Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You knew Five hated the bar you chose; it’s not like that was a big secret. It was hard not to notice his impassive expression and tense body language. He was nursing his whiskey, twirling the crystal tumbler on the table while scanning the room. He sat with his back against the wall so he could keep an eye on the entire place. He had also insisted that you sit either next to him or across from him. He didn’t like having you too far away.

So, you sat next to him while you laughed and chatted with your friends. Your voices echoed off the high ceilings of the trendy bar, mixing with the continual stream of jazz from the live saxophonist that was intensifying Five’s building headache. Your hand rested on his knee under the table, even while your body was turned towards your fellow dancers as you talked. Every so often you would feel his leg twitch under your hand.

Five wasn’t being rude, necessarily, but he wasn’t exactly engaging in social norms, either. Your friends knew him by now. You had been officially dating for several months, and even before that he was known as your handsome bodyguard that roamed around the dance studio. He was no longer your bodyguard in the sense that you paid him for his security services, but he had never stopped guarding you in other ways.

Because of the previous stalker situation, Five was protective of you. And because you had almost been strangled to death by said stalker, you were grateful for it. You tried not to live your life in fear, but there was always that lingering feeling of dread lurking at the back of your mind. When Five was with you, though, you felt safe. He had already proven he would kill anyone that tried to hurt you, and as messed up as that was, you loved knowing that.

Your relationship was comfortable and easy. And hot. No one turned you on quite as much as he did, and he didn’t even have to try. Sometimes you would just look at that ridiculously handsome face of his or listen to his voice as he droned on about something and pretty soon you were jumping on top of him. When you had told him he was irresistible he had just smirked in that sexy way of his, proving your point.

You threw your head back and laughed loudly at something someone at the opposite side of the long table had said and squeezed Five’s leg. Another friend flagged a server down and ordered a third round of drinks for the table.

You felt, rather than heard, Five’s quiet groan of protest.

“What’s wrong?” you asked him, still smiling.

“Are you about ready to wrap this up?” he asked you.

“Soon, I promise.”

“That’s what you said an hour ago,” he reminded you.

“But it’s our big Romeo and Juliet wrap party! I want to celebrate!” you whined, already kind of drunk. You didn’t drink much normally, so when you did it didn’t take much to feel the effects.

Stephan, your dance partner, sat across from you. He could tell that Five was getting more irritated by the second. He also knew how much Five hated attention being brought to himself.

Stephan raised a glass in his direction, gesturing for a toast from the table.

“Here’s to Five, our hero. Without him we might not have our star dancer sitting here with us today, and that would have been a far greater tragedy than two star-crossed teenagers. Cheers to you, my friend.”

The rest of the table raised their glasses and echoed with their own “Cheers”, clinking their glasses together. A few yelled down to Five that he was a real-life superhero. Five grinned sheepishly and nodded his thanks in their direction while taking a drink from his glass of slightly watered down whiskey.

“Thanks a lot,” Five grumbled affectionately at Stephan. Despite Five’s initial jealousy towards your longtime partner, the two men were now friends. Five liked him and thought he was funny. It didn’t hurt that Stephan was not into women, and was happily married to another man, so there was no chance of a threat there.

Stephan laughed. “I know how you love attention. You’re welcome.”

“Asshole,” Five shot back with a smile.

“But you are my hero,” you purred next to Five’s ear, making sure to slide your hand a little further up his thigh.

Five pretended not to notice.

“So, are we going or what?” he asked again with more annoyance.

At that moment the drinks arrived for the table and there were more appreciative cheers.

“Just one more drink,” you told Five, kissing him on the cheek. “Then I promise we can go.”

Someone passed you a drink of vodka and soda and you took a small sip.

“You can’t handle any more, darling,” Five told you with that know-it-all expression on his face. “Leave the hard stuff to the professionals, ok? Let’s get out of here.”

“In a minute,” you answered with an exaggerated eye roll. “Calm down.”

Five snorted out a quiet laugh and shook his head. He leaned in close to you, his lips just barely brushing over the shell of your ear.

“We are going. Now, sweetheart,” he told you.

His words had an underlying hardness to them, despite the term of endearment. But considering the fact that you had no problem submitting to him when he wanted you to, you found yourself thinking maybe you should call it a night.

You nodded. “Yeah, ok. Let me just finish this.”

Five gave a subtle shake of his head, one eyebrow raised. “Now.”

With a tiny gasp you nodded again. Only this time you set your drink down. Five smiled. “Good girl,” he whispered.

You gathered up your purse and coat and started saying goodbye to your friends. Most of them begged you to stay, but you just claimed that you had a headache and needed to get to bed. Five stood nearby and gave polite smiles to everyone. You could see he was getting antsy with how long you were taking to chat with everyone. You tried to ignore the look he was giving you, but it was difficult when you knew what it meant.

When you said goodbye to Stephan, he chuckled. “A headache, huh? Is that what we’re calling it now?”

You smiled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Since Stephan had been your dance partner for years, there wasn’t much you didn’t know about one another. Including your sex lives.

He glanced over at Five. “Hey, take it easy on her, ok? I don’t need my partner out of commission before rehearsals even start back up.”

Five smirked and patted him on the shoulder. “We’ll see,” he said before making his way towards the door with you. “Good night, my friend.”

As you exited into the chilly night air, you shivered and rubbed your arms. Five draped his jacket over your shoulders as he led you to the car that was parked in the street. He held the passenger door open for you and you climbed in. Five walked around to the driver’s side and slid in. He didn’t start the car up.

Instead, he leaned across and pulled you closer with a hand on the side of your neck. He kissed you roughly, biting at your lips and pushing his tongue inside. He kept kissing you, leaving you fighting for air and wanting him even more. You clutched onto the sleeves of his shirt, bunching the material in your fists.

When he finally broke away, he only drew back a couple of inches. His hand remained on your neck.

“You know it’s not nice to tease,” he said darkly.

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t teasing you,” you answered breathlessly and genuinely confused.

“In there.” He nodded toward the bar with his head. “You’re telling me you weren’t deliberately driving me crazy?”

“Five, I have no idea—”

“Your hand was about two inches from my dick all night. And I couldn’t do a damn thing about it. I’d call that teasing, wouldn’t you?”

You laughed a little and he raised one eyebrow. “I was just making sure you weren’t feeling ignored. I didn’t know it was turning you on.”

He kissed you again, just as roughly, then pulled away again. “You are just as good at lying as you are at following directions. Which is to say, terrible.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means when I say it’s time to go, it’s time to go.”

You rolled your eyes. “Five, I had to say goodbye to everyone.”

He took your chin in his hand, holding your face steady while his gaze bore through you. “Listen to me, darling. The next time we are out and you decide to play your little seduction games; I can promise you one thing. I am not waiting. I will fuck you right there in the middle of everyone and I won’t give a shit who sees. Got it?”

You nodded slowly; a small smile tugging at the corner of your mouth. “Got it.”

Five smiled. “Good.” He kissed you softly and let you go before starting up the car. “Let’s go home.”

You buckled your seat belt and Five peeled out into the road. Maybe it was the drinks that put the idea into your head, but you decided to tempt fate a little more. You rested your hand on his thigh, rubbing it up and down.

“What’s going to happen at home?” you asked, leaning in so that your breath tickled his neck.

Five gritted his teeth. “Honey, I am about five seconds from crashing this car into a fucking tree if you don’t move that hand.”

You giggled, sliding your hand up and over, so that your palm grazed over the hard bulge in his pants. He groaned and gripped the wheel tighter.

“Sorry,” you cooed. “I just can’t help myself.”

Five slammed his foot harder on the accelerator, his eyes laser focused on the road ahead of him. You were flying down the dark streets of the city. At one point he ran a four-way stop, leaving two other cars angrily laying on their horns as he left them in the dust. The car squealed to a stop outside of the run-down Academy.

Since your home had been the location of your strangulation and attempted murder several months ago, you had not felt good about staying there, at least at night. Even with Five there with you, you felt uneasy. So, most of the time the two of you stayed at the Academy. You had done you best to fix it up a little bit more, but it was still pretty dilapidated. Not that you cared. You were used to living in a crumbling old mansion.

Five didn’t say a word as he turned the engine off. He got out of the car and blinked over to your side, opening the door. The moment you stepped outside, he grabbed your arm and blinked you both inside.

When your body was slammed against his bedroom wall, the wind got knocked out of you for a couple of seconds. It was dark in the room, with a small amount of moonlight filtering through the window over the bed. Five’s suitcoat that he had given to you fell to the floor at your feet and he kicked it away. His body was holding you in place, with his hard cock digging into your hip. His hands locked around your wrists so that you were trapped.

“These wandering hands need to be taught a lesson,” he warned. His mouth dropped to the side of your neck and he kissed you gently.

“How are you going to do that?” you boldly asked.

Five chuckled darkly as he moved to the other side of your neck. “Clothes off. Now.”

He took a step back and waited for your confirmation in the form of a small head nod before letting go of your wrists. As you began to strip your clothes off, Five unknotted his tie and pulled it out from his collar. He then went to his closet and pulled out another, identical, tie. You watched, now fully nude, as he tied each one to a corner of the headboard of his bed.

When he was done, he gestured to the bed. “Lie down.” You did as he told you, but when you went to lie on your back, he shook his head. “On your stomach.”

You hesitated for just a second, but you flipped over. Five took hold of one of your wrists and brought your arm up in front of you. He tied the free end of the tie to your wrist, knotting it tightly. Then he crossed to the other side and did the same to your other wrist.

The smooth silk of the ties was soft against your skin, but when you pulled at your restraints to test them out, it was clear they were tied tight. You moved your head to the side so that you could see. Five stood over you, studying you. He brushed your hair out of your face.

He began to unbutton his shirt, pulling it fully out of his pants before undoing the cuffs and shrugging it off. He threw it on a nearby chair. You thought maybe he would take all of his clothes off, but he stopped at the shirt. Then he climbed on the bed, kneeling behind you.

Your legs were free and he pushed them apart with his knees. Then he covered your back with his body, holding himself up with his hands near your head and leaned in to kiss your cheek.

“Are you comfortable, darling?” he asked.

You nodded against the mattress. “Yes.”

“Good.” He kissed your cheek again. “You trust me?”

“Of course,” you told him, and it was true. Five would never make you do anything you weren’t comfortable doing. And when it came to him, there wasn’t much that you weren’t willing to do.

He leaned in closer and you could feel his erection pressing against your ass. “I’m gonna fuck you so hard, baby. And then I’m going to take care of you. Ok?”

“Yeah,” you croaked out. You could feel the moisture already dripping between your legs. It never took much when it came to Five’s commanding voice.

He kissed the side of your mouth and smoothed your hair. “You are my beautiful girl.”

Five’s hand started at your shoulder and worked its way down. Over your back, down to your waist, tracing the curvature of your toned ass. He continued down, to the backs of your thighs and then the insides of your knees. Your calves and your ankles. He repeated that same process on the other side. Each second of his touch against your skin was like heaven.

His hand moved between your legs, gently, as he tested the waters.

“God, I love that you’re wet when I’ve barely touched you,” he said with a groan.

Five gave a few more passes with his fingers, slowly, but with just the right amount of pressure. He gave special attention to your clit before sliding two fingers into your hole. You moaned and wriggled, but there wasn’t much you could do. Your arms pulled at the restraints.

You heard him laugh huskily. “Do you like that?”

“Yes,” you moaned. Your hair had fallen over your face again, obscuring your sightline.

He didn’t say anything for a few seconds but you could hear him repositioning himself behind you.

“You remember what I told you, right, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice low and threatening.

Your breath caught in your throat and you nodded. When you heard the clinking of the belt buckle and the unzipping of his fly, you pulled against your binds again.

His hand was on the small of your back, resting gently. The rustle of clothing had your senses turned up to high alert and the anticipation was killing you. When you felt his hands on your hips, fingers digging in with a purpose, you let out a loud gasp.

“Oh, fuck,” you whispered, mostly to yourself.

He slid in slowly at first; carefully so as not to hurt you. When he was fully inside, buried as deep as he could go, and his hips flush with your ass, that’s when he made good on his promise.

“Ah… shhiiiit,” he hissed, tipping his head back as he adjusted to the feeling.

Five liked to fuck you hard, until you were completely at his mercy and begging. Begging for him to keep going, to give you more, to make it hurt just a little. But he also wanted to take his time. To tell you how beautiful you were and how good you were being for him. If you tried to take back any control without his consent first, you were denied. If you gave yourself over to him completely… he would make you forget your own name.

He was still inside you when he pressed you flat into the bed, covering your back with his body. He held himself up by his forearms and you could feel his halting breath against your shoulder with every thrust.

He was deliberate. Rhythmic. Punishing with each snap of his hips; his cock driving deep inside you. You moaned and cried and whined. He grunted and growled, swearing under his breath through a clenched jaw.

“Five, please…” you begged.

“What do you want, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice smooth as silk next to your ear, even as he drilled relentlessly into you.

“I need to touch you.”

He laughed. A dark chuckle that rose up out of his throat and made you want to swallow it up with a kiss. If only he would let you.

“This is not your first day, honey,” he said mockingly. “You know damn well you’re going to have to wait.”

Then he was back to pounding into you, each thrust harder than the last, while your restraints held you in place. You were utterly helpless while he ruined you and you loved every second of it.

When you weren’t sure you were going to be able to take much more of his endless fucking, Five abruptly stopped. He hadn’t come inside you yet, so you weren’t sure what was happening. You could hear him breathing hard and raggedly behind you as he pulled out.

You saw him reach over to the nightstand that stood by the bed and open the drawer. When he pulled out the small, pink vibrator that he kept in there, your breath caught in your throat.

“Five… “you whined again and you pulled against the ties.

“Shhhh… “he said softly before kissing your shoulder. “I told you I’d take care of you.”

He shoved his cock inside you again, this time not quite as forcibly. You heard him moan quietly and then he switched on the vibrator.

As soon as it touched your swollen and waiting clit, you cried out, bucking your hips back into him. Five kept the small device pressed against you as he started to fuck you again. He wasn’t as rough as before and his dick eased in and out of you at the perfect angle while the vibrator did its job.

It wasn’t long before you were tipping over the edge.

When you were shaking and crying for him, Five let himself go and filled you up with his warm cum. You could feel it seeping out and wetting the bedcovers beneath you, and sticking to your inner thighs.

After Five was fully spent and you were hissing from the overstimulation of the vibrator, he turned it off and pulled out. Immediately, he untied your wrists and when you were free again, he helped you turn over.

He smoothed your hair back and kissed your cheeks and your lips. Then he grabbed his boxers off the floor and tugged them on before climbing back on the bed next to you, sitting with his back against the headboard. He pulled you into his lap, cradling you in his arms. You rested your head against his shoulder and closed your eyes with a happy sigh. He kissed your forehead.

“How are you feeling?” he said quietly, his lips pressed into your hair. He rubbed your back.

You let out a little hum of contentment and burrowed your face into his neck. “So good.”

“You’re not hurt at all are you?”

You shook your head. “No, not at all.” You looked up at him with a dreamy smile. “You’re amazing.”

He smiled and caressed your cheek. “Not even close to how amazing you are, my beautiful ballerina.”

You giggled and shook your head. “You’re so corny after sex.”

Five pretended to be offended. “It’s called being romantic. Ever heard of it?”

You grinned and kissed his mouth. “You’re too cute.”

Five rolled his eyes and then very gently moved your body so that you were also resting against the headboard. Without a word, he blinked away. You knew where he was going, though. He was always so thorough with his aftercare.

After completely demolishing you, Five always made sure he gave you extra attention and care afterwards. As predicted, a few minutes later, Five returned with a warm washcloth and a glass of water. Sometimes he would bring you a snack or a small glass of wine. But it was late and you had already drunk enough at the bar.

Five lovingly cleaned up the mess he made between your thighs. He helped you dress again, giving you an old t-shirt of his to sleep in. You had your own clothes there, but you liked sleeping in his shirts. They were worn and comfortable and smelled like him.

After he made sure you drank the entire glass of water he offered you, he set the glass on the nearby dresser. Then he pulled the comforter back and helped you snuggled under the covers before slipping in next to you.

He held you from behind, spooning your body while he nuzzled his face into your hair. This was your favorite place to be. Warm and cozy, tucked safely into Five’s arms as you drifted slowly off to sleep.

As your eyelids fluttered closed, you were struck by the sudden urge to tell him something. You laced your fingers with his and kissed the back of his hand.

“I love you, Five,” you whispered into the darkness.

It was the first time you had told him that. Even though you knew he loved you and he probably guessed the same about you, it had never been said out loud. So, you weren’t nervous or worried about what he might say or do. It just felt like the right time to say it.

“I love you, too, sweetheart,” he said with a smile against your shoulder.

“I think I’m going to love you forever.”

You turned your head so that you could kiss him and he placed a hand on the side of your face. When he drew back, he gazed into your eyes. “I think that’s all I’ll ever need.”

Chapter Text

The following morning, after showers, you hung around the mansion while Five went about his usual routine of coffee making and breakfast. He handed you a mug of coffee and a plate of eggs and you sat on the couch to eat, with your legs folded under you and the plate on your lap.

“You know there’s a table,” Five said with a frown over his cup.

“I know. But this is more comfortable.”

Five paused. “Well, I’ll be over here, eating at the grown-up’s table if you want to join me.”

You smiled and stuck a forkful of eggs into your mouth. “No thanks,” you said mid-chew.

With a resigned sigh, Five took his plate over to the dining table that he had moved over to the side of the living room. He tried to consolidate most of the furniture to that room and the bedroom.

“How can someone so graceful have such atrocious living habits?” Five wondered out loud to himself, although you could obviously hear it.

“I’m not atrocious!”

“I didn’t say you were. I said your habits were.”

You huffed. “Like what? Give examples.”

Five leaned back in his chair, a smug smile on his face. He pushed his hair back off his forehead. “Let’s see… you make a giant mess any time you even step foot in the kitchen, you are as slow as molasses doing anything, you are chronically late, and you sit on furniture like you were raised by wolves.”

You couldn’t exactly deny any of that and you tried to keep the smile off your face. You pointed your fork at him. “You know, you’re pretty critical for a guy I let have sex with me.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Let?”

“Yeah, I let you.” You took a sip of your coffee. “You’re welcome.”

Five shook his head, his own smile threatening to take over. “If you recall, my love, you are the one that does the begging. Not me.”

“I’m a professional performer, Five. You think I don’t know how to act?”

In a sudden burst of blue light, Five was standing over you. You yelped and dropped your plate on the floor. He pinned you down on the couch, straddling your thighs and locking you in.

His hair hung over his eyes as he leaned in with a dangerous smile. “Oh, is that it? You’re acting?”

“Maybe… “you breathed out.

Five leaned down even closer, until his lips were just an inch from yours. His knees were squeezing your hips tighter. The stutter in your breath betrayed any pretense of not being turned on.

“I don’t think so,” he whispered before kissing you, gently but deeply, until you were completely at his mercy, just like always. He pulled back and he studied your face with a self-satisfied smirk. “I told you… you’re a very bad liar.”

He blinked away again, right back into the chair he had been sitting in before, and resumed eating his breakfast. You scrambled to sit up again, scowling over at him. He gestured with his coffee mug in your direction.

“See? If you had been sitting at the table, your eggs wouldn’t be on the floor now, would they?”

You hopped up from the couch. “You are the most irritating person sometimes, you know that?”

Five shrugged. “Sadly, you already told me you loved me and you can’t take that back so… “

You did your best to maintain your glare in his direction but you couldn’t keep it up anymore. You broke into a smile and started laughing. “Damn you, Five.”

“Love you too, darling.”

Stalking over to him, you dropped yourself onto his lap, throwing your arms over his shoulders.

“My breakfast is ruined, so now you have to share yours.”

Five shook his head. “I don’t share food. It’s a survival thing.”

You leaned in, kissing the side of his neck. “But I’m starving…” You gave him a small bite.

Five’s hands slid up your thighs. “Oh, I’ll give you something to eat, honey, don’t worry about that.”

Just as you were about to let Five slam you onto the table top, breakfast be damned, his phone started to ring. Five glanced at it and groaned.

“It’s Luther. Probably something work related. I have to take this.”

You nodded, sliding off his lap and letting him take the phone call. You gave him one quick kiss to his cheek before walking over to clean up the mess of eggs on the floor.

After Five had killed your stalker while working as your bodyguard, the security service that had employed him was not exactly happy. You would have thought that would be the ultimate advertisement for future clients, but apparently not. The man that owned the business didn’t want “murder” associated with him.

But the guy was also tired of the business in general and was looking to move to Florida with his new girlfriend, so on a spur of the moment, he offered the business to Five.

Five had ultimately balked at the idea. He didn’t want to be a business owner, especially a shitty little security company that worked out of a strip mall. But after you mentioned that it might be a good opportunity to make some real money, he reconsidered.

Five had been wanting to get out from under the crumbling Academy, but just hadn’t secured the funds yet. Which was the reason he had come to work as a bodyguard in the first place. But while the company was not the most lucrative, it had potential.

In the end he recruited Diego and Luther into going in as equal partners and now they each owned a third of the company. Diego and Luther did most of the day-to-day operations and hired a lot of jobs out. Although, they still liked to take on a couple of their own, since they couldn’t resist the chance to play the hero if given the opportunity.

Five mostly handled the financials and the administration portion of the business. You had told him it wouldn’t bother you if he worked other security jobs, but he refused. He didn’t want to be at work protecting someone else while leaving you alone.

After another ring, Five answered, putting it on speaker.

“Luther, what’s up?”

“Hey Five. Listen, we got a bit of a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“You know the Sterling job?”

“The security job for that shady jewelry store?”

“Yeah. Well, we sent a guy out there for two weeks and now they won’t pay.”

“What do you mean they won’t pay?”

“I mean, they fired the guy and then told us that he smudged up one of their glass counters and drank one of their sodas out of the fridge.”

Five sighed and took a drink of his coffee. “So the guy’s an ill-mannered slob. So what? He still did his job and they have to pay.”

“That’s what I told them!” Luther protested before his voice got quieter. “But they still said no.”

Five pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Luther… you realize you are like ten times bigger than these assholes, right?”

There was a pause. “Yeah, I know, but…”

“Your entire schtick is to look and act like a giant cuddly teddy bear right before throwing someone through a brick wall. You’ve got one part of it down. Now do the other.”

“I don’t know, Five… maybe Diego should handle this, he can be intimidating sometimes.”

“No! Diego will go in there with some cheesy dialogue and do his Batman routine. You need to handle this.”

“Ok… how?”

Five sighed loudly again, tipping his head back and squeezing his eyes shut. “Fuck, I don’t know! Go bend a tire iron in front of their faces or some shit. Rip a phone book in half. You worked for a gangster, figure it out!”

“Yeah, ok, Five.”

“Call me when you get the money.”

Five hung up and threw the phone on the table. “Idiot.” He turned to you. “Never go into business with family. It’s not worth it.”

You smiled. “You love working with your brothers.”

“I don’t. I’m doing it out of necessity.”

“Uh huh. Ok.”

Five slumped in his chair. “I just really want to get out of this place. To get you out of this place.”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?”

Five rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. You don’t deserve to live in this shit hole. I want to give you more.”

He got up and joined you on the couch, sitting next to you. You laid your head on his shoulder.

“I don’t need more. I’m happy here with you.”

Five kissed your head. “I’m happy too, but this is no place for a prima ballerina.”

You laughed and hugged him. “You’re so sweet.”

After a minute of not saying anything, you spoke again. “Five, I’ve been thinking. I want to sell my house.”

Five was surprised. “But that was your grandmother’s house. You don’t want to sell it.”

“But I do. That was always the plan, anyway. It’s just that I had a dream of fixing it up and making it beautiful again before selling so I could get as much money as possible. But now… now I just want to get rid of it. To whoever will take it.”

He looked at you with worried eyes. “I’m sorry. I know you loved that house and now it’s tarnished.”

“It’s ok. I still have the good memories from my childhood. Those won’t change. But I can’t live there anymore, and if I’m not going to live there, what’s the point in keeping it?”

Five nodded. “I can help if you’d like.”

You thought for a moment. “Here’s the thing…” you sucked in a deep breath and exhaled it before saying what you had been thinking. “We can use the money from the sale of my house plus whatever you have saved from the business and we can… you know… have a place of our own. Together.”

You chewed at your bottom lip while you waited for Five’s response. It wasn’t like you weren’t practically living together already, so it wasn’t that big of a leap. But still, saying the words ‘living together’ carried more weight than ‘spending most of my time at your place’.

“Yeah… “he started hesitantly.

“It’s ok,” you said as you stood up, embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s too soon, I know.”

You looked away, trying not to show how red your face was. You turned back around when you felt him tug at your wrist. When you looked at him, he was smiling.

“Hey… it’s not what you think.”

“Five, it’s ok. Really, I understand.”

“God damn it, will you sit down again?” he said, although he sounded more amused than irritated.

You complied and sat back down next to him and he took your hand.

“I want us to live together, ok?” he said, making sure you were looking him in the eyes.

“You do?”

“Of course, I do. You’ve weaseled your way into my brain in a very annoying yet adorable way and now I can’t imagine my life without you.”

You smiled. “Yeah?”

Five nodded. “The thing is… I was going to wait to tell you this, but… well, fuck it. You brought it up.” He paused. “I found us a house.”

You blinked; not sure you heard correctly. “What?”

“I found this house, it’s not much, just a little bungalow that needs some work. Not like this place needs work, but you know, some new paint and some repairs… anyway, it’s close to your studio and to my office. I just wanted to wait for the right time to show you.” He looked down at your hand in his. “And to save up enough money. Which I don’t have yet.”

Your eyes brightened at the thought. “Five, really?”

“Yeah.”

You threw your arms around him and kissed him. “Oh, I am so relieved. You scared me.”

He kissed you in return. “Sorry.”

You grinned widely. “We can do this, though. With the money from the sale of my house we should have enough, right?”

“Potentially.”

“What about this place?” You gestured to the Academy. “It’s a good piece of real estate.”

“Except that I don’t own it. I’m technically a squatter.”

“Oh yeah. The city owns it, right?”

“Right. My loving father couldn’t be bothered to leave us anything in his will when he offed himself.”

“Asshole.”

“That’s an understatement.”

You looked into his eyes. “So, are we doing this?”

Five grinned. “Let’s do it.”

When you wrapped your arms around him and began to kiss him, Five lowered you onto the couch so that he was pinning you down again. But he wasn’t holding you there with force or restricting your movements. He was simply lost in the moment of loving you.

You pulled back and laughed quietly. Five looked dubious.

“I kiss you and you laugh?”

You brushed a piece of hair off his face with a giggle. “I was just thinking about the first time I met you. You were so mean to me.”

“I was not mean, darling. I was teaching you the ways of the world.”

“Oh, is that it? Because it seemed more like you thought I was just a dumb girl that couldn’t take care of myself.”

Five kissed you once before sighing. “I did think you were a dumb girl.”

“And now…?”

“And now, my love… “he kissed you hard and deeply on the mouth, pressing you further into the cushions beneath you. “I know that you are brilliant and special and talented.” He rocked his hips against yours and spoke quietly while dragging his lips down your throat. “And all mine.”

******************

Later that day, Five took you to see the house he’d had his eye on. He was right, it was small and needed some repairs. But it was cozy looking, with a slanted roof and a covered porch in the front. There was a big picture window that faced the quiet street and a large elm tree in the front yard. You hadn’t even seen inside it yet, but you knew it was perfect. You could already envision being curled up with Five in the living room on a rainy day, reading or watching movies. You wanted to sleep with him every night in your upstairs bedroom, with no drafty walls or broken windows letting in the cold.

There was no one living in the house anymore, but it was locked up. Five wasn’t sure of the alarm situation, so he didn’t want to risk blinking inside with you. But he led you to the back of the house where there was a small, one-car garage.

The garage was in worse shape than the house, but the structure still looked sound. Five gestured to it with a big smile.

“And this is for you.”

You tilted your head to the side. “A garage?”

Five took a look around to see if any neighbors were out and then he blinked you both inside. The garage was dark, with the only light coming from a small window on the side. It was damp and musty smelling, with cobwebs and a few broken tools lying around. There was a large oil stain on the concrete floor.

“A dance studio,” Five explained after you had looked around, slightly confused.

“What?” you gasped.

“It needs some work, I know, but I can fix it up. Well, I’ll recruit my brothers to help, but we can do it. We can get more light in here, open it up a bit. It might take a while, but yeah. I want this to be your very own dance studio.”

“Five… “you breathed out, suddenly overcome with emotion. “I can’t believe you even thought of this for me.”

Five’s eyebrows pulled together in that serious way of his. “Well, of course. I always think of you.”

You smiled, hugging him tightly. “You are so good to me.”

He circled his arms around your waist. “You do know I have ulterior motives, though, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I have a feeling this is going to be less of a dance studio and more of a ‘Five has his way with me’ room.”

“I’m glad we can come to an agreement about that.”

“I love you,” you told him.

Five pressed his forehead to yours. “I love you, too.”

**********************

After you were done snooping around the house, the two of you got back in the car. As Five pulled into the street, he glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned. You noticed and turned around, but didn’t see anything unusual.

“What’s wrong?” you asked.

“I don’t know. That car back there. I think it’s following us.”

You looked again and saw a beat-up and rusted black Cadillac about a block away going in the same direction that you were. When it got to the intersection you had just passed through, it turned right and drove down another street.

“It’s gone now. They just turned the corner.” You looked at Five and could tell he was still on edge. “I don’t think they were following us.”

He was always worried that someone was going to come after you. Obviously, there were concrete reasons for this, but sometimes you thought he was just paranoid. Five didn’t say anything else about it, but you caught him looking in the mirror a lot and he took a longer route home than usual.

Five drove to your house so that you could do a run-through of everything you wanted to keep when you put it up for sale. Most of your clothes and everyday things were at the Academy, but your bedroom furniture and your grandmother’s grand piano were still there and you definitely wanted to keep that.

“Do you think there will be room for the piano?” you asked.

Five walked around the piano, assessing it. “I’m not sure. The house is pretty small. And even if we fix up the garage, I’m not sure there will be enough room for you to dance if it’s in there.”

You were sad. You had so many good memories of you as a little girl, dancing as your grandmother played the piano just for you. She would always clap after every dance as if you had just performed the most incredible show.

You ran your fingers across the shiny black top. “I’m really going to miss it.”

Five thought for a minute. “Could the studio use it?”

“The company studio?”

“Yeah. I saw they have a piano in there, but it looks a little beat up.”

“That’s true. I could ask and maybe we could move it over there.” You smiled, appreciatively. “Good idea.”

“That’s what I do.”

You ignored his comment and continued through the house, making notes on a little pad of paper of what you wanted to keep and what you could sell. You made Five come with you into your bedroom, since you didn’t like being in there alone.

Your bed and furniture were nicer and larger than Five’s, so you both determined those would go to the new house.

“You know, we don’t even have this house yet. We haven’t even put in an offer,” you said. “Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”

Five shrugged, tucking his hands in his pockets. “Maybe. But even if it’s not that particular house, we can find something else. This way we’ll at least be prepared.”

“True. Ok then, so the bed goes for sure…”

Five grabbed you around the waist from behind and rested his chin on your shoulder. “Lots of good memories in that bed.”

“And we can make more,” you assured him with a quick kiss. “I have one more request, though, and it’s a little weird.”

Five kissed your neck. “I like weird. Try me.”

“It’s not about sex.”

Five pulled away. “Oh.”

You rolled your eyes with a smile. “So, you know the lion statues out front?”

Five nodded. “I’m familiar with them, yes. One of them helped me out in the murder department.”

The two stone lion statues that stood outside the front door of the mansion had been there for as long as you could remember. And even if one of them did play a role in disposing of your stalker when Five shoved him out of the second story window, you still had a fondness for them.

“Did I ever tell you the story behind those lions?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“When I was very little, maybe 4 or 5, I was terrified of them. Every time I came over to visit my grandmother, I would keep as far away from them as possible and refused to go past them into the front door. Something about their open, snarling mouths made me think there were going to come alive and snatch me up.”

Five nodded. “They are kind of ferocious looking.”

“Well, my grandmother was determined to make me not scared of them anymore. So, one day she brought me outside and held my hand while she walked me up to the front porch. I wanted to run away but she didn’t let me. Instead, she crouched down and said ‘I think they need names’.”

“Names?”

“She explained that generally, if something has a name, it becomes less scary. So, she helped me choose names for the lions. She was really into Greek mythology and she suggested we name them after the Greek gods. We chose Apollo, since he was the God of music and poetry which seemed fitting for us. The other was Helios.”

“Isn’t that a sun God?”

“Yes, but I thought it was such a pretty name and I loved watching the sun come up in the morning, so I chose that.”

“And after they were named? Did it help?”

“It did. I wasn’t afraid anymore and I thought of them as my protectors instead of something dangerous. I liked knowing they were outside the door, guarding us.”

Five smiled sadly. “In the end, that’s exactly what they did.”

“I know. It was Helios that killed him.”

“I’m sorry, darling. I’m sorry you have to associate that with them now.”

“No, it’s ok. In fact, that’s why I want to keep them.”

Five raised his eyebrows. “You want to keep them?”

“I know it’s crazy and they are huge and weigh a thousand pounds but… I kind of need them. More than the piano, even.”

Five thought that over for a second. He understood after hearing your story, but the fact was that these giant lion statues belonged outside of a mansion, not a small, modest house like the two of you were planning on moving to. Not to mention the logistics of moving them would be tricky at best.

“Honey… I know…”

“Please, Five. I know it’s crazy. They are just statues and I get it. But they are also…” you paused, blushing slightly with embarrassment. “They are also my friends. I kind of… talk to them and imagine them talking back to me. I know that sounds crazy.”

Five sighed. “Not as crazy as you might think.”

He went to the window, the same one that he had thrown your attacker out of and that had since been repaired. He looked down to where the one lion, Helios, could be seen. He remembered that day so vividly and even though he was much more worried about your trauma than his, he still had dreams about the figure of the broken man draped backwards over the lion statue, clutching your pink ribbon in his hand. He had almost lost you that day and the ‘what ifs’ still plagued him.

He turned to you. “Maybe Luther can help move them. I’m sure we can figure something out.”

You let out a breath of relief. “Oh, thank you, Five. I know it’s a big ask but I knew you’d understand. You always do.”

Five smirked playfully. “I don’t have to be jealous of these lions, do I?”

You laughed. “Jealous of statues? How is that even possible?”

“Have you met me?”

You laughed again and then draped your arms over his shoulders. You kissed him, slowly and passionately enough to have him pulling you in closer with a sharp tug. When you pulled back, he was breathing harder and he had that lustful look in his eyes again.

“Baby… I promise I am all yours.”

Five groaned, closing his eyes for a second. “You know god damn well you cannot say that shit and not expect me to lose my fucking mind.”

There was no time to respond before you were being blinked onto your bed; the logistics of statue and piano moving far from either of your minds.

Chapter Text

Rehearsals for your dance company’s next performance were starting up again and even though the final ballet would not be opening at the theater for several months, it was time to start putting in your grueling hours at the studio, just like always.

Five dropped you off since he had to go into the security office to meet with Luther and Diego about the business financials. After he watched you walk safely into the building, he drove off through the downtown area.

As he made his way through the city, he did a double take when he saw a familiar car parked in one of the parallel parking spots on the street. It was the rusty Cadillac that he had been suspicious of the previous day. As he looked up, he saw a man staring at him, right before disappearing into the shadows of an alleyway between two tall buildings.

Five didn’t react at first, but he drove slowly on and rounded the corner. He circled around to the other side of the block and parked the car. He patted the inside of his suit coat, feeling the familiar hard outline of the pistol he always kept on him.

He walked around the block, making sure to keep a watch out for anyone trying to sneak up behind him, while also appearing aloof. Once he approached the alley where he saw the man slink into, he blinked in.

Sure enough, there was the man, standing off to the side in the shadows. He didn’t appear surprised or nervous that Five materialized out of thin air. He seemed as if he had been waiting for him.

Five couldn’t make out his face at first, since the lighting was so dim. But he was a larger man, tall and imposing, with a broad chest and shoulders. He was dressed in a suit and tie. In one hand he held a gun pointed in Five’s direction. In his other hand he clutched the handle of a briefcase.

Five squinted into the darkness, drawing out his own gun and raising it towards the man.

“Who are you?” he demanded, his voice hard and steady.

The man took a few steps out of the shadows so that his face could be seen. Five drew in a loud gasp.

“Hazel?” he asked, not quite believing what he was seeing.

Hazel nodded with a small smile. “Hi-ya, stranger.”

“How… how are you here? I thought you were dead.”

Hazel chuckled and raised the briefcase in the air. “Time travel shenanigans. You know how it is.”

Five smiled slowly. “It’s good to see you.” Then his smile faded again as he realized something. “This means the Commission still exists. And you’re working for them?” he asked nervously.

He wasn’t even sure this was the same version of Hazel that had become his reluctant friend years ago. Had it been years? He actually wasn’t sure of that anymore, either.

“Yeah, well… those bastards have a way of dragging you back into the game, don’t they?”

The two men were still pointing their guns at one another. Five looked around, as if he expected more agents to come swarming out of the sewers and climbing down the fire escapes. Hazel smiled again and shook his head.

“Don’t worry, no one knows I’m here.”

Five sneered. “They always know where you are. Where all of us are.”

“That is usually true. But I distracted the switchboard operator with a box of donuts in the breakroom. We got about three minutes until he finishes them.”

“Smart,” Five said with a nod, amused. “So, can I safely lower my weapon now?”

Hazel looked down at his own gun, like he had forgotten he had been pointing it at Five. He quickly lowered it to his side. “Sorry about that.”

Five lowered his gun as well and took a step forward. “So, what are you doing here Hazel?”

“I had to warn you.”

“About what?”

Hazel reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out a non-descript manilla file folder. He held it up for Five to see.

“It’s your girl.”

Five’s stomach lurched and his heart started pounding in his chest. “What do you mean?”

“Here,” Hazel said as he handed the folder over. “She was supposed to be my target. But when I saw who she was… well… I just couldn’t do it. Not to you.” He chuckled. “Turns out I got some humanity left in me after all.”

Five took the folder from Hazel with a slightly shaky hand. He flipped it open and scanned the documents inside. Sure enough, there was your picture paperclipped to more information about you. Your childhood, your career, where you lived… all of it. They knew everything about you, because that’s what they do.

“Why her?” Five asked quietly.

“She’s not supposed to be here.”

“In this timeline?”

Hazel shrugged. “That’s above my pay grade. They don’t tell me shit.”

Five clenched his jaw and closed the folder. “What the fuck do you mean, Hazel? You have to know more.”

Hazel checked his watch and sighed. “Look, I’m sorry. I wish I could help, but I’m on borrowed time here. I just wanted to warn you.”

“And what am I supposed to do about this?” Five asked, angry but also trying not to panic.

Hazel gave him a sad smile. “You can always make them a deal. That’s what I did.”

Five paused. “Agnes?”

Hazel nodded. “Yep. She’s safe now. Even if I have to be one of their drones again. It’s worth it.”

“Fuck that,” Five spit through gritted teeth. “I’m not working for them ever again. They tried to destroy me and my siblings. They try to destroy everything.”

“I get it. But I think you know what’s going to happen if you don’t.”

“I’m not afraid of them. I was them. And I’m smarter.” Five paused, his hand flexing at his side. “A lot smarter, actually.”

Hazel nodded again. “I figured you’d say that. But hey… it was worth a shot.”

He started to set the briefcase to return to wherever he was supposed to go next, when Five spoke up.

“Hazel.” Hazel looked up. “Thank you. You risked a lot to give this to me.” Five held up the folder. “I owe you one…. again.”

“I’m sure I’ll find a way for you to pay me back,” Hazel said with a smile. “In the meantime, good luck, old timer.”

With that, he disappeared out of sight, leaving Five standing in the dim alleyway, alone and scared shitless. He glanced at the folder again. He didn’t know how much time he had. If Hazel was supposed to be the agent assigned to you, then that meant he had a little bit of time to figure things out. But not a lot. The Commission wasn’t going to waste any time. Once they learned that you were still alive, they’d send someone else out. Someone that didn’t care if you were tied to Five or not.

“Fuck,” he whispered under his breath. Then he looked up at the sky and sucked in a shuddering breath. “FUUUUCCCK!!!” he screamed, his voice echoing off the buildings, and scattering a few pigeons that were resting in the eaves.

He had to get to you. You couldn’t be left alone for one minute now. Every second away from Five was putting you in danger.

Five blinked back to his car and zoomed down the city streets. You still had several hours of rehearsal left, but he didn’t care. He was going to take you home so he could keep an eye on you while he thought of a plan.

He squealed into the studio parking lot and blinked inside the building. The receptionist there wasn’t too surprised to see him, since it wasn’t the first time he had blinked inside. But the manic look in his eyes put her on edge.

“Oh… hi Five,” she said warily. “She’s still in the —”

“I know,” he snapped back, blinking away again.

He reappeared inside the large dance room that you used for practices. You were in the middle of learning a sequence of steps while your director, an older, wiry woman named Francine, barked out orders. There were several other dancers in the room as well. Everyone stopped and stared as Five stalked over to you.

He grabbed your arm, completely ignoring the other people around you. “We gotta go.”

You snatched your arm away, backing up a few steps. You looked around as everyone was gaping at you. Francine looked like she was about ready to explode.

“Five, what the hell?” you hissed. “What are you doing here?”

“I don’t have time to explain. But we need to go. Now.”

“Excuse me, but is there a problem?” Francine interrupted, her hands on her bony hips. “This is a closed rehearsal, sir.”

Five ignored her and everyone else. He lowered his voice a fraction, but he still looked crazed. “We have to go. Just trust me.”

You looked at your colleagues and saw that now, instead of outwardly staring at you, everyone seemed to be awkwardly looking at the ground or readjusting their shoes. They were embarrassed for you.

Francine cleared her throat. You looked back at Five. He was clearly distraught and even though you had no idea what was going on, you did trust him.

You turned to your director. “I’m sorry, Francine, but I have to go. It’s an emergency.”

Francine snorted. “It had better be. I can’t have my principal dancer just showing up whenever she wants. I expect you back here tomorrow, for the entire rehearsal time. Understood?”

You nodded. “Understood.”

Five didn’t wait for another answer, he just grabbed your arm again and blinked you into the parking lot.

“Five! What the hell is going on?” you demanded. You shook your arm loose and pointed back at the studio. “Do you know how unprofessional and embarrassing that was? And you didn’t even let me get my bags!”

Five opened the car door for you and gestured for you to get inside. “I don’t give a fuck about your bags. Get in.”

You stood still, not moving, and crossed your arms over your chest. “I am not going anywhere unless you tell me what is going on. And I really don’t like the way you’re talking to me right now.”

Five ran a hand down his face. “I’m sorry. Just please… it’s for a good reason, ok? Just get in and I can explain on the way.”

“On the way where?”

“I’m taking you back to the Academy. We’re not really any safer there but at least it’s familiar grounds.”

After another second, you decided to yield and you flopped into the front passenger seat. Five blinked into his side and started the car up. You hadn’t even finished buckling your seatbelt before he was flying down the streets again.

“I still have my pointe shoes on,” you grumbled.

Five ignored your comment, remaining laser focused on the road ahead. “Listen, what I’m about to tell you may not make sense but I need you to pay attention ok?”

You nodded slowly. “Ok.”

“You remember I told you about that organization I used to work for? As an assassin?”

“Yeah. The time police or whatever?”

“Right. Well, I thought they were extinct, but apparently, I was wrong.”

“Ok… so what does that mean?”

“Hazel came to visit me; that was the car I saw following us the other day.”

“Who’s Hazel?”

“Another agent; it doesn’t matter. But he came here to warn me about something. Your life is in danger.”

You scrunched up your eyebrows. “My life? Why?”

“I don’t know.” He pointed to the folder that he had thrown on the dash. “I haven’t read it completely yet.”

You started to reach for the folder but Five put a hand on your wrist. “Don’t.”

You huffed again and sat back in your seat. “Seriously, Five… I have no idea what you are talking about.”

He gripped the wheel tighter as he careened around a corner. “People are out to get you. Very dangerous people that want to hurt you.” He glanced to the side. “To kill you.”

You were quiet but your heart rate started to ramp up. You were still so confused but what he was saying was starting to scare you.

“Five, are you sure you’re not just being –”

“Paranoid?” he shot back angrily. “No, I’m not being paranoid. This is real fucking shit that is going down and I…” he trailed off, his voice getting quieter. “I have to protect you.”

You didn’t say anything. What could you say? He sounded like a mad man but you also trusted him with your life. And right now he was telling you your life was in danger.

When you arrived at the Academy, you went to open your door to climb out, but Five grabbed the folder off the dash and then you, blinking you both inside. You landed in the living room, a little off balance and you dropped onto the couch.

Five didn’t even bother with an apology, he just took the folder over to the table and opened it, frantically scanning the papers that were inside. He was mumbling to himself and shaking his head. You watched as you slowly untied your ballet shoes and set them to the side. You were still wearing your leotard and leg warmers and it was chilly in the Academy. You wanted to go grab some sweatpants but you were afraid Five would freak out.

“Hang on,” Five said out loud, but not necessarily to you. “This isn’t complete.” He took the folder and shook all the papers out, then rifled through them on the table, turning them over and searching for something. “There’s stuff missing.”

“What’s missing?” you asked, hesitantly.

He was rambling again, avoiding your question. “Of course they wouldn’t trust him with the whole file. Only what he needed to know to get the job done. Fuck!”

“Five?”

His head snapped up like he had forgotten you were there. “Ok, here’s what we’re going to do. I need you to grab as many necessary things as you can. Necessary, ok? We have to pack light. I need to call Klaus; I think he has some hippie stoner friends with a cabin somewhere upstate. We can relocate there.”

“A cabin? Five, you’re not making any sense.”

“I’ll swing by the office and get as many weapons as I can. We can’t outrun them, but if we can go somewhere small and secluded, we can increase our chances. There won’t be anywhere they can hide. We’ll see them coming and we can attack first.”

You were getting more and more upset by the second. Everything that he was saying was insane. “Who?”

“The fucking Commission! I explained that already!” he snapped, his palm slapping the table with emphasis.

You could feel your stomach tightening with fear and also anger. He had never talked to you like that before and you didn’t exactly like seeing this side of him.

“Five,” you started slowly, trying to remain calm. “I am not going anywhere. I am not packing a bag. I am not moving to a cabin in the woods somewhere.”

“Yes,” Five gritted out, his breathing heavy, “You are.”

You stomped your foot on the floor. It was childish but your frustration was starting to grow. “No, I am not!”

Five grabbed an empty coffee mug off the table and flung it at the wall, shattering it into pieces. You flinched at the loud crash, covering your ears with your hands as the shards of ceramic rained onto the floor.

“GOD FUCKING DAMN IT, LISTEN TO ME! THIS IS NOT A FUCKING JOKE, DO YOU GET THAT? THESE PEOPLE WANT TO KILL YOU AND I HAVE TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO STOP IT! SO GO PACK YOUR FUCKING BAG AND DO AS I SAY!”

That was the last straw and your face crumpled, the tears trickling out. Your shoulders slumped and you put your face in your hands, your elbows resting on your knees.

“Five,” you said through your tears. “Don’t… don’t be this person… “

At the sight of you fearful and crying, Five finally softened. He blinked over to you, sitting down next to you and put his arm around your shoulders.

His breathing was still labored from his outburst. “I’m sorry.”

You looked at him, your face red and streaked with tears. “You have never ever yelled at me like that before.”

“I know,” he said, looking miserable. “I know and I’m so sorry, but fuck…” He let out a long exhale. “I really need you to listen.”

“Can you just sit and explain things to me? Calmly? I don’t understand.”

Five nodded, although he looked around the house as if expecting someone to appear. “Yeah. Yeah, ok, I’m sorry. I’ll explain better.”

He calmed down a little and re-explained all about the Commission and how they try to keep the one and true timeline in effect. He told you about Hazel and what he came to warn him about. He told you about the folder and how part of it was missing. And he told you how you were now a targeted woman, marked for assassination at any moment.

Five held your hands in his and swallowed hard. His eyes filled with tears but he blinked them away.

“I won’t let this happen. I promise.”

You were terrified now. Five had just told you that you had been sentenced to death and it could be coming for you at any moment.

“Five, I’m scared,” you told him, your voice warbling.

He pulled you in, hugging him to his chest and you squeezed him tightly. He stroked your hair. “I’ve got this, ok, darling? I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“But how? You said yourself they can go anywhere, anytime. There’s no escaping them.”

Five was silent and you heard him sniff a little. When he spoke, his voice cracked. “There is something I can do.”

“What?”

“I can join them.”

You pulled back to look him in the eyes. He looked tired and you could see the older man that he really was looking back at you.

“What do you mean join them?”

“I can make them a deal. Hazel seemed to think it would work. I go work for them again in return for your safety.”

“Five… “you rested your hand on his chest. “You can’t do that… you hated it… “

“And what other choice do I have?” he spit back, angry again. “I love you, ok? I love you more than anything in this god forsaken world and I swear I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe. And if that means making a deal with the devil, then so be it.”

“But, the killing—”

“So what?” he said, cutting you off. “I’ve already committed my sins; what’s a few more? You’re the only person I care about.”

“Your family?”

“Their heads aren’t on the chopping block anymore. I did my duty where they are concerned. As for the rest of the world… well… they’re not my problem.”

You leaned in, resting your forehead against his and holding his face in your hands. He closed his eyes.

“Five, I don’t want you to go back to that life. Not after everything you told me.”

He smiled softly. “I’ll be ok.”

You kissed him, even as you started to cry again.  “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I promise, it is not your fault.”

You sniffed back your tears and wiped at your face. “So, now what? How do you get to this place?”

“Well—”

Five was cut off by a loud “thunk” noise from somewhere in the kitchen. You both looked at one another, but Five got up from the couch and went towards the noise. You followed him.

After he looked around for a minute, Five opened the refrigerator.  He sighed heavily.

“Fucking bastards. They were probably listening to the whole thing,” he muttered to himself.

Where normally you kept your containers of yogurt and orange juice, was now some sort of device. It looked like the kind they have at the bank; a pneumatic tube with a cylinder inside. Five took the cylinder out and opened it. Inside was a small piece of white paper with typed out words.

Tomorrow. 9AM. 126 Ferrysburg

“Ferrysburg?” you asked, reading over his shoulder. “That’s in a pretty sketchy part of town.”

Five nodded. “Not surprised.”

He shoved the paper in his pocket and replaced the cylinder back into the tube. When he closed the fridge door, a “swoosh” sound could be heard. Fascinated, you opened the refrigerator again, but it was back to normal. No magical messenger device. Just milk and leftover Chinese food.

“Whoa,” you said. “That was super trippy.”

Five was already pacing back and forth, his hands combing aggressively through his hair.

“Alright, so tomorrow I’ll go meet these fuckers. I’m a little torn because I don’t want you out of my sight, but I also don’t want you anywhere near those people.”

You had to admit that both of those options didn’t sound so great to you, either. But you didn’t want Five to know how afraid you were. It would only make him crazier.

“Five, it’s ok. I can go to the studio, just like normal.”

He shook his head. “No. I don’t like that.”

“Honestly, if I don’t go, Francine will kill me anyway,” you tried to joke.

Five stopped pacing and looked at you, but he wasn’t smiling. “Diego.”

“What about him?”

“Diego can be your security detail until the deal is made and I get back.”

“Are you sure? He’s got other stuff going on, and the kids, and—”

But Five was already pulling out his phone to call his brother. You listened as Five explained to Diego what was going on and what he was required to do. When he hung up, he leaned against the counter, letting out a long sigh of relief.

“Ok, so at least we have that covered.” He looked at you. “Diego is going to pick you up tomorrow and bring you to the studio. He’ll stay there with you, inside, keeping a close watch on you the entire time.”

You smiled. “Aw… just like you used to.”

The corner of Five’s mouth quirked up. “Don’t get any ideas.” He was back to being serious again. “You don’t go anywhere without Diego. Got it?”

You nodded.

“I need to hear that you understand.”

“I understand. I won’t go anywhere without Diego. I promise.”

********************

Five didn’t let you more than six feet away from him the rest of the day. Normally you would have teased him about it, but this time you were grateful. You were both on edge, but despite Five’s obvious anxiety, you still felt safer when you were near him.

Five reminded you several times that there should be no danger now, since the Commission had obviously decided to offer him a deal, or at least hear him out. But you could tell that he wasn’t entirely convinced himself.

When dusk fell, creating shadows throughout the mansion, you stuck even closer to him. You had never been afraid of the dark, creepy Academy before, but now it seemed there was something looming in every corner.

After a quick shower together, that didn’t even include anything sexual, you both decided to go to bed early. It was unclear if you’d be able to sleep, but lying in bed next to one another seemed like the most comforting option.

Neither of you dressed after the shower and you slipped into bed with Five; your naked bodies warm and clean, smelling faintly of soap. Five laid on his side and you snuggled up, facing him. He pulled you in closer with an arm around your waist. His hand rested on the small of your back, creating a spot of warmth under it.

Neither of you said anything for a few minutes and you tucked your face into the crook of his neck. His body was firm next to yours and you focused on the sensation. He always ran hot; his body like a furnace compared to yours. Still, you shivered.

“It’s ok,” he whispered, rubbing your back.

You nodded into his neck. “I know.” You paused. “What did I do?”

“Sweetheart, you didn’t do anything.”

“I must have done something. Something wrong to interfere with the timeline.”

Five didn’t have an answer to that. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

You were silent again for a while.

“Are you scared?” you asked him quietly. It was unlikely he’d admit it, even if he was, but you felt like you needed to make sure he was ok.

He kissed your head. “Yeah. I am.”

You were surprised but you only buried deeper into his body. “Because of the people you have to meet with?”

He didn’t speak for a second and then you felt him shake his head slightly. “No. I’m scared they will take you away from me.” He swallowed and rubbed his cheek against your hair. “And if that happens… I’m scared of what I will do.”

“What will you do?” you said quietly.

There was another pause. “I have done some very bad things in my life. Horrible things you can’t imagine. But that’s nothing compared to what I will do to anyone that tries to take you from me.”

You lifted your head and looked into Five’s eyes. Even in the dark you could see the worry and the fear there. You traced your fingers down his cheek and over his jawline.

“Baby,” you said softly, knowing he had a special weakness when it came to being called that, “No one will ever take me away from you.”

I brief smile flickered across his face before it was gone again and his lips were on yours. His kisses were slow and gentle, but there was still that same undercurrent of possessiveness that always ran beneath them. His hand was on the side of your face and you lightly carded your fingers through his hair.

His skin was hot like fire against yours but you pressed yourself against him, chasing the heat. Your hand left his hair, tracing lightly down his neck, over his shoulders and back. You followed the tight curve of his ass and he groaned into your mouth.

You waited for the inevitable; when he would capture your wrists and hold you still, denying your desire to worship his body with your touch. Instead, he deepened his kiss, sliding his tongue inside and gently biting at your lips. He reached down, grabbing your thigh and pulling your leg up around his waist. He began to harden between your legs.

When you pulled him in even tighter with your strong leg muscles, he let you. When you rubbed yourself against his cock, he didn’t tell you to stop.

He continued to caress your face while he kissed you, lovingly. You sighed and let out a long moan when he moved to your neck, nudging your head back to get under your jaw.

“Five,” you gasped. He pressed himself harder against you, his hard cock sliding through your wetness.

He didn’t say anything, just grunted quietly against your neck as he rocked into you and brushed his lips across your skin.

You reached down between you, grasping his shaft in your hand and positioning it in just the right spot. Five grabbed your ass with one hand and pushed himself inside you with a slow thrust. He stayed like that, holding you tightly to him while he fucked you so gently it was like nothing you had ever experienced with him before.

Your body was completely wrapped around him and yet it still didn’t feel close enough. You wanted to be a part of him, to meld into him and feel him from the inside. He seemed to want the same thing, because he was clutching desperately at your body while he continued to kiss you.

You pulled your mouth away for just a second, your ragged breath matching his. Your leg was clamped around his waist, trying to drive him in further. “Five,” you moaned. “Deeper… please.”

Instead of holding out on you or torturing you with more waiting, Five nodded and rolled you onto your back. He lifted your leg higher around his waist and sunk himself deeper into your core, burying himself as fully as possible.

He groaned into your neck and you clung tighter to his shoulders. “Don’t stop,” you whispered. “Please don’t stop.”

“Never, my love.” His words vibrated over your skin and he let out another halting groan as he thrust languidly into you.

He continued to drive deep inside you, filling you up entirely while his hips rolled rhythmically against you. Five held himself up on his forearms, gazing down on you while you clung tightly to him; your fingers digging into his shoulder blades.

“Tell me you’re mine forever,” he said sincerely, with real worry behind his eyes.

“Always, Five. I’ll always be yours.”

“Promise me,” he pleaded with a slow thrust into you.

“I promise.” He kissed you again, hungrily and desperately as you repeated it over and over. “I promise. I promise.”

He came inside you with a quiet groan against your lips. Your body reacted to his release with an intense shudder that had you clenching down on him, your arms locked around his shoulders. Tears slipped from your eyes and you moaned his name close to his ear.

You stayed intertwined, even after Five was no longer inside you. Your breathing evened out and your heart rate slowed, but he held you close. He placed lazy kisses to your face and neck and shoulders. You drew lines down his arms and chest with your fingers.

After a while the exhaustion of the day started to catch up with you and your movements slowed until finally, they stopped altogether. You fell asleep with your head pressed against Five’s chest and his arms around you.

As you slept, he focused on the rhythm of your breathing and the softness of your skin. Just in case, he thought. I need to memorize all of her. Just in case.

He wouldn’t be getting any sleep that night, no matter how tired he was. He would keep watch over you; forever, if needed.

Chapter Text

You were nervous. More than nervous; you were kind of a wreck. But you tried your best to hide it from Five, who was also not doing so great. He was pacing the floor, periodically stopping to check his watch or the clip of his Glock. You had made your usual morning smoothie, thinking that routine might help ease some of the anxieties, but you found you couldn’t even stomach it and ended up throwing it down the sink.

Diego arrived at the Academy right on time to take you to the studio.

“Dude, this is fucked up,” he said to Five as you packed up your bags.

“Yeah, no shit,” Five snarked back at him.

“Are you sure they’re going to listen to you?”

“I have no idea what they’re going to do, Diego, but I don’t have a fucking choice, do I?”

Five was hovering over you while you shoved your shoes and a bottle of water into your bag.

“Maybe I should go with you,” you said. “I don’t like the idea of you going alone.”

“No,” he told you flatly, with no room for discussion. “You’re safer with Diego.” He turned to his brother. “Do not let her out of your sight, you hear me?”

Diego nodded. “Don’t worry, I got this.”

“But Five, it’s not just about me,” you argued, although you knew it wouldn’t do any good. “I’m afraid for you. What if this a trap or something?”

“I’ll be honest, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities. But the Commission, while being an absolute hell hole filled with murderous assholes, is usually pretty straight forward. They don’t need to go through the motions of an elaborate scheme. It’s not necessary.”

“You mean if they want you dead, then you’re dead?” you said, trying to make it sound light-hearted, but of course, it came out morbid.

Five took your hand. “I’m not going to let that happen, ok?”

“I know,” you said with a small smile, even as your insides were churning. You zipped up your bag and stood up.

“You ready?” Diego asked.

You nodded. “I guess so.”

Five pulled you in, hugging you tightly, while Diego did his best to pretend he wasn’t listening.

“It’s going to be ok,” Five whispered to you.

“Please be careful,” you told him before kissing him.

He gave you a little smile. “Always.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too. I’ll see you later, ok?”

After another kiss goodbye, you followed Diego out the door of the Academy and into his waiting car. You sat in the front passenger seat while Diego drove. He was silent for the first few minutes. Then he spoke up.

“You know, my brother… he’s different than most people.”

You let out a short laugh. “That’s an understatement.”

Diego was serious, though, and he just gave a sad smile before turning back to the road again.

“Yeah, but you only know this version of Five. The domesticated version.”

“This is the domesticated version?” When Diego still didn’t laugh, you sighed. “What’s your point, Diego?”

The car stopped at a red light and he turned to look at you. “I just want you to know that Five is not like you and me. He doesn’t have limits or boundaries that he’s unwilling to cross. Not when it comes to people he wants to protect, anyway.”

“I know that.”

“Do you?”

Diego let his question hang in the air before the light turned green and he focused back on the road.

“It sounds like you’re accusing me of something.”

“I’m not at all. In fact, I’m telling you this because I want you to be aware of the circumstances you may be getting yourself into. That maybe you aren’t going to like the guy that comes back from this meeting to save your life.”

You thought on that for a moment. “Diego, I love Five. And I’m going to keep loving him, no matter what.”

Diego nodded. “Ok, yeah, that’s good. But… “

“No, there’s no but, ok? I get it. He’s an assassin. He can kill people and not think twice about it. He’s willing to do bad things. I saw him do it. He killed my stalker and saved my life once already. And that just made me love him more.”

Diego sighed, like you somehow weren’t getting the point. “I’m glad you know all that. But the Commission… they’re a whole different ballgame. And I just want to make sure you understand that and that you are in this for the long haul.”

“Of course I am, Diego!” you said, rather sharply. “I appreciate you looking out for him, but you don’t know anything about our relationship. No offense.”

He was silent for a couple of blocks before glancing over at you again. “Just don’t break his heart, ok? The guy’s been through enough.”

The way he said it, with such sadness, made you immediately soften. Five always talked about how annoying his siblings were, but he never talked about how much they cared about him. But you could see it right now. Diego, at least, didn’t want him to get hurt.

“I promise,” you said quietly. “I won’t.”

“Thanks.” Diego said with a single nod. Then he did smile at you. “You’re good for him, you know that?”

“Am I?”

“Yeah, I can see it. He carries himself differently. Like he’s happy or something. Which, I’ll be honest, is a real mind fuck.”

You laughed. “Well, good. He makes me happy, too.”

Diego shook his head with a fond smile. “Unbelievable.”

*********************

Five checked and rechecked the time on his car’s dash. The Commission was never late. Promptness was kind of their thing.

It was 8:57am. He was parked outside of the building addressed 126 Ferrysburg on the shady side of town. Waiting.

That’s all Five ever seemed to do. Wait for his father’s approval. Wait for a way back home. Wait for the end of the world. Wait to die. Wait to live.

Wait for someone to see him for who he was and love him anyway.

Well, fuck waiting. He finally had something good and beautiful that was all his and he was going to do everything in his power to keep it. He thought of how that file of you existed and what it meant and that fire he felt the day before was set aflame again.

Five got out of the car and walked across the street. There was a small side street, probably used for deliveries or drug deals, and so he assumed that was where he was supposed to go. He glanced around, straightening his tie, to make sure he wasn’t being followed.

The watch on his wrist read 9am and at precisely that same time, a quick flash of light and a popping noise came out of nowhere. A man, tall and thin, with sandy blond hair parted on the side, stepped out from behind a dumpster. He was smiling and carrying the familiar briefcase of Commission agents. His suit was gray and boring, but neat and unwrinkled. His black, perfectly shined dressed shoes clipped on the cement as he walked towards Five.

The man held out his hand with a toothy smile. “Mr. Five! So nice to meet you. Thank you for coming.”

Five ignored the hand shake. “I didn’t exactly have a choice,” he stated.

The man dropped his hand to his side but remained smiling. “My name is Simon Fairlane.”

“Good for you,” Five said. “Want to tell me what the fuck is going on, Simon?”

Simon cleared his throat. “Right. I’ve actually been sent here by the board to bring you back to Headquarters.” He paused. “For a meeting.”

Five snorted. “I’m not going back there until I get an explanation. Why is she being targeted?”

Simon checked his watch before looking back at Five with a relaxed expression. “I have no idea. That’s not my department. I’m merely a handler.”

Five winced a little at the term but hoped it wasn’t obvious. He didn’t need to be showing any sort of weakness to this asshole or anyone else he may have to speak with.

“Why did they send you?”

Simon grinned politely. “Just my luck, I guess. Not every day you get chosen to pick up the infamous Number Five.”

Five glared leaned forward menacingly. “Shove it up your ass, Simon.”

“Oh.” Simon checked his watch again. “I’m really very sorry, Mr. Five, but we have to get going. The board is expecting you.”

“I’m sure they are,” Five replied wryly.

Five was stuck, just like he always was when it came to the Commission. If he refused to go with Simon, then they’d mostly likely just kill him and then you. And probably his whole family just for fun. If he let himself be transported to Headquarters, they could just as easily kill him there, too. He was fucked either way.

“So… “Simon drew out; that same stupid smile on his face.

Jesus, this guy is like a fucking game show host, Five thought bitterly.

“Fine, let’s go,” Five said.

Simon positively beamed and he held out the briefcase for Five to grab hold of. Five took a few seconds, but he clasped the handle next to the other man’s hand and he was gone in a zap of light and the all-too familiar sensation of traveling outside of time.

********************

When they arrived, right smack in the middle of the main hub of Commission Headquarters, with dozens of employees buzzing around, Five thought he was going to be sick. He had never once imagined he’d be back there again. He started to sweat but he held it together and tried to remain cool.

“Right this way, please,” Simon said as he gestured up the stairway. “The board room is this way.”

“Yeah, I know where the fucking board room is,” Five sniped before stalking away, leaving Simon trotting after him.

Five climbed the stairs, taking two at a time, ignoring the whispers and stares from passersby. Everyone seemed to give him a wide berth, which suited him just fine. As Five tried to mentally prepare himself for the meeting, he realized he had no idea who was on the board these days, or who the director was. It could still be Herb. That would be the best-case scenario. Five would have no problem convincing him to bend the rules a little.

But, if it was someone else… someone he didn’t know, or worse, someone he did… well, that was going to be different. His heart rate shot up a bit at the thought that the Handler could still be running the place. Hazel was still alive, so why couldn’t she be, too?

Or maybe AJ was back in the picture. If that were the case, he certainly wasn’t going to get any favors from him. Not after Five smashed in his face and stuck him in a plastic bag.

He was starting to get nervous, and Five hated being nervous. He did his best to try and convince himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. They wanted him back on their team. They needed him. He had the upper hand.

Five stopped outside the frosted glass door marked “Board Room” and took a deep breath. Simon caught up to him, a little out of breath but still smiling.

“Oh, good, you found it. You can go right on in, Mr. Five, they’re expecting you.”

“Hey, Simon?” Five asked.

“Yeah?”

“Fuck off.” Then Five opened the door and walked inside.

Inside the drab, stuffy room was a long table with three seats on each side and one at each end. The seats were filled with board members, with the one available seat located at the end closest to Five. All eyes were on him as he entered the room and closed the door. Simon remained in the hall.

Five took a quick scan around, looking for familiar faces. There was a woman that looked vaguely familiar, but he wasn’t sure of her name. Herb was there, after all, and he gave Five a nervous wave before continuing to fiddle with the pen in his hand. The person at the head of the table stood up.

“Hello, Five. It’s good to see you again.”

“Do I know you?”

The woman smiling back at him did not look familiar. She was middle-aged, tall with a sturdy frame, and light brown skin. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in some sort of complicated knot at the back of her head. She wore the standard tailored, gray Commission suit that everyone else wore, except that hers bore a pin with their seal on the left lapel of the jacket. A simple string of pearls adorned her neck.

“No, probably not. But I know you.” The woman gestured to the table. “We all do.”

There were nods from everyone and Herb smiled again.

“Who are you?” Five asked, in no mood for pleasantries.

“My name is Felicity. I’m the Commission director.”

Five took that in, but didn’t say anything. He was still assessing the situation.

“Please,” Felicity said. “Have a seat.”

Five hesitated. He looked at Herb who raised his eyebrows and nodded. Five really hated that he had to rely on Herb’s input. It’s not like he even fully trusted him.

Five sat in the chair opposite Felicity and she resumed her seat. She laid her palms flat on the table.

“So, I expect you have some questions for us?”

“Yeah, just a few,” Five said. “For starters, how in the ever-loving fuck is this place still operational?”

There were a few chuckles from around the table and Felicity smiled. “You jumped back in time, to 2020, when you rescued your family from the Hotel Oblivion. Remember?”

“Yeah, I have a vague memory,” Five said snarkily. “And at that time the Commission was destroyed. I saw it myself.”

Felicity blinked and tilted her head. “But you jumped backwards. Therefore, reversing time itself and reinstating the Commission.”

Five shook his head. “No, that’s not how that works. I fixed the timeline. This place shouldn’t even exist. There’s no reason for it to exist.”

“But you exist, Five. And as long as you exist, so does the Commission. You are the founder.”

“No,” snarled Five, drawing the word out. “Another version of me was the founder. And as I stated… there is no reason for the Commission to exist anymore. The timeline is fixed. There is no apocalypse. There is no kugelblitz. There is no Reginald Hargreeves or The Umbrella Academy. There is nothing to correct.”

Felicity sighed disappointedly and there were a few downcast eyes from around the table, like they were embarrassed for him.

“Five, I’m afraid that’s not entirely true. The world is constantly changing. Evolving at a rapid rate every second of every day. Surely you understand that?”

“So what? Let things play out as they come. Who cares?”

“We do. We operate with the sole purpose of preserving the one true timeline. In order to save the world.”

“Save the world?” Five asked hostilely. “From what?”

“Complete annihilation.”

“What are you talking about?”

Felicity clasped her hands together. “If things don’t go exactly as they should and follow the exact path that has been foreseen by… well, you… the apocalypse will still occur.”

“That’s impossible. My brother isn’t going to destroy the world anymore. Everyone is back in their rightful times.”

“That’s correct. But this isn’t about your family anymore, Five. The apocalypse will happen no matter what. There is always something that will bring it forth. A loose wheel on a space shuttle, a world-wide virus caused by one person’s lack of hygiene, the loss of agriculture due to too many pesticides. There is always something. And it’s our job to stop that from happening.”

Five thought about that for a minute. It was entirely possible that his family wasn’t the only potential cause for the end of the world. Maybe he had been looking at this all wrong. Maybe his other self had understood and that’s why he kept the Commission intact.

On the other hand, none of this made any fucking sense.

“So, you’re telling me that the current purpose of the Commission is to keep the timeline headed in the right direction, so that something or someone doesn’t cause a global apocalypse?”

“Precisely,” Felicity chirped, happy that Five was finally understanding. “Anything can cause the end of the world at any time. Which is why we are constantly vigilant, scanning the timeline for anything, no matter how small, that might inadvertently cause the collapse of civilization. And there are hundreds of thousands of these scenarios daily.” She smiled again. “Luckily, we have the best of the best working for us.”

Five let that sink in. He glanced around the table again, searching for anything that might tell him this was a trap. But every face staring back at him seemed impassive. Annoyingly unreadable.

He gritted his teeth together. “What does she have to do with any of this?”

“Your girlfriend, I assume you mean?”

Five nodded. “I want her off the hit list. Now.”

“Well, we can certainly discuss—”

Five slammed his fist on the table, making Herb yelp and jump in his seat. “No! No discussion! I want her off the list!”

Felicity nodded calmly and she motioned to one of the other board members, who slid a file across the table to her. She opened it and started to skim through some papers inside.

“It seems her actions are indirectly a cause of the end of the world.”

“How?”

Felicity continued rifling through the file. “According to our analysts, this ballet she will be performing in in a few months will ultimately cause the downfall of all the commercial food crops as we know it, resulting in worldwide famine and disease.”

“That’s insane,” Five barked. “How?”

“In the audience of this ballet will be a little girl who is just starting to become interested in dancing. She sees your beautiful ballerina up there, and the little girl falls in love with the ballet. She begs her parents for lessons and she’s hooked. She then goes on to become a career dancer; even founding her own dance company.”

“How the hell is that a bad thing?”

“Well, unfortunately, that little girl is supposed to go on to become a state senator. A senator that will be the deciding vote in a very important bill regarding regulations on climate change. Without her vote, the bill doesn’t pass. Without that bill, no other countries follow suit. Eventually, the environment goes to even more shit and boom… no more food.”

Five knew how captivating and hypnotic your dancing was, and he had no doubt it could persuade another person to fall in love with the art of ballet. But something seemed off.

“Why are you targeting her? You think some other dancer isn’t going to inspire this girl?”

Felicity shrugged and closed the file. “Not according to our research. She is quite special, as I’m sure you know.”

“This is bullshit!” Five exclaimed, standing up and shoving his chair back. He pulled his Glock out of the inside of his suit coat, pointing it directly at Felicity. “Take her off the list or I’ll blow your fucking head off!”

There were a few gasps and worried murmurs from around the table. Felicity put her hands up in front of her but she didn’t look very concerned.

“And how will that solve anything? There will just be another director and another one after that and so on.”

“I’ll burn this whole fucking place to the ground, I swear to god,” Five gritted out.

Herb raised his hand and nervously spoke up. “Excuse me, if I may? Mr. Five?”

Five glared at him. “Shut it, Herb.”

Herb nodded and swallowed but he kept his hand raised. “But uh… as head analyst, I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

Five pivoted and aimed the gun at the small man.

“Ohhh boy,” Herb muttered to himself, visibly sweating. “Let’s just… let’s just keep our cool, shall we?”

“Herb, what the fuck happened to you? You’re one of them now?”

“Look, I’m sorry, but… she has a point. All of this is to prevent the end of the world. Just like you wanted.”

Five turned his attention back to Felicity. “The only reason I am here right now is because you wanted to meet with me. And the only reason you would want to meet with me is to make a deal. Am I right?”

“That’s correct, yes.”

“Then this whole thing is bullshit! If a deal can be made, that means there is another way to prevent the apocalypse. This is just a ruse to get me to join up again.”

Felicity actually looked a little sorry and she frowned. “I know, it… it doesn’t seem fair.” Then she gestured to another board member with another file folder, only this time they slid it over to Five. “But the fact is, Five… you still owe us a year.”

Five stared incredulously at this person that he could easily turn into Swiss cheese. He could not believe the audacity.

“Go ahead,” she said, motioning to the file.

Five flipped the folder open on the table, keeping the gun trained on the director. Inside was a contract. The very same contract Five had signed when the Handler recruited him all those years ago. He glowered at his own signature scrawled at the bottom.

“That’s a five year contract,” Felicity stated plainly. “You owe us the remainder.”

“I don’t owe you shit!” Five spit out angrily. “Do you know what I did for this company? What I was made to do? The things I sacrificed for nothing!”

“Yes, we all do. And that is why we are willing to give you a chance to fulfill your contract and then go about your life.” She chuckled softly. “No one else would be allowed this opportunity. As I’m sure you know.”

Five looked down at the contract again. He wanted to rip it into a million pieces and set it on fire. But he knew that would do no good. He also knew shooting the director or anyone else at that table would be fruitless. There was no negotiating.

Five lowered the gun and set it on the table. He continued to stare at the file in front of him. Defeated.

“I need an absolute guarantee that she will be safe. For good.” He raised his eyes, staring daggers at this new enemy of his. “No tricks. No ‘read between the lines’ bullshit. Because if anything ever happens to her… I will not hesitate to rip your fucking arms off and shove them up your own ass. That is a promise.”

“Ouch,” Herb chuckled before catching sight of Five’s face and quickly shutting up again.

“You have my word,” Felicity said seriously.

Five scoffed. “Fuck your word. I’m gonna need more than that.”

Herb silently passed another folder over to Five. When he opened it, he saw it contained yet another contract. As Five read through the fine print, he paused when he came to your name. Sure enough, it stated explicitly that you were not to be harmed, maimed, or killed in any way by any employee of the Commission, including future recruits. As long as Five kept up his side of the bargain, of course. And that was to give them one more year of service as a field agent.

One year of prison with no parole was how Five was viewing it. But he’d give up the rest of his life if it meant you would stay safe. He could handle a year.

Five looked up at Felicity with a grim smirk. “Hand me a fucking pen.”

*******************

When Five arrived back in his rightful time and place, with a new briefcase and new orders that would start the next day, he sat in his car and took a deep breath. He checked his phone. No texts or calls from you or Diego, so that was good. His immediate thought was that he wanted to see you. But you were still at rehearsal and he didn’t want to get you in trouble again by showing up and making a scene. So, he’d have to wait.

He texted Diego to let him know the deal was done but to hang out at the studio for now, just in case.

You weren’t in danger anymore, but Five was still anxious. He just didn’t trust those assholes and for good reason. Felicity may have been the new director and potentially not a complete scumbag, but she was still the head of a ruthless killing machine of his own invention.

So, Five was going to have to do what he always did, and that was to be hypervigilant, do his fucking job, and take care of the people he loved. His needs would come last.

Five ended up driving over to the security office instead of going home. He needed something to occupy his mind. As he sat at the beat-up metal desk in the miniscule office, looking through spreadsheets on the outdated computer he had inherited from the previous owner, he tried to focus on the positive.

You and he were going to have a home together soon. His first ever home that he would be excited to come back to at the end of the day. A home that would be filled with your things as well as his. That would have you there, caring what happened to him and missing him when he wasn’t there. The thought made him smile.

“Oh, hey, Five.”

Luther’s voice startled him and Five looked up with a small jump.

So much for staying hypervigilant, he thought to himself. Can’t even see a giant fucking gorilla walking in.

“Hey, Luther. What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, actually. I went to the Academy but you weren’t there.”

Five frowned and then sighed. “What now? Please do not tell me you still can’t get the money from the Sterling people.”

Luther shook his head and sat down in one of the worn, rickety chairs in front of Five’s desk. “No, no. I got the money, don’t worry.”

Five relaxed a little. “Good.”

“Turns out the phone book ripping thing did actually work. They folded immediately.”

“See?” Five said with a nod. “So, why were you looking for me?”

“Diego told me what was going on with… with everything.”

Five went back to the computer screen. “Yeah, and?”

“And I wanted to see if you were ok.”

“I’m fine,” Five said briskly. “It’s not a big deal.”

Luther waited a beat. “I think it is a big deal, Five. I’m worried about you.”

“Luther,” Five said with a heavy sigh. “I really do not want to have this conversation with you, ok?”

“Well, I don’t care, we’re going to have it anyway,” Luther responded in a way that Five liked to refer to as his ‘Number One’ voice.

“Jesus, what the fuck do you want from me?”

“I want you to admit that rejoining the Commission might be just a little bit traumatic for you.”

“Traumatic?” Five said with a scoff. “You think out of all the shit things in my life… in our lives… that have happened, that this is traumatic? This is nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, Five. They turned you into an amoral killer. You’re not that person anymore.”

“Congratulations on using a big word like ‘amoral’,” Five snarked. “Gold star for that one.”

Luther shook his head. “Deflect all you want, Five. Insult me. Belittle me. I don’t care. Because I know why you’re doing it.”

“Oh yeah? And why is that?”

“Because you’re scared.”

Five made a sarcastic snorting noise and turned his attention back to the monitor in front of him. “I don’t have time for this.”

“If you don’t want to talk about it, fine, I get it. But just know that you aren’t alone anymore, Five.”

After Five didn’t answer or acknowledge his brother in any way, Luther got up and started to walk towards the door.

“They were going to kill her,” Five said flatly.

Luther turned. “I know.”

Five looked up. “What would you do if it were Sloane?”

“The same exact thing,” Luther answered with no hesitation. “No question.”

“So, you get it.”

“Yeah, I get it. But I would also know that you have my back, just like I have yours.”

Five nodded and swallowed hard. “Thanks, Luther.”

Luther nodded and gave him a quick smile before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Five leaned back in his chair. Luther was right. He wasn’t alone anymore. But that hardly mattered considering the jobs he was going to have to do would be solely on him. There was nothing that anyone could help him with in that department. Still, he supposed it felt good to finally have a little safety net, even if that safety net was in the form of a small group of smooth-brained morons.

*****************

When the end of your rehearsal time came, Five drove to your studio so he could pick you up and drive you home with him. He met Diego inside first, who gave him a rundown of everything that had happened during the day, including things Five did not care about, such as what he had for lunch and the wind trajectory over the course of the last couple of hours. But at least he had followed directions and stuck close to you.

When you exited the rehearsal room with you bag slung over your shoulder, you spotted Five immediately. With a loud sob, you dropped your bag on the floor and ran full speed towards him. When you leapt into his arms, he caught you and you held on, wrapping your legs around his waist.

You held his face in your hands, still crying, while kissing him frantically.

“You’re here,” you cried in between kisses. “You came back.”

“I’ll always come back,” he assured you, his hand resting on the nape of your neck.

“I was so worried,” you gushed, kissing him so intently that he started to laugh. “What?” you asked, pulling away.

“I’m the one that’s supposed to worry, not you. Stop stealing my job.”

With a soft laugh you wiped at your tears and Five let you down.

“Are you ok?” you asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. And so are you, which is the important thing.”

“I’m fine, too, by the way,” Diego piped up. “Thanks for asking.”

“Diego really was an excellent bodyguard,” you told Five.

“Better than me?” Five asked, smirking.

“Probably,” Diego answered under his breath.

You shook your head with a smile. “He doesn’t come with the same benefits.”

“You’re goddamn right he doesn’t,” Five answered with a raised eyebrow.

You sighed and hugged him tightly again, your arms slung across his shoulders. “Let’s go home,” you told him quietly.

He kissed your hair and closed his eyes. “Yeah. Let’s go home.”

Chapter Text

Five could feel it. It had only been four weeks but it was all coming back to him. That gnawing sensation in the pit of his stomach. It had taken so long to dissipate, but so quick to return.

Every time he flawlessly executed some unsuspecting victim in the name of apocalyptic aversion, he could feel it growing. It felt a little like guilt and shame. Some anger and sadness mixed in for good measure. But mostly it was nothing.

That’s what scared Five the most, because he knew it was just a matter of time before he felt nothing at all. Zero regret. Zero remorse. Zero anything.

With each bullet to the head or snap of a neck, the sensation grew stronger. He tried to fight it off, but it was inevitable. In another few months he’d be right back where he started. A killing machine, with an emphasis on ‘machine’.

But then there was you. You were the only thing holding him together and keeping his humanity in check. When he was away from you, he thought about your smile, or your mannerisms when you were telling a particularly exciting story. Or the incredibly irritating way you walked around the house while brushing your teeth, dripping toothpaste on the floors, instead of just staying in the bathroom like a normal person. And always the way you danced.

Five had already been falling for you when he had seen you dance on stage for the first time. But once he saw you, graceful and beautiful, like some magical storybook fairy brought to life, he had never fully recovered. It was like some locked door inside of himself had been pried open and he was seeing the world through a whole new lens. Suddenly… there was beauty.

Five had decided then and there that he would be the only one that got to have you. And when you let him claim you, and promised to be his, his whole life suddenly seemed worth it. All of the wading through shit and heartache and turmoil that he had endured had led him to that moment. He had a new purpose and that was to love you. And he was going to do it with every fiber of his being until the day he dropped dead.

While the house hunting project had been put on hold until you could figure out how reporting professional time-assassin income factored into home buying and mortgages, you continued to spend most of your time at the Academy. Sometimes Five was gone for a night or two, and while you hated him being away, you managed by yourself. Before Five had come along, you were living alone in your own crumbling mansion, so you were used to the emptiness.

Although, now the emptiness was even more apparent. You had gotten used to falling asleep next to Five every night. And knowing why he was gone and what he was doing was even worse. You felt guiltier and guiltier with every passing day, knowing that his suffering was all in the name of keeping you safe.

In between your intense rehearsal schedule, you had tried to brighten up the Academy even more. You bought fresh flowers to place in vases and a few homey touches like throw pillows and rugs. On a whim, you even decided to take down a couple of the moth-eaten and grotesque looking animal heads that hung on some of the walls. You couldn’t move the bigger ones, but still, it was something.

You had also converted the old training gym into a dance studio for yourself. There was already a row of full-length mirrors along one wall and you jerry-rigged a barre along the side. The mats were a bit crumbly and had seen better days, but it was better than the concrete floor underneath them, so you just cleaned them as best you could.

After dragging out one of the old record players that still functioned and found a few of Reginald’s old classical music records, you set it up one evening for what you intended to be a brief warm up and practice.

Wearing only your black leotard and pink pointe shoes, you ran through a few exercises and stretches first. Then you began to practice some of the steps that you would be performing in your next show, The Sleeping Beauty, where you would be portraying the titular heroine. As you danced, lost in your own world, a brief flash of light caught your attention.

In the reflection of the mirrors, you saw Five, standing at the entrance to the studio. He wasn’t wearing his full suit like he usually was when he came home from a job; he had shed everything except his pants and white dress shirt. He also didn’t have a briefcase in hand, which meant he must have already stored it somewhere in the house before coming to find you.

He smiled in your direction, leaning against the door frame, as cool and drop-dead gorgeous as always. You stopped and started to go to him, but he held a hand up.

“No, don’t let me interrupt you.”

“But you’re home!”

“Please, continue. I like watching you,” he said with that half-smirk on his face.

You laughed and put your hands on your hips. “What? You want your own personal show? “

Five chuckled. “Always. I should be the only one that gets to see you dance. You’re dangerously addictive, you know.”

“Fine, I’ll dance, but you have to participate, too.”

“Uh, no,” Five said, his smile fading. “I don’t leap and spin and all that shit.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’m not asking you to leap and spin. Just come here.”

Five hesitated briefly before pushing himself off the wall and casually walking over to where you stood on the other side of the room. When he reached you, he pulled you to him and kissed you.

“I missed you,” he told you quietly.

“I missed you, too. Terribly.”

You hugged him and he smelled like the outdoors infused with a little bit of dried sweat. He didn’t like discussing his jobs with you, so you didn’t bother to ask where he came from. You were just glad he was back.

You pulled away and smiled. “Ok, so you don’t have to do anything crazy. Just hold my waist from behind—”

“I like where this is going,” he interrupted with a grin.

You smacked his arm. “Hold my waist from behind and I’ll do the rest.”

Five loosely held his hands on either side of your waist as you moved into position. You pirouetted perfectly several times, your body drawn tight and engaging all of your muscles at once. Your body spun in front of Five as his hands barely grazed your waist. With each twirl you could see the enamored look in his eyes while he watched you do what you do best.

You stopped and gracefully danced away from him, smiling as you held out your hand in his direction.

“Come on. It’s a pas de deux.”

“I told you. I don’t dance.”

You still twirled around him, laughing as he stood still and watched with amusement. “It’s ok, I can teach you.”

“I didn’t say I couldn’t dance. I said I don’t dance.”

You stopped for a moment. “Since when can you dance?”

“Since I was forced to learn as part of my schooling from ages 10 through 13. Then you know… dance classes were harder to come by after that.”

“Are you shitting me right now?” you exclaimed with your hands on your hips. “How come you never told me that?”

Five shrugged. “You never asked.”

After sighing with frustration, you performed a flawless jeté from where you stood, like you were leaping over a puddle on the ground, and landing right in front of him. You put your hands on his shoulders.

“Well, come on, Mr. Bodyguard… let’s see some dance moves.”

Five shook his head; a smile playing on his lips. “You know, dancing wasn’t exactly on my list of things I have been dreaming about doing with you as soon as I got home.”

“Too bad. Dance first. Sex second.”

“That is a terrible order of activities.” Five sighed. “But, ok, if you insist. Prepare to be blown away.”

Five grabbed you around your waist with his left arm and took your hand in his right, extending it up and to the side. He started with a basic fox trot style dance, but he was smooth and seamless in his steps as he led you around the floor. He maintained eye contact with you, smirking coolly as you tried to keep up. When you faltered a few steps, he laughed.

“Hey, this is entirely different than ballet. Shut up,” you said with a smile.

Five just raised a brow and continued his dance.

“You are a much better partner than my brother at least,” Five told you.

“You danced with your brother?”

“Oh yeah. We were forced to couple up during class, so it was usually Viktor and I. We’d take turns leading. Occasionally my mother or Allison stepped in.”

“That sounds kind of nice.”

Five scoffed. “Nice? Do you know how humiliating it is to have to dance the tango with your brother or sister… or mother?”

You giggled. “I think it’s cute. I can just imagine all you little guys in your uniforms waltzing around.”

“It was not cute. It was torturous.”

“You’re so dramatic.”

Suddenly Five blinked you to the other side of the room and resumed the dance as if nothing had happened. The transition was jolting and you fell into his arms, where he righted you again and continued on. He looked very proud of himself.

“I hope you didn’t do that with your mother!” you told him with a laugh.

“Oh no, never. Only if I happened to get stuck with Diego. It really used to piss him off. Ben and I had a bet going on how many times I could get away with it before he tried to stab me.”

You laughed again. “That is still oddly cute, I don’t care what you say.”

When Five started to turn you in rhythm to his steps, you released yourself from his hold and began to pirouette in circles around him. On your way past him, he grabbed onto your wrist and pulled you in close. You raised one eyebrow with a sexy smile and lifted your left leg up, slowly, until it was at an almost 90-degree angle, and then lightly rested your ankle on Five’s right shoulder. He let go of your wrist and you threw your arms around his neck and kissed him.

“I bet this never happened in dance class,” you told him.

Five’s hands moved to your waist. “That would have been really fucking weird if it did.”

You hummed and leaned in to kiss him again, your leg still extended. Five’s hand traveled over your hip, then your thigh, and to your calf where he gave it a firm squeeze. His kisses were quickly turning deeper and harder and you could feel his skin becoming hotter against yours.

“I missed this body,” he groaned.

You lowered your leg from his shoulder down to his waist. He grabbed under your thigh with one hand and held it there. When you unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt and slipped your hand inside, pressing your palm into his chest, he flashed an evil smile.

“Let’s go to bed,” you said, after kissing him hungrily again.

Five’s mouth turned up at one corner while he shoved your leg off his hip. You waited for the lurching sensation of one of his blinks, but it didn’t come. Instead, he spun you around with his hands on your waist, so that you were both facing the mirrored wall in front of you. He kissed the side of your neck.

“What’s wrong with right here?” he asked.

He caught your eyes in the mirror with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows. You laughed shyly.

“Here? Really?”

“Why not?” He kissed your shoulder, his hair grazing your bare skin and making you shiver. He gave another kiss to the other side of your neck.

You could already feel your cheeks getting warmer and it wasn’t just because of Five’s touch.

“I don’t know… it’s embarrassing,” you breathed out as you tipped your head back against his shoulder.

“It’s just us,” he assured you, wrapping his arms around your middle. His lips trailed up the side of your neck and next to your ear. He let out a low groan; his voice roughened with lust. “I want you to see how well you take me…” His teeth scraped across the underside of your jaw and his hold on you tightened. “When I fuck you so hard you shatter.”

You exhaled shakily as he guided your head with a gentle hand on your chin. He waited until you were looking at him in the mirror. The absolutely devastating image of him with his shirt half opened and his hair tousled had you slowly nodding. There was blood pounding in your ears and between your legs and if he had suggested lighting yourselves on fire just for the fun of it, you would have readily agreed.

“That’s my girl,” he whispered, before placing a feather-light kiss against your cheek.

His hand slipped slowly down and over your throat, pausing briefly with his palm pressed against your trachea and his fingers grasping the side. But he kept moving, until he reached your chest and he slipped a finger under the strap of your leotard. He moved one side off of your shoulder, making sure you were watching. Then he did the same thing to the other side, so that the straps were hanging loosely down.

Five pushed the stretchy material down your chest and abdomen, and over your hips, where he let it drop onto the floor around your feet. You hadn’t been wearing anything underneath, so you stood there, completely naked save for your pointe shoes, as Five took you all in.

You didn’t particularly like looking at yourself in the mirror like that. You didn’t like the way your legs looked so muscular and weird and you thought your breasts were too small. Your hips jutted out oddly and your feet were a hideous mess due to decades of broken toes and being trapped in your dance shoes. At least those were hidden, since Five didn’t seem interested in taking your shoes off.

But Five loved you, all of you, just the way you were. When you looked away from your reflection, he guided your face back again. He wanted you to watch while his hands roamed over your body, sliding over your sides and onto your hips. He smiled softly over your shoulder as he gently squeezed your tits together and pinched your nipples, rolling them between his thumb and forefinger.

“You are so god damn beautiful,” he murmured while his hands ventured south again, to the warm crease between your legs.

He stayed there for a while, caressing and toying with you, while you let out little gasps and tried to keep watching like he wanted you to. You did like seeing his hands on your body and his fingers stroking you in just the right way.

When he had worked you up enough for his satisfaction, he turned you around by the shoulders so that you were facing him and you were both in profile to the mirror. He smirked dangerously and it sent your pulse racing again.

“On your knees, baby.”

Just that one little sentence nearly did you in right there. You quickly dropped to your knees in front of him, your hands already reaching for his belt.

“No,” he said sternly, halting you in your movements. “Let’s make this an even playing field.”

“You want me to undress you?” you asked.

He nodded. You knew this game. He normally didn’t like it when you took full control and tried to strip him down completely, unless he was the one giving the orders. But when he did, he liked it done slowly and neatly. He liked it when you treated him like some pampered and noble prince.

Five helped you out by unbuttoning his shirt the rest of the way and taking it off, since you were already kneeling on the floor. You took a chance and reached up, running your palms over his firm stomach. He let you for a short second but then he shook his head, just once, and that was all it took for you to stop and behave.

He handed you the shirt, dangling it from one finger, and you took it from him, folding it neatly in a way that wouldn’t wrinkle the fabric, and then setting it nicely on the floor nearby.

You started with his shoes and socks, taking them off one by one and setting them next to the shirt; your fingers brushing lightly over the tops of his feet and ankles. Then you slid your hands up his thighs, pressing them into the hard bulge of his pants, making him grunt quietly, until you reached the buckle of his belt. You slowly undid the buckle before pulling the belt out of the loops, and placing it next to his shoes in a perfect coil.

When you moved to the fly of his pants, he reached down to lovingly sweep a loose strand of hair out of your face. His fingers lingered on your cheek and you blinked up at him.

“I think I could watch you like this all day long and never get tired of it,” Five mused quietly.

You smiled up at him. “That would not be very good for my knees.”

Five just shook his head and let out a soft chuckle. You knew if you pushed him more, he would find a way to tease and hold out on you, so you got back to work; unbuttoning and unzipping his pants and then sliding them down his legs. The outline of his waiting cock straining against his boxers had you swallowing hard.

You helped him step out of the pants; folding them carefully and setting them next to the other discarded items. You glanced up once more, making sure it was ok to continue, and Five gave you a subtle nod of his head.

You hooked your fingers into the waistband of his boxers, pausing for just a second before pulling them down and over Five’s hard-on; the head flushed and glistening with leaking pre-cum. The boxers joined the other clothing items on the floor in an orderly pile.

Then you looked up at him again, breathing hard as he gazed down at you. It was like kneeling before a Roman God, with all of his sharp angles and lean muscles. His smooth, pale skin was flawless except for the handful of scars that dotted his torso, thighs, and arms. But they just added to his raw beauty. The thick shaft in his hand that he was holding just for you wasn’t so bad, either.

“Go ahead, darling,” he told you. “You know what Daddy likes.”

When your lips were around his dick and you pushed your head forward so that you were taking as much of him in as possible, Five groaned loudly and rested his hand in your hair.

“Fuck,” he murmured.

Five turned his head toward the mirror so he could watch you from a completely new perspective. The sight of you on your knees, with you head buried in his crotch and his hand on the back of your head was enough to make him curse out loud again.

“Holy shit, you look good like this,” he said through another groaning exhale. His hand flexed in your hair. “I’m gonna fuck your face.”

You nodded as best you could, giving your consent, not that he asked for it. His fist latched onto your hair and his hips bucked into your face. You gave one choking gag and he eased up again.

“You good?” he asked, panting.

You made a garbled noise resembling a yes, letting him continue to thrust his dick down your throat. He also continued to watch you intently in the mirror, his mouth open while he studied your movements from this new angle. You were choking and drooling but he kept at it.

The head of his cock was being pushed forcefully down your throat and it took every last bit of concentration you had to quiet your gag reflex. The only control you had of your body was steadying yourself with your hands on his thighs as you gripped them tightly. Everything else was in Five’s control while he slammed himself into you at a punishing pace, your hair held tightly in his grasp.

After what felt like several minutes, he slowed down a little, which meant he was trying not to come. When he finally released you from his hold, you were able to breathe properly again.

You sat back on your heels, looking up at him while wiping the excess saliva off your mouth and chin and sucking in a loud breath.

“Look at yourself,” Five said with a satisfied smile.

You turned to look in the mirror, gasping when you saw your reflection. You were completely ruined with your hair a mess of tangles and your lips all puffy and red. There was still a small line of drool seeping out of the corner of your mouth and your cheeks were flushed a deep pink.

Five held out his hand for you to help you stand up. He moved you in front of his body again, so that you were both facing the mirror.

“I want you to look like this all the time,” he breathed heavily over your shoulder.

“I’m a mess,” you said.

“I know.” Five kissed your cheek. “And I fucking love it.”

He admired your reflections in the mirror for a few more seconds, running his hand down both your sides and hips. Then he jerked you backward, so you felt the hard outline of his cock against your ass.

“Hold on to the barre,” he instructed you.

You reached out, holding onto the barre that you had rigged up and that ran the length of the mirror. It was supposed to be for stretching, but it definitely wasn’t going to be used for that right now.

Five pulled your hips back again, until you were completely bent over and your ass was stuck out behind you. When you lifted your head to look in the mirror, you saw him drop to his knees behind you.

“Oh fuuuuck,” you whined, as his warm tongue made contact with your wet and glistening cunt. “Fiiive!”

Your head hung down as he ate you out from behind and you tried to push yourself backward onto his face. When you would take small looks at the mirror, you could only see him kneeling behind you, his face buried between your legs. His cock was still rock hard and leaking again.

“Oh shit, oh shit,” you inhaled sharply. “Please keep going, Five… oh shiiiit!”

You were gasping and grinding your teeth together as he upped his game, shoving his tongue inside you and grabbing your ass cheeks and squeezing them together. Just as you were about to come, he sensed it, and backed off. You were left whining and squirming against nothing as he smacked your ass playfully and stood up again.

He smirked at you in the mirror, his face shining, and he licked his lips.

“Five, that’s not fair!” you cried out, still bent over in the hopes that he would pick up where he left off.

“I know, my love, it’s not,” he said before running a hand over his mouth and chin to wipe it off. “But you know the rules.”

You did know the rules, that was true. Five wanted you coming on his cock right after he brought you to the edge with his mouth or hands. Unless he was feeling generous. Today he was not.

You waited while he lined himself up behind you, your hips grasped tightly in his hands. He entered you with just the head of his cock before stopping again. He held you still so you couldn’t push back against him.

“Look at me,” he ordered.

You raised your head and met his eyes in the mirror and he flashed you a slanted smile. His hair was flopped over one eye and the muscles in his chest and arms were contracted with anticipation.

“Watch me fuck you. Don’t look away.”

You nodded briefly with your own small smile and then he was slamming into you; his hips flush with your ass and his dick buried all the way to the hilt.

You moaned loudly, closing your eyes for a moment. When you opened them again, he was still maintaining eye contact in the mirror. As he began to fuck you, hard and deeply, you watched your reflection, just like he said.

The sight of Five behind you, clutching onto your waist with all his strength while he rammed rhythmically into you, his jaw set and his eyes trained on yours, had you almost swooning from the debauchery of it all.

It was like watching your own porno, except that it was happening in real time and you could feel every inch of his cock drilling inside of you. He looked so fucking good, completely lost in his utter need to claim you and destroy you.

You looked him right in the eyes, your mouth turning up slightly at the corner, as your body was being pulled and pushed with each forceful thrust.

“Fuck, Five… “you said, in between sharp inhales. “I love you so much.”

He answered back with his own strained smile and a quiet laugh, but he didn’t slow down. “I love you, too, darling.” He tossed his hair out of his eyes. “Finger yourself.”

You obeyed gladly, reaching down to massage your clit while he banged you and gritted his teeth harder.

“God damn it…” he growled, almost painfully. “Let me see you come.”

With a few more of his well-aimed thrusts and your fingers working your clit, you came for him, holding on tightly to the barre with one hand while your orgasm ripped through your body and had you screaming and shuddering against him.

Five watched you fall apart in the reflection and just the sight of you coming so hard on his dick like that made him immediately follow you. He let out a gruff groan, gripping your flesh harder, as his hips slammed into you one last time.

He slipped out after a minute so that you could right yourself again, and you both stood there panting and sweating and smiling at one another.

“Ok, you were right. That was pretty hot,” you breathily conceded, leaning up against the barre.

Five leaned in to kiss you softly and you sighed happily. “I know, darling. I’m always right.”

You laughed at his arrogance and kissed him again. “I don’t know about that. But you sure as hell know how to use that impressive tool of yours.”

Five smirked confidently. “Well, I have to have something else to impress you with besides my sparkling personality.”

You kissed him, pressing your body against his. “I’m so happy you’re home.”

He sighed, wrapping his arms around your waist. “Me too. But I have to leave again.”

You frowned. “When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“How long will you be gone?”

Five shook his head and abruptly dropped his arms to his side. “I have no idea.”

He stepped back to pick his boxers off the floor and put them on. He ran a hand through his hair and tossed you your leotard. As you watched him go through the motions of getting his clothes back on, you realized this was the first time he had not gone through his whole ritual of aftercare with you. He didn’t grab anything to clean you up with. He didn’t ask how you were feeling. Perhaps it was the locale that threw him off his game, but you had a feeling that wasn’t it.

You studied his face carefully and you thought that something was a little off. Like maybe his eyes weren’t as bright and clear anymore, or there was something missing from behind them. It was possible you could have been imagining things, but something told you that you weren’t.

Chapter Text

When the morning arrived, you woke before Five, which was unusual. He was normally the early riser and you would find him in the kitchen, humming some weird song while he ground coffee beans and worked the complicated coffee machine that he loved. But today he was out cold. You watched him for a few moments, lying on his stomach with his head turned to the side and his arm still splayed out where it had been resting on your waist. You gently ran your fingers through his hair and he stirred only a little before falling still again.

Five was always taking care of you, and you rarely got the chance to return the favor, unless it was of the sexual kind. Right now seemed like the perfect opportunity to express your appreciation for him, only with breakfast instead of a blow job. Although, maybe that would come later.

You slipped out of bed, throwing on an amethyst-colored satin robe that Five had bought you as a gift when the Romeo and Juliet show ended. He had jokingly told you that he wanted you to wear only that from then on, and nothing else. You did like the way the silky fabric felt against your naked skin and the deep purple color was one of your favorites. It was just one of the many small things that Five noticed and remembered about you that made you feel special.

In the old, shabby kitchen of the Umbrella Academy, you rummaged through the cupboards and second-hand refrigerator for the ingredients you needed. Five was right in that you did tend to make a huge mess in the kitchen, but you tried to keep it to a minimum this time. After there was a small accident that covered the counter and floor in white flour, you managed to make a decent stack of pancakes. You put some on a plate and added some berries and melon on the side.

Five had showed you once before how to use his fancy coffee maker, but you hadn’t really been paying attention. So, after a few failed attempts at trying to get it to work, and fearing you might break it, which would be the worst sin imaginable, you gave up. Instead, you made a mug of black tea and hoped that he wouldn’t notice.

After you set the plate of food and the mug on the table next to Five’s side of the bed, you slipped under the covers again. You hooked your leg over his and kissed him.

“Morning, honey,” you said with a smile as he partially opened one eye.

Five groaned and stretched, then pulled you in closer with an arm around your waist. His eyes fluttered closed again.

He mumbled something into the pillow that sounded like “Werren yunaket?”.

“What?”

Five lazily moved his hand over your hip that was covered by the satin robe. “Why aren’t you naked?” he said more clearly.

You giggled and patted his bare butt under the covers. “Because I was making you breakfast.”

Five opened one eye completely. “Yeah?”

You nodded. “Pancakes and fruit.”

“Mmm… and coffee?”

You kissed him again. “Come on, wake up. Before it gets cold.”

Five passed a hand down his face and through his hair before hauling himself up. He glanced at the night table blearily and reached for the steaming mug. When he raised it to his mouth, he stopped.

He frowned into the cup. “What is this?”

“Coffee?” you answered hopefully.

Five looked at you and then back at the mug. “This is not coffee. This is… “ He took a small sniff and grimaced. “Tea.”

You sighed. “Damn, I really thought you might not notice.”

He stared at you in disbelief. “You thought I wouldn’t notice that you replaced my coffee with leaf water?”

With a laugh, you shrugged your shoulders. “I don’t know. I was hoping. I couldn’t figure out how to work the stupid coffee machine so I improvised.”

Five set the mug on the table with a look of distain in its direction, as if its mere presence was offensive.

“Darling, no offense, but do you really think I would just go ahead and drink something, no questions asked, without noticing what was in the cup first? That’s like Assassin 101 shit.”

You huffed. “You’re acting like I tried to poison you. I just gave you tea instead of coffee. What’s the big deal?”

“I’m hurt and offended that you would even ask me that.”

With a shake of your head, you pointed at the plate on the table. “Well, at least eat the pancakes. I know they turned out good because I had four of them already.”

“You ate without me?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t wait. You really worked up my appetite last night.”

Five smirked. “I like hearing that.” He took the plate and fork and set it on his lap. Then he leaned in to kiss you. “Thank you, my love. This is wonderful.”

“You’re welcome. You’re always taking care of me and I never get the chance to do the same for you.”

“You take of me just by being here,” he told you before stabbing a piece of cantaloupe with his fork.

You watched Five’s face as he continued to eat. You cocked your head to the side as you studied him.

“What?” he asked with a mouthful of pancakes. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

You moved a strand of hair off his forehead and looked into his eyes. “You’re tired.”

“I just woke up.”

“No, it’s not that. I can tell something is off with you.”

“I’m fine,” he scoffed before taking another bite. “These are really good, by the way.”

You smiled. “Thank you. But stop avoiding the subject. It’s the Commission, isn’t it? It’s getting to you.”

Five rolled his eyes upwards with a heavy sigh. Then he took your hand in his and squeezed it. “Honey, I promise, I am fine. I can handle it.”

You hesitated but then nodded, knowing it would do no good to argue with him, and let him eat his breakfast in peace.

****************

Five was leafing through his latest assignment that had just been handed to him when a shadow passed over the pages. He sighed. He already knew who it would be.

“Hello, Simon,” Five said ruefully, without glancing up.

“Good morning, Mr. Five,” Simon responded with way too much enthusiasm for Five’s liking.

Since Five had rejoined the Commission, Simon had been up his ass and around every corner. Constantly sidling up whenever Five was reviewing something or about to go on a mission. When Five not-so-subtly asked him why the hell he was clinging to him like dog shit on the bottom of his shoe, Simon explained that it was a new Commission protocol that all field agents were monitored closely. For their own safety, of course.

Five very much had his doubts whether that was true, since he didn’t notice other agents being scrutinized on a daily basis. But he kept his mouth shut and tolerated Simon as best he could without throttling the guy and just tried to get through each day.

“Ah, the San Antonio job… “ Simon let out a low whistle as he read over Five’s shoulder. “That’s a toughie. But nothing you can’t handle, I’m sure.”

Five bristled. “Is there something you need, Simon?”

“Oh no, not really. Just checking in for the day. Also, Felicity wants to see you in her office.”

“About what?”

“I have no idea. How is your girlfriend doing? Is the new show still set to open next month?”

Five snapped the folder shut and spoke through gritted teeth. “She is none of your concern, asshole.”

Simon took a step back. “Whoa, hey, I was just trying to be friendly. You know? Strike up a conversation. That’s what co-workers do, right?”

Five closed the gap between them and he shoved a finger in Simon’s face. “Listen here. In case you haven’t picked up on the clues, I don’t like you. We are not co-workers, and we are certainly not friends. I am here to do this shitty job and pay off my debt and I don’t need you or anyone else trying to make this into something it’s not. Got it?”

Simon nodded hastily. “Yeah, sure. Got it.”

“And don’t ever talk about her again,” Five warned.

As Five turned on his heel to walk away, he got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Simon was an irritating asshole, to be sure, but why did he question Five about you? And how did he know about the ballet opening next month? Obviously, the Commission as a whole could keep tabs on anyone at any time, but not everyone was privy to that information. And why would they even be monitoring you anyway, if you were no longer a target?

Outside of the director’s office, Five rapped on the door just once before barging in without an invitation. Felicity was sitting behind her desk, dressed in the same gray suit and pearl necklace that she never seemed to be without.

“Oh, hello, Five. Come right on in,” she said with mild irritation.

“What do you need?”

Felicity gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. “Please, have a seat.”

“I’ll stand thank you. What is it that you want?”

Felicity straightened her suit jacket and then stood so that she wouldn’t be looking up at Five. He continued to glower in her direction.

“I just wanted to check in and see how you were getting along.”

Five chuckled and folded his arms over his chest. “Getting along? I’m here because you are forcing me to be. How do you think it’s going?”

Felicity sighed. “Five, I realize the circumstances of your employment here are less than ideal and I understand your hesitancy in wanting to trust us, but—”

“Hesitancy?” Five hit the top of the desk with his fist. “There is no hesitancy. I don’t trust any one of you and I never will. Period.”

“Five, I am not the enemy here, I can promise you that.”

“Oh really? Then what are you?”

“I’m simply the director of the Commission. I’m just doing my job. The same as you.”

“And you sleep easy at night knowing that?”

Felicity smiled. “About as well as you, I suspect.”

Five glared. “Let’s be clear. I’m here for one reason only and that is to spare a life. I will fulfill my contract and then I’m done. End of story.”

“I understand. But just remember, Five, we could have killed her at any point before now. But we didn’t because of who you are.”

“So what? I’m supposed to be grateful to you? Do you know how fucked up that is?”

“No, not grateful. But you see the power you have here, don’t you? You are a legend. People still talk about you at the water cooler.”

“And I should care about that, why?”

Felicity came around from her desk and perched on the edge in a way that reminded Five a bit too much of his last boss. He didn’t let that deter him though and he continued to glare with narrowed eyes.

“Five, don’t you see what you are missing out on here? This could all be yours!” She motioned around the spacious office. “I mean, technically, it is yours, I suppose, but you know what I mean. In another few years I’ll be stepping down and a new director will replace me. That could be you.”

“Why in the fuck would you think I would want that?”

“Because then you could run things your way. Rearrange things! Start from the ground up! The possibilities are endless.”

“And why do you care who takes your seat after you’re gone?”

Felicity shrugged and walked around to the other side of her desk again. “I don’t really. I just want to make sure you know of the opportunity you have.”

Five smirked. “Yeah, well, thanks for the heads up. I’ll be sure to beef up my resume in preparation.”

“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Felicity said with a sad smile. “I’m on your side.”

“Duly noted. Will there be anything else, Madam Director?” Five asked curtly.

Felicity shook her head. “No, that was all.”

“Great.”

As Five turned to leave, Felicity spoke up again. “I hope she’s worth it.”

Five paused but he didn’t turn around. Instead, he opened the door and made his way to the briefcase room to start on his next assignment, still seething with rage.

***********************

Over the next few weeks, you saw Five’s physical and mental health start to decline. He was exhausted and irritable and when he was home all he wanted to do was lie in bed with you. He had headaches and he was drinking more and eating less. If you tried to question him, he brushed you off and told you he was fine.

During the day you drove to the studio for rehearsals and drove back to the Academy at night, sometimes stopping briefly at your house to make sure everything was ok. You had gotten so used to Five hovering around you, always concerned about your safety and acting as your protector, that now it felt strange not to have him around as much.

Walking to your car one night, you had the eerie sensation that someone was following you. When you turned to look, there was no one there, but you still felt on edge. After that, you made sure to walk out with Stephan until you were safely in your car.

At night, alone, you would stare up at the cracked ceiling, hyperaware of all the creaks and groans of the old mansion around you. You could have sworn a person’s shadow passed by the window on more than one occasion, but you knew it was just the moonlight shining on a tree limb.

You didn’t dare express any of your concerns to Five. He didn’t need any more stress. You did your best to care for him, but it was getting harder and harder to see him slowly wasting away before your eyes. And the worst part was knowing that he was doing it all for you. Every day that guilty ache in your chest intensified.

One evening, you found him hunched over the bathroom sink in a white t-shirt and his black suit pants, scrubbing splattered blood off of his dress shirt. An empty glass of what had been whiskey sat on the edge of the sink. As you watched him furiously trying to erase the stain of his latest kill, you approached him carefully.

“Five… you can’t keep doing this.”

“Doing what?” he asked, continuing to rub soap on the red blotches.

“Killing yourself.” Your eyes welled up with tears. “This isn’t fair to you.”

Five’s shoulders slumped and he dropped the shirt into the sink. He turned around to face you, his dark green eyes devoid of the sparkle they once had. “I’m fine—”

“No!” you broke in. “You’re not fine. Look at you! You’re losing weight, you’re drinking all the time, all you do is sleep. You can’t keep living this way.”

Five drew in a deep breath, trying to steady his rising irritation. “I am doing what I have to do, ok? I can handle it.”

“You keep saying that, but you’re not handling it. You’re becoming a different person. I can see it in your eyes. I’m watching you slowly fade away and I can’t just stand quietly by anymore.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Five’s face screwed up with anger. “You’re going to leave me because I can’t be here to attend to your every need anymore? You’re just going to throw me away? I’m doing this for you!”

You took a step back, shocked at his accusation. That wasn’t at all what you were hinting at.

“Five, no. No, of course not.”

He stepped closer to you until you were backed into the bathroom wall and his face was just inches from yours. “Then what do you mean?” he growled.

You swallowed and spoke calmly, but the tears started to trickle down your cheeks. “I want you to stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Working for them.”

Five shook his head like you had said the stupidest thing in the world. “Yeah, sure. I’ll just waltz in there and turn in my resignation papers.” He snarled in your face, his teeth bared. “They will fucking kill you.”

You nodded with a sad smile and placed a hand gently on his cheek. “I know, baby. I know.”

Five blinked in astonishment and he took a step back. “Stop it.”

“Five, maybe it’s meant to be for a reason. You said yourself it’s all part of a bigger plan to keep the universe intact. And if I’m not meant to be here, then…”

You were essentially telling him that you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of his quality of life and Five was at a complete loss of words. No one had ever put him before themselves before. But the brief moment of gratitude that washed over him was quickly replaced by more anger.

“No!” he yelled, pointing a finger at you. “You can just shut that shit down right now. Because we are not going down that road.”

“Five, you can’t keep—”

“Do you realize everything I have gone through in my life before I ended up here with you? Do you understand the insanity and pain and sheer tragedy I have dealt with? I have watched the world burn and lived through it. So, yeah… I can keep doing this. This is a fucking walk in the park compared to all of that.”

“I know that,” you sobbed, the tears coming freely now.

“Then why are you saying this?”

“Because I love you,” you sniffed. “I love you so much and it hurts me every day that you are doing this for me.” You took a step closer to him again. “You can’t always be the one that sacrifices everything, Five.” You gave a small smile. “Give someone else a chance.”

The corner of Five’s mouth twitched up before it was gone again and he shook his head solemnly. “No.”

“Damn it, Five, why are you so stubborn?”

“Why am I so stubborn that I don’t want the woman I love to sacrifice herself for me? Gee, I don’t know.”

You covered your face with both hands. “I just don’t know what to do!”

After a moment, Five pulled you in against his chest. He stroked your hair. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I yelled.”

“I don’t care about that. I care about you.”

“Listen, this whole thing sucks. I know it does. But we can get through this. The most important thing is that you are safe.”

You looked up at him with tears still brimming over. “It’s the not the most important thing to me. You are.”

He brushed the tears away with his thumb. “I told you I would protect you and that’s what I’m going to do. Whether you like it or not.”

“Well, I’m going to care about what happens to you, whether you like it or not,” you argued back.

“I love you,” he said softly, lowering his face to yours. “God, I love you.”

“I love you, too,” you said with a smile.

He kissed you, holding your face in his hands. You looped your arms around his shoulders and massaged the back of his neck. As the kisses morphed from slow and passionate to deep and heated, you clutched at the back of his shirt, bunching it in your hands. Five backed you up until you hit the wall again, grabbing at your breasts and groaning into your mouth.

“I need you,” he murmured as he attacked your neck with sucking kisses. “Fuck, I need you right now.”

You inhaled sharply, exhaling with a long whine. You were already trying to desperately wrestle his shirt off of his back while he worked at lifting your skirt up and shoving your panties down.

You clawed at his pants, unbuttoning them and pulling the zipper down. When you shoved your hand inside his boxers, grabbing onto the shaft of his already hard cock and giving it a few clumsy strokes, he tipped his head back with a moan.

You pushed his pants and boxers down his legs and he hoisted you up against the wall. In one rough thrust he was inside of you while he clutched at your thighs that were wrapped around his waist. You hung on tightly to his shoulders as he started to pound into you.

The kisses never stopped. You couldn’t get enough of him and you slipped your tongue inside his mouth, biting at his lips like you wanted to eat him alive.

“Five…” you gasped when you took a break for some air. “Let me give you what you need.”

Five continued to fuck you against the bathroom wall, the small picture of a seashell that you had hung up for decoration rattling in its frame next to your head. He was driving into you at a steady pace, his hips slamming into your pelvis with each thrust. He was desperate and manic, burying his face into the crook of your neck with a broken moan.

“You are all that I need,” he told you, his breath hot against your skin. “Every last breath. Every cell in your body. That’s what I need.”

“Then it’s yours,” you promised him and you meant it. He could take anything and everything that he wanted. “I just can’t lose you.”

Five drew back to look you in the eyes and you saw that familiar spark flash behind them, like a part of his old self had returned. His hand found your throat and he wrapped it around, carefully but steadily pressing in and narrowing your airway.

He watched your face intently, relying on you to let him know if it was too much. But it wasn’t. You really would give him your last breath and it would feel so good all the way until the very end.

Five whispered your name next to your ear and you felt yourself being overwhelmed by that warm feeling between your legs. You gasped in enough air to let out a soft whimper that had Five coming at the same time as you. He let go with a loud growl and flattened you further into the wall.

When he had emptied the last drop into you, his hips twitching sporadically, he released his hold on your throat. You breathed hard, resting your forehead on his shoulder as he stroked your hair. Your fingers still dug deeply into his back as you tried to steady yourself.

You shook in his arms as he whispered how much he loved you. How he could never be without you. You nodded against his shoulder, your anxieties starting to melt away, just a little.

Once you were on your feet again, you raised your face and he kissed you lovingly one more time.

“We’re gonna be ok,” he assured you with a smile, his fingers grazing your cheek. “I promise.”

You nodded and laid your head against his damp chest. There was no way he could promise that, but you wanted him to continue believing that he could. “I know.”

“Now, stay right here,” he told you, sternly but with a smile, as he gently removed your arms from around his waist. “I’m going to draw you a warm bath and get you cleaned up.”

You grinned. “Only if you promise to join me. Assassins deserve aftercare, too, you know.”

He chuckled. “Ok, my love. Whatever you wish.”

*********************

In the middle of the night, Five was awoken by a sharp thumping noise. It only happened once, but it made him sit straight up in bed. You were still asleep, curled into the fetal position on your side. As Five sat there for a minute, listening, everything was silent except for the constant protests of the aging eaves above you. But he had definitely heard something.

He slipped out of bed, careful not to wake you, and grabbed his Glock off the side table. Tossing on a pair of black sweatpants that had been lying on the floor, he crept out of the bedroom. Five wasn’t sure where the noise had come from, so he made his way carefully through the maze of the mansion. Everything seemed to be normal. All of the doors and windows he had checked were locked up tight with no signs of forced entry.

As he entered the kitchen and turned the light on, he looked around. Nothing was out of place there, either. As he was about to head back the way he came, he paused for a moment and then looked over his shoulder at the refrigerator. He gritted his teeth together in anticipation as he opened the door.

As predicted, there was a cannister, fresh from the Commission, waiting for him. He grabbed it and unscrewed the lid.

“Motherfuckers,” he muttered under his breath as he pulled out the piece of paper inside. “It’s two in the fucking morning.”

He unfolded the paper, squinting at it in the dim light.

You are being watched. D24.

Five read it again, not quite understanding what he was seeing. He checked the inside of the cannister, as if that might contain an explanation, but of course it was empty.

“D24,” he whispered out loud. “Sounds like a file number.”

He looked around him, half expecting to be ambushed by someone in the shadows of the kitchen. When no one jumped out at him, he took a breath and replaced the cannister back in the tube and watched it whoosh away. He closed the fridge door.

Five rubbed the back of his neck as he continued to stare at the small paper in his hand. He was being watched. Maybe you both were. But he also had no idea who sent the message. Maybe it was a trap. But why would they need to trap him? They already had him.

“Shit,” he grumbled.

“Five?”

Your voice made him jump and he hurriedly stuffed the paper in his pocket. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

You yawned and stretched. “You weren’t in bed so I came looking for you. Is everything ok?”

“Yeah. Just… couldn’t sleep.”

You frowned. “You have your gun with you.”

Five forgot he had shoved the pistol into the front of his pants while he had been dealing with the cryptic message.

“Just in case,” he said as a way of explanation. “Go back to bed, honey, you have to get up early tomorrow.”

You nodded, still groggy. “Yeah ok. You coming?”

“In a second.”

Five watched as you stumbled your way back to your shared bedroom and he let out long exhale. He didn’t like lying to you, but there was no way he was going to show this to you now. Not when even he had no idea what it meant. And he didn’t need you to be even more worried than you already were. So, until he figured it out, he would keep it from you.

After a few more checks around the house, Five made his way back to bed, cozying up to you under the covers and pulling you close. You had already fallen back asleep. He listened to your rhythmic breathing in the dark of the room and thought about all of the long, lonely nights he had to survive to get to where he was now. And how for some goddamn reason, this universe was determined to strip him of any semblance of peace.

His fingers brushed over your arms and he breathed in the scent of your skin. I told you, he whispered faintly to whatever fate or god or deity that was orchestrating his wretched life like an evil puppet master. You can’t have her. She’s mine. 

Chapter Text

“So, what do you need us to do?” Klaus asked.

Diego and Luther sat on opposite sides of the couch in the old Academy living room while Klaus loitered behind the bar, searching through its contents. Five was holding court in the middle of the room.

“I need you to drop whatever jobs you have going on and turn your attention to this. I need a full-time security detail.”

“Sure, Five, whatever you need,” Luther said with a nod.

“Yeah, we got this, no sweat,” Diego added with a casual flip of a knife.

“I’m not sure what help you think I’m going to be,” Klaus said while uncorking an unlabeled bottle of something brown and giving it a sniff.

“You just need to keep your eyes open and your trap shut,” Five told him. “She can’t know about this.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Luther asked hesitantly. “Keeping this from her, I mean?”

Five did look a little guilty but he shook his head. “I don’t even know what is going on yet. And until I have some information, telling her this will just upset her. She needs to focus on her dancing right now. I’ll tell her eventually, but I need more time.”

“Listen, we got this, bro,” Diego told Five, standing up. “Luther and I will take shifts. We’ll keep an eye on the Academy and the dance studio, and anywhere else she wanders off to. Klaus will keep watch at her place, just in case.”

“I will?” Klaus asked, grimacing from the swig of mystery liquor he just downed.

“Yes,” Luther said sternly. “You will.”

Klaus whined. “Last time I was there, an annoying little girl ghost wouldn’t leave me alone. I think she followed me from one of the nearby cemeteries.”

Five rolled his eyes. “A little girl? Is that really a huge concern?”

“Well, she was mean to me, if you must know,” Klaus said haughtily. “She said my shirt was ugly.”

“Was it that shirt?” Diego asked, pointing his knife at Klaus’s bright pink flowy blouse. “Cause she’s right.”

“Yeah,” nodded Luther. “Pink’s not really your color. I’d say you’re more of an autumn.”

Diego nodded in agreement. “A nice maroon would highlight your features better.”

Klaus looked down at his shirt, running his hands over the material in thought. “You think?”

“Can we focus here, people?” Five barked, snapping his fingers in their direction. “I swear, you have the attention spans of a coked-up squirrel.”

 “Oh, you do NOT want to give a squirrel coke,” Klaus said sagely. “I still have the scars from that little experiment.”

Five sighed heavily, massaging his aching temples. “Why?” he asked under his breath.

Luther clapped him on the shoulder, jolting Five’s entire body. “Don’t worry. It’s all under control. She’ll be safe until you can figure out what is going on at the Commission.”

Five nodded, knowing that he didn’t really have a choice but to trust his family right now. Clearly, he would have liked to be keeping a close eye on you himself, but he couldn’t be everywhere at once. And he needed to get to the bottom of this mysterious message. Which meant he was going to have to infiltrate the Commission records room and find out just what was going on.

“You sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Diego asked hopefully. “I know my way around the place.”

“No, it’s too risky. It’s already going to be hard not to draw attention to myself. Especially with that asshole Simon lurking around every corner.”

“Well, you better be careful,” Diego grumbled. “I don’t want to be the one to tell her your skinny little ass just got brutally murdered by a group of time assassins.”

Five breathed out a short laugh. “Yeah, well… I don’t exactly want you to have to tell her that either.”

“We know you’ll be fine, Fivey,” Klaus said, reshelving the bottle he had been holding. “You always are.”

“’Fine’ is a relative word there, but I appreciate the confidence, Klaus.”

*****************

That day, Five did his best not to draw any attention to himself as he went about his normal routine at Headquarters. He acquired a briefcase, trading in the one he already had to get back and forth, which was standard procedure. He was assigned a file and he sat in a corner of the cafeteria, pretending to look it over intently. Really, he was just buying himself some time.

Simon, as always, was skulking around. He had already cornered Five in the hallway earlier on the pretense that he was asking him how his day was going. Five remained aloof and gave him one word answers. He wasn’t sure where he was now, though, because Five didn’t see him anywhere in the cafeteria.

Now might be as good of a time as any, Five thought as he downed the last dregs of coffee from his paper cup.

He scooped the file up under his arm and picked up the briefcase. He avoided any eyes that were on him as he strode out of the room, but that was his usual mode. Five never stopped to make small talk. He would rather strangle himself with his own shoelace.

To make sure anyone snooping around wasn’t going to follow him, he slipped into the men’s room. Seeing as there was another man washing his hands, he delivered a curt nod and went into one of the stalls. He waited for an outrageously long amount of time for the idiot to finish up before he heard the heavy door fall shut. Then he blinked away.

His destination was the Commission records room, but since he wasn’t sure who may be occupying it at the moment, he reappeared out of his portal in the hallway just outside of the room. Five was prepared to say he was on his way to human resources, which was located in the same corridor, should anyone stop and ask him where he was going. But the hallway was clear of any people and he took a deep breath.

He had been in the records room just once during his last stint there when he was getting a brief tour. It was a massive room with thousands upon thousands of filing cabinets, each housing hundreds of files on various individuals that the Commission had deemed important in one way or another to the fate of the world.

Five lingered casually outside of the door, waiting to see if anyone would go in or come out. He listened with his ear against the door, but didn’t hear anything. He very carefully tried the door knob, but found it locked. Only employees with certain security clearances had a key and Five had not made that cut. After a sufficient amount of time with no noises or oncoming foot traffic, Five took a chance and blinked inside.

He was immediately on the defensive and ready to blink away in a second if he found anyone on the other side of the door. But as soon as he jumped inside, he saw he was alone. The lights were off and the place was pitch black.

After another two seconds, however, the fluorescent lights in the ceiling started to click on. Row after row of flickering, yellow-tinted light switched on with a loud ‘pop’ until the entire, vast room was lit up. For a moment, Five thought maybe he wasn’t alone after all, but then he realized the lights were motion-activated. He was the only one there.

Five had the note from the cannister memorized, but he still pulled it out of his pocket and re-read the file number. D24.

The rows upon rows of hulking, metal file cabinets were daunting on first glance. But once Five strolled through the aisles, he noticed their pattern. Starting from the front of the room, each horizontal row was a letter, with the numbers represented by the individual cabinets. Five found row D and walked down the line, counting as he went. At the 24^th cabinet, he stopped.

Five assumed this cryptic message had to do with you, and so he figured he’d start by looking up your last name. He opened the drawer where your name would be alphabetically, and started to flip through the tabs at the top.

He scanned hurriedly through, periodically raising his head to listen for anyone coming in. When he was coming up empty, he thought he had hit a dead end, but then he saw your name typed across the top of one of the tabs and he stopped. He hesitated only a moment before pulling it out from its spot where it was wedged in tightly.

The file, on the outside, looked exactly the same as the one Hazel had given him. But from the feel of it, it was slightly thicker. Five took that as a good sign. It most likely contained the information that had been missing from the other file.

After another look around him, he grabbed the briefcase resting between his feet and headed to one of the small, wooden tables equipped with lamps that were off to the side. The tables were meant for reading the files there, since these original copies were technically not supposed to leave the records room.

There was also a giant, complex computer system that took up almost an entire wall at the very back of the room. This housed the main program for the algorithms that detected anomalies or timeline disturbances. The paper files were created for easier access and for backup. The computer hummed quietly in the background.

Five snapped on the lamp and opened the file. There was your photo again and the same few documents he had read before. But there were more pages behind them and he flipped through until he came to the ones he hadn’t seen before.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Five whispered under his breath as he started to scan through everything. “I knew that story about the little girl was bullshit.”

He stopped and stared at another photo, this one of a man, and his blood ran cold. “No fucking way,” he breathed out, dropping into the chair next to him.

Five ran a trembling hand through his hair and down the back of his neck, where he began to rub at the tightening muscles there. He flipped to another page and then another, hurriedly scanning the text. He didn’t have time to read all the details, but what he was seeing had him breaking out in a full-body sweat.

He took a deep breath and rubbed at his face with both hands. It was worse than he had thought. You were still in danger, which had already been a fear of his, but the real kicker was the reason why.

“Fuck my life,” he muttered behind his hands.

Just at that moment, Five heard footsteps outside the door and then a key being inserted into the lock. He hurried and shoved the papers back in the folder before blinking back to the open file cabinet. As he tried to jam the file back into the overstuffed drawer, he heard the door open. Realizing he was out of time, he closed the drawer as quietly as possible, grabbed the briefcase and the file, and blinked away.

He blinked into another hallway and continued on as if he was on a mission to get somewhere, keeping his head down and his steps quick. He was sweating and trying to control his breathing. He needed to look back into your file, but he couldn’t chance doing it there at Headquarters. Not when he was constantly being tailed by Simon or anyone else. The whole damn place could be watching him, for all he knew.

Five was supposed to be going on a job, though, which gave him a good reason to leave. In fact, the longer he hung around the building, the more suspicious it was going to seem. Rarely did Five spend time there if he could help it. So, using the briefcase that had been pre-programmed for him, he blipped out of the center of Headquarters and into the time and place of the real world in which he had been assigned.

******************

You were leaving your dance company studio in the late afternoon, your heavy bags slung over your shoulder as you trudged your way to your car. It was still daylight, so you hadn’t asked Stephan to walk with you. You were looking forward to a nice bath after the intense day of rehearsal you had. You were lost in thought, contemplating whether you wanted to stop by your house to use your nice, luxurious bathroom, or head back to the Academy and deal with the weird bathroom set up there, when you caught something out of the corner of your eye.

You stopped, squinting into the afternoon sun, across the parking lot.

“Diego?” you said to yourself.

It was clearly Diego, hunched down inside a black SUV. He was wearing a stocking cap and sunglasses, but he was hard to miss. You frowned, wondering what he was doing, and gave him a tentative wave.

Instead of waving back, he slunk further down in his seat.

“What in the fuck?” you muttered. You waved again, this time in a more exaggerated manner. Still, he didn’t acknowledge you.

You sighed. “I know you can see me,” you said out loud before dropping your bags at your car and starting to walk in his direction.

“Diego!” you called, but he just turned away.

As you picked up your pace, Diego started the car up and began to drive away. You stopped, incredulous that he was leaving when he had clearly seen you. You broke into a trot, trying to catch him before he left. “Diego!” you yelled. But he continued to ignore you and you watched as the SUV turned out of the parking lot and drove down the street.

You stopped, staring after the retreating car with your hands on your hips. “What in the fuck?” you repeated, shaking your head. “Christ, that family is weird.”

As you hopped into your car, you thought about calling Five and telling him about Diego, but you stopped when you picked up your phone. Sometimes you forgot when he was gone on assignments these days and he wasn’t able to be reached. You sighed and put the car in gear, heading out of the lot.

You had to make a pit stop at the grocery story on your way, so while you were mulling over the odd run-in with Diego, you parked at the nearby market and walked inside. You were meandering around the produce section with the plastic shopping basket looped over your arm. Your head was down as you walked, checking out the little cartons of berries and wondering when things became so expensive when you heard a familiar voice.

“Oh, excuse me, ma’am.”

You looked up, just in time to see a very frazzled and annoyed looking woman steer her cart around a large, sheepish looking man.

“Luther?” you said out loud.

The man, who was indeed Luther, turned your way. He gave a reluctant wave in your direction and then quickly grabbed a pomegranate off the display next to him, as if that was what he had been looking for the whole time.

You made your way over to him.

“Luther, what are you doing here?” you asked with a smile. “This store isn’t near your house.”

“Oh, uh… right. I mean, no, it’s not. But, I, uh… was in the neighborhood and I needed a couple things, so… “ he stammered.

“Like… a pomegranate?” you asked.

“What?”

You pointed at his hand. “Pomegranate. Is that what you needed?”

Luther glanced down at the fruit, looking comically small in his large hand. “Yes! Yes, I needed a pomegranate. Sloane is making cookies.”

“Pomegranate cookies?” you asked, skeptically.

Luther nodded slowly. “She’s… an adventurous baker.”

“Ok….”you said, deciding to move on. “Hey, do you know why Diego would have been at my dance studio?”

Luther cleared his throat and looked surprised. “Diego?”

“Yeah. I saw him parked there when I was leaving, but when I tried to flag him down, he left in a hurry. I know he saw me, too.”

“Huh,” Luther said, scratching his head in thought. “That is weird.”

“Right?”

Luther stared, open-mouthed for a few seconds before suddenly reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out his phone. He quickly lifted it to his ear.

“Oh hi, honey!” he said in an exaggerated tone. “Yep, got the pomelo you asked for!” Luther held up the pomegranate with a smile. “Ok, be home in a jiff!”

Luther stuck the phone, which had clearly not had anyone one the other end of it, back in his coat.

“Welp! Gotta go. Sloane’s waiting.” Luther smiled widely and waved. “See ya!”

You stood, staring after him with the most perplexed look on your face, as Luther made his way to the exit. A man working in the produce section was about to call after him for shop-lifting the pomegranate, but thought better of it after sizing him up. The automatic doors to the store closed behind Luther and he was gone.

“What is wrong with these people?” you wondered out loud.

You made a mental note to tell Five all about this when he got home. Maybe he’d have some idea of what had gotten into his brothers. Although then you imagined him flying off the handle and thought perhaps it was better to keep it to yourself. He usually had no patience for his siblings’ shenanigans, especially nowadays.

After finishing your shopping trip and getting back in your car, the sun was starting to set. Your feet were really aching and you thought longingly about the large soaking tub in the master bathroom of your run-down mansion. The bedroom and the bathroom were the only two rooms that were in good shape. Actually, they were in more than good shape. They were practically a five-star spa compared to the Academy or the rest of your dilapidated home.

You decided to take a detour and head to your place. Even though it was starting to get dark, and you really didn’t like spending a ton of time there, the thought of sinking into a luxurious bubble bath was too much to resist.

After driving up the long, gravel driveway to the grand front entrance of your grandmother’s old mansion, you got out and unlocked the front door. You smiled at the lion statues and gave one of them a pat on the head. “Hey, guys,” you said softly. Then you slipped inside.

It was dim inside and you didn’t bother turning on the few working lights. You just headed straight upstairs and into your bedroom. You had your phone out and were busy checking a text message from one of your friends as you crossed the threshold into your room. When you clicked on the light, you heard a soft gasp coming from your bed.

You screamed and on instinct, you hurled your phone in the direction of the noise. Then you turned to run.

“OW!” cried a voice as your phone made contact with their skull. “Christ on a cracker!”

You stopped, halfway out the door. You knew that voice. It was very distinctive.

You turned slowly; your head cocked to the side. “Klaus?” you asked in disbelief.

Klaus sat on your bed, rubbing his forehead and scowling.

“Yeah… fuck… that hurt! You been taking lessons on assault and battery from my brother or what?”

You stared, dumbfounded. “Klaus… what… why are you… Klaus, what the hell is going on?! Why are you here?”

He sighed, still rubbing at the rapidly forming lump on his head. “I fell asleep.”

You blinked. “What?”

“I was waiting around, you know, like I was assigned to do, but it was so boring and this bed is so comfy, and I accidentally fell asleep.” He frowned and pointed to his head. “Does it look bad? I have a date later.”

You held your hands up in front of you. “Whoa whoa whoa… hang on. You were waiting in my house because you were assigned to? By who?”

Klaus very quickly seemed to snap out of the stupor he had been in from having been woken up by a phone thrown at his face. “Uhhh… what? What are you talking about?” he asked with a small giggle; clearly trying to buy himself some more time to think of an answer.

You folded your arms and tapped your foot, not amused. “You just said you were assigned to wait in my house. By who and why, Klaus? Out with it.”

Klaus looked around in a panic, and you were fairly certain that if he had Five’s powers instead of his own, he’d already be gone. He stammered, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“Was it Five?” you asked, getting more irritated by the second. “Did he tell you to come here?” Klaus’s guilty expression answered your question for him. “He gave you his key, didn’t he?”

Klaus cringed. “Ok, ok… yes, it was Five. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to, trust me. But you know how he is.” Klaus put on an exaggeratedly serious expression, mimicking Five. “Do what I say, Klaus, or I’ll kill you in your sleep.” He sighed and rolled his eyes. “He really needs to try asking nicely once in a while. He’d catch more frogs with honey.”

You frowned. “Flies.”

“What?”

“The expression is ‘you catch more flies with honey’.”

Klaus tilted his head. “Why would you want to catch flies?”

“Why would you want to catch fro—” You threw your hands up in frustration. “Never mind. Klaus, what the fuck is going on? First Diego is parked outside my studio and refuses to acknowledge me. Then I run into Luther at the grocery store and he’s being all weird. And now I find you sleeping in my bed like Goldilocks. Explain.”

“Shit, Five is going to fucking kill me,” Klaus mumbled, looking at his hands in his lap. Then he looked up at you. “He’s worried about you.”

“Five is always worried about me. That doesn’t explain why he would send you here.”

“It’s the Commission. He got a weird message that you were being watched or something? I don’t know. All I know is that he forced Diego, Luther, and I to be your security detail and then he left.”

Your mouth hung open. “What?”

Klaus nodded. “He went to investigate but while he was gone, he wanted to make sure you were safe.”

Your face fell. “And he didn’t tell me?” you asked softly.

“He said he didn’t want you to worry. He didn’t want to distract you from your rehearsals,” Klaus said with a shrug.

“I knew someone has been watching and following me,” you whispered to yourself as you looked at the floor. You looked up again. “And you guys just let him go? By himself?” you asked, angry now.

Klaus tilted his head and gave you an exasperated look. “Seriously? It’s Five. The man tried to single-handedly save the world… without help… on more than one occasion. It’s not like you can talk sense into him.”

You looked down at the floor. It was a lot to take in. Five might be in danger. You might be in danger. And Five had lied to you. Or at least withheld information from you. And this was not the first time he had done this.

“Well, that’s just fucking great,” you said, trying not to cry.

“Oh, hey… don’t cry,” Klaus pleaded. He got up and crossed the room. He rubbed your arm. “It’ll be ok.”

You gave a derisive snort and wiped at your eyes. “That’s what Five keeps saying, too. ‘You’ll be ok,’ ‘I’ll be ok,’ ‘We’ll be ok.’ You smiled sadly and shook your head. “I’m just having a really hard time believing that, Klaus. Because it’s not ok. He’s not ok. And neither am I.”

Klaus was quiet for a while. Then he asked, tentatively, “So, what are you going to do?”

You shrugged. “There’s nothing I can do right now. He’s gone and I can’t follow him. But when he comes back, I’m going to make him tell me everything. He has to stop leaving me in the dark.”

Klaus cleared his throat. “And what about you? You going to come clean, too?”

“About what?”

“You said you felt like someone was watching and following you. Did you tell Five that?”

Your insides twisted with guilt. You shook your head slowly. “No. I didn’t want to worry him. He’s already so stressed out.”

Klaus nodded, his head tilted slightly to the side. “He’s not going to like that.”

With a heavy sigh, you tilted your head back and closed your eyes tightly. “Yeah, I know. But I’m not exactly thrilled with him right now, either.” You felt bad for being angry, though. “I’m worried about him, Klaus. What if something happens while he’s investigating this or whatever he’s doing.”

Klaus punched you playfully on the arm. “Nah… Fivey’s going to be just fine. In fact, I worry more about anyone that might accidentally cross his path while he’s in ‘mission mode’.” He gave an exaggerated shudder. “It won’t be pretty.”

You laughed quietly. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Of course, I am!” Klaus said brightly. He looked around the room. “So, since the cat’s out of the bag now, do you mind if I split?”

You hesitated. “Actually… would you mind sticking around for a little bit? I was hoping to take a bath and I’d feel more comfortable if you stayed.”

Klaus raised his eyebrows. “Hey, I’m all for that, although I really don’t think Five would approve. Something tells me he’s not into open relationships.”

You laughed loudly. “Oh my gosh, no! I mean, just sit outside the door or something. I won’t take long.”

Klaus smiled. “I’ll do it if you answer me one question.”

“What’s that?”

“Does Fivey have any… tendencies… in the bedroom?” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down for effect.

“Klaus!”

“Come on, I gotta know. What’s the old man into? Does he want you to boss him around? Make him beg? Call you mistress?”

Your eyes widened and you suppressed a giggle. “Absolutely not.”

“Ahh… I see. He can’t give up control, even during sexy times. Hmm…” Klaus pondered, a finger on his chin. “Let’s see… if I had to guess, I’d say… “ He looked at you with a devious grin. “Bondage with dom/sub overtones and a hint of Daddy kink.” He paused. “Maybe some light choking?”

You didn’t say anything, but you didn’t have to. Your reddened face and open mouth said it all.

Klaus beamed, completely overjoyed with this information. “I knew it! I knew he was a kinky little bastard!”

“Shit,” you mumbled, although it was hard not to smile. “You better not say anything.”

“Does it look like I have a death wish?” Klaus asked, a hand on his chest. “This is between me and you, Peggy Sue.”

“Great. Now, if you don’t mind, please just hang out in here while I take a quick bath.” You entered the attached bathroom, then paused just inside the door. “And by the way… the choking is my kink.” With a wink, you closed the door in Klaus’s shocked and amused face.

********************

Five kept his cool until he could get to the crappy motel where he was supposed to be staying for his assignment. He was in the late 1990s, so nothing was too much different in terms of clothes and some technology. There were no smart phones, of course, and he had no access to any real type of internet, but that was ok. What he needed to research wasn’t going to be found there, anyway.

After Five was inside the tiny, drab room with its brown carpeting and faded, floral bedspreads, he dropped his briefcase and weapon on the small table near the window. He closed the dusty curtains and snapped on a dim floor lamp.

Before he did anything else, he needed to review this file again. He had only had a brief time to peruse it, but what he had seen had shook him to his core.

He started to strip off his suit coat and tie, throwing them on the bed. He was about to open the file and take a look when it occurred to him that he needed to be extra careful. He had no idea if anyone from Headquarters had followed him here, or was watching in other ways. Five took a look around, trying to decide what to do.

The file he had stolen from the records room had been tucked inside the one that contained the details for his assignment, just in case. As a decoy, in the event that he was being watched, Five did some shuffling around of papers on the bed, then shoved your file into his pants while leaving the mission file on the bed. Then he headed to the bathroom and closed the door.

Five was fairly certain that the Commission wouldn’t spy on him in the bathroom. That kind of thing was usually frowned upon unless it was an emergency, and was even written as so in the company handbook.

Rule #86 – No use of the Infinite Switchboard for inappropriate voyeurism, including sexual activity (alone or with a partner), any stages of undress, and/or any activities taking place in bathrooms (private or public), spas, locker rooms, or the like, unless absolutely crucial to the mission or to the safety of the world.

He turned the shower on full blast and then opened the file folder on the tiny bathroom counter that was stained with something yellow. He hunched over and flipped to the document he had seen inside the records room that had shocked the hell out of him. Holding it up with a slightly shaking hand, Five studied the picture of the man that was paperclipped to the form.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered out loud, running a hand down his face.

There, staring him right in the face, was your stalker that Five himself had killed several months earlier.

If the picture had been attached to the file because of the mere fact that the man had played a significant part in your life, Five would have understood. However, that wasn’t the case.

He was an agent. Assigned by the Commission over a year ago to carry out the same mission that they had given Hazel. Eliminate you from the timeline.

The picture in the file showed a clean-cut, average looking man in his thirties with sharp, clear eyes and a serious expression. It had been taken by the Commission, just like every other employee upon starting up with them. Five could tell because of the plain, portrait background and drab, gray suit that the man was wearing.

The man in the picture was a far cry from the scrawny, hollow-eyed man in a flannel shirt and red baseball cap that Five had threatened, beaten up, and eventually pushed out of a second story window.

Five squinted at the photo closer, just to be sure. But it was him; there was no doubt. Underneath the picture was the name “Mako”. Five knew that was a code name but a cursory glance through the file didn’t reveal what his actual name might have been. Not that it mattered. He was dead now, after all.

As Five read through the rest of the document, the full story started to unfold. You had been selected for elimination by the Commission, for reasons that were still unclear to Five. Mako had been assigned as your agent to carry out the deed. From the looks of it, he was a newbie. They presumably figured this would be a straight-forward, no-hassle kill. Which was probably why they also sent him out without a partner.

Then Five read the words “Rogue Agent” and he knew, even before he moved on, what had happened. While observing you for his assignment, Mako had seen you dance. And just like Five had, he fell in love with you. The assignment dragged on, with Mako reporting, falsely, to his superiors that it was harder and more complicated than he had originally thought. He would send them bogus reports and ask for extensions. Meanwhile… he started stalking you.

Five already knew how that ended, of course. But what he hadn’t known at the time, was that by saving your life, he had really just brought more attention to you and the fact that you were still alive. The Commission wanted you dead. And not for the reason that Felicity and the board had explained to him. There was no little girl that was supposed to become a senator. There was no famine that would end the world.

Five flipped the page and continued reading. The mirror over the sink was beginning to fog up with the steam from the shower and he could feel the dampness on his skin. The papers were starting to wilt in the humidity.

According to your file, the real reason you were considered a threat was that you weren’t even supposed to exist. Not in this timeline or any other. You were an anomaly that required extinguishing.

“Holy shit,” Five breathed out as he started to put together the pieces to the puzzle.

It was your grandmother. The same one who’s mansion you currently lived in and who you had grown up loving. She was the root of all of this.

Five learned that when your grandmother was a young woman, in her 20’s, she fell in love with a man. It was a whirlwind romance that started quickly and burned brightly. They had crossed paths one random evening and it was love at first sight. They were inseparable, with your grandmother swearing she would follow him anywhere on the face of the earth, as long as they could be together.

As it turned out, though, she couldn’t follow her lover everywhere. He was under a contract and if he broke that contract, then everyone he loved would be in danger. And that included your grandmother.

“The Commission,” Five hissed out.

Love is a funny thing, though. It can make even the most rational person make unfortunate mistakes.

The file went on to explain that “Agent #21”, whose ID portrait was stapled to the paper, was being watched and his loyalty was in question. They knew he was fraternizing with a civilian. And while brief love affairs and short-lived flings were overlooked, long-term romances were forbidden. There were too many things that could go wrong. All it would take would be someone from the 1960s becoming heavily involved with someone from 520 Mesopotamia for there to be catastrophic consequences.

This agent had been recruited from Ireland in the late 19^th century and your grandmother, of course, was a young adult in 1970 America. It hadn’t seemed to have mattered to the two lovers. The Commission caught wind of the fact that their agent may have impregnated this woman and was hatching a scheme to time travel with her to escape his contract.

But there is no escaping the Commission, as everyone knows. So, the agent was eliminated. And that was that. The file didn’t say what happened to the woman.

On the very last page of the file was your picture again; this time with the word “Anomaly” stamped across your face in large, red letters. Five flipped the page over, but there was no more.

He looked up at his reflection that could barely be seen through the condensation that clung to the mirror. But he could see the outline of his face and the dark, shapeless holes that were his eyes. He looked like a shadow of his actual self. No details. No colors. Just a vague person-shaped being looking back at him.

His hand clenched into a tight fist as he felt more rage bubbling up inside of himself. The steam in the room was cloying and suffocating as he tried to suck in a deep breath.

There were still so many unanswered questions. Like why had it taken so long for them to target you? Why weren’t your grandmother or parents killed first, preventing your birth altogether? What did the Commission really want with Five? Because it was clear to him now that this wasn’t just about his original contract. And your life was still on the line. They had never intended on cancelling the hit on you. All of it had been lies.

Once again, he had been duped. Maybe the place was run by different people now, and maybe their mission was slightly different, but really nothing had changed. Five had been backed into a corner, given a choice that wasn’t really a choice, and he had caved. Because they knew, just like always, that Five would always put the ones he loved before himself.

He was a tool for them to use. A vague, person-like thing that would do their bidding as long as they threatened him with the right thing.

Five brought his fist up and slammed it into the mirror, right in the foggy outline of his face. The glass cracked; a large fissure that slowly deepened and splintered its way across the mirror in a zig-zag pattern. Then it began to shatter. Little shards of glass fell from the wall and clattered into the sink and onto the floor.

The foggy outline of Five’s face was now cracked and jagged; with parts of it missing all together.

His fist was bleeding; the blood slowly mixing with the glass shards in the sink and on the counter. It seeped out of his knuckles and dripped off his fingertips and down his wrist, staining the cuff of his shirt.

Five swallowed down the rage and panic that was running through his veins. He needed to think. He could do this. He’d been in trickier situations. He just had to calm the fuck down and figure it out. He could still save you.

He had to.

Chapter Text

Five needed to get home. He needed to see you, and get another weapon, and get back to Headquarters to fix this mess he had gotten you both into. He finished his job with ease, blowing a hole into some dude’s head without even feeling the slightest twinge of guilt. He couldn’t afford the luxury of excess emotions right now.

He was pissed. And if he was going to be honest with himself, he was terrified. He still wasn’t sure who had tipped him off to the real file that contained your hit orders, but there was a reason they had done it in secret. If any whiff of the fact that Five knew what he knew got out, he would be dead. And so would the informer.

That was another thing Five couldn’t afford: death. If he was dead, that meant so were you.

There were still pieces missing, like why the Commission needed Five in the first place. But he’d get to the bottom of all of this. Even if it took more killing and more taking of innocent lives. He really would burn the whole place to the ground, with everyone in it. That was actually his first thought on finding out the truth about you.

Five still wanted answers, however, and he couldn’t do that if everyone at Headquarters was burnt to a crisp. Plus, he didn’t trust that somehow the whole organization would be rebuilt again. At this point, he would believe anything.

When he entered the Academy, everything was quiet. Five checked his watch. You wouldn’t be due home for another half an hour or so. And there had been no worrisome reports from his brothers regarding your safety.

Five threw his coat and the stolen file folder on the table and set the briefcase on the floor next to it. He crossed to the bar and poured himself a generous glass of bourbon. He sat in the quiet for a few minutes, enjoying the silence for once. He tried to calm his racing thoughts, but of course, that was nearly impossible. He decided to take a quick shower before you came home. He was anxious to see you, even if he had no idea when or how he was going to tell you everything he learned. He did know that he was going to have to tread carefully and deliver the news softly so that you didn’t totally break down.

****************

As you walked inside the Academy, you expected it to be empty. But then you heard the distinct sound of the shower running and the water rushing through the ancient pipes in the drafty walls. You sighed with relief when you saw Five’s coat on the table and the opened bourbon sitting out. That meant he was home and presumably ok.

You were just about to join him in the shower for a steamy reunion, when something caught your eye. Under the coat, the corner of a plain, manila folder was sticking out. You neared the table and took a better look. After looking in the direction of the bathroom, you pulled the folder out. It had your name written on the tab and you sucked in a deep breath.

You were still angry and confused about what Five was hiding from you. You were planning on confronting him, but you had planned to give him a little bit of time to wind down after coming home first. Even though you trusted Five to tell you the truth if asked directly, you knew he would keep things from you if he thought it was in your best interest. If you wanted to know the full truth, you were going to have to see it for yourself.

Flipping the folder open, you started to read. The further into the file you got, the worse it became. By the time you had come to the end, you were sitting in the chair next to the table with tears in your eyes. You were trying not to hyperventilate.

You had been so engrossed in the horrible discovery of the truth of your life, that you hadn’t heard the water turn off or the bathroom door open, or Five walking into the room. You were still staring in disbelief at the papers in front of you when he crept quietly in.

“Shit,” Five whispered, breaking you out of your trance.

He was standing there, halfway into the room, dressed in pants but no shirt. He was still damp from the shower and his hair was wet and sticking to his forehead. You looked up; your eyes filled with horror.

“Five?” you said quietly. “Is this real?”

He swallowed and nodded slowly. “It’s real.”

“And you knew?” you asked, trying to keep your voice from warbling.

Five held his hands up, his palms open. “Sweetheart, no… I only just found out. I took that file before I left for my assignment. I’ve only known for a couple of days.”

You nodded as you took that in. “Ok… but you went looking for it because someone tipped you off. Someone told you we were being watched. And you knew that before you left.”

Five’s eyebrows drew together. “How did you…” he started. Then he let out a frustrated sigh. “Klaus.”

“Yeah,” you answered, starting to find your confidence again. You stood up. “I found Klaus in my house, sleeping in my bed. He told me everything, Five. Everything you didn’t tell me.”

“Because I needed to figure it out first,” Five told you evenly. “I didn’t want to upset you.”

“Well, I’m pretty fucking upset now, Five!” you cried, your voice cracking. “Stop lying to me!”

“I didn’t lie.”

“Maybe not, but you kept things from me.”

“To protect you,” he argued calmly.

“STOP PROTECTING ME! I’M NOT MADE OF GLASS!” you shouted, balling your hands into fists at your side.

It may have been the first time you screamed at him like that and it took you both by surprise. The words hung heavily in the air between you as you exchanged looks. You expected Five to become angry and shout back at you. But he didn’t.

“I can’t stop,” he told you. “You are mine to protect.”

He said this like he was reciting a basic fact. As if he were telling you the sky was blue or the earth was round.

“I love you, Five. But you know how you are always telling me you can handle things? Well, I can handle things, too. Stop treating me like I can’t.”

He shook his head sadly. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

You sighed, sniffing back some tears. Then you looked down at the file with your picture and the word “Anomaly” stamped across your face. You pointed to it.

“You read this, I assume?”

He nodded. “I did.”

You gave a small smile. “Pretty fucked up.”

Five ran a hand through his damp hair, slicking it off his forehead. “That’s one way to put it.”

You looked towards the bar. “I think I need a drink.”

“Let me get you one and we’ll sit down and figure this out,” Five told you. “Together, ok?”

“Ok.”

After Five poured you a glass of bourbon and an even bigger one for himself, he sat next to you at the table with the file spread out before you.

“So,” you started. “My grandfather was a Commission agent, originally from the 19^th century, that fell in love with my grandmother, knocked her up, then was killed before their baby was born?”

“I’m assuming it was before the baby was born, although it doesn’t really say.”

“And my grandmother went on to have my mother, who then met my father and had me?”

“Right.”

“But I’m not supposed to exist, so they sent another agent out to kill me and he ended up becoming obsessed with me and stalked me?”

“Yes.”

“And then I met you, an ex-agent, we fell in love, and you killed that other agent.”

“Correct.”

“And now here we are, with you working for the Commission again and both our lives on the line. Have I got all of that?”

“I think so, yeah.”

You let out a long exhale before taking a generous gulp of your bourbon, thinking it all through.

“My mom never knew her dad,” you told Five. “She always told me he died when she was a baby. My grandmother used to tell me stories about him, though.”

“Oh yeah?”

“She told me it was love at first sight and that she never loved anyone else like him. She said he was brave and romantic and always made her laugh. And he was supposedly very handsome.”

You laughed a little to yourself. “I guess my mother never even knew what he looked like. I asked why there weren’t any pictures and I was told the only ones they had were ruined in a flood. But now I know it was probably just too dangerous to have that kind of evidence lying around.”

You flipped to the picture of your grandfather that was in the file. It was a standard employee picture, like they all were, but there was no denying he was very handsome. The photo was black and white, but there was a mischievous glint in his eyes that made you smile.

“I guess that was him,” you said. “At least I know what he looked like now.”

You turned to Five and even though everything was a giant mess, you couldn’t help but smile.

“Falling in love with handsome, rogue assassins seems to run in the family.”

Five smiled slowly and then he let out a short laugh, shaking his head. “Lucky you.”

You laid your head on his shoulder. “What I don’t understand is why they didn’t just kill my grandmother, or my mother? Why me all of a sudden?”

“That’s what I don’t understand either.” He kissed your head. “But that’s irrelevant because I’ve got a plan.”

“What’s that?”

“So, the Commission might be a little different these days, but it’s not that different. I know that place in and out and I know how they operate. And I would bet that there are only a few people that know about you.”

“You think?”

“You’re not the only person being hunted. There are thousands. And they need agents all over the place to be carrying out these jobs. They can’t have more than just a few focused on one person at a time.”

“Ok, yeah, that makes sense.”

“And I have my suspicions that the only people that know about you are Felicity and Simon. And the board, of course.”

“What about the person that sent you that note?”

Five nodded. “Them, too. Whoever they are.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“It means we only have a handful of people to worry about. The rest of the place is oblivious. Which will better the chances.”

“Chances of what?”

Five looked at you and took a drink from his glass. “Me killing Felicity.”

You drew your head back in surprise. “Kill her?”

“It’s the only way. Simon, too.”

“What about the rest of the board? You said they knew, too.”

He nodded. “True. But the board is made up of the most chicken-shit, ass-kissing, boot-lickers the Commission can churn out. With the head cut off, the rest of them will crumble.”

You sat with that for a minute. Then Five spoke again.

“There’s one more part, though. Killing Felicity only solves half the problem. You are still in the system as being an anomaly that needs to be taken out.”

You gestured to the file. “But can’t we just destroy this?”

“Yeah, but everything is backed up in the main computer. That’s where all the real data is stored. We can get rid of the paper evidence, but if we can’t delete it off the hard drive, then it’s still there.”

“How are we going to do that?”

Five eyed you up. “I’m going to have to hack the system and declare you already dead. That way, there’s no room for error.”

You frowned. “But… what if someone sees me alive? Won’t that kind of tip them off that it was a scam?”

Five shook his head. “You don’t get it. This operation is built solely on data and the drones that carry out the commands. They could be staring directly at you, while you wear a nametag and a giant sign that says “Former Commission Target – Not Dead!” around your neck and they won’t bat an eye. If you aren’t in the system, then you don’t exist. Period.”

“Huh.” You took another drink. “This is a lot to process.” You looked at Five again. “So, when are we doing this?”

Five nearly choked on his drink. He coughed a few times, wiping at his mouth. “We? What the fuck are you talking about? You’re not going anywhere near that place!”

“Five,” you started to argue, before he cut you off.

“I am not having this discussion with you,” he said wearily. “So, save your breath.”

“That’s not fair!” you pushed back. “I thought I told you I didn’t want to be excluded anymore!”

“Actually, you told me you didn’t want me to keep things from you. Well, I just laid it all out for you pretty plain and simple. That doesn’t mean I’m going to let you put yourself in danger just because you want to prove a point.”

“You can’t control me, Five,” you said, although it didn’t really have the bite you were hoping for. You knew damn well he could control you.

“Honey,” he said with a sigh. “I’m not trying to control you. Don’t you see that?”

You nodded, your eyes cast downward. “I know.” Then you looked up. “I have to tell you something.”

“What?”

“I’ve been feeling someone watching me.”

Five frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Since you started working for the Commission. I’ve just had this strange, eerie feeling that someone has been following me. Like at the studio, and sometimes here, outside the windows. I thought I was just being paranoid because you weren’t around as much, but now I know it was real.”

Five breathed hard through flared nostrils. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

“I didn’t want to upset you. You were so stressed and I was already worried about you.”

“Jesus,” Five hissed. “I could have been doing something about this weeks ago if I had known that!”

“What would you have done?” you challenged. “Slept more? Drank more? Asked your brothers to poorly keep an eye on me? Come on, Five, be real. There’s nothing you could have done except beaten yourself up even more than you already have. And I couldn’t stand to see that.”

Five growled and threw back the rest of his bourbon, grimacing as it slipped down his throat. “I just can’t believe you—”

“What?” you interrupted smoothly. “Withheld information from you?”

His eyes darkened with the implication of what you had said. But it only lasted for a few seconds before he softened again.

“I’m sorry,” he said, stiffly. “It wasn’t my intention to lie to you.”

“It wasn’t mine, either,” you told him. “I’m sorry, too.”

He slid his hand onto the back of your neck, pulling you gently towards him.

“Come here,” he told you.

You moved off of your chair and crawled into his lap, letting him hug you tightly around the waist. You rubbed your cheek against his bare chest and Five kissed the top of your head.

“This is going to be over, soon,” he said, nuzzling his cheek over your hair. “Ok?”

You nodded against him. “Yeah.”

“And then I’m going to buy you a house,” he said with a smile.

You laughed. “We’re going to buy a house. Together,” you corrected him.

He chuckled, the sound reverberated through his chest and you closed your eyes, trying to soak up that sound. “Yeah, alright. We’re going to buy a house. And it will be all ours and no one else’s.” You looked up and he kissed your lips. “You can go to the studio and dance during the day and I’ll go to the security office and then we’ll both come home in the evening and spend all night together.”

“That’s what we already do,” you giggled.

“True. But now it will be in our very own place, not some run down piece of shit my father cobbled together.”

You hummed happily and kissed him again. “And on the weekends, we’ll stay in bed all day long.”

He nodded with a smile. “And I’ll have you all to myself.”

“That you will,” you agreed with a smile. “Always.”

He kissed you one more time, his hand on the side of your face. Then he gently pushed you off of his lap and stood up.

You looked up at him, confused. “Where are you going?”

“To take care of this shit,” he said, pointing at the papers spread on the table.

“Now?!”

“The sooner the better. We can’t give them a chance to strike first. Especially now that I know someone has been following you.”

“But, Five…”

But he was already on his way towards the bedroom. You followed him in there, standing at the doorway while he pulled a freshly laundered and neatly ironed white button-down shirt from the closet. He started to pull his arms through.

“Five, wait,” you tried again. “You can’t go alone.”

He didn’t look up at you, just stayed focused on the buttons of his shirt. He spoke softly but sternly. “Darling, I love you more than anything in this world, but if you don’t stop with this bullshit, we are really going to have a problem.”

“A problem? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Five began tucking the shirt into his pants. “I will be forced to send reinforcements over to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

You scoffed. “Who? Diego? Cause you might want to look into how much your security officers actually know what they are doing.”

Five yanked a tie out of the closet, looking into the mirror over the dresser as he flipped his collar up and nonchalantly began to knot it around his neck.

“No, not Diego. Lila.”

“Lila?”

Five nodded as he finished the half-Winsor knot and pulled it tightly, straightening the tie just perfectly and then flipping the shirt collar back down. “Lila may be a giant pain in the ass and the bane of my existence, but she is quite possibly more ruthless than I am. And there’s no way in hell you’ll be getting past her.”

“You are being ridiculous.”

Five shrugged and went to the closet again, blinking past you when you tried to stand in his way. He took out the vest and jacket that completed his suit.

“In case you haven’t noticed, this is not up for discussion,” he said, buttoning up the vest. “You will stay here and wait for me. Understand?”

You shook you head in defiance. “Why don’t I get a say in this? It’s my life, after all! And as far as I’m concerned, my life is no more precious than yours.”

Five snorted indignantly while he pulled his jacket on. “I’m not saying anything more on the subject. You know how I feel and nothing you say is going to change that.” He shouldered past you to the table beside the bed and opened the drawer. As he took out a pistol, he checked the clip and then clicked it into place again.

“I don’t care—”

His head snapped up, his green eyes flashing with anger. “Stop.”

You were quiet as he stuffed the gun into his suit coat and walked around you and out of the room. Then you followed after him, back into the living room. He picked up the other pistol that had been lying on the table and he checked the ammunition in that one, too.

As Five rummaged around in a nearby drawer for another clip, you folded your arms over your chest. That’s when you spotted the briefcase on the floor and you got an idea.

“Fine,” you told him with a quiet huff. “Will you promise you’ll be careful, though?”

Five finally looked up at you and his facial features softened. “Yeah, of course.”

You nodded. “Ok. Let’s not fight, though. If something happens and the last thing we said was in anger…” your voice drifted off.

Five came to you and held you to him. You circled your arms around his waist. “I love you. And I will fix this,” he told you as he scanned your face.

“I love you so much, Five,” you said, your voice breaking. “Please come back.”

He kissed you again, softer and deeper than before. He traced your jaw with the backs of his fingers. “My gorgeous girl,” he said with a heart-stopping smile.

When he let you go and turned back towards the table, he bent down to grab the briefcase. You watched; your body poised with your hands flexing at your sides and your feet planted firmly on the ground. As the first faint flicker of light emerged from the case, you pounced.

Using your full power with all muscles engaged, you leapt the few feet between you and Five, landing almost on top of him and grabbing onto his arm. He let out a loud cry of surprise as he was thrown off balance, but it was too late. The case was already activated, and in less than a second you and he were being pulled into the ether of time and space.

The total travel time was instantaneous. Maybe a millisecond, but that hardly mattered. You crashed onto the ground, on top of Five, as you both landed heavily with a loud thud. Five groaned with the extra weight of your body but you immediately rolled off and to the side. Your elbow hurt where you had smashed it on the hard floor and your insides felt like they had been flattened and were now reinflating again. You sucked in a deep breath, expanding your lungs.

Five clambered to his feet. He was furious.

“What. The. Fuck?” he hissed angrily, with his teeth gritted together. The veins in his neck looked like they were going to explode.

You tried to keep your composure. You wanted to appear confident and brave. Not like you were regretting your decision, which is what you were really doing.

You stood up, brushing the dust off your legs and arms, rubbing at your elbow, which made you wince with pain. You lifted your chin and squared your shoulders.

“I couldn’t let you go alone,” you explained as steadily as you could.

Five grabbed your upper arm, digging his fingers in painfully. “I told you to stay. I was very clear about that.”

“I was very clear, too,” you spat back. You held his fiery gaze.

“Jesus Fucking Christ,” he growled, picking the briefcase off the floor. “I’m taking you back. Now.”

You wriggled out of his grasp and stepped away. “No.”

Five let out a short and very dangerous laugh. “Do not make me do something we will both regret.”

As you both contemplated that in a quiet but angry stand-off, you noticed the briefcase in Five’s hand. It was smoking.

“Five, the briefcase!”

He looked down and then held the case up, inspecting it closer. “Shit,” he cursed. He looked at you. “When we crash landed the case must have taken the brunt of it. Your little stunt just cost us our way out of here.”

“I’m sorry,” you said. And you were. You also wanted to point out that for a sophisticated time-travel device, these briefcases didn’t appear very sturdy. But you decided to keep that to yourself.

“Fuck,” Five cursed again. Then he threw the case on the floor and kicked it across the room. “Fuck fuck fuck!”

You wanted to say something, anything, to defuse the situation. But whatever you said was most likely going to piss him off even more. So you remained quiet and watched him fume.

You took a look around you. You were in some sort of storage room, with boxes and crates piled up against the walls. There were cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling and a single, dusty lightbulb hung down in the middle of the room. There was a small window, high up on the wall, letting in a small amount of light.

Five was breathing heavily and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Ok, I just gotta think,” he muttered. He looked up. “Come here,” he said.

Unlike just a few minutes earlier when he had said the same thing to you, this time his voice was hard. Angry.

You walked slowly to him. He pulled one of the two guns he had on him out of his suit jacket. You flinched just slightly and he noticed. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

“Do you really think I would hurt you?” he asked. He sounded frustrated but also a little hurt.

You shook your head. “No.”

“Alight, then.” He handed you the Glock. “Take this.”

You hesitated for a second. Then you reached out and took the pistol from him. “Why?”

“Because I don’t know what is going to happen now. If you are in danger and I am not there, you need to use that. Got it?”

“You want me to kill someone?”

Five closed his eyes and took another deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, you could see he was trying desperately to keep his voice even. “You are the one that wanted to come with me. You are the one that insisted on being a part of this. Well…” Five gestured around the room. “Here you are. And since you so helpfully told me that you are not made of glass and can handle things, I assume that means you can shoot someone if it came down to it.”

Your eyes narrowed. “Fine.” You looked down at the pistol with a frown and shoved it into the waistband of the sweatpants you were wearing.

“Don’t do that!” Five exclaimed, reaching over and yanking it out.

“Why? You do.”

“Yeah, well, I know what I’m doing. You’re going to shoot yourself in the leg.”

“I don’t have a cool-guy assassin suit to put mine in,” you snarked.

Five opened his mouth to argue, but you were right. You had no other place to put the gun. You didn’t even have any pockets.

“Just make sure the safety is on,” Five told you, handing the gun back over to you. “Do you know how to use it?”

You looked it over and nodded. “I know enough. This guy I used to date liked to take me to the shooting range sometimes.”

Five made a noise that was a cross between a groan and a growl. “You are just hell fucking bent on giving me a stroke today, aren’t you?”

You didn’t answer, but you checked the gun for the safety and then put it back in your waistband. The action hurt your elbow and you winced. The adrenaline of the past few minutes was wearing off and it was starting to throb with pain.

Five frowned. “Are you ok?”

“It’s my elbow. I must have landed on it when we crashed.”

He stepped closer, taking your arm gently in his hands. He ran his fingers lightly over your elbow. “Does that hurt?”

You shrugged. “A little.”

“It’s swelling already. You may have fractured it,” Five said. He looked in your eyes, his own filled with worry. “Try not to move it too much.”

“I’ve fractured plenty of bones in my life and I can already tell it will be ok. Probably just need to ice it when we get back.” He still looked concerned. “Five, I’m sorry for going against your wishes,” you told him. “But—”

“We don’t need to talk about it right now,” he said bitterly, letting go of your arm.

“Ok,” you said, chewing thoughtfully at your lip. “Look, I know you’re mad, but… you still love me, right?” you asked with a quiet laugh. You were sort of joking, but the thought actually did make you worry.

He smiled for just a second. Then he kissed you. “I am absolutely furious with you right now. But you’re not getting rid of me that easily. Of course, I still love you.”

You pulled him in for another, longer, kiss with the hand from your good arm on the back of his neck. His muscles relaxed as he leaned into it.

When you pulled away, he stepped back and straightened his tie and jacket, getting back to business. “You ready?”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to go to the records room. I need to delete you from the system first; that’s the number one priority. Then we can deal with the next step.”

You knew he meant kill Simon and Felicity, so you didn’t have to ask. The thought made your stomach queasy, but it didn’t matter. You would still follow Five wherever he went.

Five opened the door to the storage room as quietly as possible. He stuck his head outside. You were in the same hallway as the records room, which was how Five had planned it. It was also evening, when most of the non-field agents would have gone home for the night.

After he confirmed that no one else was around, Five motioned for you to follow him. You crept out of the room and into the hall. It was quiet and the doors to the few departments you passed by were dark behind the frosted glass. You followed Five until he stopped outside a door without a window. In black stenciled letters, it read “Records Room”.

“No one should be in there at this time of day,” Five whispered. “But just in case, I’ll go in first. Wait here.”

He was gone before you could answer. You waited for a few seconds before you heard the lock click and the door open. You slipped inside and Five closed and locked the door behind you.

Just as before, the room was empty, but the lights flicked on overhead, lighting up the rows of tall filing cabinets around you. Your mouth fell open in awe.

“Wow,” you breathed out. “This is crazy.”

Five nodded but didn’t make any comment. He started to make his way towards the back of the room and you followed. The computer that housed all of the information of the Commission was gigantic and the small screen in the middle glowed with a dim, bluish light.

“Is this like the original computer?” you asked quietly. “It’s massive.”

Five started to clack away at the keys while he talked to you. “It needs to be with the amount of information it stores. Also, they really like the 1950s aesthetic around here.”

You watched as Five focused on the task in front of him, his forehead furrowed in concentration, as he typed furiously away.

“How do you know how to hack into computers?”

Five turned to you briefly with a sly smirk. “I know how to do everything.”

You let out a snort and shook your head with a smile. “Here’s another question: how do you manage to be so arrogant and yet so damn hot at the same time?”

“Many years of practice, my love,” Five answered without missing a beat.

You watched his fingers moving deftly over the keys, manipulating the lines of blue letters and symbols scrolling so quickly down the screen that you couldn’t even read them. Five seemed to know what he was looking at, though. After about three minutes, he stopped suddenly.

Your pixelated picture came up on the screen. Under it were a couple of stats, like your name, birthdate, and residence. Under that, in bigger letters, was more worrisome data.

Anomaly: Second Generation - Mixed Centuries

Scheduled for elimination: Immediately

Current status: Alive

Five reached over to squeeze your hand. Then he turned back to the computer.

“Ok, I just need to change your status,” he said.

After a few more clicks you watched as a giant “X” appeared over your face and the status read “Deceased”.

“So… is that it?” you asked.

“Yeah, I think so. But that was the easier part.” He held out his hand. “Come on, stay with me.”

You took his hand and let him lead the way. At that moment, the distinct sound of a key being fit into the lock echoed in the quiet of the room. You gasped and Five squeezed your hand tighter.

“Shit,” he swore under his breath.

Holding onto you, he blinked you both down a dim row of tall filing cabinets. You tried to steady your breathing so that it wasn’t audible. Five pulled out his pistol. The door creaked open and then shut again. There were slow footsteps inside; the person’s heels clicking on the tiled floor. Five pushed you behind him so he was guarding you from the front while your back was against a cabinet.

“I know you’re in here, Five,” said a woman’s irritated voice. “So, let’s stop with the games, huh?”

Five looked directly at you and shook his head once, pointing to the ground. He was indicating for you to stay right where you were and to be quiet.

Five stepped out into the open with his Glock drawn. As he knew she would be, Felicity was standing near the entrance with her own pistol aimed at him. He took a few steps closer but Felicity didn’t move. She appeared calm and collected and there was a small smile on her face.

She shook her head sadly. “Damn, Five… I really thought you would be smarter than this.”

“What do you want with me?” he asked. “And no bullshit made up stories. I want the truth.”

Felicity shrugged. “Fine, I’ll tell you the truth. It doesn’t matter now anyway, now that I know what a traitor you are.”

Five didn’t say anything to that. He just waited.

“The truth is, Five, that the Commission, as a corporation, is in the shitter. It has been for many years now.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Haven’t you noticed? The building isn’t exactly swarming with personnel these days. It’s getting harder and harder to recruit people. In fact, there has been a steady decline in quality hires since… well, since the old you died.”

“No, I really haven’t noticed. Too busy trying to fulfill our fucked up little deal. Which, as I found out, wasn’t even real in the first place.”

Felicity laughed; a brief snort through her nose. “You have been a good little soldier, I’ll give you that.”

“Get to the point,” Five snarled.

“We need you, Five. In order for this place to run smoothly and the way it was always meant to, it needs you here.” She smiled again. “You are the heart of the Temps Commission.”

“Bullshit. I hate this place.”

Felicity sighed, but kept her gun trained on Five. “I was hoping you would change your mind. Once I got you out in the field, I imagined you would get a little taste of your old life back again. Back when you had some excitement and worlds to be saving. Then, eventually, you would realize where your loyalties lie.”

Five chuckled darkly. “You really bet on the wrong horse with that one. Not to mention your plan doesn’t make any sense. How am I supposed to fix anything?”

“Because you are a genius! You are our founder!”

“I am not!” Five barked. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you people. I am not that Five! I never have been! Clearly, he was a paranoid asshole. I don’t know what to tell you.”

Felicity shook her head. “Maybe you don’t have the same ambitions but you have the same brain, biologically speaking.” She paused. “I just know that between you and I and the board, we could return this place back to its glory days!”

“Glory days? What the hell are you even talking about? This place has, and always will be, a total shit show.”

Felicity sighed again. “Don’t you want to know why it has taken this long for us to target your little girlfriend?”

Five actually did want to know that, but he didn’t say anything. Felicity took that as a sign to continue.

“As I said, the place has been going downhill for years. Decades, even. As the population of the earth grows, the more apocalypses the human race is determined to cause. Concurrently, with the rising number of apocalyptic scenarios and bodies to keep track of, the more manpower we require. However, that’s not so easy to come by. At least in the quantities that are needed.”

“So, no one wants to join your little murder club?”

“Not really, no. I assume you found and read the file on your ballerina? Even back then, we had limited bodies to send out into the field. Hence, the reason her birth wasn’t headed off to begin with. Our people lost track of the woman our agent impregnated. And then, when we finally found our little dancing anomaly, we were woefully short on field agents. All the seasoned ones were already on assignment. So, we sent a newbie.”

Felicity paused, like she was embarrassed of their major blunder.

“We didn’t even have anyone available to partner him with. Just had to send him out and hope for the best.” Another heavy sigh. “Obviously, that didn’t work out so great for us.”

“No, I guess not,” Five jeered.

Then Felicity smiled knowingly. “But… thanks to you, Mr. Five… we got things right on track again.”

“Thanks to me? I killed your fucking agent.”

“Exactly. We never would have known the idiot had gone ahead and fallen in love with his target. He kept asking for extensions, which normally would not fly around here, but we were just too backed up to deal with him. So… it wasn’t until you made such a dramatic entrance into her life, drawing attention to everything, that we were able to intervene again.”

Five’s blood began to boil, but he kept his rage in check as best he could.

“Although, it would have worked out better for us if you had just let him strangle her to death, but when we saw how enamored you were with her… well… that’s when I got an idea.”

“You gave Hazel the file because you knew he’d tip me off, didn’t you?” Five asked, putting the pieces together.

Felicity nodded. “Exactly. Hazel is a brilliant agent; the best we have maybe, after you. But he’s too soft; too ruled by emotion. Which, in this business, is not an asset.”

“Hazel is a good person,” Five said. “He wouldn’t even be here if you hadn’t done the same thing to him that you did to me.”

“And therein lies my mistake,” Felicity said. “I really thought you had just spent a little too much time in the real world. Maybe watched a few too many sappy movies. I was so sure you’d realize that love doesn’t mean shit in this world. That it’s fleeting and can be taken away in the blink of an eye. But The Commission…” Felicity smiled and inhaled a deep breath, like she was trying to breathe the actual building into her lungs. “The Commission is ever lasting. It actually means something. Something noble.”

“Loving someone is noble,” Five said softly.

Felicity laughed. “You honestly think saving the world is less important than some… random woman? You’re willing to die for her?”

“Yeah, I am,” Five said. “Which is a lot better than being willing to die for this bureaucratic hellscape, like you seem to be.”

“Love is such bullshit,” Felicity continued to argue. “It’s here one day and gone the next. But the Commission is forever.”

“Not if I can help it,” Five said with a sneer. He took a few more steps closer to her. “I’m taking this place down. And I’m starting with you.”

“I’m surprised you’ve waited this long,” Felicity said with a smirk.

“I really just wanted you to reveal your whole evil plan, just like every other brainless villain does before they end up dead,” Five answered, returning the smile.

Five blinked directly behind Felicity, pressing the muzzle of his gun against the back of her skull. Felicity didn’t try to run or struggle. She just dropped her own gun on the floor with a loud clatter. Almost like she was welcoming the imminent bullet. Five stuck his foot out and kicked the weapon away.

As Five was debating whether to send her off with a witty comment or just do it already, he was knocked sideways by a swift and strong kick to the side of his abdomen. It knocked the air out of his lungs for a brief moment and he staggered to stay on his feet. When he turned, he saw Simon.

When Felicity had entered the room, she had kept the door open, and Simon must have snuck in while Five had his back turned. Simon had his own pistol in one hand and a cocky smile on his face.

Before Five could get his footing again, Simon was on him, knocking him off balance again with a forceful blow of his elbow to Five’s face. The sudden jolt sent Five reeling backwards, landing on his back, with his Glock skittering across the floor, and coming to rest under one of the giant filing cabinets.

His lip was already starting to swell and a trickle of blood ran down his chin. Before he had a chance to get to his feet, Simon was aiming his gun at Five. At the last second, Five was able to blink away. The bullet lodged in the wall that was right behind where Five’s head had been.

Five reappeared a few feet away. He snarled at Simon, “So, what did they offer you? Money?”

“A board seat, actually,” Simon said with a shrug. Then he fired the gun again, missing just as Five blinked away. The gunshots were deafening in the high-ceilinged room.

“I just had to wait for you to get nice and settled into your new job and then I could dispose of our little anomaly. But, since you seemed to have different plans, I’m going to get to kill you, too. So, win-win for me!”

“Wow, congratulations,” Five said. “You’re an even bigger douche bag than I gave you credit for.”

There was another gun fire and another flash of blue. You were still hidden between the rows of cabinets but you could hear and see everything that was going on between the gaps. You covered your mouth with your hand so that you wouldn’t be heard.

Five was going be to killed. He was unarmed and from the looks of it, Simon was determined to finish him off. All it would take would be for one miss-timed blink or for Five to run out of stamina and he’d be dead.

Then you remembered. You had his other Glock.

Pulling the pistol out of your waistband, you crept towards the main aisle of the room. Another shot echoed off the walls and you heard Five grunt and Simon laugh. When you peeked your head out, you could see Five blink behind Simon and give him a forceful kick in the lower back. Simon lurched forward with a groan but he remained upright and spun around to shoot at Five again. Five blinked away just in time.

As the two men were fighting, you watched as Felicity made her way quietly in the direction of where her gun had been kicked. With Five distracted, he wasn’t paying attention to what she was doing. You realized that if Felicity was able to retrieve her pistol, it would be two against one and even Five wasn’t going to be able to win that fight.

You tried to remember what you had learned at the shooting range all those years ago. Aim for something small. Breathe. Squeeze the trigger. Brace for the recoil.

Five’s back was to you, but Simon was in the perfect position. He was too busy to notice you standing on the other side of the room. Aiming for the man’s gold tie tack gleaming against his chest, you took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

The reverberation of the shot rang out and you winced from the noise. Even though you had done your best to aim as precisely as possible, you missed your target entirely. The bullet sailed past Simon and blasted a hole in the wall near the doorway.

The shot surprised both Simon and Five, though, and the distraction was enough for you to try again. This time, you let it rip. You fired four more shots, one after the other, in the general direction of where Simon was standing.

At the same time, Five blinked to you, appearing directly next to you. After three more misses, you both watched as Simon’s eyes grew big and a gush of red started to spread across the front of his suit. He dropped to the floor on his knees, the gun slipping from his hand. He stared at you in disbelief before collapsing face first onto the ground. Dead.

You turned to Five with wide eyes, the pistol still held in both your hands. Five was panting from blinking and fighting and just stared back. For a second, you thought maybe he was going to yell at you. Or tell you to hide again. But instead, you saw a very small flicker of a smile twitch at the corner of his mouth.

“Thanks,” he breathed out.

You gave him your own small smile, but there was no time for anything else.

“Five!” you cried out, pointing to the front of the room.

He turned, just in time to see Felicity retrieve her gun and aim it at both of you. Five grabbed the Glock from your hands and swiftly and easily fired one shot directly into his current superior’s head. Felicity crumpled to the ground; dead before she even hit the floor. A single rivulet of blood ran down her cheek and neck; staining the white pearls of her necklace red.

“Holy shit,” you whispered.

Five watched for a few seconds to make sure Felicity was really dead and then he pocketed the gun. He turned to you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you tightly to him. He buried his face in your neck and he exhaled a long breath against your skin. You hugged him fiercely in return, choking back a sob.

“I thought I was going to watch you die right in front of me,” you said.

Five pulled back and pressed his forehead to yours. “You saved my life.”

“You saved mine, too.” You smiled. “Again.”

“Yeah, I’m still one ahead of you,” he joked. Then he took your face in both hands and kissed you, crashing his lips against yours. When you tasted blood, you drew back.

"Five, your lip,” you said, running your fingers very lightly over the split. “You’re hurt.”

He shook his head. “I don’t fucking care. I’m kissing you.”

Then he was on you again, as passionate as before, and you let him. All of the anxiety and terror that you both had been feeling for so long was finally starting to ease. Your body melted against his as he held you in his arms and it felt like you were home again.