-Post-Apocalypse: Five Years-
The basement was more sheltered that Rachel had first expected. They'd stumbled upon a destroyed house out in the country just in sight of the main road Five led them along. They'd found the basement had survived the apocalypse for the most part, so they chose to make themselves at home. They never usually stopped in shelters, but as it was winter and freezing, so they decided it was for the best.
Having grown up in the city, it was the kind of house Rachel had always seen in films. The basement had an external exit to the back of the house. It was generally cold, but at least not damp or smelly. It had been used for storage and someone had been a carpenter as tools and a workbench were down there. Rachel tossed a log into the furnace they were using to heat the room. The girl let out a heavy sigh.
"I know he's been gone too long. But what am I supposed to do? He said he wanted to find more wood…God, yes, yes, I know. He didn't want us with him though. You know how he is…Ugh, okay, fine. I'll go. You're so pushy."
The young woman moved toward the metal doors to the outside just as Five appeared inside the room. With a heavy thump, a random pile of various wood dropped to the ground. Rachel yelped in surprise.
"P-Pulled together…what I-I could f-find…" Five told her through chattering teeth.
Now that she had a good look at him, she could see he was soaked from head to toe. Rushing toward him she wiped frozen water from his face as he shivered.
"What happened?" she demanded, rushing off to the cart for a cloth to dry him.
"F-Fell…pond out-out b-back…"
Rushing back with her desired item in hand, Rachel pulled off the numerous hats Five wore to keep warm before tossing the cloth over his head. Rubbing at his hair with one hand, she pulled him close to the furnace.
"Jeez, you're soaked through."
"N-No sh-shit."
Five tried to push her away as she began to strip layers of coats off him.
"Cut it out," she reprimanded," You can't stay in those wet rags. Let them dry. Take off your shoes and socks."
The male grumbled but did as she asked while pausing every so often as she pulled another layer of soaked clothing off him. Soon enough he stood there in just his underwear. Rachel turned back from fussing around in the cart with five blankets in hand. She pulled them all tightly around him.
"There, now take off the underwear, too."
She went around picked up the strewn clothing and placing them strategically around the room to hang or floor dry by the furnace. Five placed his own underwear, deciding he could do that much. He was then ushered to a spot just by the furnace. He continued shivering under the blankets as Rachel carefully continued to dry his hair. Five eyed her, wanting to say something but refraining as she worked at his long hair. Sighing, he pulled the blankets tighter around him. She was too good to him. Too nice. He didn't deserve her fretting or concern. Yet he couldn't bring himself to even push her away. He had started to rely on her kindness. She deserved someone who could give her the world. Instead, she had it taken away all because of his pride. He chose to just let her continue as he closed his eyes. He had to take her back one day…he just had to…
-Present: -
Rachel was up before Klaus's morning breakfast bell calling all family to breakfast for a meeting. She had a lengthy argument with Five about him not jumping them down to the kitchen while he insisted that it was better than him limping around as well as informing him about her powers. Five wasn't wholly surprised but was certainly impressed by the confirmation. When they arrived, Luther was hunched over at the breakfast table. Five walked in and took the coffee right out of Luther's hands before sitting down. Rachel took the seat to Five's left. She looked over at Luther to see him looking like he was going through a hangover. She raised an eyebrow as Klaus poured a coffee into an extra cup before the empty seat across from Five.
"Dead visitor?" she asked Klaus, bringing her coffee to her lips.
"Ben," he agreed cheerfully.
"Oh," Rachel said blinking at the spot," Hey, Ben. Really wish we could hang out more."
Klaus nodded.
"He says likewise."
Five gagged at that moment.
"Ah, Jesus. Who do I gotta kill to get a decent cup of coffee?"
"I can just make some from now on," Rachel offered," Just drink what Klaus made for today. It was out of love."
Klaus skipped over and took her face in his hands before kissing her forehead.
"That's why I love you, sis-in-law."
"Could you cut that out?" Five protested from his seat.
Luther sighed.
"Can we get started please?"
Klaus looked around.
"Anyone seen any of the others? Diego? Allison? No? All right, then, this is the closest thing to a quorum…"
He began banging on the table with a metal spatula. Rachel took a sip of her coffee. She grinned as Luther cringed. She really wondered what he had been up to last night to be in that state.
"…that we're gonna get. Now, listening up. There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna spit it out. Yeah."
He then stopped talking. Rachel and his brothers stared at him in confusion.
"Klaus," Luther seemed to pull him out of a stupor.
"I conjured Dad last night."
The room was quiet for a moment. Rachel leaned her elbows onto the table, hands still wrapped around the coffee cup.
"I thought you said you haven't been able to conjure anyone in years," Luther asked.
Rachel waved a hand at where Ben was supposedly sitting.
"Did you miss that we have a guest who has coffee? We had that discussion already."
"Ah, yes, I know, but I'm sober. Ta-da! I got clean, yesterday, to talk to someone special, and then ended up having this…conversation with dear old Daddy himself."
Luther shook his head.
"Has anyone got some aspirin?"
"Top shelf, next to the crackers," Five informed him.
"I'll get it," Rachel said, getting up.
"Hey, hey, hey. This is serious, guys, all right? This really happened, I swear."
"Okay, fine. I'll play. What did the old man have to say?" Five asked.
"Well, he gave me the usual lecture about my appearance and my failures in life. Yada yada yada. No surprise there. Even the afterlife couldn't soften a hardass like Dad, right?"
Rachel leaned across the table and put the aspirin down in front of Luther. The man's eyes were barely open. She then moved back to her seat as Klaus continued on with his story.
"But he did mention something about his murder, or lack thereof, because…he killed himself."
Luther's put his fist on the table with a sigh as Rachel frowned. He then stood up.
"I don't have time for your games, Klaus."
"I'm-I'm telling you the truth, Luther. I'm telling you the truth."
"Why'd he do it, then?" Five asked, holding his coffee cup in his hands.
"He said it was the only way to get us all home again."
"No. Dad wouldn't just kill himself," Luther defended.
Five made a face.
"Mm, you said it yourself. He was depressed. Holed up in his office and room all day and night."
"No. There weren't any signs. Suicidal people exhibit certain tendencies, strange behaviors."
"Like sending someone to the Moon for no reason?" Klaus suggested.
"I swear to God, Klaus, if you're lying…"
"I'm not. I'm not."
"Master Klaus is correct."
The all turned as Pogo came limping into the room.
"Regretfully…I helped Master Hargreeves enact his plan."
Rachel took a big gulp of her coffee. She didn't have enough caffeine in her system yet for this discussion. Klaus leaned forward on the table.
"What?" Luther asked, skeptical.
"So did Grace," Pogo went on," It was a difficult choice for both of us. More difficult than you could ever know. Prior to your father's death, Grace's programming was adjusted so that she was incapable of administering first aid on that fateful night."
"Sick bastard," Five mumbled.
"So, the security tape we saw?" Luther asked.
Rachel hadn't known about a security tape. That must have pushed Luther's idea of it being a murder.
"It was meant to further the murder mystery," Pogo confirmed," Your father hoped that being back here, solving it together…would reignite your desire to be a team again."
"And to what end?" Five asked.
"To save the world, of course."
Klaus let out a fake laugh.
"All right."
"First the Moon mission and now this," Luther shook his head," You watched me search for answers and said nothing. Anything else you want to share, Pogo? Any other damn secrets?"
Everyone told him to calm down, but he rebuffed all of their words.
"No, I won't calm down. We've been lied to by the one person in this family we all trusted."
"It was your father's dying wish, Master Luther," Pogo told him," I…I had no choice."
They all looked at Luther as he walked over to Pogo.
"There's always choice."
Luther then walked out of the room. Rachel sat back in her chair, her empty cup on her knee. Klaus sighed and put his head on the table. Five put his elbows on the table and ran his hands through his hair. Pogo left the room himself.
"I gotta think," Five announced before disappearing.
Rachel watched where he disappeared from.
"Alone, apparently," she mumbled.
She looked over at Klaus.
"I'm proud of you. For sobering up, finding this information out. That takes a lot of strength."
Klaus looked at her like a deer in headlights before smiling.
"You sure you want Five? You're much too nice for him."
The girl laughed before getting up and making her way upstairs slowly. Reaching Five's bedroom, she knocked.
"Can I come in or are you still thinking?"
"It's fine."
Rachel opened the door to find Five pacing the room. She smiled at the sight of him in his pajamas and slippers pacing back and forth.
"You're such an old man," she teased," What have you thought of?"
Five stopped his movement and pointed at her.
"He knew about the end of the world. He kept telling us that we were going to stop it. Why else would this all happen now?"
Rachel crossed her arms and leaned back on the door.
"Hmm, yeah, he was always odd. Rubbed off on you it seems. Maybe that is true, but I'm more concerned about if you're doing better."
"Mom is basically a medical professional, I'm fine."
"I would hope since she is a robot. So, planning to run out into action?"
She asked this as Five kicked off his slippers and started unbuttoning his shirt.
"Yes, as soon as we're dressed."
Sighing, Rachel moved over to the unused stack of clothes she'd lifted from Gimbel Brothers. Finding a white button down and navy shorts with white lines on them, she couldn't help but be amused by how similar the outfit was to the Academy uniforms. As she began unbuttoning her shirt, she yelped as Five spacial jumped to appear behind her. She looked over her shoulder as his arms encircled her and he began to kiss her neck, pulling the pajama shirt collar away.
"What are you doing?" she giggled, squirming from the ticklishness but trying not to hurt him.
Five's hands found their way to her buttons and kept undoing them for her.
"I said we'd go as soon as we're dressed, but not how long that would take."
"Who are you and what have you done with my Five? You're injured, you can't be doing this."
Five turned her around, finished with her shirt. He pulled her to him by her waist as the shirt hung loosely on her shoulders.
"That's why I'm going to let you be in charge."
Rachel found that he'd abandoned his shirt already, having tossed it over Dolores for privacy. The bandages around his abdomen were so prominent.
"Oh, so I'm doing all the work?"
Five's hands moved up her back as he pulled her to him and began kissing her neck again.
"Well, you don't want my wound to reopen. And if it's our last few days, I'd like to think I got to be with you again before that."
Trying to keep her mind from zoning out from his touch, Rachel bit her lip.
"And it doesn't freak you out that we're in our thirteen-year-old bodies. The one where I'm a virgin still?"
"Worried about me taking it a second time? I at least know what I'm doing this time. Luckily, we know each other's likes preeeetty well by now. I'm still me, you're still you, and we're fifty-eight years old…just not visually."
One of his hands slipped up into her hair as he nipped at a soft spot on her neck he knew she had. She cried out on instinct, her left hand gripping his shoulder. Five chuckled, pulling back and grabbing her arm. He kissed from her fingertips to the tattoo on her wrist. Rachel swallowed hard as he looked up at her, lips still on her wrist.
"Please?"
Her eyes softened, remembering when she had been the one asking that same question around thirty-eight years ago. She flipped her wrist to take his hand and pulled him toward the bed, urging him to lie down. When he had, Rachel slipped off the pajama shirt and climbed on top of her partner.
"Do your best to not get too into it, okay? I don't want to have to call your Mom in here because you reopened your wounds due to uncontrollable hormones."
Five grinned at Rachel as she leaned down and kissed him vigorously, taking the lead on their pleasure as he had suggested.
