Title: We Use Code Names For Protection, But They Don't Protect The Heart

Summary: 'Consequences of the job,' said the Handler and shrugged her shoulders, 'Shame, she's a lovely little thing. Don't get attached.'

Five was tempted to roll his eyes as he said automatically, 'Won't be a problem.'

AU, Five and Vanya

Disclaimer: Most of the time, I wonder if I own my soul, but I know for sure I don't own the Umbrella Academy

The woman with white hair sitting behind a large conference table let out an annoying sigh, 'Mind you stop doing that?'

'Doing what?' he asked his eyes never leaving the hallway behind the glass which was separating the room from the lobby, 'I am not doing anything.'

'Really?' she asked almost amused but he could detect the annoyance, 'And here I was thinking you were sulking like a little boy, my mistake.'

He shot her a look, 'I'm not sulking.'

'Of course not.'

He turned around to look at her, 'Tell me again, why do you find this to be a good idea? A rookie on such a highly important assignment.'

'Don't go all mighty on me,' she said told him firmly, 'And do I need to remind you that you were once rookie as green as they come? Considering how highly you think of yourself, you cleaned up nicely, didn't you?'

He pushed down the urge to roll his eyes and remained looking at the lobby until he noticed the elevator door to open and a woman walk in.

That couldn't be her.

It was the first thing which crossed his mind as he watched the woman walk to the receptionist and Gloria to led her toward the conference room.

He didn't move from the glass to take his seat and instead continue to follow her with his gaze as Gloria opened the door and led her in.

Honestly, he had been pretty hostile toward the idea to begin with. It was true that over a course of the seven months they were running in circles not being able to get any closer toward their target and the organization.

Orchestra Verdammten appeared on the outside a simple club for an elite high society who took time and pleasure in activities which rich people often did like donating, organizing balls, charity events, and others. However, his agency had a suspicious that apart from the generous donations for the less fortunate, they also appeared to be founding many recent world wide bombing attacks if not directly being behind them. The evidence was weak and circumstantial so far, but he had a pretty good hunch it was true. Nothing good ever came from a closed high society club before.

Due to this they had been trying to infiltrate the organization for months through various of way and channels only to come out empty handed and kicked out never making it further to anything worth their time and interest.

The main problem was proven to be a man who everyone referred to as the Conductor, who was supposedly the leader of the ground. It was impossible to get close to him and so far all their attempts were proven a failure. It didn't matter how good agents they sent in as recruits it was as if the Conductor managed to see through them every time. He never seemed to leave their main location in the mansion in the uptown and apart from the nickname he never revealed his identity at least not to the recruits.

This caused them to try look for another way by trying to recruit one of the followers Orchestra Verdammten. They've done this in the past and although he was less than pleased about it, it did prove to be useful. The recruits were so far ex-military or law enforcement, but looking at this woman who couldn't be more than 5'1 to nothing he couldn't imagine her being either.

As she entered the Handler stood up and shook her hand during introduction. When the woman, Ms. Hargreeves, rose her hand toward him, he offered her a short nod before he went to sit down much to her surprise and the Handler's annoyed sighed.

'We do not use real names in this place, Ms. Hargreeves so from now on we will refer to you as the Violin due to your connection with the Orchestra Verdammten,' explained the Handler upfront, 'We also advise you not to tell your name to anyone outside of this conference room. It's protocol. From now on you can refer to me as the Handler and my associate is Number Five, his is also tasked with leading the assignment.'

The woman nodded slowly taking it all in.

'Good, now if you could for the record explain again your association to Orchestra Verdammten,' said the Handler and started the recording just as Gloria knocked on the door signalling her she had a private phone call.

The Handler gave him a sharp look probably urging him to be on his best behaviour before she offered the Violin a sweet smile and left.

'You can start,' told her Five and leaned back against his chair.

'Well, I play the violin in a concert hall in the city called the…,'she paused and looked at Five as if silently asking him if she could reveal the name. At least she wasn't completely stupid.

He offered her a short nod and she continued, 'Called the Icarus. I've been there for over five years now. About a year ago I was approached after the concert by a man, Mr. Jenkins who explained that he works for another man who is interested in young talented musicians. He explained that his employer is a bit of an eccentric man who doesn't like to be publicizes so he prefers to stay anonymous. He said that this man heard me play during some of my performances as well as practices-'

This caught Five's interest, 'Do people often come to your practices? Strangers?'

The Violin shook her head, 'No. If I am at home, it's just me practicing behind closed doors, and at Icarus I only get to practice when we don't have a concert. If that is the case then the whole building is closed for public so I really don't know how he could have heard me. I,' she looked a bit embarrassed as she admitted, 'I only play the 3rd chair so if he heard me doing a concert I can't imagine he would actually notice me among all of my colleagues.'

Five watched her for a moment gathering all she told him, 'But he did.'

'Yes. Mr. Jenkins offered me a small job,' she continued, 'he said his employer would like to hear me in person and would even pay for a private performance. I…I was reclusive at first, suspicious,' she said and looked a bit lost in thoughts, 'It sounded too strange.'

'You declined,' said Five, and she nodded, 'For the first two months. Then my brother got into this situation, and they offered again this time to help him out.'

'What was the situation?'

She looked nervous so he knew right away it was something illegal, 'Violin, I don't give a shit about whatever law he broke, I want to know it to get a better picture about my mission.'

She nodded as she confessed, 'Drug possession. I agreed and the next thing I knew all charges were dropped. I started to visit. At first it was supposed to be just that one performance, but I guess I got…very enchanted by the whole place. It was very ease to fall into it. They all have this just way about them like the world is just full of possibilities if you take them, positive thinking, all seemed very positive and genuinely good. It didn't sound like propaganda or like they were faking it. It really did sound like they wanted to make the world a better place.'

'But?'

She looked away, 'But then they started to say other things or maybe they always said them, but I just didn't pay attention to them. I realized they believe that all the bad in the world is caused by overpopulation of violent and evil people, and that they believe the world needs a purge or an apocalypse to be reborn again-'

'Let me guess with only a handful of chose ones?' he asked, and she nodded, 'That was when I realized I wanted nothing to do with it. I was scared to go to the police because if they had such connections, but I tried to find someone to talk to that was when one of your guys approached me.'

Five nodded taking it all in. It got him a lot of new and useful information. He was pleased with it. It was more than they got over the course of their investigation, but he still didn't like the idea of working with an outsider. That being said, he couldn't decide who the woman used to work for before.

She was so petite, and quiet it was unimaginable for him to be with the law enforcement, military or any organization he knew.

'Tell me why didn't you go to someone you trusted first? Someone from your old contacts? Old superior officers? Or mentors?' he asked actually curious about.

He watched as the Violin slowly blinked, 'Uh, excuse me who?'

Five frowned a bit, 'Someone from your previous job?'

When she still looked at him like she had no idea what he meant, he realized what was happening and stood up nearly knocking the chair over.

'Is everything-'

'Stay here!' he ordered her with a stone cold voice before he was out of the door and in Handler's office.

She was on her special red phone. He didn't bother with her gesture to wait, and immediately ended the call on his own earning a glare from her, 'You know you're getting ruder every day.'

'She's a civilian,' he said in return.

'Oh,' said the Handler, but she looked anything but surprised still holding the phone in her hand.

Five shook his head in disbelieve, 'We can't work with civilians, and you know this. She won't pull it off she will get herself kill, and we will only lose an advantage of them not knowing we're on to them.'

The Handler raised her eyebrows, 'Given the amount of people we tried to get in, it's fair to say they know.'

'This isn't a joke,' he said losing his patience with his boss once again.

She looked over at him for a moment before she put the phone down finally giving him attention, 'Nothing we ever do here, Number Five, is a joke. We either get the job done or people, thousand, ten-thousands, millions, and sometime billions will die. Right now, we have nothing, less than nothing on the Orchestra, and here out nowhere comes this lovely woman, who has the excess we had been craving and failing to get for months.'

She crossed her arms over her chest, 'So tell me are you really going to pass up the opportunity to get these people, save lives and prove once again why are you my best operative?'

He watched her. He knew she was playing him. He knew she was manipulating him like always to get what she wanted, and he was stupidly falling for it all the same. She really was the head bitch around all of them.

'She's not trained.'

'She doesn't need to be trained. She just needs to tell us what she will see and hear. Even an idiot can do that, but I have a feeling she's a bit smarter than that, don't you?' she added a small smirk at the end and for that alone, he wanted to tell her to fuck off, but as much as he hated to admit it. She had a point.

He looked away to the direction of the door as if he could somehow see the woman in the conference room. Even if he couldn't he could clearly picture her sitting there still nervous and inexperienced, so painfully not aware of what she was getting herself into.

Five felt the Handler move closer to stand beside him, 'Besides, she already knows too much for us to just let her go.'

'I know,' he said and turned around to look at her, 'But I doubt she will make it out alive, you know that right?'

'Consequences of the job,' said the Handler and shrugged her shoulders, 'Shame, she's a lovely little thing.' A moment passed before she added, 'Don't get attached.'

Five was tempted to roll his eyes as he said automatically, 'Won't be a problem.'

'You're shaking,' commented Five at the tremble her body was in as he stepped closer to her to put the microphone on her.

'You're too stressed out,' he told her noting not for the first time that she looked too suspicious. They will catch her with the first glance. She won't make it out.

'I-Isn't everyone when they…do this?' she asked and looked up at him.

It was evidential that she was nervous. This wouldn't end well, and the Handler had lost her mind if she thought it would. And he lost his mind for listening to her.

'No, because usually we work only with people who know what they are getting into,' he said, and she quickly averted her gaze from him. He didn't feel bad about it. She should be afraid and finally grasp what the situation she was in was about. This wasn't a romance novel or a child play, this was life or death if she made the wrong mistake.

He nodded at simple blue buttoned up blouse, 'Strip it down.'

For a second the nervousness was gone replaced with shock as her eyes snapped back at his.

A moment had passed, and he sighed losing his patience a bit, but trying to look as unimpressed and composed as always, 'I need to put the wire on you.'

She nodded seemingly breaking from her state before she slowly unbuttoned her blouse her hands shaking all the way to the last one.

He should have probably offered her some privacy, but for some reason he wanted her to be as uncomfortable as possible to know what she got herself into by saying yes. Civilians like her had no place here. She should have known better than to agree to this.

She let the blouse slide from her shoulders before she put it on the small table next to them.

Five did a quick observation of her alabaster skin and not so cheap blue bra pausing with the new piece of information. He was a bit taken back by the fact that the bra was obviously expensive. The rest of the Violin's clothing look like she had it for years but apparently she was one of those women who liked to spent money only on a particular piece of the wardrobe, some on skirts, some on shoes and some on underwear.

He prepared the duck tape and stepped closer to her.

His eyes noticed she got goosebumps all over her body now, including her chest and the even breasts as far as the lack of the fabric of the bra was allowing him to see.

When his finger touched her just above her left breast she jerked away from him, 'Jesus.'

'What?' he frowned taken back her sudden jump scare.

She shook her head, 'Your hands are like ice. Can't you warm them up?'

'Seriously?' he asked annoyed. This was why he hated to work with civilians.

'For the love of-,' suddenly she grabbed his hands into hers and brought them to her mouth.

The gesture left him confused and surprised for a second before she blew hot breath on his hands warming them up a bit. He would be lying if the moment the breath hit his skin, he didn't feel a spark of arousal. Apparently one part of him liked something about her after all.

Swallowing a bit he waited until she let go of his hands and nodded, 'There. It should be alright now.'

She looked a bit to the side exposing her neck although he tried not to notice. There was something about her fair skin colour which made him wonder what would it look like if he gripped her a bit harder, not to bruise but maybe just to make it a bit red.

'All done,' he said as he finished making extra sure he didn't touch her more than necessary, 'You can get dressed again.'

He turned around and waited a few moments before he was sure she was dressed again.

'Can we go over it again?' she asked suddenly.

Five turned around putting his hands behind his back, 'Do you need it?'

'No, but I think you want to.'

He watched her for a moment. She wasn't wrong.

'You will take a cab from one street over and go straight to the mansion. Once inside all you need to do is your job, play for him and then just listen to him as always. Don't bring any unwanted attention to you. Don't act suspicious. Don't ask anything which would make you look snoopy. We just need him to talk about his propaganda. It will be enough.'

She nodded at him, and he wished it would somehow ease his own nerves, but it didn't. Working with civilians was never a good idea.

He took the panic button and hand it to her, 'Keep it in your pocket. If you feel threatened in any way press it, and we will come in. Don't play hero, don't overdue it. You have one job. This isn't an episode in your favourite spy TV show. This is real life. People get hurt and die. I know you think you're all brave-'

'Are you kidding me?' she asked shaking her head, 'This is the scariest thing I ever did.'

Five shook his head. He didn't understand it. He didn't understand why would someone like her who looked like she would rather spent her days in a quiet bookstore or in her bedroom than to go out all was playing spy here. 'Then why?'

She watched him confused before she chuckled like he was the clueless one and like it was the most obvious thing in the world, 'Because it's the right thing to do.'

She shrugged her shoulders, 'Isn't that why you do this?'

He wished he could laugh at her naivety, but instead he felt something else. Shame, that he didn't see it that way or even admiration that she did?

For a moment it was hard to look at her. He stepped away creating distance just as the door opened and the Handler came in, 'It's time.'

Five looked over at Vanya who visibly shivered but still nodded.

It really was time.

'She's good,' commented the Handler by his side as they heard her play through the listening device in the van parked a street over from the back entrance. They couldn't come closer unless they wanted to raise suspicion, and he knew this, but he still felt like he would be comfortable or less tense if they did.

He nodded shortly although he was barely paying much attention to her playing more focusing on the sounds beyond the violin which were none. No one moved, no one spoke, it was like everyone in the room just sat or stood there and listened to her play.

The Violin ended, and there was applause a pretty loud one which meant there were at least 10-15 people inside the room.

'Ah, my darling, it was amazing as always,' said a male voice suddenly and Five snapped his fingers at another agent to run voice recognition. He doubted there would be any luck, but it was worth the shot.

'Thank you, sir,' in her defense her voice didn't jump as much as he expected it to. As far as he noticed her play it was flawless. It might have eased her nerves to play.

'How have you been my child? How is your brother?'

The man processed to ask the violin about her life for a good while before someone else came to tell him that it was time.

After that Five and everyone in the van listened to what essentially became a seminar about how only high class society were meant to live on earth and everyone else was too unimportant or just mindless mass who deserved to die because they were violent and corrupted.

He was truly a madman, and it didn't take long for Five to realize why Violin got so scared. His words were terrifying. He really wanted to end the world and only allow handful of his chosen ones to survive it.

'No luck yet,' commented the agent about the voice recognition.

'We didn't hope it would,' said Five and sighed annoyed. This would be proved to be quiet a problem.

The man's monologue ended and people started to talk to each other making it hard to make out what were they saying before he heard a low and clear voice of another man meaning he must have been talking really closely and directly to the Violin.

'Hi, how are you? Did you got home safe last time?' asked someone in a friendly manner.

'Yes, thank you. It wasn't a big deal,' she assured him and Five noticed that she wasn't being just polite she was being nice in return.

'Yes, but I would have felt better if I took you home myself,' he said and the violin let out a nervous laugh which made Five pause. She sounded normal while talking to the Conductor why was she so strange now, 'It wasn't a big deal honestly.'

Five couldn't help but analyzed the way the man kept on talking to her sensing that beyond the friendly tone, there was something not so friendly right underneath it. Something which would have caused him a red flag and to consider the man was compromised or hiding something.

All in all the evening ended, and the Violin was allowed to go home. She called the cab which was already their own man who drove her safely to their rendezvous point while making sure she wasn't followed.

The Handler and him briefed her a bit, but the information she got them with the wire was more than enough for day one. He felt a bit calmer now knowing she got in, got what they needed and out without dragging unwanted attention toward her, maybe it could work. Just maybe.

As he put the wire carefully off her, he had a strange urge to tell her she was good or that she did well, but he didn't.

Instead he looked at her to make sure he would catch her reaction as he said, 'Does Jenkins often talk to you like that?'

'Like what?' she asked as she was buttoning up her blouse again.

'With passive aggressive manipulation,' he said calmly and put his hands behind his back, 'He approached you and acted all nice, but he was coming on to you pretty strongly, don't you think?'

She watched him for a moment before she looked away, 'I think he likes me. He tried to get me out for coffee a couple of times.'

'Why did you decline?'

'I'm not a coffee person,' she said, and he gave her a look not bothering to cover his annoyance with her answer.

She crumbled under his gaze and admitted finally, 'He's not my type. He's sweet but I see him more as a friend, or I did before I found out what the whole Orchestra was into.'

Five frowned a bit, 'Will it be a problem? Will him liking you be a problem?'

'No?' she asked confused, and he pressed on, 'He will most likely want to be close to you and spent time with you. That could be a problem.'

She blinked and shook her head, 'It won't. I don't like him at all, and I made it clear.'

'Yet he still comes onto you rather strongly,' he said and she paused seemingly out of words.

He watched her for a moment before he asked, 'Is there a chance that the Conductor might be interested in you sexually or romantically?'

He saw the shock cross her face before her cheeks went a bit red, 'God, no.'

'Are you certain?'

Vanya nodded, 'Yes, he…I thought that he might want to, but after I started playing for him it was obvious he sees me as a daughter. He…I think he prefers man anyway. He just... He has this way about him. I can't explain it.'

He took the information into consideration before he finally allowed her a way out of the misery of the conversation by giving her advice, 'If you want to get rid of Jenkins tell him you're seeing someone. Men like him have a tendency to view woman as property of a man which is why they essentially do once they are in a relationship with her. If you belong to someone else, he won't back off completely, but he will try to keep a bigger distance.'

The Violin watched him for a moment before she nodded, 'Thank you.'

She put on her coat and went to leave almost by the door when he suddenly called out surprising both of them, 'You did well today.'

The surprise on her face was quickly replaced with a bright smile which caused something warm to spread inside him for a moment.

She offered him a short wave before she was out of the door leaving him feeling confused and upset for some reason.

It had been two month now since the Violin joined the operation, and Number Five didn't like it. The reports and gathering information was going smoothly for the most part. The Violin was let in on important things such as planned operations as well as money transfers.

Unhappy to admit it, he had to.

The Violin was good. She possessed a certain way about her which softly whispered naïve and innocent that made people overlook her as a potential threat. Everything about her was too quiet and soft which he admired. Whenever he walked into a room all eyes were constantly on him, but with her it was like she was invisible. He was sure that even he himself would have overlooked her if they met in a different way, not giving her a second spared look or thought.

They already had a case and evidence, but the Handle said it was not enough. They needed a smoking gun which would link Orchestra Verdammten and the Conductor without a doubt to a bombing which already happened or a new one which they would prevent.

All in all everything was going according to plan except one thing. He didn't like working with the Violin anymore. It wasn't the civilian thing. In fact it was probably even better than if she was trained because she just looked so non-threatening it worked in their favour. He was more than fine with that now. If he wasn't so proud he would even admit to the Handler that he was wrong, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

It was something else. He was doing the one thing the Handler told him not to. He was getting attached to the woman.

She was just…different.

In his line of work, he only met three types of people, allies, threats, civilians. It was a good way to separate them in his mind and it proved to be useful many times during operations.

However, when it came to her, he stopped being so sure he could divide the people like that. She was a civilian and an ally now, but she was also posing a threat now. It wasn't even the threat of leaking information or tanking the operation. It was threatening the safety of his own clear mind.

It didn't happen all at once, which might have gotten him a chance to block it all together as a defense mechanism. It happened slowly for days without him noticing until it was all too much for him to ignore anymore.

If he looked back it might have started with her fancy bra and how she warmed his hands he put that first wire on her. Since then it became somewhat of a ritual of theirs that she would strip her top clothing revealing a new piece of underwear while he would warm his hands before he would put it on her. He started to think if she wasn't doing it on purpose because some of pieces she was wearing were quite daring and mouth watering. Still, if it was just the sexual attraction that would be fine. He was attracted to a lot of women. Even the Handle who was psychotic bitch, he would rather shot himself on the spot then to make a move on her or let her make one on him, but at times he did find her dominance and manipulation intriguing. Anyway, if it would have been just attraction, it wouldn't be a problem. He had good self control and a little bit of sexual tension was always fun.

But it wasn't just the growing sexual tension. It was far worse. He caught feelings.

Like he said, it creeped on him slowly piling up before it was too late to do anything about it. It was in the little things like how she patiently listen to everything he told her and actually did all of it proving to him she wasn't just a dump or naïve civilian. It was the fact that when they were planning something for school full of kinds she shook so hard she had to grab his hands when the Handler was not looking. It was the fact that he could smell peaches whenever she pulled down the tie from her hair and spread it over her shoulders before putting it back when she was sitting next to him in close proximity. It was in the way she spoke all soft, but sometimes just sometimes not so much like there was a hidden darkness and danger to her, he was all too eager to unleash. It was things like her not being a coffee person but moaning actually fucking moaning in front of him in bliss when he brought her coffee from his favourite place telling her she just didn't know good coffee before.

He wanted it to only be sexual, but it wasn't. Not with the way she freaked out sometimes, and he felt all of his body react wanting to comfort her. He never did but he was tearing himself on the inside to do so. Not with the way she smiled at him sometimes, and he found himself smiling back like an idiot feeling proud like he fucking achieved something great by making her smile.

He caught feelings, bad, and he hated every moment of it knowing it wouldn't end well or it would, and she would be out of his life for good.

Some professional he was if all it took was a woman to smile at him, and he wanted pull her close and hold her tight and fuck her with her bra still on. He was mostly feeling turn on or soft around her these days. Maybe if he did fuck her some of all of that would fell off…

He imagined her sitting on the table while he would bury himself into her. She was always so quiet it made him wonder how loud he would make her scream.

Either way, he didn't like working with the Violin anymore. He didn't like the way he now felt dread every time she went into the mansion or how something inside him was running around like an angry beats whenever Jenkins approached her to talk like just now.

'So how are you and your guy?' he heard Jenkins ask over the wire. Clearly Five miscalculated when he assumed he would respect another man's territory. He didn't know whether that gave him a point for not being a total dick to see a woman as someone's property or took a point for being such a dick that he tried to hit on her despite it.

'Good,' she said shortly and politely as always.

'So what's he like? You never talk about him, why is that?' he asked and Five rolled his eyes. He seriously didn't like the guy.

'He's okay.'

'What does he do?'

'He works for a travelling agency,' she explained. It was a nice touch since their headquarters masked under a travelling agency so if she was followed it would explain why she went there so often. Smart girl.

'What's he like?' Jenkins continued with his investigation which annoyed Number Five to no end.

He really hoped the man would just drop it and stop embarrassing himself.

'He's a bit strict, sometimes making it sound like he's careless, but he has a good heart,' she said which cause Five to blink. That was an odd way to describe someone. She could have just said he was nice, and she loved him or something.

'Any chance I know him?'

'Doubt that. He's name is James and he's tall, dark hair, green eyes,' she said causally, and he couldn't help a small smirk play across his face before he pushed it away. Good to know he was her type.

'Do you love him?' He asked and Five couldn't push back a groan. Who asks that?

She was quiet for a while, he could picture her glaring at him. He had seen it before, and it got him a mix rush of genuinely worried and thrilled.

'I think that's none of your business,' she said her voice detached. Well, she could apparently be very cold as well. Good. It was good to know she wasn't just sweet and naïve. She could handle the world around her.

'It's not a hard question-'

'Is there a problem?' he heard a woman, who he by now recognized as Clarissa Haze to ask, the Conductor's second in command.

Jenkins apologized and left while the woman lightly chatted with the Violin but from her answers it was clear she was upset.

'You want me to erase it?' asked Hazel by his side. The Handler did not join them today.

'Erase what?' asked Five frowning that he had to talk to him and not listen to the Violin.

'You're fucking her, I don't think you want to the Handle to know,' he said casually, but Five's eyes almost fell out, 'I-what?'

Hazel smirked, 'Don't bother. Everyone knows you watch her like you want to press her against the wall any second, not to mention she was just talking about you.'

'What are you talking about? She made someone up,' argued Five immediately feeling like he should defend himself.

Hazel shook his head, 'Whatever man.'

'I mean it. She wasn't talking about me,' he said firmly and the other agents rose his hands in defense, 'Alright. My bad.'

Five returned back to the computer. The nerves on that guy sometimes…

'Delete it,' he found himself saying. Even if it didn't mean anything if Hazel caught on to it, the Handler would as well, and he rather not have to deal with her about this right now.

The man didn't comment it just deleted the sequence about him-or his lookalike.

There was a momentary pause before Five said, 'I'm not fucking her by the way.'

Hazel's fingers paused on the keyboard before he looked at him, 'Well, that might be worse.'

Five looked at him confused.

'Don't get me wrong. Getting involved with her during an operation would be bad. You would be asking for a disaster to happen. One way or another, but the fact that you're not sleeping with her means she's in your system means you get distracted easily.'

'So what? You want me to bend her over and get it out? Clear my head of her?' he almost snapped at Hazel which proved just how bad he had it for her.

The man looked back at the computer, 'Like I said sleeping with her would be bad too. There is no easy way around this.'

'Great,' said Five sarcastically.

They were quiet for a moment before Hazel said, 'You like her.'

'It's just sexual,' admitted Five not sure why. Maybe he just needed to talk with someone about it. He didn't have much of a life outside the work. If he wasn't on an assignment, he went home to sleep or read before he was back in the office. He lost count of the times he slept on his couch. So far he didn't mind it, at work he always had something to do. At home…it was quiet. It left him just to his thoughts which sometimes wouldn't leave him alone.

'No, you're too worried about her-'

'Because she's a civilian,' argued Five. He didn't need anyone to know about what he was going through with her.

'And you're jealous.'

That shut him up for a moment, 'Let's just get back to work.'

'Sure, but for the record. When the operation will be over, she will be just a nice woman who you like and are attracted to,' said Hazel, 'It wouldn't be the worst idea to have someone waiting for you at home.'

'You're not gonna tell me about your Agnes again?' asked Five annoyed. The man wouldn't shut up about her.

He gave him a big smile which made him roll his eyes.

'All I'm saying is everyone can have a life outside of this job. A good life, and the fact that Violin is here and knows what this works really is about could be good for you. It's good to have someone who understands you, and what you go through,' said Hazel.

Five didn't comment on any of that and they continued with their work. If by the end of the day he thought about her as he went to bed and imagined what would it be like to have her lying next to him right then, not even for sex, just to lie next to her, he blamed it all on Hazel.

He was sitting next to her by the large table in the briefing room. Apart from recording what went on in the mansion she was also tasked to help them draw a picture of the Conductor and then search through the international database his matches to see if anyone would fit. It was a long shot since they suspected the man hadn't left the mansion in at least ten years, but everything was worth the try.

He was working on the new report when her phone rang and she looked at the screen for a second before she tuned it down ignoring the call.

'Boyfriend?' he asked before he knew what he was doing. Apparently it was the wrong thing to ask because he felt her jump on her chair like he electrocuted her.

He looked at her, and she looked away once again looking a bit embarrassed, 'Nope, just my brother.'

Suspicious, but he let it slide and continued while she went through another picture.

Once again the phone rang and The Violin sighed and ended the call.

'Still brother?' he asked, and she nodded, 'He was a bit mean to me yesterday now he wants to apologize, but I'm not in the mood for that.'

'Sounds like he was a lot of mean,' said Five and stopped typing all together, 'He's in trouble again?'

She shrugged her shoulders, 'I don't know. Maybe, or maybe I'm just being paranoid. This job is getting to me a bit.'

It would have sounded bad but she offered him a small smile which he returned in an instant. Gosh. He had it bad.

'Already analyzing everything and suspecting?' he asked, and she giggled which made him weak.

'Yup, speculating which of my neighbors is a secret spy.'

'Statistically one of a twenty,' he told her, and she grinned before she saw that he was serious.

'Alright, I think I will put locks on my windows from now on,' she said almost absently.

'You should have them by now,' he said as a matter of fact.

'I live on the second floor, Five.'

'Rapists and assassins can climb,' he said, and she sighed a bit but looked calmer now.

They worked a bit more before she suddenly said, 'Uh, about yesterday I couldn't really think up of anyone for the cover. I mean it seemed smart to explain the agency, but-'

'No, it was very smart. You're a quick study. If you were followed this would explain why you're here all the time,' he said not even surprised he complimented her so much. He had lost it all together.

She nodded with a tight smile, and he understood she also meant the other thing.

'You did good, Vanya.'

She gasped at the mention of her real name, and he took a little pride in it hoping the Handler wouldn't pull out the footage of this room any time soon.

'I thought we only use code names around here,' she said after what seemed like the longest time.

'We do.'

'Does that mean you will tell me your name? Your real name?'

'You wouldn't be able to use it.'

'I wouldn't use it,' she told him quickly before she shrugged, 'It would be just nice to know who I'm dealing with.'

He watched her for a moment before he typed again feeling her gaze still on him for a moment before she must have assumed he wouldn't tell her.

That was when he grabbed her elbow and pushed the laptop toward her revealing his identity in the new paragraph.

She gave him the proudest look he ever saw on her before he deleted the name and returned to his work.

'It's nice to meet you.'

He allowed himself to smirk, 'You too.'

Some more time went by before he was walking into her apartment explaining to the police officer that he was her boyfriend as she was standing in her pajamas talking to a detective. She looked so fragile and small standing in the chaos of her living room which was clearly broken into and searched while the detectives towered over her.

'Do you know this man?' asked the officer who was by the door.

She looked over at him even in all the chaos she around her she smiled a tiny bit and nodded, 'Yes, he's my…boyfriend.' The slight pause went unnoticed by the police apparently because they allowed him to come in.

He immediately went into agent mode hugging her and asking if she was okay. If he hugged her for a second longer than necessary he would blame it on being in the character of a concerned boyfriend not on the fact that the moment he woke up to Handler's call, he pictured The Violin dead in a pool of blood on her carpet. He would also blame the fact that he put his hand on her neck and made her look into his eyes and tell him how she really was before finally accepting she okay on being in character. Nothing weird about it.

He kept his arm around her all the time as she told him and the detectives how she woke up to some noise in her living room so she locked her bedroom door went to the bathroom and locked herself there as well while calling the police. She admitted to him when they were alone, that she called the secure phone line first just in case.

She was a civilian who came to work for them on their own of course they had her bugged, but the surveillance revealed only that they must have really been just two burglars. Apparently a couple of neighborhoods apartments got hit as well.

She wasn't allowed to hear the surveillance or know about it, but she was a fast learner so she walked to him the next day with her phone inside her hand looking completely stoic.

'Could you check…if the voices from your surveillance match this one?' she asked, her face completely pale like she was going to be sick.

He took the phone, and she nodded for him to dial the number. The phone rang before it went into voicemail which was a few sequenced recording.

'It's doesn't match,' he told her after he ended the call and returned the call.

The moment he said it, her legs gave up, and she almost fell but he quickly caught her pulling her toward him, 'Hey, hey, come on. Look at me.'

She looked her face now so clearly showing the fear she was so desperate to keep inside.

'Was that your brother's number?' he asked a bit softer, and she nodded not being able to say anything.

'Come on, let's sit you down for a moment.'

He sat her down in her office, and she told him all about her brother.

'We're not real siblings like at all. We met in foster care, and sort of always ended up together in the same houses with the same people so we started to call each other siblings. Coping mechanism of unwanted kids,' she said trying to light it up but failing.

'Sometimes we fight and fall apart and then we come back to each other. He told me some pretty bad things last time, I know he was pissed but still, so I dodged his calls for a while to get even,' she looked guilty when she said the next part, 'Now he won't answer mine, and I have no idea where or what…'

His hand was on her shoulder in a second, and she pressed her cheek against it and closed her eyes.

'I will look for him,' he said, and she slowly sighed and opened her eyes looking tired as well. He couldn't imagine she would sleep well last night. Even if she was very brave, she was also very shaken someone came into her home like that.

'You don't have to,' she said but he could see the gratitude her eyes. She still wasn't a perfect, 'I want to.'

His hand remained on her shoulder a moment longer as she nodded.

'Go home get some sleep.'

She looked away, 'I can't. I freak out whenever I hear any noise like I will wake up and they will still be there.'

It wasn't rational, but it was fear. It rarely was rational anyway. As he paid a closer look to her now he spotted just how a mess she was. She was jumpy and uncared for today with her hair a bit of a mess and her clothes wrecked and her eyes screamed tired.

'Lie down on the couch,' he said nodding at it.

The Violin blinked before she turned to look at the couch and then back at him like she didn't understand.

He rolled his eyes and sat her down, 'Lie down and try to get some sleep. I will order them not to disturb you. It's the safest place imaginable. Once you get some rest, you'll be good as new,' he said and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. He didn't even stop this time to over think it.

She was quiet for a while before she spoke, 'You know when I first showed up, I thought you didn't really like me.'

He smirked deciding to be honest, 'When you first showed up I really didn't like you.'

She chuckled and pushed at him a bit. Not hard, not to actually push him away, but the fact that she did and that she even chuckled got him to smile at her feeling once again so tender for her.

'Do you like me now?' she asked. Once again with the boldness she sometimes displayed, and he had no idea how to handle.

As fun as this was, he couldn't lose himself. Not completely, not yet at least. They still had work to do.

He pushed her a bit against the couch, 'Lie down.'

She nodded to herself and did as she was told. When she dozed off after like ten minutes he put down his jacket and threw it over her shoulders like a blanket. Only when he was sure she was asleep he allowed himself to say.

'I like you a lot.'

'I don't think it's about saving the wealthy people anymore,' said The Violin as he was putting on her the new wire. Today she had a red bra. He wondered if she was planning to kill him one of these days with her choices of underwear. He could only imagine if her panties matched up. Also ever since he got to hug her with no bra on, he couldn't help but play with that idea that one day she would come braless to work.

Wouldn't that be a fun idea?

'How come?'

'It just feels like he doesn't really like his wealthy followers either,' she said, 'It feels like he doesn't like anyone. He's just like waiting and using them, but didn't really plan for them to survive the apocalypse,' she said.

Five watched her for a moment. She wasn't wrong. He noticed it as well. The Conductor smiled and laughed with his friends and the people around him talking about a better world once they cause the apocalypse and wipe out the evil of it, but lately it started to sound fake even to Five.

'You think he has other plans?'

'I don't think he plans on anyone to survive the apocalypse,' she said, 'I think…yesterday he talked about how he never met a pure soul only corrupted ones,' he felt her shiver as he buttoned up her shirt for her. Apparently it was a thing now.

She was always so bold and strong it was easy to forget she was also a bit fragile, and delicate. Sometimes he forgot completely. Other times he knew instantly.

He lifted her chin to make look at him, 'There won't be an apocalypse. We won't let it. We'll stop him. Stop the Orchestra.'

She watched him for a moment before she nodded. She believed him and that was both a wonderful and terrifying thing to have.

Still her words got to him as well so he was extra careful when listening to her tonight. The Handler decided to join as well so once again there were three of them listening to the Violin play and then the talk.

'Dear Vanya,' said the Conductor, 'Do you have a moment?'

'Of course,' she said and Five listened feeling a bit on the edge of the seat they walked in silence.

'I have a surprise for you,' said the man, and if there was ever a time someone sounded sinister it was now.

Five tried to force his breathing to sound normal in front of the Handler while nervously waiting for what will happen.

He heard the door open and then more footsteps and something else to open, 'Oh god.'

His heart stopped when he heard the Violin say that.

'It's beautiful,' she gasped and his heart started to beat again. Not a threat then.

'I had it made especially for you,' said the man soundly proudly.

'It's…amazing, but I couldn't possibly-,' she said sounding very shocked and touched at the same time.

'Oh but I insist. What use would an old man like me have with such a thing?' he asked and it was clear by the sound of his voice he was smiling, 'I was very sorry to hear about your own violin being stolen.'

'Yes, it was, but you didn't have to buy me a new one I already bought a replacement-'

'But this was is far nicer.'

'It is,' she laughed a bit breathless which made Five wonder just how nice the violin the Conductor got her. 'It looks a lot like my own only the color is different. It even has a scratch…here.'

'Maybe you could play it on your concert when you will be first chair,' said the man.

'But I'm not the first chair,' she replied sounding a bit confused.

'But you surely will be soon, we could arrange that if it would please you,' he said.

'I don't understand,' said the Violin, 'Arrange?'

'Oh my dear Vanya, you know we have ways.'

There was a very long pause before the Violin said, 'I didn't…tell you that I was robbed.'

'No, but I heard about it.'

Another pause.

'This is my violin,' she said suddenly coldly and Five and the Handler exchanged a look.

'It is.'

'How did you get it?'

'From the two men who stole it from you. I also wouldn't worry about them every coming your way again.'

Another pause this time her voice was shaking a bit, 'You…killed them?'

'I would rather say we eliminated a waste of space.'

The Handler suddenly put her hand on his elbow and shook her head. He didn't even realize he jerked on the chair ready to barge out and go to the mansion to get her.

'Why me? Why are you so interested in me? I…I don't even know you,' her voice sounded so small.

The man's voice spoke so close all three who were listening jerked a bit, 'Because you're very special, Vanya. More than you can imagine, and I know you very well. I knew you since you were a child.'

'What?' she whispered. He could hear the panic in her voice.

'I knew your mother. I used to love her very much. She was my favourite sister,' said the man and the Handler snapped her fingers at Hazel.

'I don't understand.'

'She and I had the same goal. To save the world, to cleanse it from all the violence and evil. At first we used to believe we could do so by simple eliminating evil and violent people. We thought we could live in a paradise of our own creation with people we could love and trust. Then,' they heard movement, 'but then I understood there are only violent and evil people in the world. We all are monsters underneath the masks of identities and facades. We all are capable of despicable things. With time if there was even a small group of people left we would ultimately bring our world to where it is now, to the bridge of destruction.'

'What about my mother? Why? Why did she leave me? Where is she now?'

'She died of cancer a few years ago. She didn't approve so she tried to get you away from us, from the organization, but we found you. We always found our own. She still believed to world could be saved if we kept only the good people around. She failed to understand there are no good people. Only the ones who had yet to show their true colors which are red and black.'

Five noticed Hazel was breathing a bit harder upon hearing all this or maybe he was too. It sounded so crazy and disturbing. 'What…what do you want from me then?'

'To help me,' he spoke like it was next best thing, 'To help me save this world, Vanya. Help me the way Tamara couldn't.'

There was a pause before they finally heard her speak, 'I…I need to-'

'Think about it?' he asked it was clear he was smiling, 'Of course, please do so.'

He told her goodbye, but she didn't reply. It took everything inside Five not to rush after her as she got into the cab.

They put down their headphones.

'What the hell? Did you know about this?' asked the Handler.

'About what? That she was raise by the system of course, but didn't you hear? She's in shock. She had no clue about what he said.'

The Handler took a deep breath. He couldn't tell if she believed him, 'Get her file. Find everything about her mother. He said her name is Tamara and she's his sister. We have to find out who he is now.'

Five nodded when he noticed a call from the agent who was the cab driver, 'What?'

'She went to a bar.'

'What?' he snapped at the agent.

'She handed me the wire and the violin case, but she said she needed to get out. I think she went for a drink.'

He cursed before he told the Handler who let out a bitter chuckle, 'Fine. Go to her. Keep her in check. Bring the violin to the lab and for fuck's sake no more surprises like this.'

He returned away from her and spoke to the phone, 'Which bar?'

He found her sitting at the stool which was so high she would probably need help getting down. He would find it comical if it wasn't for the situation. Her hands were shaking around a glass while her eyes were in front of her. She looked spaced out.

'Violin,' he said softly. It was a good thing the bar was empty. They were the only two people there apart from the bartender.

'Don't,' she snapped at him shortly, her voice echoing in the empty bar.

'Come on, Violin.'

'No, we're not at work, don't call me that,' she snapped at him shutting him up for a moment to reconsider his approach. Dealing with shaken civilians wasn't his strong suit, but he was getting pretty good with dealing with her when she was like this.

He nodded, 'Alright, Vanya.'

She nodded and looked over at him her eyes red. She must have been crying all the way in the cab maybe even in the mansion.

'I gave the wire and case to-'

'I know,' he touched her shoulder not ready to see her cry, 'I know. You did well.'

She sighed calming herself down before she put her hand over his and squeezed it. He let a few moments go by of them just holding hands over her shoulder like this before he was sure the threat of her bursting into tears passed again.

'Come on, kick that in, and let's get out of here,' he said pulled a couple bills on the counter.

She did as he told her before she stood up and let him lead her to a hotel.

'We're not going to my place?' she asked slowly, and he shook his head, 'Your place is bugged by them too, and my place is bugged by the agency. This seems reasonable at the moment.'

'Won't the Handler be pissed we're nowhere to be found?' she asked as she sat down on first single bed while he moved to the window to look out and check their surroundings. He was almost sure they weren't followed, but almost was never enough.

'Furious, and I will find great joy in it,' he said and Vanya chuckled a bit, 'I think you have a dead wish or something.'

'You can't do this job without developing a craving for a rush,' he said and when she looked at him again it was clear she knew what he meant.

'Do you think it was all true? What the Conductor said?' she asked after a while.

'I think even if it was he said it only to manipulate you,' said Five as a matter of fact.

'But was it true?'

'I don't know yet,' he told her honestly, and she nodded accepting it more than any lie he would offer her.

He stepped closer to her, 'What do you remembered about you mother?'

He studied her file before allowing her to take part in the operation. He knew all about her past, but it was one thing to read about it and another to hear what she witnessed.

'I don't remember much. I was two, and they found me in an Orthodox church,' said Vanya, 'They didn't even know my name so someone suggested Vanya. Later I found out it's not even a typical female Russian name at all. Klaus used to joke and call me Ivan when he found out.'

Five offered her a small smile before he continued, 'Did anyone ever came to see you? Perhaps a woman you didn't recognize but she showed interest in you?'

She shook her head her face blank all of the sudden. 'No. No one ever showed interest in me. No one ever looked for me. I figured she just left me and bailed or when I was younger I used to daydream that she was on a mission, and she had to leave me, but she would come back when it was safe.'

'So you were a James Bond fan,' he teased her a bit.

'Shut up, I was a kid,' her face lightened up a bit.

'What mission?' he asked and laid down on his back looking at her.

'Different every time,' she said before she followed his lead and laid down as well, 'Sometimes it was for the president himself, sometimes for some organization like FBI or CIA or police. Sometimes it was to save the world, other times just to run away from bad guys,' she explained as they watched the ceiling burning their eyes while looking into the light.

'What about you?' she asked and turned to look at him.

He closed his eyes for a moment. He rarely talked about his past, 'My old man sent me to a boarding school in England when I was seven. I think I can count the times I actually saw him on the fingers of both of my hands.'

He felt her take his hand her fingers not warm at all.

He took it and pressed it against his lip not bothering to say anything before he blew hot air on it to warm it up.

The bed shifted, and he knew she rolled onto the side then to look at him while his eyes still stayed shut.

He didn't open them even when he felt it shift again and sensed that she was on top of him. He wasn't sure what he would do if he saw her face as close as it felt with her breath tickling his face.

'Do you think I will make it out alive?'

He led her hand to his chest, where he pressed it against it, 'I wouldn't have it any other way.'

There was silence after that. He wasn't sure if she would say anything to do or not. He wasn't sure if he wanted to.

She sighed before she laid back down her head against his shoulder, 'I feel so tired.'

If he felt the slightest stab of disappointed he pushed it down telling himself that this was what she needed.

'Then sleep, I'll watch over you.'

So he found himself awake in the middle of the night with her pressed against his side. Her breathing was the only sound in the room. He thought back to the first time he ever wondered what it would have been like to actually have someone sleep next to him in the bed, someone like her.

It was just as nice and troubling as he imagined.

When she woke up a little while later and turned to him again, his eyes were closed. This time he saw her even if it was dark.

Her first kiss was like a first sunny day after the winter. It was warm, sweet and very soft like she wasn't sure so she wanted to keep it as light as possible in case of rejection. It was everything he would imagine from her.

He let his hand into her hair and kissed her back first slowly then deeply until he wasn't sure how they were kissing each other because he gave himself into the feeling.

This is a bad idea

He thought as she sat on top of him and put down her jacket and then blouse.

'Do you buy these on purpose?' he asked since now it was pointless to be coy or mind the manners. He was touching her through that red bra of hers which got his head to spin earlier.

She giggled lightly and looked away.

He was a bit annoyed that it was dark now because he was sure she would be that lovely shade of pink she sometimes was.

'No.'

He couldn't help but smirk and sat up with her still in his arms, 'How can you lie so well to the Orchestra and be so shitty now?'

She leaned forward and kissed him again for a couple of moments getting him hooked enough that he buried his hand into her hair, 'Maybe because I don't really want to lie to you.'

He was about to kiss her again when his phone started to blink as he muted it before.

There is a cold storm heading your way.

'We have to go.'

They barely made it out to the street when two black vans cut them in track. It was a sign of weakness, but he still allowed Vanya to take his hand for comfort.

As he woke up from the impact of the small explosion going off in the mansion the next day there was only one thing on his mind.

'Violin! Vanya!' he called though the whole house until he found her on the ground covered in ash and dust lying still like Sleeping Beauty.

'Hey-hey, come on, come on, damn it!' he snapped at her pulling her into his arms trying to push her hair out of her pale face.

He was right. Working for with a civilian was a disaster waiting to happen.

'You're a walking mess you know that?' asked the Handler as she walked into the office about a month after they successfully buried the Orchestra Verdammten to the ground and brought everyone including the Conductor to justice.

'Jeez, always so quick to tear a person down,' he said not looking up from his files. He was in no mood for her today, but then again he rarely was.

She waited for a moment giving out that aura of hers which made it impossible to ignore, 'Well, are you going to continue to hypnotise me with your stare or spill out what you want?'

'You need to talk to someone,' she said and rose her brows letting him know who that someone was.

'I have nothing to say to that someone,' he replied before returning to his file.

The Handler walked closer, 'I can't have you working on assignments with your head so far away from the game. I allowed your little love affair with her because you needed desperately to get laid, and you were surprisingly keeping yourself on good behaviour when she was here.'

He glared at her, 'I never slept with her.'

'Your bad. She looked like she could be good. Someone who liked to pleased people,' said the Handler, and he couldn't help but feel a bit sick that she was talking about her like that.

'I'm surprised no one ever filed a sexual harassment charge against you,' he mumbled.

She threw a piece of paper in front of him with a number on it. He knew that number by heart now.

Without a single word she walked to the door, 'Say whatever you want, but without her we wouldn't have gotten them.'

He knew that even if not to her he could admit that to himself.

They met in the small coffee house. It was the one he first brought her a decent cup of coffee from which got her to moan.

Now it wasn't such a frustrating thought. It was a good memory.

Vanya smiled at him. She looked good only a small almost invisible scar on her left hand below her thumb left as a reminder of what happened and what could have happened to her.

They sat down and talked. Not so much about the operation or anything personal like in the hotel. They just walked about things which were so forgettable he wouldn't even be able to recall what they talked about just that she was there with him and even if they were doing something so dull and completely not him, he felt happier than he did in a while.

When she asked him if he wanted to go to her place, he wasn't sure but he went anyway. It could mean anything. It could be just a closure to their time together. A final page of their story before they would part and never see each other again, but he liked to think that wouldn't be the case.

They undressed each other in record time, but he didn't really expect them to do otherwise with how they already started to touch each other on the way up. As much as he liked to look at her expensive bras, he preferred her fully naked now.

He got to his knees and kissed the nasty still visible purple bruise on her side, before he sank lower proving once and for all that she wasn't always quiet and softly spoken. Not when he had his fingers inside her and his tongue over her making her arch her back on the bed screaming his name in pleasure.

When he had her pressed against him, their limbs tangled while they moved to their own rhythm in the middle of her bed, he couldn't help but kiss her just as he was coming close thinking that it wouldn't help if he slept with her before. Hazel was wrong he wouldn't get her out of his system by sleeping with her then or now. He wouldn't get her out his system if he tried. He just couldn't, and he didn't want to anymore.

Afterwards as they remained sitting with her in his lap not moving an inch since they came off, he stroke her hair lightly while she pressed tender kisses against his shoulder and neck. Even like this she was still a head shorter than him.

He never felt more in peace than in that moment naked sitting in her bed with her in his arms. In that moment he found peace he wasn't looking for, but accepted with greedy hands deciding to never let it go.

As time went by, and it got close to him having to leave, she pulled something from her bag while walking him out, 'I got something for you. It's next week so you have enough time to make up an excuse why you can't go.'

He took the ticket from her hand examining it.

'First chair?' he asked and looked up at her.

The blush which covered her cheeks made her look adorable, 'I took a shot. Seeing life in a new perspective and all that.'

He looked back at the ticket. He knew what it was. It was more than an invitation to the concert it was an invitation to something more. Far more. A life outside of his work. A future.

'Have a nice day, Five.'

He grabbed her arm before she would walk around him and open the door for him, 'I'll be there.'

His hand moved over her arm to her hand, and he allowed himself to take it. Take her hand, take the invitation, take the chance.

She rewarded him with a brilliant smile before she leaned up and pressed her lips softly against his cheek. The kiss warmed his entire body not only from arousal again but from something more.

He left before he fully composed himself because if he didn't he would pull her close again and not leave until a week later for her concert. He neatly placed the ticket into his wallet with anticipation of what the future held for him and her. What it held for the both of them...together.

A.N: Maybe there's a universe out there — happening now — where we end up together. Maybe there's a universe where I'm the right person for you. Where I adore every nice thing you did for me without starting to resent you. A universe where you actually end up with someone who appreciates you. Where both of us can shed our baggage and curiosity and issues. If you think of it all this way, then it's like neither of us did anything wrong. You just found me in the wrong universe. That's all. Because you could have loved me forever. And maybe in another universe, I let you.― Gaby Dunn

Hello, I stumbled upon this lovely quote a while back and when I started to write this AU I couldn't help wonder if it couldn't be an actual thing. Like in the original universe is what is happening in the show, but there are millions of alternative universes where Five and Vanya are completely or partly different people. Because of that I fell in love with the idea that they always somehow end up meeting and falling in love. And maybe actually working out. Maybe in another universe you could have loved me forever. And maybe in another universe, I let you. So basically all the stories in this series will be AU stories but the link will be that they are actually alternative universes to the original one which is TUA show. Anyway, that was just the idea I have been going on.

I hope you like the story and thank you for reading through all of this mess.