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❛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘ. ᴘᴀɴ ᴇғғᴇᴄᴛ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ . . .ɪᴛ'ʟʟ ʙᴇ ғᴜɴ,
ᴛʜᴇʏ sᴀɪᴅ ꒱


❝ [ FAMILY ] CAN BE A
FOUNDATION OF SELF AS
MUCH AS IT CAN BE A BURDEN ❞

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Alexa's irritation with Five didn't last long. This was to be expected because they hardly ever fought and when they did, she was always quick to forgive him. (If she waited until he apologized, she'd still be waiting for an "I'm sorry" from their first argument.) Regardless, she pretended like she was still mad at him as she gazed out the window at the passing scenery. The two men sat up front; Klaus was finishing the last of his drink from a pitstop they'd passed awhile ago and Five was relaxing in the passenger's seat.

"This actually isn't so terrible," he remarked.

"See? Told you."

"Come to think of it, my whole life I've been under the gun. Missions for Dad, working for The Commission, trying to survive the apocalypse. I was always looking around every corner just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's nice to just breathe. I mean, I'll even finally get to date my girlfriend in the way I've always wanted to." He turned around to see what effect his words had on the blonde that sat diagonally from him. While she didn't turn her gaze away from the green fields that were rushing by outside, he could see the corners of her lips quirk up as she fought the urge to smile.

"Good for you, man. Retirement is suiting you," Klaus said supportively. "Now, normally I'd subject you to my whole 'take care of my little sister' spiel that I use on all of her boyfriends but I already forcefully separated you two so I think I'll spare you from that particular lecture."

"Klaus!" Alexa exclaimed as she finally dropped her "vow of silence." "I haven't had any other boyfriends. And if I had, I certainly wouldn't have taken them to meet you."

Her brother gasped with mock offence. "Aren't I your favorite brother? How could you not introduce me to anyone outside of our family?"

She grinned slightly and leaned forward in her seat. "Sorry to burst your bubble but the title of favorite brother goes to Diego. Also, I've only ever had one friend that didn't share the last name of Hargreeves. You haven't missed much."

Klaus pouted with lighthearted disappointment as Five turned to face her. (He'd decided that it was best to ignore his brother's "generosity.") "Who do you know that isn't a Hargreeves?"

Alexa huffed indignantly. "Excuse you, but I happen to be the only one out of the eight of us who actually attended college. I know a lot more people than you think; I was only friends with one of them. His name was— is, since he's probably alive in this timeline— Dylan Miller. He asked me out on the first day of the term but I turned him down. We became friends after that."

It was surreal to think about the man who'd once been her best friend— who'd been there for her when no one else had been. With everything that had happened since Five had returned, she'd only spoken to him once in an attempt to warn him about the impending (first) apocalypse. Now that she had the body of a teen. . . she wondered how unnerved he would be if she showed up on his doorstep. The thought made her smile.

At her answer, Five shifted so that he sat properly in his seat again and focused his gaze out the window. The blonde watched his features carefully and couldn't help but feel a little pleased when she saw his jaw tense with irritation. She unbuckled her seatbelt and slid towards his side of the car. Leaning forward on her seat, she pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek and murmured, "you don't have anything to be jealous of, Fi. There never was— and never would be— anything romantic between us. I love you, don't I?"

His head turned so that he could meet her eyes and his expression softened. "That's true," he agreed quietly, and did his best not to feel too envious of Alexa's male friend— that he never met. He reached up and took her hand in his to intertwine their fingers together over the seat.

"Awww," Klaus cooed at them loudly. Their faces flushed at his encouragement. "You two are just so sweet. My dentist will probably say that I have ten new cavities just from watching you. I'll foot you the bill, Five."

"Shut up," the boy retorted. In an effort to distract the long-haired man, he reluctantly loosened his grip on the girl's hand to open the glove compartment. After some shuffling of items, he pulled out a folded road map. "Alright. So. I've circled all of the roadside attractions along the way. . ."

"Uh, I'm not sure we're gonna have time for that," Klaus tried to interrupt him.

Alexa was too focused on what. . . her boyfriend was saying to mind her brother's hesitation. She studied the map's red circles curiously and pointed to one. "What's that?"

Five gave her a pleased smile at her interest. "That's Brownsville Big Nickle." He pointed to another circle. "Ricky's Bakery has award-winning pies—"

"Oh, we have to go there!" the blonde exclaimed brightly. "Can that be first? I haven't had a pie in ages."

"Sure," he agreed amiably. "There's also this Cow Henge. . ." Klaus kept attempting to talk over the pair but they were too invested in trip-planning to pay him much mind until he raised his voice slightly.

"Listen to me. Just shut up for two seconds, okay? Just two seconds, alright?" They both faced him expectantly and waited for him to continue so that they could go back to scheduling their route. "We are going to Pennsylvania to find my birth mother! Yay!"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry. Okay? I'm sorry. I just needed somebody to come with me for emotional support."

Five scoffed with disbelief. "Oh, emotional support? Like a Schnauzer?"

"Yeah-yeah, and I knew you wouldn't come if I told you, so what else was I supposed to do? That's why I would've let you have any condition you asked for so you wouldn't be mad at me! C'mon, Lexi, back me up," Klaus pleaded.

"Fi, don't be so hard on him," the blonde put in helpfully. She rested her hand on his shoulder and he relented slightly. "I, for one, am glad to be here with my favorite person and my. . . seventh favorite sibling."

"Seventh?" her brother repeated with outrage.

She grinned at him. "Just kidding. You're third."

"Who's second?" he demanded, but Alexa didn't bother to answer his question.

"This was supposed to be a carefree road trip," Five grumbled.

"Well, it still can be, babe. Lexi came along after all, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but I didn't even get to sit in the back seat with her." Irritated, the boy looked away and his gaze caught on the passing sign. "Ball of Twine? Klaus, turn! Ball of Twin! Turn!"

"What? Five! Five!"

Five reached over and yanked the steering wheel in the direction of the turn. Klaus shook himself out of his daze and tried to wrestle it back into his control, causing the car to swerve dangerously. Prickles of awareness raced over her skin to alert her of the impending danger that they would be in and Alexa shouted to get their attention. Neither paid her any mind as their crazy driving caused her to slam against the side of the car.

"Five, we're gonna die! Whoo!"

Grunting from the impact, the blonde straightened and almost wished she hadn't— her eyes widened as they drove straight into the approaching traffic. Acting on instinct, she lifted her hands to stretch across the expanse of the back seat and she summoned her power. Two walls of blue lit up on either side of the car to create a just-wide-enough alley for them to drive through without being hit by any of the other drivers.

The action— which normally wouldn't have been very strenuous for her— caused the dull ache that had been throbbing in the back of her head all day to flare up. White-hot pain exploded through her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut at the onslaught. The walls flickered and vanished as she was unable to hold onto them. "Jesus Christ!" she groaned.

Alexa reached up and clutched at her head with both of her hands. Although her eyes were closed, a dizzying sensation swept through her and her world spun on its axis. Nausea— both from the pain and the sensation— rolled in her stomach and for a brief, terrifying second, she fought the urge to pass out. The two men in the front seats remained oblivious to her discomfort and continued to fight over the control of the car.

☂︎ ☂︎ ☂︎

By the time they reached their destination, Alexa was quite certain that she was going to puke. Klaus haphazardly parked the car and they all got out of it at their own paces. The blonde opened the door and was struggling to get to her feet when Five blinked over to her side of the vehicle. Noticing her difficulty, he offered his hand to her, which she took gratefully.

"Shit, Lexa. What's wrong?" he asked as he helped her out of the seat.

She grimaced and stumbled on unsteady feet. "Remember that headache I had last night?" At his nod, she continued: "well, it never left and it's worse."

He let out a breath as his arm looped around her waist to help stabilize her. "Why didn't you say something?" While he sounded irritated, she knew he was just concerned.

"I didn't want to be a bother—"

"Lexa. How many times do I have to tell you that you're not? How much pain have you been in since this morning?"

"On a scale of one to ten? Uh. . . four?"

Five gave her a stern look. "Lexa."

She sighed. "Six."

Klaus— having noticed that his siblings were lagging behind— retraced his steps to them. "What's goin' on, babes?"

"Nothing," Alexa said quickly.

The boy talked swiftly over her dismissal: "when we were attacked by the Sparrows, one of them messed with Lexa's powers. She's had a headache ever since. When she tried to use her powers just now, it became worse."

The blonde shot him a weak glare but didn't protest his explanation. Klaus' expression became worried. "This has to do with your mini-coma, right? It was the Sparrow with the red flashy powers?"

"I think so," she answered uncertainly. "I mean, I was in pain or unconscious for most of it. Seriously, guys, it's fine. I can manage it."

"We can't have your powers by all screw-y, Lexi," her brother reprimanded her gently. "You should have said something sooner!"

"For once Klaus has a point," Five agreed. "If using your powers causes you serious pain, that's not something that you should have to live with."

Alexa groaned. "Can we please just go see this ball of twine? I promise you, if I feel like passing out I'll let you know. Otherwise, we all grew up in the same house: I know how to handle a bit of discomfort."

As much as she appreciated her brother and Five worrying over her, it also almost made her feel worse. She figured it was because she was the eighth sibling; that made her the faux-"baby" of the family. Even with their different ages now, she was still older than some of her siblings. But just because she was last in line didn't mean that she couldn't handle herself; she hated feeling like she was holding them back.

Thankfully, both men dropped the subject and the trio turned towards the landmark that they were there to see. Klaus walked ahead of the teens while Five kept his arm around Alexa's waist— even though he wasn't verbally voicing his concern, he wasn't quite ready to let her off the hook yet. The blonde didn't mind his position in the least and she sent him a soft, fond smile.

"You know, I don't know why, but I thought it'd be a lot bigger."

The boy looked up at the landmark. "It seems pretty big to me."

"Ehh."

"Here's the real question: how do you know your birth mother is in Pennsylvania?"

Klaus made his way over to the pair as he began to explain: "well, because I was on the ass end of a two-week bender and I can't tell you the exact date because we were boofing Xanax and the whole business, but Amy Winehouse was at the top of the charts. So that puts us somewhere in the mid-to-late aughts? I had helped myself into dad's office, looking for the key to his safe 'cause he had Pogo lock up all his stealables. But instead, I found a treasure trove of our family history told in expired check stubs. I was too messed up to, uh, do anything about it. . . too scared to look her up, but always in the back of my mind I wondered why she sold me off for three grand. I mean, come on. She couldn't have held out for five? Six?"

"Careful, Klausy, you're starting to sound like Julius Caesar," Alexa teased him. "Things didn't turn out so well for him."

"I'm not in the mood for salad but thanks, Lexi."

The two teens exchanged an amused eyeroll. Five turned his attention back to their brother. "Did you see anything about our mothers?"

"No. Sorry."

"Why now?"

"Well, duh. Dad disowns us. Grace isn't Grace. Ben's. . . gone." At the mention of their sixth brother, Alexa's gaze dropped to the ground. As it always did, the thought followed: Ben. I'm sorry. It's my fault. All mine. Klaus continued, heedless of the effect his words had on her: "now just felt as good a time as any to find out who I could've been if I didn't grow up in this stupid family."

"Well, can you really call what we had a family?" Five asked.

"No. It's more like a—"

"Institute for Snarky Delinquents. And not a good one at that."

"But what is family? What is it? It's like some kind of giant. . . ball of twine that can never be untangled."

"A giant ball of obligation I've been pushing uphill my entire life," Five agreed.

Alexa finally looked up. "It's not all bad, you know. Family is what helps define who we are. It's like what Klaus was saying about wanting to see what it would've been like if he wasn't a Hargreeves— it can be a foundation of self as much as it can be a burden."

The boy glanced over at her. "That's very philosophical of you," he commented, not unkindly.

She shrugged. "I mean, I've thought about it before. What if dad hadn't adopted us? We were born all around the world and probably never would've met." She met Five's and her brother's eyes. "I would never want to know what that's like."

"Aww," Klaus said. "Thanks, sis. But still, even with all the benefits of our family the burden just gets bigger the older you get. You make so many memories with your family that you can never untangle it, even if you try. . ."

". . . You watch it roll down the hill. . ." Together, they finished: "what's the point?"

"What do you mean, what's the point?" Alexa asked, sounding slightly hurt. "The point is to provide a bond between people that we normally wouldn't have. I mean, if we weren't family, we wouldn't be here right now, on this road trip. Klaus wouldn't have asked us to help him meet his mother. We'd all just be strangers or two ships passing in the night."

"I suppose you have a point," her brother allowed. "But. . . but what about you? I mean, if you weren't a part of our family, you wouldn't have had to be without Five for fifteen years. You wouldn't feel guilty about Ben's death. You'd be normal and you could do art, or whatever. What do you think about that?"

The blonde did her best to hide her flinch at the mention of Ben's death and focused on Klaus' other questions. "I'd be lost without you guys," she replied. "I do love art, that's true, but if I had to give up art or having all of you as my siblings, well, I'm never painting again. Sure, our siblinghood hasn't been the easiest but what would we do without each other?" She clapped her hands and her expression brightened. "I know! Let's go around and say one nice thing to each other. That'll prove to you pessimists that family is important."

Her words were immediately met with protest: "Do we have to?" (Klaus) "Lexa, you know I'm not good at that—" (Five)

She waved her hands to brush away their complaints. "Come on, it's easy! Besides, Klaus gets to meet his mother. Five gets to see the ball of twine. I'm on this road trip too and I want to do something for me. I'll go first. Klausy, I'm really proud of you for being brave enough to meet your mother. I know that I'd definitely be scared." Then, she turned to the boy and stated simply: "Fi, I love you."

Klaus huffed. "That's a total cop out! We already know that you love him—"

Five waved a hand in his direction. "Shut up. It counts. Just take your turn so we can get this over with."

His brother smirked at the sight of his rather flushed appearance— he still wasn't used to Alexa openly admitting her feelings for him. Fortunately, Klaus didn't comment on it and did as directed: "Lexi, you're my favorite sister—"

"What, out of Vanya and Allison? Half the family can't even be included in the ranking!"

The boy squeezed her hand. "Lexa, it's actually Viktor now."

Alexa gave him a confused look. "What?"

"Our seventh sibling. . . his name is Viktor."

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know—" She cleared her throat. "So that's actually even less! Wow, I'm totally flattered that you like me more than Allison. I mean, not like it's hard or anything—" Her sarcastic words earned her amused chuckles from the men.

Klaus pointed to her sternly. "Hey, you can take it or leave it but that's my compliment for you. You are my favorite sister even if I'm not your favorite brother. And speaking of— Five, you're a good brother."

There was a moment of awkward silence as Five wasn't sure how to respond to that. Then, he patted the man on his shoulder. "Alright. After I compliment Lexa we can go find your stupid mother."

Klaus clapped happily and let out an excited exclamation. His burst of enthusiasm took him back to the car, which left the two teens in front of the ball of twine. A sudden silence fell between them as Alexa watched the boy with bated breath. She knew that this wasn't his strong suit, so she wondered if he'd go with something simple like "you have nice hair" or an equally superficial (but at least he'd tried) remark.

Still, the way that they continued to stand in silence made her think that maybe he was putting in a real effort to say something nice. He wouldn't even meet her eyes and his hands were curling into fists as he seemed to be gearing himself up to say. . . something. She wondered if it really was so hard for him to come up with a compliment. As she was coming to the decision to call the whole thing off, Five finally met her eyes and opened his mouth to blurt out—

"I loke you!"