April 1st, 2019 – Vanya
Vanya was on the ground in the lounge holding onto a thirteen-year-old bleeding Five as the wound under her hand was slowly bleeding, 'Hey, hey, look at me. It's fine. It's going to be fine, Five, please.'
Five didn't look terrified. She wanted to cry but she forced the tears to stay inside because if she would cry, her vision would get blurry and if her vision got blurry, she wouldn't be able to see him and if she couldn't see him, he would be dying in her arms without her seeing him and that was just no.
At least once, at least like this, she needed to see him, and he needed to know, someone, her saw him.
'Five...Five, please,...please...'
March 24, 2019 – Vanya
Last night Vanya had a dream about her ghost self from the previous timeline. It was strange. For over a decade she rarely dreamed of her hoping she found peace wherever she was or truly somehow did marched with her and carried on living inside her heart.
In her dream, they were together sitting near a lake, the smell of water nice and fresh.
Calm
Peaceful
It felt like that. It felt like the afterlife. Vanya would want something like that to be an afterlife. It seemed very nice.
Her other self, Ghost Vanya reached out and stroked her hair a bit, 'When it comes to it, give it to me. Pain doesn't bother me. I can take it. So when will become too much, just give it to me.'
She woke up so thrown off by the dream it took her a couple of moments to realize she was in her and Five's bed in her apartment near her work and needed to get up and use the bathroom as she did seemingly every few minutes ever since a couple of months ago.
Vanya thought about things often. Overthinking them mostly, but who could blame her, really? It wasn't like she could somehow avoid it. It was a part of her life and every day especially the closer they got to April the 1st 2019, she wondered if something drastic and horrible wouldn't happen which would cut their happiness short the way it seemed to all those other times, they got close to it.
Eight days
It all started then too. Eight days into the last apocalypse, Five came back, and no matter how much he tried the world was still destroyed, rested so to speak. Now, they once again faced their last eight days into the events that would forever change everything. In a good or bad way was yet to be seen.
If the world really was ending in eight days…
Vanya pushed away from nausea. She hated that idea. She hated the idea that all this time. All their work and effort would be for nothing.
Taking a deep breath she tried to calm down. Stress wouldn't do them good.
Getting out of the house was easy once they turned eighteen. Surprisingly none of them stayed with even Luther tagging along with Allison after some heartfelt conversation with Five.
'What did you tell him?' she asked after he told her even Number One would be leaving.
'The truth. If he didn't want to have a sudden craving for bananas and for the monkey DNA to get to his head, he needs to get the fuck out,' he said. Always brutally honest with the others yet so soft with her.
'You're a good brother,' she told him, and busied his lips with another kiss before he could complain about such a statement, 'Don't worry, I won't tell on you and ruin your jerk reputation.'
He tickled her side for that quite nastily.
Happy moments always brought a false sense of security. She was grateful for it because otherwise, she would be a mess waiting for the other shoe to drop, but at the same time, she couldn't help but check the calendar and count days wondering what will happen next and how will it happen. Everything felt so good for the last decade and some, but she knew it wouldn't last. It couldn't last. She felt incredibly dreadful about it with every passing day.
What would happen in eight days or even now?
'Did you hear from the Fixer lately?' she asked him when Five came home to their shared apartment. It changed so much as well, but at times it still crossed Vanya's mind just how nice it was without any furniture when they first made love right there on the floor. So many years had passed.
Right now, her eyes were on the calendar again counting the days left feeling the same dread she always did when she did so especially lately.
'Why do you ask?' he asked instead of an answer before he came up to her and kissed the top of her head. A part of her loved that he was towering over her, but another part often felt annoyed about it.
'It's been a while,' she said and shrugged her shoulders. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she asked. She hoped it wasn't some intuition about something horrible that was coming their way.
Five's hand reached out and touched her large stomach. Almost instantly, Vanya felt the life growing inside shift just a tiny bit as if to greet his father. It used to be more profound when it started kicking, but now since it got so big and had so little room, it barely moved only occasionally letting out a small knock to remind her (as if she could forget) that he was there.
So demanding for attention. Just like his father.
'He hadn't shown up,' he said with a strange sense of an edge.
The brunette stepped closer to him, 'Are you hiding something from me?'
Five's green eyes shifted to hers surprised before he shook his head, 'It's nothing. I'm just thinking about him now, and I don't like it when I think about him or the Commission.'
Vanya nodded not entirely convinced but for now accepting his words. She knew that since she got pregnant, Five made first and last to make her feel comfortable and as stress-free as a person who could end the world be.
'Do you ever think the Fixer is-'
'No, he said he wasn't,' cut her off Five already reading her mind. She knew for a couple of months now that they would be having a boy, and naturally, her thoughts wander. The Fixer didn't exactly look like Five or her, but they had time traveling and secret organizations and powers for heaven's sake, so anything was possible.
Five's thumb stroked her stomach a bit before he stepped away pulling his hand to his side, 'Do you believe him?' She kind of missed his touch feeling a bit needy again. It wasn't just the hormones. Her anxiety was getting the best of her once again.
'Not a single word,' grinned Five in that charming way of his causing her to smile as well. Their days were just so nice and calm Vanya just felt so happy one moment and a nervous wreck the next.
'Did you take your pills?' Five asked her, and she nodded. She was very punctual just as she used to be as a child in taking them. Given her state, there was no telling what might happen if she left it up to fate. Well, there was, in fact, they more or less knew exactly what would have happened since it happened so many times before.
Apocalypse
March 24, 2019 - Five
The young-looking man checked his watch for what felt like the tenth time. He was early he knew, but he hoped the man he was waiting for would come early as well so they could deal with this quicker, and he could return to Vanya. His nerves were at an all-time high. Eight days. Those cursed, stupid eight days. Eight days before April the 1st AKA the apocalypse and even about one week to Vanya giving birth to their son.
His eyes fell on the door as they opened, and the tall dark-haired man came inside.
The Fixer was always punctual, well-dressed, and in general acting and looking like the type who needed and wanted everything to be at its place which was further proved by fixing the cutleries on the table in the small dinner they once again met.
His mind drifted a bit to the time, Vanya told him she was expecting.
He grabbed her from behind and buried himself against her tiny frame, against her hair, her back, her shoulders, all of her. He could sense she was on some sort of invisible edge for three days now. He waited. She was never good at keeping things from him for too long, so he patiently waited for her to talk to him, but grew worried. Not because she would keep things, but because of how much it seemed to hurt her to keep whatever she was inside for that long. He didn't like it.
'Please stop,' he told her, and she nodded, but it took her a moment to actually stop washing the dishes she was currently working on.
'Just tell me what's wrong,' he said, and she started to shake her head in defiance.
He cursed and spun her around to force her to meet his eyes. She was a shitty liar face to face. He loved that about her.
His hands stroke her cheeks, 'Vanya, please. Whatever it is just...say it.' Anything was better than seeing her struggle like this. His heart couldn't take it. What a sap he was for her.
'I'm...,' she looked away for a moment and closed her eyes taking in a few deep breaths.
He gently stroked her face trying to hide and failing how much the suspense was killing him, 'What, Vanya? What is it?'
'Pregnant,' she said in a voice that sounded like it wasn't her own.
Five blinked surprised because that was the first thing that spread through his mind and body. He was surprised. Surprised because while he was expecting anything literally anything to be the cause of Vanya's behavior. This was not it. Living with a shadow of an apocalyptic threat over them for so long, he wouldn't think she would freak out about something so ordinary.
'I'm pregnant,' she said again as if she mistook his silence for confusion.
She still kept her eyes closed like she was afraid he would hit her or something, and the surprise was replaced with confused, 'Okay-'
'No-,' she pushed him away with more force than he expected from her given her state and how welcoming always was to touch and contact since they both lacked it so much during their early childhood years, 'This-this...it's less than nine months to the apocalypse. Nine, and this wasn't supposed to happen. We haven't even talked about, and you...,' she opened her eyes, 'everything in our lives feels like it's on hold because of the apocalypse, like...we're just waiting to see what will happen on April the 1st before we make any big decision and this, Five,' her hand touched her stomach, 'Is a big decision which shouldn't happen right now because it changes everything and this can't be on hold.'
Five watched her for a moment before he asked not all that surprised by her words, but still curious, 'You feel like our lives are on hold?'
Vanya nodded. 'All the big decisions like you taking the job for NASA or us buying a house or just getting engaged or I don't know getting a dog, all of it feels like we're just sitting ducks until after the apocalypse so we know that it will be alright.'
Five felt very much ashamed that he made her feel that way, 'I'm sorry. I know I didn't take the job so I would make sure I would be here with you on in April and yes, I guess I tended to make it feel like we were constantly waiting until after for things to...change, I'm sorry, I didn't realize...'
She allowed him to hug her properly and calmed down a bit after that. Nine months to the apocalypse. Nine months to the birth of their first child.
The universe sure loved to screw with him, didn't it?
Was it punishment? He murdered a lot of people for the Commission. He was an asshole on good days and a total shit on bad. Vanya destroyed the world countless of times, so who knew. Maybe it was punishment. It wasn't practical. In fact, it wasn't good or well-timed at all. Five knew how it happened. He knew how effective contraception was. It still felt somehow sloppy. Very sloppy on his side. He had to wonder if it wasn't already the starting point. Vanya learned control over her powers. She trained religiously and was excellent in it, so someone purposely made it harder to even the field. It worried him. In the beginning, he thought if it wouldn't be better to change the outcome, Vanya did too. They talked about it, but always one or another stepped back. It was their child. A product of their love. Their creation. What business had anyone to try and force them to take what was theirs? He loved Vanya. He would love their kids. He wasn't an optimist, but as Vanya said, he was also tired of living their lives on hold waiting for what will happen. He was tired of always giving up on things for their father, for the Commission, for the higher goods. This time, they would get what they deserved. A good and happy life.
The Handler could choke for all he cared.
He would protect his family from the apocalypse, just as he planned since the first time he stepped foot into the wasteland.
His green eyes watched the Fixer as he dived into his food.
'You always eat breakfast here?' asked Five. Over the course of their meetings, Five tried to see any indication of the man's secret or who he really was, but as a member of the Commission, the Fixer was very skilled in hiding them. Almost as much as Five used to be. The only real-time he ever seemed to show more was when he learned Vanya from the previous 2019 timeline was here as a ghost and couldn't go into the light.
'Breakfast is the most important part of the day,' said the man enthusiastically between his bites while Five sipped on his coffee.
'Didn't your parents teach you that?'
'Did yours?' asked Five, and the other man sighed like he was genuinely exhausted they had to go over this again, 'Congratulations to your soon-to-be fatherhood, but we had been over this. As similar as are sociopathic sides are, we're not blood-related.'
Five watched him carefully. They didn't look like each other at all or Vanya for that matter, but he couldn't shake the hunch he got since the first time he showed pity over her fate, 'It's been over thirteen years now. She still hasn't saved anyone. At least not that we know off. Only a couple of days left.'
The Fixer took another bite, 'Plenty of time, don't worry about it. Focus on your first offspring. It's my understanding those are extra tricky.'
'No children of your own?'
'Not yet,' said the man, 'Assuming that Vanya doesn't destroy the world again.'
Five blinked what a strange way to put it. It got him thinking, 'Did it never really happen before? End of the world? There had to be a time before, wasn't there?'
The Fixer shrugged his shoulders, 'Just some anomalies indicating that it did happen once. Before the Commission started to engineer it of course.'
'Anomalies?' asked Five curious eyeing him a bit suspiciously with his furrowed eyebrows, 'What anomalies?'
'Children born after the apocalypse.'
Five froze for a second, 'That…what children?'
'Obviously, none now since there is always an apocalypse,' said the Fixer and finished his breakfast.
When the waitress came, he smiled at her almost charming and shot, 'Delicious, thank you, dear.'
The middle-aged woman smiled back at him and took the plate away.
When the man looked back at Five he seemed sharper and less polite, 'What is it you want?'
'The apocalypse is days away just as my son's birth. I don't want any trouble. Do you already know what the Handler is planning? How will she proceed?'
'No,' said the other man, 'After your little stun, she keeps the script for the apocalypse on lockdown. No one can get to it. No one but her and one very high-ranked member of the board knows where it is.'
'So what we're just sitting ducks?'
'No, we're going to find that board member and get it out of him, then steal it from her and then make sure the plan fails,' said the Fixer, and Five felt a strange sense of energy going through him as he leaned closer finally finally not feeling like he was just wasting away.
'Why now? Why didn't you do it before? You had the time. Time travel?' reminded him Five, the other man shook his head, 'The Handler is an untrusting bitch. The script wasn't written until today, and she shot the poor girl who wrote it into the head in front of everyone for good measures.'
Five frowned, 'But that means that whatever is in the script-'
'Starts today. Whatever avalanche of events needs to for the apocalypse to happen today.'
'Maybe it already did?' asked The Fixer metaphorically, 'Maybe her killing Dot and me coming here to talk to you was the catalyst?'
Five sighed and frustratedly brushed the back of his air. He didn't like this. The Handler had an upper hand and everything, every move could be fatal.
'So you understand.'
'Yeah, either I stay with Vanya or go with you anything can be the starter for the apocalypse.'
'Excellent deduction,' praised him the Fixer dryly. Sometimes Five wasn't sure if it was his jerk personality or if he genuinely didn't like Five. The feeling was mutual, to say the least.
'Now, what will you choose, Number Five?'
March 24, 2019 - Vanya
'Eight days,' said Vanya, and Five nodded, 'It's risky, a tight fit, but we figured it would be.'
He wasn't wrong. When they sort of moved past the surprise, they immediately calculated and knew their child would be born so close to the April 1st it was ironic. Somewhere in the back of Five's mind, he was certain without a doubt his son will ask to come to this world exactly on April 1st, probably when all of them least expected or could ask for it. He told Vanya as much and she felt the same.
Vanya watched him helping her pack, as he already arranged she would be back at the house while he was away. Personally, the woman hated the idea that on top of her anxiety she should be in the house of horrors she grew up in, but she tried to calm herself with rational thinking. There were a few places she could be hidden (mainly the vault), not to mention all their siblings agreed to be there as well. It didn't help them as much last time, but perhaps now that they knew about everything and what was at stake it would.
'I'm scared,' whispered Vanya causing the man to pause for a second before he turned around and took her face into between his hands, 'Me too, but I promise-'
'Don't,' she cut him off, 'Don't make promises you don't know if you can keep. Just…just do your best, alright?' she asked hopefully her fake cheerful tone would fool him, but of course, Five knew better and gently stroked her cheeks forcing her to properly look into his eyes where she saw now a thing but confidence as he spoke ever the cocky jerk, 'Vanya, I promise. One way or another, I promise everything will work out fine. I'm not letting the Commission ruin things for us again. I'm not allowing them to tear us apart, and I'm not allowing anything to happen to you or our son or anyone we care for.'
Vanya took a deep breath and nodded, 'Alright, alright.'
He leaned down and kissed her in a very soft and loving way before their heard a cough behind them and jumped startled by the sound, 'Sorry, to cut this short, but we have a very tight schedule.'
Five shot the Fixer a glare while Vanya tried to calm her heart wondering when did the man sneak upon them.
Still, Five let her go and went to continue to pack her back while she took the time to watch the man. She hadn't seen him since she got pregnant and even before that she was rarely present during his and Five's meetings. He was an odd man. In many ways, he reminded her of Five except he didn't have his soft side, as let not for her the way Five did.
'Congratulations,' he said strangely and nodded at her stomach.
A bit awkwardly Vanya nodded and thanked him hoping a bit Five would finish soon so they could leave since the whole thing was a bit uncomfortable, 'It's a boy.'
Something flashed across the man's face but before Vanya could even begin to guess what it could have been it was gone, 'Well done. Have a name yet?'
'Yes, every couple of days a different one,' she said. It was true, for some reason she couldn't decide. A girl was easy. Even if she knew it wouldn't have been a girl, she always knew the name she liked the most for some reason.
Elena
Maybe she heard it somewhere.
Either way, she hoped she would know when she would hold him in her arms and see him. Some people had very fitting names.
'Any suggestions?' she asked in a bit of a joking way.
The man looked a bit startled for a second almost emotional before he looked away. When he looked back at her it seemed he was about to say something, but Five had finished and cut him off, 'Stop being a creep, and let's go.'
Five and Vanya took hands and he led her out to the car where Diego was already waiting dressed in his daily clothes. Ben was on the other seat and Klaus was in the back, 'Allison and Luther will come later tonight.'
Vanya nodded while Diego looked at the Fixer suspiciously and then at Five, 'You sure you don't want back up, bro?'
Five shook his head, 'I'm leaving you in charge of the most important things in my life. I'm not taking any chances. I know you can keep them safe.'
The other man seemed to accept it, and patted Five on the shoulder before he returned back to Vanya, 'Stay safe.'
'That's my line,' she complained, and he kissed her longingly as if to imprint his lips against hers forever, 'We can share it.'
She almost started to cry right there, but she forced herself to hold it so she wouldn't give Five more grief. Whatever he was about to do was already more than he ever should have to do again. She shivered as she recalled the time, he came home all quiet and distant and then told her he made sure Leonard Peabody would never appear in her life again. She didn't ask him what he did. She did the same just in a different timeline, didn't she?
Once in the car, Vanya watched Five all the time before he and the Fixer disappeared in the familiar flash of light due to the time-traveling briefcase.
Only once she couldn't see them and felt Klaus's hand on her knee, 'You sure got huge, Vanya,' she started to cry like a baby.
'Nice one, dumbass.'
'Shit, sorry! I'm so sorry.'
Coming back home was horrible on some many levels. It was just bizarre to be in the house again after so many years, and she wasn't the only one who felt that way. Seeing Pogo and Grace was nice, but the woman dreaded meeting Sir Reginald any time soon.
'Sir Reginald is currently in his study working. I'm afraid he doesn't wish to be bothered,' said Pogo apologetically.
'Does he know we were coming?' asked Ben a bit confused.
'Yes,' nodded Pogo, 'He just stumbled upon something interesting and decided to work on it.'
'Probably for the best,' said Diego and helped Vanya with her bag, 'You shouldn't stress yourself with his bullshit.'
'I agree. Dad is at his best when he is not around,' said Klaus and made his way to the lounge.
Ben quickly followed him probably figuring out what he had in plan, 'Uh, what are you doing? You promised to stay sober and on best behavior.'
Vanya pointed toward the lounge as if asking Diego if they should help, but he just shook his head, 'He's just pissing him off. Don't worry about it.'
The woman looked at her brother curiously, 'And you would know because?'
'You know why. So shut up,' said Diego causing her to smile and at least for a moment forget about her troubles.
Grace seemed to be most happy about seeing her making Vanya feel a bit bad she hadn't come to see her more often.
She made her lunch and talked to her about everything smiling at her brighter than Vanya ever saw which caused her to share a few looks with her other siblings who were just as in the dark as her about their robot mother's odd behavior.
When Allison and Luther showed up much more later, her sister hugged her tight and then complained, 'You and Five should have told us sooner.'
'I know, I'm sorry,' she said as they let go, 'Don't worry, I blame Five, and I will properly let him eat it up once this is over.'
'Sounds good,' agreed Vanya, and they all sit down almost like old times.
Almost.
March 27, 2019 – Five
Five sat down in the chair as the man came into his house. He sat in the dark. It was early morning close to 4 A.M. The middle-aged fat man was coming home from his mistress's house. The Fixer gave Five very detailed info, and Five was glad to know the fat man stuck to his habits like an idiot even tonight. They had little time for mistakes or changes. They were prepared for them, but they would rather avoid them if they could.
It took the man another couple of moments before he properly noticed Five sitting in his chair in the corner of his living room.
He didn't scream, but he paused and clearly looked startled, 'Who the hell are you?'
Five watched him carefully. He never met anyone from the Board of Directors. It was above his pay grade at the time. He was useful for them as an assassin nothing more. Maybe if he stuck around with Handler when she offered him a management position he would meet them, but it didn't matter now.
All that matter now was getting the script for the apocalypse and stopping it once and for all.
'I heard you're in charge of the Handler. She reports directly to you, and only you,' said Five watching the man's reactions. He was sweating and looking around. He was probably deciding if he could run or get a weapon. He seemed like a coward though.
'I don't know what you want, but you can't get it from me,' said the man and tried to run, but Five teleported in front of him and punched him hard enough that he collapsed on the floor where the former member of the Commission pointed a gun at him, 'We can do this painfully or painless. The choice is yours, my friend.'
The man whined a bit holding onto his nose before he looked at the gun clearly afraid, 'No, please, you- you don't understand. I know what you think but it's not like that. It's about the meetings.'
Five frowned. It sounded like something that might interest him, 'Continue.'
The man sat down properly on the floor, 'I'm not who you think I am – well, I am, but not really. The meetings they send me to, I only go there as a replacement.'
Five blinked, 'What does that mean?'
'I worked in Commission. Analyzes, different scenarios and different results, that sort of thing. Low pay. I was approached and offered to act like I was on one of the Board of Directors so that the actual person who was on the Board wouldn't have to show his face. I never even met him. It all went through a low-paid employee, Dot.'
'How did you know what decision to agree to? How did you get orders?'
The man quickly dug something from his pocket, Five allowing it only because he saw it couldn't have been a weapon. It looked like an old Nokia phone.
The dark-haired man looked disbelieved at the fat man for a moment before he managed to get out of himself still utterly shocked by this, 'Are you joking?'
'No, I swear,' assured him the other man while Five seriously wondered what the fuck was happening, 'I don't know how, but it didn't matter where or when we were meeting the phone worked. I sent a message and in a few seconds, the answer came back,' explained the man looking so sincere as absurd as it sounded Five believed him.
'What about the rest of the board? Weren't they suspicious of you constantly texting someone?'
The man blinked, 'Well, no, all of them were doing it.'
Five's eyes widened, 'So none of you are actual board members? None of the people who meet?'
'No, it's my understanding, there was an incident once, and all the members got killed and replaced. I guess this is a safety thing,' the man handed him the phone and Five snatched it. It seemed ordinary enough, but they had briefcases that could time travel so who knew, 'What about the others? Those replacements. You know them?'
'Yes, I can give you a list,' said the man and stood up going for a pen and paper.
'What do you know about the person you're impersonating? Anything?'
'Nothing, he writes texts. He answers quickly. The texts are all there. I was supposed to delete them, but some were interesting.'
Five narrowed his eyes as that could have been something to go on, 'Why?'
'He quotes ancient Greek sometimes. I don't understand it though. I tried to translate it, but-,' he chatted something about his childhood that Five tuned out to think about what he had just learned before his fingers ran through the phone. There was only one contact.
'The name of the contact. Did you give him that or was it there when you got the phone?'
'It was already there,' said the man and started to write the names of the other members of the fake board of directors.
The Professor
He didn't really enjoy killing the man, but he knew he couldn't leave a witness as he returned to the Fixer who stayed outside in case of things when bad. He was smart enough not to want to get caught and involved.
After he explained it to the other man, he chuckled, 'I shouldn't have guessed it wouldn't have been easy at all.'
'No shit,' agreed the other man and checked the list, 'All of these are low-class employees, but this one. Atlas Jericho A.J Carmichael.'
'Fishbowl head, just our luck,' said Five and sighed brushing his face a bit. Another day lost. He didn't like the odds.
'We still have time,' assured him Fixer, but it served as no comfort to Five, 'I had time last time, and shit still backfired!'
'Yeah, but last time you had a glass eye, five useless siblings, and was romancing your first love,' said the other man and grinned at him like the jerk that he was, 'Now you have me, so stop wasting my time.'
Shaking his head, Five grabbed a hold of the briefcase the other offered for him and the two jumped once again this time to a tiny apartment somewhere in Chicago, 'I thought the head of the Board would live in a better place.'
'We're not here for him,' said the Fixer, 'Not yet. I don't want to poke into that until we have no other choice. Killing a director that's not the plan.'
'I thought you wanted a revolution.'
'I'm not an anarchist. I just want more liberal thinking that's all.'
'How very progressive of you.'
'Shut up,' complained the other man before he carried on, 'It's weird that Dot of all people would be recruiting people to pretend to be board members.'
Five agreed. Dot was a home mouse who liked her job. She didn't seem like the risking type. During his assault of the Commission, she was the first to hide.
'Also why did the Handler kill her?' questioned Five loudly, 'She did a good job. She wouldn't tell anyone about the script. She didn't even let me steal it last time. Something's weird.'
'Maybe not, she was a part of the employees I told you about. Those who aren't all that happy with the current situation,' explained the Fixer as the two broke through the lock into her apartment.
'No kidding. Did the Handler know?'
The Fixer shrugged his shoulders as they stepped in, 'She hates my guts either way. Anyone who talks to me is on her suspect list.'
'Because you were sent to watch her after her last failure with me?' asked Five. Apart from that first night they met the Fixer in their childhood home, and heard fist-handed his exchange with the Handler, they rarely spoke about her directly except for talking shit about her.
'That, and I didn't fell to my knees for her as she wanted,' he shot Five a look which he immediately understood.
The Handler hated when her pride got hurt like that.
The place was a mess and not the kind someone untidy would make. The furniture was turned over and things were damaged all over the floor.
'Someone got here first,' said Five annoyed.
The Fixer nodded, 'Did they find what they were looking for though?'
'No,' said Five almost certainly, 'Look at this place, every room and corner was a mess. If you found it, you would have stopped looking. They even locked the door afterward. They didn't want to make it seem like a robbery and maybe they wanted to come back and look some more later.'
'Sounds logical, but if they didn't find it, what makes you think we will?'
'Didn't you know Dot well? Weren't you friends, involved?' asked Five, but the Fixer didn't give him anything to work with, 'She wanted things to go back to the way they used to. She liked writing scripts. She was a storyteller. The further the timeline the more interesting stories for her to write.'
They looked around before the Fixer said, 'The protocol is that if you cannot find anything during a search you should take all the furniture with you and check it piece by piece.'
Five nodded, 'If Dot knew this, she wouldn't hide what she was hiding in furniture but someplace they wouldn't be able to take with them away.'
They started to check the walls. The paintings were obviously off and damaged, but the walls themselves looked untouched.
'Fake,' said Five as he found an empty-sounding wall when he knocked.
They easily broke into it and found a few thousands of scripts and ideas for future fixes of timelines. Some which didn't even happen because the world would end in 2019.
'I told you she was a storyteller,' said the Fixer before he handed him a piece of paper with countless of names, 'She also liked to keep things on notes to work with them later.'
Some names were marked, 'Other fake members. So she recruited all of them?'
'It seemed that, but she had to been given the order by someone,' said the man thinking, 'She was a house mouse, she wanted a change, but she still followed protocol and rules. So whoever told her to do this had to be someone in charge.'
'The Handler?' suggested Five, but that didn't sound right to him. Why would the Handler report to a fake member if she would know who the real member was? Why not report directly to A.J himself?
'Maybe A.J?'
'Maybe,' said the Fixer frowning slightly, 'Either way, we should go. I doubt we will find anything useful here-'
He was cut off as both of them heard the sound of someone's footsteps outside and then the sound of someone working the lock.
They shared a quick look before Five jumped them out of the apartment just before the door opened barely hearing, 'Oldtimer?'
March 28, 2019 - Vanya
She couldn't catch a single moment of sleep the whole night. As nice as it was to meet up with her siblings, she was still shaken to her core by the knowledge that right now Five was somewhere trying to stop the apocalypse alone again.
She touched her stomach. They promised they would work together, be a team, but in his time of need, once again, all Vanya could was to live her life and protect the life of their son.
Sighing she got out of the bed feeling it was harder this time as she was so heavy and felt like a clumsy elephant at times.
Out of Five's old room, she made her way toward the kitchen to get something to drink and maybe calm her nerves. She said she would wake someone if she needed anything so she wouldn't be alone for even a moment, but it was dark and way too early to bother anyone.
Her feet moved easily through their stairs until she found herself in the kitchen stopping abruptly when she was faced with her father, 'Sir.'
'Number Seven,' he said calmly almost emotionless as usual.
It surprised Vanya to hear him call her that as it had been ages since she heard that name. They stopped calling themselves that when they left the academy. It was more than a decade ago.
Her father got old. He was already old when she was younger, but now he seemed even older and weaker standing in the middle of the kitchen drinking his tea as he always hated coffee, 'Are you in the need of assistance?'
The question honestly caught her off guard, and it took her a moment to realize why he was asking, 'No, I just wanted some water, thank you.' She felt pathetic. She felt like she was once again that little girl who thought if only, she was polite, nice, and quiet her daddy would love her more or love her at all.
How stupid of her. She was almost thirty, and she still haven't learned.
'Number Seven.'
'Yes, sir,' she said as she took a glass and started to fill it with some water.
'I do hope you and Number Five are aware of the consequences of your actions,' he said ominously causing the hair at the back of her neck to stand up. Did he mean their child?
Vanya decided to be honest, 'I don't follow.'
'The decisions we make today will haunt us for the rest of our lives. No decision is too small or unimportant in the face of the lives of someone as remarkable as the members of the Umbrella Academy. Someone who was brought here to save the world.'
She shivered at his words, 'Do you know then? About the apocalypse?'
He started to walk away, but before he did he handed her a piece of paper. It was empty which made her question her father's sanity. He was old. They never learned his real age after all.
'No decision is too small, Number Seven. Number Five is a lost cause in being thought a lesson. Perhaps, there is hope for you yet. If not, maybe only the generation after you will be able to tell if your choices were the right ones.'
Just like a shadow or a ghost he was gone leaving Vanya in the need of a blanket to fight off the chill that ran through her more than her thirst.
Five, please come back soon.
Her hand touched her stomach as she silently hoped he could hear her somehow.
March 28, 2019 - Five
The Fixer and Five sat in the backseats of an old black Chevrolet while a clearly older Hazel got to the front, 'Sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you. When I heard about what happened to Dot, I thought I would check it out myself. It's good to see you, old-timer.'
Five smirked, 'Same, how's Agnes?'
'She passed away. Cancer. We did get a good couple of years though before it started. It was a good life,' said the older man clearly at peace with what happened to the woman he loved.
'I'm sorry to hear that.'
'Thanks, what about you? I heard you and the Mrs. are expecting. To be honest, I didn't think that would happen. Congrats.'
'Thanks,' said Five before the Fixer cut in impatiently, 'Can we skip to the part where you, a retired and on the run agent with a stolen briefcase explain why are you here? We're a bit on a clock here.'
'Like I said I came to check out why Dot was killed. I knew you wouldn't pass up the opportunity to stop the apocalypse, and I figured if I snooped around long enough our paths would cross. I want to help if I can,' he said simply, 'The Handler is a bitch. I'm not a fan. Not to mention she's planning something. Other than the apocalypse. Someone killed a member of the board.'
Five sighed, 'That was me and he wasn't a member. The fat man from the 70s.'
Hazel blinked, 'Oh, so him and the others were you guys?'
'The others?' asked the Fixer and he and Five shared a look, 'We only got the fat man to cover our tracks. Who else was killed?'
Hazel pulled a wrapped piece of paper, 'I have a buddy who occasionally sends me updates from the Commission. You know to keep me in the loop so I would avoid them.'
Five took the paper. Three other names from the list they got from the fat man and Dot were mentioned in the short message, 'Why would someone kill them?'
He glanced at the Fixer, 'Someone from the employees you mentioned? Someone who wants a coup.'
'Don't be an idiot,' said the Fixer sure of himself, 'None of them would cross me like this. As I said, we don't want to the apocalypse. We don't care about those in charge.'
'What if you thought they wouldn't change their minds? What if Dot's script is bulletproof and the apocalypse will happen again?' asked Five trying to see if he could read the man, but once again he offered him nothing just calmly looked at him, 'Like I told you once. If the only way you know how to solve something is to kill someone, you aren't trying hard enough. If I didn't think it would change their minds, I wouldn't be helping you, and I would focus my time and energy on something that would.'
Five looked directly at the man, 'But how do you know? Before it was more of a maybe that you believed that maybe if the Commission saw life after the apocalypse they would be interested in going the distance. Why are you so certain now?'
The Fixer frowned at him, 'None of your business.'
'The fuck it isn't!' snapped Five, 'I had just enough of your ominous bullshit. Start giving me a straight answer now. My future and the future of the people I love depends on it-'
'So does mine! Don't think you're some saint because you chose love over a gun and greater purpose! You selfish, old dick!' snapped back the Fixer, and Hazel cut in, 'Hey, as long as our goals are the same let's work with that.'
The two men kept on glaring at each other for a moment as if they wouldn't mind making things physical and violent before they both looked away taking deep breaths and calming down.
'We should find out if they still had their phones on. If not, it means whoever killed them was after their phones and try and find the actual board members,' said the Fixer, and Five agreed, 'Who of this do you know?'
They picked one of the names and went to check his place and the morgue. It was a bullet wound into the head. The poor bastard never saw it coming as he opened the door and was shot in place. They spent more time they would like looking up other fake members.
'No phone. So, it's obvious, whoever, has the phones is searching for the board members and killing them off.'
'Unfortunately, without said phones, we cannot know the identity of the board members to check,' said the Fixer and groaned, 'You have to go to A.J.'
'We?' asked Five and the Fixer shot him a look, 'I'm not risking getting seen with the likes of you two. No offense.'
'Some taken,' said Hazel while Five stepped closer to the other man in an intimidating way, 'Why? Still want to have a job after all of this is over?'
'As a matter of fact, yes,' said the Fixer, 'I told you, I don't care who's in charge.'
'Why don't you want to be in charge then? Would be simpler.'
The Fixer's face changed a bit, almost darkened, 'No, it wouldn't, Number Five. Now, let's go. A.J unlike the others doesn't have a place outside of the Commission. We will have to find a way to sneak you too in without anyone noticing.'
They shared a look. It sounded risky, but what choice did they have if they wanted to figure out what was going on, get the apocalypse script from the Handler and stop the apocalypse.
Fuck his life, honestly.
They formed a plan. Since the only place a briefcase could get them within the Commission's main headquarters was the briefcase room, the Fixer would have to lure A.J there and act as if he had no idea Five and Hazel would appear. It was better than nothing and their time was running out fast.
They waited for the half-hour as agreed before they ended up in the briefcase room. One different than Five and probably Hazel remembered since Five successfully blew the last one up to buy himself some time.
'Number Five, Hazel as I was expecting,' said the shubunkin goldfish inside a robotic body Aka the head of the Temps Commission Board of Directors, 'So good to see you again. Although our meetings were very long ago and brief.'
Five only ever saw Fish Bowl head once shortly after he became a proper agent and had his first kill. He was on his way to report to the Handler when the man was on his way out. Right now, as the man was standing in front of them with his crossed arms and about ten other agents were present pointing their guns at them, Five wished he had shot him the first time he met him.
The Fixer was standing next to the man not bothering to look apologetic or like he planned any of this so as usual, Five had zero ideas what to think about the whole thing.
'Let's talk,' said the man and offered them to sit down at the chairs as if specially prepared for them.
With the choice either to fight their way out or hear to what the man had to say, they shared a quick look and preferred to stand up.
'Very well, as I was informed by our Fixer, you had nothing to do with the deaths of our board members,' said A.J, 'As unlikely as it may seem, I believe you. The question is now who is and why are you involved?'
When they didn't say anything, the man pulled out a cigarette and lightened it up putting it into the small hole in his fishbowl.
He sighed pleased by the nicotine.
'We're trying to stop the apocalypse,' said Five honestly not really seeing any other option.
'Ah yes, the Handler's little project. I can see why that would bother you as your family is at stake.'
Five rose his eyebrows, 'Not to mention the rest of the world.'
A.J chuckled upon hearing that, 'Don't kid yourself. People like you don't give two shits about others only the those they consider family, loved ones, etc.'
Five shrugged his shoulders. He could argue that he was better than that, but he knew these people were interested in some heroic speeches, 'Fine, say you're right. So you understand my motivation and how I won't stop until it's done.'
'Admirable,' said the fishbowl head, 'Too bad, you didn't want to stay with us. You would be a good fit. Not just as an agent, Number Five.'
'I'm not interested in that anymore,' he said sure of himself. No part of him ever wanted anything with this life apart from protecting his family.
'I understand. Some people learn to live with less. It's a pity, but we can't all want more. Not everyone can get it,' he tossed the end of his smoke to a small bin near him, 'I'll cut you a deal. Right now, there is apparently a plan for a hostile takeover of our little Commission. No doubt Handler has something to do with it as she is nowhere to be found. The deal is you get rid of the traitors, and I burn whatever script Dot wrote with my next cigarette.'
Five peaked with interest, 'What about any future script?'
'There will be none. I can't guarantee you the same from any other board that would take place, but as long as I am in charge, the lives of everyone after April 1st, 2019 will be secured,' he said and rose his hand, 'Do we have a deal?'
'Just like that? How can I trust you? You people lie every chance you got,' stated Five.
'A gentleman is only as worthy as his word,' said A.J, 'Besides, I will give you an insure in telling you a little secret one which could serve you dearly and cause us a lot of problems if it got out.'
Five glanced at Hazel who looked tense, but also a bit hopeful, and then at the Fixer who looked almost worried at A.J clearly not liking the idea that Five would know any of the Temp Commission's secrets.
He smirked at that and took his hand, 'Fine, I never had a problem with selling my soul to Satan if it meant I would get what I want, what's the secret, Fish Bowl Head?'
April 1, 2019 - Vanya
When she opened the door, she froze as a thirteen-year-old Five stood there looking at her confused, 'Hello.'
She blinked her heart speeding up as realization slowly got to her.
No! Not again!
'I don't want to be rude, Miss, but I am in a hurry. Could you let me in?' he asked suddenly, and she blinked the confusion clear on her face. So…so it wasn't her Five. It wasn't the Five who was out there somewhere trying to stop the apocalypse. This was…this had to be the Five that left her at thirteen before the Five from the old timeline took his place.
How was this possible? He was…he was early. Even if he jumped, he would have ended a day after the supposed apocalypse not now.
She felt sick again. Oh Five, poor Five, he didn't know.
She stepped aside before she knew what she was doing and watched Five in his thirteen-year-old body walked inside glancing briefly at her stomach before he turned to the stairs.
'Vanya!' he called, and Vanya gasped.
He was still Five after all. Of course, he was looking for her.
Five shot her a confused look as he must have heard her, 'Who are you again? I don't think you introduced yourself. Are you a visitor of my father's?'
'No, Five,' said Vanya before she took a deep breath and stepped closer to him.
He blinked looking suspicious as she raised her hand and pressed it against his cheek. This was a very dangerous thing to do younger Five didn't like a stranger to touch him, and he avoided even handshakes from the mayor and other political figures. However, even if he was looking at her frowning a bit, he still let her press her hand against his face and let her guide his gaze toward her face. A moment passed and not long afterward his expression started to soften as if he was recognizing her touch or perhaps her face.
'Five,' she said as gently as she could and his eyes suddenly lit up with understanding, 'Vanya?'
She smiled at him ready to cry before she put her hand away and took his, 'Oh Five, did you just jump in time?'
He nodded looking panicked at her face and stomach, 'I didn't make it back-'
'Oh, no, you did, you're here...well not here right now, but you're an adult and you're here,' she assured him quickly hoping it would smooth his worries.
It seemed to work, but only for a second before his eyes fell on her stomach again.
Not wishing to worry him further she bit her lip before she confessed, 'It's ours. Mine and yours, well other you, adult you,' she clarified as it felt extremely weird and a bit wrong to tell this to his pre-teenage version.
Five blinked looking at her face again before he chuckled and blushed to step away and let go of her hand, 'Oh, okay. Uh, good?'
He was very much embarrassed which would have been cute if the situation wasn't urgent and messy. He didn't seem to know what to say, and Vanya didn't blame him. If someone told her at thirteen, she would be pregnant with Five's baby, she would probably go mute and avoid everyone for a couple of days out of pure awkwardness.
'Shit!' they heard from the left and saw Klaus and Ben coming their way pointing at Five, 'Is he little again-'
'This is Five who traveled back in time when we were thirteen,' Vanya said quickly putting her hand on Five's shoulder and both brothers visibly relaxed, 'Uf, thank the Goddess. You were less annoying then.'
'So were you apparently,' mumbled Five earning himself a grimace and a chuckle.
Ben immediately came up to him and teased him a bit about his height taking off some of Vanya's worries. She was glad this Number Five was safe now and not stuck in a wasteland, but she would have felt better if her Number Five would return. He was gone for so long, and as much as she hoped she was mistaken, she had a hunch based on her occasional pains and sensation, she wouldn't make it a day longer.
'Holy shit, is Five a baby again?!' called out Allison, and Vanya forced a smile trying to explain to her what was happening right before they heard a large explosion and everyone was forced to the ground by the impact. Just as it did in another timeline ago.
It all happened so damn fast. She felt pain. Horrible devastating pain like someone was tearing her apart. Her stomach hurt and panic and pain mixed into something unbearable.
Someone was trying to help her get up and then in the next moment despite her protest she was in the lounge on the ground. Her ears were ringing and thirteen-year-old Five was shaking her looking around not sure what was happening either.
Then there was a shot that came through the noise of an attack one which all too well reminded Vanya of the time she took her own life except now she knew it wasn't her who fired the shot.
A body fell to the ground, and the next thing she knew Vanya was holding onto the body of thirteen-year-old Five in her arms pushing her hand against his wound, 'It's okay. It's okay. You're going to be okay.'
The Handler barked out laughter, 'You two make me sick.'
'Five, Five, look at me. It's going to be okay, Five-I-'
Silence, the boy inside her arms closed his eyes letting out a single soft breath as if it didn't even hurt at all. If nothing else, Vanya at least hoped for his sake that it didn't even hurt. The shot came out of nowhere. There was no panic. There was no screaming of agony. His eyes didn't even look scared. The green orbs just met hers and then he was gone. She could see it clearly.
Vanya shot her a horrified look tears falling down her eyes. How? How was this happening? Why? Her whole body felt in pure agony as she wanted to scream out both physical and emotional devastation. Her son was calling to be let into this world at the worse time imaginable like a pure Hargreeves.
'Always looking so hopeful. Always trying don't you see that there is no way for you to stop this?' Vanya didn't even hear half of Handler's words not that she expected that bitch have anything worth hearing to say over the sound of her own blood rushing through her ears, 'The Apocalypse will always happen and there is nothing you or anyone can do-'
She suddenly felt a safety go off somewhere behind her.
'I wouldn't be so sure of that,' she heard a male voice and very slowly turned around only to be left speechless as she was staring into the muzzle of adult Five's gun.
Vanya sobbed pushing the thirteen-year-old body closer even if she knew he was already gone still carrying some hope that maybe somehow, he was still there.
Her palm was still pressing hard against his open wound on his chest, 'It's okay. You'll be fine. You...'
'You?' the Hander looked behind her to Vanya and the thirteen-year-old Five before she chuckled, 'Oh, I see, he's the real thirteen-year-old one who jumped into the future. The ones whose equations you purposely butchered. Brilliant,' said the hateful woman realizing and smiling like a maniac like she didn't even care Five was holding a gun to her head, 'Well done. You outdid yourself truly impressive.'
She looked at the adult Five, 'So what now? You shot me the Commission will send someone else and they will start the apocalypse. Too bad none of you will remember this-'
'Shut up,' said Five calmly, 'A.J cut a deal with me. It's over. I hand him your head, and there won't be an apocalypse.'
The Handler laughed, 'Don't be absurd. You can't honestly believe that. You're not that stupid-'
'He told me about the story about the first briefcase,' said Five shutting the Handler up, 'As leverage. So that I know he wouldn't betray me and our deal.'
The smirk fell off the woman's face as a wave of pain hit Vanya so hard, she felt like fainting, 'That's- He would never-'
'He would if it meant getting rid of you. He would if it meant you wouldn't murder him in his office like you did those other suckers.'
'What the hell are you talking about? That wasn't me! That was you and your little bitch the Fixer,' accused him the Handler and for a second Five's façade cracked as he did believe her, but Vanya didn't have time or energy to watch as she fainted from the pain.
The last thing she saw before she was gone, was herself, pale and ghostly reaching for her taking the pain away all so easily.
Now - Five
'Why is it always nothing chaos when you children are around?' asked Sir Reginald as Five passed him and the mess in the main hallway in favor of getting into the infirmary to check on Vanya and his son.
For some reason, he stopped in his track and looked at the old man, something on his mind since he spoke with the fat man who pretending to be a board member. The real board member liked ancient Greek, but not just any kind.
Homer
It was just a hunch, but a very good one. He snuck his palm into his pocket and dug out the old Nokia phone, the fake member used to communicate with the real one. They planned to use him if they needed it, but never got the chance.
He dialed the number of the only contact present The Professor.
Somewhere upstairs, they both heard Sir Reginald's age phone ring. How could such a phone even send text messages were beyond Five's knowledge, but he did really care.
'I'm going to check on my son and woman. When I come back, we're going to have a long chat. No short backs, no bullshit, got it weak old man?' he asked but didn't wait for an answer.
'Think whatever you wish, Number Five, but in the end it all worked out in all our favors,' said their father. Always one to have the last word causing Five to realize the Handler wasn't lying. She didn't kill the other board member, Hargreeves did to secure that they wouldn't object to stopping the apocalypse.
He didn't tell him anything else. Five didn't want to feel anything but bliss when he would see Vanya and their son.
He did.
The moment he stepped into the room and saw them with Vanya sitting on the bed and their son inside her arms even if he had seen them a while ago, he once again felt like he was bathed in sunshine.
Taking a deep breath, he walked closer only then noticing another person in the room.
Five glanced over at the Fixer. His cheek was bloodied from his fight with the Swedes, a trio of the best agents of the Commission, and the limp in his step before told Five it wasn't an easy fight, but the way he was looking now at Vanya almost caused Five to step forward in some sort of sense of pure jealousy.
The Fixer looked shaken when he heard about Ghost Vanya that one time, regretful. But now, he looked different. Soft, incredibly so. Like he was touched beyond words, his dark eyes almost shining with emotions. Five felt jealous. Why the hell was he looking at his Vanya this way?
He almost stepped closer to hide her from his view, until he realized the direction of his gaze. No, he wasn't looking at Vanya at all. His dark eyes, so soft and carrying with so many unspoken emotions almost like Five's own was looking at the child in Vanya's arms, their son.
The Fixer was looking at their son the way…the way Five knew he looked at Vanya every time he felt his heart couldn't love her more but found alas found some more love or space just for her.
And now their son.
The son that very much obviously so had to be the reason, the person, the Fixer was so determined to help them, protect them, stop the apocalypse.
Five understood that. More than ever, he felt like he knew and understood the man. They were the same. They both cared beyond reason and words for their loved ones.
'He doesn't have a name yet,' mumbled Five quietly causing the Fixer's eyes to look at him, their softness replaced with a much more typical edge, 'Any ideas?'
The other man must have known what he meant or perhaps he was simply too shaken to meet the person he cared for again as a baby reminding Five of how he was immediately taken and shaken when he saw four-year-old Vanya and himself so many years ago.
He leaned closer to Vanya and hugged her a bit pressing his lips against her forehead feeling calm and in bliss over the fact that they were alive. That they survived and stopped the apocalypse, were alive and together.
'Julian,' said the Fixer in a gentle voice that caused even Vanya to look up and meet his gaze.
Five glanced at the baby boy, quietly sleeping in her arms oblivious to the world around him.
He was perfect.
His son was perfect.
'That's a beautiful name,' said Vanya suddenly and when her brown eyes shared a look with Five, he knew she figured it out too.
They both looked at the boy now and Five whispered, 'Julian Hargreeves, welcome to the world.'
'Happy April 1st, Julian.'
For a second the boy opened his baby blue eyes as if he recognized they were talking about him or perhaps his own name. He was beautiful.
At last, everything was as it was supposed to be. At last, they would be alright.
Five never felt more at peace and in love than being by Vanya's side and looking at their child.
'You did great. I love you. Thank you.'
Vanya looked at him no doubt feeling the same, 'I love you too, and thank you for the everything too.'
He kissed her forehead one more time before they looked at their perfect creation once again. He was truly a stunning child. Five never felt more in love than in that very moment with both his most important people near him.
This was the absolute peak of happiness.
The Ghost Vanya's hand reached over to the ghost of the thirteen-year-old Five, and he automatically took it.
'Remember when...when I took you out to watch the stars?' he asked carefully after a while, and she looked over at him still smiling.
'I saw how you just jumped. Because you had such strong faith in me, and between that second that you actually were safely by the drain and I was holding you, I realized that you but just all your faith into me like it was nothing. Like you...you just trusted me, and I never felt so scared because if I didn't catch you. If I failed you would be dead…'
'You never failed me, Five. I can assure you of that,' she squeezed his hand finally understanding why she had to stay behind this long, and she wouldn't want it any other way. She had a son. She and Five had a beautiful baby boy, and ghost Vanya was beyond grateful she got to see him, knowing this Five was grateful he got to see his happy future as well even if he couldn't live it.
'I always trusted you and had faith in you, and I'm glad that I did,' she said honestly.
The light in front of them was bright and had a sense of warmth about it.
'Vanya', he started again, his pre-teen voice a bit shaky. His usual confidence the one he had even as an actual thirteen-year-old was not present this time, 'I'm sorry that I left you... That day in the dining room. I shouldn't have left you.'
Vanya looked over at him with a calm smile and no regrets before she squeezed his hand a bit, It's okay, Five. I forgive you. I'm sorry I didn't stop you or ran after you at least.'
She saw him swallowing like he was preparing to say something else, 'Vanya, I think... I think I love you and I'm sorry we didn't have more time.'
She shook her head still smiling, 'We had. We will.'
Both of them looked back at the room where they could hear the others talking only Klaus able to see them now, 'I love you too by the way. I think I always did. I think I always would have. Isn't that funny?'
'Hysterical,' said Five dryly causing the woman to giggle softly before she took a deep breath, 'We should go.'
'Yeah,' he agreed and this time they walked together into the light.
'What do you think will happen there?' she asked her voice almost hard to hear as the two started to slowly walk further into the light. For Klaus, it only looked like they were fading away since it wasn't his time to see the light anymore.
'I don't know, but as long as will be together we will be fine,' said Five with his typical confidence and just as she always did when they were younger Vanya believed him.
'Do you think in other timelines and universes we made it?'
'I think-'
Klaus didn't hear the answer as Ben put his hand on his shoulder, 'You okay, buddy?'
The taller man nodded and when he looked back ghost Vanya and Five were gone. This time finally at peace for good.
With nothing more possible to do, Klaus turned back to present Five and Vanya who were sitting next to each other impossibly close.
Five was quiet while Vanya was talking to Allison who was holding her new godchild with love and care while her own daughter, was peeking at her cousin over her shoulder.
'Hey, Five!'
His brother looked at him curiously with that same sense of annoyance he always showed when someone looked like they were about to ask him something stupid.
'Do you think in other timelines and universes you and Vanya dearest made it?'
This caused even Vanya to cut whatever she was about to say to Allison short as both of them and the rest of their siblings turned to look at them.
Five's lips curled into a very certain smirk. One which they knew it was impossible to argue against with.
'I think that as long as we exist in the same timeline or universe Vanya and I always find a way to meet. In fact, I know that.'
'That doesn't mean you made it.'
'It does,' argued Vanya and took Five's hand squeezing it while her other hand touched their son's tiny firstborn dark hair, 'As long as we meet one way or another, we made it.'
'Who knows?' said Ben and stepped closer, 'Maybe there's a universe or timeline where you have a daughter.'
'Oh, that would have been so cute,' said Allison happily and glanced at Luther in a knowing way, 'What would you name her?'
'Elena,' said Vanya instantly and shrugged when Five rose his eyebrows at her wondering where did she get that name since they knew pretty early on it would be a boy.
'Maybe wait a bit and see how much will you screw this one before you jump into the next one,' suggested Diego crossing his arms, 'Besides first ones never come out right.'
Almost everyone glanced at Luther who shot them all a look, 'We were born at the same time, you cannot say I'm the oldest. Besides isn't Five like the oldest and then Vanya and Klaus?'
'Doesn't matter, we all know Ben is the youngest,' waved Klaus earning an accusive look from the man, 'How can you say that? If anyone is the youngest here, it's you. You still act like a child.'
'That doesn't mean I'm youngest at all, and we're getting off-topic here. Maybe in another universe, you don't have any kids. Maybe you have cats.'
'Or maybe Vanya works for the commission instead of Five.'
'Maybe there are timelines now where you never left.'
'Or we never gotten adopted.'
'Maybe there are timelines when you came back sooner.'
'Or maybe you came back later but managed to stop the apocalypse.'
'Maybe there's a timeline you took me with you to the future,' said Vanya, but Five shook his head. He suffered enough there but wouldn't want to see Vanya face the same even if it meant he wouldn't be alone.
'Maybe in some timelines I survived and met you there, would you have forgiven me?'
Five gently kissed her cheek, 'Always and anything.'
She smiled at him in a way that almost made his heart skip. He was glad it still had this effect on him even now.
'Maybe in another timeline, I came back old, would you still love me?'
'Yes,' she chuckled, 'Imagine a timeline where you came back our age. I wonder how different everything could be.'
'I hope not different at all,' he said and watched as little Julian opened his eyes again moving a bit in Vanya's arms.
'Five, you've gone so soft, it's pathetic,' joked Diego and Five shot him a look.
'Maybe in another timeline we live in a nice quiet cabin in the woods far away from you people,' said Five earning booing and laughter from his siblings.
He didn't really care about other timelines and universes at that moment far too content and grateful that he was home in this one right here. But if there were other timelines and universes and stories about him and Vanya and their siblings. Stories with a happy ending and stories with a sad one. Stories that didn't have an ending yet and maybe were left unfinished. But whatever their story was. Whoever they were. In whatever shape and size and body. He hoped in all of those amazing and wonderful stories they met, and as long as they met for a however short moment and whoever they were and wherever they were, just like Vanya said, somehow, and this Five believed more than anything in the world, with their love and care for each other…
…they made it.
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
Koniec
A.N: Hi guys, not gonna lie, I needed to stop before the final part and cry a bit partly because this was so emotional and partly because I'm still stressed about everything that is happening in the world right now.
The ending to this story changed a bit every time since I hit a few author's blocks and whatnot, but I always wanted the end to be a happy and hopeful one. Maybe some of you know that I see this story and its timeline as the first one from which all the others come from my What If series and You could have loved me forever…series. So it was really important for me to finish it and give it a proper happy ending.
Anyway, thank you for reading this chapter and the story in general. I'm sorry it took me so long to finish it. I hope all of you enjoyed it, and aren't too mad about certain things. Thank you so much for everything you gave me, all the support, comments, reviews, kudos, favorites, bookmarks, following, and just all your love so to speak.
I am very grateful that I wrote this story, and I'm very grateful that I wrote it when I did when our fandom was so tiny compared to how huge it is now. I'm really glad some many many people ship 5/7 and how I hope it will stay that way. I would like to think a few joined due to the stories I and others wrote in the beginning. It's a nice thought :)
Either way, the past few years had been hard. First covid and now the war in Ukraine. I'm from Mukachevo, and all my family still lives there. I sincerely hope that wherever you are from you and your family are alright. Pray For Ukraine (if you're not into praying that at least make a wish or send a positive thought :)), but also pray for every country that is in a similar situation. Stay safe. Sorry for the long rant. Have a nice day. Olex :)
PS: Long Live Elliot Page and Viktor Hargreeves :)