t run.”

You frowned, reaching your hand down to sweep his hair out of his eyes. Your eyebrows creased together. “Of course not.”

Five paused, like he was taking that information in. Then, he closed his eyes and pressed his face between your legs, placing open-mouthed kisses over the thin material of your panties; even lightly biting and licking at the already-damp area.

Your hand automatically came to rest in his hair and your head fell back with a tiny whimper. When you exhaled, you breathed out his name in a whisper. “Five.”

Five pulled your underwear down with his teeth and as soon as his warm tongue slipped across your clit, your grip tightened in his hair and you moaned loudly.

“Fuck,” he groaned into you. “I’m obsessed with you.”

Hearing him say those words, and realizing the insanity of the current situation, made you want to laugh, but with Five doing what he was doing, you were panting and whining instead. He continued licking into you, on his knees in his black suit pants and his shirt unbuttoned, and every time you looked down you were on the verge of passing out. He had you right on the edge when he stopped and stood back up.

He regarded you for a moment; studying your face as you fought for air and tried to keep it together.

“I’ve been dying to get my mouth on you,” he told you. He kissed you, slipping his tongue inside your mouth and gripping the back of your neck. He pulled back just an inch, his lips still close to yours. “What about you, agent?”

“What do you mean?”

He trailed his fingers down your neck and over your breasts. His green eyes bore right through you. “You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about what you’d do with me.”

Your body was trembling and hot under his touch. You could feel how aroused he was as he pressed his groin into you. You tentatively ran your hands down his chest and rested them on either side of his waist. His skin was so warm and his muscles were tense. You kissed him again as your heart hammered in your chest.

“I just wanted to touch you,” you said. “And have you close to me.”

Five smirked. “Is that all?”

Half of you hated that he knew you so well when you’d assumed he didn’t even know you existed. The other half was dying to show him how right he was. One side of your mouth curled up and you smashed your mouth onto his, aggressively devouring him, while pulling his shirt off and hurrying to undo the front of his pants.

“I want to know what it feels like to be fucked by the world’s deadliest assassin,” you told him fiercely.

If Five was surprised by your bluntness, he didn’t show it. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on you, and before you knew it you were being blinked into his bedroom and tossed onto the bed.

Five casually pushed his hair off his face and finished taking his pants and boxers off. He was watching you the entire time, like he was hunting you. Except that you were already caught, so you weren’t sure what his game plan was. This was the first time you’d seen him fully nude, though, and you couldn’t take your eyes off his body. He was so gorgeous and his hard cock was impressive.

He walked slowly to you, and pulled you up so that you were kneeling on the bed while he stood in front of you. His hands slid up and down your sides, over your breasts, and between your legs. He kissed you, softer this time, while he slowly touched you; dragging his fingers through your folds that were already wet from his mouth. When you reached down to take his cock in your hand, he let out a long moan.

“You want me?” Five asked, his voice almost a whisper as he closed his eyes and let you stroke him.

Your other hand rested on the back of his neck and you pressed your forehead to his. You smiled. “Yes.”

Five opened his eyes and as he gently pushed two fingers inside you, he watched your reaction. Your jaw dropped open but no sound came out and you increased the pace of your hand around him. A rough growl rose in his throat and he pushed you backward, following with you, until you were on your back and he was lying over you.

Neither of you could wait anymore, and while Five leaned down to kiss you, he thrust his cock inside you. Your body stiffened from the sensation but when he began to move, you relaxed and circled your legs around his waist. Five held himself over you, breathing hard while driving rhythmically into you.

“Is this what you imagined?” he asked you, looking down. “When you were over on that roof spying on me?”

His words were clipped from the effort of fucking you, but his mouth twitched up in a crooked smile.

You nodded, your breath catching in your throat. “Every time.”

Five clenched his teeth together and slammed his hips forward, making you cry out much louder than you’d meant to. His grin widened.

“That’s what I imagined,” he told you. “Making you scream.” He thrust into you again and your cry was cut off by his kiss. “Making you mine,” he murmured against your lips.

You were back in that dream-like state of not being fully convinced this was really happening. Five’s body was pressed to yours, his hands caressing you, and his cock filling you up, and it was just so unbelievable that your eyes filled up with tears. He moved his face to the crook of your neck, kissing along your shoulder and collarbone, and making quiet, raspy grunting noises that warmed your skin.

“Why did you wait so long?” you asked, your question broken off at the end by a sharp gasp when Five snapped his hips hard against you.

He stopped, momentarily, to gaze down on you. He raised a brow. “The hunt’s half the fun, don’t you think?”

You let out a quiet laugh. “I don’t know. I think I prefer this.”

“You may have a point,” he said, before continuing to fuck you.

Five grabbed at your ass and your thighs, pushing himself harder and deeper inside of you, while you grasped at his body, clutching onto his back and shoulders. Each drag of his cock through your core sent tiny shocks through your body, spreading out like ripples in water.

“Right there… there… please don’t… don’t stop,” you moaned. You were trying to pull him tighter to you, wrapping your body around him like a python to get him closer. “Five…”

You felt him exhale softly against your neck. “I won’t stop, honey, but you have to let me move.”

You released your hold on him, just enough to allow him more room to work, and he raked his teeth down the side of your neck. “Oh, fuck…” he said with a low groan next to your ear.

Your entire body was so tense and begging for release, that when Five lifted his head and locked eyes with you, just the sight of him watching you so intently made you instantly break. You threw your head back, arching your back, and digging your nails into his stiff muscles as you came hard.

A few seconds later, Five was shuddering against you, cursing under his breath as his cum covered your walls in hot pulses. Neither of you moved, still entwined with one another and out of breath, while the aftershocks of your orgasms continued to roll through you both.

Gradually, your body started to soften again and you released your grip on Five. He kissed you once, on your temple, before pulling out and sliding off of you. You suddenly felt very exposed and unsure of what had happened, lying there on your back, with Five next to you. Everything you’d been fantasizing about had just come true, but you weren’t sure what to do now. Maybe Five was going to kick you out.

But when you looked over, he gave a small smile and you knew he wasn’t going to do that. After all, you knew his facial expressions better than anyone. As further confirmation, he turned on his side and pulled you close to him with an arm around your waist.

“Was that the old-fashioned way of getting to know one another that you suggested earlier?” you asked. You traced a finger over his cheek bone and jawline, feeling the slight stubble that was growing there.

Five laughed, a real laugh, and it was so beautiful, like sunshine breaking through the clouds. “Yeah, I may have skipped ahead a little.”

You laughed along with him and for a second it felt like something normal and not the aftermath of an impromptu sexual encounter with a man you’ve been stalking for several months. Well, mutually stalking, you supposed.

“So, now what?” you asked. “Do we go back to the shadows and pretend this never happened?”

Five smoothed your hair back from your face. “Not if you don’t want to.”

“What do you want?”

Five hesitated before he spoke. “There’s a reason I don’t have many people in my life. I’ve designed it that way, for their sakes as well as mine.” He paused, looking thoughtful, before smiling slightly. “But you kind of wrecked that for me. You saw through all of that. And now… I don’t really want to be so alone anymore.”

You swallowed down the lump that formed in your throat. “I think I can help you with that.”

“But what do you want?” Five asked.

You breathed out a short laugh. “I just want you. All of you.”

Five leaned in to kiss you and you could feel your body heating up again. “Ok,” he told you, like some agreement had been decided upon, and you guessed it had been.

“This might not go over so well at headquarters,” you said, realizing you both had actual jobs to get back to eventually.

Five kissed you again, longer this time, and when you parted, he looked at you in the most carnal and devious way. “That’s where the real fun comes in.”

*******************

A month later, back at Commission headquarters, things were going the same at usual. You had a few new agents to tail and report back on and you had stopped spending all of your down time stalking Five. Although, admittedly, you still found yourself going out of your way to potentially “accidentally” bump into him in the hallways.

As you were stealthily observing a conversation between two lower-level field agents a few yards away, you noticed a slight change in the vibes of everyone around you. Like a herd of antelope raising their heads at the same time when they catch the scent of a lion on the wind. You smiled to yourself.

Sure enough, after a few seconds, Five came striding toward you. The seas parted and everyone got out of his way. He wasn’t covered in blood this time, but he was wearing his usual scowl and was walking with determined purpose. His gazed was fixed in front of him, but when he passed you by, you saw that tiny, fleeting glance in your direction. Then he rounded the corner was gone again. The herd exhaled a collective sigh and went back to their conversations.

You, however, turned on your heel and followed Five in the direction he’d headed. It was extremely difficult not to full-out sprint but you kept your cool and did your best to remain nonchalant. Whether it was convincing to others or not, you had no idea. But most people tended to steer clear of you anyway, which was a definite plus in this situation.

As predicted, you witnessed several men scurrying out of the locker room as you approached. You waited a reasonable amount of time before checking that you were alone and slipping inside the door.

The room was empty inside and the hairs on the back of your neck stood up with anticipation. Sometimes you were attacked immediately and sometimes he made you wait. Today, it seemed, he was in no mood to draw things out.

You were grabbed from behind, with two arms around your waist, and pulled directly into a glowing blue portal. It didn’t matter how used to spatial jumping you were, it always caught you off guard. Your scream was immediately cut short with a hand over your mouth, as your back slammed into the tiled wall of the shower stall.

“Careful, Madam Liaison,” Five said, his voice laced with fire and lust. “You don’t want to get caught.”

You smiled beneath his hand, your pulse already pounding in your ears. He lifted his hand away.

“I think I’m already caught,” you said.

Five grinned in that predatorial way you’d come to love, right before grabbing your face in both hands and kissing you fiercely. You knew the drill; this wasn’t your first locker room tryst, and you hurried up and started to unbuckle his belt. Your hand brushed against the hard bulge already forming in his pants and he moaned into your mouth. You loved it when he was so needy and ready to go.

As you worked at unzipping his fly and Five furiously yanked your skirt up to your waist, he moved his mouth to your neck, breathing fast and hard.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he said, his lips pressed hotly against your sensitive skin. “Fuck, I couldn’t wait to get back.”

You tipped your head back against the wall and gasped when he bit down on your collarbone. Your fingers threaded through his hair. “You’re so obsessed with me,” you teased.

He pulled back and raised one eyebrow. “Don’t make me blink you into the middle of headquarters and fuck you for everyone to see.” He tilted his head. “Or maybe you’d like that?”

You shook your head with a soft giggle. “Not really.”

Five sighed and rolled his eyes when he saw you coming toward him. He had been balancing a bag of dry cleaning in one hand and cup of coffee in the other and was just about to chance blinking inside his apartment instead of using the door when he heard your greeting.

“Damn it,” he muttered to himself, wishing he had just risked spilling his beverage all over his newly pressed suits by disappearing inside. Now he was stuck.

“Here, let me help!” you chirped, jogging up to him.

“No thanks, I’ve got it,” Five argued, but as he did so the bag of clothes nearly slipped from his hand.

“Got it!” you exclaimed with a smile, snatching up the bag.

Five gave a weary smile and another sigh. “Thank you.”

“No problem!”

As Five fished around in his pocket for his key, he tried not to make eye contact with you. Actually, he tried not to have anything to do with you most of the time. You just hadn’t gotten the hint.

“What are you up to tonight?” you asked, and Five could hear the twinge of hopefulness in your voice.

“Oh, you know…the same as usual. Make some dinner, watch Unsolved Mysteries, and go to bed.” He opened the door and took the dry cleaning from you. “Typical old man stuff.”

You nodded as if you knew exactly what he was talking about. You did know, in a way. You knew all about Five’s history, his powers, and his actual age. It’s hard to keep that shit private when your entire life has been broadcast across the world for everyone to witness. Unfortunately, at least from Five’s point of view, you didn’t seem to care.

You bit at your fingernail and looked down at the ground. Five wasn’t about to invite you in, so he waited for an uncomfortable few seconds before speaking up again.

“Ok, well, thanks for your help. Have a good night.”

“Oh…ok,” you said sadly. “Good night, Five.”

As Five stepped inside his apartment and flicked on the light, he draped his bag of suits over a chair, taking a sip of his coffee. He shoved a hand in his pocket and looked around his small, quiet apartment. It wasn’t much; just a shitty one-bedroom with a miniscule kitchen. But that was all he needed. That and to be left alone.

Despite trying to keep a safe distance from you, you had yet to be deterred. Five knew you liked him; it was pretty obvious. Ever since he moved into the building, you hadn’t missed an opportunity to corner him at the mailboxes, or in the hallway. Being trapped in the elevator was the most awkward, so Five tried his best to avoid those encounters by blinking around as much as possible. You always seemed to catch him, though.

It's not that Five didn’t like you. You were sweet, and cute, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t flattered that you were so into him. The problem was that you were 21 and he was in his late sixties. Old enough to be your grandfather; at least mentally. Physically, he was in your same age range, which he assumed made things very confusing for you. While you did know all about his older consciousness, Five figured you conveniently forgot most of the time. Like when you wore those tiny little running shorts with a sports bra and decided to do some warm up stretches directly in front of his door.

Five wasn’t fully immune to your little come-ons. He still had a pulse, after all. Not to mention the hormones and libido of a much younger man. Still…even after all that he had witnessed and done throughout his life, he had managed to hold onto a couple scraps of morality. And only sleeping with women who were over the age of 30 was a personal rule of his.

He wasn’t sure why he picked that age; it was still more than half of his. But he figured most people’s brains had fully matured by then and it made him feel like less of a sexual deviant. He hadn’t had a date or any hook ups in a while, though. Most nights he just came back to his place and did exactly what he told you he did. Old man stuff.

As he stood there, contemplating all of this, there was a knock at his door. Five rolled his eyes yet again and set his coffee down. When he opened the door, there you were, as he suspected. You looked up at him with nervous eyes that couldn’t quite hold his own while holding two large containers of food and a bottle of red wine.

“Hi, again. What can I do for you?”

“Hi, Five. So, it turns out I made too much food for dinner, so I wondered if you wanted some?” You held out the containers to him. “It’s spaghetti and a salad, and I had this bottle of wine that I thought would go well with it. It’s nothing fancy, but I know you’re alone, so you probably don’t have anyone to cook for you…” Your voice trailed off and you looked away.

Five ran a hand down the back of his neck and looked down the hallway. No one else was around and he was hungry. He reached out to take the food, but left you holding the wine.

“Thank you, that’s really nice of you.”

Your eyes lit up at his compliment and you smiled. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all. I cook all the time, so anytime you want me to make you something, just let me know. I’m pretty good at it.”

Five chuckled. “I have no doubt that you are. It looks great.” He was about to go back into his apartment, when he looked back at your disappointed face. Shit. If he didn’t invite this girl in, he was going to look like a real asshole. He was definitely going to regret this, though. “Would you like to come in and join me for dinner? Looks like you made plenty for both of us.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”

Five smiled gently and shook his head. “No, you’re not. Come on in.”

After you stepped in, and Five busied himself making plates of food for the two of you, you set the wine on the kitchen table and looked around his place.

“Wow, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it.”

Five looked up while he opened the wine. “Isn’t it just the same as your place?”

You nodded. “Yeah, it is. Which is why I’m surprised. I thought yours would be a little…”

“Old man-ish?” Five grinned as he handed you the glass of Pinot Noir.

“…sexier,” you answered with a sly grin, taking the glass from him.

Five’s eyebrows raised. “Sexier?”

You shrugged and took a sip. “I don’t know. I expected more black and leather. Like a real bachelor pad, you know?”

“Yeah, that’s not really me,” he said with a quiet chuckle. “I’m not exactly a swinging bachelor these days.”

You cocked your head to the side. “Oh, no? How come?”

Five saw he had backed himself into a corner and he didn’t really want to get into his love life with you, so he cleared his throat and gestured to the table. “Food’s ready.”

As you sat across from one another at Five’s small dining table, the initial awkwardness began to wear off as the wine started taking effect. You became a little bolder in your flirting, and Five was finding he didn’t mind as much as he usually did. By the time dinner was finished, and another bottle of red was opened, you had moved to the living room to continue your conversation. Five sat down on the couch as you plopped in the armchair across from him, tucking your leg up under you, making your shorts slide up your bare thigh. Five couldn’t help but notice, and you caught him in the act.

As you continued your small talk, Five watched as you fidgeted in your chair. Every adjustment of your body seemed to be just for him, and he found his mouth pooling with saliva that he tried very hard to subtly swallow back down. It was wrong, but he couldn’t help it. The smooth, bare skin of your legs, the curves of your breasts, the way your lips looked so damn delicious as you talked. He was in trouble.

“So,” he said, his voice cracking. “It’s getting late.”

You nodded with an upturn of your mouth before standing up and crossing to Five. As you loomed over him, he looked up, his gaze traveling the full length of your body. The wine was giving you more confidence that you normally would have. He looked so damn good, sitting there with his hair a little disheveled from running his hand through it all night, and you weren’t quite ready for the evening to end yet. You reached down, taking his wine glass to set it on the table with your own. When you climbed onto his lap, straddling his thighs, and draping your arms over his shoulders, he was shocked into silence.

Your warm groin settled over his lap with your tits pressed against his chest. Breathing harder, his hands automatically came to rest on your hips as he looked up at you. You smiled, your hair framing your face as you leaned in to kiss him.

Five closed his eyes, his grip on you tightening for a second as he kissed you in return. You moaned softly into his mouth, pressing yourself down when you felt him start to harden beneath you. That’s when he woke from his trance and pulled his head back.

“Stop.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Look…I like you, but we can’t do this.”

“Why not?”

“Well, there’s a lot of reasons, but namely I’m way too old for you. And you’re drunk.”

“I’m not drunk.”

Five rolled his eyes. “Ok, well, I am. And that doesn’t change the fact that I’m about three times older than you.”

“I don’t care.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but this needs to stop before it goes any further.”

“You’re sure that’s what you want?” you asked, tilting your head to the side and giving just a little push into his crotch.

He shook his head slowly, exhaling a long breath. “No, but it’s what needs to happen. Understand?”

After you reluctantly left, Five cleaned up the kitchen, jerked off in the shower, and went to bed trying very hard not to think of you anymore. Over the next two weeks, he did everything he could think of not to run into you in the building again. He was afraid that not only would it be awkward, but that he would start feeling things he shouldn’t.

The truth was, you had gotten to him. Despite his best efforts, that little stunt you pulled by climbing into his lap had worked. Fuck, had it worked. Not a day went by when he wasn’t imagining what would have happened had he not cut it short. Those firm tits pressed against him and your soft lips against his…shit, he was going insane. He had to keep to his rule, though. You were just too young.

But you did not give up easily. You knew what you wanted and you were determined to make him see you as the adult you really were.

“Five!” you called with a little wave, as you caught him trying to enter his apartment one evening.

When Five saw you, he cursed under his breath. He really did not have the energy to deal with you. He had just gotten back from a job and he was not in the mood for your little antics.

“You can’t keep coming over here like this, I’ve told you that,” Five explained, turning his focus back to the key in the door.

“I just wanted to say hi,” you said with an innocence that he wasn’t buying.

“Yeah, I know what you’re doing,” he grumbled.

You paused. “I’m sorry about what happened before, Five. I understand why you might be hesitant, but you know…”

“What do I know?”

“I am an adult, like I said. You don’t have to keep treating me like I’m a kid.”

“You are a kid,” Five shot back.

You looked up at him with a tiny smirk. “From what I remember, it didn’t feel like you thought I was a kid the other night.”

Five’s jaw set, his teeth grinding together. He wasn’t going to stand there and get made fun of by some girl that was determined to get in his pants, even if he did have the beginnings of a boner when she sat on his lap.

“Just stay away from me, ok?” he snarled. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Oh, please, Five…I think I can handle—”

Five turned abruptly, his face hard with dark brows pulled together. As he leaned in, his jaw set and body tense, you flinched, but did not break your eye contact.

“You think you can handle me, sweetheart? You have no idea what I’m capable of,” he hissed in your face.

Swallowing, but holding your ground, you nodded. “I can handle you, Five. I’m not scared of you. And if you’d just let me get to know you a little more –"

His laugh was laced with menace as he took another step toward you. You were left staring at one another, neither of you backing down. He was close enough that you could hear his harsh breathing through his nose and smell the faint traces of after-shave. His eyes searched over your face before turning back to his door.

“Get the fuck away from me. Please,” he said quietly.

“I know what I’m doing, I’m not sure why you think I’m so innocent.”

Five looked down and sighed. He was tired of constantly trying to maintain his morality. He was an old man in a young man’s body and he was so damn sick of taking the higher road. Most people thought he was an asshole, and they weren’t wrong. He had a high success rate of keeping the people he wanted out of his life out, and barely tolerating the ones he let in. He was a killer. A trauma-filled nightmare wrapped up in a pretty package. He was not normal, and it was time you knew that.

“Fuck it,” he said out loud to no one in particular. As his eyes locked on yours again, his normally emerald-colored ones became dark.

He continued to take another step toward you, and then another, until you were backed against the opposite wall of the quiet hallway. Overhead, the fluorescent lights hummed as a single fly battled for its life inside one of the fixtures.

“Alright…I will confess, I have been thinking a lot about you lately.”

“You have?”

Five nodded, closing in on you until he was inches from your body; close enough that you could see the faint line of stubble on his chin and hear his deep breathing.

“Specifically…what you would be willing to do for me.”

As his gaze traveled over your body, taking in the tight tank top and miniscule shorts you were wearing, you could almost feel the energy pulsing out of him in waves. It was terrifying and intoxicating, and it had you rooted to the spot.

“What do you want me to do for you?” you asked, looking up at him through your lashes, blinking slowly.

“Strip.”

You had been trying to keep up with him. Trying to beat him at his own game. But you sucked in a quiet, yet audible, gasp of air.

“What?”

“I want you naked for me. Now.”

He was still so close to you, his mouth mere inches away from yours, and yet he made no further movement to do anything else. He was trapping you there; playing with his prey for fun. And you weren’t sure if he was going to eat you or let you escape.

“Here?” you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

He nodded, his eyes never leaving your face. “That’s right, sweetheart. You think you know me? You think you want me? Then, prove it.”

“What if someone walks by?”

Five shrugged with a grin. He took a step back, allowing you enough room to leave, should you so choose. Again, he made no move to grab you, or touch you in any way. He shook his head, eyeing you pitifully.

“Don’t play games you can’t win. It won’t end well for you.”

When you had nothing to say to that, his demeanor changed again. Back to his normal, tired expression, his eyes and mouth drooped. He said nothing more, but just turned back toward his apartment, and opened the door. After he took a step inside, he heard you clear your throat. Turning around, he was faced with an unexpected sight.

With each slow, deliberate step you took in his direction, you started to strip your clothes away. First your top, lowering the straps over your shoulders and drawing it up over your head. Then your shorts, unbuttoning them before sliding them down your thighs and kicking them to the side. Five seemed frozen to the spot, unable to move and unable to speak. But his eyes followed you with an unmistakable hunger.

As you closed in on him, you were left in your bra and panties. With a small smirk, you reached behind you and undid the clasp of your bra. Slowly peeling it away from your body, you watched as Five’s gaze dropped to your breasts.

“Like I said…I’m not afraid of you,” you said, as you confidently jutted your chin out, along with your chest.

Five’s face flickered with shock, followed by what you could only imagine was lust, before it turned to anger. He grabbed your upper arm, squeezing it hard, before shaking you.

His teeth gritted and bared, he snarled in your face. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

You did your best to pretend you were in full control of the situation. “What you told me to do.”

Five’s eyes roamed over your body for a split second, before they were back on your face. He was angrier than you had ever seen him before. And yet, you had a feeling the anger was just masking something else. Something he didn’t want you to see.

At that moment, the loud ding of the elevator doors rang out, signaling that you would soon not be alone. He looked down the hallway and then back at you. When you didn’t make a move, his jaw tensed even more. Stalking past you to snatch your clothes off the floor, he grabbed your arm again.

“God damn it, get inside,” he demanded, yanking you forcefully through the doorway of his apartment.

As you stumbled your way inside, he continued to grasp your upper arm. He slammed the door behind you and got in your face again.

“Are you stupid?” he growled.

You shook your head. “No.”

“Well, stop fucking acting like it. Jesus!” He let go of your arm, leaving you standing there in just your underwear, while he ran a hand through his hair. “You can’t just go around stripping naked in public places just because someone tells you to. What the fuck?”

You smiled and took a step toward him. “What’s the matter Five? Losing at your own game?”

Five’s breath had become louder and harsher. You could practically see the wheels turning inside his head. He wanted you; you were sure of it. The juxtaposition of desire and restraint was evident in every twitch of coiled muscle and nervous hover of his eyes on your breasts. He had been trying to scare you; make you flee in terror at his aggressive advances. But joke was on him, because you fucking loved it.

Another look of anger swept over his face as he laughed darkly. “Shit. You really do not know what you are getting yourself into here.”

You swallowed nervously. “I don’t care.”

“Well, you should. And you should leave.”

Five continued to bore into you with his intense stare. His dark eyes indicated menace, but his stiff body language gave off something else. Fear. But Five Hargreeves does not give into fear easily. When he feels it creeping in, he turns it into something else. Something mean and ruthless.

When you didn’t make a move to leave, he took a step forward. A half-smirk formed on his lips as he crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to the side.

“Alright then…you’ve been warned,” he said pleasantly, right before his voice turned ice cold. “Now lose those fucking panties before I rip them off myself.”

Slowly, and without breaking eye contact, you hooked your thumbs into the elastic waist of your lace panties and pulled them down over your hips, letting them drop to the floor at your feet. You stood perfectly still, allowing him to take you all in while your chest began to rise and fall more rapidly.

You thought you had him this time. How was he going to resist a fully nude woman right in front of his face? But instead of giving in, like you knew he wanted, he gave a small shake of his head. Still holding the clothes you had discarded in the hallway, he stepped forward until he was directly in front of you, smiling derisively. His face was so close to your bare skin, you could feel the warmth of his exhale along your leg as he bent to pick up the pair of underwear. When he walked casually past you in the direction of the living room, your jaw dropped as he opened the sliding glass doors that led to a small balcony, and hurled your clothes outside. You watched in disbelief as they floated briefly on the light breeze before disappearing out of sight; fluttering to the ground, six floors below.

He closed the doors, turning back to you with a satisfied, yet stony expression. He pointed at the door to the hall.

“Get out.”

You paused, your eyes nervously darting toward the door. “What?”

He flicked a piece of hair out of his eyes in indifference. “You said you didn’t care if anyone saw you. So, leave.”

When you continued to stand there, wide-eyed and confused, he snorted and shook his head. “That’s what I thought. I’m not the nice guy you think I am. And I’m certainly not one of your little fucking boyfriends you can manipulate to get your way.” His voice softened somewhat. “I can give you something to wear to go home in, but don’t ever come back here again. This is over, understand?”

After a few seconds of silence, you nodded your head slowly. “I understand.” With a sly smile, you turned, heading for the door, letting Five get a nice long look at your ass in the process. As you reached for the doorknob, you glanced over your shoulder, relishing in his bewilderment as you walked right out the door without a stitch of clothing on.

Out in the hallway, you tried not to panic. You hadn’t really thought out what was going to happen once you had committed to your little act of rebellion. Your apartment was on the other side of the floor, and you had to pass by many nosy neighbors’ places plus the elevators to get there. As you considered your options, your back was suddenly slammed into the wall, Five’s hands gripping your arms again after he appeared in a flash of blue.

“God damn it,” he seethed in your face.

Without another word, you were being ripped through one of his portals, reappearing inside his apartment again. You let out a small cry of surprise as you were flattened against the door, Five’s body pressed against yours.

He surveyed your face one more time, his eyebrows drawn together in torment. “Fuck, why did you do this to me?”

The next few minutes were a blur as Five released everything that he had been holding back in one ferocious attack. His mouth sucking and biting at your lips, his hands fisted tightly in your hair, and his hips jerking into you. Something feral and instinctual was propelling him, and you let him unleash all of it onto you.

With another tight hold on your wrist, you were dragged away from the door and whipped through a second portal, this time landing on his bed with a hard bounce. While you scrambled to sit up, Five had stripped off his shirt and was already unbuckling his belt, the clink of the metal drawing your attention to his hands as they unzipped his fly. Breathing hard through his nose, he looked at you, running a hand through his hair while pushing it off of his forehead.

With his cool green eyes locked on yours, he crooked a finger at you, beckoning you over. You worked your way off the bed, hesitating for just a moment, before closing the few feet so that you were standing directly in front of him.

He leaned down, a hand gently cradling the back of your neck, as he kissed you softly. You thought maybe you were going to see a new, tender side of him. Until he latched a hand onto your shoulder, gripping you hard while pushing you roughly down, forcing you to your knees. As he glared down at you, dark hair framing the sharp angles of his face, one corner of his mouth twitched up.

“You talk a big game, honey, so go ahead. Let’s see that mouth of yours in action.”

He was trying to intimidate you; to show you he was the boss. But you weren’t naïve and you weren’t dumb. There were subtle hints, like the way his breath hitched when he spoke to you, or the slight tremble in his hand as he guided your face up by your chin that gave his nerves away.

With your own small smile and a lick of your lips, you reached up to pull the black suit pants down, taking his boxers with them. Five let out a shaky exhale as his hard cock stood at attention in front of your face. With another coy glance up through soft lashes, you took him into your hand. He was bigger than you would have guessed, and you slowly stroked his thick shaft, pressing your thumb into the underside while following the vein from base to head. When you stretched out your tongue to give a kittenish lick across the tip, he hissed loudly, bringing his hand down to rest in your hair.

“Shit,” you heard him mutter under his breath as you started in.

He didn’t let you work up to it with teasing kisses or circles of your tongue around his dripping head. With one shove of his hand on the back of your head, his dick was down your throat. You let out a clipped groan that ended in a gurgling noise, before he was pulling you back and off again. With eyes wide and already gasping for air, your hair was tugged backward so that you were forced to look up at him.

An eyebrow raised, Five questioned you with a low voice. “Still think you can handle me?”

From your position on the floor, he towered above you like a god, watching as you worshiped at his feet. Your eyes traveled over his sculpted abs, his toned arms and shoulders that flexed with the effort of holding your head back. You took in the scars that dotted his abdomen and thighs; the line of soft hair that trailed from his navel to the main event. He was being rough, yes, but there was something in his eyes that gave him away. Like he wanted so badly to be something else, he just didn’t know how.

You nodded your head in an answer to his question, as his magnificent cock bobbed in front of your face, and you opened your mouth wide.

“Fuck,” he growled from deep in his chest.

Five was losing his mind, he was sure of it. All of his pent-up anger and frustration over his body/mind/age situation was coming to a head; and he was shoving that head directly and violently down your throat. He couldn’t stop it. He didn’t want to stop it. You felt so damn good, with your warm mouth wrapped around him and your tongue sliding over the taught skin of his shaft. As his hips jerked into your face, harder and faster, he watched as you gagged and choked on his dick; saliva building up at the corners of your mouth as you so dutifully let him fuck your face.

“Ah…ffff-uu-goddamnit…yes, fuck yes, don’t stop…ah SHIT!”

His head was thrown back in complete bliss as he unloaded copious amounts of cum directly into the back of your throat, the sheer volume making it pour out the corners of your mouth and dribble down your chin. The rest you swallowed, choking down the steady stream of bitter semen while he moaned above you and fisted your hair even tighter.

As he finally began to relax and the last few twitches of his hips came to a halt, he dared to open his eyes and look down at the sight below him. He had loosened his grip on your hair, allowing his dick to slip out of your mouth. You gasped and sucked in the much-needed air that you hadn’t been getting as he released you entirely. Collapsing onto your hands and knees, you coughed and wiped at your destroyed mouth while Five did nothing more than stare down at you with a kind of horrified fascination.

What had he done?

When you looked back up at him, though, and he saw that devilish smile sneak across your lips, daring him to give you more, he stopped caring. It was clear you were going to let him do whatever he wanted. And, fuck, if he didn’t want to do so many things to you.

“Up,” he commanded, still trying to catch his breath.

He held out his hand for you to take, letting him haul you up to standing. He ran a hand down your cheek and kissed your ruined lips. There was that moment of softness again, and you closed your eyes against his touch.

Five guided you so that you were sitting on the edge of the bed. After another kiss, this time leaving you breathless, he dropped to his knees between your legs. Gripping your thighs in his hands, he roughly pushed your legs apart while pulling you closer to him.

Digging his fingers into your hips, he buried his face into your wet, throbbing pussy, and moaned.

“This wet just from sucking my cock? Fuck, honey, you’re driving me crazy.”

Alternating between long laps with his tongue and sucking at your clit, it was obvious he knew exactly what he was doing as you leaned backward, holding yourself up with your hands flat on the bed. When you dropped your head back, it banged against the wall, but you barely noticed since you were already on the cusp of a strong orgasm.

“Five…” you gasped, eyes clenched shut and biting at your bottom lip. You tried desperately to rock your hips into his face, but his grip was too strong. He was devouring you; eating you out almost viciously, while your palms began to sweat as they pressed harder into the bed. “Five…holy fff-uck…OH GOD!” you screamed as one last, perfect lick sent you reeling. With your entire body shuddering, Five only went at you harder; until you were letting out quiet, pitiful cries, and your thighs twitched against his head.

As you tried to catch your breath, Five finally let up, tearing himself away from your warm deliciousness, and standing up to lean over you. He was just as out of breath as you were, with his mouth shining and lips red. A mixture of your arousal and his saliva pooled obscenely underneath you.

“That was…holy shit…” you tried to get out, but you were cut off almost immediately.

“I’m not done yet. Not by a long shot,” he rasped.

Though only minutes had passed since he had unloaded into your mouth, his cock was hard again. As he rummaged around in a drawer, pulling out a condom, and rolling it on, you scooted back so that you were lying down lengthwise on the bed. There was no more time for rest, though, before Five was climbing on top of you, that look of voracity overtaking him again.

He began to kiss you; hard and insistently while running his tongue over your bottom lip and venturing inside. It was a mixture of intense want and hesitation as he squeezed your ass with one hand and lightly stroked your hair with the other. When he pulled back, he looked deep into your eyes, his hand coming to rest gently on your cheek, his thumb pressing under your chin.

“What do you think, sweetheart? Ready for more?”

With a slow smile forming on your face, you nodded.

“Fuck yeah. Give it to me.”

Five groaned, closing his eyes and dropping his face to your neck. His teeth scraped against your skin as he kissed you fervently while your fingers threaded through his hair. The second you opened your legs for him, he was shoving himself inside. Sucking in a loud breath, he buried his face into your shoulder.

“Fuuuck…you are tight…god, you feel so fucking good,” he moaned pitifully into you.

You threw your head back against the pillow with a loud moan. “Oh my god, I knew your dick would feel amazing.”

He didn’t respond, but he took both of your legs and balanced them on his shoulders, angling your hips up to push his dick in even further. He was buried to the hilt, with his tight balls slapping against your ass each time he drew back and slammed back into you.

Five was gone; completely lost inside his own debauched fantasy. He wanted to fuck you harder and harder until you couldn’t take it anymore. He wanted to make you cry out his name while your back arched off the bed like you were possessed. When his eyes met yours, with the strands of hair stuck to his forehead from the sweat already forming there, you bit your bottom lip and smiled. You knew exactly what you were doing to him, and that made him want to absolutely ruin you.

Smacking your ass hard enough to leave a mark before throwing your legs off his shoulders, Five roughly flipped you over. He forced the side of your face into the bed as he thrust inside you again, stretching your pussy and filling you up with his thick cock. His ragged breath warmed the side of your neck with each punishing drive of his hips against your ass as you whimpered softly.

“Come on, honey, let’s hear it,” he snarled next to your ear. “You’ve been dying for me to pound that sweet little pussy…so let me hear you. I’m not stopping until I get what I want.”

“Fff-iiive,” you sobbed, your fists clutching the bedspread underneath you as he railed relentlessly into you.

“That’s right,” he answered, and you could hear that cocky smirk on his face. “Beg me.”

“Five…please…you feel SO…FUCKING…GOOD!”

The angle of his cock thrusting inside of you, along with his body trapping you beneath him, was more intense than anything you had ever experienced before. You were on the verge of coming; your cries becoming louder while you desperately tried to suck air into your lungs. The sting of his dick drilling inside of you was still not enough to mask the pleasure that was building. It hurt but you still wanted more.

Soon, that inevitable feeling of warmth and tightness formed in your core and you let go with a loud scream that echoed off the walls of his bedroom. Your body convulsed under his as his hips stilled against your ass when he expelled himself one more time. The groan that left him as he came was loud and long, leaving his arms shaking as he held himself over you.

After he was able to move off of you, you continued to catch your breath as you rolled over to face him. Five was kneeling on the bed, chest glistening with sweat and heaving as he flipped his hair out of his eyes. He didn’t say a word, but after a few more seconds, he climbed off the bed to dispose of the condom. You eyed him nervously. You had no idea how he was going to react, or if he was already regretting everything.

After tugging his boxers back on, he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Are you ok?” he asked, his voice tight.

You nodded and sat up. “Yeah, I’m ok, why?”

Five shook his head. “I was way too rough, I shouldn’t have…but you…” he trailed off, his frustration with himself evident. “Look, you got your way. This is done now, alright?”

With a roll of your eyes, you moved off the bed so that you were standing in front of him; the muscles in your sticky thighs aching from the movement. “Get over yourself, Five. We both wanted this, so stop pretending I put some spell on you to make you change your mind.”

He was silent, but he nodded, a brief flicker of a smile forming on his lips. “I’m sorry about your clothes.” He got up to grab a t-shirt from one of his drawers and handed it to you. “You can wear this; it should be enough to cover everything.”

As you worked the too-big shirt over your head, Five pulled his pants back on, zipping them up but leaving the belt hanging open. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a small, balled up pair of women’s underwear. With a guilty smile, he tossed them over to you. “Here.”

You laughed in disbelief. “You stole my panties? What were you going to do with them?”

Five shrugged. “I hadn’t figured that out yet.”

Shaking your head, you looked down at them in your hand. “Such a dirty old man.” Glancing back at Five’s guilty face, you threw them back, and he caught them against his chest. “Keep them. I kind of like the idea of you doing weird things with them.”

Five made no comment, but he tucked them back into his pants pocket with a lop-sided grin. He held out his hand. “Come on, I’ll blink you back to your apartment so you don’t have to go back in just a t-shirt.”

You thought for a second, but shook your head. “No thanks. I don’t mind a good walk of shame now and then.”

As Five walked you to the door, you gave him a lingering kiss and trailed a hand down his arm. “Maybe the next time I make too much food, I’ll come over and share it? Think you can handle that?”

A smile slowly spread across Five’s face and he nodded. “Yeah, I think I can handle that.”

Then he watched as you walked away, wearing nothing but his t-shirt. He shook his head, not quite believing what had just occurred. He had thought he was so damn smart with his moral high-ground and superiority. But as it turned out, you had gotten the best of him. He lost at his own game. Tucking two fingers inside his pocket to stroke the silky material of your panties, he smiled to himself, thinking about how this may have been the first time in his life that he hadn’t minded losing.

Let’s start with relationships: Five does not have the patience, nor the inclination, to care about most people outside of his immediate family. He knows he’s smarter (a lot smarter) than the average human, and spending more time than he needs to with someone else and their tiny brain is highly irritating. He does not have a lot of friends and doesn’t feel the need for any. That does not mean he isn’t attracted to women and doesn’t notice them. He most definitely notices. And once in a while he may indulge in a drunken fling here and there. However, when he meets that one woman that lights a fire in him, then it's game over. He’s done for, head over heels, no one will ever come close, in love for all eternity. He’s not going to fall for just anyone, either. Aside from having a body that he wants to fuck all day for the rest of his life, you also have to be smart. And witty. And not put up with any of his shit. Just because he’s in love with you, does not mean he’s not going to slip up sometimes and say or do something to piss you off. But when you come back at him with some major attitude and fight, he will end up loving you even more. Five needs a spicy woman to put him in his place sometimes.

Blow Jobs: Holy shit, this man loves a good blow job! Nothing makes him hotter than watching you service him. He wants to shove you down on your knees and watch intently as you take him all the way into your mouth until his cock hits the back of your throat. And if you can handle it, he’s going to fuck your face. Grab your hair in his fist and thrust himself into you until you’re gagging and drooling, tears running down your cheeks. Maybe he’ll come down your throat, maybe he won’t. He’ll let you know first, though. But if you’re going to be in a relationship with him, you better get used to having his dick in your mouth.

Cunnilingus: He may want you to suck his cock, but he’s more than willing to pay back the favor. In fact, Five wants to eat you out like the starving man he once was. Your taste and your scent drives him wild and he’ll take as long as you need. In fact, sometimes, he won’t stop even if you want him to. You can be begging him to stop and to fuck you instead, but he’ll just hold you down by your hips and look up at you with that knowing smirk of his; his mouth shining with your juices, and shake his head. Denied. Then he’s back at it, sucking and licking and fucking your pussy with his tongue until you’re a shuddering, crying mess, and your back is arching off the bed.

Orgasms: Continuing on that theme, Five will not come until you have, at least once but preferably a couple of times. He considers this a personal challenge, and he’s going to do everything in his power to make sure you’re screaming and shaking before he’s satisfied enough to let himself go. Ok, sure, there are times when maybe he does not perform as amazingly as he’d like. Times when you drive him so fucking crazy with the way you’re writhing underneath him and looking at him with that sexy little pout of yours that he can’t hold back. He’ll feel guilty about it afterwards, though, so once he’s able to think straight again, he’ll make sure you’re taken care of.

Daddy kink: This is it, guys. The big one. The thing that he absolutely goes fucking crazy over. You want Five to lose his mind over you? Sit on his lap and call him Daddy. Purr it seductively next to his ear while you run a hand down his chest. Remind him of it when you’re on your knees, looking back up at him with wide, innocent eyes, as you slowly unbuckle his belt. Moan it loudly just before he makes you come. Odds are, he’s going to be the older one in the relationship, so it just plays into his preferred role of the man in charge. He is the Daddy, here, and don’t you fucking forget it.

Cum: He wants you either covered in it or filled with it. Five loves nothing more than to come inside of you, watching his load drip out of you, dripping down your legs or pooling on the sheets underneath you. But sometimes he can’t control himself, taking matters into his own hands, and covering your tits or your ass in ropes of his cum. Seeing his semen all over you lights up that feral part of his brain because it reminds him and you who you belong to. He usually does this when he’s not thinking clearly, and then will feel badly afterwards, especially if he didn’t tell you he was going to do it in the first place. You’ll have to tell him it’s ok and that you don’t mind; that you liked it, actually. After he feels better about himself, he’ll quickly blink into the bathroom and grab a washcloth or tissues to help clean you up.

Dominance: Obviously, Five likes to be the one calling the shots. He is going to tell you, or more likely order you, to do what he wants. Whether he wants you riding him hard and fast, or on your hands and knees so he can fuck you from behind, he’ll let you know. Or maybe he’ll just throw you around, no words needed, until he’s got you where he wants you. He wants to overpower you, hold you down, pin you against a wall, flatten you with his body on top of yours. He wants to grip your wrists tightly in his hands and shove your legs apart with his knees. You are his to do with what he wants, but that’s only because he knows that’s what you like. It might not even be anything rough or physical that shows he’s in charge. It could be a subtle look in your direction, or a small command of “Come here” or “No” to your request that has you weak in the knees and doing whatever he wants. You might have him wrapped around your finger in every other aspect of your relationship, but inside the bedroom he is the boss.

Submission: There is one tiny little caveat to that dominance thing. Once in a while, you get to be in charge. Yes, he likes to be the dominant one, but he’s also up for being the sub every now and then. Maybe it’s a spur of the moment thing that you hesitantly try, and for some reason, he’s into it that day. Maybe he’s really pissing you off and he needs to be reminded that you are not a doormat for his temper tantrums and misplaced rage. This is when things can really get fun. Now you get to order him around, and he’s going to listen. Make him to eat you out until you tell him to stop. Tie him up with his own necktie and make him really work for it. Tease him until his cock is so hard and leaking that he’s squirming and begging you to fuck him. Rub your wet pussy up and down his shaft, but don’t let him in, until he’s whining like a little bitch and you laugh before finally giving in. Call him a good boy and slap his ass. He will do it all for you, because he loves you. And maybe because he secretly likes it, too. And when it’s all over, he will pretend that it was a one-time deal and you are dreaming if you think that’s ever going to happen again. You know better, though.

Dirty talk: Oh boy, he’s a talker. Not only does Five like the sound of his own voice, he wants to hear yours, too. He is going to lay out his entire dirty plan for you, in detail, out loud while he gets started. Then, he’s going to share with you each of the thoughts running through his head during the act, as well. It all depends on his mood and whether he’s being rough or soft, demanding or sweet. “Fuck me harder” “You’re so tight, you feel amazing” “God damn it, I never want to stop fucking you” “You’re so beautiful” “I love you” “You’re all I need” He’s not shy about what he wants to hear from you, either. “Tell me who you belong to” “Whose cock do you want inside of you?” “Tell me how I make you feel” He wants to hear all of it. There may be a few times where he orders you to stay quiet while he teases and fucks you hard, but that won’t stop him from chattering away himself. Unless he’s got some severe laryngitis going on, you are going to hear A LOT from Five Hargreeves during sex.

Rough Sex: Yes! He wants to fuck you into the mattress, or wall, or floor, or whatever surface he can find. But not in a violent or cruel way; he knows how you like it and he’s going to deliver. He’s going to make getting your pussy pounded into oblivion feel amazing. Shoving his cock inside of you, your leg thrown over his shoulder, sweat forming on his body, hair flopping in his eyes, jaw set in concentration as he rams into you over and over until you are screaming. He loves you, he’ll remind you, as he flips you over onto all fours and continues to fuck you so perfectly that you won’t be able to think or walk straight for a week. We’re talking hair-pulling, ass-slapping, sucking and biting until you’re bruised kind of rough.

Sweet/slow Sex: Also yes! Five likes it rough sometimes, but he also likes to take his time with you. He loves you, you are his entire world, and he just can’t believe you love him, too. So, he will cover your body with soft kisses, caressing every part of you while he tells you how gorgeous you are. He will worship your body, because to him you are the most perfect woman in the world. He will never love anyone else but you, and as he fucks you slow and rhythmically, with your legs and arms wrapped tightly around him, he will gaze lovingly into your eyes and tell you so.

Insecurities: We all know Five is the most confident man in the room. He’s arrogant and bossy, and isn’t afraid of anything or anyone. But, he has a lot of trauma, and with that comes shame, and regret, and feelings of inadequacy. Most people don’t know this about him. Most people except for you. With you, he let’s his guard down. He is safe with you and he can finally be himself. When the nightmares come, or the panic attacks, or just the overwhelming thoughts of self-doubt that plague him, he turns to you for comfort. Sometimes that means just lying there with you in the dark, as he lays his head on your chest and you give him soft kisses and run your fingers through his hair. Other times, he may need more than that. Because he needs to feel you, all of you, to make sure you are real. His touches and kisses will lead to more, and it all has to do with love and not lust, and his vulnerability with you. You are his lifeline to the only real happiness he knows and he’s terrified of it being ripped away from him again. He will bury his face in the crook of your neck while he thrusts slowly into you, kissing you softly and trying desperately not to shed the tears that are already making their way down his face. He wants to hear you say you’ll never leave him because he doesn’t want to be alone. And when you reassure him over and over with more kisses and whispers of how much you love him, he will eventually relax once more.

Names: Five loves to give you pet names. Sometimes they give a sense of his dominance over you, or may even be sarcastic if he’s being a jerk (sweetheart and honey can sound completely different depending on his tone). Other times they are just a form of his love for you and even if they are old fashioned (darling, my love, etc), you love hearing them from him. He likes to have a special name for you that no one else calls you, too. And he generally saves a couple just for sexy times (“go on baby, come for me”) that he knows drives you crazy. You can have pet names for him, too, and you love knowing you are the only one that can get away with that.

His own name: Along the same lines, Five wants to hear you say his name. When you’re whispering it quietly as he’s trailing kisses down your neck. As you’re whining and begging pitifully when he teases you and holds out on you instead of just fucking you like you want. And especially when you are screaming his name so loud the neighbors down the street can hear. It totally plays into his ego to have you moaning his name while he’s making you lose your mind with his cock or his fingers. Once you start sobbing and crying out his name in pure ecstasy, he’s probably not going to be able to last much longer because that is music to his ears. But if you really want to kick it up a notch and pretty much guarantee he’s going to be violently coming inside of you in a matter of seconds, use his full name. Throwing in a ‘Number Five’ is like an automatic switch for him and its game over.

Loud sex: Continuing on…he wants you loud. This goes along with the dirty talk and moaning his name. He wants to hear you. He wants the neighbors to hear you. He wants the whole god damn city to hear you. And he wants everyone to know just who is fucking you. Maybe it will make run-ins with neighbors at the mailbox a little awkward in the morning, but Five doesn’t really give a shit. He wants his girl screaming so loud for him that it’s a wonder the cops don’t get called. And he’ll wear that badge of honor proudly, just adding to the other list of things he knows he’s the fucking king of.

Kissing: Five loves kissing you. He can’t get enough of it. Yes, he loves fucking and everything else sex-related, but kissing is always incorporated, even with the roughest of sex. Remember, this man is touch starved, but he also doesn’t like most people touching him. You are the exception. The fact that he has found someone to love and that loves him in return is nothing short of a miracle for him. So, kissing you and being kissed by you, is heaven. You can feel all of his love and desire for you in those kisses, whether they are soft and gentle, or hungry and desperate. He kisses you in the morning and when you leave for the day. He kisses you when you come home and before you go to sleep. Sometimes when you’re just standing there, washing dishes, or sitting reading a book, you will look so cute to him that he can’t help himself and he’ll tilt your face up towards him with a hand on your chin and kiss you until you want to melt into a puddle at his feet. He will also ask you to kiss him, stopping you as you walk by him by taking your hand and pulling you in close, an arm around your waist. “Kiss me. Please,” he’ll say quietly with the most innocent looking face and your heart will break for him. It’s the please that gets you. But he really doesn’t need to ask, because you will never not want to give him as many kisses as he needs.   

Masturbation: If anyone is an expert in jerking off, it’s Five Hargreeves. How could he not be? It was him and his hand/Dolores for 45 years, and a guy has needs. Would he prefer your mouth or your pussy to stick his dick in? Absolutely. But sometimes you’re not available, or the timing isn’t right, or you’re not in the mood. In which case, Five knows exactly how to efficiently and quickly rub one out and then go about his day. He loves to watch you finger yourself, though. Especially when he makes you tell him who you are thinking of while you’re doing it (always him). He also has no shame in masturbating in front of you while you are taking care of yourself. Sitting there, nonchalantly and slowly stroking his hard cock while he watches you play with yourself, maybe giving you directions while you do it. It’s just one of the ways he reminds you who’s in charge.

Praise: Yes, he will praise you for being a good girl. This kind of goes hand in hand with the Daddy kink. “Be a good girl for Daddy,” he’ll tell you while slowly running the back of his hand down your cheek. If you follow his directions, he will give you all the praise you deserve. “Such a good girl, taking it so well for me” “That’s my good girl” “That’s right baby, you’re perfect” “You’re doing so good, just a little longer sweetheart” He might be demanding you suck his cock or flinging you around like a ragdoll on the bed and fucking you senseless, but he will always tell you how good you are being for him. Like the perfect gentleman he is.

Appearance: This includes body type, clothing, lingerie, hair, and make-up. Five does not have a specific body type per se. If he finds you attractive, he finds you attractive, end of story. He may have a slight preference towards nice boobs and a tight ass, but that’s just on a superficial basis. Chubby tummy? Thick thighs? Flat chest? Bony elbows and knees? He does not care. If he loves you, then you’re the most beautiful woman in the world and he wouldn’t want you any other way. He does love a tight skirt and high heels, though. Watching your ass bounce along while you sashay your hips in front of him will have him wishing he could blink you away somewhere private, flip that skirt up, and take care of business. And if you whisper in passing that you’re not wearing any underwear, he just might. Five loves you fully naked, sprawled out just for him. But his brain misfires a few times when he sees you in sexy lingerie. A lace bra, tight corset, thong panties, or even just a skimpy little tank top has him drooling and stumbling all over himself in an effort to get his dick under control. Wearing a sexy outfit like this is a good way to make him the submissive one, because he will do anything for you at this point. It’s actually pretty hilarious to see him at a loss for words for once, jaw on the floor, and licking his lips at just the sight of you. A flustered Five is the best. He doesn’t have much preference for hair style, as long as there’s enough to grab in his fist when you’re blowing him. Same goes for make-up. The only exception to that is lipstick. Five loves when you wear red lipstick for him. He likes to see the trail it makes over his body as your lips kiss and suck him all over. He loves to see it smudged all over your mouth, on his face, and on his cock. It’s just one of those things that reminds him that you are all his.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Five leaned forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped together, daring your supervisor to repeat herself. You never would have dared but you had to admit, the assignment sounded ludicrous.

“I said,” your boss started slowly, clearly irritated by Five’s tone to which she should be used to by now. “You two need to investigate this lab.”

“Right, I heard that part,” Five said. “It’s the part about the deadly, noxious gas that I’m not understanding.”

“Not deadly,” she reminded him plainly. “It has mind-altering effects, but it is not deadly.”

“And you think someone on the inside is profiting from it?” you asked.

“Yes. Inside intelligence suggests that there is a mole somewhere in the building. They are trying to bottle and sell the gas to outside buyers, for their own gain. I need you two to infiltrate the lab and figure out who it is.”

“And why us, specifically?” Five asked warily.

Your boss sniffed and straightened a pile of papers on her desk. “Because you have the experience and the training to deal with any… unforeseen circumstances.”

Five smiled ruefully and shook his head, leaning back in his chair. “More like we’re expendable if shit hits the fan.”

You looked at Five, surprised. “You think we’re expendable?”

“No. But they do.” He gestured to your superior.

“I can assure you, that is not the case,” she said, bristling under her stiff, tailored blazer.

“And if we refuse the job?” Five asked.

“I’m afraid that’s not a possibility. This is an order.”

“Five, it’s fine. We’ll do it.” You turned towards your boss. “Consider it done, ma’am.”

“At least one of you understands how things work around here,” she said in Five’s direction. When neither of you said anything in return, she flicked her hand towards the door to her office. “You are dismissed.”

Out in the hallway, Five was sulking.

“This is bullshit,” he muttered as you walked side by side down the halls. “They’re using us as guinea pigs, you realize that, right?”

You sighed. “I highly doubt that. They said they needed us to investigate and make sure this gas doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. We should be flattered!”

Five stopped in his tracks and stared at you. You stopped, too, confused. “What?”

“Are you really that naïve?” he asked you, his arms folded over his chest. “Because I really thought you were one of the smarter ones around here, but if you think this is a real job, then I may have to rethink that.”

You threw your hands in the air. “Five, why in the world would they send us on some weird mission to investigate a gas if it weren’t for finding out information? Just for shits and giggles?”

“Yeah, actually.”

“Oh my god, you need help.” You started walking again and Five continued with you. “I think you’ve been trapped in this building too long. Go for a walk. Breathe some fresh air.”

“I don’t need fresh air. I need a partner that can use her brain.”

“I have a brain, Five,” you sighed. “One that works perfectly well, too. But if you have a problem with me as your partner—”

“No,” Five cut in. “That’s not what I’m saying. Just… “ he lowered his voice. “Just think, ok? She didn’t even tell us what this gas was.”

“She said it was a mind-altering agent.”

“Exactly. And what the fuck does that mean? Are we going to start crawling around on all fours and barking like dogs? What are we dealing with here?”

You held up the file you had taken from your boss. “I’m sure it’s all in here.” You smiled sweetly at Five. “I’d love to see you on all fours, though.”

“I’m sure you would,” he said with a smirk. “Too bad that’s never going to happen.”

“Hmm… a girl can dream.” You reached your office and you put a hand on the doorknob. “You know, it’s been four years and I still haven’t seen you in anything but that suit. Shame.”

“Are you flirting with me, agent?”

“Nope. Just trying to imagine you in a sweatshirt or something.” You tilted your head and eyed him up. “No… can’t do it.”

“Well, when you are done undressing me with your eyes, come find me in my office. We can talk about this case.”

“You realize you can just come into my office, right? We’re standing right here.”

“Do you have a $300 espresso maker with a top-of-the-line milk frother in your office?”

“No. Can’t say that I do.”

“My office, then.”

“You are so weird, I swear,” you answered with a sigh. “Fine. Give me a couple minutes and I’ll meet you there.”

Five nodded and started to walk away. “I’ll order Thai. You want the usual?” he called over his shoulder.

“Yes, please!”

“Extra spicy, right?”

“Five! NO spice!”

Five turned and smirked as he walked backwards, his hands in his pockets. “Oh right. Almost forgot.”

**********************

“Seems pretty simple to me,” you said as you slurped up the last of your noodles from the take-out container.

You had taken your shoes off and your bare feet were propped up on the small coffee table in Five’s office while you slumped against the black leather couch that he had acquired through means you hadn’t quite figured out yet.

“Mind-altering gas that can be used to extract true confessions out of suspects.” You shrugged, setting the container down. “Not exactly ground breaking.”

Five huffed and leaned back in his chair at his desk. “Something is weird about this.”

“Here we go again.” You rolled your eyes. “You’re always so paranoid.”

Five snorted out a laugh. “I prefer ‘discernable attention to detail’. But either way, probably a good trait to have working for the CIA, don’t you think?”

You grinned. “Perhaps.”

Five sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. He had taken his coat off and loosened his tie before rolling up his shirt sleeves earlier. You tried not to stare at his bare forearms like they were some sort of forbidden fruit. Tried and failed.

Five frowned when he saw you staring, slack-jawed. “What?”

You shook your head, snapping your mouth shut. “Nothing.” Clearing your throat, you pointed to the file again. “So, tomorrow, then? We’ll head to the lab after hours and see what we can find out?”

“Sure, why not? Can’t think of a better way to spend my evening,” he said sarcastically.

As you got up off the couch, you grabbed your food container and threw it in the garbage. You looked around on the floor for your shoes, but only saw one. You sighed, kneeling down on the ground to check under the couch. You found it and pulled it out. When you stood up and faced Five, he quickly looked away. If it were anyone else, you would have thought he was embarrassed. But you were fairly certain that Five didn’t possess that emotion. He was much too confident for that.

“You good?” you asked, sliding your heels back on.

“Yeah,” Five answered firmly, although you detected a slight crack in his voice.

“Alright, then. See you tomorrow,” you said as you headed toward the door.

“Oh, hang on,” Five said. He grabbed your cardigan that you had thrown off earlier and laid in a ball on his desk. He blinked in front of you, reappearing very close, and handed you the sweater.

You were used to his blinking, having been his partner for a number of years, but this particular time had you a little flustered. He was so close you would have only had to lean in just an inch or so to kiss him. But you scrubbed that image from your mind as fast as it had arrived and took the sweater from him.

“Thanks,” you said.

He didn’t move from his spot and you both stood there, regarding one another in the awkward silence for what felt like years. You finally smiled and pointed at the door.

“You’re blocking my way.”

“Oh,” Five said. “Right. Sorry.” He stepped out of the way and let you pass by.

“See you tomorrow, Five.”

“Yeah, see you.”

*******************

The next evening, you arrived at Five’s office, as planned. The building was quiet, with most everyone having gone home earlier. There were still the security guards, of course, and a few other people working late on reports or avoiding their families at home. But for the most part, you were alone.

You opened the door without knocking; something you knew Five hated, just to get a rise out of him.

“Howdy, pard’ner!” you exclaimed in a very bad southern accent.

Five was standing at his desk, looking his pistol over, when he glanced up.

“If I had accidentally shot you just now, it would have been warranted,” he deadpanned.

“Oh, Five… when will you succumb to the fact that you think my antics are adorable?”

“When hell freezes over,” he said as he shoved his gun inside his suit coat. “When pigs fly. When my siblings grow an extra brain cell and stop being morons. Take your pick.”

You laughed and even Five smiled a little.

“You ready?” you asked.

Five nodded. “I still think something is off with this assignment. It doesn’t feel right.”

“So you’ve said.”

Five closed his door behind you as you both moved into the hallway. You started to make your way to the elevator.

“I know you think I’m crazy, and that’s fine. But if I find out this is some sort of set-up, I’m going to be demanding an apology from you.”

You smirked as you both stepped into the elevator and Five pushed the button for the basement level, where the lab was.

“Well, you do love to boss me around, so that would be nothing different.”

Neither of you spoke on the way down, although the air was filled with more tension than normal. Probably because it was late and there were no other people getting on and off like usual. It was just you and Five. You could smell the very light scent of his after shave or cologne or soap or something that was inexplicably overwhelming your senses. You could hear the faint sound of his breathing and the soft rustle of his suit material as he shifted next to you. When your gaze fell to his hands and the inside of his wrist, you swallowed loudly.

Five glanced at you but didn’t say anything. Finally, the elevator arrived at your floor and the doors opened. You practically sprinted out, gratefully breathing in a lungful of stale, slightly mildew-scented air, while trying not to look conspicuous. You straightened your skirt and waited for Five.

If he noticed your odd behavior, he didn’t mention it. Instead, he motioned ahead of him.

“The lab is down at the end. After you.”

You walked ahead, your heels clicking on the linoleum. You realized now that it was probably a stupid idea to wear your normal work attire. No one was around and your mission was supposed to be a secret. The idea of some comfortable sweats and tennis shoes sounded pretty good right about now.

As you neared the end of the hall, you turned around abruptly. You caught Five’s eyes skirting away at the last second, trying to play it cool, and shoving his hands in his pockets. You were pretty sure he had been checking out your ass. You wanted to tease him about it, but you had a job to do.

Five knew this, too, and as he approached you saw his face switch from “casually sarcastic” to “business mode”.

“Ok, so we’ll do this just as we planned,” he said quietly, after double checking that no one else was around. “We get in, we look for any documents or evidence of outside deals, and we get the hell out.”

You nodded. Five took out his key card that doubled as his CIA ID. Normally you would not have had clearance for this particular room, but your boss had upgraded both of your cards when she assigned you this job.

Five scanned the card across the lock, where it immediately clicked and the little light turned green. He pushed the door and held it open for you.

The inside of the lab was dark and when you found the light switch and flicked it on, the fluorescent lights above crackled to life. You and Five took a look around, surveying your surroundings.

“This is a lab?” you asked, your nose scrunching up.

The room was pentagonal in shape, which had not been apparent from outside the door. There were no windows or other entrances. The floor was covered in a thin, red and brown checkered carpet. There was one row of standard, white cabinets and a counter than ran across the back wall. The rest of the room was completely empty.

“This makes no sense,” Five muttered, spinning in a circle as he took the place in. “Why is it empty?”

You shrugged and pointed at the back. “There is that stuff. I guess that’s all they needed to make whatever it is.”

Five’s face was pinched in concentration and concern. “No… something’s wrong.”

“Ok, I admit that it’s weird. But I still think you are being too paranoid. Come on, let’s just go check out the stuff in the back and if we can’t find anything, then we leave. No big deal.”

Five nodded. “Yeah, alright.”

You started on opposite ends of the counter, opening drawers and cabinets as you moved toward the middle. There was nothing suspicious in any of them. A few glass beakers and flasks. An advanced chemistry text book. Some utensils and a Bunsen burner. But there were definitely no papers or other documents that could be evidence. As you both reached the last and middle cupboard, you reached up to open it.

Five put his hand on yours, stopping you. “Wait.”

You laughed. “What? You think something’s going to jump out at us?”

“I don’t know.” He looked around the room again. “I just have a bad feeling about this.”

“We’re almost done. There’s clearly nothing in here of note.”

Five took his hand away and you opened the door to the cabinet. It was completely empty. You looked at Five and smiled, gesturing inside.

“See, scaredy cat? Nothing.”

At that exact same moment, you heard a loud bang that echoed through the room and another noise that sounded like a steel door slamming shut outside. As you and Five exchanged worried looks, there was a soft hissing sound over your heads.

You looked up simultaneously, watching in slow horror as a white mist began seeping out of a vent near the ceiling.

“What the… ?” you asked, turning around.

“This is not good,” Five said.

Two other vents in the room were starting to leak the mysterious gas, as well. Within seconds, a thick layer had formed near the ceiling.

“We gotta get out of here,” Five told you before grabbing your hand and tugging you towards the door.

He scanned his key card across the reader, but nothing happened. He tried again, but there was no click or green light.

“Try yours.”

You pulled out your key and tried, but it was the same result. Nothing.

“Can’t you blink us out?” you asked, trying not to panic as the fog crept lower.

“Right,” Five said, as if he had forgotten. “Sorry.”

No stranger to having Five blink you out of precarious situations, you took hold of his arm while you waited for him to power up. Five made a jerking motion with his body, but nothing happened. He tried again, but still nothing.

“What’s going on?” you asked.

“I don’t know,” Five answered, staring at his hands in confusion. “I can’t blink.”

He tried again, this time concentrating harder. A faint blue light flickered from his hands and for a second you thought there was hope. But the light died away again.

“I don’t understand,” he said, breathing hard. He tried again, grunting with the effort to produce enough power to jump you both out of there, but he couldn’t. The blue power came and went in small bursts but never stayed.

“Shit!” he yelled.

You let go of his arm. “This is bad.”

“Yeah, I know it’s fucking bad,” he shot back at you.

Just then there was a crackle coming from somewhere above and a voice began to speak.

“Good evening, agents. It has come to our attention that you may have come into contact with a potentially toxic material. Please remain calm.”

“Remain calm!?” Five shouted into the air. “You trapped us in here!”

“CIA safety regulations require that we shut down and seal any room that has been contaminated until the threat has been neutralized.”

“But we’re in the contaminated room, assholes!” you screamed to the disembodied voice that seemed to be coming from a small speaker high on the wall.

There was a pause. Then the voice returned. “I’m sorry, agents, but the room is sealed shut and cannot be opened again until the threat is cleared.”

“Well, when the fuck is that going to happen?” Five asked.

“We are sending a Hazmat crew down there now. As soon as the area is swept for contaminates and it is deemed safe, they will notify the proper chain of command and we can authorize your release.”

You and Five looked at one another in horror.

“How long is that going to take?” you asked, not really sure you wanted to know the answer.

There was another pause. “If all goes well… approximately twelve hours.”

Five groaned and you started to bang on the door with your fists. “Let us out of here, you pedantic cock suckers!” you screamed.

“Why the fuck can’t I blink?” Five yelled to the speaker. “What did you do to my powers?”

“I’m afraid that is an unfortunate side effect of the steel structure that has sealed the lab shut.”

“Liar! I can blink through steel! The only thing that could affect it is… “ Five’s voice trailed off as he made a realization.  Then he yelled at the speaker again. “You assholes lined this place with an electrical force field?”

“Again, this is for all of our employees’ and the public’s safety.”

“Bullshit!” Five barked. “This was a trap!”

“Let! Us! Out!” you screamed, kicking at the door and pounding on it with your fists. “Cum guzzling fuck sticks!”

Five belted out a few more curses and you continued to bang at the door, but the voice never came back. The fog continued to seep lower and lower.

Eventually, Five grabbed your wrist as you were mid-swing. “Stop. It’s useless. They aren’t coming.”

You were breathing hard and your hair was plastered against your neck and cheeks as you stared at Five in horror.

“Holy shit, we’re going to die in here, aren’t we?”

Five took a deep breath and shook his head. “Listen, assuming the file they gave us was correct and not some made-up bullshit, the gas is not lethal. Remember?”

You tried to steady your breathing and you nodded slowly. “Right. Yeah, you’re right. It was just created as an interrogation tool.”

“Right. So, we may feel some weird effects, but it’s not going to kill us, ok?”

You looked down at Five’s hand that was still encircling your wrist. He followed your gaze and then quickly let you go. He started to pace around the room. You leaned against the wall and slid down, pulling your knees up to your chest and resting your forehead against them.

“God, this sucks,” you groaned.

The mist seemed to have stopped coming out of the vents and the air in the room was beginning to clear. You lifted your head.

“Maybe it’s all done. Maybe it doesn’t work as well as they think it does,” you said hopefully.

Five was still pacing. “No. There’s nowhere for it to have gone. It’s just mixed into the air now, but it’s still there.”

You leaned your head against the wall. “You know what the worst part of this is?”

“What’s that?”

“You were right.”

Five stopped and looked at you. You both grinned. “Let that be a lesson to you,” he told you. “Always… and I mean always… listen to me.”

You rolled your eyes. “Jesus… this gas must be affecting me. I don’t know why I just admitted that.”

Five started laughing and you looked up at him with a frown. “What’s so funny?”

“I have never heard anyone call someone a cum guzzling fuck stick before.”

You snorted out a laugh. “That was a good one, right?”

“Pretty impressive,” Five said with a nod. “I’ll have to borrow that one sometime.”

There was a minute of silence between you when you suddenly felt a wave of heat roll through your body. You started to fan yourself with your hand. You looked at Five, who was pulling at his tie like he was choking.

“It’s hot in here, right? Do you think the air circulation is being cut off?”

Five wiped at the back of his neck as he started to sweat. “I don’t know.”

“Do you think it’s an effect of the gas?”

“Could be.” Five shrugged off his suit coat. “Besides lowering inhibitions, I’m not sure what other side effects this stuff has.”

As Five unknotted his tie and unbuttoned the top couple of buttons on his shirt, you found yourself staring at his hands and at the divot of his collarbone visible under his shirt. You licked your lips and swallowed. Five seemed oblivious to your ogling, so you continued to eye up the rest of his body, noting the way his shirt was tucked neatly into his pants. You wondered how it would feel to slip your hand into the waistband.

“Hey, can you not sit like that?” Five asked, irritated.

You still had your knees drawn up to your chest. “Why?”

“Because I can see up your skirt,” Five told you, almost angrily.

“Then look away.”

Instead of doing that, though, his gaze lingered on your legs and then the area between them that was just slightly visible. His nostrils flared.

“Stop being a brat,” he huffed, before turning his back on you.

You scowled at his back, but you stretched your legs out in front of you and kicked your shoes off. The sweater you had been wearing over your sleeveless top was too warm, so you took that off and tossed it to the side.

It was apparent to you now that the gas was starting to take effect, if only a little bit. Along with the warmth spreading through your body, you were beginning to feel… odd.

You couldn’t stop looking at Five. Granted, he was pacing like a caged animal across the room, but your eyes never left him. The way his body moved was hypnotizing. The loose strands of hair that he would push off his face in frustration made your breath catch in your throat. When you watched his mouth while he was muttering and cursing to himself, you almost moaned out loud.

It was no secret that half of the female population of CIA employees, and several male ones, were jealous of your partnership with Five. They would stare lustily after him as you two walked down the halls together, and glare angrily at you. You were pretty sure Five was oblivious to this, but you weren’t. You pretended you didn’t care. Five was your partner and friend and also kind of a dick. These other people just didn’t know him like you did, so all they saw was the handsome outer packaging.

In reality… you loved it.

You would smirk to yourself when some coworker would give you the cold shoulder but fall all over themselves trying to talk to Five. When someone would hold a door open for Five, but let it close right in your face, it made you want to laugh out loud.

Because the truth was, you liked having him all to yourself. No one else knew that he was actually hilarious and a not a total stuffed shirt all the time. No one else got to see when he relaxed, just a little, behind closed doors and had a real conversation with you. And no one else was privileged enough to be able to work side by side with him and earn his respect.

They just saw him as Scary Hot Guy In A Suit™, when only you knew that he was much more than that.

But you also had to admit that he was a hot guy. Damn it, he was hot. You’d thought so from the very moment you were partnered with him, but you were professional enough to keep that to yourself. There had been multiple times, though, on late night cases or long days cooped up in some small room together, that you could not keep the thoughts out of your head.

Those thoughts that included jumping on top of him and kissing him until you both couldn’t breathe. Or day dreaming about what his hands, or mouth, would feel like all over your body. Wondering just what kind of weapon he was concealing in his pants. And you didn’t mean the standard issued Glock.

Sometimes, when you were lying alone at night in your apartment, you wondered what it would be like to fall asleep next to him. What would it feel like to be wrapped up in his arms, completely devoid of any of the monotony or seriousness of work? When it was just you and him in the silence of your bedroom and you could be your real and true selves without any of the CIA bullshit.

Right now, however, as you were trapped in this room together, watching him prowl in front of you, a sudden tsunami of inappropriate thoughts slammed right into your hypothalamus. And it was quite clear that these were much more aggressive than your normal sexy daydreams.

You squeezed your thighs together and bit at your lower lip. “Hey Five?”

“Yeah?” he answered, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Do you feel weird?”

“Weird how?”

You shrugged, stuffing your hands under your legs to keep them from doing anything else. “I don’t know…” You did know, but you didn’t want to admit it. “Just weird.”

“Wow, such great descriptors,” he said snarkily.

Then he turned to you and stopped. His mouth opened part way as his eyes roamed over your body and then your face. You could see the way his chest started to rise and fall as his breathing ramped up. His hands curled into fists at his side.

“Stop doing that,” he said, quietly, as his hand rose slowly and he undid another button on his shirt.

“What now?”

“Biting your lip.” He drew in a loud breath and exhaled slowly. “And looking at me like that.”

You pressed your lips together and shook your head. “I’m not looking at you like anything. Besides, why don’t you stop unbuttoning your shirt and staring at my legs?”

“I’m not doing—” Five looked down at his hand on his shirt button, like it had been working without his knowledge. He let it fall to his side, bewildered.

Your eyes widened. “Oh, shit. It’s the gas.”

“What is?”

“Don’t you see? It’s not just lowering inhibitions. It’s making us horny.”

Five opened his mouth to argue but then snapped it shut again. He took a step back, like he was afraid of you. “Fuck,” he whispered.

He started to pace again, but you could see he was even more agitated and he kept stealing sidelong glances at you.

“Ok, yeah, you’re right. It must be some side effect of the gas. It’s fine, though. We are grown adults; we can handle this.” He unbuttoned another button on his shirt. “You just stay over there and I’ll stay over here and it’ll wear off soon.”

You exhaled loudly, puffing out your cheeks. “Awesome,” you mumbled.

But it was not wearing off. If anything, it was getting worse. The ache in between your legs was growing stronger and you couldn’t help rubbing your thighs together when you thought Five wasn’t watching.

“Can you stop doing that?” you snapped at him.

“What?”

“Rolling up your shirt sleeves like that?” you said, trying not to outright pant at the sight. “It’s fucking me up.”

“Oh, yeah?” he taunted with a smirk. He continued to roll up his sleeves, slower now, while looking you in the eye. “Is that a turn on for you?”

“Five!” you scolded. “This isn’t helping the situation!”

He shook his head. “Sorry, sorry. This shit is no joke.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” You looked up at him with a dreamy smile. “You are pretty fucking hot, though. You know that right?”

He looked at you like you grew another head. “What are you talking about?”

“I know I’m probably only telling you this because of whatever shit they pumped into the room here, but it is true. Everyone thinks so. That’s why they’re all jealous of me. Because I get to work with you.”

Five finally stopped moving and sat down a few feet from you, leaning against the wall. You decided not to mention the fact that he had said to stay on opposite sides of the room.

“That’s not exactly true. Most of those women are jealous because you are smarter and sexier than they will ever be.”

You drew your head back in surprise. “What?”

Five nodded. “They probably see how I look at you when you’re not looking.”

The thought that Five was attracted to you was shocking and also exciting. You had no idea he thought of you as anything other than a friend and work associate.

“And how do you look at me when I’m not looking?” you asked quietly.

He swallowed thickly and turned his head away. “You know this is just the gas talking right? This doesn’t mean anything.”

“Yeah, I know,” you said. You shifted a few inches closer. “But I still want to hear it.”

Five turned to face you. His eyes were clouded with lust and confusion and he shook his head like he was trying to clear all of it from his mind. “Let’s not talk about this. It will only make things worse.”

You thought for a second and then decided to ignore his direction. Your whole body was vibrating with arousal now, and the only thing you could focus on was Five and how desperately you wanted him. You shifted even closer to him.

“Five,” you breathed out. You waited for him to look at you. He was breathing fast and hard and you couldn’t stop staring longingly at the small amount of exposed skin near his collarbone. “How do you really see me?”

He hesitated and his eyebrows drew together. “Don’t make me do this. It’s not fair.”

“What? Tell the truth?”

Five nodded. “Yeah.”

You closed the gap between you and kneeled directly next to him on the floor. He scanned your body, lingering on your chest and then your lips. You couldn’t really believe you were acting so bold, but it was like you had no control over anything. Your thoughts, your movements, your body. You had this sudden urge to say and do everything you had been pushing down over the past few years.

“I’ll tell you the truth,” you said. “I think about you all the time. Not just at work, but all the time. I wish you were with me when we’re apart. I feel weird when you aren’t around, like I’m missing something. You drive me crazy, but also… you drive me crazy.” You laughed and blushed. “Wow, that sounds really dumb when I say it out loud.”

Five’s mouth turned up at the corner. “It doesn’t sound dumb. It sounds very familiar.”

“So, tell me.”

Five sat up, leaning in closer. “You want to know how I look at you?”

“Yes,” you whispered.

He moved in, placing his hand on the side of your neck and grazing your cheek with his thumb. “Like you are the only woman I want and can’t have.”

The sharp gasp and quiet whimper that you let out was cut off almost immediately by Five’s kiss. It was gentle and possessive, somehow at the same time, and he traced your bottom lip with his tongue, like he was tasting you. When you drew apart, both panting and wide eyed, he took his hand away.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “That was really stupid.”

You nodded. “I know.”

“This isn’t real.”

“I know that, too. But the thing is… do you care?” you asked, resting your hand on his leg.

Five waited for a few beats and then shook his head. “No. Not even a little.”

When you kissed again, it was desperate and heated. You were both on your knees, grabbing and tearing at each other’s clothes. You were finally getting your hands on the body you’d been lusting after for so long, and you were relieved to find out it did not disappoint.

You tugged his shirt out from his pants and ripped it open down the front, ignoring the few buttons that flung off somewhere. As you pushed the sleeves down his arms, he pulled your shirt up. You pulled away just long enough to raise your arms up and let him drag it over your head.

“Oh my god,” you whined as you ran your hands hungrily over his chest and arms. “This is not fair.”

“What’s not fair?” he asked, moving his mouth to your neck and working at getting your bra unclasped.

“Now I’m going to know just exactly how hot you are under your clothes and I’m never going to get any work done.”

Five laughed before sucking hard at your skin and making you moan. Your bra came off and was flung away. He looked down at your half-naked body.

“I could say the same thing,” he said.

He attacked you again, kissing you so hard that your breath was quite literally taken away. Before you knew it, you were on your back, with Five holding himself over you.

“We should not be doing this,” you said as you raked your fingers through his hair and drew your nails down his back.

“No, we shouldn’t,” Five agreed while adding more marks to your neck and squeezing your tits.

When Five pressed his hard groin against yours, you both stopped for a second and your eyes met. “I know this is out of our control, but just tell me one thing.” He pushed harder against you and you closed your eyes. “Tell me you want this.”

“I’ve never wanted anything so badly in my life,” you panted out.

Five let out a sigh of relief. “Thank god.”

Then he was on you again, wrestling with your skirt and pulling at the zipper in the back. At the same time, you were fumbling with his belt and fly of his pants.

“Fucking… zipper… “he grumbled as he impatiently tried to yank on the small metal tab at the back. He growled with his teeth clenched. “Fuck it.”

Five roughly shoved your skirt up your thighs until it was hiked up around your hips. While he held himself over you with one arm, he pushed your hand away from his pants and quickly undid them with his free hand. After his pants and boxers were pulled down far enough, he tugged your panties to the side. In one shift motion, he rammed his cock inside of you.

The action was sudden and aggressive and had you both sucking in a loud breath while staring wide eyed at one another.

“I’m sorry,” Five said, his chest heaving. “I couldn’t help it…are you…”

“Just fuck me, Five,” you told him desperately, your fingers digging into the flesh of his arms.

He nodded, his mouth turned slightly up at one corner, and started to thrust his hips into you. He didn’t stop watching your face and gauging your reactions. His dark eyebrows were drawn together in concentration, or maybe worry, as he gazed down at you, his lips parted.

He was fucking you, just like you told him, but there was something off about it. Not that it didn’t feel good; it felt incredible. But you had known Five for a long time and you knew his tells. You could see it written all over his face. He was restraining himself.

“Don’t hold back, Five,” you told him, in between soft whimpers.

Five groaned and shook his head. “I can’t.”

You looked him right in the eyes. He was afraid of losing full control of himself. “Don’t hold back,” you told him again. “I want it. I want you.”

Five stopped, for just a second, and scanned your face. He knew all of your tells, too, and right now he could see that you were telling the truth. His face broke out in a wide grin.

With one fluid movement, he had your arms pinned over your head on the floor. He held them there with one hand around your wrists as he started to rail you as hard as possible. The once concerned expression on his face was now pure, indulgent lust. He was slamming into you with rough, frenetic thrusts that had you wrapping your legs around him just to have something to hold onto.

“Oh, fuck, I’ve been wanting to do this for so long,” he grunted out as he drilled harder and faster into you.

As he hit a particularly sensitive spot, you cried out, squeezing your thighs tighter around his waist.

“Right. Fucking. There,” you gritted out. You let out a high-pitched moan. “Fuuuckkk…. Yes!”

Five had the audacity, although not totally surprising, to smirk smugly at your reaction before driving into you with as much ferocity as he could; ratcheting up his game by holding your wrists tighter and snarling down on you.

“How’s that?” he hissed.

“Y-YES!” you screamed, your voice echoing off the walls of the near-empty room. “Oh god… FIVE!”

As your body contracted and convulsed under him, Five continued his fierce fucking; unwilling or unable to let up. After a few more harsh snaps of his hips into you, he let go with a long, husky groan through tightly-clenched teeth.

It felt like an eternity as you both lay there, panting and sweating, with Five collapsed half on top of you and your legs still loosely encircling his waist. When Five had enough mental strength to haul himself off of you and lie next to you on the floor, he stared up at the ceiling, trying to get his breath. His pants were still halfway down his legs and your skirt was still hiked up.

Five rolled his head to the side to look at you. “Well, shit.”

You nodded. “Indeed.”

There was another long pause, with nothing but your heavy breathing filling the air. You turned back to him again.

“Five?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not sure how, but I’m still horny.”

Five looked at you and started to laugh. “Good news… me too.”

You smiled and hurried to your feet, taking your skirt and panties fully off. Five struggled on the floor, trying to pull his pants off.

“Hurry up,” you complained.

“Give me a break, would you?” Five snapped.

As soon as he freed his legs and was sitting upright on the floor, you straddled Five’s lap while he held you to him, your chests pressed together. You circled your legs around him; not waiting even a second before your mouth was on him again. Your hands were in his hair, then the back of his neck, and then his shoulders and arms as he kissed you hungrily.

He tugged at your hair with one hand while his other rested warmly on the small of your back. You were just as pent up with desire as you had been earlier. The substance that was now flooding your brain and bloodstream was stronger than ever. It was like you hadn’t just fucked a few minutes ago.

You were biting and pulling at his lips with your teeth as you slid your wetness over his already-hardening cock. His hips rocked into you.

“I need you,” you rasped in between frantic kisses. “I need you inside me again.”

Five had moved to your neck, marking and bruising it with ferocious bites that had you gasping out loud. He pulled back, repositioning your legs, before lying on his back.

“Ride me,” he told you; his voice hoarse from struggling for breath.

You didn’t want to wait or draw anything out; you needed him so badly it hurt. With a little guidance from your hand, you sunk down with a loud moan, letting his cock fill you up entirely. You pushed your knees out to the sides to drive him in even further and he gripped your hips with both hands.

“Grab your tits for me, sweetheart,” Five ordered as you started to move on top of him.

You did as he asked, massaging your tits with both hands and squeezing them together. Five watched you, transfixed, as you pinched your nipples and threw your head back with a groan.

“This is so much better than I imagined,” he breathed out.

You opened your eyes and smirked. “So, you’ve imagined me on top of you? Naked?” You slammed your hips down extra hard.

Five sucked in a sharp breath and his fingers tightened on your hips. “Fuck yes, I have.”

You tilted your head in interest. “Do you get off thinking about me, agent?”

Five gave you a crooked smile. “I think you already know the answer to that.”

You leaned in, grasping his shoulders while still thrusting on top of him. “Yeah, but I want to hear you say it,” you whispered near his ear.

Five began moving you forcibly back and forth on top of him, quickening your pace while he let out a soft groan.

“Yeah, I imagine fucking you while I jerk myself off,” he told you, seemingly unembarrassed by this confession. Then he grabbed your chin in his hand and forced you to look at him. “And I know you do the same damn thing.”

There was no time for a retort, because you were being flung through space by one of Five’s blinks, landing in the back of the room, facing the random counter that ran along the back. You could hardly figure out what had happened when you were being pushed down by a hand on your back, so that you were bent over. Your palms squeaked along the shiny surface as your hips were pulled back.

“I thought you couldn’t blink,” you said with a short laugh, looking over your shoulder.

Five was grinning, his hair a mess and still breathing hard. “I can’t blink us out. Within the room seems to work just fine.”

You cried out when he shoved his cock inside you again, sliding in easily. He let out a shaky groan. You felt his warm breath on your shoulder and his lips graze the back of your neck.

“Now I want to hear you say it,” he told you; his voice hardened in that way you had heard him use when giving orders to underlings. It had always given you a little shiver of pleasure when you had heard it before, but now you were absolutely quivering when it was directed at you.

“You think about me when you get off, don’t you?” he asked before slamming his hips against you while he held you firmly from behind.

“Yesss,” you admitted with a pathetic groan. “Oh, fuck… " you whined, pushing your ass into him.

Five started fucking into you harder and faster, like he was reading your mind and could see what depraved fantasies you’d had of him over the years. Being fucked so hard you could hardly breathe was definitely one of them.

“God… you feel so… fucking… good,” he hissed out.

When he made you come a second time, you gripped the edge of the counter, the tips of your fingers turning white, and your eyes squeezed shut. You let out moans and whimpers and groaned his name while your body jerked against him.

“Ah, fuucckk,” Five growled as he finished immediately after you, holding your body tightly.

You could feel his cum seeping out of you and down your legs. When he pulled out, a gush of it dripped onto the thin carpet beneath your feet.

You turned around, and leaned back against the counter. Five was still breathing hard and he pushed his hair off his damp forehead.

“This is fucking insane,” he told you.

You nodded. “I wonder when it wears off?”

Five shook his head, his hands on his bare hips, as he looked you up and down. “I don’t know. But it’s not now.”

“Fuck,” you breathed out, partially in disappointment and partially with arousal.

He was right. It definitely wasn’t wearing off yet.

Six hours later, as you and Five were lying side-by-side on your backs on the floor, sore and exhausted, but finally sated, there was a staticky noise from the speaker on the wall.

“Attention, agents. Good news! Our team was able to assess and remedy the situation much quicker than originally estimated. The area has been declared safe again.” There was a loud noise of the steel barriers being lifted from behind the door and walls. “You are free to leave. Please report to your superior for debriefing.”

“How about I debrief you with my foot up your ass?” Five snarled in the general direction of the ceiling.

“Mother fuckers,” you mumbled as you sat up with a groan. “Shit… my whole body hurts.”

Five chuckled and then got to his feet, grabbing his boxers and tugging them on. He reached down to lend you a hand and helped you up.

“I’d like to say I’m sorry, but… I’m really not,” he said with a sideways smirk.

You laughed. “I’d like to say I’m complaining, but… I’m really not.”

Neither of you said much else as you worked on getting your clothes back on and hair smoothed back into place as much as possible. You were positive the smell of sweat and sex was lingering on your bodies, as well as in the air of the room, and you hoped there wouldn’t be a team of people waiting for you on the other side of the door.

When you were both dressed again, you turned to Five.

“You’re not going to shoot the place up, are you?” you asked, mostly kidding.

Five let out a short laugh and put his hands in his pockets. “No. Not today, anyway.”

“So… " you started nervously. “About us… "

Five held up his hand to stop you. “We’ll figure it out later. Right now I need a drink, a shower, and probably a couple of ice packs.”

You both grinned at one another and then Five opened the door for you and followed you out into the boring, colorless hallway of the CIA basement.

*****************

After the “incident”, you and Five had expressed your displeasure at having been used as lab rats, especially in such a disturbing way, by screaming colorful and inventive expletives at your boss.

She had remained unfazed, however, and insisted that it was all an unfortunate accident. There was a half-hearted apology, and a few days paid time off as compensation. But other than that, the higher-ups seemed to assume you and Five should just return to your previous jobs as if nothing had happened.

As if that weren’t bad enough, it was obvious that the rumors of your non-consensual union had been flying around the building. Your proof was that ever since that night, you and Five had been getting much more attention around the office.

You noticed a lot more stares and knowing smiles from men when walking down the hallways. There was even a time when someone whistled as you turned away from them, and another when a man you barely knew asked you on a date while looking at you with a smile you could only describe as lecherous.

Five was getting the same treatment from women around the office. He had already been a hot commodity, but now it seemed he couldn’t walk more than ten feet without some hungry-looking woman batting her eyelashes at him or scanning his body up and down without the slightest bit of subtleness.

On top of that, the nasty looks you used to get while walking next to Five were now doubled. You even walked in on a conversation in the ladies room one day that was clearly about you and Five. The words “boring slut” and “fucks like an animal” were heard before they abruptly shut up and glared at you.

Despite you remaining partners and despite what you had said before, neither you nor Five had talked about what had happened, other than a brief mention of it being “messed up”. The tension was hard to ignore anytime you had to discuss a case or sit next to one another in a meeting. You would catch yourself watching his hands as he absent-mindedly rubbed them over his thigh and you would feel that prickling heat spread over your body when his arm accidentally grazed against yours.

But whenever you sensed Five might want to talk to you, you found some excuse to leave. You would give him a friendly smile and courteous wave and go hide in your office. It was childish, maybe, but you couldn’t help it. Everything had changed since that day and now when you looked at him, he wasn’t just your partner anymore.

If you wanted to be entirely honest with yourself, you were avoiding him because you were afraid Five was going to sit you down and tell you, very earnestly, that he had no feelings for you outside of a work relationship. That everything that he had said and done in that room had merely been his brain being manipulated by the gas. Maybe he would even want to switch partners to ease the awkwardness.

Today, as you sat in your office, typing at your laptop, a shadow crossed your open doorway. Five leaned against the frame, looking as good as always. Was it possible he looked better? You told yourself to get a grip.

“Hey,” you said with a plastered-on smile. “Come on in.” Five stepped into your office, strolling casually over to your desk. “What’s up?” you chirped.

Five looked back toward the doorway, as if contemplating changing his mind and leaving.

“We need to talk,” he told you.

Your heart leapt into your throat. Your mouth suddenly felt very dry. “About what?” you said lamely.

Five rolled his eyes. “You know what.”

You nodded, staring back at your computer screen before turning to face him again. You were sure your cheeks were flushed pink but you held your composure as best as possible.

“You’re right. We should talk.” You cleared your throat and clasped your hands in front of you on your desk. “Look, Five, I know what happened was just the gas and none of it was real. I’m sure we can come to some sort of understanding so we can move forward amicably as adults—”

Five sighed loudly, just like a hundred other times he had done so when he was exasperated with you. Normally, you liked it when you got under his skin. This time, you weren’t sure how to feel.

“Would you just cut the shit?” he snapped. “This isn’t you.”

“What isn’t me?” you bristled.

Five gestured vaguely in your direction. “This… passive… polite… professional persona you’ve adopted over the past couple of weeks.”

“So sorry for being polite and professional,” you bit back.

Five snorted. “Look, what happened was fucked up on a lot of different levels. Things have changed, I will admit. But don’t start tip toeing around me like you don’t know me anymore. I can’t stand that shit.”

You stared back at him, defiantly, but realized he was right. You dropped your head into your hands. “Oh my god, Five, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what my problem is.” You looked up at him, peaking through your fingers. “But I can’t look at you as just my partner anymore. Or even just a friend.”

Five nodded, his stance softening a bit. “I’m struggling a bit with that, myself.”

There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on forever. The tension was thick in the air around you and all you seemed to be able to think about was the memory of Five’s hands on your body. Even though you had spent a long time wondering what that would feel like, now that you knew, it was a million times worse. You hoped it wasn’t obvious, but it felt like visible waves of sexual desire were pulsing out of your body as he stood there, studying you.

“You realize what needs to happen now, right?” he asked you.

You nodded sadly. “You need a new partner.”

Five’s brow furrowed with incomprehension. “What? No.”

“Oh,” you said, surprised. “I just figured…”

Five sighed, exasperated. “We need to quit this place. Together.”

“Quit?”

Five leaned over your desk, his palms flat on the surface. “This place treated us like some breeding pair of endangered animals at the zoo! There wasn’t even any threat of an inside job. It was all a set-up to test out their newest interrogation toy. Those perverts probably watched the whole thing go down! Why the hell would you want to stay here?”

“Well, I don’t… not really. I was just, you know…” you looked away from his intense gaze. “Staying because I thought you were.”

Five nodded, like he had already known that. “Then let’s go. Right now. Fuck a two-week notice. We don’t owe them shit.” He smiled. “You are the same woman that called them cum guzzling fuck sticks, are you not?”

You laughed. “Yes, I suppose I am.” You leaned back in your chair. “Ok, so we walk out of here like Thelma and Louise, but without the driving off a cliff part. And then what?”

“Then,” he started, holding out his hand to you. You took it and he pulled you up and led you around to the front of the desk. You expected him to let go, but he didn’t. He pulled you in closer. “We can have a real conversation about us.”

“Oh, there’s an ‘us’ now?” you asked, trying to make light of the situation.

“There’s always been an ‘us’,” Five said softly, resting his hand on your back. The warmth of his hand was comforting and familiar.

“Five,” you said, looking deeply into his eyes. But you didn’t know what to say after that.

“You know I talked to the guys in the lab that made that shit,” he told you. “I wanted to know exactly what it was and how it worked.”

“I thought it was top secret.”

“I have my own interrogation techniques,” Five said, raising an eyebrow. “But that’s not important right now.”

You let out a tiny gasp when he lowered his face so that he was just inches from yours. You could still remember how he tasted and it was taking all your reserve not to kiss him.

“Turns out that gas only has those types of… erotogenic… side effects if there are preexisting romantic feelings between the two parties.”

You breathed out a quiet laugh. “That’s not true.”

Five brushed his lips against your cheek, and you closed your eyes. “I think it is. That’s why they chose us.”

He cradled your face in his hands and kissed you, gently but deeply, as you gave up any fight you had left in you. You turned to liquid in his arms and sighed happily when he finally pulled away.

“I’m going to need one thing from you, agent,” Five told you quietly, his mouth still close to yours. “An apology.”

You frowned. “For what?”

“I was right about it being a trap and I said I would demand an apology. So, I’m demanding it.”

You huffed, annoyed, but then his hands were on your waist and you bit at the inside of your cheek. “Fine. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

Five kissed you again, smirking against your lips, until you drew your head back. “I need something from you, too.”

“What’s that?”

“An admission that you think my antics are adorable,” you said proudly.

When he rolled his eyes and leaned in to kiss you again, you pulled your head back more. “Uh-uh. Admit it or no more.”

With a heavy sigh, Five relented. “Fine. I think that, while also quite annoying, you are without a doubt, extremely adorable.”

“Thank you,” you said with a gloating smile. “You may resume kissing me now.”

Five has been away from home for too long. He didn’t realize this latest job was going to be so complicated. If he had known that, maybe he wouldn’t have said the things he had said to you. Maybe he wouldn’t have been so short with you.

Now, here he is, parked on the rooftop of some building, hunched over in the cold and swirling snow with his overcoat pulled up around his ears as he waits. He waits for his target, the man he’s been hired to kill, to come into view. Preferably alone. 

While he waits and shivers and blows on his hands to keep the feeling going in his fingers, he thinks of you. He thinks of how he wishes you were there right now. Well, maybe not exactly right there on that rooftop; he would never put you in danger like that. More like he wishes he were with you. 

He misses you. Shit, he misses you so much. And not just your body, although he can’t seem to stop thinking about that, either. But your voice, and your eyes, and just the way you look at him. Your laugh and the way you always seem to know how to take care of him in the exact way he needs. 

He misses his home the two of you have together. And his bed, made even more comfortable with you lying next to him. He never thought he’d have a home like the one he has now. But then again, wherever you are is his home.

He wants to make things right again. Because, not for the first time in his life, he fucked up.

Images of your face just minutes before he had left flash before his eyes and he has a hard time concentrating on the task at hand. You had told him you needed him there, at home. You hadn’t wanted him to leave. He had been gone too much lately, according to you. You worried about him. It wasn’t good for him. 

So, there had been a fight.

Five isn’t proud of it. He didn’t like fighting with you. He hated seeing the hurt on your face, or even worse, the tears that had been caused by him. When he got defensive, he lashed out. And when he lashed out, he said things he didn’t mean. Hurtful things he wanted to take back.

 You had called him selfish. He had called you delusional and naive.

How long has it been, now? Five days? A week? With all of the tracking and stalking and assessing of the situation, he has lost track. Too long, though. He knew that much.

You knew what he was, obviously, that wasn’t a secret. A hitman for hire that only took down the ones that deserved it. He was the good guy, cleaning up the streets. The assassin with a heart of gold. 

What a load of shit.

As Five had told his brother, Luther, all those years ago, there are no good guys or bad guys. There’s just people. And Five is sometimes hired to kill those people. End of story.

Back in the beginning, you had decided you didn’t care that he was a killer. Hell, it used to turn you on. He’d come home, smelling like dried sweat with a splatter of blood on the cuff of his shirt and he could barely make it in the door before you were jumping on top of him. And you loved him, that was the even crazier part. You loved him, and as much as that defied the odds, he knew it was true. And he loved you, too. He loved you more than anything.

You even, by some small miracle, agreed to marry him a while back. Five is still waiting for someone to jump out from behind a bush on the street to reveal that this whole thing has been part of an elaborate prank show. Because he’s still not quite sure how he landed you.

The two of you have made this life together, and it’s insane, but it works. You make him happy and god knows he is overdue for some happiness. Five twists the plain gold band on his left hand as he exhales a white puff into the air. 

Sometimes it feels like a dream. You are his wife. You are all he ever wanted, but never dared to imagine. 

Which is what he should have told you before he left. Instead, he had turned away from your pleas, blinking away without even a goodbye. 

You knew not to contact him when he was on a job. There were too many factors at play and too many ways he could be tracked. So, he hasn’t spoken to you since that day. And now here he is, cold and miserable, and cursing himself for being so fucking stubborn.

There is some movement in the building he is watching across the street and he peers through his sniper scope. The man in question is perfectly positioned in front of his high-rise office window. Five only needs one shot and he’ll be done. The guy will be dead, Five can blink away, and he’ll be back home by dinner. Piece of cake.

Five’s hands are red and chapped as they grip the rifle, his finger twitching ever so slightly against the trigger. One eye closes while the other finds its mark again. He begins to pull back on the trigger when there is a noise from behind. The sound of a pebble being kicked by a shoe. 

He spins around, the rifle still against his shoulder, and aims it at the man that has attempted to sneak up on him. There are two shots fired, one from the other man’s pistol and one from Five’s rifle. Five feels a slight sting in his upper arm. The other gunman drops to his knees as the hole in his chest bleeds a river of red and he collapses on the rooftop. Dead.

Five swings back around, aiming again for the man across the street. If one person has tracked him down on that roof, there could be more. He shoots again, hitting his target with perfect aim and watches as the man slumps to the floor of his lavish office.

“Fuck,” Five mutters as he looks down at the body behind him. Steam curls out of the bleeding crater in the dead man’s chest and rises into the cold winter air.

Five assesses his arm. It was just a graze, with only a small laceration visible beneath the torn part of his coat and shirt. He swears again, angry that his favorite overcoat now had a hole in it. He hurriedly packs up his weapon and gets the hell out of there, blinking several blocks away into an alley, and then blending into a large crowd of tourists. He walks a few more blocks and then grabs a cab that he takes ten miles out of town in the opposite direction of where he actually needs to go. From there, he makes a few more blinks, just in case he is being tailed. Once he is sure he is in the clear, he takes another car home to you.

************************************

It’s late when he arrives home. He’s a little disappointed that you aren’t up waiting for him, but he knows that’s unfair. You hadn’t even known when he was returning. The table lamp in your apartment living room is on, though, so he knows you were at least thinking of him. 

Five stashes his weapon and grabs a glass of water from the kitchen. He rummages through the cabinets to find a vase for the bouquet of flowers he bought for you at the crappy bodega on the way home. A last-ditch effort to try and ease his guilt.

As he sets the flowers in the vase and arranges them the best he can, he sees they are already starting to wilt. The blue, artificially-dyed daisies in the bunch look garish in the bright light of the kitchen. He sighs at his sad attempt at an apology.

Cheap ass flowers.

He notices one of the lightbulbs is burned out over the kitchen table. The same one you had pointed out to him last week. Five had insisted he would take care of it. He didn’t want you climbing up on the table to reach it. So why hadn’t he just done it when you asked?

He strips off his coat and throws it on the back of a chair. He runs his fingers over the hole in his dress shirt, frowning when he sees it’s still oozing just a little bit of blood. 

Before he does anything else, though, he finds a new lightbulb and replaces the burned out one. He feels another pang of guilt in his chest because it takes him a total of two minutes.

In the bathroom, he takes off his shirt and cleans up his arm. It’s hardly anything, a minor flesh wound. But he doesn’t want to smear blood all over your shared bed, so he bandages it up. When he looks in the mirror, he startles himself. He looks tired. Exhausted. He looks like shit.

He knows tonight could have gone a completely different way. It was just happenstance that his assailant kicked that pebble, alerting Five to his presence. And it was pure fucking luck that the dude’s aim was off. Another inch in the other direction and Five would be the one lying on that roof with a bullet in his chest.

Why does he do this to himself? Why does he do this to you? He shakes his head at his own reflection, unable to answer those questions. He just doesn’t know. The best he can come up with is that he’s an idiot.

Five creeps quietly into your bedroom. It’s dark and he can hear your deep breathing while you sleep. It’s music to his ears and he smiles to himself. He sheds his pants next to the bed and slips in next to you, the warmth from your body already heating up the small space between you. 

He knows he shouldn’t wake you, but he needs to. His eyes adjust to the darkness and he props himself up on one elbow. He reaches over, stroking your cheek lightly and tucking your hair behind your ear. You rustle and let out a sigh as you start to wake.

When your eyes flutter open, he smiles warmly as his hand rests on your cheek.

“Hello, darling,” he whispers.

“Five?” you say, still unsure if you’re dreaming or not.

“I’m sorry I woke you, but… “

You don’t let him finish, because as soon as you realize he’s really there, in bed with you and home safe, you burst into tears.

“I’m sorry!” you wail in between sobs. “I’m sorry… I love you… I’m so sorry!”

He sits up, taking you in his arms as you press your face into his bare chest. “Sweetheart, no… I was selfish, you were right. I love you so much,” he tells you as he kisses your head and squeezes you tighter, brushing his chin against your hair.

You pull back, your cheeks still streaked with tears, as you take his face in both of your hands. You kiss him, softly but urgently as you take in the taste of him that you have missed so much. You breathe in his scent and feel the familiar outline of his cheekbones. He hasn’t shaved in a couple of days and the stubble scratches at your fingertips. Your body relaxes for the first time in days.

“Five,” you say, in between kisses. “You scared me. You really scared me.”

“I know,” he tells you, drawing his head back so you are forced to stop your frenzied kisses and look him in the eyes. “I scared myself.”

“I just kept thinking of all the bad things that could have happened to you. What would happen if you never came home. It was awful.”

“I’m so sorry,” he tells you. “I never meant to be gone so long. Or make you worry.”

“Next time, don’t leave without saying goodbye. Please,” you beg through your tears.

“There’s not going to be a next time.”

You pause and sniff loudly, wiping your nose on the back of your hand. “What?”

“I’ve decided I’m done. For good this time. I’m not leaving you again.”

You hesitate. “Five, I don’t want to stop you from something you want–”

“You think that’s what I want? To leave you here while I go out and murder people?”

You pause, blinking. “No, but… it is what you do.”

He sighs and leans back against the headboard while you rest your head on his shoulder. “I kept telling myself that I would never be able to handle an ordinary life. That I wasn’t cut out for a normal marriage. But tonight, I had a really close call. Too close. And it made me realize what I really want out of life.”

“What’s that?”

“You.”

You smile up at him. “You have me already. I’m your wife, remember?”

“I know that. But I want you all of the time. I want to be home with you. I want to go to sleep next to you every single night and wake up next to you every single morning. No more shitty hotel rooms. No more lonely dinners in some piece of crap diner. I want to be with you. Always.”

“I want that, too.”

He traces your lips with his fingers. “And I want to make you happy.”

“Five,” you sigh. “You do make me happy.”

“Well, then I want to make you even happier. I want that to be my main goal in life. Not mindless killing for money.”

“But I want you to be happy, too.”

“Darling, if you are happy, then I am happy. And if you’re not… then I am miserable.”

“Five, I just don’t want you to get bored or regret anything, or–”

He shakes his head again. “Impossible.”

“Are you sure this is what you want?”

Five kisses you again, gently with his hand in your hair. “Yes, it is. With one more added thing, if you’re game.”

“What’s that?”

“I want us to start a family,” he says, his voice suddenly very soft and cracking with nervousness.

You wait, searching his face to make sure he’s not just saying this to try and appease you. But he’s sincere. You can see it. A slow smile breaks over your face.

“Really?”

He nods. “Do you think that’s something you would want?”

“Yes, I would love that,” you say with a laugh. “I would love to have a family with you.”

He looks happy but nervous. “I don’t really know how to be a dad, I didn’t exactly have the best role model.”

“Five, you are amazing at everything you do. Being a dad will be no different,” you tell him, laying the palm of your hand on his cheek. “I love you and our child will love you. I guarantee it.”

“Thank you,” he says before diving in for another kiss. 

When you climb on top and straddle him, he lets out a long, relieved sigh. You can practically see his muscles loosening up by the second. You are willing to bet they’ve been wound tight with anxiety and stress for days. You make a mental note to have him soak in a warm bath later.

“I’ve missed you,” he says as he closes his eyes and places his hands on your waist.

You sit up, running your hands over his shoulders and down his arms, when you notice the bandage. You frown as you touch it gingerly.

“What’s this?”

Five smiles at your concern. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. You’re hurt. What happened?”

“Just a little wake up call, that’s all.”

“Five, tell me–”

You are being flung onto your back, with Five climbing over the top of you, trapping you under the weight of his body. 

“Darling, we can either sit here and have a very boring discussion about a very minor injury, or we can get busy making this aforementioned family of ours,” Five tells you with a mischievous smirk.

“I’m still on my pill,” you explain.

“Then we can practice.”

“Oh,” you breathe out, dragging your hands down his back. “Ok, we can talk about your injury later.”

He leans down to kiss you. “Good choice.”

From there, you let Five take charge. He is hungry for you, desperate even, but he paces himself. He wants to take his time with you. He wants to savor each and every kiss and touch and beautiful moan. He wants to watch you lose yourself to him, to forget all sense of reality, as if you are the one with the power to manipulate time and space.

He helps you with your clothes, slowly dragging your shirt over your head and your shorts and underwear down your legs. His hands roam over your entire body, warm and firm as they map out every inch of you. It feels new, somehow, even though he’s touched you like this hundreds of times. You move your hips against him as your kisses become deeper and more fervent. His hard cock, still trapped inside his boxers, slides across your thigh.

Five draws a line from your stomach up to your breasts, using the tips of his fingers to slowly and tortuously circle your nipples. Then he is moving up again, over your neck, your jaw, and onto your lips. He presses two fingers to your mouth and you open up, knowing that’s what he wants, and you close your lips around them.

Five groans and his eyes shut for just a moment before they open again to watch you suck on his fingers. He moves them in and out, like he’s fucking your mouth, feeling your tongue slide against them. You can taste the salt of his skin and feel the callus on his trigger finger.

He moans your name quietly. “Do you know how fucking pretty you look right now?”

You give him a small smile, keeping his slender fingers latched between your teeth, as you blink up at him. He caresses the side of your face with his other hand, watching you intently, his eyebrows pulled together as if he is studying something he doesn’t understand.

But he does understand. He knows exactly what he is doing. And fuck, he gets you every single time.

Five draws his fingers out, slowly and deliberately, painting a trail with your saliva as he follows the same path back down again, between your tits, and over your abdomen. He continues south, still watching your reaction, as he finds the warm silky crease between your legs.

You lift your hips up in response and he enters you gently, fucking you slowly with his hand as you tip your head back.

“Five,” you gasp. When he presses his thumb to your clit, your back arches off the bed. Yessss,” you hiss out. “Oh god.”

“Look at me,” he tells you, but it’s not demanding like usual. It’s a plea. You meet his eyes and your lips part. “You are all I need. Understand?” You nod and he curls his fingers inside of you. 

When you come, hard and intensely, you soak his hand and the sheets underneath you. You moan his name like you’re in pain, the spasms of your climax making you thrash violently against the bed. 

You are panting loudly and your body feels boneless as you start to relax. Five pulls his fingers out, glistening and wet. His eyes don’t leave yours as he raises his hand to his mouth and sucks them clean. 

“Don’t want to waste any,” he tells you with a smirk. 

Your laugh comes out as a breathy huff. “You’re so dirty.”

He climbs over you again, laying his body on top of yours, holding himself up on his forearms beside your head. He gazes down on you, his hand stroking your hair gently. Something in his expression changes. That wolfish glint is gone from his eyes, replaced by something much softer.

He kisses you, slipping his tongue inside so that you can taste yourself. “I’m so sorry,” he whispers as his mouth moves down your neck, and he sounds sad. “Fuck, I am so sorry.”

Your hands rest in his hair and you arch your head back. “What do you mean?”

He is still kissing down your neck and over your shoulders, but you can hear the break in his voice and feel the subtle shift of his body against yours. He does this sometimes. He’s thinking and he doesn’t want to look you in the eyes.

“All these years… “ he starts, his hand drifting down your side and over your hip. “I’ve never been the man you deserve.”

You are so startled by his words that you actually gasp out loud. He is still not looking at you, but he has stopped his kisses. His forehead rests against your chest as his warm breath washes over you.

You want to scream in agony and rage; to tell him he’s fucking insane. But you have to choose your words carefully. He’s letting his guard down. One false move and the wall goes back up again.

“Five,” you start quietly, stroking his hair and the back of his neck. “Since I’ve known you, you have been many men, and I have loved each and every one of them.” He finally lifts his head and you smile. “And I will choose you, no matter what, every single time. That means you give me exactly what I need and what I want with every version of you that exists. Because you are my man. All of you.”

“I promise to try harder,” he says, as if you hadn’t just said anything.

“Five, please listen to what I am telling you,” you say, looking him in the eyes. “I don’t need you to promise anything, or try harder, or change in any way. I just need you.”

Five raises himself up again, kissing you while you run your palms down his shoulders and biceps, avoiding the wounded area. “You have all of me. I am nothing without you,” he tells you with a small smile before leaning down again to brush his lips against yours.

Suddenly you are overcome with so much emotion, it’s like you can’t see straight. Your life together starts flooding your brain, flipping through each moment like shuffling a deck of cards. 

The first time you laid eyes on him. The first time you kissed. The first time you fucked. The first time he tried to drive you away. The first time he confessed his love to you and all the times after that.

You want to cry just from the sheer amount of love you feel for him. Instead, you take his face in your hands and kiss him like you’re afraid he might leave you again. Although, you know he won’t now. 

He groans into your mouth and when he moves his body against yours you can feel how hard he still is. Reaching down, you start to maneuver his boxers off, and he helps while still trying to keep his mouth on yours. When he finally kicks them off, he positions himself between your legs. His hard cock presses against your slit, already wet for him again.

Five draws his head back, placing a hand on the side of your face. Just like when he fucked you with his hand, he wants to watch you as he enters you. He could easily slam his entire length into you, but he doesn’t. He takes his time. You watch as the creases deepen between his brows and his lips part just slightly. When you let out a soft whimper, the corner of his mouth turns up. He is breathing hard and fast, but he is moving at an agonizing pace. You push yourself up to try and hurry him along, but despite his gentleness, he still has the upper hand and you are denied.

“Let me take my time, my love” he says before going in for another soft kiss. “We have nowhere to go.” He kisses you again. “We have all the time in the world.”

He is finally buried within you, and you could swear that each time his cock is inside you is better than the last. You don’t think you will ever get tired of it; that feeling of him stretching you open and filling you up. You could live in those few blissful seconds forever.

Well, maybe not forever. Because when he starts to move inside you, you throw your head back with a lustful groan. Your fingers press harder into his back and you bring your legs up around his waist.

He pumps into you slowly but purposefully, covering your face and neck with long sucking kisses. You inhale giant gulps of air and exhale his name in wanton moans. He talks to you, quietly, close to your ear, like he always does. He loves to talk during sex. Five can be silent and brooding, but never when he fucks you. There is always a running commentary.

Tonight he is loving and worshipful; his voice low and husky.

The things you do to me… you shouldn’t be that powerful

Fuuck… you feel so good… I want to stay inside you forever

I would die without you

You are all I need. All I want

You are my everything

You clutch at his body; his shoulders, his back, his ass. He tightens his grip on yours, holding you close while he rocks rhythmically on top of you. 

“I love you, sweetheart,” he tells you and there’s a catch in his throat that makes you wish you could take away all of the fear and uncertainty you know is rattling around in that brain of his. 

Instead, you say, “I love you, too, Five. So much.”

He buries his face in the crook of your neck. His hair falls across your cheek and the scruff on his chin and jaw scratch lightly against your skin. You breathe in his scent that you have memorized. The scent that both drives you crazy and makes you feel like you are right where you are supposed to be. 

He has quickened his pace and the increase in intensity has you arching into him, pulling him closer with your thighs. His ragged breath mixes with the soft grunts and moans he makes with each thrust. He knows you well enough that he can tell you are reaching your threshold, but he asks you anyway because he wants to hear you say it.

“Want to come for me?” His voice is strained with the effort of holding himself back.

You nod, digging your nails into his back. You’re fairly certain his back should be littered with scars after all the years of clawing and raking you have given it. 

“Yes… yes, just keep… oh god, Five!”

“That’s right… fuck!”

Five stills against you at the same time your body trembles with rolling shock waves. He spills inside you, groaning hotly against your neck. You ride your shared climax out together, your loud panting and hissing curses filling the room.

As your muscles start to relax, you let go of your death grip on Five and lower your legs. He doesn’t move until his cock starts to soften and he slips out of you. When he lies next to you, he slings his arm over your stomach. His eyes are closed but when you reach over to move a piece of hair from his forehead, he opens them.

He draws you to him with a hand on the back of your head. His skin is damp and his eyes are hazy. He kisses you, smiling against your mouth.

“I really am a fucking idiot,” he tells you with a laugh as you pull away.

“Well, I can’t agree or disagree to that until I know what for,” you tease.

“Shit… where do I start? For one, I left when I could have been doing that with you the whole time… then getting fucking shot wasn’t too great… and then–”

You sit up suddenly, your eyes wide. “What do you mean you got shot?!”

Five realizes his mistake and closes his eyes with a loud sigh. “And for opening my big mouth… “ he mumbles to himself.

You run your fingers over the bandaged area of his arm again, this time with a whole new worry. “Five, what the hell?”

“It’s fine. Like I told you, it’s just a minor thing.”

“You getting shot is not minor!” you protest, gesturing wildly with your hands. “Jesus, Five! You could have been killed!”

“I realize that–”

“Are you ok? Does it hurt? Who did it? What happened to them?”

“Well, I–”

“And what was I supposed to do, huh? Just go on living, wondering why you never came back home that one time?”

“If you let me–”

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you go. I had a bad feeling about the whole thing. And I was right!”

“Ok, but you couldn’t really stop me from–”

You start to tear up, but you’re still rattled, so you hastily wipe at your eyes. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yes, I–”

“Because if I find out you lied to me, I’m going to be so pissed!”

“As opposed to now when you’re being so cal–”

You put a hand on your chest, trying to slow your breathing. “Oh my god, I don’t know what I would do if something bad happened to you. I mean, I know you have a dangerous job, I know that. But you’ve never been shot before!”

Five frowns. “Actually, that’s not–”

“I think I should take a look at it,” you say, starting to reach for the bandage.

Five catches your wrist in his hand, halting you and forcing you to look at him. He is smiling at you in the most irritating way.

“Darling,” he says with a small laugh. “Am I allowed to say something now?”

He’s making fun of you and your outburst, but you don’t care. Your reaction is perfectly valid. But you nod and keep quiet.

“Yes, I caught a bullet in the arm. It’s just a graze and I’m fine, I promise,” he starts slowly, making sure you are looking at him and listening to him. “But that is the whole reason I’m quitting. Because it was too close of a call. And I don’t want to leave you alone.”

Your eyes well up again. “I couldn’t bear it,” you say softly.

Five pulls you into him and you rest your head against him. His voice sounds deep and rumbling with your ear pressed to his chest.

He strokes your hair and kisses your forehead. “You won’t have to worry anymore, ok?”

You nod. “Ok.” 

“And now that I’m going to be around more, I’m going to start stepping up around here. I haven’t been appreciating you enough. I want to take care of you and give you everything you want.”

You smile and kiss his chest. “Thank you, Five. But all I really want is the two of us together.” You raise your head to look at him. “Or maybe the three of us.”

Five leans in to kiss you and your eyes fall shut as you give in to it. “I will take care of you and our child. I swear to you.”

“I know you will. You’re going to be an amazing dad, Five.”

He looks uncertain again, like he doesn’t really believe you. “How do you know?”

You place your palm flat against his heart, feeling the strong pulse beneath his sternum. “Because I know you and you will become the best version of yourself that you can be as a father.”

“Promise me one thing, my love?”

“What’s that?”

“Never stop loving me. No matter what version I become.”

The kitchen floor was a disaster as you glanced to the side, eyeing up the spilled wine and dried pasta that had been flung off the counter minutes earlier. It would be a bitch to clean up, especially with the red wine seeping slowly into the wood. You should really mop it up sooner than later to avoid any staining. As you were thinking this, your body was pulled roughly forward as Five slammed his hips against you. Your arms were splayed out to the side, your palms leaving streaks on the marble countertop as you braced yourself against another pounding. 

One minute you had been calmly preparing dinner together, and the next you were both hungry for something much more than linguine. Just one look from him; that one that made your pulse race and your panties wet, and you were both frantically ripping each other’s clothes off.

It was already the second time that day, but it didn’t matter. It could have been the tenth and you’d still be dying for him. You had been married a year but that hadn’t slowed either of you down. After Five told you he wanted to start a family with you, and you immediately agreed, the two of you had been going at it constantly. Unfortunately, it had been months and still no luck.

“Five…” you gasped out. “The wine.”

“Fuck the wine,” he hissed before gripping your thighs tighter. “You’re not going to be able to drink it after I finish with you anyway.”

Your breathy laugh turned into a moan when his cock rammed into you again. “Oh shhhhit…Five, I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. Now shut up so I can put a damn baby in you.”

With another hard slam, Five was bottoming out inside of you as your fingers squeaked across the slick marble again; the lower half of your body held firmly in his grasp with your legs wrapped around him.

“Don’t…don’t come yet,” you begged through gritted teeth. 

Five’s frustrated growl was low in his throat as he slowed his pace. Grabbing your hand off the counter by your wrist, he shoved it between your legs. With his hand covering yours, he worked your fingers against your clit, pressing hard and insistently. When you let out a loud cry and thrust your hips up, he smirked.

“You like that?”

You nodded with another high-pitched moan. “Yes…keep…oh fuck…” you couldn’t finish your sentence because Five had started driving into you harder, all while keeping his and your fingers pressed against your engorged clit; the rhythm of his fucking creating a pulsing sensation that made you bite your lip and close your eyes.

With one last, rough thrust, Five had you crying out while your orgasm washed over you and he emptied himself inside of you at the same time. With his hips stuttering against you, he made sure every last drop of cum was being pumped out. After he was finished, he kept you in the same position, not pulling out just yet. You made a move to sit up before he gently pressed you back down by your shoulder.

“Just one more minute, darling,” he said breathlessly. “We want to make sure we give my guys a fighting chance to get up there.”

You laughed. “Five, maybe you missed out on sex ed when you were a kid, but they will find their way up there no matter what, I promise.”

He shook his head with a smile. “I’m not taking any chances. I have a good feeling about this particular gang.”

After a few more seconds, you started squirming around. “Five, my back hurts, can I get up now?”

Five let your legs go and he took a step back, pulling out in the process. He gave you a hand to pull you up and helped you get down from the counter. He was still panting hard, his chest covered with a thin sheen of sweat and his dark hair a mess on top of his head. Strands of it flopped over one eye and stuck to his forehead as he smiled at you with pride.

“Good game,” he said with a swift smack to your ass that had a little more force to it than was necessary. 

You jumped and rubbed at the spot with your hand, frowning. “Ow.”

But Five was already walking towards the refrigerator while you admired his tight, toned ass on the way.

“What are you doing?” you asked, turning the heat off on the stove since the water for your abandoned dinner was about to boil over. You looked around for your panties and sighed when you saw they were lying in a puddle of Bordeaux. “Damn it,” you muttered.

When you looked up again, Five was standing in front of the open fridge, downing a bottle of orange Gatorade without taking a breath. As you watched in awe, he loudly gulped down the last swallow, stuck the cap back on the now empty bottle, and chucked it over his shoulder where it bounced off the wall and clunked to the floor.

“Electrolytes,” he said as a way of explanation when he saw your confusion. “Gotta keep hydrated.”

“For what?” 

Five pushed his damp hair off his forehead, the sight of his flexed tricep drawing your attention. “According to my spreadsheets, this is prime baby making time.” He stretched and pulled his arms across his chest like he was gearing up for a marathon. “Plus, I’m on a roll now, so I don’t want to lose momentum,” he further explained while doing a few side bends.

“Ok wow, naked lunges…that’s…something you don’t see everyday.”

“Gotta limber up. Don’t pretend you’re not turned on.”

You laughed. “Shouldn’t we eat dinner first?”

You let out a yelp when he blinked directly in front of you, grabbing your ass with both hands and grinding his already growing crotch against you. He shook his head with a devious smirk. “Fuck first. Food later.” 

Then you were whisked off in another zap of blue to the bedroom. 

**************************************

It was December, and getting close to Christmas when you walked in on Five having a heated conversation with someone over the phone.

“No. No way. Absolutely not. Forget it.” Pause. “Because it’s stupid, that’s why!” Pause. “You cannot use my niece against me like that.” Pause. “I don’t care if you think I owe you a favor after kneeing you in the nuts when we were eleven! Pause. “Look, the answer is no. End of story. Not happening.”

When you gave him a questioning look, he turned away from you. Just to be nosey, you leaned in, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. On the other end of the line, you heard Diego’s voice.

“Come on, don’t be an asshole,” Diego barked.

“Me an asshole?!” Five retorted in disbelief. “They’re your damn kids, why can’t you do it yourself? Or ask any one of our other idiot siblings?”

There was an exasperated sigh from Diego. “Like I said before…I need to be there or else it’s going to look suspicious. Luther is too big and dumb, Klaus would flake out and forget, and Viktor is like the size of an elf. So, that leaves you. Not to mention you’re the only one that can blink inside and pull off the whole ‘magical mystique’ part of it. Come on, Five…please?”

“Fuck,” Five groaned, running a hand down his face. “You do realize I’m not exactly built for this role, right?”

Diego laughed. “Yeah, I know, you’re a skinny little shit, but the suit comes with padding.”

“No! No padding. I don’t need to look like even more of a dumbass than I’m already going to.”

“So, you’ll do it?”

Finally understanding what was going on, you yelled into the phone, startling Five who hadn’t known you were listening from behind. “Five would love to play Santa for the kids, Diego! Tell Lila to bring the suit by and I’ll make sure he’s all dressed and ready on time for Christmas Eve!”

“What the fuck?” Five said to you, his eyebrows creased together in that way that always made you laugh. “Thanks a lot.”

You grinned as he hung up the phone. “You know you were going to do it anyway. I was just moving the process along.”

“I’m going to look like an asshole,” he grumbled.

“Well, Five, you are an asshole, so it fits,” you giggled before planting a kiss onto his mouth that was set in a straight line of annoyance. “But you are my adorable asshole who will look very sexy in a Santa suit.”

**********************************

When Christmas Eve arrived, Five tried to back out of the deal.

“No way…this isn’t happening…I told you,” he insisted while you just looked at him with your hands on your hips.

“Five, come on. You’re doing this and that’s that. Diego and Lila are already expecting you and you can’t let them down.

“I don’t care,” he protested weakly.

You gave him a soft kiss. “Five Hargreeves, you can pretend you’re a hard ass all you want, but we both know you are as soft as a teddy bear when it comes to those kids.” You shoved the Santa hat in his hands. “Which is one of the many, many reasons I love you.”

“You know, you’re very cute but you’re a giant pain in the ass.”

You nodded. “I’m aware. No go on, go get changed.”

Parked outside of Diego and Lila’s house, Five continued to sulk. When you glanced over at him in the passenger seat, you let out a loud laugh. He was glowering in his usual fashion whenever things weren’t going his way, but all while wearing a red-velvet Santa suit, complete with fake beard and hat with a little white puff on the end.

“Five…are you the Grinch or Santa? Come on, you can’t be that ornery, you’re supposed to be jolly.”

He looked at you with what you assumed was a scowl, but was hidden under the white polyester beard. “I am not, nor will I ever be, jolly.”

You sighed, starting to get fed up with his attitude. “Stop acting like this is going to kill you. Just shut the fuck up, blink inside, and try to be a decent Santa. Otherwise you’re going to have one disappointed niece, a very angry brother, and a wife that will not be going anywhere near your North pole later tonight, if you catch my drift.”

His frown deepened. “That’s not fair.”

With a shrug, you opened the car door and stepped out. “Don’t forget the bag!” you reminded him as you closed the door and headed for the house.

You had texted Diego on the way so he, Lila, and the kids were already gathered in the living room. When you walked inside, Grace ran to you and hugged you around your waist.

“You’re here!” The little girl peeked behind you. “Where’s Uncle Five?”

“Oh, he was busy, he couldn’t make it. He said to tell you hello and that he’ll see you tomorrow at the family Christmas party.”

“Oh ok,” Grace said, obviously disappointed. Then a smile returned to her face. “Guess what? We’re going to a parade later. My dad said we’re all going to freeze our freaking asses off, but my mom told him to stop being a baby and man up.”

With a laugh, you looked at Lila, who was busy holding a squirming toddler. “Well, you are being a big baby, Diego,” she said to her husband.

“I’m not being a baby and we are going to freeze our asses off,” Diego grumbled while carrying the other twin on his hip.

Just then, there was a blue flash of light and Five appeared in front of the fireplace, with his costume on and the bag of presents that you had made him bring slung over his shoulder. You could tell he was still not happy, but he looked a little less grumpy than he had been in the car.

Grace shrieked. “Santa!” 

“Wow…it is Santa!” Diego said excitedly before giving Five a stern look. “Hey, Santa…don’t you usually say ‘Ho ho ho’?”

You watched with a smile as Five’s eyebrows scrunched together.

“Ho. Ho. Ho,” he deadpanned.

Being six years old, Grace was immune to her dad’s or her uncle’s sarcasm and she ran to Five, jumping up and down with glee. “Santa! You’re real!”

“Of course, I’m real,” Five said in his normal, clipped and irritated tone. Then, after seeing the judgmental looks from the other adults in the room, rolled his eyes and deepened his voice. “I came to visit you because you’ve been so good this year and I apparently had time in my very busy schedule to just drop in for a random chat.”

Grace looked out the window. “Where’s your reindeer?”

“I had to put them down,” Five said dryly until Lila cleared her throat with an icy glare. “Downtown. I left them downtown for the parade. They needed to rest.”

“Then how did you get here?”

“Oh, right. Well, I have a backup engine on the sleigh. Which is parked on the roof right now, so don’t even ask me why you can’t see it.”

Grace eyed him up suspiciously. Then she poked him in the stomach. “Why aren’t you chubby like in the pictures?”

Five grinned and looked over at you. “Because Mrs. Claus has been very stingy with her baking these days, so I’m not eating as many cookies and pies as I usually do.” He gave you a wink. “Even though I love eating her pie.”

You tried to hold in a laugh, but it came out as a quiet snort while you looked down at your feet. You heard Lila mutter “Ugh, gross,” under her breath.

Grace’s face lit up. “That’s ok! We have cookies for you!” She hurried over to the nearby dining table and grabbed a plate full of messily-decorated Christmas cookies, bringing them back to Five and handing them to him. “Here! I baked them just for you.”

Five smiled as he took the plate. “These look delicious.”

“Oh, wait! I almost forgot,” she said before going back to the table and returning with an opened bottle of beer. “Here. I wanted to give you milk, but my dad said you’d like this more.”

Five looked up at Diego, who was grinning. Five nodded a thanks to his brother as he took the bottle. “He was right. Thank you, Grace.”

“So, Santa, I bet you want to know what Grace wants for Christmas, right?” Diego asked with added emphasis.

“Oh right! Yes, absolutely,” Five said, setting down the cookies and beer on a side table. He sat down in one of the arm chairs.

Grace immediately climbed up onto his lap, her little face shining with innocence and wonder as she gazed up at Five’s fake-bearded face. He beamed down at her and the image melted your heart. You started to imagine all of the cute moments like this that would surely happen once you and Five had your own children. You had no doubt that Five would make an amazing dad, despite his usual old-man grumpiness. He had been through so much in his life and he deserved to have a family of his own. You just hoped you would be able to give him one.

As you were daydreaming about that, Grace began rattling off all of the things she wanted to get for Christmas. With each thing that she mentioned, Five would glance quickly over to Diego, where his brother would give him a thumbs up or a thumbs down, indicating whether or not they had bought those gifts for her already. Five would either agree or make up some excuse as to why he couldn’t bring her that particular gift.

“And a pony!” Grace added at the end of her very long list.

Diego and Lila both gave very emphatic thumbs down. Five shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry, but I can’t bring you a pony.”

“Why not?”

“Because it won’t fit in the sleigh.”

“But doesn’t your sleigh fit all kinds of presents?”

“Uh, yes…but ponies don’t like to fly.”

“What about pegasuses?”

“Those aren’t real.”

“Yes they are.”

“No, they are not.”

“Yes they are.”

“No…” Five continued to argue through gritted teeth. “They are not.”

“Ok!” Diego broke in, clapping his hands together loudly. “I think it’s time for Santa to wrap things up.”

Five gestured to the bag of gifts he had left on the floor. “I did bring you some presents early. Why don’t you go check them out?”

As Grace jumped down from his lap and ran over to the bag to peer inside, Lila plopped the twins on to Five’s lap, one on each leg. They were really too young to understand what was going on or talk in any real way, but they peered up at Five and babbled away. Diego took pictures of the adorable scene while Five chuckled when one of them tried to pull on his beard. Five looked over at you and smiled warmly. 

After a few minutes, as Grace was happily pulling out her toys that you had picked out for her, she turned to her parents. “Ok, now you guys have to sit on Santa’s lap.”

“NO!” Diego, Lila, and Five all exclaimed at the same time.

You laughed out loud as you looked at their horrified faces, while Grace just looked confused. You decided to try and save the situation a little bit. “I’ll sit on his lap,” you said with a smile.

Lila rolled her eyes before taking the twins off, while Five grinned and patted his leg. “Well, come on over.”

As you sat in Five’s lap, your red sweater dress rose up a little over your bare thigh and he rested his hand on it, sending a warm tingling sensation up your spine.

“So, tell me…” Five said with a gleam in his eye. “Have you been naughty or nice this year?”

You pretended to think about it. “I’m not sure. A little of both maybe?”

“Hmmm…it’s not good to be naughty. Naughty girls don’t get presents.”

You stuck out your bottom lip and twisted a finger in his fake beard. “I’m sorry, Santa…I promise I’ll be a good girl from now on.”

Five’s hand moved a little higher up your thigh and he gave it a squeeze. “You better be. Or else Santa might have to spank you.”

“Oh, good lord,” Lila huffed out before grabbing the beer that Five left on the table and taking a swig.

“Aren’t you going to tell him what presents you want?” Grace asked as she busied herself with her new Play-Doh Fun Factory.

“Yes, tell me young lady, what can Santa bring you?” Five asked.

You adjusted yourself on his lap and leaned in so you could whisper near his ear. “I want Santa to stuff my stocking with his entire load later tonight.”

Five inhaled sharply, letting out a shocked cough. You giggled when he had to shift in his seat to avoid you rubbing too much against his junk. “Wow…ok…” he stammered before getting a grip again. “I think Santa can manage that.”

Making sure that Grace wasn’t looking, you pulled Five’s beard down, stretching the elastic past his chin as you gave him a sensual, opened mouthed kiss before letting it snap into place again. You heard Five let out a little groan under his breath, which made you smirk with satisfaction. Then you hopped off his lap, walking away with an extra bounce in your step as he stared hungrily after you.

After a few more minutes of Five chatting with Grace and making sure he ate one of her cookies and telling her how good it was, Lila checked the clock.

“I think it’s time for Santa to get going and then we can head to the parade!”

Grace jumped up. “Awww…can’t Santa come with us?”

“No, sorry kiddo,” Lila answered. “Santa has lots of other kids to visit tonight, remember?”

With a heavy sigh and a nod, Grace looked up at Five who you could tell was itching to get out of there and back home. “Thank you for my presents.”

Five smiled sweetly down at her. “You’re welcome, Gracie. Merry Christmas.”

Again, you got that warm feeling in your stomach watching how sweet he was being with his niece. Especially since you knew how much he hadn’t wanted to do this. He really was just a big softy inside. At least when it came to his family.

Grace turned to you again. “Will Santa come down your chimney later?”

You almost choked as you tried desperately not to make a comment or start laughing. You could see Five was trying to do the same, although he was looking gleefully over at you waiting for your response. Diego heard and shook his head, even though he was trying to hold back a laugh as well.

“I sure hope so,” you said with as much of a serious face as you could manage. “I’ll be up all night just waiting for Santa to come all the way down my chimney. Maybe more than once.”

Grace frowned. “He only comes once.”

“Oh really? Only once?” you asked with fake disappointment.

“Well, maybe Santa is tired or had too much to drink,” Five muttered under his breath and you bit the inside of your cheek to stifle your laugh.

“OK!” Diego yelled loudly, as he stepped into the middle of your wildly inappropriate conversation, shooting you and Five angry looks. “Time to get ready for the parade!”

As Lila was bundling up the twins and Diego was trying to wrestle Grace into her winter coat and boots, she pulled away from him to run back to Five. He saw her coming and crouched down to get at her level. His niece threw her little arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

“I love you, Santa,” she said and her parents let out a loud “Awww”.

Then she leaned in closer to Five’s ear, but you could still hear her. “I know it’s you, Uncle Five.”

You put a hand over your mouth to try and hide your surprise while Five looked up to make sure Diego and Lila weren’t listening. He whispered back. “How did you know?”

Grace rolled her eyes. “Santa doesn’t blink, silly. Duh.”

Five laughed and nodded. “You are so smart. I should have known I couldn’t fool you.”

She giggled and then whispered conspiratorially to him again. “Don’t tell my mom and dad, though. They think you really are Santa.”

Biting back a laugh, Five nodded. “Good idea. I wouldn’t want to spoil it for them.”

Grace gave him one more hug before going back to her dad to finish getting ready. Five looked up at you and you both grinned at the cuteness overload that just happened.

“Alright, well, I have to go deliver gifts to all of the boys and girls in the world, which is entirely possible to do in one single night, so I’ll see you later,” Five said as he stood back up. “You two,” he said, pointing at Diego and Lila, “You should appreciate your older brother more. He has to put up with a lot from you assholes.” He looked over at you and gave you another wink. “And you. You better be a good girl. Santa’s always watching.” Then he was gone in another blue flash. 

“Oh, shit, we have to go. Parking is going to be a nightmare,” Lila said as she checked her watch. She looked around the messy living room, noticing the Play-Doh that had already been smashed into the carpet. “Damn it, I don’t have time to clean up and everyone’s coming over tomorrow. We won’t be home until late, either.”

“I can do it,” you offered.

“Yeah?”

“Sure, no problem. You guys go, and I’ll clean up. I’ll lock up behind me when I leave.”

“Oh, you’re a lifesaver!” Lila gushed. Then she motioned for Diego and Grace to start moving out the front door, while she hoisted both twins up on either hip. “Let’s go, guys! There’s a spiked hot chocolate waiting with Mommy’s name on it.” 

As soon as the happy family was in their car and pulling out of the driveway, you were startled when Five suddenly blinked inside the house, appearing directly next to you, and still wearing the full Santa suit.

“Shit!” you exclaimed, a hand on your heart. “You scared me!”

“Well, I was freezing my balls out there behind the house, waiting for them to leave.”

You laughed. “Sorry about your balls. If there was a fire, I’d say you could warm them up by the Yule log.” You paused, thinking with a frown. “What even is a Yule log, anyway? I never understood that.”

Five grinned evilly and yanked your body to him as you let out a shriek. “I got your Yule log right here, honey.”

“Five…” you giggled as he started covering you with small kisses while the cheap beard tickled your cheeks and neck. Then you put a hand on his chest as you shifted your body, sliding up against something hard at the front of his pants. “Whoa…you weren’t kidding.”

“Told you,” he smirked.

“I knew I was being flirty, but I didn’t think I got you that wound up.”

“Darling, everything you do gets me wound up. But you were doing much more than flirting, sitting there in my lap, in that dress, and saying those dirty things. You knew exactly what you were doing.”

You smiled coyly, reaching up to unhook the beard from around his ears and take it off. “I do like the Santa thing, I won’t lie. But I never did like men with facial hair.”

“Good thing you didn’t know me back when I was older.”

With a laugh you threw the beard on the floor and planted a big kiss on his mouth. “For anyone else, that would be such a weird sentence.”

Five pulled you in tighter, the hard bulge under the red pants digging hard into your hip. “What do you say we head home and I can take a crack at that chimney for you.”

You pressed your body against his, the crushed velvet soft as it brushed against your skin. You ran your hands down his arms and chest. “I’m not sure I can wait to get home. I don’t know what it is, but you are killing me in this.”

Five looked around. “Here? In my brother’s house?”

You shrugged and reached around to squeeze his butt. “Why not? They won’t be home for hours. They’ll never know.”

Five looked down at you with a wicked leer before blinking again, this time taking you with him, as he landed perfectly seated in one of the kitchen chairs and you sitting sideways on his lap again. “How about you finish telling Santa what you want?”

When you adjusted yourself to straddle his lap, your sweater dress pulled almost all of the way up to your waist. You ground your groin harder into his, while draping your arms over his shoulders. With his hands gripping your hips, you pushed your chest against him as you leaned in for a kiss. “I’m afraid I have been very, very naughty,” you purred while plucking the red and white hat off his head and throwing it behind you.

As Five looked down between you, he saw what you were referring to and moved his hand to your hair, intertwining his fingers in it, while letting out a low rumble from his throat. “No panties? Fuck, you are so bad.”

“Can I still be on the nice list?” you asked, blinking innocently.

“I think we can work something out.”

At that, you were attacking his mouth with your own, smothering him in deep, urgent kisses while his other hand roamed under your dress to your bare hip underneath. He stoked your smooth skin, moving down your thigh and back up again, as he returned every heated kiss with just as much fervor. You wanted him. You needed him. And you were totally going to fuck him in his silly, stupid Santa suit like your life depended on it.

“Five,” you gasped in between eager bites and licks at his lips, your hands resting on either side of his face while you devoured him. “I need your cock.”

“Shit…” he groaned, jerking you closer and making your bare pussy drag along the soft material of his pants. “You are filthy today.”

“Are you complaining?” you asked, dipping your head down to suck more kisses along his neck.

Five closed his eyes as he tipped his head back. “Not in the least.”

When Five moved his hand between your legs, stroking you with his long fingers like he knew you loved, you whimpered into the crook of his neck. 

“Well, don’t stop now, naughty girl,” Five said quietly next to your ear while he sunk two fingers inside you and you rocked against his hand. “Keep talking.”

You lifted your head to look him in the eyes, the deep green of his irises gleaming with lust. Letting out little grunts while you rode his fingers, you clutched onto his shoulders.

“I want that big, hard cock of yours deep inside me. I want you to fill me all the way up with your hot cum. And I want you to do it now.”

“Damn it, you’re hot like this,” he breathed out, right before removing his fingers from you. 

You couldn’t wait any longer, and you began hurriedly trying to get in his pants, but the stupid suit was complicated. Finally figuring it out, you undid the large black belt that went around his waist and tossed that to the side. Then you unbuttoned the big red coat, opening it wide to reveal the white undershirt he had on underneath and running your hands down his firm chest. With the bulk of that out of the way, your hands dropped to the front of his pants, fumbling with the button that kept them closed.

Five laughed when you made a frustrated growling noise. He reached down to help you out, finally getting them undone enough to get at what you wanted.

Shoving a hand inside his pants, Five paused and held your gaze with a slight smirk. “Santa’s got a big package for you, baby.”

You tried to keep a straight face, but you failed and started giggling while Five’s grin grew wider. Your laughter subsided, however, when he pulled out his generous package and rubbed it against your wet slit. With a loud moan, you thrust your hips to move back and forth over his hard shaft. 

“Give it to me, Five,” you whined desperately.

“That’s no way to get back on the nice list, sweetheart,” he teased while gripping your hips and steadying you over him.

You let out an annoyed huff, but at this point you would do anything to have him fuck you. “Please, Five…”

“Five?” he asked with one eyebrow raised, just to be a jerk.

With a smile and a shake of your head, you played along. You’re the one that wanted to fuck him in a Santa suit, so you couldn’t be that surprised that he would make you work for it.

“Please, Santa,” you begged, burying your face into the side of his neck again, and brushing it softly with your lips. “I want you to shove that package inside my sleigh.” It was a pretty lame innuendo, but your brain was only half functioning at the moment. 

You heard Five exhale a soft laugh and you smiled into his neck. Then he was lining himself up and letting you sink slowly onto his cock. With a muffled cry, you felt him penetrate you as deeply as possible.

“Oh fff-uuuck…” you groaned out, pulling back to look him in the face again. 

With his dark eyebrows creased together and his mouth partly open as he concentrated on the amazing feeling of being inside of you, he managed to look even sexier. His hands grasped tightly to your hips as he started to move you over him. 

When you looked into his eyes, your arms wrapped around his shoulders and your hands on the back of his neck, you were suddenly taken over by an intense wave of love for him. Flashes of your life together flooded your mind. He had been hard to crack open in the beginning, but he eventually opened himself up to you. From there, he had to learn how to navigate a real relationship, but you stuck with him through all of the ups and downs. Even now, a year after your marriage, there were challenges. Being married to Five wasn’t always easy, but loving him was. 

You leaned in to kiss him, softly and tenderly, while your fingers wound lightly into the hair at the nape of his neck. His steady pace of thrusting your body over his cock started to slow as he reacted to your kiss. He gently traced one hand down your cheek.

“Five,” you said quietly as your mouths parted, and you rested your forehead against his. “All I really want for Christmas is to give you a family. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to.”

“Darling,” he responded with a small smile, rubbing a thumb over your lips. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You have made me the happiest man in the world, and nothing will change that. Kids or no kids.” 

With that, you let him take control again, thrusting his cock up into you while sliding your hot core back and forth, his fingers digging into your sides. Your deep, ravenous kisses were only interrupted by sharp gasps and whines as you clutched onto the back of the chair and tried to match the rhythmic motion of his fucking.

When a particularly rough drive had you pulling away with a loud cry, you pressed your cheek to his, your breath labored as you continued to ride him. “Oh god…you’re so deep.”

“I know sweetheart, but can you give me any more?” he breathed next to your ear. “You feel so fucking good.”

You spread your legs further apart, pressing down as far as possible, forcing his dick deeper, until it felt like it was going to stab you in the stomach. Five grunted through a clenched jaw as he put all of his concentration into his calculated fucking.

“Oh shit…” you breathed out, tucking your face into the side of his neck again. “Put a baby in me, Five.”

“Fuck yes I’m going to put a baby in you. I….oh, fffuck…” Five groaned huskily as he emptied himself inside you.

Your body gave in at the same time, clenching and shuddering around him as he held you tightly to his chest, his hips bucking up sporadically. He panted against your shoulder, his mouth pressed hotly against you while he moaned quietly with each eruption of cum that coated your insides.

As you both tried to catch your breath, you stayed wrapped in his arms with your head resting on his chest. Neither of you made a move to get up, and Five caressed your hair while giving you soft kisses to your temple.

After a minute, you raised your head with a dreamy smile and kissed him, brushing a stray piece of hair off his forehead.

“Maybe it’ll be a Christmas miracle,” you said hopefully.

“Maybe so. But if not, that’s ok too. I have you and that’s more than enough.”

“I love you so much, Five.”

“I love you too, darling.”

*****************************************

A year later, on Christmas day, you were back at Diego and Lila’s house, which was loud and packed with the entire family. There was wrapping paper strewn all over the floor, empty glasses and plates piled up on every surface, and the smell of roast turkey still hung in the air. Everyone was happy, stuffed full of food, and partly drunk. It had been a great party, but you were ready to head home for the night. Looking around for Five, you spotted him across the room, talking with Luther.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I think we should head home. Someone needs to get to bed.”

When Five turned around, he pointed to the sleeping baby snuggled up against his chest. “Too late, she fell asleep listening to her Uncle Luther’s boring ass story.”

“Hey!” Luther said with a hurt puppy dog expression. “My story about moon rock classification was not boring.” He paused. “Wait…was it?”

You laughed and reached for your three month-old daughter, taking her from Five while she stirred and let out a big yawn before dozing off again. “Come here, Holly,” you said quietly, kissing the top of her little head. “Let’s go home.”

While Five packed up the eight million baby items you had brought with you, in addition to all of the gifts the family had heaped on her, you watched with a loving smile. Who would have predicted that one impulsive, oddly kinky, but very sexy screw on Christmas Eve just one year earlier would have led to this? You had your perfect family with Five. And that was all you ever wanted.

After everything was put in the car, Five blinked next to you, wearing a devious grin and a red Santa hat on his head.

“Look what I found in the back of the trunk,” he said, pointing to the hat. “Want to try and give Holly a little brother or sister?”

With a giggle, you shook your head. “Very tempting, but ask me sometime when I’m not so sleep deprived I can barely see straight.” You gave him a kiss, your hand resting on the side of his face. “You do look good in that, though.”

At that moment, Diego came wandering up with a smart-ass smile. He gave Five a hard clap on the back. “Look at you guys. I can’t believe my feral little brother is all domesticated now. I never would have thought.”

“I’m twenty eight years older than you, asshole,” Five reminded him with a frown.

Diego shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “Whatever. I’m still shocked as hell.” He turned to you with your little daughter in your arms, cocking his head to the side. “Are you sure Holly is really Five’s? She’s way too cute to be related to his grumpy ass.”

As Diego laughed at his own joke and you resisted your own, Five put an arm around you with that not-so-amused expression of his. “Ready to go, darling?” When you nodded, he turned back to his brother. Plopping the Santa hat onto Diego’s head, Five smirked. “By the way, Diego, your niece was conceived in that chair over there. And yes, I was still wearing the suit.”

As Diego stood staring dumbfounded, the gears in his head turning as he tried to piece together what Five was saying, it suddenly dawned on him and his mouth dropped open. “Wait…WHAT?”

When you had first moved in, about two years ago, Five had been suspicious about what kind of neighbor he would be getting. The old couple that had lived in your house previously had been quiet and kept to themselves. Once in a while the old man would nod in Five’s direction, but that was the extent of their relationship. Which was exactly how Five liked it. 

Then the old man died and the lady sold the house. Five remembered the day you moved in. He had stood in his own small, unassuming house across the street and watched from the front window. He watched as you struggled with the unwieldy boxes and awkward furniture. It didn’t look like anyone was coming to help you and you had driven the moving van yourself. 

Five rolled his eyes and frowned, sipping at his coffee while muttering critiques to himself. When he saw you trying to drag an entire couch out of the van all by yourself, he sighed heavily. 

He had blinked directly next to you, scaring the shit out of you and making you drop the couch leg on your foot, which in turn made you scream from fright and from pain. Five had hastily lifted the furniture off of you. 

“Don’t you have any help?” he had asked, annoyed, like it was your fault he just tried to permanently cripple you. 

As you rubbed your foot with a scowl, you shook your head. “No, I don’t. My deadbeat ex-boyfriend decided to break up with me the night before he was supposed to help me move. But thanks for giving me a heart attack while also fracturing my foot. That really helps my already stellar situation I have going on here.” 

A total smart ass, Five had thought. He liked you immediately. 

Five was the only neighbor that came to your aid that day, and you and he managed to move all of your stuff in a couple of hours. He was smart and quick-witted; snapping back with his own biting commentary whenever you would throw a sarcasm grenade his way. It was an easy rapport right from the start. 

He had you laughing, and frustrated, and swearing under your breath. Sometimes all in the span of about thirty seconds. None of that has really changed over the past couple of years. Five is your friend. Your best friend maybe, as sad as that is. He’s infuriating and unintentionally hilarious, and surprisingly sweet. He gets you and respects you, even if he frequently insults your life choices. Usually regarding men. 

You have a key to Five’s house and he has one to yours. Although, he never bothers to use his. He much prefers blinking in and out of your house, even though you have expressed your feelings about that several times. 

“What if I have a date here?” you had asked him once. “What if you blink right into the middle of me getting some action?” 

He had scoffed. “The day that happens is the day I’ll eat my own hand.” 

“You’re saying I can’t get a guy?” 

“I’m saying you can’t get a guy to stay more than ten minutes.” 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” you had asked, offended. 

Five had tilted his head in that annoying way he does when he thinks he’s talking to some sort of lower lifeform. Dogs. Children. Morons. 

“I hate to break it to you, honey, but you have a very specific talent for scaring men away.” 

You had crossed your arms over your chest. “Oh, I can’t wait to hear the great Five Hargreeves’ thoughts on the matter. And don’t call me honey. You know I hate that.” 

Five had chucked. “See? Right there. You get so defensive.” 

“And you don’t?” 

“We’re not talking about me, now, are we?” 

“Look, if grown ass men can’t handle the opinions—” 

“Strong opinions,” Five butted in with a grin. 

“—of a woman, then good luck to them. I don’t need that shit. I’m not going to compromise and not speak my mind.” 

“I don’t think we’re in danger of you not speaking your mind.” 

“Five?” 

“Yes?” 

“I really hate you, you know that?” 

Five had smiled widely before crossing to the fridge and helping himself to one of your beers. “No, you don’t,” he said casually while reaching for the bottle opener. “But seeing as how I’m all you have right now, want to watch a movie?” 

With another heavy sigh and a reluctant smile, you accepted the beer Five held out to you before he grabbed another one for himself. “Yeah, sure. But I’m picking it this time. The last time you chose a documentary on planes and I thought I was going to slip into a coma.” 

“That was a very informative piece chronicling the historical significance of commercial air travel on our society as humans.” 

You stared at him, one eyebrow raised. “It’s my house and I have veto power. I’m picking.” 

Five smirked and shrugged. “Whatever you say, honey.”

This evening, Five is sitting alone at home, having finished his sad little dinner for one and contemplating going to bed early. As usual, he had kept an eye out for you from across the street. He knew you were out on another date. This time with a man you had claimed to really like. After your first date, you had come loudly barging into Five’s house, raving about how wonderful this guy was. Five had his doubts. But he had kept that to himself and said he was happy for you. 

This was the third date you two were on, and Five kept glancing out the front window, looking for signs that you were back home. He didn’t like knowing you were out with some man Five didn’t know. He had told you he thought he should meet these potential love interests before you went out with them, for safety reasons. You had looked at him like he was insane and then laughed, thinking he was kidding. He wasn’t, but he dropped the subject. 

Headlights burn through the blinds of the window as a car drives up and into your driveway. Five stands up and walks to the window, peeking out as inconspicuously as possible. It is your car and he watches as you get out, slamming the door behind you. He waits to see if anyone else is with you, but it doesn’t appear so. You stomp angrily up to your door and kick it open, slamming it shut with a loud bang that he can hear from across the street. 

Five stands there, wondering what to do. Obviously, you are upset about something, and as your friend he wants to know what. But if he goes over there right now, you’ll know he was spying on you. He decides to wait a few minutes. 

Then he picks up his phone and texts you. 

I was up and saw your car. You’re home ok? 

There is a lag of a minute or two before you answer. 

Yeah. All good. 

Five knows that’s a lie. 

Want some company? 

There is another long pause. 

Sure. 

Five grabs a bottle of your favorite vodka that he keeps in his house, even though he never drinks it himself, and walks across the street before blinking inside your house like usual. He finds you sitting in the dark, in your living room, slumped on the couch. 

“Hey,” he says quietly, setting the bottle down on an end table. “You ok?” 

You sniff and wipe at your face. “Yeah, doing great. Thanks for asking.” 

Five sits next to you and rolls his eyes. “Don’t be dramatic. What happened?” 

“Oh, you know, the usual. I did what you say I always do. I scared him away.” 

Five reaches over and clicks on the table lamp nearby. You squint into the light and he sees your face streaked with tears; your mascara leaving little black trails over your cheeks. His chest tightens. 

“What did this guy do?” he asks with a little more heat behind his words. 

You shake your head. “Nothing. I just… “You start to cry again, holding your face in your hands. “I don’t get it. Am I that annoying? I thought we had a good thing going and then out of the blue he gives me the ‘It’s not you it’s me’ bullshit. But of course it’s me!” You sob harder. “Why does this always happen, Five? Seriously, tell me. I’m clearly doing something wrong.”

Five reaches over and rubs your back. “Hey… there is nothing wrong with you. This guy is clearly a deranged asshole if he can’t see how great you are.” 

You look up. “You think I’m great?” 

Five makes his huffy, irritated expression. “Now you’re just fishing for compliments.” 

You smile a little. “I’m serious, Five. This dating thing is brutal.” 

“Then why do it?” 

“Why date?” you ask, like that is the dumbest question ever posed. “I don’t know. Because I’d like to find a partner to share my life with. Someone to love. Isn’t that what most people want?”

Five pauses. “I don’t know. I never thought about it.” 

You snort indignantly. “You’re so weird.” 

Five ignores your comment. “Want a drink?” 

“God, yes.” 

Five gets up and finds glasses in your kitchen, filling one of them with ice before bringing them into the living room. He pours a generous amount of vodka into the glass with ice and hands it to you. 

“Thanks. There’s whiskey in the –” 

“I know,” he says as he walks over to the cabinet you keep the liquor in. 

He reaches down and picks up the bottle that you keep just for him. You don’t touch the stuff. Five pours his own glass and comes back over to sit next to you. He leans back on the couch, completely comfortable. He takes a sip of his drink and you take one of yours. The ice clinking in your glass is the only sound for several minutes. But that also is comfortable. 

“So, why have you never thought about it?” you ask, out of the blue. 

“About what?” 

“Settling down. Finding a special person. Being in love. All that shit.” 

Five shrugs. “It’s more like if it happens it happens. There’s no use in trying to force it.” 

You laugh quietly, your body starting to relax a little bit. “So, you think the woman of your dreams is just going to show up at your doorstep one day? Knock on your door and be like ‘Oh, hey Five, I’ve been looking for you! Want to build a life together?’” 

He scoffs. “No, idiot. But I just don’t see the point of going on all of these dating sites and trying to pick a soul mate like you’re shopping for groceries. That’s not how that works.” 

You look sadly into your glass. “Well, it might. You don’t know.” 

Five looks at you thoughtfully. “Why is it so important for you to find someone? You have a good job, a nice house, you’re independent.” He smirks. “And you have me.” 

You sigh but it turns into a breathy laugh. “Well, shit… now I’m even more depressed.” 

“Fuck you,” Five says with a chuckle. He lays his arm across the back of the couch. “Come here, crazy. I know you’re going to cry again. You can use my shirt.” 

Smiling through your fresh tears, you lean into him and he puts his arm around your shoulders as you rest your head on his chest. He gives you a small kiss on the top of your head. “You’re gonna be alright,” he tells you gently. “Somewhere out there is a man just waiting to put up with you.” 

“Promise?” you ask with a sniffle. 

“I promise.” 

Later that night, after another drink and some more easy conversation, Five says goodnight and leaves. He tells you he’ll check up on you in the morning. After he blinks out of your house, he walks across to his. Inside, he walks upstairs to his bedroom, intent on going to sleep. As he begins to close the blinds to the window that faces the street, he can’t help but look across at your place one last time. 

You have always been careful about closing your curtains at night. Five knew this because… well, because he likes to make sure no creeps can see inside your house. As a woman living alone, you really need to be aware of those things. But tonight, you seemed to have forgotten. 

Five can see you in your bedroom, your light on full blast as you walk around, no doubt getting ready for bed yourself. He sighs and reaches for his phone, intending to text you and tell you to draw your curtains. As he takes his phone out of his pocket, though, he stops. 

That vodka must have made you extra tipsy, because you don’t seem to be aware at all that you are about to give Five a private peep show. You pull your shirt over your head and throw it somewhere on the ground. Five’s mouth opens and shuts for a second, like a fish. He knows he should turn away, or shut his own blinds. But then the skirt comes off. 

Five remembers you telling him that you were going to wear your good underwear that night, just in case. It did not disappoint. Black, lacy, sheer, and miniscule. 

“Fuck,” Five whispers to himself. There’s a loud clunk as his phone hits the floor. 

You seem to stand there forever, right in the middle of the window. What are you doing, anyway? Five has no idea. And frankly, he doesn’t care. He is stunned by how beautiful you look. Of course he’s always known you were attractive. Your relationship may be platonic, but he isn’t blind. 

Now, though, he can see every curve of your body. Your perfect breasts that are enhanced and pushed up by the fancy bra you are wearing. Your ass that is barely covered by the thin material of your panties. Five has told you you had a nice butt before, just to get a rise out of you, but he wasn’t lying. And now there it was, in full view. Five audibly swallows and the sound is incredibly loud in his ears. 

He takes in a deep breath and holds it for a few seconds. When he lets it out, it is harsh and shaky. He puts a hand to the window pane and leans in closer. 

This is fucked up, he thinks. I can’t be doing this. She’s my friend. This is weird. I need to turn– oh, holy fuck, there goes the bra. 

Five’s breath quickens and he suddenly becomes very warm. He knows he is probably blushing, but there is something else happening. He is definitely getting hard. 

How could he not, though? Your tits are just out there. And they are fucking amazing. He imagines running his hand and then his tongue over your erect nipples. Biting and sucking on them. He shudders and tugs at the crotch of his pants. 

“This is insane,” he says out loud. 

He watches as you turn around so that your beautifully round ass is facing him; the black lace of your tiny panties decorating the smooth skin of your cheeks. Five lets out a tiny moan. Then you reach over to your bed and grab a t-shirt. You pull it over your head and down your body, where it reaches to the middle of your thighs. When you cross the room and turn out the light, the show comes to an end. 

Five groans, resting his forehead against the window. “Shit shit shit shit,” he curses to himself. “Why did you do that?” he asks, both to himself and you. 

He decides to ignore the fact that his dick has been awakened and focuses on the fact that he needs to go to sleep. He closes up the house, turns out all the lights. Gets a glass of water. He washes his face. Brushes his teeth. Checks his phone for any messages. Strips down to his boxers and slips into bed. He stares up at the ceiling and blinks into the darkness. 

He’s still rock hard. 

“God damn it,” he mutters. He palms his crotch for some relief. “You cannot jerk off to her. You cannot.” 

A few minutes later, as Five is breathing hard and fast, trying to find the tissue box in the dark, with a load of cum in his hand, he swears again. He couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t help picturing blinking over to your room and doing unspeakable things to you. The image just surfaced there, no matter how hard he tried to push it away. You, moaning and writhing beneath him, chanting his name while he fucked you harder and harder into the mattress. Your tits bouncing with every thrust. 

“Great,” he breathes out, after he’s cleaned himself up as best he can. “Good job. Fucking creep.” 

Five eventually falls asleep. When he wakes the next morning, he feels even worse. He feels guilty. Like he’s violated you in some way. Later in the day, there’s a knock on the door. 

Five knows it’s you and he starts to get nervous. He tugs at the sleeves of his shirt and runs a hand through his hair. He answers the door and there you are. This time dressed, of course. 

“Wanna go to lunch?” you chirp. “I’ll buy.” 

Five pauses and tries to talk but it comes out all jumbled and weird. “Buy lunch? You want now to? Eat?” 

You openly stare at him like he’s completely lost it. “You ok? Why are you so pale and sweaty? Are you sick?” 

Five gathers himself up as much as he can. He clears his throat and passes a hand down his face, wiping the thin layer of cold sweat away. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just… working out. You surprised me.” 

You raise one eyebrow. “You were working out in a button-down shirt? I know that’s your go-to, but I thought even you might throw on a t-shirt sometimes.” 

Five laughs nervously. Pull yourself together! he screams internally to himself. “Yeah, I haven’t done laundry in a while. This was all I had.” 

You make a quiet humming noise, looking him over before meeting his eyes again. “So… was that a yes to lunch, or…?” 

“Yeah, sure,” Five says, finally getting his shit together. “Sounds good.” 

“Great. We can take my car.” 

“No,” Five says flatly as he locks up his door. “I’m driving.” 

You sigh. “Really? Again with the driving thing?” 

“Yes, again with the driving thing. You almost killed me last time!” 

“I did not almost kill you,” you say wearily. 

“I was about two seconds away from blinking directly out of that death trap on wheels, just to save my own skin.” 

“You’re so dramatic,” you say as Five opens the passenger door to his car to let you in. 

“And you’re a menace to society,” he tells you before shutting the door, cutting your rebuttal short. 

Five drives you to the diner you both like to frequent. The clatter of plates and silverware and “Order up’s” surround you as you walk in. You find a red vinyl-clad booth in the back and slide in across from one another. When the frazzled looking waitress brings you waters and then leaves again, you lean forward. 

“Hey, thanks for last night,” you say with a smile before taking a sip from your straw. “I know I was a mess.” 

Five leans back in his booth. “Yes, you are a mess, that’s for sure. But, you’re welcome.” 

You laugh and put your face in your hands. “Good lord, what is the matter with me? I’m acting like some doomed storybook princess that can’t function without a man to come along.” You look up at Five. “You’re right, you know.” 

“Obviously,” Five states, even though he doesn’t know what you are referring to. 

“I am successful and independent. I’m trying too hard to find this man that may or may not exist. I need to take a page from your book and just let it happen, right?” 

Five nods solemnly. “Taking my advice is always the right move.” 

“Shut up, ass,” you say with a giggle. “I’m serious. I’ve been going about this all wrong. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. And in the meantime, I’m just going to enjoy what I’ve got.” You give Five a shy smile before looking into your water glass. “And I’ve got you, so that’s pretty good already.” 

Five pretends to look surprised and leans forward. “What was that? I’m sorry, I thought I heard you say that I make your life fulfilling and joyful?” 

You roll your eyes. “Not at all what I said.” 

Five laughs and shakes his head. “Close enough.” 

The waitress comes back and you both order your usuals. A pastrami on rye with coffee for Five, and a grilled cheese with fries and a Coke for you. 

“You eat like a ten-year-old child,” Five says with a note of feigned disgust.

“And you eat like an 80-year-old man,” you bite back. 

You both smile at one another and settle into your normal routine as the old, bickering, but purely platonic, couple. 

It was happening again. Why was it happening again? Five lay there, in the dark, staring at the ceiling over his bed and wondering what you were up to. Your curtains were closed tonight; he had made sure of that (for security purposes only) before he had slid into bed. But that didn’t stop the imaginary scenarios from making their rounds through his mind again. 

God damn it, he thinks. Why did he watch you undressing before? Now that was all he could picture. Those smooth curves of your waist and hips, the way your ass tucked in tightly to the crease of your thighs. And, god, your tits were really amazing. Five considers himself a boob connoisseur, if you will, and yours were certainly at the top of all the pairs he’s ever been witness to. 

He sighs into the quiet of his room. He really does wonder what you are doing over there. Have you gone to bed yet? It was pretty late. 

Unable to help himself, Five gets up and goes to the window. Just as before, your curtains are drawn tightly. There is no light behind them, or anywhere else in the house that Five can see. He fiddles with the cord to his own blinds. He rubs at the back of his neck. He lets out a loud puff of air again. 

“Shit,” he mutters. 

The problem is, he wants to see you again. And not in a playful, friend-zone type of way. He wants to see the real you. Devoid of any mask you might wear when he’s around. He wants to know what you look like when you don't know he is watching. 

You know… like a fucking stalker. 

“Jesus Fucking Christ,” he says out loud again before running his fingers aggressively through his hair. “You cannot do that.” 

But he can do that. He literally has the power to do it. 

Five has never blinked directly into your house from his before. He has always walked up to at least your walkway before barging in via space portal. But looking across the street now, Five runs a few numbers in his head. It was definitely doable. 

His hands flex anxiously at his sides. Then, before he can talk himself out of it, he is gone. Enveloped in a flash of staticky blue light for one millisecond before appearing inside your home. He sucks in a loud breath of panic before getting his bearings in the darkness. He stands stock-still, holding his breath while he listens. 

You are in there, he can hear you. Your breaths are soft and rhythmic. Once his eyes adjust to the darkness, he can see your silhouette in your bed. You are lying on your side, legs curled up to your stomach and your head tucked down. Five smiles. He had no idea you slept like a snail or a fetus. You sigh and rustle under your covers for a moment but then you still again. 

Five slowly nears your bed. He watches your face as you sleep; your eyelashes fluttering briefly over your cheekbones. Your hair is tangled in knots around your head. A tiny bit of drool has escaped down the side of your partially open mouth. Your feet are tangled in the bedsheets, forming a weird lump under the comforter. 

You are a disaster even as you sleep, and a little zap of what feels like lightning sizzles throughout his chest. 

He doesn’t touch you or disturb you in any way. He isn’t even aroused. He just takes in all of the details he never gets to see, and it makes him realize there is a whole other side to you that he didn’t know. Like how do you choose your outfits for the day? What did you look like when you brushed your hair and put your makeup on in the bathroom mirror? What did you look like when you were engrossed in a good book, or lost in a daydream? 

Why did he want to know so badly? 

Five tears his gaze away from you and looks around the room. He has been in there a couple of times before, when you had wanted to show him a new shirt or something you had bought. But it had been quick, little visits. Now he takes his time, wandering around the room, checking out the items on your dressers and nightstands. 

There is a framed photo of some family and friends at a wedding, and an old black and white one of whom Five assumes are your grandparents. A few pieces of jewelry lie around. Some bottles of perfume and an empty water glass. Inexplicably, there is an unopened jar of olives on top of the tallest dresser. Do you like to eat olives as a midnight snack in bed? If so, Five feels slightly hurt he didn’t know that about you already. Maybe you just got distracted putting groceries away one day. He wishes he could ask you so he could laugh about it with you. 

For a very brief moment, he thinks about waking you up. But the absolute shame and fear that would come with doing that was too much. He needs to get out of there. With one last look at your sleeping face and another quick survey of your room, Five reaches over and swipes a scrunchie off your nightstand and disappears with a soft pop and swoosh of air. 

When he is back in his own room, breathing hard and trembling, he looks at the item in his hand. What was he thinking? He stole a fucking hair tie from your room? Is he insane? 

Five legitimately thinks about it for a second. Was he insane? That would explain a lot, actually.

He shakes his head like he’s trying to evict this new sickness from his mind. It doesn’t seem to work. He fidgets with the scrunchie in his hand. It’s a soft green color and he stretches it and relaxes it a couple times. There’s a single strand of your hair tangled in it and he lightly rubs it between two fingers. 

Do NOT do what you are thinking of doing, Five warns himself sternly. Too late. 

He brings the scrunchie up to his face and takes a breath. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Your scent. You’ve hugged him and leaned against his shoulder enough times that he knows what your hair smells like. 

He doesn’t do anything else with it. Just lays it gently on his nightstand, looking at it thoughtfully like it were a living creature and he wasn’t sure how to take care of it. Then he puts his head in his hands and exhales loudly. 

“Fuck,” he groans. 

One would think that after that little infringement laced with shame, there would be no more. That Five would have learned his lesson and put his voyeur days behind him. But one would be wrong. 

Despite his internal struggle between good and bad, the devil on his shoulder always seems to win out. 

He doesn’t always steal stuff, and sometimes he replaces what he takes the next night. And it is never anything gross, like panties or bras. Mostly because he is afraid of opening any drawers and potentially waking you up. But if there are little things sprinkled around your room; little things he is sure you won’t miss, he can’t help himself. 

Really, though, he just watches you sleep. Once he blinked in to find you not in bed. Then he heard the toilet flush in the bathroom down the hall and he blinked back to his house, panicked and breathing hard. 

During the day, things go on as normal. You and he hang out as friends, laughing together and busting each other’s balls. You have lunch and dinners together, trading whose place to make and eat meals at. Now that you aren’t so caught up in the dating scene, Five is becoming even more of your companion and confidant. 

Five has gotten pretty good about covering up the fact that he is blinking into your house at night while you sleep. And maybe occasionally jerking off while thinking of you. There haven't been any more private strip shows, but sometimes there will be just a small slit in the curtains and he will get a nice glimpse of your silhouette every now and then. He uses those opportunities to his full advantage. 

With his bedroom light off, he will stand by the window, palming his aching dick through the crotch of his pants until he can’t take it anymore and he finds himself hurriedly shoving his pants down around his ankles, and reaching into his boxers. He will end up with a hand braced against the window or wall, eyes shut tight, breathing hard and fast through his nose while he grunts out your name under his breath and works his cock over like his life depends on it. 

Tonight, it’s dinner and a movie at his house. Five is in charge of the chicken and salad and you are bringing the wine. He opens the door before you can knock. 

“You’re late. The fucking chicken is getting cold,” he barks, but there is very little bite behind it. 

“Nice to see you too, Five,” you say with a syrupy smile as you pat his arm and close the door behind you. “Also, fuck off. My sink got clogged up and I had to plunge it like six times before it would open up again.” 

“Why didn’t you call me? I would have come over and done it,” he says with genuine concern. 

You point at yourself with your thumb. “Independent woman, remember?” You flex your biceps and grunt loudly. 

Five laughs and shakes his head. “Ok, well, the next time you don’t feel like being independent, let me know. I don’t mind reaming out your pipes.” 

What he said lands like a brick in the middle of you and then you both start laughing. Five is trying not to turn a bright shade of red, but not having much luck. 

“Oh my god,” you say in between gasping breaths. “That sounds like the beginning of a very bad porno.” 

Five gives another snort of laughter. “Well, shit, because that was going to be my movie pick for tonight.” 

You cross to a drawer of his kitchen where you know he keeps the corkscrew and start opening the wine. As you draw the cork out, you continue talking. 

“Damn, you know, I might as well watch some porn. It would be the closest I have been to a dick in months.” 

Five is reaching into the cabinet for the wine glasses, so luckily you can’t see him falter and swallow hard. “Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah,” you say as you take a glass and pour the red wine halfway. You hand that one to Five and pour one for yourself. “Major dry spell going on.” 

Five nods and takes a healthy sip of the wine. “Huh.” 

You look at him oddly, since he’s not firing back any zingers. You tilt your head and take a drink. “What?” 

“Nothing.” 

“Ok…” You start laughing. “Why? You want to help me out in that department, too?” 

Five can’t help it. He looks away for a fraction of a second, but it’s long enough for you to notice. “How about we wait until we’re both completely desperate before we make that move, yeah?” 

You smile and nod slowly, holding up your glass in a toasting gesture. “I’ll drink to that.” 

“Cheers,” Five says as he clinks his glass with yours. He hopes the sound covers the quiet hitch in his breath. 

After the dinner of room temperature chicken and wilty salad, you settle in Five’s living room on the couch. The bottle of wine was finished an hour ago and you both have moved on to your respective preferred liquors. You sit on one end of the couch with your tumbler of vodka and soda and Five sips his whiskey from the other end. You haven’t even started up a movie yet. You’re having too much fun laughing and talking with one another. 

“Oh my god!” you exclaim drunkenly and Five frowns at the droplets of vodka that go splashing out of your glass and onto his couch cushion. “I forgot to tell you! Remember how I had that one lady come over to organize my closets?” 

Five nods. “Complete waste of money, but go on.” 

You roll your eyes. “Well, I didn’t end up hiring her. But I had her come over twice to give me estimates and after each time, guess what?” 

Five blinks slowly at you. “I couldn’t possibly guess.” 

“She stole some of my shit out of my bedroom!” 

Five chokes on his drink and he pounds his chest to get some air back in his lungs while he coughs and sputters. His eyes are watering as he looks back at you. “What?” 

“Are you ok?” 

He nods. “Yeah, yeah… I’m good,” he wheezes. 

You wait a minute until he calms down again. “So, anyway, yeah, I think she stole from me! Nothing major, just little things. Like a cheap bracelet I had on my dresser and a random pen. That’s super weird, though, right?” 

“Why do you think it was her?” 

You shrug and take another drink. “No one ever comes over except you, so…” 

Five is silent as he waits for the other shoe to drop. But instead, you get up and pour another drink for yourself. You grab Five’s whiskey bottle and bring it to the couch to fill his up, too. 

As you are sitting back down again, you see something stuffed in between the couch cushions. You tug it out and hold it up. It’s the scrunchie you misplaced a few weeks ago. 

“Hey!” you exclaim with a smile. “I’ve been looking for this!” 

Five is extremely thirsty all of a sudden and he gulps down half his glass in one swallow; the sting of the whiskey like fire down his throat. 

“Must have left it here,” he says helpfully. 

You nod and stick it in your pocket. “I usually only use that one when I put my hair up before bed, but I must have worn it over here once.” You laugh and smack Five’s knee playfully. “Unless you’ve been using it!” 

Five laughs nervously, but the large quantity of booze he’s been drinking all night is slowing his reflexes. He shakes his head. “I don’t think so.” 

“Yeah, green’s not your color,” you say with a giggle. 

There’s a moment of silence between the two of you. Then you suddenly perk up again, excited. 

“I’m hungry again! What do you have for snacks?” 

Five shrugs but leans forward so that he’s resting his elbows on his knees; his glass still grasped loosely in his hand. “I have no idea. You probably know better than me. You’re like a little rat when you come over here, hoarding all my food.” 

“I’m not a rat!” you say as you stumble off the couch and head to his kitchen. 

The cupboards start banging open and closed as you search for whatever you might be craving. 

“Five, why the hell do you have a random can of tomato sauce next to your cereal?” you yell. You start laughing like it’s the funniest thing in the world. 

Five smiles. “I don’t know!” he calls back. “Why do you keep a jar of olives on your dresser?” 

The house falls silent and it takes Five a minute to understand why. Then he remembers what he just said out loud. 

Fuck, he thinks. 

He doesn’t move. He doesn’t speak. He just waits. 

You come into the living room, a bowl of chips in your hand. You sit heavily on the couch again and look at Five. 

“How did you know about the olives?” you ask slowly. 

Five’s open mouth and stammering of words is a dead give away that he’s about to lie. Fortunately, you are too tipsy to notice. 

“You told me,” he says with as much confidence as he can muster. “A couple weeks ago. Remember?” 

You take that in, eyeing him carefully while popping a chip in your mouth and crunching loudly. “Huh. Did I?” 

“Yeah.” 

You seem to buy the lie and you ease back into the couch again, getting comfortable while you sip your drink. Your train of thought jumps tracks a little and suddenly you are smiling over at Five while your head rests on the back of the cushion. 

“You’re my best friend, you know that?” you say with a big grin. 

Five lets out an embarrassed laugh. “You’re drunk.” 

“No no no no,” you say and you scoot closer to him. “I mean it.” Your eyes clear as you look into his and suddenly you’re not so foggy anymore. “You are my best friend, Five. I mean it. I feel safe with you.” 

Five’s thick swallow is audible and his skin feels like it’s on fire. “I’m glad,” he says, in the lamest answer ever. 

Your eyebrows draw together and he thinks maybe he hurt your feelings. He’s no good at this kind of thing. This back and forth giving of compliments and expressions of love, platonic or otherwise. It makes his chest feel tight and his stomach clench. But maybe he can try. 

“I guess you’re my best friend, too.” The words come out haltingly, like he’s never strung that sentence together before and his mouth doesn’t know how to form letters. 

You smile and lean forward and for a split second Five thinks you might try to kiss him. “I love you,” you say dreamily. Then, after seeing Five’s shocked face, you giggle and pat him on the cheek. “As a friend, dork.” 

“Ok, honey,” he snarks back, trying to disguise how flustered he is right now. 

“Don’t call me honey,” you respond with a frown that quickly disappears behind your glass as you take another sip. 

When you finish your drinks, you say your goodbyes and Five walks you to the door. He stands in the doorway to make sure you get across the street safely. You give him a short wave and a smile as you enter your house and shut the door. 

Five locks his own door and staggers up the steps to his room. On the way, he strips off his shirt and unbuckles his belt. He’s tired and loopy and angry at himself for almost giving his new little pastime away. He also feels like a giant pervert for doing it in the first place. 

Entering his bedroom, he trips a little and stubs his toe, making him swear under his breath. He searches around for the light switch on the wall and clicks it on. He sits on his bed, rubbing his foot. Then he remembers that you will be getting ready for bed in your own room. 

He can’t help it. He needs to see. 

It takes a while. Perhaps you stopped in the kitchen for some water or a snack. But, eventually, just like always, he watches as your light flicks on in your bedroom and he can see clearly inside. You are wearing that ugly, pink robe with the flamingos on it that he makes fun of you for. He expects you to come to your window to shut the curtains. You do come to the window, slowly, but you don’t touch the curtains. Instead, you turn towards Five, looking out of the window in his direction. 

Five blinks in confusion. You can’t possibly be looking at him. You must be looking at your reflection or maybe it’s just a coincidence that you turned that way. As Five is gawking and trying to figure out what is going on, he realizes that he left his light on in the room. 

The lamp is blaring bright white light all around him, illuminating him for all to see like the 4th of fucking July. And he’s standing there, gripping the side of the window, with his shirt off and his pants undone. 

Five closes his eyes and moans sadly. “Shit.” 

He’s caught. This is it. In a minute, you are going to come storming across the street, banging on his door to scream directly in his face. You’ll call him sick and disgusting. You’ll say you will never be his friend again. You’ll probably move out in the middle of the night. 

He feels a deep feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. 

But then… then, you start to undo the fabric belt of your robe. You let it fall off your shoulders, slipping down your arms, and onto the floor. The sight underneath has Five letting out a loud, embarrassing groan that sounds like he just got socked in the stomach. 

You could not possibly have been wearing that underneath your clothes when you were over for dinner. There’s just no way. Five saw you. You had been wearing your usual cut off shorts and t-shirt. This… outfit… that you were wearing now? He would have fucking remembered that, even if he’d caught the smallest sliver of a glimpse under your regular clothes. 

It was a nightgown. Or a negligee. Or some sort of lingerie. Five isn’t really sure on the specifics. But he definitely doesn’t give a good flying fuck what it is called, because all he knows is that it looks like it was made specifically for your body. 

It is black and lace and sheer and tight. Molded to your curves and painted onto your skin. The bodice lifts your breasts up high, with thin spaghetti straps holding it over your shoulders. The body of it comes down just to the level of your upper thigh. Five can’t be certain, but from where he stands, it appears that you don’t have on anything else underneath. 

“Fuck,” Five hisses through gritted teeth. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck.” 

Why are you wearing that? Five has a very sudden and very horrible thought that maybe you had called someone else to come over. Another man that you were going to fuck, right there in front of Five’s face as he watches. That is honestly the most logical explanation that he can come up with, even if you had made no mention of another man earlier in the evening. But why would you have spent the majority of the night with Five if you were just going to end it with someone else? 

Still, Five can’t make any sense of it. Instead, he just continues watching. You fluff out your hair and smooth your hands down your sides. Then it looks like you might be starting to undress out of that outfit, too. Which also doesn’t make any sense, because why would you have put it on in the first place just to take it right off again? 

Your fingers trace the lace around the low neckline, lingering over your cleavage, and then play with the tiny straps that are holding it up. Five takes all of it in; studying each miniscule movement and shimmy of your body. If there is going to be some sort of weird test on all of this later on, he wants to make sure he aces it. 

You turn around so that your beautiful ass is framed in the window like a work of art. You start to pull one of the thin straps down and then stop. You look over your shoulder in his direction. Your eyes lock with his. 

And you smile. 

Five freezes. He is gaping with his mouth open and he doesn’t know what to do. 

You pull the strap back up onto your shoulder, as if you changed your mind. Then… you beckon to him with a sexy crook of your finger in his direction. Your eyebrow raises. Like a dare. Like a Siren that is going to surely lure him to his death amongst the rocks. 

Five sucks in a loud breath and swallows, making an audible gulping noise. His hands start to shake at his sides. You are watching him, or at least he thinks you are. There is another beat of uncertainty and then you shake your head, just slightly, with another small smile. 

Five doesn’t know what the hell is going on, and maybe he’s making a terrible mistake. 

Well, fuck it. It’s been a good run. 

He holds his breath, squeezes his eyes shut, and blinks directly into your room. 

He is breathing hard and fast, his hands flexing and unflexing while his pants remain halfway open and his belt hangs down, unbuckled. He stares at you, partly terrified and partly turned on. 

You don’t scream or throw anything at him, so that’s a good sign. Rather, you stare right back at him with that same knowing smile. 

Your lingerie looks even better up close and Five licks his lips and swallows as his eyes wander up and down your body. 

“I—” Five starts to stammer. 

You take a step towards him. “It’s ok, Five. I know you’ve been watching me and blinking in here at night.” 

That panic starts crawling up his throat again. He thinks about blinking away. “I don’t… I mean…” 

You smile and get close enough to touch him. Close enough that your tits brush against his bare chest. He is at a loss for words but his hands come to rest on your waist, his fingers lightly feeling the lace of your lingerie. 

You look up at his bewildered face. “It’s ok.”

“How did you know?” he asks quietly. His hands skim your hips and he stares at your lips. 

“You’re not as slick as you think you are, mister,” you say playfully. “That sexy power of yours lights up the room, you know.” 

Five looks horrified and guilty and lustful all at once. He doesn’t deny anything. 

“Plus,” you continue. “I found all my missing stuff at your house the other day when I came over to borrow some eggs and you weren’t home. Who’s the rat now?” 

“I thought the closet lady took them,” he says with a tiny smirk. 

“You’re such a bad liar,” you tell him as you lean in even closer, your mouth hovering just over his. He sucks in a sharp breath. 

“I’m so sorry,” Five says sincerely.  

“It’s ok, Five. But why did you do it?” 

Five hesitates. “I just wanted a piece of you with me all the time. And once I had that, I wanted more.” 

“Why didn’t you just ask? I would have given it to you.” 

Five laughs. “Your scrunchie?” 

“No. All of me.” 

Five’s hand slides up your back, his fingers feeling each vertebra on your spine before settling at the nape of your neck. 

“You don’t hate me?” he asks softly. 

You shake your head. “I told you, Five. I love you.” 

He smiles. “I love you, too.” And even though it’s the first time he’s ever said that out loud before, it feels right. 

You emit a tiny squeaking noise as his mouth crashes into yours. His kisses are brutal and biting as he holds you flush to his chest, like if he lets go you’ll realize he’s the voyeuristic pervert he really is. But you kiss him back, urgently and deeply, your fingers pressing into the hard muscles of his back. 

“There’s something I need to know,” Five manages to get out between gasps of air. 

You tip your head back and he attacks your throat, his mouth eagerly sucking down the side and onto your collarbone. You whine a little in response. 

“What is it?” 

Five stops his onslaught of kisses and cups your face in both of his hands. “How the fuck did a jar of olives get in here?” he asks with the most smart-ass, yet loving grin you have ever seen. 

You laugh breathily. “Honestly? I have no idea. I wondered that myself.” 

Five snorts out a laugh, but then his smile fades and he leans in. His hands are in your hair as he kisses you again. This time, he’s not as all-consuming. His mouth is soft and his kisses are slow. You bring one hand up to the side of his face and trace the outline of his jaw with your finger tip. Then you press your palm onto his cheek. 

He draws back and looks you over, his gaze traveling down your body and back up again. He plays with the straps over your shoulders, and he lets them fall off so they hang down loosely. Then he runs his hands down your sides and around to your ass where they come to rest.

“Honey, you are killing me with this thing.” 

You raise an eyebrow. “Don’t call me honey.” 

You are squealing and then laughing as Five whooshes you through one of his portals. You find yourself landing on Five’s bed with a short bounce. He is standing over you, a cocky smirk on his face, while unzipping the fly of his pants the rest of the way. 

“Did you just kidnap me?” you ask breathlessly with a little giggle. 

“Not kidnapped. You’re free to go at any time.” Five shoves his pants down and kicks them off. He is left in his black boxer briefs. 

“My bed works perfectly well, too, you know.” 

Five climbs over you, forcing you onto your back. He presses his forehead to yours and gives you a kiss. “I like the homefield advantage.” 

You are back staring into one another’s eyes and soon the confident grin Five was wearing begins to fade. He brushes your hair back from your face. His hard cock is pressing against your inner thigh. 

Your hips automatically tilt upwards. Five grips your left hip with his right hand, squeezing it tightly. He slides his hand down your thigh and back up again, coming to rest underneath the hem of your lingerie. The action pushes the short garment up, around your hips. You aren’t wearing anything underneath, so now you are fully exposed to him. 

Your chest starts to rapidly rise and fall with anticipation. Five lowers himself to kiss you again, moving from your lips, under your jaw, and down your neck. You sigh happily, stretching out long while giving him access to everything he wants to take. 

“Remember when we said we’d only do this if we were desperate?” he asks with his lips pressed to your throat. 

“Mmm-hmmm,” you breathe out. 

Five gives you a small bite on the side of your neck. “You have no idea how desperate for you I am.” 

“Five,” you gasp as he moves to the other side and gives you a sharper bite onto your shoulder. 

The throbbing between your legs that you have felt since you first touched his bare skin with your hands is getting worse by the second. You are certain there is already a wet spot forming on Five’s comforter underneath you. His mouth moves to your chest and then between your tits, where he draws a line up the center with his tongue. Then he massages your left breast with one hand while scraping his teeth over the thin lace that covers the other. 

Your hips buck up in response and you moan his name again. He shoves the lingerie up even further, over your waist and abdomen. He kisses your stomach; long, sucking kisses that have you arching into them. While he continues to explore your body, you quickly pull the lingerie over your head and toss it somewhere to the side. Five lifts his head and smiles appreciatively. 

“By the way… did you wear that specifically to lure me over?” he asks with a smirk. 

You nod. “Obviously.” 

Five hums thoughtfully while looking your body over and trailing a finger down your side and over the crease where your hip meets your thigh. You shiver under his touch. 

“It definitely got my attention.” Five lowers himself so that his face is almost directly between your legs. He kisses one thigh and then the other. “But I really like it on my floor right now.” 

He gives you another soft kiss, right below your navel. You are breathing hard and fast, and when his tongue finally makes contact with your wet heat, your fists clench the bed covers and you cry out. 

“Fiii-ve!” you wail, your hips pushing up into his face. 

Five smiles against you but he doesn’t let up. He savors you, one torturous lap at a time, while you wriggle helplessly under him. You let out broken cries that are punctuated by nonsensical words and curses. Your back is arching off the bed and you are desperately trying not to come. When he grabs hold of your ass, holding you in place while he covers your clit with his mouth, sucking and licking like it’s the most delicious food he’s ever tasted, you quickly lose the battle. 

You come against his mouth, your juices flowing out of you as you let out a string of shuddering cries. He doesn’t stop until you are fully spent and your body has stopped spasming. When Five lifts his head, he looks absolutely debauched. Lips red and puffy, hair askew, chin shining with the steady stream of wetness that he has been drinking up. He is panting and shaking, the outline of his hard cock straining against his boxers. 

Just the sight of him that worked up over eating you out is driving you insane. He wipes at his mouth with his hand. When you gaze back at him with more lust in your eyes, he quickly sheds his underwear. 

You take a moment to appreciate his naked body. His smooth, fair skin; his lean and toned muscles; his generously sized dick that is just waiting to fuck you. He sees you looking and smiles. Then he is back on top of you with a low groan. 

Five kisses you, biting at your lips with a new ferocity. 

“Fuck,” he growls, and it’s laced with need and urgency. “I can’t…” he breaks his sentence with another unrestrained groan. “I can’t wait anymore,” he tells you like it’s a warning. 

You open your legs for him, your folds slick and still throbbing from his mouth. He sinks himself inside you, slowly and purposefully, each inch filling you up along the way. When he bottoms out, you both moan out loud and Five’s eyes fall shut for a moment. He doesn’t move. When he opens his eyes, they are glassy and a deep crease forms between them. He studies your face, his breath coming in harsh, shaking rasps. 

He whispers your name in a way he has never said it before.

When he starts to move inside you, he finds your hand and laces his fingers with yours. He presses them into the mattress, next to your head. His kisses have changed again. Now they are passionate and deep; matching the rhythm of his cock as it thrusts slowly in and out of you. 

“Oh god,” you moan. “Five.” 

“Does that feel good to you, sweetheart?” he asks you sincerely, a line of worry forming between his eyebrows. 

“Yes,” you manage to gasp out. “It feels so good.” 

Five buries his face in the crook of your neck while he starts to pump faster and a little harder into you. His grip on your hand tightens and you squeeze his fingers in return. 

His cock is thrusting deep inside you, the thick shaft stretching your walls with each pass. You angle your hips so that every time he bangs into you, the sharp edge of his pubic bone hits just the right spot.

The more you moan his name and rake your free hand down his back, the harder he pounds into you. His kisses remain slow and worshipful, though. You are gasping in lungfulls of air as you cling to his body; your legs wrapped around him. Your head is filled with a beautiful, swirling fog of love and adrenaline. 

Five has never felt like this before. Like he’s both simultaneously going to explode and collapse in on himself. Your body feels like heaven underneath him and your warm, tight pussy feels like it was made just for him. He tries not to give in to his primal need to fuck you hard and fast, but it’s nearly impossible. He is being driven by desire and love and lust and all of those things that makes him want to kiss you and fuck you for all eternity. 

“Please,” he says into your shoulder. “Oh fuck, baby… please.” 

What is he even talking about? He has no idea, but the further into this haze of sweat and endorphins he gets, the harder it is for him to hold back. He wants you shaking and trembling beneath him. He needs to hear his own name vibrating against his skin while you moan into him. 

“Please, honey,” he begs hoarsely, his breath rushing over your skin. “Please, come for me. I need to feel it.” 

“Five,” you breathe out softly. “Keep fucking me… don’t ever stop… oh… FIVE!” 

As soon as your body begins to stiffen against his, Five lets go with a low, guttural moan. He curses and tightly clenches his jaw as he fills you up with his cum; his hips twitching and grinding against you. When he starts to relax, his body still covering yours, you lock eyes with one another and you both smile. He is still holding your hand and neither of you make a move to let go.  

After a minute, Five moves off of you and to the side. You are still trying to catch your breath.

“Let me go get something to clean you up with,” he says. 

When he goes to get off the bed, you put your hand out, catching his wrist. “No, stay.” 

He chuckles. “I’m only going to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” 

You shake your head with a lazy smile. “No, don’t go. Stay right here.” 

Five doesn’t need much convincing and he settles in next to you, pulling you close to him while you lay your head on his chest. You start to relax in his arms. Five nuzzles his cheek against the top of your head. You both let out a contended sigh. 

“I’d say that was long overdue,” Five says, breaking the silence.

You laugh. “Yeah, what the hell were we waiting for? That was way better than watching some lame movie.”

“Once again, my movies aren’t lame,” Five says with a grin that he is having a hard time keeping off his face.

You are quiet again for a couple of minutes and then you look up at him. “I have a confession to make,” you say, tracing his lips with your finger tips. 

“I feel like I’m the one with all the confessions to make, but ok,” Five answers. 

“So, all those dates I went on?” you begin, and you can feel his body tense. 

“Not really what I want to be talking about at this very moment,” he grumbles. 

You give him a small smile and kiss his lips, making him relax again. “They never worked out because of you.” 

Five’s eyebrows furrow. “What do you mean?” 

“The reason I ended up chasing them away,” you tell him, “Was because all I did was talk about you.” You kiss him again, this time slipping your tongue inside, and he moans into your mouth. You pull back again. “Apparently men don’t like it when you make it obvious you’re in love with someone else.” 

A slow grin passes over Five’s face. “Why didn’t you tell me all of this sooner?” 

“Because what if you rejected me? I didn’t want to lose you as a friend.”

“Sweetheart, I can’t think of one god damned scenario on the face of this earth in which I would reject you.” He thinks for a moment and he strokes your hair. “I really am sorry. I shouldn’t have done what I did. Watching you. Stealing. That’s some real psycho behavior; I know that. And I’m so fucking sorry.”

“It’s a little psycho,” you say with a laugh. “But, for some reason… I don’t know… I like that I make you disturbed.”

Now Five laughs. “Well, then you are in luck, honey, because you have one very disturbed man on your hands now.”

“Don’t call me hon–”

You are cut off when Five drags you on top of him and kisses you, hard, with a hand on the back of your neck. Your muffled protests and feeble attempt to get away is ignored and soon you are turning to liquid under his touch again. 

When he finally lets you up for air, he is grinning happily. “You love it when I call you honey, and you fucking know it.”

You frown and start to argue, but with the way he is looking at you, like you are the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, you can’t keep it up. You sigh. “Yeah, I do.”

“Knew it,” he chuckles. “Hey, just out of curiosity, how long have you been secretly in love with me?”

“Since you dropped a couch on my foot,” you answer with a smile. “How long have you been secretly in love with me?”

“Since I dropped a couch on your foot,” he tells you.

You nod, like you figured as much, and go back to kissing him. As Five loses himself to your mouth and your body and just you, he wonders why none of this is awkward. It should be, he reasons, but it isn’t. And thank god for that, because he’s not sure what he would do if he lost you as a friend or anything more.

His mind switches gears as you start to rock your hips into him. You look and feel so good on top of him and he can’t wait to see you in every position imaginable. Before he gets too far gone, though, he makes a mental note to remind you that no matter where this relationship is headed, he would still like a few private strip shows from across the street now and then. Just to keep things from getting too normal.

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