Word count: 3074

𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐖 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 later, Valerie returned to the living room in search of Five.

It was easy to spot him—well, easy to spot the neon-green drink in his margarita glass. He was sipping out of a matching green swirly straw, and he gazed out distantly in front of him. 

Jazz music played softly from the radio, accompanying the streaming sunlight in creating a pleasant atmosphere. The gentle piano notes stood out to Valerie against sharp drums and smooth trumpet, though she kept that at the back of her mind as she focused on the boy. 

"Seriously, Five?" she questioned with a half-exasperated, half-amused tone as she sat down on the stool next to him.

"Where've you been?" he questioned as he turned to her, letting go of his glass with one hand as he used it to trail down her thigh. A small smirk played upon his lips. "I've been missing you."

"Playing piano," she answered with a laugh as she swatted his hand away. "I haven't really gotten to play ever since this apocalypse thing started." She crinkled her nose at the seemingly radioactive drink. "What . . . what is that?"

"Margarita," he answered before gesturing towards the blender, which held more of the lime-green concoction. "Want one?" 

"No thanks, it's only, like, four in the afternoon," Valerie pointed out as she watched him take a sip out of his swirly straw. "Are you really that upset about the end of the world not happening?"

"It's not that I'm upset about it not happening, but . . ." Five sighed, giving a sloppy shrug. "I don't know, I feel . . . empty. Without purpose."

"Well, you know you have other things that can fill that void, right?" She raised her eyebrows as she watched him take another sip. "You could find a new mission! Helping Klaus get sober, maybe help Diego with anger management, help Luther somehow become less bulky and scary . . . Lots of things!"

"Those don't sound very appealing," he remarked as he crinkled his nose at the suggestions.

"Yeah, I guess those don't really compare to saving the world," she agreed with a small chuckle. "But still, we can go and meet Claire, go see how the world has changed in the years that we were gone . . ."

"Yeah." He stared straight ahead of him, his voice monotone as he muttered, "I guess."

"C'mon, Five, there are other things to live for without the apocalypse," she said gently as she placed a hand on his arm. "Like, there's—"

There was a sudden knock at the door, interrupting Valerie.

"I'll get it," Five sighed as he got up, taking his margarita with him as he headed toward the entrance of the house.

While waiting for Five to open the door, Valerie dashed down to the fridge and grabbed a jar of peanut butter, along with a spoon. Not the best snack, but it was definitely calorie-filled and would help her gain more energy.

Five returned with the mystery visitor as Valerie sat down and unscrewed the lid of the peanut butter jar. She looked up, her eyes widening once she saw who it was.

Hazel stood in front of them as Five sat back down in his seat, his margarita still in hand. Hazel's hand, however, was clutching a gun, whose end was pointed directly toward Five.

Valerie froze. "Five, why is—"

"It's all good," Five reassured her as he took another sip through his straw. He looked back towards Hazel, nodding towards the gun as he asked, "You're here to kill me?"

"Oh. Shit. Sorry. Old habits," Hazel apologized as he shoved his gun into the back of the waistline of his pants. "Well, I can understand why you might feel that way, you know . . ."

Five took another sip before casually pointing out, "Well, you attacked our house, tried to kill my family, and kidnapped my brother."

"Well, there's not much I can do about the past. I'm not the only killer in this room," Hazel pointed out with a chuckle as he nodded toward Five. "You got your own bloody history, pal. Speaking of which, that job you did in Calhoun, that shit's legendary."

Valerie turned towards Five, using her spoon to scoop some peanut butter out of the jar as she narrowed her eyes. "What did you do in Calhoun?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it." He gave her one of his sweet smiles that told her that the truth was to be worried about, though she didn't persist. 

Hazel had a small grin on his face as he mumbled, "Can't believe I'm actually sittin' here talkin' to you, after all . . ."

"Hazel," Five interrupted, his eyebrows raised as he leaned back against the countertop, "why are you here?" 

A small smile came onto Hazel's face as he gave a modest shrug and started, "Well, I'm, you know—"

Hazel was cut off when Diego kicked him from the back, forcing him to fall over to the ground with a small grunt.

"Diego, stop!" Valerie shouted, about to get up from her seat before Five put a hand on her knee and shook his head.

Diego did a flip over Hazel's body before he roared, "Get up!"

Hazel got onto all fours, about to get up when Diego kicked his face upwards, then to the right.

"You know, before you kill him, you might wanna hear what he has to say," Five said blandly as the two watched Diego repeatedly punch Hazel.

Just before Diego could hit him again, Hazel headbutted him in the stomach and got up. Diego jumped up from the ground and drew his favourite knife from his pocket.

"I'm gonna kill you for what you did to Patch," he growled, his grip only tightening on the handle of his knife.

"Or don't," Five sighed in defeat as he sipped his drink. He sat back in his seat, his eyes following every punch and kick as he continued, "See how that goes."

Valerie groaned as they continued to fight, putting her snack onto the counter as she shook her head. "Five, I think that—fuck!"

Her eyes widened as she watched Diego grip Hazel's left arm, lifting it high and exposing the whole side of his body as Diego prepared his knife to swing.

Before he could bring the knife anywhere near Hazel's body, Valerie sped in between them and grabbed the knife. Rolling her eyes at his idiotic behaviour, Valerie punched Diego square in the face, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.

She resumed at normal speed as she tucked his knife into the pocket of her blazer and let out a long exhale.

"How I deal with you dumb boys, I have no idea," she mumbled as she walked back to her seat. She looked back towards Hazel as she sat down, him staring down at Diego, and advised, "Hazel, whatever you came here to say, you should probably say it quick."

Hazel nodded and readjusted himself before stating, "I left my partner, quit the Commission, came to volunteer."

Five's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he shook his head and asked, "For what?"

"To help stop the apocalypse," Hazel answered as he straightened up and rolled his shoulders back.

"Hm," Five chuckled as he took another sip of his neon margarita.

Hazel was immediately taken aback by his reaction as he let out a small scoff. "What on earth could be so funny to you right now?"

"Before he answers, why do you wanna help us?" Valerie questioned, slightly suspicious as she leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at him.

Hazel shifted his weight from one side to the other as he gave a small shrug. "Let's just say I have a vested interest in a doughnut shop."

Five looked up from his glass to give Hazel an amused smile. "Well, I hate to break it to you, pal, but you're a day late and a dollar short. The fact that you're here right now means, without a shadow of a doubt, that the apocalypse is over."

"Really?" Hazel raised his eyebrows in surprise before he asked, "How do you know?"

"The mark is dead. Found him this morning," Five explained briefly before shrugging. "You were the last known unknown left in the equation."

"Shit," Hazel chuckled, a grin growing onto his face as he raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Mhm." Five nodded as he put his drink onto the counter, turning his chair. "And if you're out, then Hellrider ain't riding."

"Oh! All right!" Hazel gave an enthusiastic clap as he sat down in the chair next to Five's. He took the jar of the blender that had the remaining margarita mixture and took a sip of it, letting out a small hum of satisfaction as he swallowed it. 

Valerie glanced back worriedly at the still-unconscious Diego as the other two drank the alcohol. A frown formed on her lips as she saw his reddening cheek and limp body. Had her punch really been that hard?

She put the almost empty jar of peanut butter onto the counter, making sure that the spoon wasn't going to fall out before slipping off her chair and walking over to the unconscious man. 

Sitting next to Diego, she turned him onto his back, inspecting him to make sure he hadn't hit his head too hard or that his cheek wasn't too red.

It was silent for a few more moments before Hazel broke it and asked, "So now what?" 

"You know, to be honest, I don't know. I've been chasing this thing for so long, I . . ." Five paused as he gave a small sigh. It seemed as though the two were trying to keep their voices hushed, but Valerie could hear them perfectly, thanks to her accelerated hearing. "I never really thought about the day after. I don't know. What about you?"

"I'm done with all this madness. Time to start over." Hazel nodded before advising, "You should do the same."

"That's easier said than done," Five pointed out with an entertained smile. 

"It doesn't have to be hard," Hazel chuckled. "I mean, think about it like this: If you never time-travelled, you never got caught up with the Handler, what would have happened?"

Five turned around to look at Diego, whose short hair was being tidied by a concentrated Valerie. "I guess I would have grown up to be an emotionally stunted man-child like everybody else around here."

"Well, there you go. Now you can grow up and start over," Hazel told him as he got up from his spot. He glanced back towards Valerie before leaning forward and telling Five, "Besides, I think you have someone to start over with."

Five looked over to Valerie, who was now carefully tucking Diego's knife back into his pocket while muttering a string of curse words at him for trying to stab Hazel with it.

A small smile crept onto his face as he turned back to Hazel and gave a curt nod. "I think I do."

"Good luck," Hazel murmured as he turned to leave.

"Hazel," Valerie interjected, suddenly looking up and getting to her feet as Hazel paused. "One more thing before you go."

He nodded. "Shoot."

"Which one of you was the trigger man for Detective Patch?" she questioned.

"Trigger woman," Hazel stated.

"Huh," she sighed as she looked back down. "That's too bad. That gun could have cleared that idiot's name." She nudged Diego's leg with her foot, shaking her head.

"Well, today's your lucky day, amiga. Take 'em both." Hazel drew a black gun, and another silver one from the waistline of his pants and placed them down on the counter as he firmly stated, "I'm done with this life."

Hazel gave a smile of goodbye to both of them before leaving.

Valerie walked back over to her seat, resuming eating her peanut butter.

"You must be thirsty after all that," Five commented as he nodded towards her jar in her hands. He placed his margarita glass on the table, a small grin on his face as he slowly slid the glass towards her. "Maybe . . . you could have a drink with it?"

"You know, this is called peer pressuring," Valerie replied as she spooned the last bit of peanut butter in her mouth. Although he was right; her mouth was rather dry.

Before Five could respond, she dashed down to the kitchen and grabbed a ready-to-drink protein shake (that probably belonged to Luther) from the fridge. She arrived back at her spot a few seconds later, when Five raised his eyebrows. 

"Yeah, except you're twenty-nine," he scoffed, "so you drinking alcohol isn't illegal."

"You don't have to be underage to be peer pressured," Valerie pointed out as she took a sip of the chocolate shake. "You're my peer, and you're pressuring me."

"Well, I'd like to think that I'm more than just a peer." He raised his eyebrows as he slid the glass even further towards her. "C'mon, Val, just one sip. You'll survive."

"No way, it looks like it's poisonous," she refused once more as she crinkled her nose and pushed his drink back towards him. "There's no way that a drink as neon as that doesn't have some kind of radioactive chemical or something."

"It's just food colouring." Five pointed over to the small bottle of green colouring that sat next to the blender as proof.

"Poisonous food colouring."

He rolled his eyes in amusement before straightening up, a look of realization dawning on his face. His eyes widened as he looked at her and questioned, "Hold on, have you—have you ever had alcohol before? You haven't had any since we came here."

"You're just like Diego," Valerie sighed, a small groan escaping her lips. "Do I need to read you the definition of a void?"

He scoffed, "I know what—"

Valerie sped over and grabbed a dictionary from the bookcase that was near them before coming back and flipping to the proper page. She read out, "Void. Noun. Meaning: An empty space; emptiness." She looked up at him, snapping the book shut before placing it on the counter and shaking her head. "So, in conclusion, there was no alcohol there."

He stared at her for a moment with squinted eyes before sarcastically saying, "Thanks."

She gave him a sweet smile as she took another sip from the shake. "No problem."

"Shit," a voice suddenly groaned from behind them.

Five turned around towards him, his eyebrows lifting as he remarked, "Good, you're up. Ready for a drink now?"

Diego rubbed the back of his head, clearly disoriented as he blinked a few times and shook his head. 

A couple of moments later, his memories seemed to have flooded back, and he jumped to his feet, wildly looking around for a man who wasn't there. "Where is he?"

"We let him go," Five responded simply.

Diego's eyes widened, his tone incredulous as he took a step towards them and questioned, "You what?"

"Now that the apocalypse is over, it's time for the fighting to stop," Five said. Diego drew his knife, a malicious expression coming upon his face, causing Five to quickly add, "Hey, he didn't kill Patch. His partner Cha-Cha did."

"So what?" Diego scoffed, his fingers grasped tightly around the handle of his knife. "They were both there that night."

"This half of the partnership gave us both of their guns," Valerie pointed out as she gestured towards the two guns that were laid on the table. "Which will clear you, because the ballistics will match Patch's crime scene."

"Hazel came here looking for a way out. He wanted a fresh start," Five continued with a small nod. "And he happened to have in his possession the one thing that could do our family a little good. So it's time to move on."

Diego was silent for a moment, his lips pursing as he considered. Then, bursting the little bubble of hope Valerie had, he shook his head. "Not a chance."

"Suit yourself." Five shrugged, putting his glass onto the counter before grabbing Valerie's hand and leading her towards the exit.

Valerie stopped only a few steps away, her forehead creased as a thought crossed her mind. 

She let go of Five's hand and turned to Diego, whose gaze flickered to her. She examined his face for a moment before asking, "Your girlfriend, Patch. What did you like about her?"

"A lot of things," Diego stated with a shrug. "Cute butt. Nice legs."

Valerie wrinkled her nose. Men. "Anything a little more . . . profound than that?"

Diego thought for a moment, his eyes moistening slightly before he quietly spoke, "She believed in people. No matter how much shit and filth she saw on the streets. She always saw the good inside."

"Well, I'm sure she'll be proud to know that you're killing Hazel and Cha-Cha as a way to honour her memory." Valerie gave him a tight smile before taking Five's hand once more and leaving the room with him.

She was about to head towards the stairs when Five stopped her. Valerie raised her eyebrows in confusion as she turned to look at him. "What?"

"Just thinking about something Hazel told me." He gave her a small smile and continued, "Why don't we go on a—a date?"

"A date?" she repeated. "Now?"

"Yeah," Five answered with a small shrug. "There's nothing else to do anyway."

A grin spread onto Valerie's face. "Okay. Where?"

"We could go get coffee?" he suggested, nodding towards the door. "I know a good place."

"Sounds good to me." She smiled before he led her out the door, the two of them then beginning to walk down the sidewalk. "You don't want me to run us there?" Valerie questioned, unused to such a slow route.

"Nah, it's only a couple of minutes away." Five shook his head. He tightened his grip on Valerie's hand as he smiled. "Besides, we have all the time in the world now."