When Five woke up, it was no longer morning. Sun was pouring in through the curtains and bounced off every white surface, almost blinding him. Practically living as a sewer rat does not bode well for the eyes. He quickly shut it, unable to handle the dry, puffy eyes, with the dry cracked throat. Then, every other sensor in his body lit up. He felt a warm hand on his back. Not against his shirt, but directly on his skin. He felt his familiar cardigan from the greenhouse. He had worn it so much it was turning the olive green into a dark forest green. His other arm was tickled by her hair that was using it as a pillow. And he felt his legs tangled and locked against her small legs. He smelled her honey shampoo and missed the ginger, he heard her soft exhales and inhales, and he finally felt her. His eyes finally adjusted through his closed lids, and he let himself see her. She had cheeks slimmer than after their forceful starvation in the subway lines and sleepless nights keeping watch. Her eyes were dry as well, puffy, and irritated. Her hair was tangled and created a small nest on the side of her head. He felt so much in such little time that it hurt his head. He felt the familiar strain between his ribs and his heart but couldn't explain why.
Lila started fluttered her eyes much easier than Five did as she faced against the Sun.
She smiled and muttered "It was real."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be here." Five muttered backs. He didn't pull away from her, he wouldn't until she kicked him out. Or somebody.
"Don't leave." Lila suddenly concerned, panicked and scared. She gripped his back tighter. He had forgotten that her hand had somehow slid underneath his shirt in the night and was reinvigorated at the thought.
"I love you." Five said, making his dream solidified in this timeline. He needed her to know in this timeline and every timeline, that he, Five, loved her.
"I-" Lila was bashfully cut off by the click of the doorknob, a sharp twist, and a swing that creaked the hinges. Both heads snapped up at the twist of the knob and was half sitting up when Diego fully stepped into the room. Their synchronicity was not unnoticed by all three of them, a small testament of their seven years in the other timelines carved into their bones. Shallow sleeps and waking up panicked had become second nature to them.
"ARE-you fucking kidding me?" Diego started to shout but remembered the kids and finished in a loud whisper. "Why is he here? Lila you cannot sneak boys in the house like you are in high school."
"Diego, I'm sorry. I accidentally blipped here last night." Five explained rapidly, getting up and straightening his clothes. "It's my fault. Don't be mad at her."
Lila, still sitting on the bed, honestly didn't care about Diego in the slightest. She was anxiously looking at Five, worried he might leave. She kept snapping her head at Diego to look at his face, then snapped back to Five. She wanted to grab his sleeve just in case he might blip away. Diego was starting to get annoyed that Lila kept staring at Five, like he wasn't there. But Diego also knew the look on her face when Five wasn't here. It pissed him off that Five will never know when Five wasn't looking at her. Diego wanted to take a photo of it and throw it in his face.
He was so conflicted and confused. He saw the effect that Five had on her but didn't want to lose her. He knew he had lost her a long time ago though and hated that he had let that happen. He wanted her happy, but only with himself. He wanted Five here, and safe, but also wanted to throw him at the moon.
He resulted all of this by saying "Five, I'd clench your teeth, if I were you." And gave Five his signature right swing that once had crowds going. This was the first time he heard a scream when he threw it. Five's face went swinging and as Diego advice, he clenched his jaw at the last moment. He felt the bruise imminently forming, his jaw sore and felt out of place. He shook is jaw out to check if everything was in its place, and surprisingly it was. Five knew he pulled his punch and for the first time, was grateful of Diego. Lila jumped out of bed, finally, really, looking at Diego. She pushed him and yelled "Absolutely not!"
"You are shitting me, right? Lila, look at me. You left your family, got lost in a subway timeline time machine bullshit, came back after fucking my brother. You don't think he deserved that?" Diego spat and the betrayal seeped out of his pores. "Seven years, Lila. What you did, it cost you seven years." His eyes bore into hers, and she couldn't look away. Guilt hit her and she knew what she did wasn't right, but she felt it now.
Five muttered, "Not a time machine, but okay," and Lila shot him a glare. Diego growled past Lila.
"Diego, I know what I did was so fucked up, okay?" She tried to gather more courage and continued, "but I'm sorry, I don't think I can do this without him." She pleaded. "You have to know, I tried to stop anything from happening for six years. I fought for you for six bloody years." She shook her head trying to remember the the life away from him. "It's been a day for you, but it's been a lifetime for me. It's not like I'm forgetting you or my family, the life with you was beautiful and wonderful. But I'm talking about not being able to breathe properly. I can't live, properly. So please. Don't hurt him."
She let go of him chest and her force against him when she saw his eyes soften under hers. Diego finally understood what she was talking about and also understood that they have never felt that feeling with each other. He was suddenly jealous of Lila. He was disappointed that he had never felt that feeling with anyone, even with her. The fact that they felt like this after seven years together after their own seven, felt like a direct comparison. Diego wanted that too. He wanted to feel breathless when Lila left the room and wore the face Lila had when Five wasn't with her. No matter how hard he twisted it, it would never be.
"Figure out what you want. I'll be downstairs." He said quietly, defeated, and processing, then turned to leave, grabbed the knob to shut the door. "Oh, and everyone's downstairs." He turned back at Five and continued, "Everyone." He shut the door and they could hear him walk downstairs.
Once Diego shut the door, Lila rushed to Five. She carefully caressed his left jaw, hissing at the cut from Diego's pinky ring. An imprint of his fist was starting to form, bursting colors of purple and blue. Five immediately said "Don't worry about it. It'll be gone in a few days." He tried not to wince when she touched him. "Lila, we need to talk about this. What are we doing here?" He reciprocated the caress on her cheek, changing the subject.
"We're figuring it out. I don't want to leave. I don't want to fight. I want to... keep loving you. If that's okay." Lila said into his hand, enjoying the touch she'd been hoping for, for days now. "I think we need to find somewhere else, somewhere apart from all of this."
"You mean run? Again? Try to forget our, your real life?" Five looked down at her eyes and waited for the truth to reach her tongue.
"No. Not run. I don't know, okay? I'm just trying to cope with the fact that I love you enough right now." Lila shot him a look, "Isn't that enough, for now?"
"It's always enough. You are always enough, for me. You are everything. How do you not understand?" Five leaned and touch her forehead to his. It was warm and the ache on his chest was dulling out every moment he spent with her. "I won't leave unless you tell me to." He broke smile and cracked his dimple on Lila which made her hitch her breath.
She whispered as she looked up at his eyes. "I... want to survive every timeline with you. I want to grow strawberries here and feed my kids with 'em. I don't want to look behind me or hope for another quiet day. Do you think we'll ever have that?" She slid her arm around Five and brought him to a hug. She couldn't help but slide her other hand underneath the shirt again to find the warmth even closer to her body.
"I love you, you know that yeah?" Lila mumbled in his shirt, face buried and glowing red as Five peeked down at her face. God, Five would never get tired of that.
"I love you. I know that. I do." Five said, "but I'm not sure you'd want me in every timeline. You have a life here. I don't want to take that."
"I want to share that. With you, idiot." Lila finally looked up, her chin resting on his chest. "I want to live, like actually live, with you."
Five couldn't help it. She had said everything he'd wanted to hear her say since day one. He leaned down and met his mouth to hers. They kissed, hungrily but slowly. Trying to savor every moment with her, Five kept holding her. His strong arm supported her back and the other held the back of her head, bring her closer to him. Her hands still underneath the shirt pulled him tighter and kissed Five back. It felt like a new breath had entered them and peace had returned to their soul. Their lips fought for more access, and nothing was enough now. Her hands roamed his back, and he felt every movement, smiling at her traveling hands. He separated their kiss, catching his breath, and placed a soft kiss on her lips. He kissed her cheek and her jaw, just for good measure. She smiled and kissed his bruised jaw. "I hope that won't leave a mark. I like your cute face as it is."
Five held her hand and brought them downstairs. His hair was still shaggy and small stubble was beginning to form. When they landed downstairs and entered the living room, he saw all of his siblings sitting and chatting, trying to keep their voices down. But as soon as Five cleared his throat, everyone turned to look at him. In the corner of his eye, he saw Lila's parents and their grandchildren playing in the backyard and was glad they wouldn't be part of this conversation.
"Hi everyone." Five said, awkwardly. He was never the type, at least in his family, to bring trouble. Sure, he'd spoiled a few apocalypses or two, but never something as world-shattering as this. "So... yes, it's true that me and Lila... are together."
This brought an onslaught of gasps and small mutterings of 'Jesus Christ' and 'Woah, okay, that's... new.' Rumors had been clearly discussed, but to be confirmed by Five, now that meant something. Lila stepped up next to him, "I know, it's a lot. But I just need everyone to get on board. We have been through so much more than you can imagine. Okay? Just need to know that we love each other." She didn't ask, she told them. She needed this and there was nobody that was going to stop her. She would kill the world than be separate from him. She knew that now.
Five just stared at Lila as she said all of this. He couldn't believe it. Mere 12 hours ago, everything felt like the end. He had cried the tears he didn't shed during his 45 years in the apocalypse, and nothing scared him anymore. He stepped closer to her and kissed her temple. His family stared at them throughout all of this. Klaus looked so interested, curious, and genuinely understanding of their seven years. He is the first to know about spending a lifetime with someone you love, only to be brought back to reality. His heart throbbed at the thought of Dave, but he was now used to it. Diego held the same face since they entered the living room and no one, not even Lila, could understand what he was thinking. Viktor, Allison, and Luther were more confused than ever, trying hard to play catch up.
Five broke the long, quiet silence and said "I'm sorry for the harm this caused. I really wasn't thinking about that. But I don't regret getting to love Lila. I will always choose to love her."
All of his sibling, except for Diego, busted into a million questions.
"What do you mean seven years? Where? How? Where?" Allison shouted.
"Aww that's so sweet, you guys. I'm kinda excited for this." Klaus was just here for a good time.
"But aren't you married to Diego?" Luther asked.
"Woah woah, be kind, rewind, and start from the beginning." Viktor tilted his head.
Diego just glared at Five. As much as Five tried to ignore it, the harder he stared, more his jaw hurt.
"What happened to your jaw, Five?" Viktor asked and room went quiet, waiting for an answer. Viktor was always the kindest sibling Five had known. Unlike everyone else's asshole behavior, Viktor had a kind and soft heart. He couldn't afford that, even in his childhood, and always admired Viktor for keeping his. He remembered the times he read Viktor's autobiography during his 45-year survival. Countless times he read, more respect he found for Viktor, even more now, knowing the capabilities of his power. Viktor once said that he would leave out Five's favorite sandwich for weeks waiting for him and a part of him softened that day and never looked back since.
"I decked him." Diego finally spoke up.