☂️ ⓪ ☂️

"IT'S NOT THAT SIMPLE, D. He doesn't talk to me like he used to," I confide softly. I adjust my tie as I look into the full-length mirror in my room.

Delores sits on my bed, leaning back against the wall as she watches me get ready. She slept over in my room last night so that we could catch up a bit. Yesterday was both emotionally and physically draining.

I've officially been in 2019 for three days now, meaning that Five and I have only six more days to prevent the end of the world as we know it.

The apocalypse.

Fuck. I feel like there's this crushing weight on my chest. The overwhelming reality that we might not have enough time to save the world isn't necessarily something I want to have to worry about right now.

I reach into my coat pocket and sigh as I make my way to my window. I take out a carton of cigarettes, slipping one out and placing it between my lips.

"Five isn't about to confess his undying love for me. He doesn't trust me. Not after..." I mutter, blinking as I turn to face Delores again. "After my attempt..." I keep speaking with the cigarette in my mouth, causing it to dangle loosely between my words.

Delores stares at me blankly.

Okay. Maybe I should have sugarcoated that a little better...

I remove the cigarette from my mouth to hold it between my fingers before continuing. "I know. I know, baby. I left you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I stride toward her before getting on my knees and taking her hand in mine. "I don't deserve you..."

Delores doesn't move to face me, so I place my hand on her chin and turn her head to look me in the eye.

She looks at me knowingly. 'You should talk to him,' her eyes tell me.

"What, like, ask him out?" I raise my eyebrows at her. "We're kinda on a bit of a deadline, Doll," I remind her skeptically. "We can't necessarily postpone everything just so that we can have a love life."

I stand up straight, placing the cigarette back between my lips before pushing myself away from my bed and heading back to the window. I take out my lighter from my pocket before bringing it up to my face.

I light my cigarette before taking a seat on the window sill, looking out at the fire escape and ally below.

Knock, knock.

I turned around to see Five standing at my door, duffle bag in hand, his other hand raised from the way he had knocked on the door.

"What are you two talking about?" He asks huskily, clearly having woken up recently.

"Delores wants you and I to get back together," I deadpan, looking out the window again before taking another drag.

"Of course she does," Five replies, giving Delores a scolding look. "We're back in society now, Delores. You don't need to be our marriage counselor anymore."

"Uh, if I remember correctly, you were counseling us," I recall, smiling at the memory as I gaze at him, pointing between Delores and myself. "We had a ring and everything."

I clearly recall the tinfoil ring I wore for years after my engagement to Delores. My, my, how time flies when you're suffering the unbearable weight of having to save the world.

"Yet, you still divorced in the end," Five rebuttals, stepping further into the room. His head snaps to Delores as he holds a finger up to shush her. "Hey! I didn't steal your wife. I just was a terrible therapist for you two, alright?" He justifies.

"Mr. Steal-yo-girl," I giggle, releasing a mouthful of smoke.

"Shut up," Five says, glaring at me. His face doesn't show it, but I know he's amused. He should be. I'm hilarious.

"Oh, look at me. I'm Five, and I have teenage angst. My days consist of brooding and murder!" I mock in a deep voice before chuckling.

"I don't sound like that," he denies.

"No, your voice hasn't kicked in yet. Still have to wait on puberty," I lie with a cheeky smile, looking at him with false pity. His voice is actually pretty much the way I'm used to it being, all things considered.

"Bitch," he mutters under his breath before dropping the bag to the floor and striding over to me.

He takes the cigarette from my lips before chucking it out the window. My jaw drops as I watch it fall to the damp ground of the alley below.

"It's a terrible habit to start at such a young age," he says patronizingly, looking down at me before patting my head.

I stand and hold eye contact as I get up close to his face. He doesn't back away, smirking slightly at the reaction he's gained from me.

"Awe, I'd watch your tone, young man. No need to have a tantrum and get your diapers in a twist."

Five chuckles darkly. He's about to make a retort when the sound of someone clearing their throat causes both of us to snap our heads to face my bed.

'Are you two done flirting?' Delores questions impatiently.

"Sorry, D," I apologize softly, now a bit ashamed.

"Flirting?" Five repeated, squinting at her. "We're fifty-eight and calling each other children."

'You are children,' Delores replies smartly.

"Oh, don't you start," Five warns her with a dangerous look in his eyes.

I look between them, not bothering to suppress the smile that made its way to my face.

This is nice. We haven't had casual banter like this in decades. I missed it. But we don't have time now. "You ready to stalk the doctor?" I ask him, raising my eyebrows expectedly.

"Stalking seems a bit harsh, no?" He frowns at my choice of words.

"We're going to be watching him from afar to observe what he does and where he goes all day without his awareness. I think that counts as stalking," I justify with a shrug.

"I just don't trust him," Five sighs, beginning to pace, and he runs a hand through his hair. "There not much else for us to do, is there?"

"I trust your instincts," I admit genuinely. "If you think we should follow Lance, then we should. See if there was more to the eye than he told us."

Five nods before looking at Delores, lost in thought.

"Let's go," he states after a moment, picking up the bag from the floor and moving to shove Delores inside it before heading to the window.

"Where are you going?" I frown.

"Down the fire escape," Five replies as though that was supposed to be obvious. He ducks under the window before heading out.

"Why?" I ask, peering at him from inside.

"Less small talk and distractions," he replies simply before taking a step toward the stairs. "Come on."

"Alright." I shrug, not planning to disagree with him. I quickly grab my Umbrella Academy blazer from my bed before following after Five and closing my window behind me.

I tug on my blazer, making sure not to fall too far behind Five, who is now making his way down the floor below me.

I was just about to descend downstairs myself before I heard the faint sound of rustling and chatter from below us. I walk over to the balcony railing before looking down.

"Klaus?" I call out, confused to find him rummaging through the dumpster.

Klaus's head snaps up to see me before he sighs and grins up at me. "Zero! My favorite older-younger sister!"

I scoff a laugh before going back to the stairs and making my way down to join them. I make it to the last level of the fire escapes, noticing that Five is waiting for me there. We both look over the edge, down at Klaus again, as Five sighs in disappointment.

Five approaches the ladder along the side of the balcony before climbing down. "I would ask what you are up to, Klaus, but then it occurred to me..." Five pauses before looking down at our brother again. "I don't care."

"Hey!" Klaus says before laughing. "Y'know there are easier ways out of the house, buddy?" He waves at me with a grin as Five lands on the ground.

"This one involved the least amount of talking," Five replies, holding a hand to assist me in jumping off the ladder. "Or so I thought." He presses his lips into a thin smile as he places a hand on the small of my back, leading me down the ally in the opposite way of our brother.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Klaus stops us. I roll my eyes, expecting him to complain about the twenty dollars we owe him. "You need any more company today?" He gestures towards us with the flask in his hand as he leans against the edge of the garbage bin. "I could, uh... clear my schedule," he adds before taking a swig.

"Looks like you've got your hands full," Five deadpans.

"I'm concerned that dumpster diving was on your agenda for today, little brother," I remark, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, this? No, no. It's not dumpster diving. Besides, I can do this whenever. I'm just-," Klaus starts before tripping on something and falling back into the trash bin onto his ass. A lot of clattering from glass bottles and tin cans can be heard as he tries to regain his footing. "I just misplaced something. That's all," he excuses.

Five and I share a knowing look. I smirk at him, earning a small one in return.

"Oh!" Klaus announces, gaining our attention again. "Found it! Thank God!" he sighs before jumping up to reveal himself again. Now holding half of a plain bagel, he starts to guide it into his mouth.

"Uh, uh," I grimace, watching as he begins to stifle down the second-hand pastry. "That's nasty."

Klaus gulps out of disgust before smiling at us with a mouth full of food. "Delicious."

"I'm done funding your drug habit," Five states before gesturing for me to walk with him again, not removing his hand from my back.

I assume, by that statement, that he paid Klaus after we got back from the department store. Fuck. I don't trust Klaus with money.

"Come on! You don't-. Maybe I just wanna hang out with my siblings!" Klaus calls after us. "Not you," he mutters to nothing. "¡Mi hermano!"

Five nods to a plumbing services van that the driver has just walked away from, silently telling me that we should steal it. I silently nod in agreement.

"I love you!" Klaus yells at us.

"I love you too, dumbass!" I call over my shoulder as Five and I get in the van.

After we slam the doors behind us, Five turns the key that the driver had left behind before pressing the gas, quickly pulling and turning out of the alley, causing the tires to squeal.

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