( and you know that a boy who likes boys is a dead boy, unless he keeps his mouth shut, which is what you didn't do, because you are weak and hollow and it doesn't matter anymore  )

chapter twenty-seven!

VINCENT NEVER LEARNED THE PROPER WAY TO TALK TO SOMEONE IN A POLITE AND PROFESSIONAL SETTING. He'd disappeared from France when he was just a child, and had never had the privilege of having parents who genuinely gave a single shit about his manners. Sure, his dad would occasionally yell at him if he came home to see Vincent strewn across the sofa in their living room eating Cheerios from the box in his underwear, but that was just understandable. Vincent never had any sense of poise, and he was sure a measly lesson wouldn't have made a dent no matter what.

But still Vincent wished it had been granted to him anyway. As much as he knew he would have dreaded it if it were to actually have occurred, sometimes he wished his mother had sat him down and sternly told him not to tell the neighbors that their "fucking asshole of a dog keeps stealing his fucking chips right out of his fucking hands!" He wished that someone had been there and had cared enough to tell him that, hey, maybe he shouldn't have done some of the horrible things he did as a teenage boy. Maybe he should have thought of the consequences.

Except Vincent never had to worry about consequences back then. Not when he vanished out of thin air, never to be seen again in the same decade as everyone he'd ever known. Vincent Leblanc, the lucky asshole, had vanished a day after he'd been expelled from school.

Yes, expelled. Vincent wasn't so proud of it either, though he had never even told anyone. Not until now, maybe. His parents hadn't even been informed until, Vincent assumed, after he'd disappeared. He could imagine his parents' reactions, or lack thereof. The bland empty stoic expression as the Headmaster visited the Leblanc home, explaining to Vincent's parents the enormous weight that this held. His parents would probably nod and offer the Headmaster a cigarette- which he would refuse, he was a good Catholic man who vowed after a gnarly overdose on painkillers to never make the same mistakes he had before, which Vincent actually thought he was pretty damn cool for- and they wouldn't ask any questions. The Headmaster would explain what Vincent had done in a slow and collected voice; "Your son pushed a young man down the stairs yesterday, putting him in the hospital. Lucky for him, the student is not pressing charges. The student had called your son a few... homophobic slurs, but that doesn't excuse what he did." (Except Vincent had no idea if the fuckhead had pressed charges or not, because he had never been there long enough to see the outcome. And of course the asshole deserved to be pushed down the stairs; none of them had heard what he'd said to Vincent that day.) The Headmaster would wonder where Vincent was, and his parents would have no idea, nor would they even care.

In reality, no missing person's report had been filed for Vincent until two weeks after he'd vanished, and that had only been done because Vincent's friend Gilbert had been wondering where he'd gone and had eventually gotten so bothered by the carelessness of the people who were supposed to care for Vincent and just went to the police himself. Vincent wished he could thank Gilbert, but he was sure Gilbert was far gone now. Gilbert had begun to get himself into shady business even as a kid,and Vincent was positive that hadn't just miraculously stopped after he'd disappeared. Vincent surely would have been exposed to the same fate had he not Dorothy Gale'd himself out of the real world.

Vincent just wished his parents cared. He wished they had taught him exactly what he was supposed to do in life because, what the fuck guys? Right now he was muscling through it, but he was growing clumsier and clumsier, which only equated to how fucking careless he was getting.

Most of all, Vincent desperately wished he had been taught manners as a kid. He wished he'd been taught how to speak when spoken to. If he was bad at anything, it was goddamn confrontation.

Five Hargreeves fucking loves confrontation.

"What the hell happened outside that cabin?" Five questioned with a slight huff, sitting down across from Vincent on his bed, legs crossing over one another. For a moment, if not a second, Vincent saw a Five who didn't care if another person didn't respect him or find him oddly mature. For a moment Vincent saw a Five like the one he'd known in the apocalypse; a vulnerable one. They had helped a few minutes before to sew up Allison's wound- or Five had, Vincent proved much too squeamish- and now Five's palms were stained with blood. They were to try to find Harold Jenkins soon, but Vincent had forced Five to take a fucking break.

"You were there," Vincent shrugged with a snort, sitting across from Five with his back against the wall, slouching down with his legs outstretched in front of him. Five gave his sitting position a look of disgust, but didn't comment. "I went fucking crazy. Like full white eye, exorcist type shit. Had a That's So Raven moment but twenty-five-million times more shit-inducing." He grinned, the blood that had previously stained his teeth mostly gone.

"What even is That's So Raven?" Five asked with a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes and holding the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"I have no fucking idea." Vincent laughed out. "Pop culture blows, doesn't it? Klaus told me about that one. He said it reminded him of what I did out there."

"How are you even communicating with him?" Five exclaimed, sitting up straighter.

"Cell Phone. I failed to mention to you that I stole one. Bummer you can't stop me now. Wiped the phone already and got Ben to put the number in the phone in the car." Vincent grinned widely, pulling out an IPhone and holding it up. "Still have no clue how to use it though. I honestly am lost on how to even get into it."

"You..." Five started with a heavier sigh. "Jesus, Vincent. You stole someone's phone?!"

"Of course. On our way to the bar. It was just sitting there, so maybe it was abandoned." Vincent shrugged.

"Aban-... you think there was an abandoned phone sitting on the sidewalk like a fucking dog??" Five asked, gaping at Vincent, confused as ever by this news.

"Who knows?" Vincent grinned. "People abandon things all the time, you know. My parents abandoned me, I abandoned you, you abandoned heterosexuality, it came full circle!" He laughed, ducking when Five tried to throw something- a pen, Vincent saw- at his head.

"You are insufferable," Five sighed out. "I've been playing along with your bullshit for the past few days, but you are so annoying." He chuckled in exasperation.

"Just been playing along? You're a terrible person! I thought you'd just adopted a less cool version of my personality." Vincent retorted with a snort of amusement.

"No, no, I would rather get shot in the face." Five responded with a smile. Vincent couldn't really tell if he was joking, so he just responded back with an unimpressed face. "You're getting me entirely off track. What happened at the cabin?"

Vincent rolled his eyes, sitting up and crossing his arms over his chest, his legs also crossed, knees pressed right up against Five's. "I already told you, dude. I went insane." He chuckled. At Five's annoyed expression, Vincent groaned and continued. "I walked up to the cabin, felt a horrible pain in my head like I'd just been stabbed in the brain and fell to the ground, which also scraped up my fucking knees. Ouch, right? And then I felt blood in my throat and I felt it..." He paused, looking a little pale.

"Are you alright?" Five immediately spoke in concern, placing one hand on Vincent's knee. Vincent stared at that hand, and was almost tempted to smack it away. "What did you feel?" Five added, gentler.

Vincent rolled his eyes. "That was just a dramatic pause, idiot." He joked, though it was clear what he was about to say bothered him. "Felt like my throat was being cut slowly. From the inside out." He shrugged, not meeting Five's gaze. "Was a horrible feeling. Seriously it was the worst thing I've ever felt." He laughed a bit.

"I just find it odd that you were living out Allison's injury." Five sighed, suddenly looking stressed out and tired, like he was thinking too hard about all of this. "That's not an everyday superpower."

"Superpower?" Vincent laughed out, shaking his head. "None of what we do is superpowers, Batman."

"You think I'm a Batman type?" Five asked with a smile and an amused raise of his eyebrow. "Think I'm more of a Magneto."

"You wish you were Magneto." Vincent rolled his eyes. "He would crush your puny little teenage man body like a soda can. Batman wouldn't kill you, at least, with his fucking stupid moral code."

"Exactly why I wouldn't be Batman. You think I have a moral code, Leblanc?" Five laughed out.

Vincent chuckled, shaking his head and finally properly looking up at Five, who was just staring contently at Vincent. Vincent huffed, forcing himself not to react in a way that was much more 'whipped' than he desired. "Anyway, the feeling in my throat was gone when Allison was gone." He added, just trying desperately to change the topic before it became something he wasn't quite ready for.

Five snapped out of whatever trance it was that he was in, and nodded slowly, looking down at his hand thoughtfully. "Interesting." He mumbled under his breath. "Why did you actually bleed, though? If it was a phantom effect, then what would make you cough up blood?" He added, suddenly moving to stand up, pacing around the room and effectively making Vincent nervous.

"How the hell would I know?" Vincent spoke, a little annoyed. "Maybe I should just transfer you the fucking power if you want to know so bad."

"Wish you could," Five mused back without a second thought, shaking his head. He continued to pace for a long while, just back and forth with his bottom lip caught between his teeth."I don't know if being around death for too long will kill you, but the more I think of it the more it proves possible."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Vincent mumbled quickly, eyes wide.

"It means...." Five sighed heavily, stopping his movements and looking at Vincent. "It means that if you have another episode like that with someone who is actually dead, I don't know what would happen to you. I don't.. I don't think you would die, but it's a precaution we're going to have to take."

"I've been around plenty of dead people, babe. I think I'd be fine." Vincent shrugged before he sighed out, "I'm really not cut out for this bullshit."

"I know." Five murmured, gently patting Vincent's shoulder before sitting beside him, sighing under his breath.

Vincent glanced over at Five, and was surprised at how tired and upset Five looked. He'd truly never seen the boy this close to breaking before, and it was sort of insanely scary. Five, who was supposed to be the strong leader type, was losing his shit the same way Vincent was, but somehow even quieter.

"Y'know, I may be the king of repression, but I think you might be the repression God." Vincent spoke before he could shut himself up, just looking at Five with the softest expression he could muster.

Five surprisingly chuckled, flipping off Vincent with one bloodied finger. "Fuck you."

"You should just take a goddamn nap. The bags under your eyes are starting to piss me off." Vincent pointed out, harshly poking Five's cheek.

"Don't look at me so much then." Five retorted.

"Okay, that's a bit much."

"Don't think it is."

"It is."

Five looked at Vincent, frowning a little, almost pouting. Vincent thought he even looked cute, and he wanted nothing more than to wrap him up in a huge hug. But he didn't.

"I have to tell you something." Five sighed softly, looking worse in a span of three seconds, hand coming up to unconsciously pat his hair down. "Two things, actually. The second one is, objectively, worse than the first one, I think."

"What?" Vincent raised his eyebrow.

Five stared at Vincent for a moment before he looked down at the ground, biting the inside of his cheek. "You might hate me for not telling you this sooner because now I've put you in an honestly unimaginable amount of danger..." He started, and already Vincent hated this. "I... " He looked up at Vincent, and he looked like he was going to break anytime soon. Vincent hated it. "The equation I gave you in the apocalypse was a one time thing, yes?" At Vincent's nod, Five swallowed hard and continued. "The equation you used was wrong and it... well, it mutated you."

"Excuse me?" Vincent mumbled quickly, eyebrows caving in. "What the fuck are you talking about, Five?"

"It mutated your powers into something way more dangerous. I told you that you scared me, and that's part of it." Five chuckled lightly, seeming embarrassed by this confession. "You can do things you couldn't even begin to imagine. I don't want you to imagine those things because they'll hurt you and they'll hurt other people." He spoke softer.

"Do I actually cause the apocalypse?" Vincent huffed.

"Vince-"

"Do I, Five?"

"You're a part of it." Five mumbled sheepishly. "But you don't necessarily cause it. I don't know who causes it yet, but I'm almost positive it's Leonard Peabody." He added. "I don't know how you're involved." He sighed. "I really wish I did."

"You have to kill me then, don't you?" Vincent spoke up, just insanely confused by this all.

Five winced at the idea, sighing, "I'm not gonna do that."

"You're going too soft, Hargreeves. I kill people probably and you just told me I've got sick fucking painful strong powers. Don't think I'd love to go on living with those burdens, as cool as they are." Vincent snorted, a bit nervous by the whole idea. He didn't really understand, though he really wished he did.

"I'm not gonna kill you, Vincent." Five added, firmer. "I can't..." He started, but stopped. Vincent watched as Five glared down at his hand, squeezing it into a fist and then back into an outstretched palm.

"You're supposed to though, aren't you?" Vincent spoke softly, moving closer to Five's side.

Five looked worse at that suggestion, paling, his hair falling into his eyes. "Yeah." He muttered simply.

Vincent knew that, of course, but the admission still made it feel worse. He didn't like the fact that Five had agreed to something like that in the first place. He stayed quiet, glancing away.

"What was the second thing?" Vincent spoke up after a few minutes of terribly uncomfortable silence.

"What?" Five spoke up softly, like he hadn't expected Vincent to want to speak to him right now, or ever for that matter.

"What was the second thing you wanted to tell me? The 'objectively worse' one." Vincent murmured, looking at Five. He wasn't really angry, though he probably should have been.

"Oh." Five mumbled, seeming uncomfortable now, still not looking at Vincent. "I don't think you're gonna want me to say it now."

"I'm shaking with anticipation." Vincent spoke back in a deadpan voice. "Yeah I'm pretty bummed you were gonna kill me, but I still want to know."

"I wasn't going to kill you.." Five tried, looking up and stopping at Vincent's annoyed gaze.

Vincent felt bad for Five, which was an odd feeling. He had never had to feel bad for Five before, But Five looked upset and frustrated, and Vincent had also never seen him like that before.

"The second thing is pretty bad." Five mumbled gently, biting the inside of his cheek, looking at Vincent.

"You act like I fucking care." Vincent chuckled lightly. "No more conceal don't feel shit, tell me what it is." He huffed, even more annoyed when Five still stayed quiet. "Dude. I'm seriously going to beat your ass if you don't start talking. Sincerely, I will strangl-"

If there was anything Vincent expected Five to say to him, it had never ever been the words "I think I'm in love with you," but that was exactly what came out of Five's mouth, and exactly what made Vincent feel the craziest he had ever felt.

Vincent was quiet, frozen in place and confused, staring at a flustered Five. "What did you say?" He asked slowly.

"You can't make me say that again." Five huffed, looking down at the ground.

"I can and I will." Vincent laughed out a little breathlessly. "What did you say?" He asked, hands shaking so much he was sure something in the room was definitely floating somewhere.

Five rolled his eyes, looking back up at Vincent, just looking annoyed now. "You definitely heard me."

"Oh yeah, of course I heard you. But if you say it again I'll forgive you for trying to kill me." Vincent grinned.

Five sighed heavily, swallowing roughly before turning himself to face Vincent, looking at him. "I think I'm in love with you." He spoke slowly, huffing a little afterwards. "Not that it matters. We can't really do anything about it anyway."

"You're ruining the moment." Vincent huffed out, keeping his hands in tight fists in his lap, trying to control whatever his stupid power was doing. He yelped a bit when the glass of the window in Five's room cracked loudly, and his attempts to calm down definitely hadn't worked. He stood up, letting out a shaky breath, shaking his head. "Today is just a rollercoaster, isn't it? First you tell me you were hired to kill me and now you're telling me you love me. That's honestly fucking hilarious." He laughed out nervously, an anxious tick mostly.

Five rolled his eyes, also standing up. "Yeah, I guess it is." He huffed a little. "You're really annoying."

"Whatever, whatever, I don't care." Vincent spoke quickly. "You should let me kiss you. Can I kiss you?"

Five seemed to get even more red at those words, and Vincent loved that. Five swallowed roughly, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. You haven't asked the last few times." He murmured.

Vincent grinned, moving both of his hands to cup Five's fantastic jaw, tracing a circle into his cheek with his thumb, which flustered Five even worse. "You're real cute, babe. Short, too. Like a cupcake!" He laughed.

Five huffed, rolling his eyes. "I'll actually kill you, Vincent."

Vincent laughed, smiling widely. "I still don't trust that you aren't actually gonna kill me, but whatever." He joked before leaning down just the slightest, kissing Five just barely for a moment before pulling his lips away just enough that Five couldn't possibly chase it in his position.

"What are you doing? Just hurry up." Five huffed out, trying to move closer to Vincent.

"Bossy." Vincent laughed out before finally actually attaching his lips to Five's, slow and somewhat gentle, gentler than any other kiss he'd shared with Five before. "I think.." He mumbled against five's lips before grinning. "That I'm totally in love with you too, old man." He spoke softly, slowly, going back to kissing a very flustered and stiff Five.

Five was the first to pull away, with wide eyes and a red face, looking away from Vincent. "This is all your fault." He surprised Vincent by saying.

"Meaning...?" Vincent chuckled out.

"It's your fault that I don't hate your guts like I should." Five huffed, glancing over at a corner of the room. "Dolores hates you now, you should know. She's highly disappointed in me."

Vincent laughed, looking over at Dolores, flipping the mannequin off with both hands, one arm wrapping nicely around Five. "She can suck my dick." He snorted. "Actually, you could now too-" He started, pointing to Five with a wide grin.

Five rolled his eyes, smacking Vincent's hand away. "That's never happening."

"Okay, sure." Vincent snorted in amusement. "This mean I can totally kiss you whenever I feel like it now?" He grinned.

'Absolutely not." Five warned. "The Commission is watching basically all the time." He added. "I hope you know that... this.." He gestured between him and Vincent. "... will inevitably put us both in danger. A lot of danger. They're still convinced I'm gonna kill you." He sighed softly.

"That's not comforting." Vincent chuckled. "I'll deal with it."

"No, you won't. You'll make it worse. Leave it alone. Please. For my fucking sanity." Five sighed out, shaking his head before he quickly looked at Vincent, leaving a quick peck to his lips before beginning to walk away. "We have to find Leonard Peabody." He murmured, his face burning red.

"Don't wait up, darling." Vincent joked with a grin, watching Five walk quickly out of the room. His grin dropped once Five was gone, and he glanced at Dolores, sighing gently. "Oh Dolores, we're really in it now. We're really in it now." He mumbled.

Fucked. Vincent was fucked. He would go through hell for Five Hargreeves, but maybe he was too biased.

Vincent was in so much fucking trouble.

••••••••••••••
A/N: this ones long and also sort of jumbled together. not my favorite chapter but I don't think it's that bad maybe hopefully ahdjdj idk? this is 3654 words! and they finally confessed to each other so how we feeling gays?

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