# 005

it's a slow and gradual shift , tracing her gaze up five's figure , to the collar of his shirt , up to his face . exhaustion , god , to her five wears it on his sleeve . and there's distant look in his eyes that she watches fade away when she finally speaks .

in truth , wednesday had just wanted his attention , to pull him back from getting too lost in his own head . so she said the first thing that came to mind . although maybe , deep down , there is always a reason for what gets said on instinct .

“ i prefer ghosts . and even then , there are some i'd rather not deal with . ” a false glare , intended for a recently developed spirit guide ( although she's not around to see it ) , is sent out the window to the empty space right outside . but her eyes quickly find their way back to five , the glare ever so slightly softening at him .

“ what ‑ if you didn't zone out while we were talking . ” nice save . she was seconds away from nearly being vulnerable in public . there's a reputation to uphold here . “ i had half a mind to start pouring all those sugar packets into your coffee just to see if you'd notice . ”

one thing that would remain wholly true about the both of them is that it they were able to read each other like a book . && it was ludicrous for him to assume that wednesday would look at him now && not see it all .

his attention is brought back to her , sharp blue eyes focusing on her brown - almost black eyes .

❝ ghosts are harder to kill . ❞ he agreed . he follows her quick gaze out the window , wondering who she's thinking about when she says that . knowing wednesday , it could be anything . the addams' were always involved in something weird . && then again , five couldn't even argue the existence of them . having seen what his brother could do && the fact that ben had been haunting the family since his death . ❝ but not impossible . ❞ he added , lifting the cup to his lips && taking a sip .

an apology hangs in the air , that five knows he has to give . he was miles away , lost in thought && wasn't paying attention . he always paid attention .

especially to wednesday .

Five makes a mistake in his equation and sends himself back in time to his family. This mistake means that he doesn't come back as his 58 year old self, but rather his 13 year old self. His body is reverted back to being a 13 year old. So his organs, including his brain returns to being a 13 year old's. His conscience, his memories remain in tact, being that of a 58 year old's, however, since people don't fully develop their pre-frontal cortex until they are 26, (and I headcanon Five as being autistic so his doesn't fully come in until he's at least 30) his 13 year old brain cannot handle this strain.

Therefore, after he is finished running around and dealing with the apocalypses - running on adrenaline and 45 years of fear, trauma and survival, his mind slowly snaps back to that of his 13 year old self.

“You’re still alive, huh?”

“My ‘people skills’ are ‘rusty’.”

“He’s a dick, but a deal’s a deal.“

“You’re scrawnier than I pictured.“

“You promised you’d leave it alone.“

“Fight the fairies! You fight those fairies!“

“You know, it’s a miracle it didn’t kill you.“

“Of course I didn’t leave it alone! Sue me!”

“You mean the non-sexy kind of drilling, right?“

“You wanted a family. You have for a long time.“

“Like I said, the son of the bitch doesn’t answer.“

“You are not to harm them, do you understand me?“

“I’m not gonna fight you. But this is your last chance.“

“I don’t need you to fight my battles for me. Get bent.“

“If you don’t help us, I will hunt you down and kill you.“

“Better run, man. I think the fourth kind is a butt thing.“

“I’m just trying to make you feel better, don’t be a bitch.“

“Unless you like your wings extra crispy, I’d think about it.“

“Do you have any clue what walking away meant for me?“

“My point is, you’re distracted, and that makes me nervous.“

“I’m a killer. And there’s no changing that, I know that, now.“

“Wow, that sounded really creepy coming out of your mouth.“

“These aren’t vampires, man. These… these are douchebags.”

“You think I came because you called? I came because of this.“

“I know how scary it is. You know what’s scarier? You right now.“

“I wanna go home. I feel like this whole place is bad-touching me.“

“Whoa, whoa, come on, man. Now I’m scarred for life! Thank you.“

“No offense, but if you don’t walk out that door, I’m going to shoot you.“

“You have no idea what’s in some people’s walls. Could eat them alive.“

“And this is… this is just going to keep happening, so, I need you to go.“

“I don’t know. You think I speak baby? Maybe he needs a diaper change.“

“I mean, I know it wasn’t greeting-card perfect, but we were in it together.“

“I mean, accidents just don’t happen accidentally…You know what I mean.”

“You call me, and I come through. Every damn time! And what do I get for it?”

“Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray to (name) to get his feathery ass down here.“

“You shove it down… and you let it come out in spurts of violence and alcoholism.“

“I know I’m going to live to regret this, but I’m officially on your team. You bastards.“

“I’ll make it out of here, trust me. And the next time you see me, I’ll be there to kill you.“

“Do me a favor, don’t scratch the wall. Trust me, you’re not going to like what happens.“

“I am trying to keep my cool here, but what are you doing in my house with a shotgun?”

“You had to know that we were coming for you sometime, pal. You can’t outrun your past.“

“You’re white-knuckling it living like this. Like what you are is some bad, awful thing. But, you’re not.“

“You’ve never been what I’d call ‘brainy’, but did you really think you were gonna get to keep all of this?”

“This is very complex. If the pizza man truly loves this babysitter, why does he keep slapping her rear?“

“When your kind first huddled around the fire, I was the thing in the dark. Now you think you can hurt me?“

“There’s not much to tell. You know, it’s– I… lived on the road. Took crap jobs that nobody else wanted.“

“Yeah, well, the guy that basically just saved the world shows up at your door, you expect him to have a couple of issues.“

“You’re a freaking child, you know that? Just because you can do what you want, doesn’t mean you get to do whatever you want.“

“I love you like my own. I do. But, sometimes… sometimes you are the whiniest, most self-absorbed sons of a bitch I ever met.“

private. indie. selective. 5 Hargreeves.

"Why don't you just sleep?"

"Hey... hey! You're dozing off, again."

"I brought you something to eat / drink."

"The work will still be here after you rest."

"You haven't moved since I left, have you?"

"Stand up, walk around the table, at least."

"Put down the pen. You can finish that later."

"Yeah, you'll get this done, but at what cost?"

"I don't like when you get lost in work like this."

"Close your laptop. I'm mandating you a break."

"You really don't know how to take it easy, do you?"

"You have a headache? Have you had any water lately?"

"Working yourself into the ground isn't going to help anyone."

"I'm worries about you. You look like you haven't slept in days."

"If you're gonna keep working, do you at least want some coffee?"

"When was the last time you had something to eat? Or a shower?"

"Of course your eyes hurt, you've been staring at the screen for hours."

"You fell asleep on your paperwork. You need to take some time for yourself."

"You're barely staying upright. You need to lie down, they can function without you long enough for you to take a nap."

actions

send (pluck) for sender's muse to take paperwork / pen / computer mouse away from receiver's muse.

send (hidden) for sender's muse to hide receiver's phone / writing tools in hopes of getting them to relax

send (barricade) for sender's muse to block the doorway and not let receiver's muse leave until they agree to rest

send (pillow) for sender's muse to tuck a shirt or cushion under receiver muse's head when they doze off mid-work