❝ Maybe we really are fated to be together after all. ❞

―

MARCH 12, 2026.

Theo found it hard to believe that he was twenty-one. There were many things that Theo thought he would be doing on his twenty-first birthday, and spending it in an apocalypse had never been one of them. Theo imagined that he would have a wonderful significant other (at least that box was checked), and it would be with them and their group of friends that he spent his twenty-first birthday with. Together, they would go out to a bar or some kind of fancy restaurant and drink alcohol until they could no longer.

He also used to imagine that by the time he was twenty-one years old, he would have just finished college and would be working on punishing his very first novel. He would be settling down with his significant other, and together they would be starting a family.

It all seemed like such a pipe dream now that he looked back on it. In the seven years that he spent living in the apocalypse, Theo had learned that life didn't always turn out the way you expected it would or the way you dreamed. It was strange to him to look back on the past and all the times he imagined what his life would be like once he was an adult.

Theo sighed as he walked through one of the neighborhoods a little ways outside of the city with Five by his side. They were once again searching for anything they could find. Five was determined to find something to give Theo as a gift, as he had been finding it a rather difficult task for the last two months.

They salvaged through the houses, which seemed to be rather in tact compared to the other neighborhoods they stumbled across and the buildings inside the city limits. They still had the overall look of a house, but with some walls burned down while the rest remained intact and only slightly charred.

At this point, besides food, Theo did not know what he was searching for. Any medicines he would manage to find exceeded their expiration dates. Other than medical tape and bandages, there was nothing else he could add to the first aid kit that he had put together over the years. Theo was always pleasantly surprised that neither he nor Five had managed to get sick. One would think that being stuck in a climate and environment such as the apocalypse, they would be prone to sickness. Yet Theo had experienced nothing more than an occasional nausea from having to ration food or a cold that typically went away within a few days.

Theo walked over to the house next to the one he had finished searching. The house appeared to receive a minimal amount of damage compared to the other houses on the street. Although it was still missing some of its walls, it wasn't completely burned to a crisp. Theo walked through the house, stepping on what appeared to be some kind of hardwood.

His eyes scanned the house, not finding anything of use. At least not until he stumbled upon shattered glass in the corner of the house. He followed the glass, his eyes widening.

"Uh...Five?" Theo shouted.

"What?" Five called back from the house across the street.

"Come here!" Theo told him.

Five stopped what he was doing and ran across the street. He walked through the house and stood next to Theo, who pointed at the ground. Five followed the boy's finger, and his eyes went wide.

"Holy, shit," Five said, staring down in amazement.

"Are those guns?" Theo asked, even though it was very clear that they were.

"Indeed they are," Five replied as he reached down and picked up a rifle.

Theo jumped back, not expecting Five to pick up what seemed to be the largest one in front of them. He held it downward, rotating the bolt back.

"It's a CZ 550 American Safari Magnum," Five stated.

Theo stared at him, his eyebrows scrunched together. "Why do you know that?"

"My father used to have one just like it," Five told him. "He was pretty big on hunting. He used to brag all the time about how he shot a rhino with it once."

"And..and you know how to use it—the CZ whatever you said?" Theo questioned.

Five shook his head. "Not exactly. I've only shot it once. He used to make me and my siblings clean his rifles. It's got a pretty powerful recoil and is heavy as hell. It's approximately nine pounds, if I'm not mistaken."

Theo's eyes widened. "Nine pounds? Shit..."

"You wanna hold it?" Five asked.

Theo shook his head. "No, thank you. Now put it back."

"Why?" Five asked, turning to look at him. "What if we need it for something?"

"What would we need it for?" Theo questioned. "Five, we haven't seen another living creature besides bugs for seven years now."

"You never know," Five responded.

"And tell me, where are you expecting to get ammo for it?" Theo asked as he looked around. "I'm not seeing any."

"I could always check the academy," Five replied. "I didn't see any of my dad's rifles when I was searching the academy, but maybe there's still some ammo lying around."

Theo rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He started walking away from him, exiting the house and continuing to look elsewhere.

Later that evening, after they had eaten dinner, Five reached into the wheelbarrow that they had traded in their wagon for. He sat down next to Theo, returning with something behind his back. Theo raised an eyebrow at him, questioning what he was hiding. Five had simply smiled at him and pulled a new notebook from behind his back.

"I noticed that you were running out of pages, and I've been searching for the past two months and all day for something to give you," Five explained. "I know I keep giving you notebooks, but I found this one, and I thought it was perfect."

Theo laughed as he looked down at it. "You thought a notebook that has a kitten in a teacup was perfect for me?"

Five laughed with him. "Definitely. It just screamed Theo, and it looks like a single page hasn't been used."

"It's great. I love it," Theo smiled at him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, my love," Five responded, pulling another item from behind his back. "I also found this."

This time, it was a bottle. He held it out in front of Theo.

"What's this?" Theo asked.

"Bordeaux," Five answered. "It's a kind of wine."

"Where'd you find it?" Theo questioned.

"Earlier today from the house from earlier. You know, the one where we found the rifle?" Five replied.

Theo nodded. "Yeah."

"I found it after you left," Five told him. "Looks like this bottle managed to survive the apocalypse. The same cannot be said for the others."

"And how did this one bottle manage to survive?" Theo asked.

"No idea." Five shrugged. "But I figured since it is your twenty-first birthday that this would be the perfect way to celebrate."

"But you're not twenty-one," Theo pointed out.

"So? We're the only ones here, Theo," Five replied. "It's not like I'm going to get in trouble for underage drinking. Besides, I'll be twenty-one in approximately six months. Give or take."

Theo sighed. "Fine. Just one drink."

"Just one?" Five asked, sticking out his bottom lip to pout. "You're no fun."

Theo blinked at him. "Don't tell me you want to drink the entire bottle."

"And what else are we supposed to do with it?" Five asked.

Theo couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You know, for someone who claims to be a genius, you're pretty darn stupid."

"How about this—we start with one drink and we see where the night takes us?" Five suggested.

Theo crossed his arms. "That sounds like a terrible plan."

"When did you become so uptight?" Five questioned, only half-teasing.

Theo scoffed. "I am not uptight. I'm just trying to be logical here since clearly you have decided to throw all of your logic out the window."

Five sighed, rolling his eyes. "Theo, are we going to drink this or not?"

"I want to," Theo replied. "I just want to make sure that first you're aware that you are in fact not as smart as you claim to be."

"That doesn't make sense," Five replied.

"It makes perfect sense," Theo argued.

"I truly do not understand you sometimes," Five said with a sigh.

"And I do not understand you," Theo told him.

Five just shook his head at him as he pulled the cork from the bottle. He held the bottle out in front of Theo, waving it in front of his face.

"Do you want the first sip?" Five asked. "After all, it's your birthday."

Theo sighed and grabbed the bottle from his hands. He brought it up to his lips and tilted the bottle upwards to drink the red liquid. As he brought the bottle down, he made a face as he swallowed.

"Is it bad?" Five questioned.

Theo shook his head. "Not bad. Just weird."

Theo pushed the bottle in front of Five. He watched him closely as he brought it to his mouth and took a drink. As he pulled the bottle away, he stared down at it, his eyebrows furrowed as though he couldn't pinpoint what he thought of it.

"Honestly, it's not as bad as I thought," Five spoke as he handed the bottle back to Theo. "So, what do you say? Still only want one drink?"

Theo grabbed the bottle and took another drink. He swallowed before speaking. "Can you get drunk from one bottle of wine?"

Five shrugged. "I would assume so. Then again, I'm not entirely sure."

"I'm pretty sure that you can," Theo said.

Five reached for the bottle and took it from him. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

They passed the bottle back and forth, each taking a drink each time until it was empty. They both lay on their backs, staring up at the sky that was partially covered with a cloud of dust.

"How do you know if you're drunk?" Theo asked.

"Dunno," Five responded.

"I don't think I am drunk," Theo replied.

Five shook his head. "Me either."

"Slightly tipsy, maybe," Theo added. "But not drunk."

"Yeah." Five nodded. "Me too."

The two of them turned to look at each other at the same time, bursting into a fit of laughter. They could not stop themselves, laughing back and forth. When they would stop, one of them would start again, causing the other to laugh with him. It got to the point where their stomachs started to hurt from laughing so much.

"Okay, okay, I don't think I can laugh anymore," Theo said in between laughs.

Their laughter died down after a few more back and forth laughs. Theo turned his head, staring up at the sky once again. Five continued to look at him, shifting his position so that he was lying on his side.

"Theo?" Five said softly.

Theo titled his head. "Hmm?"

Five inhaled a sharp breath. "I'm really glad you're here with me. I mean, I'm sorry that I dragged you into this situation, but I'm glad you're here. I think I would be lost without you."

Theo changed positions, lying on his side as he rested his head on his hand. "I think I would be lost without you too."

"Without you, I don't know what I would be doing," Five told him.

"You'd be crazy without me," Theo replied.

Five nodded his head. "I think so too."

"You'd be spending all your time talking to that mannequin from the department store," Theo joked. "Maybe you'd even give her a name."

Five laughed. "Yeah? And what would I name her?"

Theo thought for a moment, thinking of a name. "Maybe Delores."

"Delores?" Five couldn't help but chuckle. "Of all names you picked Delores?"

"Hey, don't judge me," Theo replied. "It was the first name that came to mind. Plus, she kind of looks like my biology teacher, who was named Delores."

Five smiled at him, shaking his head. "I think that you're far better company than Delores."

"Aww, you think I'm better company than a mannequin?" Theo joked with him. "Gee, thank you, Five-A-Roni!"

Five smiled. "You are very welcome, Theodorito."

Theo cringed at the nickname. Although he had to admit that it was growing on him. Theo smiled, locking eyes with Five. He reached forward, grabbing the other man's hand, lacing their fingers together. Theo scooted closer, pressing a small kiss to Five's forehead before kissing him on the lips. Five kissed back as their hearts beat rapidly in their chests.

...

OCTOBER 22, 2026.

"You know what I would absolutely kill for right now?" Theo asked out of nowhere as he walked beside Five.

Five turned his head to look at him. "What?"

"A glazed doughnut with chocolate sprinkles," Theo answered. "And not just from anywhere. You know that one doughnut shop across town? Griddy's?"

Five's eyes widened. "You've been to Griddy's?"

Theo nodded his head. "Yeah. I used to go with Mama Laura and Malina all the time."

"I used to sneak out with my siblings and go there," Five told him.

"No way," Theo replied. "Do you think we were ever there at the same time?"

Five shrugged. "We could have been. My siblings and I used to sit in the very back. We even got kicked out once because Klaus and Ben kept shooting spitballs at this one lady and her two kids."

Theo's mouth went agape. "You're never going to believe this..."

"Are you kidding?" Five questioned. "You're pulling my leg right now, aren't you?"

Theo shook his head. "No. I'm not. Mama Laura used to complain about you and your siblings all the time. She'd always say that she couldn't believe someone could let their children go to a diner by themselves and act like they owned the place."

"How come we never noticed each other before?" Five asked.

Theo shrugged. "I don't know. I never really saw your face, and I forgot about it until now."

"And what about Malina? Wasn't she a fan of the Umbrella Academy?" Five questioned. "Surely she would have recognized us."

"She didn't become a fan until after we stopped going to Griddy's," Theo told him. "It wasn't until she saw your faces on a magazine cover that Mama Laura had that she became obsessed with all things Umbrella Academy, and I don't think she ever put two and two together."

"Huh," Five responded. "You know, this sounds like a classic case of the invisible string theory."

"What's that?" Theo asked.

"It comes from an East Asian folklore about a red string of fate in which there is an invisible string connecting two people who are destined to meet and be together," Five explained. "Take us, for example; we were in Griddy's at the same time—possibly on multiple occasions—yet our paths never crossed until a few years later, and even the action figure Malina gave you could tie into it. According to the invisible string theory, even though we never met, there was always this string that connected us together until we met."

"So, it's basically fate?" Theo asked.

Five nodded. "Yeah. It's fate. People say that experiencing the invisible string theory means that you've found your soulmate."

A smile spread across Theo's face. "Are you saying that we're soulmates?"

"Maybe we are," Five said with a shrug. "I mean, I could have bumped into anyone walking on that sidewalk, yet I bumped into you—the boy who I never realized I had encountered before and who's sister had given him an action figure of me just a few hours prior."

Theo nodded. "Maybe we really are fated to be together after all."

"Maybe."

— EMILIA'S NOTES

they're soulmates, your honor. (and they were roommates...)

i'm having so much fun writing this and analyzing every single tiny detail in the apocalypse scenes (and the whole show tbh). i have a literal list of things. also i had to throw some more little things about delores in here!

the idea of our boys being fated to meet makes me happy. they were always present in each other's lives, even when they weren't aware of it.

anyway, thank y'all for reading & thank you so much for all of your support!