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There were only so many times one could stand hearing no as an answer. Especially when they were young and believed they knew better.
That day came for Five at dinner, when he asked Father about time jumps – again. And Sir Reginald barely looked up from his plate while he denied him, over and over.
“You’re not ready, Number Five. Now stop with this nonsense at once!”
Five caught Vanya’s eye across the table, the way she shook her head, silently pleading with him. Usually, he’d listen to her - but not this time. Instead, he turned around and stormed out of the house, his heart beating heavily in his chest.
He was good enough, he was ready! He’d show them all that he was!
Five jumped, the blue light surrounding him until he plopped back into existence on a busy street. But it wasn’t a street like the ones he saw once a month when Mother took them shopping. The people were wearing clothes he’d never seen before, holding devices he didn’t know.
Time and space blurred once again when he jumped a second time, and Five reappeared on another street that was foreign to him. People hurried around him like a swarm of busy bees. They were so preoccupied with their own lives that they likely didn’t even notice someone just appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the freezing street.
Five took a moment to just stand still and look around. Warmth filled him despite the freezing cold - pride. He’d done it! He’d proved Father wrong! And nothing terrible had happened.
A bell rang somewhere close by, maybe the doorbell of a small shop.
Five briefly turned his head towards the noise. To his left, on the other side of the street, a door had opened, and someone was stepping outside with what could possibly be a sandwich in their hand, Five couldn’t tell. He also didn’t care, just rolled his eyes and turned away, trying to concentrate on his breathing.
The bell chimed again, close by this time.
Five exhaled a gust of air through his nostrils. “Screw it,” he mumbled to himself and disappeared in a puff of blue. Something bumped him while he jumped, but he didn’t pay it any mind.
Five reemerged in front of a burning building - or rather, what was left of it. Only the entrance doorway was still standing, the rest had been torn to shreds. Pieces of what had once been walls littered the ground.
Five took a shaky step forward. He stared at the ruins, ice running through his veins. He’d recognize that doorway anywhere.
“Vanya?” he asked, his throat so dry he could barely get the word out.
No answer.
“Vanya! Ben!” This time, his voice was louder, even though it cracked at the end.
Still no answer.
Five stumbled forward, through the main entrance into what had once been the dining hall. Now, it was all a big pile of rubble, the edges scorched from flames. His heart was in his throat as he called for his siblings, increasingly desperate while his voice only got weaker.
“Luther… Diego…”
Five searched the ruins of the Academy, heart racing in his chest. They couldn’t all be gone! He’d just seen them earlier at breakfast… Vanya had told him not to do it, why hadn’t he just listened? Why hadn’t he-
There were bodies.
Five stumbled towards the biggest pile of shards and stone. He stopped when his foot touched something soft, and as he looked down, he saw that he’d stepped on a hand. He reached out, pushing some of the burnt stone away. More and more of the body came into view.
It was Allison.
Or rather, what he presumed to be Allison. This person didn’t look like his sister at all, at least at first glance. They were older, at least ten years older than his siblings, maybe more. But they were wearing Allison’s necklace, the one Luther had given her, and if Five knew one thing, it was that Allison wouldn’t take that necklace off, whatever happened.
A choked sound escaped Five’s mouth.
Next to her was Diego, and Klaus a bit further away with ash in his hair and stains on the audacious black coat he was wearing. Then Luther, who was now bigger and stronger than Five had ever seen him before. But the hand desperately reaching into Allison’s direction was unmistakably Luther’s.
Five’s knees gave out. He stared at his dead siblings helplessly, unable to understand what he was seeing.
“Where am I?” a voice piped up somewhere behind him. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the corpses, too caught up in replaying the fight in his head that he’d had with Father this morning, over and over again.
Father had been right. He wasn’t ready…
The sound of crunching rubble came closer. Someone stood next to him, and Five turned to see you beside him, face scrunched up in confusion while you stared at the ruins of the Academy.
“What is this place? Where am I?”
Everything slipped.
Like painting with a too-wet brush on a canvas, the colors blurred together, this time not because of a spacial jump. Five looked around, suddenly unable to see anything.
Voices echoed around him, rambling, whispering, screaming.
You’re not ready, Number Five! Not ready… Five… Not Five… Ready…
“Five!”
That was your voice, he would recognize it anywhere. Five stumbled to his feet, his eyes darting around in confusion, but he couldn’t see you anymore.
“Five!”
“Y/n! Y/n!”
He called your name again and again, until his voice was hoarse and all that came out of his mouth was a weak croaking sound. He had lost you now, too.
Five’s heart was heavy, sinking to his stomach like a stone as he fell to his knees. Tears were welling up in his eyes. He couldn’t tell if it was from the smoke in the air or the sudden realization that he was all alone now.
He had no one left…
“Five!”
Five jolted, his head just barely missing the desk lamp. He blinked his eyes open, then stared at you. He was confused and still panicked, his heart racing in his chest. The pictures were still flickering behind his eyes, how he’d jumped in time and gotten stuck in the hell that was the future, together with you.
“You fell asleep at work again.”
You smiled at him, that soft expression on your face that always made his heart skip a beat.
Five could only nod slowly. You were right – there was his desk in front of him, the papers that were piled on top of it were filled with his messy scribbles. Calculations upon calculations…
“Thanks for waking me up.”
You nodded, still smiling, but he could see the crease between your eyebrows, the worry in your eyes.
Five reached out and took your hand that was resting on the back of his chair. He softly ran his fingers over your skin.
There was the ring he’d given you years ago, the rather simple golden band standing out against your skin. He’d made it himself, forged it from whatever he could find. Years later, he’d offered to buy you a new ring, a real one, but you’d declined.
Five still remembered how fast his heart had raced when he proposed to you: he’d been so, so nervous. He almost couldn’t get the words out. The mere thought that your answer could be no had destroyed him.
When you said yes, voice steady and so sure, he’d wrapped you up in his arms and didn’t let go for a long time.
Five also remembered the wedding day itself, how it had been just the two of you reciting your vows in some wrecked building that was somehow still standing. It was the happiest day of his life.
Then again, almost all of his happiest memories were connected to you.
You tilted your head, the smile slowly fading. Your frown was more prominent now, with furrowed eyebrows and your lower lip slightly between your teeth. You weren’t gnawing on it, at least that stage of worry wasn’t reached yet.
“Hey,” Five said, trying to keep his voice calm, “I’m okay. It was just a nightmare.” He didn’t quite believe the words himself, and he could see in the way you fiddled with the locket around your neck that you were still worried. The necklace was a gift from your grandmother, and you were always wearing it – even on that fateful day you’d run into Five after class.
Five kept on tracing his fingers over your skin in circular patterns. You looked down at your hand, followed his movements with your eyes. Five could hear his breathing, so loud in his ears, but he tried to ignore it, to shake the leftovers of the dream.
This wasn’t about him right now. He needed to reassure you, to take your fears away.
Five hated to see you worried, especially when it was because of him. He always wished he could protect you from all of it, keep you safe from all the pain the world could bring. But he knew it was impossible, even for him.
“Oh, by the way-”
Five let go of your hand to duck under the desk and pick up the briefcase he’d stored there.
Your expression shifted as soon as you saw the case. You frowned at Five when he handed it to you.
“Again??”
Five’s lips twitched in amusement at how exaggerated your voice sounded. He glanced at the briefcase sheepishly before looking back up at you.
“Something is wrong with these things, I swear!”
You only sighed heavily and rolled your eyes, inspecting the banged up case. You frowned at the handle that was still connected to the briefcase by sheer luck alone – and by a very thin string of the material that held it together.
“Did it go up in flames again this time?” you asked, barely looking up from the burnt spots on the case.
Five tried his very best not to look guilty as he shook his head. “No.”
You lowered the briefcase and stared at him with raised eyebrows, an expression Five knew very well after all these years.
“I didn’t do anything!” he tried, but when it came to the tech you developed, you were ruthless. No matter how much of a kind person you were outside of the Commission - nobody messed with your technology.
Except for Five, who was notorious for always returning from missions with briefcases or weapons that were either completely broken, or almost irreversibly damaged.
Five crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the briefcase. There was just something about that expression on your face that made him feel like he was being scolded. It brought back memories from his childhood that he tried to ignore.
“Listen,” he started again, “I don’t know what happened. The stupid thing went up in flames as soon as I was back here! I don’t know why!”
Five didn’t tell you that, after a mission, there was nothing better than seeing your face and hearing your voice. Nothing calmed the boiling blood in his veins like when you hugged him close, whispering soothing words into his ear. Most of the time he didn’t even understand what you were saying, but the tone in your voice was enough.
If he had to damage Commission tech so he could see you, well… It was only a small price to pay.
But he would never tell you that, he knew better.
You kept staring at him for a moment longer, and something in your face told Five that maybe you already knew. You lowered your eyes to the briefcase in your hands without another word, a heavy sigh escaping your mouth. Your fingers followed the dents in the material, especially the scorch marks.
You shook your head and turned back to Five.
“At some point you’ll get into serious trouble with the Handler, I swear.”
But the words didn’t hold much anger, and your lips were twitching as you tried your best to hide your smile.
Five nodded, fighting a grin of his own. You rolled your eyes and stood properly, lifting the hand that held the briefcase.
“You’ll get this back in a few days. The damage is even worse than last time - and I have to say, I didn’t think that was even possible.”
Five opened his mouth to respond, but you shook your head.
“Handler wants to see you by the way, she came looking for you earlier.”
With that, you left, grumbling under your breath about expensive technology.
Five followed you with his eyes until you disappeared through the doorway. Once you were out of sight, he allowed himself a small smile.
Five ignored the Handler’s request to meet him for as long as he could. It wasn’t entirely on purpose - even though he really didn’t want to talk to the Handler as long as he could avoid it. He was also just really busy, being assigned mission after mission, and he couldn’t do much against that despite the many orders he received from the Handler’s office.
There came a time though where Five couldn’t deny the requests any longer. Handler had become impatient, and her meeting “requests” started to sound more and more like an order.
That was why Five found himself sitting in the Handler’s office at her desk, a cup of coffee in front of him.
She did make good coffee.
“So, Five…,” Handler continued the conversation after taking a long sip from her own cup, “I hereby give you the order for an assassination.”
Five hummed in response, waiting for her to continue.
The Handler set down her coffee cup and handed him the file he’d need. It held all the necessary information on the target as well as how the hit would be executed. Five took it without another word, reaching for his cup again – and promptly grasping into thin air as he read the name of his target.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
“You've got to be fucking kidding me…”
The Handler didn’t consider his remark worthy of a response, since she didn’t react to it at all.
Five skimmed through the pages, his disbelief growing continuously. He was really supposed to shoot JFK. And he knew a lot of the people who were supposed to help him do it, too.
“Why-” Five started, raising his head from the list of names to look at the Handler. She held up a hand to interrupt him.
“I know what you just read. And yes, I want Y/n to join you! She’ll be an excellent addition to the team, don’t you think?”
Handler looked at him with her crocodile smile, that expression of a wild cat playing with its food. Five had a feeling she’d done this on purpose, choosing Y/n as part of the team, maybe because he’d ignored her for so long.
“Y/n is very skilled,” he admitted, because it was true, you were. But he’d much rather known you safe inside the Commission than out on the field, where you were in constant danger and he wouldn’t be able to protect you the whole time.
The Handler still had that crocodile smile on her face when she rose from her chair, the usual sign that the meeting was over. She turned towards her bookcase, running her fingers over a few spines as if contemplating something.
“See, I knew we’d agree it’s the best choice. I wish you the best, Number Five.”
And with those words echoing behind him, Five was led out of the office.
The streets were filled with people, cheering, screaming. Music was playing from somewhere, and the smell of cigarettes hung in the air.
Five pulled a face. He hated the noise and the people - just people in general, really. Especially when he had a hit to execute, a hit as important as this particular one. It was too much - too many liabilities, too many factors for possible complications. The risk of something to go wrong because of a single person was already –
“Five.”
Five looked up, right at you. You had that soft look on your face again. The sight of you alone was enough to quiet down the rambling voice in Five’s head, the one that usually wouldn’t stop reminding him of so many risks.
Five shot you a quick smile. “I’m okay,” he reassured you.
Your eyebrows knitted together into a frown - you didn’t believe him. It didn’t surprise Five, you simply knew him too well. You’d been able to read him like a book from the start.
There was no more time to argue when the signal came that the operation was about to start. Five grabbed his gun, reloading it. The movement was so familiar by now, he did it without even thinking.
“Let’s go, fuckers!”
You snickered behind him, and Five’s lips twitched for a second, before he got into position and set up the gun. Locked on target. He focused on the oncoming car, still far away but in shooting range – at least for him.
Five took a deep breath. In. Out. In.
People were throwing some flowers into the air, or confetti. They weren’t important. All that mattered was the target, who would be at the right spot in 3, 2, 1…
Five pulled the trigger.
Kennedy collapsed in the car, his head lolling about – dead.
The first screams echoed up from the street when Five set down the gun.
Target executed – flawlessly, as usual.
He turned around and looked over at you instantly, wanting to make sure you were alright, even though, realistically, you weren’t in danger.
Not yet at least. One could never be too careful.
You gave him a tiny, encouraging smile, but your eyes told a different story. There was a tiny crease between your eyebrows. You’d grown up with the tales of JFK’s assassination after all, and knowing now who had really been responsible – knowing you, personally, had played a part in it – was certainly strange. Five couldn’t deny he felt weird about it himself.
Your eyes softened a little bit when he leaned forward and reached out to hold your hand, swiping his thumb over your skin tenderly.
“I’m okay,” You whispered, taking a deep breath as you spoke. Five could tell you were fighting for composure. He hoped that whatever comfort he could provide was helpful.
The crowd below had dissolved into panicked screaming by the time the group of agents was packing up their equipment. People were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. It was pandemonium, but was that really a surprise?
Five reached for your hand and laced your fingers together, squeezing once. You gave a squeeze back despite not looking at him – you were watching over the other agents like a hawk, as if to make sure no equipment was damaged. There was a lot of expensive technology involved after all.
And yet, all it had taken to execute the mission was one man with a shotgun.
Five exhaled from deep in his chest when it was finally over. The first agents disappeared in bursts of blue light, not seeming deterred by the chaos on the street below in the slightest.
When the two of you were the only ones left, Five turned to you.
“Are we really doing this?”
You didn’t respond for a long time, and Five was about to open his mouth and tell you it was okay, that he could wait until you were ready, when you nodded once. A very small and unsure nod.
Five waited, giving you time to maybe change your mind. When you didn’t say anything like that, even after what was probably a minute of silence, he nodded and led you to a different area. It was still secluded, but a little bit more open, with trees and bushes hiding you from view.
It had taken years – decades – of calculations, but Five had finally figured out a way to return to his time.
He’d spent weeks after the discovery in deep thought, pondering if he should tell you or not. After all, he had somehow ripped you from your own time against your will all those years ago. He didn’t want to take this new time from you as well, should you choose to stay here.
You’d been shocked when Five finally gathered the courage to tell you. But you decided rather quickly that you’d come with him, no matter what would happen. He’d hugged you close again, just like on your wedding day, and had sworn to himself he would never let you go. No matter what happened.
“You need to help me with this one. I know the numbers, but if I get stuck you’ll need to tell me what comes next.” Five stated, pulling out the calculations.
He glanced up from the paper to see your reaction.
You nodded, this time with more certainty than before.
Five’s eyes flew over the numbers one last time before he handed you the book and took a shaky breath.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes,” you responded, your voice strong and without doubt.
Warmth filled Five’s chest. You trusted him so much. Even after all those years, it surprised him sometimes. How much you really cared about him.
Five clenched his hands into fists, concentrating on the numbers he’d memorized. Blue light flickered around his fists, so he tried harder, and harder, until finally a flash of light almost blinded him.
The portal was weak, a lot weaker than it was supposed to be. Five stared at his creation, ice running through his veins the longer he looked at the portal.
It wouldn’t be strong enough to carry both of you…
Five met your eyes over the portal’s rim. Your excited smile slipped when you looked at him, then at the portal, and back at him. Realization had dawned on you, he could see it in your eyes.
“It isn’t strong enough for both of us.”
Five said it anyway, his throat constricting as he did. His knees were turning into jelly the longer he looked at the portal, realizing the consequences.
Only one of you would be able to go through. He’d lose you either way, and with you maybe also the possibility to ever see his family again. But you could also return to yours, make amends and explain why you’d never come home on that winter day 45 years ago…
Five took a deep breath, then made a decision. “You go through.”
Your beautiful eyes were wide with shock when you looked at him over the portal’s edge.
“What?? No! You need to get back to your family!”
Five growled in frustration. Did you think this was easy for him? He wanted to see his family again, he’d been plagued by nightmares every night to this day of them dying, and him unable to do anything. He had searched desperately for 45 years to find a way to see them again.
But Five loved you. And he’d find another way to return to his time, see his family and hopefully even find you again.
He would do anything to make sure you were safe and happy.
“You got stuck here because of me. I won’t take the choice away from you this time. Go!”
You didn’t listen. Instead, you shook your head, those eyes he loved so much filled with certainty despite the tears running down your cheeks.
“No.”
Five cursed under his breath. Why was this the time you decided to be stubborn?
“Y/n–“
You shook your head, interrupting him.
“No! Listen, you’ve waited for this moment for 45 years. You need to get back to your family. I–” Your voice cracked, shaking so much from the tears that you could barely get the words out. “I’d rather stay here knowing- knowing you’ve made it back home than to– than be in my time knowing I took that chance away from you.”
You were openly sobbing now, tears streaming down your face.
The portal cracked and sizzled. It wouldn’t hold much longer…
A decision had to be made.
Five fought for control over his emotions, but in the end, he started crying as well, a pained sob clawing its way up from deep inside his chest.
“I love you!” He called over the noise of the portal, almost choking on the words.
You let out a sob, nodding your head in response. “I love you too…”
With a last look at your tearstained face, Five jumped through the portal.
He’d expected the weird pull in his lower belly like always when he jumped in time. He hadn’t expected the bone numbing pain that wrecked his body, or the hot flash up his spine that blinded him for a moment.
With a painful thud, Five landed on wet, hard ground. He mumbled a harsh curse, wiping away the tears on his face roughly. His body hurt from the jump and the fall, but it couldn’t compare to the pain in his chest from knowing he’d never see you again.
“Five??”
Five’s head shot up.
And there they were, his siblings – but older than when he’d left them all those years ago. They all looked just like they had on that terrible day where he’d jumped into the future and found them all dead. The day the world ended.
The same day that had also brought you into his life.
“Little Number Five…” Klaus looked at him in disbelief, a cigarette dangling forgotten from his hand. Five couldn’t believe he’d actually missed his idiotic brother.
The words registered. He looked down, seeing that his clothes were a couple sizes too wide, and his feet barely fit into the big shoes he’d been wearing without issues until now.
“Shit…”
Five grumbled a few more curses under his breath. He tried to walk without falling on his face in the clothes that didn’t fit his 13-year-old body.
The crack of thunder echoed behind him.
Five turned around, frowning in confusion, when another portal opened up in the sky, this one a lot stronger than the one he’d used. Through the sizzling, whirling light he could see you, your body being wrecked by the same force that had almost split his brain in half upon arrival.
You landed face first in the wet leaves.
“Y/n!”
Five hurried towards you, stumbling over the pant legs that were way too long for him. He let himself fall to the ground next to you, not caring about the wet floor that soaked his clothes and left him shivering in the cold air.
“Y/n! Hey love, look at me! We made it…”
You blinked your eyes open, and they widened instantly as you saw his face – the face of the boy who had brought you into the future all those years ago.
“Am I dreaming?”
Five choked out a laugh. He cradled your face in his hands as you slowly sat up, a lump in his throat. Relief washed over him like a wave, so intense that, hadn’t he been kneeling, his legs would’ve given out beneath him.
Your eyes flitted over his young face in confusion, then around the garden.
“Am I dead?”
Five let out another laugh. It was the first real, happy laugh in a while.
“No, love, you made it! We made it!”
Your eyes were wide when you looked at him, and Five just pulled you into a kiss before wrapping his arms around you and hugging you close. He’d never let you go ever again, he swore it.
You buried your face in his neck, clinging to him like your life depended on it. Your body had grown young again, but your scent was still the same, and so was the way your hands wrapped around the back of his neck and pulled him close when he let go to kiss you again.
Someone loudly cleared their throat somewhere in the background.
Five turned away from you, back to his family who were standing there, staring at them in shock and confusion.
“Everyone, this is Y/n!”
You gave a shy wave while you stood up, then wrapped your arm around yourself to keep the shirt pressed against your now young body.
Five handed you his way too big jacket so you could cover yourself. Then he grabbed your free hand, pulling you past his confused siblings and into the mansion. He’d explain everything later… probably.
“Let’s go save the damn world!”