marcy/nana is a pedo

(2000)

The ballroom lessons were one of the very few Academy activities Luella was explicitly allowed to observe.

Reginald didn't consider them important enough to ban her from attending, or at the very least didn’t think she would retain any sort of information he would deem inappropriate. That meant that every Thursday afternoon, Luella would sit quietly along the mirrored wall of the practice studio while the Hargreeves children suffered through hour after hour of posture corrections and strict instruction, alongside Vanya’s violin practice.

The practice room always smelled faintly of polished wood and dust, like warm brick soaked from the skylight, washing the mirrors in golden sun that stretched across the floor beneath the dancers' feet in beams.

The instructor paced between the children with military precision, her face strict as Reginald observed them from his spot next to Vanya, a careful, watchful eye on her as she played her violin.

“Again,” the old crone commanded sharply, rapping her cane against the floor. “Number One, shoulders back. Number Four, stop twirling. Number Five, if you roll your eyes at me again, I will have to punish you.”

Five didn’t even bother to listen.

From her place against the wall, Luella smiled into her hands, parasol closed and tucked in neat by her legs. Her gaze followed every movement with quiet fascination as the siblings repeated the same sequence again and again. Shoes slid softly against the polished floor while the instructor barked corrections, their gliding keeping the wood from squeaking with displeasure.

She watched Luther struggle not to step on Allison's feet, mortified by his lack of grace. Watched Klaus dramatically exaggerate every movement until the instructor threatened him with extra lessons. Watched Diego and Ben fall out of tune over and over. Watched Five execute each step with irritating precision, desperate to just get it over with.

The smile never left her face. Not because she found them funny, never that— They were an unlikely family, and though they seemed horribly disorganized, she could tell they preferred this to training.

No. It was because she thought they were wonderful.

Five noticed halfway through the lesson. His eyes had a nasty habit of drifting over to Luella’s side anyway.

While the instructor corrected Diego's posture for the fourth time, Five glanced toward the mirrored wall, to where the Honorary had been sitting. He immediately caught the look on Luella's face.

Her chin rested on her knees, long dark hair spilling over one shoulder and contrasting against the pretty yellow of her dress while she watched the lesson with an expression so openly admiring that it made something twist in his chest.

He wondered for a second if he was jealous somehow (perish the thought, it made him want to hurl just thinking about it,) but watching her light up, just a little, when Allison did a small twirl, made him sigh.

It wasn’t jealousy. It was much more sad than that.

{————}

During the short break, the children scattered throughout the room to drink water and complain more openly.

Five crossed the floor towards Luella without thinking. She looked up immediately, blinking patiently.

“Hello, Five,” she greeted cheerfully.

Five stopped beside her, arms crossed.

“Mh. Hi.”

For a moment, neither spoke. The sounds of the other children filled the room around them, background noise as the two of them sat in peace.

Then Five frowned.

“You wanna learn too.”

It wasn't a question. He already knew the answer.

Luella blinked, her smile softening slightly, almost embarrassed in the way her eyes flickered.

“Oh…?”

Five folded his arms, staring down at her.

“You do, don’t you?”

She looked back toward the dance floor.

Reginald was speaking with Allison while Luther and Diego argued about whose fault something had been, Vanya retuning her violin quietly in the back. They were all wearing their uniforms, hair pinned back and shoes neat and proper, tattoos occasionally catching the light.

“…A little,” she admitted quietly, hands in her lap, fiddling with her skirt edge.

Five waited for her to continue, sighing when she didn’t. After several moments, she sighed back in return.

“I was hoping I would figure it all out just by watching you all.”

The confession came out surprisingly small. The sort of thing that clearly shouldn't have mattered. Five frankly thought the lessons were useless and time consuming. There wasn’t a single scenario he could possibly think of where dancing would be his lifeline.

And yet, it mattered to her. Maybe it was the feeling of being left out— Or, rather, the feeling of being ‘included’ and still somehow being left on the sidelines. Five couldn’t help but glance at Vanya before he looked back at Luella.

“Given Reginald’s very consistent thoughts on me, I’m not sure if anyone would be able to teach me, anyhow,” is what she finished with, quiet as she managed to keep her smile.

Five stared at the practice room floor for a moment, then back at her. He opened his mouth to say something, before the unpleasant voice of the instructor called everyone back into position, cutting him off before he could.

Luella simply shooed him back to the dance floor, leaving him agitated as he got back into his stupid position. His eyes wandered back to her every chance he got.

He took note of the way her eyes followed every movement. The way her smile grew whenever someone managed a difficult turn. The way she mirrored little pieces of the choreography from where she sat.

And by the end of the afternoon, he'd made a decision.

{————}

The academy had long since fallen silent once the lessons of the day had ended.

Moonlight spilled through the windows in pale silver beams. Most of the household had disappeared into their rooms hours ago, as directed to by their very strict curfew.

The Academy always felt different at night. Less like a school or a training ground, even less like a home, and more like an imposing ‘cushy’ prison. Blocked away from the outside world and restricted on the inside.

But Luella sat cross-legged on the floor of Five's room regardless of the prison-esque view.

She wasn't supposed to be there, but that was hardly new.

Five had pushed his desk chair out of the way and cleared enough space for movement. Several books lay abandoned across his bed, picked up off of his floor where he usually kept the stack next to his bedside, now forgotten in favor of what he had considered a far more important project.

“This is ridiculous,” he muttered, finally coming to a stop in front of her.

Luella smiled up at him, dazzling and amused.

“You started this, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You came to my apartment yourself, actually, and you made me leave.”

“I was there, trust me. I’m starting to regret it.”

“You haven’t even explained why.”

Five groaned, irritated and embarrassed and a whole manner of other things, running a hand down his face to try and mask the fluster.

“Can you just not talk for once?”

Her smile widened. That answer was enough to satisfy her for the time being.

The moonlight lit up the small pieces of dust in the air as Five extended one hand toward her. His expression was carefully neutral, crafted with stoic excellency, more afraid of looking nervous than anything.

Luella looked at the offered hand for a second before placing her own into it, humming at the way his fingers tightened. Gentle.

“You start here,” he explained, guiding her into position and placing a hand on her waist carefully. “Then you step back. I’m leading.”

She immediately stepped on his foot. Five closed his eyes, taking a very deep breath as he turned his face to the ceiling.

Luella burst into quiet giggles, biting her lip to try and muffle them as she continued to hold onto him.

“I’m sorry.”

“You crushed my toes, and we just started. You’re already hopeless.”

Luella giggled again. “It couldn’t possibly have hurt that much.”

“Do you think that's a defense?” Five scoffed out, rolling his eyes as he did.

“It does feels like one, no?”

Five sighed, a bit dramatic for his taste, staring down at their stance before reaching to move her around, repositioning them both.

Again. And again.

And again.

After long minutes of readjusting, they were right on track, moving around the cleared space in close proximity, Luella’s hair brushing against their legs as they moved. It was a bit stiff at first, relaxing as the night got longer and longer.

They practiced for nearly an hour.

The room filled with quiet laughter, whispered instructions, and the occasional complaint whenever Luella accidentally wandered in the wrong direction or stepped on his foot or tripped on the carpet.

Five corrected her posture with the seriousness of someone conducting a scientific experiment. Luella followed along with complete trust despite having absolutely no idea what she was doing, moreso relying on his judgment before anything else. There was no reason for her not to. He was impeccable.

Her feet glided across the floor gracefully, eyes flickering between his face and the floor as she watched herself move. When she managed an entire sequence correctly— not perfectly, but correctly— She stopped in her tracks, ignoring the small grunt of frustration Five let out, the realization hitting her immediately.

“Did you see that?” she whispered excitedly, smile wider and more genuine than Five had ever seen it before. He stared at her as she smiled at him, opening his mouth to spit some sarcastic remark— maybe a ‘you finally managed to do it right’, or a ‘congratulations for not injuring my feet for once’— But nothing came out for a few moments.

“…You finally got it,” is what he decided on, watching her lean in with uncapped excitement.

“I did it!”

“You did,” his voice trailed just slightly as he held her a bit tighter.

“Oh, I actually did it…” Her voice became dreamy, airy and soft, eyes closing as she basked in the pride for a short moment, swaying slightly as she did.

Five stared at her expression, her grin and her dreamy face and her slightly flushed cheeks, all lit up by moonlight and warm in his arms. He looked away immediately when he realized Luella had seen him staring, her smile softening at the sight.

“Back to practicing, one right sequence doesn’t mean anything,” he muttered, tugging her along once again.

For a few moments they simply continued moving through the steps. The sounds of their feet against the carpet were quiet under the endless ticking clock on Five's wall, dancing further and further into the night.

Neither of them spoke much anymore. No complaints, or directions, or teases. It was quiet, falling into a rhythm that seemed to finally fit them, the exhaustion of the night completely lost on them as they danced over and over, endlessly, the creaking of footsteps lost to them both.

Then the bedroom door opened.

Both children froze. It took Five a good two seconds before he pulled away from Luella, eyes widening as Luella turned to the door, tense from the shock. Grace stood in the doorway, looking between them, the empty space, the cluttered books.

A smile touched her face. It was soft and warm in that familiar way that Grace always had, as if nothing could ever upset her, programmed against the cruelty Reginald was always insistent on. It made Luella relax, visibly at least, though Five’s embarrassment didn’t seem to go anywhere.

“Now now children,” she said gently, hands gently clasped infront of her as she blocked the doorway from any sort of sight. Five braced for a lecture that never came.

“It's nearly midnight, you both need sleep for tomorrow.”

Instead, Grace walked further into the room and adjusted a blanket hanging partially off the end of the bed, taking care to rearrange the books the way Five liked them, stacking them just barely under the bed so they didn’t disrupt the makeshift dance floor.

"Sorry, Mom," Five muttered automatically, arms crossing as he looked everywhere but her, silent as he brooded.

Grace hummed, her gaze shifting briefly toward Luella, who continued to watch Grace with a shameful little look, her smile small and quiet.

Then back toward Five, whose glances flickered back and forth between Luella and the floor that he had just happily glided around.

She knew. She could just tell. In the same way she could tell when Ben was starting to get all antsy over a fan who kept showing up outside, how Klaus would always fawn over the same girl in his favorite show. It was warm and sweet, the exact sort of thing her internal hardware was made to nurture.

After a few moments, so quickly Luella missed it entirely, Grace gave Five a tiny wink, smiling pleasantly as Five stared, mouth opening just slightly before she cut him off.

“The guest pillows are in the linen closet,” she informed him while heading back toward the door. “And I expect both of you to be asleep within the hour.”

Silence settled over the moonlit, tidy room as soon as the door had eased shut, clicking and leaving the two of them standing like unscolded children, not knowing what to do with themselves.

Then Luella slowly smiled.

“She likes me,” she cooed, her hands moving to clasp together. Five groaned, rubbing his face as he did, turning towards her for the first time in the last few minutes.

“She likes everybody, she’s a robot.”

“But she let me stay, when I’m not supposed to! That must mean something more, no?”

Five only sighed, hesitant before answering. “I guess so, yeah..”

Luella looked delighted at that. She moved to sit down, humming to herself as she did, quietly pulling her hair to her shoulder as she tried to tie it up with the ribbon, to keep it from bothering Five while they slept. She didn’t seem all that bothered by the prospect of sleeping in one bed— She had done it with his siblings before across many different sleepovers, and even if this was much different, she was readily comfortable.

Five sat next to her a few minutes after, making a few snippy little comments about how he was already too warm, the two of them laying side-by-side on his bed beneath a shared blanket that she had draped over them. They talked quietly while moonlight spilled across the room and the mansion settled deeper and deeper into sleep around them.

Tomorrow would bring more lessons, more training, more expectations, more cruelty, and more of the disconnected, strange life that the two of them hovered around, endlessly circling each other and never fully mixing.

But for tonight, Luella knew how to dance.

And Five thought that was enough.

{————}

The lessons became a routine almost immediately. Every Thursday, when they’d have ballroom lessons, Five would leave the kitchen entrance open just a crack (on the days he was too exhausted to just blink her into the academy, atleast), and she would sneak her way through the room hall, and they’d dance for hours. Grace hadn’t bothered them since that first night. It wasn’t supposed to be so secretive, as if it was scandalous or something—

But the moment was something that belonged solely to the two of them. It was private, and sweet, with nobody to interrupt or get in the way. Five worried it would make him soft, the way she would twirl around the room in the dim beams of light the moon would let shine through the window, in the way they’d whisper and laugh to each other all alone.

There was something quietly precious about the late-night practices. Private and intimate and not lonely, but still alone. Five found himself rushing through the week to get to the next day, just to get closer to their next ballroom lesson, despite Reginald’s insistence on him not rushing through his studies lest he mess up somewhere.

A week or two after their first lesson, Luella found herself sneaking through the kitchen entrance, slipping down the stairs as quietly as she possibly could.

The grandfather clocks ticked softly in the parlor while moonlight spilled across the wooden floors. The academy became a maze of silver shadows and quiet corners, the only signs of life being the occasional tap of Pogo’s cane or Grace’s gentle humming, both things Luella happily invited.

Her shoes dangled from one hand to keep them from making noise against the floors. Her smile remained firmly in place despite the fact that she was absolutely breaking several boundaries and rules just by being there. Nothing new.

When she reached Five's room, the door opened before she could knock.

Five stood waiting, eyes narrowed and face twisted in a half serious scowl.

“You’re late,” he snapped, quietly so as to not wake anyone.

Luella blinked at him, smile still wide as she gently stepped back into her shoes, not breaking eye contact.

“I can’t be more a measly thirty seconds over."

“Yeah. That’s late.”

“Were you timing me?” She asked, blinking incredulously. Five looked offended, face scrunching as if it was painstakingly obvious.

“Of course I timed you. These are lessons, not playdates. Be on time,” He scoffed.

Luella laughed under her breath as she stepped inside, Five immediately closing it behind her, not before he carefully peered through the hall, finally turning to face her again.

The room looked much the same as it had during their previous practices. Books scattered across nearly every available surface. A small space cleared near the center specifically for dancing. Desk chair moved as far away as possible.

“You know,” Luella remarked while examining the room, moving in an idle circle so her skirt would fan out, “most people don't treat dancing like a life or death schedule.”

“Most people are idiots.”

“I think most people are happier.”

Five rolled his eyes. “Only because they don’t have to think like the rest of us.”

He didn’t even bother to pause, holding out his hand and stepping closer to her, nodding down at her feet

“Position.”

{————}

The next half hour passed surprisingly well, for Luella’s standards. She still stepped on his feet, and he still whisper-complained about it, but she was steadily improving over the course of their (very long) dance lessons.

The movements no longer looked entirely foreign on her. There were some moments where she completed entire sequences without making a mistake, pride blooming across her face every single time, a rare sight to see on such a distant girl.

Five pretended not to notice how much she enjoyed it, and pretended even more not to care about how much fun he was having. His corrections grew noticeably less sharp whenever she got something right, like some sort of reward.

“Good, you’re finally getting ahold of this,” he muttered, adjusting the position of her hands on his shoulder as he did.

Luella gasped dramatically, eyes wide and practically sparkling with life as she leaned in, causing him to lean back.

“Oh, Five!”

“Don't start,” he groaned, eyes closing.

“But you complimented me,” she cooed, eyes closing as her smile grew. He shuffled a little in his place.

“It was not a compliment. I’m worried for your psyche if that’s actually your standards for a compliment.”

Luella only giggled, the hand he had just repositioned moving to cover her mouth, “I think I’d much rather just take it as it was, so, a compliment.”

Five clicked his tongue in response, rolling his eyes with his usual dry, sarcastic expression. Unfortunately for him, the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth completely ruined his side of the argument.

They were halfway through another practice sequence when the bedroom door suddenly opened with a silent creak.

Neither of them had locked it. Neither of them had even considered locking it, despite the past accident, caught up in the midst of their very thinly veiled fun.

That oversight quickly became painfully obvious.

Klaus stood in the doorway. For several seconds, nobody moved, the moonlight itself going still as the brother stared into the room, eyes wide as saucers.

Klaus blinked.

Five blinked.

Luella remained frozen with her hand resting awkwardly on Five's shoulder once again, Five’s grip on her waist tightening out of steadily growing mortification.

“...What,” Klaus said slowly, his grin growing, “is going on in here?”

Five reacted first, in an obvious panic. Though he made a point to never scream, the look in his eyes made it very obvious just how alarmed he was. The expression appeared immediately as he dropped Luella's hand like it had caught fire.

If it had been any other sibling, he might’ve relaxed just a little.

“Nothing,” Five immediately spat out, shoulders tense like he was ready for a fight.

Klaus only stared, smile growing even bigger as he wagged his finger, laughter bubbling in his throat.

“Ohhohohh, nnoooo way broooo, that certainly looked like something!”

“It wasn't! Get out, Klaus-!”

Klaus pressed his hands to his mouth, jaw open in a teasingly astonished smile. “You were daaaanciiingggg with Luuulluuuuu~!”

Five could feel his face growing hot. “No, I wasn’t.”

“I literally watched you,” Klaus gestured wildly to them both.

“You imagined it. You’re high, go back to bed.”

Klaus looked delighted, the energy seemingly unending as he turned to the hall, then back to the room, hands pressed together in a prayer position in front of his mouth. It took him a second to recount the day, the realization spread across his face in real time.

“Oh.”

Five's expression immediately worsened, eyes screwing shut. Luella held her hands infront of herself, eyes darting around as she tried to stifle back laughter.

“Oh my god, no.”

“Oh, ohhhh-!” Klaus repeated while stepping fully into the room, pointing at Five, words coming out in a hushed whisper-yell. “You're teaching her how to dance!”

“Why are you still here!?”

“This is why you kept rushing through lessons, you dirty dog, I had to actually sit through hours of ballroom garbage because of your little crush!”

The grin growing across Klaus's face made Five look like he was contemplating murder in comparison, the laughter from both his brother and Luella ringing in his ears.

The Honorary simply sat down on the edge of the bed, watching the exchange with complete amusement, eyes bright as ever as she kicked her legs.

“I've gotten much better though, he’s a wonderful teacher,” she informed Klaus, head tilting as the brother’s mouth fell open, completely flabbergasted at this point.

Five looked betrayed, mouthing ‘traitor’ as she batted her eyelashes all innocently. He was not the type to do this sort of thing, especially not in front of his family, and Klaus couldn’t help but burn the sight into his memory.

“Lulu,” The nickname slipped out without his realizing.

“What is it?”

“You're making this worse. Stop encouraging him, he’s a goddamn nutjob.”

Luella only shrugged, smiling still. “I don't really think I can do much worse than what he’s already thinking.”

Klaus laughed so hard he nearly fell against the doorframe, clutching his stomach as he did. The sound echoed through the room while Five looked increasingly horrified by the second, every worst case scenario popping into his head. It quickly became apparent that the issue wasn't simply being caught.

The issue was who had caught them. Because Klaus told everyone everything.

“Oh my god, okay,” Klaus managed eventually while wiping at his eyes. “This is just incredible.”

“You can't tell anyone!”

Five blurted it out on instinct, shoulders rising and falling as he stared Klaus down, his eyes flickering slightly. He didn’t expect to say it that loud either.

The entire room froze, the three of them going dead silent as the creaking of Grace’s footsteps upstairs paused.

A beat passed, then another, before the creaking continued, the three of them letting out the slightest sigh of relief. It took a moment for them to catch back up to the conversation at hand, Klaus’ grin widening when he did.

“Wait,” his eyes lit up, voice now a faux whisper, “You're serious?”

Five grabbed onto the front of Klaus’ shirt, looking defensive despite his best efforts to stay cool and collected, something already far lost on him at this rate.

“Don't tell anyone, or I’ll staple your forehead to your pillow,” Five hissed through gritted teeth.

Klaus stared, looking between him and Luella for a moment. Seeing his smarmy, prideful brother so embarrassed and defensive was something he could watch for hours. If Luella had been any more embarrassed, it would’ve been a core memory. After a few moments of silence, he immediately began laughing again, tears rolling down his face.

“Oh my God, Five-!”

“Klaus, stop laughing!” Five whisper yelled, fists clenched as he let go of his shirt.

“Oh my GOD, this is the best day of my life—!”

The Seance stumbled further into the room as he tried to compose himself, the effort clearly not working. His laughter bounced off the walls, Luella nervously glancing through the doorway hoping they wouldn’t get caught, while Five looked mere seconds away from physically throwing him back into the hallway.

“You actually careeee,” Klaus cooed, wiggling his finger in Five’s face.

Five pointed toward the door, jaw clenched.

“Get out.”

“You care so much, bro!”

“You have five seconds,” Five warned.

“You like having something that's yourssss, want her aaalllll to yourseeeellfffff~!” Klaus started making kissy faces at that, Luella just snickering into her hand as he did.

The laughter softened after a few beats, though it didn’t disappear entirely, Klaus finally catching his breath as he wiped his face. For a moment, he studied the two of them under the moonlight. One glaring, and one smiling, their normal looks, the ones Klaus was very used to seeing side by side. Both clearly waiting for him to either mock them further or expose their secret to the rest of the household.

Instead, something gentler settled across his face, affectionate and warm, unable to resist the way his heart warmed up at the sight of his overly prideful brother so content.

“Fiine, fine. I won't tell anyone,” he promised quietly, nodding along as he placed a hand on his chest. Warm and fuzzy.

Five paused, the tension in his shoulders easing by a fraction. He glanced at Luella before looking back at Klaus, eyes narrowed slightly, as if not believing him.

“…Really?”

Klaus snorted.

“Please,” he gestured between them, dramatic as always, “As absolutely adorable as this is, I will always take blackmail material over ten minutes of family embarrassment.”

Five groaned, rubbing his face as Luella laughed again, clapping her hands just slightly, the relief in the room still palpable.

{————}

A few minutes later, Klaus finally disappeared back into the hallway, still giggling his merry way back to his original plot, whatever that could be. Luella and Five sat alone once more as the academy settled back into silence around them. Luella was more surprised that nobody else had caught them sooner, with how loud Klaus had been.

For several seconds neither Five nor Luella spoke, just sitting in the moonlit silence, Luella’s legs kicking just slightly before she finally spoke again.

“It admittedly could've gone much worse.”

Five collapsed backward onto his bed, an arm covering his eyes as he scowled.

“It really couldn't have. I would’ve preferred any other sibling. Vanya would’ve been the best bet.”

Luella hummed at his snarky little remark. “Well, do you think Klaus is going to tell anyone?”

Five moved his arm to his side, staring up at the ceiling, eyebrows furrowing before sighing. He knew that look Klaus gave him, the one that just screamed affection, the kind that he always gave when he really meant something.

“...Probably not, no. But that doesn’t make it any less mortifying.”

Luella's smile only widened at that. It took a moment before Five stood up, brushing himself off and carefully pushing his hair away from his face, turning to her place on the bed, “Come on.”

She blinked, head tilting.

“For what?”

He held out his hand, face back to its stern little look, narrowing his eyes a bit as he nodded his head towards the cleared space.

“We're not finished. We still have an hour to kill.”

Luella didn’t bother hiding the blush that bloomed over her face, leaping up to grab onto his hand so they could get back to their usual position.