CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: SECRETS & LOST TIME

"It's nice of you guys to show up!" Five hissed as they entered Elliott's apartment, it seemed the other siblings all lined up by the staircase staring at a television.

They had all walked back, letting Five calm down and rest his power. Half way back he had stopped itching, and now in the presence of air conditioning he was no longer breaking a sweat.

"Where were you!" He glared, "You all had one job! One! To make it to that alleyway before time ran out— guess what! It ran out."

"Where's Klaus?" Lotus questioned, peering from sibling to sibling.

Allison sighed, "Upstairs."

They joined the rest of them, crowded around the TV. A news reporter spoke solemnly at the camera, flipping a picture of Vanya over, "Vanya Hargreeves, wanted in connection with the deaths of several FBI agents inside the federal building at Dealey Plaza."

The man showed another photo, this time Diego's mugshot. "A Cuban exile known only as Diego, who recently escaped from the Holbrook Sanitarium." The next was Luther, "A bare knuckle boxer with suspected mafia ties who fights under the alias 'King Kong.'"

"Really?" Lotus raised a brow at him.

"Allison Chestnut, a negro radical responsible for instigating and organizing the recent riots at Stadtler's lunch counter. And finally, Klaus, the controversial cult leader and known tax evader."

They all shared a look of worry, eyes moving back to the TV as the man continued on.

"The FBI is asking the public to be on the lookout for this unidentified boy and girl." Another picture showed, this time of both her and Five at the fence as they watched Kennedy turn. You could see Five's face clearly, but you could barely see past her eyes. "Who they believe us being held hostage by the suspected terrorist network..."

Five shrugged, "Well, it's true. I do feel like I'm being held hostage most days."

"God, I hate that photo." Diego muttered.

Allison shook her head, "They're saying I instigated the riot? That's unbelievable."

"Look, the good news is that we restored the timeline and we stopped doomsday." Luther chimed in.

Lotus snorted, looking up at him. "Good news? We're the most wanted people in the world right now."

"Yeah, it's only a matter of time before they hunt us down here." Allison nodded.

Vanya pursed her lips, "Then where are we supposed to go?"

Klaus had wandered down the stairs, combing through his hair lazily. "I have a yurt outside Reykjavik. We can totally lay low there. Folks there are a little weird, but lovely."

"Hey, numbnuts." Five called, "Hiding's not gonna make a difference here. The Commission will hunt us down wherever and whenever we go."

Diego agreed, "He's right. They'll never stop."

Lotus frowned, looking around. They were screwed now. "I... I just need a minute." She mumbled, rushing up the stairs. She found herself down the hall and in the spare room, she kicked the door closed and locked it.

She knew her emotions would bubble up at some point, she was just hoping it would be after they got home, when they were safe. They'd never get there, not when the FBI was after them.

Soft music poured from a radio sitting on a dresser, tunes she'd never heard before. She longed for familiarity, knowing it was impossible.

Lotus took a shaky breath, "You will not cry." She whispered, "No. Nope. Not today."

Everything had fallen apart right in front of them, like it usually did. Why would this be any different, why did she think it would be? They were still stuck in 1963, with no way out. The government would shoot them before they even had a chance at explaining.

"You are fine." She told herself, pacing back and forth. "You got this."

She would never have a normal life, she'd forever be trapped in a tiny body with no shot at growing old. She would never be able to spend more time with the family she'd grown to love—

"Lotus." A knock sounded on the door, "Open up."

She shook her head, blinking away the burn in her eyes. Everything they worked for, everything they did had been all for nothing. Did they even stop doomsday or was that all a false sense of hope like it was last time?

"Lotus." A hand found her shoulder, she jumped, spinning to see Five. He had blinked in, the door was still locked behind him. His eyes widened as they landed on her face, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She told him, nodding.

His eyes softened, "Lotus, you can tell me."

She scanned his face, still locked in his normal expression. She wanted to talk to the real Five, not the one with his walls up. Lotus remembered that morning at Allison's salon, of their discussion of secrets and lost time.

"I like you, okay." She blurted, taking a deep breath. "Like... like you, like you."

His eyes widened, "Lotus—"

"Don't say my name like that." She shook her head, "I just needed to tell you that, in case we all die. I don't want secrets, and I thought you should know."

"What do you mean, in case we all die?"

"Come on, Five! We can't do anything without almost dying, and since it hasn't happened yet, I guarantee it's about too."

He nodded slowly, "Vanya said there's something wrong with the kid she babysits, that she did something and we need to help. They're all about to leave soon."

"Oh."

Five pursed his lips, eyes gazing around the room. She watched him like an idiot, her hands shaking at her sides.

"We should go." He reached for the doorknob.

"Wait," Lotus said, "Can we just... can we have a moment of normalcy, please? Before everything goes crazy."

His hand dropped from the doorknob, he met her gaze and nodded. "I guess it can wait ten minutes."

They stood in silence, just staring at each other as a new song filled the empty air. Lotus had no idea what to do, or if his idea of normalcy was silence.

"I... I shouldn't have said that."

"Said what?"

Lotus pursed her lips, "That I liked you— it was sudden and you probably don't care and now I feel like an idiot and you just want to go but I keep asking for your time and it's all just— I'm just screwing everything up."

"Are you done?" He raised a brow.

"What?"

"Remember, back home when I didn't tell any of you I was bleeding out and passed out in Vanya's boyfriend's house?" He watched her, "You stayed by my side and talked to me like a normal person. You made stupid jokes and when I tried to push you away you didn't budge. I knew I liked you before then, but when I asked you to stay, and you did, I was... happy."

Lotus blinked, her hands went still as she calmed down, his words sinking in.

"Why do you second guess yourself? You're right most of the time."

Her lips formed a line, "Why are you always so cocky?"

"What? You don't like it?"

"Why don't you ever let your guard down?"

He cocked his head to the side, stepping towards her. "Because when I do, someone I love gets killed."

Lotus took a deep breath, "We're all here. We're not gonna die, not yet, anyways."

He took another step, "Ten minutes is almost up."

She sighed, moving her attention to the ground. She should've know this is how this would go, she was foolish for even thinking otherwise.

"Five." She whispered as he appeared just in front of her, he raised his hand and lifted her chin, her attention meeting his gaze. "I'm scared."

She never wanted to admit it, or even think about it, but she was. They were stuck, lost in time forever. No wonder why all of the Hargreeves children had issues, they were forced to deal with all of this alone.

"Lotus." His voice cracked, the walls slowly falling down. "It's going to be ok."

"You don't know that." She whispered, his hand moving to her cheek. "You're a terrible liar sometimes, do you know that?"

He closed his eyes, "If they find out... if the Commission finds out about how I feel about you, they'll hunt you down for all the shit I've pulled. I-I can't let that happen."

"They're already after us."

She didn't know how long they sat in silence before he slowly leaned down and kissed her. Lotus closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer. They never had moments like this, she suddenly hated how afraid she'd been to tell him how she felt. Maybe if she told him earlier, they would've had more time.

"We should go." He rested his forehead against hers, "We still need to do some saving."

Lotus nodded slowly, kissing him one last time. "We do this together, alright? No running head first into danger, we're a team."

"Yeah, okay."

She pulled him towards the door, unlocking it and swinging it open. He rushed passed her and spun on a heel, giving her a wink. His mask slid back on, survival mode turned to one hundred.

"Let's go kick some ass."

Lotus snorted, walking up to him and grabbing his hand, "You're still a loser."

"Yeah, whatever."