Chapter Twenty Five:

The water was warm as it splashed at her hands, she rubbed them together, soap bubbling as it mixed. The red disappeared down the drain, returning to her normal tanned skin. She turned the tap off and ripped a piece of paper towel from a small rack, she patted her hands dry and tossed the used towel in the garbage.

She turned and leaned against the counter, eyes glancing around the room. The kitchen was just how it had been when she was first there, and it still manage to bring on some sense of safety. Even though she knew whatever she felt there was false, she just enjoyed being in an area of the large house that didn't seem overly grand. Everything in this house was blown out of proportion, everything way to grand and expensive. Here, things weren't.

"Lotus?"

She turned her head to see Klaus, he was bracing himself against a support beam.

"Klaus."

He gave a small smile, "I thought you'd be with Diego and Allison."

"I thought you were with Diego."

He shook his head, "No, actually I'm looking for Luther. He wanted help looking for his moon files."

Lotus nodded, "How are you feeling?"

"Better than yesterday." He swiped his hair back, "I think Allison and Diego are leaving soon, I'm sure they'd want your help."

She chuckled, pushing off the counter and made her way towards the staircase, "I'll check it out."

She felt his smile, "You go girl!" He shouted, amusement laced in his voice. "Go kick some ass in your sundress!"

Lotus rolled her eyes and rushed up the stairs, peeking in various rooms to see if anybody was around. Her footsteps echoed with every step, she slowly made her way to the second level and spotted Allison down the hall. She wandered towards the women, frowning when she turned the opposite way and took off. Lotus rushed after her, stopping when she turned the corner and saw Allison flop down onto a bed. It must of been her room, when they lived here.

Lotus sighed, not wanting to bother the women. Instead she turned down another hallway and ran into Diego who sighed when he saw her, telling her that they were leaving soon to find Vanya and her criminal boyfriend. She nodded, but continued her trek down the hallways and stopped in front of Five's door. It was open, and she could hear Grace humming. Lotus peeked in, locking eyes with the Hargreeves' mother. She smiled and stood up, walking over to Lotus and graced a hand on her shoulder before brushing past, disappearing down the hall. Five shifted on his bed, he was in what looked like pyjamas as he slept. Lotus stepped in and leaned against the wall, watching as his eyelids fluttered and opened.

"Oh— I, I didn't mean to wake you up." She went back towards the door, she could see his hand raise from the corner of her eyes and she stopped and faced him.

"Stay." He mumbled, "For a while."

Lotus shook her head, she shouldn't of came. "Diego said they're leaving soon. To follow that lead you gave them. I should probably go with them and try to help."

He slightly moved his head back and fourth, "Please, stay."

She frowned spotting Delores propped up on the floor next to his desk. She made her way over and picked up the mannequin, "How about you spend sometime with Delores, I'm sure she—"

"No." He said softly, "Something real."

A crease formed in her brow as she stared at the boy, "How much medication did she put you on?"

He said nothing, only closed his eyes again. "Just—" He sighed, "Come here."

She pursed her lips, staring from the chair in the corner of his room back to him. Eventually she collected her wits and placed Delores back on the ground and dragged the chair next to the bed. She placed it in front of the nightstand, flopping down onto it and pulled her legs up and under her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic."

She chuckled, "How could you have not said anything all that time? Did it not hurt or are you just insanely stupid?"

He smacked his lips, "Stupidity runs in the family."

Lotus nodded slowly and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. The window must've been opened because a soft breeze pressed against her face. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

"Do you think we're gonna save the world?"

She opened her eyes and looked over at him, he sounded and looked half asleep. She shrugged, having not really thought about it.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"No faith in me, huh?"

Lotus rolled her eyes, "You realize how difficult this all is, Five? Saving the world."

He shifted again, moving his head so it lay to the side, facing her. "Nothing's impossible."

The girl snorted, "What? If I believe."

He made a quiet noise, something in between a laugh and sigh. She was still looking at him when he peeled an eye open, "See something you like?"

She slid her gaze to the window, watching as birds chirped loudly from the railing, the sun setting behind. She felt her cheeks warm and she shook her head, telling herself to smarten up.

"No." She told him, "Old man."

When she focused back on him, both his eyes were shut. She sighed leaning her head against the arm rest, suddenly feeling very tired.

"I should be going with your brother and sister." She closed her own eyes, "You know, to save the world and whatnot."

She figured he had fallen asleep, and she shifted her arm but stopped when she felt something grab ahold of her hand. Her eyes snapped open and they landed on Five's hand intertwined with hers. She froze, staring like an idiot.

He had to be on a very large amount of medication, She thought, Right?

Lotus pursed her lips, relaxing back into the chair and closed her eyes again. "I thought saving the world couldn't wait." She said.

It felt like forever as Five didn't answer, but eventually he did. "It can wait 10 minutes." And she thought of their conversation before, when she was upset and he had told her to clean up. Her cheeks burned again, but this time she didn't care. Five was pretty much asleep and he couldn't see her, nobody could.

"You're a dork." She mumbled, laughing quietly to herself.

"Yeah, well." He whispered, "I can't help it."