They all stepped through the doorway and suddenly, in a flash, everything had changed. The first thing Five noticed was that he was taller, more muscular, barely fitting the suit he was wearing. And... holy shit, his arm was back! He looked over and saw Diego admiring that his fingers had returned, as well. Ben was still with them and alive. And then, the door lit up again and suddenly... there was Luther! He was alive!
After everyone swooned over him for a few minutes, Five cleared his throat and watched as all of their mouths dropped when they saw him. They couldn't believe their eyes.
"Looking good." Klaus proclaimed.
"Holy shit, Five!" Viktor exclaimed, "This is great!"
"About time you caught up, bro." Diego said with a goofy smile, throwing his arm over his shoulder.
Yet of course, they couldn't let him enjoy this moment. A few seconds later, Luther grabbed him by his collar, shaking him and demanding to know where Sloane had gone. Five knew that he was the one with time travel abilities, but he didn't understand why they thought that meant that he knew all the answers to everything about it. Of course, he was sad to see that his brother's new wife hadn't shown up with the rest of them, but seriously, what was he supposed to do? Pull her out of a hat like a rabbit? He wasn't a damn magician!
"Screw this." Five said, before moving to blink out of Luther's grasp.
But nothing happened.
Panic began to rise as Diego spun a knife in his fingers, just to have it cling and clatter to the ground. Then Viktor tried, Ben tried, Klaus tried... and nothing.
They were powerless.
After a few minutes of reflection, letting the immensity of what had just occurred settle in, everyone decided to take off in their own directions. Five figured he'd search out the closest clothing store and find something that fit, but then it hit him - he couldn't blink in and take what he wanted, and he also had no money. He would have to do this the old-fashioned way.
He walked around casually noticing a businessman leaving his car and heading into a cafe. The man was busy chatting on his phone, barking orders at someone who could only be his secretary, and Five briefly thought about robbing him. However, he was sure the guy didn't have cash in his wallet if he didn't have the five bucks it cost to buy a latte and knowing how difficult getting away with a card scam was nowadays, he figured it'd be pointless, especially without a pin number.
No, if he was going to go to jail for something like that, it wasn't going to be for stealing from some random jerk on the street. There was another target he had in mind.
He didn't think he would be lucky enough to find that Reginald had the same account and pin numbers as he had in previous timelines, yet he had. Five figured with all of his money, he certainly wouldn't notice a few thousand missing. And even if he did, in his mind, his father deserved it. Hell, he deserved it. After all he'd done to wind up there, like that, it was the least dear old Reggie could do.
Successful in his efforts, Five walked out of the closest bank branch and then headed to the nearest chain store. Once he found what he needed there, he left with a backpack slung over one shoulder, full of clothing and other random necessities. He wandered a few blocks before something had caught his eye - Klaus. He was sitting on the ground in an alleyway, and upon getting closer, it appeared as though he was crying.
When Five sat next to him, it startled him for a moment. Almost instantly recognizing who it was, he began wiping his eyes violently and trying to hide his face from him. Five was confused why Klaus was acting so embarrassed by it, but he put his hand on his knee, letting him know that he was there for him.
"Before you ask, I'm not going to tell you why I'm upset, because you'll just make fun of me." He said, his head collapsing on Five's shoulder.
"You're probably right, but you can't know that for sure. Try me."
He put his hands out, now without the tattoos that read 'hello' and 'good bye', and said, "They're gone. Everything we had is gone."
"That's what you were crying about?" Five said, with a small chuckle. Klaus gave him an 'I told you so' look before Five added, "You never cared about our abilities before."
"I know! But... I don't know if you noticed, but I conjured Luther back there. That was me!" Klaus exclaimed loudly, earning a few odd stares from passersby. After a second, he softly said, "I'd conjured Ben that one time, but I thought I could do that because we'd been together for so long, just me and him. Like somehow that should make it easier, I don't know. But I figured that had to only work with Ben, because afterward I kept trying for...well, you know, but it never happened. I tried. Over and over and over, I tried, but after all that effort... so I gave up. If the fates couldn't give him back to me for just a second, then fuck them! And honestly, I had never tried again until Luther, but then, it was easier. It kind of gave me a little more confidence that maybe I could finally get a hang of this shit. And the second I did that, my first thought was that I could try again. I could finally see..."
His voice broke, so Five finished, "Dave." Klaus nodded and erupted into tears again, as he pulled him close to his chest. He was amazed at how well that he fit in his arms now, also thankful he had both to wrap around him again. "I'm sorry, Klaus. I really am. I know how much you loved him."
"After those years I had before you guys found me in Dallas, I thought I'd finally get over him, you know? And yeah, I guess I am, a little, but... that hurt never goes away. And I don't think it ever will." He sighed, "I just wanted a chance to say goodbye."
Five held him closer, aching to see that familiar pain in his brother's eyes. He'd at least gotten to say goodbye to Delores, but he knows that doesn't make it better. Not having the person you love by your side is never easy, no matter what. Klaus was right; that's a wound that never closes.
He found himself holding back tears as he struggled to get out the words, "I'll find a way to fix this."
Klaus faintly smiled, "Yeah, I know. You always do."
They stayed that way for a few minutes until Five moved his arm away and straightened up, getting up from the pavement. He began walking away and Klaus was confused until Five turned around and asked, "Well, are you coming?"
The good thing about his time working for The Commission was that they had wiped all records of his existence from any timeline in this universe, so he was impossible to track. His sudden age progression had also helped immensely, now having a brand-new face that didn't match any photograph ever taken. And at least he knew no one could trace him back to The Umbrella Academy... if that even existed in this timeline, that is.
They found out soon that it didn't; how could it? But they did have doppelgangers, other versions of themselves walking around. He knew Luther had barely grasped the concept of paranoid psychosis when he tried to explain it to him and wasn't sure how the others would handle it. Luckily, none were too close that they were an immediate threat, so he'd deal with that only if he had to.
They took what money they could and found a cabin to rent a couple of hours away, cheap enough they had at least a few months for Five to find a job. Considering nearly every building now had their father's last name plastered on it, he was sure that staying in the city would prove unwise in trying to remain invisible. He also knew they'd have to go somewhere remote to not only avoid the cops, but their father's watchful eye as well. At least until he could come up with new identities for them. Klaus was hesitant to leave the other siblings with no knowledge of where they'd be, but Five reassured him that they would all meet up for a family dinner every month so they could make sure everyone was adjusting and doing well. Five told him it'd be better this way, simply stating that if they did know of their position, they would only interfere with his mission - regaining their powers.
After a few weeks, Klaus had almost had the place looking like a home, finding things he could at flea markets and garage sales in town. He still hadn't found a futon or anything, so he was stuck sharing the queen-sized bed with Five for now, but he really didn't mind. He was just happy to finally be able to sleep through a night without worrying about ghosts in the corner, frightening him so badly that sleep wasn't even considered. Back then, his biggest concern was surviving, not snuggling.
Luckily there hadn't been any incidents so far. No one had accidentally walked in on the other in the shower or changing clothes. Neither had woken up to arms around them or caught a glimpse of the other's morning wood. Klaus figured he probably should set up his own room before anything like that did happen, but he couldn't help but think of all the other possibilities he had with that space - an art studio, a meditation lounge... somewhere to smoke weed without Five complaining about it or begging for a hit. He guessed having his own bedroom would serve that purpose too, but then Five would win. And Klaus was never one to concede and simply give him what he wanted.
Which is why he was surprised when Five had approached Klaus and asked him to come up with their new names. He wasn't sure why Five would entrust him with something so important, but he just insisted that he didn't really care what he picked as long as it didn't sound "too dorky". He guessed they wouldn't use their new monikers unless they were in public anyway, so maybe Five was right about their insignificance, but... it was their names!
They'd shared a bottle of red wine over dinner before moving to the loveseat in the living room. They both started discussing it again, Klaus trying to understand what Five considered a "dorky" name.
"Eugene?"
"Eww."
"Arthur?"
"Ack."
"Bert?"
"Bleh."
"Nathanial?"
"Never!" Five exclaimed, drunkenly raising his glass in the air with his proclamation.
"Well, you gotta give me something to work with here, dude, or I'll just make you Nerdy VonDouchebag."
"And I'll make you Butch Del Taco!"
Both of them erupted into laughter at the unexpected, albeit lame, joke. Five hadn't felt this comfortable with someone else, let alone one of his siblings, in years. It was nice not having to be on alert twenty-four seven. Being able to just lounge around and not having to worry about assassinations or apocalypses, feeling free enough from anxieties to simply sit and laugh with someone. He wasn't sure he'd ever had that, really.
He didn't even notice Klaus' hand on top of his, until he asked, "Forget about your name then. What do we want our new last name to be?"
"What do you mean?"
Klaus was confused, "Well, we have to think of that too, right? One that goes with both of our new first names."
"Why would we... I mean, do you still want to be brothers, legally? Don't get me wrong; I'll always think of you like a brother. But I didn't think we would, since we weren't technically related before. Also, it might be a way to track us down and find us."
"Yeah, I guess it could be. But then, why would we be sharing this place? We need an explanation, right? So, what, are you... like, my boyfriend now?"
Five chuckled, "Well, I was thinking we'd be 'roommates', but I'm flattered at your presumption."
It was then when Five noticed their hands, fingers clasped loosely between them. Usually picturing a woman's hand in this scenario, he wondered before if he were ever put in this position if his initial reaction would be to jerk his away. Instead, he grasped it tighter and let his head fall to the backrest, focusing way too much on how soft Klaus' skin was.
Five had expected something a lot different than what Klaus had selected for their names. He had anticipated garish disasters instead of the more run of the mill ones he'd picked, and he was glad he had. Thankfully, he had chosen Nicholas Mason for Five and Klaus was now Vincent Young.
Mr. Mason. Nick. Not dorky, and it sounded respectable enough. Yeah, he could see it. And he guessed he could picture his brother as a Vincent. When he heard Vince Young, it kind of sounded like a rockstar to him. He figured Klaus kind of looked like a rockstar; he definitely dressed like one. It might work.
They decided to head to the local farmer's market to test the names out and let some of the locals hear them being used. They walked around and bought a few things here and there. Klaus stopped when he saw a booth that was selling seedlings to start your own garden and had thought it would be a good idea for a project around the house. Five didn't want to waste more money, but Klaus had somehow convinced him that it would end up saving them money in the long run, listing off a bunch of reasons he hadn't quite paid attention to. He knew what Klaus was doing, rambling on and begging him until Five finally caved.
"So, how big are we talking, Vince? Because we still haven't exactly signed the papers for this place yet. He's been letting me pay cash until I get a job and have an idea of what my monthly income will be. I don't want to get this guy mad at me. He's a damn angel as far as landlords go." he said.
When he placed his hand on the small of Klaus' back, Five noticed a gruff looking man and his wife on the opposite end of the table eye him up and down with disgust. He wasn't sure why that had upset these people so much. As far as he knew it was just an innocent touch, so he didn't really care. That was their problem, not his, right? But he'd also detected a few similar stares from other locals since they'd arrived. Maybe this could turn into a problem.
"Yes, Nicholas dear. I was only talking about a simple herb garden, maybe five or six plants. Fresh basil, parsley... nothing too crazy. I know what a picky eater you are, my darling."
Okay, it might have sounded a little forced, but Five thought the names sounded genuine enough. And Klaus had gotten a few plants he could put out on the back porch, seeming pretty happy about that, so Five was definitely satisfied that it had been a successful outing.
That was until Klaus wandered off and he went to pay the woman in charge of the booth. She said, "I know it's not my place, but I just had to say that I see something special when I look at you two, and I noticed no rings. I'm sorry if I'm imposing, but... I think you need to marry that one there; he's a keeper. And you know it's legal now!"
"Uhh, thanks. I'm pretty sure I'm stuck with him." he replied with a smirk.
Outside he was remaining as calm as possible, but inside, he was screaming. Had that lady really presumed that he and Klaus were lovers? How absurd! But then he remembered the uncomfortable stares from the other people there and Klaus' comment about 'boyfriends' from the previous night and wondered... was it that illogical a deduction?
What Five was certain of was that they didn't want that mistake happening again.
It was a few nights later when they had their first meeting with the siblings. They'd had them meet at a Mexican restaurant that was somewhere in between their new place and the city. Allison had gone back to Los Angeles, of course. Everyone was happy, if not just a bit bitter, that she'd gotten both Claire and Ray back. Diego and Lila were working as private investigators for an associate of hers in New Jersey and Lila had just begun her second trimester. Viktor had moved up to Toronto and found a cheap room to rent above an old music shop, giving violin lessons in exchange. Luther was still on the search for Sloane but hadn't found a trace of her yet. He said he'd always call, but not to expect him at every family gathering in the future. And they definitely didn't expect Ben, having moved to South Korea as soon as he had the money.
He could tell the others questioned his decision to keep Klaus close by him, but Five simply replied, "Do you guys want another cult? Because I don't." I think they got it after that.
Luckily, none of them were close to their doppelgangers at all, so he decided to keep that under wraps still. He also chose not to tell them about their new names in case that might jeopardize them in any way, but he had told them about some job opportunities he'd come across and the luck they'd had in finding the cabin. He told them they could all visit when they had settled in more but knew it probably wouldn't happen. And anyway, he wasn't sure if that would be a very good idea either.
Having that thought had put him in a grumpy mood the rest of the night and he figured he must have gotten pretty wasted when Klaus was the one to drive them home. He knew how much he hated driving before, but I guess those inhibitions were gone now, not seeing dead bodies strewn all over the pavement anymore. He was glad for him, really, now he didn't have to be hindered by those abilities anymore. Maybe he could finally relax without some kind of pharmaceutical way to do it. Sure, Klaus wasn't immortal anymore, but now he could finally have a real life. Hell, they all could.
As Five settled into bed that night, all he could think as he stared at the man sleeping next to him was if they should even bother trying to get their powers back or forget all about all of that and just... live.
