(Older Five will be in his mid forties and will look very different (a lot younger) to how he does in the show - this is my decision for the book, and to save any confusion!)
When Five left the bathroom in a hurry he almost tripped over Violet (who was in deep thought about the whole love thing) while she almost fell back onto the floor, the door she was leaning on suddenly ripped away. He blinked across the room while her hands shot back to stop herself, the both of them exchanging a bemused glance as he righted himself.
The plan had been put into place and Violet wasn't the only one reluctant.
Five was going to attempt to make a deal with his past, older, forty or so year-old self - who would be about to ensure the president was assassinated later that day - so that they could use his briefcase to get back to twenty nineteen and reset the doomsday about to wipe out the entire world.
But then he'd explained the ways in which it could go wrong; most of these outcomes relating in one way or another to a finicky thing called Paradox Psychosis.
For once Luther and Violet were on the same page.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The big man asked, leaning over behind the shorter two as they eyed the doors of the pub anxiously.
Violet glanced at Five from her side, playing with the frays in her jeans as she watched him tap his foot and wipe his hands on his blazer periodically.
"It's a terrible ideal," he adjusted the collar of his shirt while she frowned at his uneasy behaviour, so strange to see on his usually composed self. "But we have very limited time and no other option."
Surprising them both, Violet was the first to enter the establishment. She peered inside, hair falling into her face, and let Luther hold the door after she stepped inside. Curiosity got the best of her and she scanned the place as they all tucked themselves behind a wooden pillar, avoiding the thrum of the celebrating public and their eyes.
A tap to her shoulder made her glance at Five and follow his stern line of sight.
Sat at a small table by himself was a stoic looking man in his forties, dressed in a dark grey suit and tie. He had the same face structure as her Five, the same dark eyebrows and scowl, but his skin was a little weathered, some lines at the corners of his eyes. His hair was mostly the same, neat and dark, but patches of grey came in at the sides of his temples.
She could not explain in words how strange it was to see the older version of the boy next to her, sitting across the room, knowing that there was a version of herself that had known this version through and through - and yet she stood here now with this cold feeling running through her. Because some peculiar part of her brain felt familiarity at the sight.
He looked like her Five, but he wasn't. But again, he sort of was.
"That's you?" Luther whispered incredulously, leaning in so his face was in between them.
Violet noticed he was drinking a dark liquor, fingers trailing the edge of the glass and eyes fixed on a point ahead no where in particular. There was a haunted, downward turn of his lips as he felt for something in his inner jacket pocket, as though checking whatever it was was still there.
Five next to her shuffled uneasily, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. "That's me."
"Why don't we just take the briefcase and run?"
"Luther, I would never let that happen," he snapped quietly back, making Violet take hold of his sleeve at their sides. "We're trained at the commission to guard those briefcases with our lives."
"Oh."
Violet glanced subtly between her Five and the older Five through a curtain of her hair, frowning. This was so strange.
Violet was struggling to come up with coherent thoughts - the situation far too complex and muddled - and still, his voice rang in the back of her head everytime she looked at him; the only person i have ever loved-
"This is where things get tricky. I'm endangering my existence just by being in a room with myself," he explained, clearing his throat and scratching the back of his neck.
"Huh... what do you mean?"
She rolled her eyes, shooting the larger man a look.
"Try to keep up. If old me doesn't travel back to twenty nineteen like he's supposed to, the whole thing unravels itself. I cease to exist. You got me?" Five shot Luther a look.
Violet grasped his sleeve even tighter then. Nerves swirled in her gut as she thought of all the ways this could go horribly wrong.
"I get you." Said Luther.
She doubted that.
"So our best chance is to talk with him, reason with him," Five explained. "He'll understand. Trust me. I know myself better than, uh... better than I know myself."
He scratched his neck again and Luther's eyes widened.
"You just itched your neck!" He said quickly, pointing. "Thats stage two of paradox psychosis."
"No i didnt," he denied stiffly. "I didn't itch my neck."
He most certainly did.
"Denial is stage one."
"I am fine, okay?" Five hissed, annoyed.
Violet tugged his sleeve and swallowed. "Should I... be here?" She whispered in his ear, uncertain.
"It'll be a shock to the system, sure, but my semi-grieving self is more likely to listen to his smaller doppelganger if you're there." He offered quietly, swallowing thickly. His eyes quickly left her curious ones.
"Maybe I should go first?" Luther offered, eyeing the two and then the older Five. "You know, break the ice?"
They reluctantly agreed.
Luther went to approach older Five while Violet and Five stayed tucked behind the pillar. There were a lot of loud people around and she was almost as tense as he was, given the circumstances.
He was fidgeting just like her.
She nudged him slightly, making him glance down at her.
"I'm fine," he dismissed. "Really."
She gave him a dry look, gesturing to himself. He ceased all fidgeting and put his hands down to his sides, clenching his fists to stop him from itching as though he had never started on the first place.
He let out a heavy sigh, glancing down to the side. What came out of his mouth next surprised her endlessly.
"Can I hold your hand?"
Her cheeks reddened a tinge and she looked down too, but the fact that he was asking meant more than anything in the world.
The people drinking and celebrating around them were loud and distracting, and drunk, mostly, which made her wildly uncomfortable. He'd noticed her unease despite his own and it made her feel warm. After a little pause where he felt stupid for how he sounded and internally scolded himself, he looked down at her when she slid her hand in his, unfurling his clenched fist in the process gently.
He swallowed when he felt the scar in her palm but she gave him a weak smile of encouragement.
Luther called out for them to show themselves and Five did so first, stepping out from behind the pillar and she followed, ducking her head down and staying hidden by his shoulders. He squeezed her hand tighter behind his back.
"Hey, stranger."
The two Five's stared at eachother almost combatively, and then her Five pulled his gaze away, only to look over his shoulder and tug her gently forward.
Tightening her hold on his hand, she only half stepped forwards, still partially hidden behind him and holding onto his arm like it was a crutch. Her fingers smoothed over the fabric of his sleeve as her soft eyes met the colder ones of Five's older self.
The mans eyes widened a fraction, the harshness wavering. Nostalgia hit him like a ton of bricks and he did well to conceal it, but Violet could see right through him, surprising even herself.
"Vi?" He asked, almost as though he couldn't believe it. She noticed his hand slyly reached to tap his breast pocket once more and wondered if it was a nervous habit he had developed or something.
The meek girl gave a quick, shy wave before looking away and beginning to chew on one of her nails, tapping her foot anxiously.
Luther bought drinks for them all and they all sat around the table. Five and Violet next to eachother, the former in a staring match with himself on the opposite side of the table. Luther was to their side like a mediator, ready to break up a fight if the situation came to it.
Violet sat sort of hunched over, trying to make herself appear smaller and clasping her Fives hand under the table.
"Well, this is nice, isn't it?" Luther asked, trying to keep things light. "The four of us together like this."
"No." Both Five's answered immediately while Violet shook her head, playing with her lemonade straw.
"Somebody explain to me how it is I'm having a Guinness with my younger self," older Five stated, glare unwavering.
His voice was deeper than she had expected and it made her glance up briefly.
"Older, actually," Five corrected swiftly. "I'm you, just fourteen days older."
"I have pubic hair smarter than you. How is that possible?"
Violet could feel the mans eyes briefly flicker over to her and shifted, sipping her fizzy drink to distract herself from all the unwanted noise going on around them.
"That I can explain," Five rested his other arm on the table beside his drink. "You see one hour from now on the grassy knoll, before the president is killed, you break your contract with the commission," the older Five's gaze turned dark, fists clenching atop the table. "I already know you're thinking about it. All those years in the apocalypse, we never stopped worrying about our family. Well, today you're going to do something about it. Today, you're going to attempt to time travel forward to twenty nineteen. However, you are going to screw up the jump and end up in this twirp of a small, pubescent body."
Violet thought absently that she much preferred it this way anyways, but chose not to voice that.
"Even if I was to believe you, what am I supposed to do, not jump?" He asks back harshly, scoffing.
"No, I need you to jump," Five explains. "If you don't jump, I cease to exist. What I need from you is to jump correctly."
There was a pause of consideration.
"I'm listening."
"The first time, we got the calculation wrong. That's how we end up in this body. But now I know the correct calculation."
"What is it?"
"I'll be glad to tell you..." he trailed off, glancing down. "In exchange for that briefcase you're hiding under the table."
Everyone at the table could feel the tension rise drastically and Luther jumped in.
"Yeah, yeah! So you go back to twenty nineteen but this time with the right math, so you remain a full grown man and we get to save our family." He smiled. As though it were that easy.
"Timeline restored, paradox resolved. Everyone goes on existing happily ever after." Five says with a small nod.
The older Five's eyes dart over to Violet and she holds his gaze nervously. "Except for one." He says knowingly.
Beside her, Five's eyes lose their combativeness for just a moment, a brief flicker of understanding going between the two, and he nods again, this time with his lips pressed into a thin line.
"Unfortunately, that part doesn't change."
Violet looks between the two.
The older looking Five narrows his eyes, sitting back in his chair. "We never go back for her?"
"We wanted to. But some things happen for a reason." He glances softly at Violet, who shyly leans into his side and tries to hide her warming face.
"Never took myself for a philosophical type."
"And i know what you're thinking - You can't go back for your Violet, because if you do, it will screw up the timeline we go back to. And," he hesitated, clutching her hand tighter below the table. "I... don't know what it'll mean for my Violet." He looks over at her.
Older Five looks at her too.
She shifts uneasily in her seat. Now she had something new to add to her list of worries. Great.
"You expect me to choose?" He scoffs, eyes darting back to Five.
"No," he says. "I expect you to be smart about this."
The man glares fiercely across the table, jaw clenching sharply. His fists clench and Violet looks from his calloused hands up to his stone cold eyes.
She wondered if this version of Five would choose to go back for his Violet stuck and abandoned alone in the apocalypse; if it was her and the roles were reversed, she would. But she prayed to whatever God their was that he would understand - this version of himself was happy, and this version of Violet was happy. She needed Five. She needed everything to be okay.
The older Five gets up sharply and excuses himself to use the bathroom. Luther goes to follow and talk to him, hoping to be more tactful. The briefcase went with him, leaving Violet and her Five alone at the table.
"Somethings wrong." He muttered, a crazed gleam in his eye. He didn't look at her.
She leant on her arm on the table and swivelled in her seat so she was facing him.
"I don't trust him."
She frowned deeply, tugging his arm to make him look at her. She leant forwards and pointed at him. He got the gist of what she was trying to say.
"Exactly." He muttered seriously.
She eyed him with concern, noting his leg bouncing up and down and the sweat accumulating on his brow. She looked across the table and took a napkin from the little pile in the middle and bunched it up in her hand, wiping it off for him.
His eyes softened slightly as she threw the napkin back on the table, wiping her hands anxiously over her thighs.
"Okay, maybe I'm starting to feel the effects of paradox psychosis," he admitted to her. "But whatever I'm feeling, he's feeling it to."
Amusement danced in her eyes. It was funny how defensive he was getting.
He leant in closer. "I don't like how he looks at you."
This time she giggled softly under her breath, leaning forwards to rest her forehead on his shoulder, making him subconciously relax. She closed her eyes with a little smile.
He let out a sigh and tucked her closer with hand around her waist, making her smile widen.
Finally, he felt some tension leave his body with her this close, and in the brief moment the two were alone - he could breathe properly once again without stressing about what was going to happen.
----
They were an odd sightly group walking along to where older Five would eventually oversee the assassination of JFK; a man who looked like he could be the teenage boys disgruntled, cold eyed father, a young girl with hair long enough to hide behind and more scars than one could count from an outward glance, and an abnormally large man at their side trying his best to keep the younger boy from attacking anyone who stared too long at said peculiar girl.
The two teenagers passed a lady with a child who was staring a little too long, and Five turned and began walking backwards, shouting, "what are you looking at? See something funny? Turn around, asshole!"
Violets hand shot up to cover her mouth in shock. She quickly grabbed him by the sleeve and yanked him along with her, making him turn.
The woman gawked and yanked the child away, leaving quickly.
"What?" He asked her when she gave him an absurd look.
She slapped him on the shoulder and leant up to whisper in his ear, "you can't swear in front- in front of... a kid!"
Five scoffed. "She won't remember it."
Then, when another older man literally paused mid step and stared straight at Violet who had her scarred skin on show, tapping his wife walking next to him on the shoudler and pointing to whisper something, Violet ducked her head low and her hair fell to cover her face.
"Mind your business!"
Violet's head snapped up when she realised that shout had come from not just the Five beside her, but the other one quite far ahead of them.
"Or I'll give you something to stare at!" Five next to her added.
Violet gasped to herself and grabbed him by the sleeve, her cheeks burning red, skin hot, pulling him quickly along with her.
She would have begged for them to stop but she couldn't get the words out and now even more people were staring at them.
"You wish you could pull off these shorts." He muttered, scratching the back of his neck.
The girl couldn't help it - she glared at the back of older Five's head, sure he could sense it by his shoulders suddenly tensing up - and began smacking her Five in the shoulder, making him stumble over his own feet.
"Hey!" He sounded offended.
She smacked his chest and glared up at him, shaking his arm by the grip on his sleeve and grinding her teeth, trying to make him understand what this was doing to her while unable to voice it.
He scanned her red face, her slouched shoulders, her hands beginning to tremble and paused.
"Sorry, Vi," he ran a hair through his already messed up hair, strands sticking to his forehead and encroaching on his eyes. "I'm sorry."
He closed his eyes, frustrated with himself, and ruffled his hair. They kept walking.
She looked uneasily around them, shying closer to his side when a couple people looked at them, the trembling in her hands subsiding only a tiny bit.
"...but he looked at you funny." He muttered under his breath.
She twitched a smile. It was sweet, all things considering, but they were in public and he was drawing attention where she certainly didn't want it and with severe anxiety that could, at extremes, make her vomit - she needed to keep him calm in order to keep herself calm.
Luther began trailing back towards them, letting the other Five go ahead.
Before he got there Violet pondered on something and after practically chewing her thumbnail raw, she perked up the courage and planted a quick kiss on Five'a cheek.
When he felt it, the gentlest of pecks, he nearly tripped over his own feet. His head span to stare at her wide eyed as she righted him by the arm, avoiding his gaze.
There was a clear pink tint to his cheeks as he stared at the side of her face, a bit dazed, a bit in wonder, definitely shocked out of his mind that his Violet would push her boundaries and actually do something like that-
"Hey, brother, how you doing?" Luther asked, matching their pace slightly off to the side.
Still, the boy struggled to remove his gaze from her face as she tired to hide it by looking down, hair falling to cover it. He blinked slowly, clearing his throat.
"He's..." he shook his head slightly, eyebrows pinching together. He looked forwards, swallowing, wiping his hands on his blazer. "He's gonna kill me, isn't he?"
Violet's head snapped up. She looked wide eyed between him and Luther.
Her arm linked with Five's immediately, almost protectively.
"What?" Luther laughed awkwardly. "What? He's gonna kill you? Yeah right. That's ridiculous."
She glared up at Luther. If she could force herself to in that moment she would smack him. If she could reach his face she would aim for it. What an idiot.
What a gullible idiot.
She couldnt believe he had so quickly gone to this other Five's side.
"You know, you're a terrible liar, Luther," he scratched the underside of his jaw. "You're a worse liar than you are a spotter."
"Okay, who's fault is that?" He retorted quickly. "What good is having a spotter if you wont even listen to him? You listen to Violet and she doesn't even talk!"
"Not to an idiot like you," Five retorted back. "So, you admit you're conspiring against me?"
"Do... you admit that you're suffering from paradox psychosis?"
"All I'm suffering from is bracing clarity about you and your murderous intentions." Five responded.
Luther stuttered out. "Look, its not like he's going to kill you, kill you. He just wants to kill, a, um, version of you."
Violet clutched him tighter to her side, sending daggers at Luther through her glare.
"But I am that version of me." He explained slowly, irritation growing infinitely worse. He scratched a spot on his chest through his shirt.
"Hey, I don't love it either, but hes actually got a pretty good plan," Luther tried, putting a hand out.
"What?" He scoffed. "The one where you guys off me and jump to twenty nineteen to save the world?"
She knocked into Five's shoulder when he jostled her accidentally to scratch his head, running his hand through his fringe and ruffling it. Pieces fell messily across his forehead. Violet went to correct it but when he glanced at her from the side she quickly lowered her outstretched hand to her side and gave an awkward, hesitant smile.
"Yeah, wait - how did you know that?"
"Because I am him and that is exactly what I would do if I was trying to kill me!" Snapped Five.
"Okay, all I know is we've got one Five too many, and you're the only one acting like a maniac!"
Violet felt his body tense and grabbed his arm tighter, noting a psychotic glimpse in his eye.
"Maniac?" He scoffed, bumping shoulders with her as he turned on Luther. "Luther, you have seen nothing. If you want a maniac, I will show you maniac!"
"Okay, as your spotter, I think the best thing i could do for you right now is put you out of your misery." Luther jogged slightly to catch up to them.
Violet huffed, blowing some hair out of the way of her face, glaring forwards.
Five paused mid step and she almost tripped at the suddenness of it, spinning to follow him, their arms still linked awkwardly as he grabbed Luther by the front of his shirt and yanked him down to their height.
Or his, anyway. Luther would have to be dragged quite a lot lower to reach Violet's level.
"Okay, listen! I know your feeble mind only responds to age and authority, so listen very closely," he seethed, letting him go before jabbing him in the chest with his finger. "Yet again you are experiencing daddy issues." He turned to keep walking and fixed his blazer, Violet stumbling and jogging to catch up with his quick pace, still holding onto him. "This time with your own brother which is honestly driving me a bit crazy."
Violet was getting quite dizzy being pulled around everywhich direction so quickly.
He turned to Luther once more. "But remember this: I'm fourteen days older than him. I have seniority here. So it is me you should be listening to, Luther..."
He pointed to himself, before throwing his arms out and almost knocking her over - "IM THE DADDY HERE!"
Violet froze completely, her face turning red, her hands coming up to cover her burning cheeks.
Nearby pedestrians stopped to stare, whispering amongst themselves and shooting them judgemental glares.
"Oh, dear..." Violet whispered to herself, closing her eyes before reopening them and jogging after Five so she could smack him.
He saw this coming and dodged her, backing away from her hit. She went for him again and he shot her a little boyish smirk, pulling away just a second before she got him once more.
She glared and clenched her fists, huffing in frustration, before shaking her head at him.
"Look at you!" Luther pointed out.
Five's smirk diminished as he scratched the back of his neck. "Okay, I admit there is a possibility that I may not be in my... right mind right now."
When Violet casually matched his pace again, he seemed to have forgotten her attempts at throttling him seconds earlier in his... frantic mind state, and wasn't able to dodge her smack aimed right for the back of his head.
"Ow!" He grit out, sending her a sharp look, hand rubbing the spot.
She defiantly raised her chin and looked forwards, and despite the fact she had just knocked his brain for a spin, she still linked their arms tightly as they continued walking.
He watched her with an unreadable expression.
"Anyway, whatever I've got, he's got it too!"
Luther looked ahead at the older Five, beginning to question it. "What?"
"Quit grab-assing, were here." The older Five called out boredly up ahead.
The three began to speed walk over to a little grassy patch behind a white painted fence, the place where this Five was supposed to make sure JFK was assassinated. Crowds gathered on the opposite side further across the field, chattering amongst themselves excitedly at the prospect of seeing the president drive by.
Violet considered just turning herself invisible and grabbing the briefcase as Five positioned his sniper atop the fence, adjusting it to his liking.
The Five beside her began sharply whispering something to Luther, the two arguing about something, eyeing said briefcase, but she slid her arm out from its link with his and approached the older Five hesitantly, wringing her hands together.
Her Five was too agitated to notice her gone, and it was perhaps the only thing she could thanked the paradox psychosis for.
Her palms were sweating as she crept up on him, heart rate picking up slightly.
She knew Five usually knew when she was approaching even despite her impeccable ability to creep up on people silently. Which was why she was surprised when the forty year old Five maintained looking out over the road past the sniper at his shoulder, even when she came to a stop next to him, at a slight distance, and stared at the side of his head.
He didn't look at her.
Her stomach twisted and she chewed the inside of her cheek, glancing out at what he was looking at. The people looked happy, no idea what was about to happen, no idea they would probably be scarred for life with what they were about to see.
She swallowed, resting her arms atop the fence and running her fingers absently over her scarred elbow.
After a few moments of not-uncomfortable silence, he spoke.
"Did he send you over here?" The man asked calmly, glancing at her out the corner of his eye. It wasn't accusing, but it certainly wasn't friendly the way he said it.
Her eyebrows knitted together. She shook her head.
"So you're not here to appeal to my moral code?" His eyebrow rose.
Violet couldn't help the look that she gave him in response; it was so automatic, she didn't even have to think about it. It read what moral code? and caused him to look away to hide the upwards twitch of the corners of his lips from her.
He lowered the gun to rest against the fence and instead rested his arms across the top of the it, mirroring her. He looked deep in thought and felt for the inside of his jacket, tapping his inner pocket. Again.
He didn't look at her. And if he did, he didn't hold the gaze for very long.
Unbeknownst to Violet, it hurt this Five to look at her. She wasn't his Violet, not really, but she was still Violet. It hurt to look at her, so youthful, so untouched by the end of the world, the trauma and the hardships. This Violet had more scars, a tad more confidence underlying in her eyes, almost like she was toeing the line of daring herself to do things out of her comfort zone constantly.
It hurt most of all because he knew that she wasn't here with him and it was all his fault. (It wasn't, not really, but Five was the self hatred type.)
Violet watched curiously, tilting her head.
He kept doing that, mostly when she was around, which made her wonder...
But she was not there to convince him to leave the other her in the apocalypse after decades spent together. She was not here to convince him to go along with their plan - that was something he had to do on his own. It was up to him if he wanted to prove anything, not them.
Curiously, she tapped the spot on her chest where his inner pocket was on him and pointed at him.
His eyes flickered down to her hands briefly then back up to her face. He rose an eyebrow. "The coward hasn't made a move yet, has he?"
The girl frowned, thoroughly confused.
He sighed slightly, looked back out over the roads in thought and then reached into the same pocket. What he pulled out was a small metal object at first glance. He held it on his palm between them and she blinked in surprise, her tongue beginning to feel like sandpaper. The realisation as to what he meant now hit her like a ton of bricks.
Violet looked behind her where Five was still arguing animatedly to Luther, his back to them, her mouth dropping open. Her brain stuttered, unable to come up with any coherent thought.
He'd said he loved her and she had defiantly put it aside in her brain in order to convince herself it had been a mistake (and because she was scared, what else was new), that he was just angry and spewing nonsense in his rant. Now, she wasn't so sure and although deep down she had always known because it was kind of unspoken between them, it was somehow more daunting having it presented aloud. Everything always was.
And now it became even more daunting as she stared at the slip of silver metal that had been bent into the shape of a ring, almost looking real at first if she hadn't seen it so up close.
Her skin became hot and she put a hand to the back of her neck, tapping her foot.
He dipped his chin, eyes searching her face for a long moment, slipping it back in his pocket for safety. "Thirty years, if that's what you're wondering."
Violet scratched at the scar on her palm, her arms still rested on the fence, eyes drifting off as her heart sped up pace. It became uncomfortable to stand still and she exhaled evenly.
He watched her - the softest around those rough edges she had seen him since the pub. It made her chest hurt. Or maybe that was her racing thoughts doing that to her body.
"That's why I cant do what you need me to do," he said earnestly. Her eyes shot up to meet his. "I can't just accept that I'm supposed to leave you in that wasteland to suffer alone for eternity."
Her heart sank. She managed to swallow past the lump in her throat, through the fear of the unknown. If he brought her with him to twenty nineteen in his timeline, what happened to her now? How would that change things? She rubbed her palms over her jeans, struggling to hide their shaking.
When she looked at him finally, pleading, she spoke in nothing louder than a murmur that could have been so easily lost in the wind.
"I- I know-" she swallowed, and he could see she was struggling. But he waited patiently for her to finish talking, used to it in another lifetime. "I know myself enough to know that... I would forgive you-" she tore her eyes away from his, looking down, it becoming harder to continue. This burning feeling was lodged in her throat. He even looked shocked she was speaking to him now but he was still Five, which made it easier. "...no matter what choice you- you decide to make."
She could feel him staring at the side of her face and looked down at her hands, clutching them like a lifeline to stop them trembling. The girl backed away after a heavy silence, going to head back to her Five and Luther, when she saw the teenager already staring straight at her with a challenging look in his eye.
She saw him look towards the briefcase just a couple steps behind the older Five on the grass.
She shook her head.
He did it anyway. In hindsight she would blame the paradox psychosis for the irrational behaviour, but in the moment she just wanted to rip her hair out and scream.
He went for the briefcase but his counterpart span and snatched it up by the handle, other hand pointing the gun at him. He froze, narrowing his eyes in almost a daring manner.
"Bad idea, shit-heel."
She stilled, fear consuming her all of a sudden.
"Stop it, alright?" Luther put his hands out cautiously, annoyed. "Pull yourselves together. Kennedy is coming around that corner any minute, so we need to just take a deep breath and calm down..."
Violet eyed the two of them, feeling like she was watching a tennis match, her body itching at her to do something but her mind not knowing what.
"You want it?" Five asked lowly, daringly at his doppelganger.
She didnt hear his response as he kicked Luther right in between the legs, immobilising him as he groaned in pain. With him distracted the two Five's fought, blinking left and right in an attempt to catch the other out.
Violet span in a circle, her head turning to follow them rapidly, her eyes beginning to sting with the blue flashes and how fast everything was going. She put a hand to her forehead, not knowing what to do.
This was chaos.
This was a headache waiting to happen. And with the startling information presented to her just moments before, Violet felt about ready to pass out from how overwhelmed she was.
In their attempt to grab the briefcase and possibly kill eachother, they appeared to be evenly matched, the only real difference being the older versions height advantage and her versions agility.
Luther suddenly picked up the gun that had been forgotten on the concrete, aiming at them both. "Hey, assholes!" He yelled.
They came to an abrupt halt, now standing a few feet away from eachother opposite Luthers line of sight.
Violet stood off to the side, trying to control her breathing and shaking her tingling hands out to her sides.
"Im don't listening to you both! I'm in charge now."
"Now, Luther! Shoot him!"
"No, shoot him!"
An alarmed shout of, "NO!" tore from her throat, surprising even herself as both fives stared wide eyed over at her.
Luther eyed her Five in dismay. "Sorry, buddy..."
Violet took a faltering step in the Fives' direction, her heart leaping into her throat when he nodded, and she paused. He swung the gun into older Five's jaw, knocking him back with great force.
"Portal, now!"
Her Five balled his hands into fists, a blue glow surrounding them as he began to open up the portal to twenty nineteen.
Violet could hear her heart beat in her ears. It was making her feel sick.
She eyed the briefcase in the middle between them all and went for it at the same time as older Five. She beat him to it as he was forced to a standstill when Luther pointed the gun at him. She held it behind her, white knuckled, eyes meeting the other Five's.
Something about this all made her feel guilty.
She hoped he knew that by her forlorn expression.
"Into the vortex you go, asshole!" Her Five snapped, gritting his teeth as he held the swirling blue portal open. The wind from it threw her hair over her shoulders, making her squint and put a hand up to sheild her face from it.
Thunder crackled around them.
Five's older self glared at him before reluctantly stepping to its edge. Before he went in, he turned to face him fully. "Fine. But give me the correct math so I don't end up looking like you when I land."
Five took a deep breath, eyes flickering to meet hers across the way. He gestured for her to come over to him and she cautiously inched her way closer, holding the briefcase tightly like it was a lifeline.
"It was a typo! We put the decimal in the wrong spot in our proof of the existence of a bound for the number of limit cycles of planar polynomial vector fields of fixed degree. We wrote down pount five seven. It should be-"
"-zero point five seven!" His eyes widened with realisation as he cursed loudly. "Son of a bitch! I knew it didnt look right... well, I guess this is it."
"I guess it is."
A stern nod of rare understanding passed between the two Five's for a brief second, but as Violet came to a stop shoulder to shoulder with hers, the man opposite her stared right at her.
"It's shrinking..." Luther urged impatiently.
The older Five darted right for the briefcase held in Violet's hands instead of obeying.
He grabbed it and she fell backwards with the momentum, her grip tightening around the handle as they fought for it.
A fire extinguisher struck Luther from the portal who went to hit him with the gun, knocking him to the floor.
"Sorry Vi."
The man met her eyes sincerely before reaching past the briefcase and latching his hand around her bare wrist clutching the handle.
The feeling of his calloused skin on her own made her release and yank herself away on instinct, her eyes widening in horror.
He fell back with the case and a burning outrage filled her as she shoved herself to a stand and ran after him at the exact same time her Five did after seeing what he did to her.
Luther beat them to it and shoulder barged older Five through the portal. Violet grasped the briefcase before just it was pulled through and her Five grabbed her up around the waist, dragging her away rapidly as the portal closed.
The briefcase slipped from her loose grip and clattered to the floor while she and Five fell backwards, her landing beside him with his arms still firmly hooked around her waist.
She shoved herself up to a sitting position quickly, as did he. Their eyes met, their noses almost colliding with how close they were, and she looked away with a little squeak. Face burning red, their eyes then landed on the smoke coming from the broken briefcase a little ways away.
"Shit!" His hold loosened around her waist, hands coming to rest on her sides as he helped her up.
"What? We did it!" Luther grinned, blissfully unaware and brushing himself off.
The breath practically left Violet's lungs as Five's hands lingered against her hips, glad for her hair falling in her face to cover her pink cheeks.
"The briefcase, you idiot." Five sighed heavily, closing his eyes in dissapointment. She felt his breath against the back of her neck.
Violet swallowed thickly, a funny feeling fluttering in her stomach, yet she found herself unable to pull away from him.
It was strange being overwhelmed by the boys touch when the dismay at failing so miserably was suffocating them. It hit, then, and she exhaled a sigh.
Cheering and a cars engine ensued behind the fence down by the main roads and they all turned, eyes widening in realisation.
The warmth against her hips disappeared, leaving her cold.
Five and Luther rushed over to watch as the president was about to be assassinated. She went to follow, reluctant, when her eyes caught a glimpse of glimmer of light from the ground in her peripheral.
Violet walked towards it, curiosity getting the better of her. It was where the portal had been opened and closed, and as she got halfway, she quickened her pace when she saw exactly what it was.
Her mind zoned out then. She crouched to pick up the cold metal item, her heart beginning to hurt.
She was so preoccupied she didn't even flinch when the gunshot blared and the crowds began to scream and run in horror. It was all just background noise as she honed in on the item in her palm.
She eyed it sadly.
Fuck, was all she could think.
He had tried to trick them in the end, yes, and had used her touch aversion against her - but this... Five hadn't quite deserved this.
When the boys came back and they decided to make a quick exit, she slipped the ring in her back pocket before either could notice.