"Are you sure this is were she is living?" Elizabeth asked as they were standing before the door of an apartment. Five suddenly disappeared and, after a few moments, opened the door from the inside. "Pretty sure." He then answered. She sighed and went into the dark apartment. "She is obviously not here. Maybe we should wait outside. Just entering is rude." She mumbled while looking around. She couldn't make out much in the dark, but what she did see seemed to be a simple but cozy living room interior. A little kitchen area was adjacent to it.

Five didn't answer, instead examining the windows for some reason and she went over to him, looking out. They were facing the street and she could see the car they had just been driving in, parked at the side of the road. "No locks." Five suddenly muttered. Elizabeth looked at him. "What?" She asked. "She has no locks on the windows." He repeated. "She should have." Elizabeth blinked. "The apartment is on the second floor." She then answered and looked out again. "Pretty far up. And as far as I can tell there aren't any ladders or stairs leading up to the windows. As safe as it gets in my opinion."

Her husband scoffed. "Rapists can climb." She sweat dropped. Of course she understood that this was just his way of showing that he cared about his sister. Of all of his siblings he had always been the closest with Vanya in his childhood. But this was still a bit ridiculous. "Okay, calm down old man." She said while going over to the sofa and sitting down. Might as well be comfortable if they had to wait. "You never made such a fuss about the rooms I was staying in with you. Why start now with Vanya?"

Five just huffed and went to the armchair standing opposite of the sofa. "Of course I didn't make a fuss about you. You have me." He explained. "The moment I notice some guy so much as thinks about you that way he will find his eyes switched with his testicles." He sat down. "Vanya is also without powers and has no partner. And because she lives alone she should be extra cautious."

Elizabeth stared at her husband, her heart fluttering. Even after more than 30 years of marriage and everything they had been through in the apocalypse and since they had started working for The Commission it still sometimes surprised her how far Five was always willing to go just so he could protect her. And now his family.

She reached for his hand. "How is your arm?" She gently asked. He sighed. "Hurting." She lightly squeezed his hand. "As soon as Vanya gets here I'll ask her for a first aid kit and something to sew." She assured. "Can I see it?" She then asked and he hummed his agreement. But just as she was lighting up the lamp standing between them they heard a key being put into the lock and the entrance door opening.

Vanya entered and gasped in shock at their unexpected presence, exclaiming a "Jesus!" Elizabeth turned around, wanting to apologize for their intrusion but Five fired ahead of her. "You should have locks at your windows." He warned without so much as a greeting. "I live on the second floor" his sister sighed while putting away her keys, pointing out the same thing his wife had only minutes before. "Rapists can climb." He simply repeated again and Elizabeth cringed. Way to start an important conversation. As if to agree with her Vanya muttered "You're so weird" while closing the door.

She slowly came to the sofa and sat down at the opposite ending of where Elizabeth was already sitting. The siblings didn't say anything and Elizabeth was unsure if she should start or let her husband handle it. Vanya eyed her brother. "Is that blood?" She then asked concerned and his gaze shortly flit to his arm were a fine but steady line of blood was still seeping out of the sleeve. "It's nothing." He dismissed and now Elizabeth felt like she had to intervene. She would not let her husband walk around with an open wound and let it, possibly, get infected.

"That's not for you to decide." She objected and then turned to Vanya. "Don't listen to him. Look, sorry that we just turned up here without an announcement. I would have done it differently if he had let me." Five rolled with his eyes. "But about the blood? He has a wound that I need to tend to. So I would be really thankful if you could provide me with a needle, a bit of yarn, a disinfectant and some bandages" She looked at Vanya with a gaze that clearly showed how earnestly worried she was about her brother.

Vanya stared at both 'kids' who were, apparently, much older than they looked - and in a very serious relationship to boot. But she didn't react immediately. She wanted to help, of course she did. But this sudden confrontation made her feel anxious.

"Why are you here?" She asked. Five breathed in. "I've decided you're the only one we can trust." She blinked, surprised . "Why me?" Surely their other siblings would be better equipped to handle whatever they were about to drop on her.

"Because you're ordinary." Five answered matter of factly and Elizabeth glared at him. She knew that he didn't mean it in a demeaning way; after all she was 'ordinary' as well and he had never had a problem with that. But from Vanyas book she knew that his sister always had felt inferior to her siblings, constantly being called nothing but normal and ordinary by their father. And he knew it, too.

Five caught his wife's glare and corrected himself. "Because you'll listen." Vanya dropped her gaze and then slowly stood up. "Okay. I'll get the stuff." Elizabeth raised as well. "I'll come with you." She followed her to the bathroom and Elizabeth watched as Vanya searched for the things she had asked for. "I remember you, you know." She suddenly blurted while handing the blonde girl some bandages. Elizabeth looked at her with mild surprise in her eyes. "Huh?"

Vanya searched for a needle in the cabinet. If she remembered correctly there had been lying one from having quickly sewn on a button that had threatened to fall off a couple weeks ago. "You're that girl he never could take his eyes off whenever we were in that doughnut shop back then." Ah, there it was. She took it and handed it Elizabeth, who was staring at her with big eyes. "He... did?"

Now Vanya was surprised. She hadn't known? "Well, ehm, yes..." she agreed. "I'm surprised you didn't notice. He was never really subtle about it." She made a thoughtful face. "Though, in his defense, I'm probably the only one, of our siblings at least, that had noticed. I doubt that the others have." She cleared her throat, her voice suddenly croaking. "He and I were kinda close back then."

Elizabeth smiled at the brunette woman. "I know. Five has told me about that, at least." Vanya sighed. "I should have connected the dots when both of you had vanished at the same time. But... I guess I never wanted to believe that he was that kind of person. Running away with a girl..." Elizabeth laid a hand on her arm. "It was not like that." She assured. "As I said before: what happened back then... it was an accident. It was not Fives fault." She chuckled ironically. "I guess you could say it was fate? Or that I simply have been at the wrong place at the right time."

Vanya looked at the petite, soft looking girl. She was even a bit shorter than herself. She just couldn't imagine a girl so small and gentle going through what they had hinted at. The brunette woman grabbed the bottle of disinfectant and handed it to Elizabeth. "The yarn is probably in my bedroom." She then explained and they both went out. Vanya vanished into the room next to the bathroom and Elizabeth returned to Five.

He noticed that his wife seemed a bit agitated, though he couldn't say if in a good or bad way. "What's the matter?" He asked while she sat down and laid out the necessary supplies on the coffee table. She shook her head and smiled at him. "It's nothing." She took his arm and pulled up the jacket sleeve as gently as she could. "Vanya just told me something very interesting." The blonde girl scrutinized the towel clad wound. It was already soaked in his blood and she tried to peel the makeshift bandage off, careful not to hurt her most beloved person more than absolutely necessary.

Now Five was alarmed. "What exactly?" He asked, concerned. Elizabeth giggled. "Nothing bad, really. Actually, it was pretty cute." She looked up, still smiling. "I'll tell you later, when we're alone." She promised and although he would rather hear it immediately it soothed him that his wife didn't seem to be in a bad mood at least.

Vanya returned and inhaled sharply when she saw his wound. The brunette handed the blonde the yarn she had brought with her and Elizabeth immediately got to work on Fives arm. He didn't even flinch when she began forcing the needle through his skin. It was one of his quirks: never showing any weakness except for when they were alone. But Elizabeth noticed his pain anyway in the way he was tensing suddenly.

Five watched the blonde treat his wound for a few moments, only stopping when she gave him a look that was prompting him to speak; to explain to his sister why they were here. He looked up at her. "When I jumped forward and got us stuck in the future," he finally began. "Do you know what we found?" Vanya lightly shook her head. "No." He stared at her, but his gaze seemed unfocused and far away. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

In his mind they were back again; back in the obliterated city, were nothing but him and Elizabeth were alive anymore. He could even hear the hoarse cries of his wife, see her broken down form in front of him and for a moment his gaze, again, flit down to her, having to make sure that she was really still with him and okay. She was concentrated on closing his wound and he looked up again. "As far as we could tell, we were the last persons still alive. I never figured out what killed the human race, but..." Elizabeth finished her sewing. "I did find something else." She grabbed the disinfectant. "The date it happens."

He hissed softly when she sprayed some of the disinfectant on the freshly closed wound. Then she grabbed the rolled up bandage, enveloping his arm with it. "The world ends in eight days," Five continued just as Elizabeth finished. "And I - we - have no idea how to stop it." Elizabeth finally looked up and together the couple watched Vanya, seeing her stare at them in uncertainty and disbelief.

"I'll put on a coffee." She mumbled after a while and slowly got up, walking over to the kitchen area. Elizabeth got up as well, declaring "I'll help you, I just go wash my hands first."

When Elizabeth came back the coffee was already dripping into the can and after a few minutes everyone had a cup of coffee either in hand or standing before them. Vanya stared at her cup, not sure what to say to that revelation. "How-" she began, "How did you survive? I mean, you said you were there 45 years? What... what did you even eat if everything was destroyed?"

The couple looked at each other. "We survived on scraps," Five explained. "Canned food, cockroaches... anything we could find." He chuckled lightly and Elizabeth pulled a face when she was reminded of that particularly hard winter they couldn't find anything to eat and had to resort to eating insects in order to not to starve to death. "You know that rumor that Twinkies have an endless shelf life? Well, it's total bullshit." He took a sip of his coffee.

"It was not always so hard though." Elizabeth declared, taking a sip from her coffee as well. "After some time we discovered that a lot of animals and fish had also survived. Thus we learned how to hunt and fish. If we were careful with rationing the food we had it was manageable to not starve or even having to feel hungry all the time."

Vanya stared at them. "I can't even imagine." Five put his other hand on his cup as well. "You do whatever it takes to survive or you die." His gaze went over to the blonde girl and he reached for her hand, which she took with a smile, intertwining their fingers. "So we adapted." He squeezed her hand. "Whatever the world threw at us, we found a way to overcome it."

Vanya watched the boy and girl looking tenderly at each other. Remembering the bratty, often even arrogant boy her brother had been 17 years ago she hadn't known that he was even capable of looking at someone like this. As if the girl holding his hand was something delicate and precious, something he had to protect no matter what. She had to look away, because staring any longer suddenly felt like butting into a greatly intimate moment between the couple.

Five suddenly remembered his sister and slowly let go of his wife's hand, holding up his cup. "You got anything stronger?" Vanya got up and went to the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of whine with a ribbon tied around it's neck from a cabinet. It probably had been given to her as a present some time before. Elizabeth sighed. She didn't like it when Five drank, but after a day like this she should probably let him have a couple glasses. They both got up and followed his sister.

Vanya handed Five a glass with a bit of the reddish liquid and offered a glass to Elizabeth as well, but she declined politely. Five took a sip and then noticed the brunettes skeptical gaze. He looked to the side and grinned ironically. "You think we're crazy."

"N-no." Vanya stammered. "It's just... it's a lot to take in." Five scoffed and Elizabeth put a hand on his arm, trying to prevent him going off on his sister. "Exactly what don't you understand?" He growled and Vanya promptly replied "Why didn't you just time travel back?" Five scoffed and then sighed angrily. "Gee, wish I'd thought of that. Time travel is a crapshoot. We went into the ice and never acorn-ed." He explained and now even Elizabeth looked at him questioningly. That was something he had never said before.

"You think I didn't try everything to get back to my family?" He continued. "To get the girl I love back to hers?" Elizabeth averted her eyes. She knew exactly how hard he had tried. And she hadn't always made it easy on him because of it. "He tried, Vanya." She told the disbelieving woman. "He tried every single day for 45 years. Even after I told him to stop and just accept that we would never get back..." she looked up at the profile of the man - boy - she loved more than anything in this world. "He never gave up, not even once." She looked back at his sister, her gaze strong. "And I'm glad he did. Because now we have the chance to save everyone. To save you."

The brunette woman still made a face like she didn't fully believe them. "If you grew old there, you know, in the apocalypse, how come you still look like kids?" She inquired. Five scoffed again and walked over to the kitchen counter. "I told you already" he sighed, slamming down his glass and opening the bottle of whine. "I must have got the equations wrong." He growled and slightly turned around. Then he filled his glass with more alcohol.

"I mean, Dad always used to say that time travel could mess up your mind." Vanya argued. "Well, maybe that's what's happening?" Elizabeth stared at her in disbelief. The woman was hellbent on not believing them. "Even me?" She asked meekly and Vanya had to look away from her. Five took a deep swig and then slammed his glass down again, turning around. "This was a mistake. You're too young..." he ranted while walking over to Elizabeth, angrily taking her hand and pulling her to the door. "Too naive to understand."

"No. Five... Five, wait." Vanya begged and Elizabeth pulled at his hand, stopping him. He turned around in a huff. "Listen to her." His wife's mouth formed wordlessly. "Please." His gaze flit over to his sister. "I haven't seen you in a long time, and I don't want to lose you again." She begged again. "That's all."

Five turned his eyes to the floor. "And you know what, it's getting late and I have lessons early, and I need to sleep, and I'm sure you do, too." She looked at Elizabeth. "If you want you can have my bed and..." but the blonde swiftly interrupted her, raising up her hands. "Oh no, please don't!" She gasped. Looking at Five and then the sofa she proclaimed "We will make it work here somehow" and smiled reassuringly.

Vanya nodded and looked at her brother again. "We'll talk in the morning again. Okay? I promise." Five didn't say anything and she averted her eyes. "Night." She then said and turned around, walking to her bedroom. "Night." He muttered just as the door was closing behind her.

Elizabeth sighed and, after a few moments of them awkwardly standing around, walked over to the sofa, sitting down again. It was as if suddenly all energy had left her body. "I had kinda hoped it would be easier." She admitted. "But I guess our story does sound kind of crazy if you haven't been through it yourself."

She felt the sofa dipping as Five sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. She laid her head on his shoulder, suddenly feeling like her true age again. So tired.

He kissed her hair. "I'm sorry. I really thought she would believe us... or me at least." He sighed deeply. "But I guess I miscalculated again." She shook her head against his shoulder. "It's not your fault. After everything you told me about your siblings I probably would have started to convince her first as well. It's just... so frustrating when you tell the truth but are not believed." Five sighed. He knew exactly how she felt.

He pulled out the glass eye he carried around for decades now, removing it from the ragged piece of cloth it was usually in. He knew that it meant something, that it had to do with the apocalypse. Luther had died with it in his hand. He stared at the logo on the backside. MeriTech.

Elizabeth felt him tensing. She was tired, but she knew what that meant. "We're not staying here, are we?" She whispered tiredly and Five got up, pulling her up with him. "No." He answered, cupping her cheeks. He noticed the shadows under her eyes and gave her a soft kiss. "I know that you are tired." He whispered then. "I am as well. But we can't stop now. We have to do this. We are the only ones who can." She looked into his blue eyes and nodded, already a little more energetic. "I know. So, where to now?"

Five took her hand and together they sneaked to the door, hoping Vanya would not hear them going out again. "We're going to finally find out who the eye belongs to and prevent that person from triggering the apocalypse." He whispered and opened the door. They looked in the direction of Vanyas bedroom and when they didn't hear anything, they left the apartment.

—

AN:

Ugh, I don't know why but somehow this chapter has been so tough to write. I just couldn't find the right mood for it. Maybe because I'm still afraid of accidentally making the already existing characters (like Five and Vanya) too OOC or that Elizabeth feels kinda forced into the story. I'm not 100% confident with this chapter but after rewriting and starting a new several times this is the best version. Nevertheless, I hope you still like it. My blood and tears are in it T.T Also, I know I said I wanted to explore their past (or future? Hehe) a bit more and I have already written something, but I figured it would fit into the story better at a later time. Maybe next chapter or the one after that. Be warned though, it will probably be quite dark. Thank you for every new person that decided to favorite and/or follow my story!

eriszun:

Good luck with school and I hope my story will continue to entertain you even when you're busy with homework and stuff :) feel free to leave a comment when you have time, I appreciate each and everyone.

Greer123:

Thank you, and welcome to my story!

irishi-s6622:

Thank you! I was unsure of how people would react to the reveal that Five had actually known/noticed Elizabeth before they ended up in the apocalypse, so it's a relief that you think his character is not too OOC.

LadyGely92:

Thank you for following both of my stories! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my HP FF and I'm still invested in telling Willows story. I'm actually also currently writing on the next chapter and I hope to post something before I go start university this fall. I'm just currently more motivated to write for TUA because everything is still fresh. Stay tuned for both!

AreaBlue:

I'm glad that you like my idea of a normal OC. The stories I have read before ALWAYS had OCs with superpowers; so the idea, for me, got boring pretty soon... although I did play around with it. But it would have essentially been something that has been written before dozens of times. Having a normal OC felt fresh and exiting and Elizabeth came together pretty quickly, what I consider a good sign. I also think a normal OC makes it easier to identify with her x)