THE FAMILY WAS HUDDLED AROUND THE KITCHEN TABLE AS FIVE MADE HIMSELF A PEANUT BUTTER AND MARSHMALLOW SANDWICH. "What's the date, the exact date?" Five demanded, as he grabbed some bread.
"The 24th." Vanya stated.
"Of what?"
"March." Lara added.
"Good."
"So, are we gonna talk about what just happened?" Luther seemed slightly annoyed. When Five didn't answer, Luther stood up. "It's be 17 years."
"It's been a lot longer than that." Five teleported around him to grab the peanut butter.
"I haven't missed that." Luther muttered as Lara and Klaus shared a look of utter confusion.
"Where'd you go?" Diego asked.
"The future. It's shit by the way."
"Called it!" Klaus laughed.
"Ah, I should've listened to the old man," Five grabbed some marshmallows. "Jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice. Nice dress." He looked directly at Klaus.
"Oh, Well danke."
"How did you get back?" Lara looked at Five, receiving a tiny smile, too tiny for anyone but Lara to notice.
"In the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time."
"That makes no sense." Diego says in a matter-of-factory tone.
"Well it would if you were smarter." Diego lunged forwards, but Luther stopped him.
"How long were you there?"
"Forty-five years, give or take."
"So What're you saying? That you're fifty-eight?"
"No, my consciousness is fifty-eight," he said, as if everyone else was stupid, "apparently, my body is now 13 again."
"Wait how does that even work?" Vanya seemed exhausted.
"She kept saying the the equations were off. Eh." He took a bite of his sandwich. "Bet she's laughing now."
"Who?"
Five picked up the newspaper lying on the table- the front page about Reginald's death. "Guess I missed the funeral."
"How'd you know about that?" Luther asked.
"What part of the future do you not understand?" Five stared at Luther annoyedly. "Heart failure?" He continued.
"Yeah."
"No."
Five clicked his tongue. "Nice to see nothing's changed."
"That's it? That's all you have to say?"
"What else it there to say? The circle of life."
"Well. That was interesting."
Lara followed Five out of the room. Five turned around and smiled a small smile at Lara. "Hey, what's with the big tough guy persona, huh?" Five laughed.
"There's no tough guy persona, Nine."
"I missed you." Five stopped walking, and turned around.
"Trust me. I missed you more." After a couple of seconds staring at each other, Five continued. "How come you still look 13?"
"That's a story for another time. It's a long one, trust me." Five laughed.
"Ok. If you say so. Got any clothes?"
"I've been here for the past 17 years, not being allowed out of the house. You think I have any clothes? The only clothes anyone has that'll fit you is uniform, Five." Five followed Lara around the house, to the cupboard where the uniforms were kept. Five started rifling through them, "Ah, shit."
Five and Vanya were sitting in the living room together, when Five looked up and noticed the painting of him. "Good to know someone didn't forget about me." He turned around. "Read your book, by the way. Found it in a library that was still standing. Thought it was pretty good, all things considered. Yeah, definitely ballsy, giving up all the family secrets. Sure that went over well."
"They all hate me."
"Oh, there are worse things that can happen."
"You mean like what happened to Ben?"
Five's face fell. His voice was more monotone and less cocky. "Was it bad?" Vanya nodded her head, with tears in her eyes. Five nodded solemnly and sat down on the sofa. Vanya sat down opposite him. "Did Lara tell you what happened when you left? Why she's still 13?"
"No. She said it was too long of a story." Vanya looked down in despair.
"It's not. It's just too terrible to tell." Five looked at Vanya, urging her to go on. "When you disappeared, it hit Lara the worst out of all of us. Sure, we were all upset, but not like her. She wouldn't get out of bed, she wouldn't eat." Five seemed surprised. "Then, one day, she snapped. We were training, and Lara was fighting Diego. She used some freaky stuff on him and nearly killed him. Shattered most of the light bulbs as well. Dad went ballistic at her. Like crazy mad. She wouldn't calm down, so he seduced her. Started giving her anti-depressants and sedatives, the main one being Xanax. Every day. He said that she had a condition, and the meds would help. But really, he was just suppressing her growth." Five seemed like he was about to cry. "When she found out, she nearly killed all of us, so he locked her up and told her that if she didn't keep taking the meds, she would die because the changes were irreversible. And she believed it. Up to now. When she's mad, she's ruthless. He spent the 17 years you've been gone training her to be practically invincible. You don't wanna get on her bad side, trust me."
"All because of me?" Vanya looked at Five. She nodded slightly. He sighed and stood up. "I'm going to go and find her."
"Don't tell her I told you, or she'll kill me. No kidding."
When Five couldn't find Lara anywhere, he gave up. He wanted to find Ben's grave, and see what it was like. When he arrived outside, he was pleasantly surprised. He found Lara staring up and his statue, in the rain. Five walked over, and sat down next to her. "I need to talk to you, L."
"L?"
"I dunno, I thought you'd like it."
"I guess I do. What did you want to tell me?"
"I missed you, L. I want you to know that. It may not have seemed like it earlier, but I have. I've missed you like hell, and I can't stand the thought of being away from you any longer." Lara smiled, and rested her head on Five's shoulder. "I wouldn't have made it if you hadn't shown up later than you had. I don't think I would be able to cope any longer."
