A few hours later, Elliot and all his new roommates were in the living room. Five paced back and forth along the right side of the room while Rachel sat in a living room armchair across from the couch, angled toward the kitchen. On the couch was a shirtless Diego allowing Lila to change his bandage. Five and Rachel took time to explain to Diego how they found Vanya the amnesiac who then decided to ditch them.
"So, what, you just let her go?" Diego asked.
Five turned to Rachel who gave him a look. He had gotten quite a talking to from his partner on the drive back.
"Well, Vanya had a lot to process," he sighed," She'll come around. I know she will."
"What about the guys that went after her?"
"The Swedes?"
"Yeah, I mean, how do you know they won't go after her again?"
"We don't."
Elliot brought out cups of coffee for everyone as the conversation continued. He had already put out cookies on the table. Rachel narrowed her eyes at Lila. The woman had more anxiety than the day before as well as some stronger conviction toward something. There was the slightest wobble of uncertainty as Rachel reached out for more. She wondered if that all came from Lila and Diego starting a relationship. They were being disgustingly close, but after Five and Rachel's own public displays of affection in front of Diego since their return, it was some degree of karma. They were milking it in front of Rachel and Five by sharing a coffee mug, despite having one for each of them, and sitting so close one would think they were a two headed person.
"Mm, any idea who sent them?" Lila asked, sipping her hot coffee.
"Oh, I have my suspicions," Five replied, looking at her pointedly as he picked up his coffee mug, "But right now, our priority is finding Dad and getting answers, 'cause everything else depends on it."
Five sank into a chair across from the couch.
"Which, for the record, I found him already," Diego noted.
"And then let him go before we could have a meaningful conversation."
Diego stared at his brother.
"He stabbed me."
"I'm surprised he waited this long, Diego. We've all had the urge."
Lila and Rachel laughed while Elliot chuckled. Diego looked around at them all with a stricken expression.
"Good one," Lila said to Five, reaching out for a high five.
Rachel pursed her lips in amusement, drinking her coffee. Lila was trying to win Five over as far as she could tell. Five glanced at the woman, ignoring the high five, then turned his attention back to Diego, handing him a paper that Rachel had been shown in the car.
"Good thing I know where Dad's gonna be tonight."
Lila's face soured as she put her ignored hand down.
"Trying way too hard, hon," Rachel muttered to her.
Lila looked at her with a pout.
"Where'd you get this?" Diego asked, looking at the paper while his girlfriend munched a cookie from beside him, reading it as well.
"Found it at his office while he was busy stabbing you."
Diego let out a fake laugh. Lila hummed at the information as she read it.
"Hoyt Hillenkoetter and the Consulate General of Mexico in Dallas cordially invite you to a gala," Diego read.
Rachel looked up at the shock that ran through Elliot as he hovered by the kitchen doorway.
"Whoa, wait," he interrupted," Hoyt Hillenkoetter? Are you serious?"
All eyes were on him now.
"You know him?"
Lila gasped suddenly.
"We should go. Says there's gonna be a seafood tower."
Rachel rolled her eyes at the lovey-dovey smile Diego gave Lila for her comment.
"No, Hillenkoetter is…is one of the Majestic Twelve."
"The hell is the Majestic Twelve?" Diego asked.
"He must mean the Magnificent Seven. You know, the Western movie?" Rachel contributed.
Elliot shook his head profusely.
"What? No. It's a…a secret committee. Uh, scientists, military, uh, deep state."
As Elliot rummaged around through his things on his messy table, all eyes moved with him. Five had to actively turn in his seat to see him.
"No one knows what they really do."
"Wait, so they're government?" Diego grunted, painfully sitting up on the couch.
"Shadow government. Yeah, Kennedy was the first president to try to push 'em into the light, but these guys are not to be trifled with. Oh…Oh, here we go. Ah, right here."
Elliot strode over and put a picture on the coffee table in front of Five. Rachel got up and looked over Elliot's arm at the photo. The picture was of a bunch of men sitting around a table, all outfitted in business suits with ties. Elliot pointed to the one farthest on the left.
"That's Hoyt right there."
Elliot and Rachel switched places as he crouched by the table next to Five and Rachel sat on the chair arm. Five took a close look at the photo. Diego and Lila looked at it upside down.
"I only count eleven," Lila noted.
"Well, that's because they've only identified eleven so far."
"Who's the twelfth?" Diego questioned.
Five and Rachel both looked up at Diego with a knowing look. The realization seemed to hit him.
"Dad," he breathed.
Lila hummed and looked up at Rachel. Reading the tension in the room, she decided to break it.
"I believe we'll be needing dresses. Diego, you can probably borrow something from Elliot. Five-"
"I'm good."
The joy that radiated from Lila made Rachel recoil. She looked to Five in alarm, but his face was breaking into a grin.
"That sounds like a good idea, huh, Rach? A nice shopping date with just you girls."
The two lovers stared at each other. Her lips twitched in annoyance.
"There will be payback for this," she hissed at him.
Lila hopped up and grabbed Rachel's arm.
"I saw a dress shop just down the street from the back alley. Come on."
The girl was only able to throw one horrified glance back at the Hargreeves boys, but they only smiled and waved with amusement. Five's amusement was a twisted one while Diego's was warm hearted from seeing the two women "get along."
Lila ushered Rachel down the back staircase and out into the back alleyway.
"You know, you could have picked anything, and I'd have worn it."
"But that's no fun! We're sisters-in-law now, we can bond through shopping."
The idea horrified Rachel so much her brain froze.
"Th-that's not…Tech-technically…M-marriage…Uh…"
The taller girl ignored her stammering and dragged her down the street to the dress store. Lila enjoyed looking through the racks, touching as many dresses as she could. Rachel examined the racks, but only touched those she considered. She looked around slightly lost. She hadn't even been dress shopping with anyone aside from her mother when she was a girl. She had spent most of her life digging clothes out of rubble or picking up whatever looked useful for travelling in weather extremes. Dresses were not a factor until she worked at the Commission and, even then, those were coordinated by someone else.
"Found it!" Lila sang, taking a turquoise satin dress off the racks and putting it in front of her, "Gorgeous right?"
"Mmhm," Rachel hummed, looking her over, "It's nice."
Lila tilted her head at Rachel before meandering over.
"Oh, this one would knock Five on the floor."
She was pointing to a black dress with sheer fabric over the form fitting design. Rachel shook her head.
"Aside from green, I wear a lot of dark colors. Less effective than you'd think."
"Ooh, so you're looking for a contrast, are you?"
Rachel couldn't help but blush. This whole situation was embarrassing. She had thought about dress choices more than she was conscious of. Lila elbowed Rachel, making the girl roll her eyes.
"Stop. Do you think pastel pink or white with a blue sash?"
"Both are beautiful, but I think…you'd look rather fetching in pink."
Rachel tugged a lace dress off the rack. It was a sleeveless dress, classy looking, that had a thin waistband. The skirt flared out to around Rachel's knees. Lila insisted that they try on their dresses. They found some shoes to go with the dresses and headed to the dressing room. The woman had quite the time of it, chatting away, while Rachel simply admired the new color on her. Luckily, the dress fit, and the shoes went well. When Rachel came out in her regular clothes, Lila snatched the dress and shoes from her.
"I'll meet you outside," she whispered, before disappearing around a rack of dresses.
Rachel frowned and moved around through the store. She tried to follow where Lila went, but the girl had been quite quick to disappear. She was confused as the girl's emotions moved quickly out of the store. Rachel headed out, apologizing to the clerk that nothing caught her eye. Rachel hustled across the street and went into an alley.
"Lila?" she called out.
"Here!"
The girl popped out from behind a stack of boxes by a dumpster. Rachel sighed at her.
"I know, but I don't think having these dresses by the trash is going to do us any favors at the gala."
"Right you are! Let's go!"
The two headed back to the store where Diego was already dressed in Elliot's clothes. The outfit was a bit mismatched color wise, but he still looked ready for a gala. The women separated to put on their outfits. Rachel was tying her hair into a side ponytail when Five came in to check on her. When he saw her, he quickly checked back into the hallway, and, seeing no one, shut the door.
"Did you pick that out yourself?" Five asked.
Rachel's cheeks went almost as pink as her dress.
"Yeah…I've never really picked out a dress by myself before. Lila agreed it would look nice. Is it too plain?"
Five took her hand and pulled her toward him, his other hand going around her waist.
"You're too beautiful for words. So, nothing new, but I love how shy you're being about this dress. Luckily, we will be the youngest looking people at the gala, so I won't have to put a snot-nosed kid in their place for looking at you, or worse, talking to you."
Rachel smiled up at him. The openness and ease with which he spoke to her now made her heart beat faster.
"I wish you'd dressed up a bit. I get the uniform is formal enough, but don't the shorts and the knee socks get a bit tiresome?"
Five shrugged. He took a step back, leading her into a spontaneous dance to no music.
"It doesn't matter how I look. Gives the illusion of boyish innocence, which is convenient. Are you trying to tell me you don't find my outfit attractive?"
Five twirled her before pulling Rachel back to him. She giggled softly, making him grin.
"Me? How could I not be in love with knee socks on a man? Honestly, I was rather fond of how dapper you looked in your suits at the Commission. But, no matter what you wear, you're handsome no matter what."
"Are you suggesting you like my face?"
"Eh, it's okay."
Smirks lit up both of their faces before Rachel laughed.
"Of course, I like your face. It's the face of the man I love. Though you should know, I'm a sucker for a nice sweater vest."
Five planned to response but Rachel reluctantly pulled away from him just as the door banged open to reveal Diego and Lila.
"Do you want us to be late?" Diego asked them.
Lila made kissy faces at them; both her arms wrapped around Diego's. Rachel gave her an unimpressed look. Five must have been doing the same to Diego as his upper lip crinkled.
"Yikes, what they say about couples starting to look like each other the longer they're together is true…"
Lila tugged on Diego's arm, pulling him toward the living room.
"We'll be in the car. Hurry up now!" she told them before dragging her boyfriend away.
Five moved toward the door.
"He could do so much better."
Rachel nodded her agreement. She stopped as Five halted in the doorway.
"I almost forgot something."
He turned around, his hands landing on her hips. She was tugged against him as he kissed her softly, repeatedly, leaving her flustered. When he pulled away, he gave her a quick last peck on the lips.
"Thanks for the dance. I doubt we'll be able to have one tonight, so I'm glad that dress got some use."
"Me, too."
Five went to follow the others in their group, but Rachel put her arms around his neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, caressing him slowly and carefully. She gently bit his bottom lip as she pulled away a minute later. She patted down her hair in an exaggerated fashion.
"Right, time to go."
She moved past him, but a smile broke out across her face as he groaned loudly.
"Your payback is the worst. You don't play fair."
Rachel reached back and took his hand, tugging him out to the car.
"I'll play fair when you do."