PATHOS •| Five Hargreeves |•

v

"What's the date, the exact date?"

"The twenty-fourth," Vanya spoke up. Emery could only watch with wide eyes, not caring what they revealed, as Five moved about the kitchen making a sandwich as if nothing was wrong.

"Of what?" He asked sharply glancing in their direction only to lock eyes with Emery and turn away. "March," Vanya answered, this time he didn't look back as he responded. The luminescent white glow was too much at the moment, seeing her at all like a single day had not passed was challenging enough. Did she remember how they had left off?

"So are we going to talk about what just happened?" Luther asked, and for once Emery was thankful he had no problem interjecting himself. Questions could have poured from her mouth, but first she just wanted to watch him, to see if everything she remembered had been correct.

Five continued to make his sandwich spatial jumping passed Luther and his question. "I haven't missed that," he mumbled.

I have, Emery thought.

"Where'd you go?" Diego asked

Repeating his previous actions Five spatial jumped again making Luther fidget slightly. It almost felt like their old dynamic. "The future, it's shit by the way."

"Called it!" Klaus cheered. Emery could only gaze at the man from where she sat in amazement. "Congratulations?"

Like always Five ignored their banter continuing on as if none of them were even there. "Oh, I should've listened to the old man you know? Jumping through space is one thing, but jumping through time is a toss of the dice." He looked up, but kept his gaze forward while Emery shifted hers to the ground.

She spaced out listening to them bicker the tensions circling around her like words spelled out in the air. It was a great reminder of why she kept social gatherings with all of them down to only a few. In place of their aggravation when each other she recited lines from Hamlet, doing so required more energy than focusing on the words being thrown around, and it was nearly enough to send everything away.

"Forty-two years, give or take," Five said. Suddenly her head snapped up and her focus was on him again.

"So what are you saying? you're fifty-eight?" Luther asked as he collapsed into the last empty seat, and rather annoyed Five scoffed. He had always been like that, things that just clicked for him took time for everyone else and he could never understand why. "No, my consciousness is fifty-eight apparently my body is sixteen again."

"Dang, I'm no longer the oldest," Emery blurted. They were the first words she had spoken since he had arrived, the first time he had heard her voice in forty-two years. For a second he let the surealness of the moment sink in. After so many years he had lost hope, and only had dreams to remember her. Those mental images were noothing compared to having her right there.

"Just because you've existed for fifty years doesn't mean you were ever the oldest, but... how long did dad have you out for this time?" She brightened a bit at his snark noticing how he wavered, genuinely worried for her.

Delicately she said, "Fourteen years."

"So you're technically only sixteen." He smirked, he just so happened to be stuck in a sixteen year olds body. Ruining the connection between the two teenagers Vanaya asked, "How is that even possible?"

Breaking eye contact with Emery Five sighed, "Delores kept saying the equations were off. Bet she's laughing now."

"Delores?" Vanya asked. Five turned to answer her, but was pierced by the most unnaturally bright green eyes. He wanted to stay frozen in time just to ravish in the fact that bringing up another girls name made her jealous.