Word count: 6305

𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐙𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 stood outside of the Plano Street Rooming House for Solitary Men, which they had found out was where Luther had been staying for the past year or so.

It was a tall building made of brick, although the top half of the building's bricks were far lighter than the bottom half. A couple of tall windows were planted on the walls, each of them a few metres apart from each other, and the drawn blinds prevented them from seeing what was within. A faded, blue sign stuck out of the side that had the name written in yellow and pink, slightly blowing in the wind.

It was already a little past two in the afternoon. The sun stood high in the nearly cloudless sky, and the cool breeze that accompanied the approaching winter weather swept over them.

Vanya had gone in to check on Luther. Although Five had protested this, Elizabeth insisted that it would be all right, seeing that Luther had already gone the extra mile to find the other girl in the first place.

So for now, Elizabeth and Five leaned against Vanya's car, (nervously) waiting.

"I don't know, Elle." Five shook his head as he folded his arms across his chest. "It's been too long. Something's happened. Luther's killed her. Or the other way around."

"Five, it's been three minutes." Elizabeth rolled her eyes as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "She's fine. And he's fine. Everyone's fine."

His eyes flickered from the building to her, uncertain. "But both of them—"

"I know. They are the worst possible pairing to leave alone in a room," Elizabeth sighed, shuddering slightly as a wind came over them. "But Vanya doesn't even remember what he—or she—did anyway. And Luther . . . Well, he's still a little bitch."

"I guess." A small frown became apparent on his face as he looked back towards the building. "Well, I'm sure we'd know if something happened."

"Know?" she echoed with a laugh. "If Vanya did something, we'd probably be dead."

Five let out a small chuckle. "Yeah."

Yet another cold breeze washed over them, causing more goosebumps to reveal themselves on Elizabeth's body. She shivered, wrapping her arms around her waist as she tried to warm herself up. 

Then deeming this as not good enough, she took a step towards Five and quickly embraced him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the warmth that radiated off of him.

Five planted a kiss on the side of her head as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. "Little cold?"

"That's an understatement," she mumbled into the collar of his shirt, gripping the back of his blazer more tightly.

"I think I know something that could keep you warm," he whispered, the hint of a smirk now playing on his lips.

"What?"

He removed one hand from her back and used it to lift her chin up. Barely a second later was his lips placed upon hers, indeed warming her just as he had promised. She moved her hands from his back to his neck, and his hands settled on her waist to pull her closer as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss carefully.

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile into the kiss as his tongue traced along her bottom lip, and she instantly complied, opening her mouth to grant him access as her fingers toyed with the hairs on the nape of his neck, and hummed in satisfaction.

She inhaled sharply when Five moved his hands to push her up against the car and deepened the kiss even further, his hand reaching down to slowly trail his fingers down her thigh while he pressed his body tight up against hers.

Suddenly, a loud boom filled their ears, and both of them pulled away from the kiss to turn their heads towards where the noise had sourced from.

In the middle of the brick wall was now a hole, with rubble and dust still floating away from it. Luther's head peered down at them, his face furious and still littered in bruises and cuts from the fight.

"God," Five scoffed, shaking his head as Luther disappeared from their view.

"Well, at least they're both alive," Elizabeth let out a small chuckle, her cheeks still somewhat red from what had just happened. "Probably."

"Mm, that doesn't really matter to me anymore," he murmured as he turned back to her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It should," she replied, giggling slightly as Five began to plant kisses along her jawline. She pushed him away lightly. "C'mon, Vanya's probably gonna come out in a minute."

"Don't think that this is over just yet," he whispered to her with a smirk before turning and walking towards the entrance of the building, where Vanya had just appeared.

Blushing more furiously than ever, Elizabeth followed him as he shoved his hands in his pockets and amusedly proclaimed, "Well, that clearly went well. You ready to go?"

Vanya brushed past him, not bothering to look at either of them as she headed back towards her car. "I'm going back to the farm."

"Hey." Five's eyebrows furrowed as he rushed over towards her side and told her, "Unacceptable, Vanya."

"Remember, we need to stick together," Elizabeth said earnestly.

"Oh, why" —Vanya turned to face them as they reached the car— "so I don't end the world again?"

"Stupid . . ." Five scoffed, throwing a dirty look at the gaping hole in the building behind them.

Vanya opened the driver's door and was about to sit when she looked back towards them and angrily questioned, "Were you even gonna tell me?"

"You know what? In my defence, no. All right?" Five narrowed his eyes as he put his hands back into his pockets. "And can you blame me? When you—you get angry, shit blows up."

"Great. Are there any other family secrets you failed to mention?" she jeered as she sat down inside, closing the door with a slam.

"A boatload, Vanya" —Five's voice rose as he attempted to speak to her through the window— "which I don't have the luxury of sharing them with the . . ." He then grew exasperated and settled for three restrained knocks on the window. Once she had rolled it down, he continued, "The clock is ticking on doomsday. Just tell me that" —his voice quietened— "when I need you, you'll be ready."

Vanya stared at him. "I can't help you, Five. I don't even know who I am."

"You're my sister." Five insisted, his right hand clutching onto the roof of the car. "And a member of the Umbrella Academy. Like it or not, that's who you are."

"Look, that's who I was, okay?" Vanya started the engine, the rumble of the car now filling the air. "New timeline, new me."

She then pressed on the gas pedal and left them by themselves.

"No, that's not how it works—" Five called after her, although it was useless.

"Dammit," Elizabeth groaned, rubbing the side of her head as she turned back to the building, only to see that Luther was back, watching through the hole.

Staring at them with a vehement expression on his face, he slowly lifted his left hand and flipped them off.

Five shook his head as he turned around and began to walk in the opposite direction that Vanya had gone in. "Wonder if it's too late to be un-adopted."

"Should've just had your parents move to a different country and not sign the adoption papers," Elizabeth deadpanned as she walked alongside him.

"Ha." He rolled his eyes as they passed by a stop sign. "Funny."

"I know." She nudged him lightly before suggesting, "Home?"

Five scoffed. "My only home is the Academy."

"Well, unluckily for you, that place isn't really the Academy yet," she pointed out. "So, home?"

Five was silent for a moment before he gave a sigh and reluctantly conceded, "Yeah."

He took her hand, swivelled his head around to make sure that no one was watching, and then teleported both of them into the kitchen, where Elliott was putting away some dishes.

Elliott jumped in his spot and let out a yelp, almost dropping the blue plate that was clutched in his right hand. "Christ!"

"Sorry," Elizabeth giggled, leaning over and patting him on the shoulder. "You're gonna have to get used to that."

"God . . ." Elliott put the plate on the counter as he doubled over, his hands on his knees while he closed his eyes and took deep breaths. "Wow . . ."

"I'm going to go find Diego," she whispered to Five before walking towards the guest room.

She twisted the door handle open and opened it to be met by a sight that made her squeal and cover her eyes with both of her hands.

Diego was still in bed, almost completely naked except for the underwear that he had kept on. He was sound asleep, his nose scrunching slightly as he rolled over in his bed.

"What? Never seen him naked before?" Lila spoke up, drawing the other girl's attention to her. She was sitting at the desk, disassembling a pen that had been sitting nearby.

"Uh, no." Elizabeth shook her head with a wrinkled nose before walking over to Diego. She grabbed onto his shoulder and shook him lightly, although the intensity of the shaking intensified as he didn't wake up. "Oh, c'mon," she muttered before sending a small blast his way.

"Jesus!" Diego jolted upright from the energy blast, his eyes wide. He looked over towards Elizabeth, his eyes widening further, and he pulled his blanket over his lap. "What the hell?!"

"It's three in the afternoon!" She slapped his shoulder before noticing that his jeans were on the ground. She picked them up and threw them at him, hitting him in the chest as she ordered, "Put your clothes on and meet Five and me in the living room. Dumbass."

She heard him scoff as she left the room, and she closed the door shut behind her.

"Where's Diego?" Five questioned as she entered the living room.

"Coming," she told him while rubbing her eyes as she tried to get the image of Diego practically naked out of her head. She couldn't. It was burned into her brain.

"Okay." He nodded, now beginning to pace behind the couch. "Do you have the invitation with you?"

"Uh . . ." Elizabeth patted her blazer pockets, then feeling a small lump in her right pocket. She pulled out the folded invitation and handed it to him.

He chewed on his lower lip as his eyes inspected the words on the invitation, and his pacing only increased in speed. He looked up at her after reading it about three times and raised his eyebrows. "And you don't—"

"I don't," she exhaled as she sat down on the couch opposite the one he was pacing behind. "This is so weird. I've never been able to not recall something. I don't know, something's off." She pressed her hands against her temples, trying to coax the memory back into her brain.

"I'm sure it'll come back to you in time," Five reassured her, his eyes once again fixated on the letter.

Diego and Lila then walked into the room, and Diego, thankfully, was now wearing pants that were secured by his belt.

"Hey, Di—" Elizabeth then let out a sigh as she noticed the blood-soaked gauze that was patched on over his stab wound. "Sit down on the couch, I'll fix your shit."

Heeding, he sat on the couch as Lila sat down on his right.

After grabbing a new square of gauze and some medical tape from the first aid kit in the bathroom, Elizabeth sat down on Diego's left. She began to work on cleaning the wound and replacing his gauze as Five recounted what had happened with Vanya.

"So, what, you just let her go?" Diego asked incredulously after Five finished telling the story.

"Well, Vanya had a lot to process." Five continued to pace around the back of the couch, his eyes still glued on the contents of the invitation.

"She'll come around," Elizabeth reassured them as she finished taping the gauze onto Diego's stomach. "I know she will."

"What about the guys that went after her?" Diego asked, giving Elizabeth a small nod of thanks as she went over to the other couch.

"The Swedes?" Five asked with raised eyebrows as he slowed his pace.

"Yeah, I mean, how do you know they won't go after her again?" Diego pointed out.

Elliott came out of the kitchen and handed a yellow mug of his homemade coffee to Lila and placed another on the table. He then headed back to the kitchen to grab the rest of the mugs.

"We don't," Elizabeth exhaled.

"Mm" —Lila sipped her coffee— "any idea who sent them?"

"Oh, I have my suspicions." Five gave her an untrusting smile as he grabbed the cup from the table. He sat down next to Elizabeth, who then leaned into his side, and wrapped his free arm around her shoulders. "But right now, our priority is finding Dad and getting answers, 'cause everything else depends on it."

"Which, for the record, I found him already," Diego said exasperatedly, waving his hands around.

"And then let him go before we could have a meaningful conversation," Five replied with an irritated smile.

"He stabbed me."

"I'm surprised he waited this long, Diego." Five raised his eyebrows as Elliott returned and handed Elizabeth her own cup before placing Diego's on the table. "We've all had the urge."

"Five," Elizabeth mumbled, shaking her head as she elbowed him lightly.

Lila, however, giggled in amusement. She put her hand up, expecting a high-five from the boy. "Good one."

Five stared at the hand for a moment as he put his cup back onto the table. He ignored it as he continued, "Good thing we know where Dad's gonna be tonight."

Diego reached over and grabbed the invitation that Five was offering to him while grabbing his coffee mug with the other hand. He leaned back in his spot, Lila peering over his shoulder as he read the paper. "Where'd you get this?"

"Found it at his office while he was busy stabbing you," Five answered.

Diego gave a sarcastic chuckle as his eyes showed that he was more than unamused by the comment. He sent one last dirty glare to the boy before turning his gaze to the invitation and reading out, "'Hoyt Hillenkoetter and the Consulate General of Mexico in Dallas cordially invite you to a gala.'"

Elliott, who had visibly become excited as soon as the name was uttered, pointed towards the paper. "Whoa, wait. Hoyt Hillenkoetter? Are you serious?"

Everyone turned to face him, their eyebrows furrowed.

"You know him?" Five questioned, his grip on Elizabeth's shoulder then tightening.

Lila, who wasn't paying any attention to Elliott, gave a small gasp, pulling Diego's attention to her. "We should go. Says there's gonna be a seafood tower."

"No, Hillenkoetter is" —Elliott shook his head quickly, his hands trembling with excitement— "is one of the Majestic Twelve."

"The hell is the Majestic Twelve?" Diego crinkled his nose, his head moving back slightly as he tried to process the name.

A look of realization dawned on Elizabeth's face as she finally remembered what she had been searching her brain for the past day. "Oh my God," she breathed out.

Five turned to her, his eyebrows raised. "What?"

"I . . . I just remembered—the Majestic Twelve—how did I not remember this before?" She pressed her hand against her forehead, shaking her head as she mentally scolded herself. "I read a book about this back at the Academy."

"Nerd," Diego commented.

"Shut up." Five scowled in the other man's direction before turning to Elizabeth and nodding. "Continue."

"It's a . . . a secret committee. Um . . ." She leaned back against the couch, shutting her eyes as the contents of the book came back to her. "Uh, scientists, military, uh, deep state. No one knows what they really do."

"Wait, so they're government?" Diego grunted as he straightened himself up, wincing slightly.

"Well, they're a shadow government," Elizabeth clarified, hearing objects clatter as Elliott hunted for something at the desk behind her. "Kennedy was the first president to try to push them into the light, but these guys are not to be played with."

"Oh, here we go. Ah, right here." Elliott walked over to them, a photo held tightly in hand. He placed it down on the table, and they all looked towards it, their eyebrows furrowing as they examined it. The black-and-white photo showed eleven men sitting around a table, all of them wearing serious expressions and sharp suits. "This, uh . . . Oh, right here." He pointed to the man nearest to the left, who was balding and slightly slouched over. "That's Hoyt right there."

Lila gave a soft gasp after a moment, and pointed out, "I only count eleven."

"Well, that's because they've only identified eleven so far." Elizabeth shrugged. "Even in 20—I mean, um . . . even from where we're from . . ." she spoke slowly as to avoid exposing anything to Lila, "they still don't know who the twelfth member wa—is."

"So, who's the twelfth?" Diego mused. Then, a look of realization dawned on him as Five and Elizabeth sent him a knowing look. "Dad."

"Is this guy not involved in anything bad?" Elizabeth sighed, shaking her head as she leaned back.

"Apparently not," Five retorted.

"All right, well, the gala is in two hours, and we definitely can't go looking like this." Elizabeth examined everyone as she stood up, shaking her head. She turned to Five, seeing that his uniform was close enough to a suit, and gave a satisfied nod. "Well, you can" —she turned to the other two— "but the rest of us—hard no."

"Okay, but where could we get clothes?" Lila questioned, looking down at her own clothes with a small frown.

A grin spread onto Elizabeth's face as she put her hands on her hips. "I know a girl."

Diego gave a small snort of disbelief. "You sayin' you have friends?"

She scoffed. "Of course I have friends."

"Oh, uh . . ." Elliott raised his hand, his eyes tentatively darting between all of them. "If it helps at all, I still have some jewellery that my ex-wife left here and never took back?"

"Perfect. Now, you two" —she pointed towards Diego and Lila— "go make your hair and face look nice. And you" —she pointed to Five— "come with me."

"And me?" Elliott asked eagerly as his nimble fingers carefully picked up the photo of the Majestic Twelve.

"Elliott, you . . . do anything except make tuna mold. Got it?" Elizabeth looked around at everyone, who all nodded. "Great. Go!"

Elizabeth headed into her room and grabbed some cash from her dresser before taking Five's hand and leading him out of the building.

"Where are we going?" Five asked as they walked down the alleyway and towards the street of shops.

"Well, during my eight months here, I found a nice clothing store," she started, looking around as they passed a multitude of stores. "I visit it—or used to visit it—a few times a week, I have a friend who works there."

"The girl," Five stated.

"Mhm." Elizabeth nodded in confirmation. "June."

His eyes wandered over the many shops, all of which were bursting with people, and inquired, "Where is it?"

"Just—right here." Elizabeth grinned as they entered the shop, the familiar chime of the bell ringing as they went through the door. "Hey, June!"

June's face lit up as soon as her eyes landed on the customers, realizing who it was. "Hey, Elizabeth!" She walked around the counter and towards them with a big smile, her hands rubbing together excitedly. "Haven't seen you around in a couple of days, been busy?"

Elizabeth nodded, heaving a sigh as she gave a small shrug. "You could say that."

"So, are you—" She paused, then taking notice of the unfamiliar boy standing next to Elizabeth and turned towards him, her eyebrows furrowing. "Who's this? You've never brought a visitor with you."

"Oh, this is, uh, Five—"

"I'm her boyfriend," Five interjected, giving June a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes as he slipped his hands into his pockets.

June turned to Elizabeth, raising her eyebrows. "You brought your boyfriend to loiter with you?

"Actually, I'm here to buy a dress," Elizabeth informed her with a grin, looking around at the shop that was packed with just what she needed. "Two dresses, in fact."

"Am I hearing this right?" A look of pleasant surprise came over June's face as her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "You're here to shop?"

Elizabeth gave a nod. "Indeed, I am."

"Well, let's get you started then." June rubbed her hands together, turning around so that she was facing all the dresses in the shop, her eyes roaming over the numerous options. "What's the occasion for?"

"A gala," Elizabeth said, clasping her hands behind her back.

"A gala?" June was visibly impressed by this as she turned to the two of them once more. She put her hands on her hips, her eyebrows raising. "Living fancy now?"

Elizabeth giggled, giving a small lift of her shoulders, "It's more of a one-time thing."

"Got it," June laughed as she turned back around and began to inspect the dresses. "Looking for anything specific?"

"Not really." Elizabeth shrugged once more. "Anything sounds good to me as long as it fits."

"Well, I'll choose a couple of options for you, my friend . . . Hm . . ." June began to mumble to herself as she sorted through all the racks, her eyes now squinted and looking back up at Elizabeth every now and then as if she were envisioning the dresses on her, "Pink would look nice on you . . . But maroon . . . Ooh, black? Maybe . . ."

A couple of minutes of searching later and June was finally finished, although her eyes excitedly glanced at another dress on the wall or on a rack every other second. Her arms carried a heap of dresses, all of the colours and fabrics blending in together so that Elizabeth couldn't tell one dress apart from the next, and she nearly dropped some of them as she walked back over to them.

"All right! I've got a few options—"

"There are literally twenty different dresses in your hands."

"Yeah. A few."

Elizabeth laughed, shaking her head at the girl. "I don't have that much time, June. Just choose one for me."

June's excited expression soon turned into a horrified one as she glanced down at the mound of dresses in her hands, and it was clear that she was not pleased with that instruction. "One?"

"Mhm." Elizabeth nodded, a smile growing on her face as she watched her friend pout. "Any one of them. I'm sure I'll love it."

"Oh, God," June gave a defeated sigh as she looked back down at the dresses, nodding slowly to herself. "Okay, give me a minute or two to decide."

She dropped the dresses onto the counter, catching one just on time before it slipped off. She began to rifle through them, picking each one up and holding it up to the light to get a better look. Every time she deemed one to be unworthy, she'd toss it in the 'no' pile. Nineteen dresses in and still, no 'yes' pile existed.

June picked up the final dress, her eyes lighting up in excitement as she examined it and its delicate features. It was obvious she had made her choice (not that she had any options left).

"This one! And I'm not just saying it because it's the last one," she giggled as she walked over to them, carefully pinching the sleeves of the dress and showing it off to the two. "It would look absolutely fantastic on you!"

Elizabeth took the dress from her and held it out in front of her, her eyes thoroughly investigating it.

It was a maroon-coloured dress, made of a fabric that was surprisingly soft. It had a sweetheart neckline that topped a darted bodice, and a faux tab as a centrepiece. It had a wide and pointed waistband that would accentuate her figure while the short sleeves were topped by an elastic band for an off-the-shoulder look.

She gave a soft gasp of delight as she finished inspecting it, and looked back towards June, who had the biggest grin on her face. "Oh, it's perfect! Thank you so much!"

"Of course!" June winked. "So, the second one—is it for him?" She nodded towards Five, who rolled his eyes in amusement and shook his head.

"No, for a friend," Elizabeth giggled, leaning into Five's side as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him roll his eyes as she mentioned the last word, and her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Suspicious. She'd have to ask him about that later.

"Do you know her size?" June inquired, already beginning to look around at the hundreds of options that surrounded them as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Uh . . ." Elizabeth squinted up at the ceiling as she tried to think, her head tilting to the side. "Her measurements are thirty-three, twenty-seven, thirty-eight."

"Specific. I like it." The other girl nodded before heading off towards the racks once more, her eyebrows knitted tightly together in set concentration as she hunted.

Keeping his eyes on June as she searched, Five murmured with furrowed eyebrows, "Did you ask her or something?"

"No, my brain just knew." Elizabeth shrugged. "Even dress measurements is math."

"Damn."

June poked her head up from the racks and lifted a teal dress that had a scoop neckline, sleeves that ended at the forearm, and a puffed skirt that would reach just below her knees, and she raised her eyebrows at the pair as they examined it.

"This good?"

Elizabeth smiled as she gave a curt nod and a thumbs-up. "Perfect."

After paying for the two dresses and exchanging a few giggles, the two of them bid goodbye to June, who cheerily reminded them to come back soon ('to shop or loiter!')

Elizabeth sighed happily as she and Five walked back towards the alleyway, holding the shopping bag tightly in one hand and grasping Five's hand in the other. "Isn't she great?"

Five gave a slow nod as he put his free hand into his pocket. "She's . . . interesting."

She elbowed him lightly, receiving a small chuckle in response. She suddenly stiffened when she remembered something, and then questioned, "By the way . . . what was that back there?"

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked towards her, his head tilting. "What do you mean?"

"Lila."

He shook his head. "I still don't know what you're talking about."

"Like . . ." Elizabeth frowned as they turned the corner and entered the alleyway, a small sigh escaping her lips before she continued, "when I said she was a friend, you made a face."

Five scoffed, "I have a face, what do you expect?"

"Oh, c'mon, Five," she sighed, "you know what I mean. "

"I just . . ." He gave a heavy sigh as they approached the back door of the building. He continued as she fished the keys out of her blazer pocket and unlocked the door, "There's something off about her. She knows more than she lets on. I don't trust her."

"But Diego trusts her," she pointed out as they headed up the staircase, keeping her voice quiet as their footsteps echoed.

"Diego was also just in a mental asylum," Five reminded her with raised eyebrows. "And for good reason too. He's batshit crazy."

"Well . . ."

"Believe me, Elle." Five stopped in front of the door to the home and turned towards her, his jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. His expression grew more serious as he put a hand on her shoulder and firmly told her, "She's not on our side."

Elizabeth sighed, examining Five's face for a couple of moments before she nodded in acceptance. "Okay."

"Good."

They entered the home, seeing that both the living room and kitchen were empty. Elizabeth's eyes then caught the sight of a blue sticky note that Elliott had left on the fridge door—something that they always did to let the other know of something when they were out.

She walked over to the fridge, Five only a step behind her, and squinted her eyes at what had been scribbled down. Eight months of living with the man, and it was still difficult for her to decipher his writing.

After a moment, she finally figured it out:

Elizabeth—I've gone to Gibson's. I need stuff for photos I took of some cool birds today (I'll show you later)! Be back soon.

P.S. The jewelry box is on the table :)

Elizabeth giggled as she finished reading, and she could feel Five's presence as he leaned over her shoulder and peered at the note.

"Birds?" he muttered, his eyebrows furrowing.

"What, have you not heard of them before?" she taunted playfully as she peeled the sticky note off of the fridge door and tossed it into the nearly full garbage.

"I know what birds are," Five scoffed. "Just sounds stupid that he was taking photos of them."

"Well, not all of us are only focused on the end of the world," she said as she walked over to the small table and placed the shopping bag on top of it.

She was in the process of taking out and straightening up Lila's dress when Five came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, tucking his chin onto her shoulder before murmuring into her ear, "Trust me, I'm not only focused on that."

"Yeah?" She raised her eyebrows as glanced over at him and opened the jewelry box, picking out a pair of glittering, square earrings for the other woman. "What else are you focused on?"

"Oh" —he smirked as he placed a gentle kiss on the edge of her jaw— "I think you know."

"Mhm, well, what I'm focused on is getting this dress to Lila, so . . ." Elizabeth nudged him off of her, receiving a soft groan in response, and headed towards Diego's room.

This time, she knocked on the door.

It opened only a moment later, Lila appearing with her usual jaunty smile. She eyed the dress in Elizabeth's hand and a small grin grew onto her face as a playful twinkle appeared in her eye, giving a nod of approval. "Ooh, I like this."

"Mhm, put it on and . . ." Elizabeth sighed as she handed the dress and earrings to her, scrutinizing her messy hair, "maybe brush your hair."

"What, a bird's nest isn't a gala-like hairdo?" Lila questioned in feigned disbelief, her eyebrows raised unusually high.

Elizabeth stared at her with an unamused expression.

"No? All right." Lila shrugged before closing the door.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes before grabbing the shopping bag that she had left in the kitchen, along with a gold necklace that had a matching gold heart pendant attached, and heading towards her room.

Five was already in there as she entered, reading over the invitation once more as he sat on the edge of the bed. His eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw clenched as he inspected the words, but his expression eased as he looked up to see her as she closed the door.

"You gonna leave and give me privacy or stay in here and watch me change like a creep?" Elizabeth questioned as she pulled her dress out of the bag.

"Mm," —Five placed the paper beside him and leaned backwards on his elbows, the hint of a grin playing on his lips— "the latter."

"Creep," she murmured to him, though a tiny smile was sneaking onto her face.

Quickly, she undressed, feeling Five's eyes on her as she did so. She honestly didn't mind too much; it wasn't like she was self-conscious of her body—Reginald had made sure that they stuck to a healthy diet (although Grace's cookies didn't help), and their training was more than enough to keep them in shape. And her figure hadn't changed at all while she was stuck in the portal, so she pretty much still looked the same as when she had endured all that.

Before she could slip on her dress, however, she felt a pair of hands slide onto her hips and spin her around. She could barely register Five's face before she felt his lips on hers. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before using the same hand to glide down her body to reach her hips.

His hands were starting to roam more and more over her body, and a faint tingling presented itself to the bottom of her stomach. And as much as she enjoyed the light trace of his hands over her waist and down towards her hips, she pushed him away with a small laugh. 

"Five, I have to get ready."

"Mm, no, you don't," he murmured, leaning back towards her and placing a gentle kiss on her neck in an obvious attempt to persuade her.

"Mm, yes, I do." She rolled her eyes in amusement and picked up her dress, swiftly putting it on as Five grumbled a few complaints.

He stepped closer to her once she had zipped up the side of her dress, then placing his hands on her lower back. He pressed his forehead against hers, planting a quick kiss on her lips before whispering, "This still isn't over yet, beautiful."

"And it won't end for some time, because we gotta go," she whispered back with a small grin.

He gave a small huff that was similar to the one of a child. "Fine."

"But" —she grabbed the gold necklace off the dresser that she had left it on and handed it to Five— "you can help me put this on."

"Mhm."

Elizabeth held her hair up as Five wrapped the necklace around her neck and clasped the back. He then planted a kiss at the nape of her neck and began trailing the kisses to the side before she giggled and elbowed him lightly.

She grabbed the hairbrush off of her dresser and quickly combed her hair, making it as straight as possible. They needed to fit in as best they could, and them looking like teenagers already made them stand out more than they needed to.

"All right," she sighed once she was content with her hair and put the hairbrush back in its original place. She glanced over to the clock, which told them that it was nearly half-past four, and she gave a satisfied nod. "Ready to go?"

"Hold on, I never got a good look at you," Five cut in, his eyes then sliding from the top of her to the bottom. He swallowed as a small smile appeared on his face. "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you." She smiled, planting a kiss on his cheek as they walked towards the door. "You look . . . exactly the same."

He chuckled, "Can't argue with that."

They entered the living room, where Diego and Lila were sitting on the couch. Elizabeth let out a small sigh of relief when she saw that Lila's dress fit her perfectly (although she knew that the measurements that she gave June were accurate, her mind was never wrong—especially with math).

Diego was wearing a suit that he had borrowed from Elliott, and Elizabeth was surprised that it fit, what with Elliott's wiry frame and taller stature. The blazer and pants were a matching navy blue, and the tie was maroon-and-black striped. His hair was a lot more tamed, the waves in his longer hair more apparent now that the frizziness had gone.

His eyes drew to Elizabeth as they entered, and widened slightly as they took her appearance in. "Damn, Goldie, you look good. Seventeen-year-old me would've been—"

"Don't finish that sentence," Five interrupted, his expression hardening as he stared towards Diego.

A playful glint appeared in Diego's eyes as he leaned forward and smirked. "And why not?"

"Oh, I think you know why," Five gave a slight scoff as he shoved his hands in his pockets, not taking his eyes off of the other man.

"Because my words would make her fall in love with me?" Diego suggested, his eyebrows teasing as he raised them; clearly enjoying how bothered Five was getting as they reverted back to their seventeen-year-old selves in competition.

"Anyway" —Elizabeth cleared her throat before Five could retaliate— "the gala starts in thirty minutes, and that's about how long it should take for us to get there. Diego, that car you and Lila stole—"

"Stole?" Diego echoed with mock shock, putting a hand over his heart, though his glare was still set on Five, who stared back with just as much venom. "Are you kidding? We didn't steal that."

"I'm not stupid, Eggo." She raised her eyebrows at him, receiving a playful grin in response. "So, that car you guys stole, where is it?"

"Oh, parked just outside, don't worry." Diego nodded, leaning back on the couch.

"Great." Elizabeth clapped her hands together as she looked around at the group and grinned. "Let's go crash a gala."