ONE | THE UNBEARABLE TRAGEDY
OF GETTING WHAT YOU WANT

"Where is Five?"  Tate asked her assistant who was going through some files. "I'll ask Derek," Julia stated as Tate got up from her seat. "How much time do we have?" Tate asked, walking to the door. "Ninety minutes," Julia answered, looking at her watch.

"Good time," Tate muttered. "Hey, does this look weird?" Tate asked the young woman as her eyes landed on the dress. "Fine, I would tell you if it didn't," Julia responded.

"We have this birthday party, a kid's might I add and I wonder if is this too..." Tate looked down at the form-fitting black dress, her hands uncomfortably sliding down her hips.

"Kids won't remember what their aunt and uncles wore at their birthday party," Julia reassured the girl.

"If you say so," Tate said before picking up her bag and walking out of her office.

"Drop this Keeper nonsense. Move on," The man pleaded with Five as Tate knocked on the door to the office beside her.

"Come in," The man urged before Julia turned the door knob.

"Hey... hoping I'm not interrupting anything," Tate said, pushing through the door.

"I think it's time you got back to your other cases," The man said, his hand lying on the desk.

"Ladybug, Panma, Chicken Wing," Tate listed out before Five turned to face her.

"Hi," Five greeted his wife, smiling softly at her.

"Hi," Tate responded before Five turned back to the man.

"Sir, I am making progress with this," FIve promised his boss.

"Now, you listen to me, you have the makings of a fantastic spook. A suspicious mind," The man reminded Five as he got up from his seat.

"A love of complexity and detail, a certain maturity that most of my agents lack," The man continued. "Play your cards right, you and Tate will be running this place someday," He said before nodding to Tate who grinned proudly at the acknowledgment.

"Thank you for saying that, Sir," Five smiled at the compliment.

"How much time do we have?" Tate asked Julia again.

"Seventy-five minutes and twenty-one seconds," Five and Julia informed Tate in unison, causing Tate to smile at Five.

"Come on," Tate lent out her hand.

"We'll be there in no time," Five promised, grabbing Tate's hand as Tate pulled him onto his feet.

The moment Tate and Five reached their car in the parking lot, away from the CIA building, Five dropped Tate's hand, letting it slide down past her waist.

"You or me?" Five asked, waiting for Tate's decision.

"You," Tate said, pulling the keys out of her bag before tossing them to Five.

"Passenger Princess Day?" Five asked as he stuck his head inside their jeep.

"More like..." Tate turned to the backseat, seeing a pantsuit hung up with a pair of sneakers next to it. "I wanted to change into slightly more comfortable," Tate sighed before Five pulled the car out of the parking lot.

"What you're wearing is fine," Five said.

"I am not walking in four-inch heels for a kid's birthday party," Tate stated as she climbed into the backseat.

"Will you redo your makeup?" Five asked, his hand gripping the steering wheel.

"Nah," Tate said as she slipped off the dress and tossed on the seat.

"That's not something you see every day," Five glanced at Tate changing through the mirror.

"Keep your eyes on the road, Hargreeves," Tate warned as she zipped up the pantsuit.

"Turning the heat up as we speak," Five's hand reached for the controls, adjusting the heat.

"Thank you," Tate said as she pulled herself to the front seat again.

"Fourteen minutes until we reach the kid's party," Five said before Tate kissed Five's cheek.

"Happy birthday, little girl,"  Tate greeted her niece, kneeling to the young girl's level. "Auntie Tate," The young girl hugged her as Five followed behind her with a gift in his hand. "I'm going to grab a beer," Five told his wife before Tate grabbed the gift from his hand.

"Wanna show me that big pile of gifts you're going to receive?" Tate smiled as the little girl pulled her hand along, showing her the way. "Here!" Grace pointed to a table with presents covering the table. "Oh, all this for you?" Tate asked, faking a smile as she pretended to be as excited.

"Yes!" The girl nodded as Tate threw the present along with the others before the young girl was pulled away by her friends. "Damn, I didn't think there would be that much party to have for a six-year-old," Tate muttered before walking to where Five was standing near the ball pit.

"Here," Five said as he handed the woman a cup of soda. "Thank you," Tate smiled before taking a sip. "What was it? A Ponzi scheme? White- Collar fraud?" Five asked a disheveled Ben, holding his beer. "Crypto exchange, web 3.0, baby," Ben answered proudly.

"Feds only went after me because I'm an outsider," Ben added. "A fucking maverick like Elon," Ben compared. "Well, that and you bankrupted 100,000 people," Five reminded. "The whole thing was a witch hunt," Ben defended. "Yeah, well, say what you will. It's still good to have you back, cheers," Tate said, raising the red plastic cup as the trio cheered.

"Ha-ha!" Luther suddenly jumped out of the ball pit. "Gotcha!" Luther grinned happily, pointing his fingers towards the three. "This is why no kids were near the ball pit, the start of every murder spree," Tate mocked as Five and Ben's reaction remained indifferent.

"Come on, it's been years since we've been together like this," Luther reminded. "Ever think maybe there's a good reason for that?" Ben questioned before Tate shrugged. "Where's Viktor?" Five asked, staring at his brother. "Oh, uh, he said he was coming," Luther responded.

"What about Allison?" Tate asked, holding the cup in hand, eager to meet her sister. "Oh, well, she's usually a no-show, right?" Luther reminded. "Maybe it's better that way," Luther blinked slowly, causing Tate to frown.

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I didn't love this season compared to the other seasons so some parts were weird and uncomfy for me BUT angst fixes everything, right?

EDITED: 19/8/24