three | run boy run

"This is your 'coffee shop' ?" Tatiana asked as the car halted in front of a doughnut shop. Five didn't respond as he sneakily got out of the car before he sprinted towards Griddy's Doughnut Shop.

"What? You're too young for Starbucks now?" Tatiana scoffed as she saw Five walk past someone who exited the place in a hurry. "Sorry," Tatiana caught up to the customer as they nodded.

Five's shoes clicked against the ground as he made his way to the counters. Tatiana walked into the shop, letting the door close behind her with a ring from the shop's bell.

"Are you that desperate for coffee?" Tatiana whispered as she slid into the seat next to her while Five rang the bell on the counter impatiently.

Five sighed in irritation while a truck driver walked inside the shop. Tatiana and Five's eyes followed the driver's movement until he took a seat next to Five. The driver sighed before he placed his hat on the counter.

Tatiana and Five sat in silence while the driver continued his word search in the newspaper. The waitress, Agnes, walked over where the three were sitting with a sigh.

"Sorry, the sink was clogged," Agnes chuckled before she pulled a pen and notepad from her uniform. "What will it be?" Agnes asked.

"Give me a chocolate eclair," The man said as Agnes noted it down with a hum, scribbling the order on her notepad before she turned to Five and Tatiana.

"Can I get a kid a glass of milk or something?" She asked before Five scoffed.

"The kid wants coffee. Black," Five responded, trying to hide his snark.

"Cute kid," Agnes shrugged, assuming Five was the driver's child before he shot her a wide grin. Agnes's smile faltered, finding Five's smile to be off-putting before she turned to Tatiana.

"A cup of whatever tea you have," Tatiana said.

"Okay," Agnes whispered before she started to make their orders.

"I don't remember this place being such a shithole," Five sighed after he turned to the driver. "I used to come here as a kid. Used to sneak out with my brothers and sisters and ate doughnuts till we puked. Simpler times, huh?"

Five asked the driver, trying to strike up a conversation with him while Tatiana watched the waitress complete their orders.

"Eh. I suppose," The driver responded, unable to understand what Five was talking about.

Agnes cleared her throat before she brought over their orders. When she set down the cup of coffee, Five immediately reached for the mug. Agnes watched him in concern before the driver handed her his bill.

"I got theirs," The driver spoke after pulling out some money from his wallet before the two turned to the driver.

"Thanks," Five nodded with his coffee in hand. The driver nodded, paying for their bill wasn't a big deal before Five's eyes landed on the patch on his vest. "You must know your way around the city," Five said, setting down the cup on the counter.

"I hope so, I've been driving it around for 20 years," The driver nodded.

"Good. I need an address," Five said.

When the driver left, Five slipped the napkin where the driver had written down the address. Tatiana wanted to peek over his shoulder, but Five had already slipped it into his pocket.

Tatiana rolled her eyes while Five brought the mug to his lips again. Tatiana heard the sound of the door opening again, causing Five to set the mug down when he saw a group of men dressed in black from the reflection of the bell.

Tatiana turned around to see the group approach Five. "What the hell did you do?" Tatiana asked, her body tensing up at the sight of the rifles they were holding.

"Hmm. That was fast. I thought I'd had more time before they found me," Five said while one of them pointed a rifle at Five's head.

Tatiana tried to stay calm; she tried to ignore how fast her heart was beating out of her chest. The way her stomach sank, the way she tapped her fingers against the counter nervously.

"Okay. So let's all be professional about this, yeah?" One of the men spoke. "On your feet and come with us. They want to talk," He said while another men aimed their gun at Tatiana's head, causing her to raise her hands in surrender.

"I've got nothing to say," Five said, keeping his gaze on the cup in front of him. He wasn't scared. Hell, he wasn't even worried about Tatiana's safety. He knew she could handle herself. Surely she might be a little rusty after being in the sleeping pod for almost two decades, but this fight is all it's gonna take to wake her senses.

"It doesn't have to go this way," The hitman reminded. "You think I want to shoot two kids? Go home with that on my conscience?" He spoke in frustration.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. You won't be going home," Five said, his expression unreadable as he turned around to the man.

The man's face faltered in confusion, wondering what Five meant by before Five picked up a knife on the counter. Five blinked behind the hitman, stabbing him in the shoulder, causing him to stumble.

The sound of gunshots shooting up the store snapped Tatiana out of her trance before she grabbed the rifle from the hitman, twisting the hitman's arm behind him.

Everyone else turned to Tatiana as two of their hitman collapsed to the ground. Tatiana pulled on the hitman's arm before she kicked the rifle behind her.

Everyone became more alert to their surroundings when they realised Five had disappeared before they turned their guns onto Tatiana.

"I'm the least of your worries. Watch out," Tatiana smirked before she kicked the hitman's back, causing him to fall to the ground.

Five blinked to the counter, lying on it behind Tatiana with a grin. "Hey, assholes!" He called out with a cocky smile, causing everyone to shoot in that direction while Five blinked away.

Tatiana quickly ducked as the bullets began shooting in her direction. She crawled under the table, grabbing the rifle before she reached behind the counter.

The hitman shot their guns aimlessly at the
now-empty space, wrecking the fixtures in the shop.

Tatiana exhaled. She felt her heart begin to slow down as she came to her senses. She stared down at her hands, and some of the glass shards from the shot up the place were embedded in her hands.

Tatiana winced momentarily before she heard the sounds of coins dropping to the floor caused her to turn to the back of the shop. She spotted the waitress from earlier, panic written all over her before she dropped to her knees.

Tatiana huffed before she saw Five standing outside the shop. She smirked at him before Five knocked on the glass door with a thud.

One of the assassins turned around to see Five staring back at him. Five mocked him, saluting the man with a grin before he blinked once more.

The man quickly shot at the space once more, shattering the glass door before Five blinked behind Tatiana.

"What's your plan, crazy man?" Tatiana grunted as she pulled him in by his tie.

"Just watch your back, and lay low," Five scoffed before he shoved her hand off him.

Tatiana peeked over the counter to see the group closing in on them, wandering near the counter.

Five blinked away from the counter. He jumped at the man again, grabbing a mop from the side of the counter before he stabbed the wooden handle into the man's side.

Tatiana kicked the rifle closer to her with her foot. She scoped out the place while Five pulled another assassin down from behind, pulling them by the collar onto the table with a grunt.

Tatiana snuck out from the counter, noticing how they were distracted by Five, before Five snapped the man's neck in half with his tie. She jumped over the counter, picking the pencil off another table, before she sprinted towards the assassin in front of Five.

She slid under the man smoothly before she stabbed the stationery into the man's crotch. The man groaned, alerting the other assassins before Five ricocheted a plate to their face.

Five hastily pulled the pencil from under the man before he plunged the other end of the pencil into the man's eye, causing him to scream as blood splattered out of his socket.

The final two assassins began to rise from the sides of the shop. Tatiana glanced over at Five before they nodded in agreement.

They sprinted towards the counter, jumping from the chair to the counter before Five latched onto her wrist, blinking the two away. The two assassins shot at each other, their bullets flying out from their rifles into their chests.

Five and Tatiana landed on their feet after the two assassins fell to the ground with a groan.

Five walked over to the man who lay on the table, swiftly pulling his tie off him. He panted in exhaustion, bringing the tie around his neck before he shoved it into his vest.

Tatiana followed behind him before she walked in front of him, adjusting his tie, causing him to groan in annoyance.

Tatiana rolled her eyes at his reaction while Five tucked the tie back into his checkered vest, before she spotted one of the assassins on the ground was still conscious, before she raced behind him, twisting his neck with a snap.

Tatiana groaned while Five picked up the tracker from the ground. Tatiana followed behind him, silding into the seat next to him while Five picked up a blade from his pocket.

"What the..." Tatiana spluttered before she watched Five dig the blade into his forearm, causing her to squirm. She was never great with blood, especially blood oozing out of other limbs.

Five felt her shiver in disgust as he pulled the blade out of his arm, setting the bloodied knife on the counter. His fingers dug into his flesh, causing more blood to ooze out, and the two to groan.

When Five pulled out a bloodied tracking chip from his arm, Tatiana's eyes widened in horror.  Tatiana squealed in shock as she grabbed napkins from the counter at an attempt to suppress the bleeding.

Five stared at the chip with irritation while his friend patted the blood from his forearm.

Tatiana pressed the napkin onto his wound, applying pressure to prevent more blood from spilling out.

It wasn't long before the two exited the shop. Five dropped the tracking chip in the pool of water near the sewage before he turned to Tatiana's uneasy stance.

Five rolled his eyes as he readjusted the tie on his neck before he walked over to her with a huff. He wrapped an arm around the terrified girl's shoulder, pulling her along.

Tatiana couldn't tear her eyes away from the doughnut shop before Five blinked them away from the scene of the crime.

Tatiana felt her heart continue to beat out of her chest as her breathing began to slow down.

When the two heard someone's keys jiggling in the lock. Tatiana tried to remain calm before Five rested his hand on her hand.

After the lock turned with a click, the door hinged creaked as the owner of the apartment entered to set down their keys.

Five turned on the lamp between him and Tatiana, causing Vanya to flinch.

"Jesus," Vanya stumbled backward, spotting her brother on the other side of her apartment.

"You should have locks on your windows," Five said.

"I live on the second floor," Vanya said, placing her keys on a stack of magazines.

"Rapists can climb," Five shrugged.

"You are so weird," Vanya mumbled before she turned around and closed the door behind the trio.

Five shifted in his seat after Vanya took off her jacket before she took a seat next to Tatiana on the couch. Vanya squinted her eyes, noticing a blood splatter on the collar of Five's white blouse.

"Is that blood?" Vanya asked worringly while Five fidgeted with his hand calmly.

"It's nothing," Five said, trying to downplay the blood so his sister wouldn't worry.

"Why are you here?" Vanya asked, her hands rubbed against her thighs in concern.

Five sighed, debating whether to tell the truth before he sat up straighter on the armchair. "I have decided that you are the only one that I can trust,"

"Why me?" Vanya asked. The hesitation in her voice worried Tatiana before she placed her hand on top of Vanya's shaking hand.

"Because you're ordinary," Five responded. His stoic expression not giving away to his true feelings.

Vanya glanced down at the floor, seemingly hurt by her brother's comment.

"Because you'll listen," Five added, his voice softening when he noticed how Vanya's expression dropped every so slightly.

"Okay," Vanya mumbled before she walked over into her bathroom.

"How's your arm?" Tatiana asked, glancing down at his sleeve.

"It's fine. Just a little sore," Five said dismissively, waving his other arm as if to brush off the pain.

"Vanya's going to clean your wound," Tatiana said, knowing what her sister was doing inside the bathroom.

"Great. Just what I wanted," Five grumbled sarcastically. He hated the thought of having to sit still and let someone poke around his wound.

"Why her?" Tatiana asked softly before Five shrugged, his expression a mix of annoyance and resignation.

"She's the only one who isn't an idiot, unfortunately," He grumbled.

"So you're saying I'm an idiot?" Tatiana questioned with a knowing smirk.

He huffed, meeting her gaze with a smirk. He knew her well enough not to give the answer she wanted. She was far from moronic, closer to the few competent people he knew.

"Sometimes," He responded, he wasn't giving her the satisfaction of knowing she was actually competent enough.

"Jeez. Thanks, Fifi," Tatiana responded.

He couldn't help but crack a smirk at her sarcasm. "You're welcome," Five nodded before Vanya came out from her bathroom, her hands clutched gauze, a bottle of alcohol, and bandages.

Five instinctively pulled up his sleeve, revealing the bloodied napkin pressed against his arm, while Tatiana got up from the couch, allowing Vanya to clean his wound.

Vanya winced at the wound after she set down the products on the table with a thud. Five held out his arm for her to clean with the gauze.

"When I jumped forward and got stuck in the future, do you know I found?" Five asked stoically.

"No," Vanya mumbled, wiping the edges of the wounds while Tatiana paced around them.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing," Five responded, causing Tatiana to halt in her tracks. "As far as I know, I was the last person left alive. I never figured out what killed the human race, but... I did find something else, the date it happens,"

Tatiana glanced down at her friend in confusion after a long pause from Five. "The world ends in eight days and I have no idea how to stop it,"

Vanya's jaw dropped, shocked at the news. Her eyes darted between Tatiana and Five, she didn;t know what to say.

"I'll put on a pot of coffee," was the only thing she could muster up to say.

"I survived on scraps. Canned food, cockroaches, anything I find," Five spoke before he let out a chuckle.

"You know that rumor that Twinkies have an endless shelf life?" Five asked before Vanya and Tatiana nodded in agreement. "Turns out that complete bullshit, "Five stated, pursing his lips.

"I can't even imagine," Vanya spoke sympathetically.

"You do whatever it takes to survive, or you die. So we adapted, whatever the world threw at us. We found a way to overcome it." Five said.

"We?" Tatiana spoke up. Ever since his return, Five had been referring to himself as "we", Tatiana found the change odd, but didn't press further.

"Got anything stronger?" Five asked Vanya as he raised the mug.

Vanya poured some rum into a glass over in the kitchen while Tatiana grabbed the mug out of his hand. Five scoffed before he got up, following behind her. Vanya handed him the drink before Five took a long sip.

"You think I'm crazy," Five said in disbelief after Vanya and Tatiana stared at him, eyeing him up and down warily.

"N-no," Vanya stammered. "It's... It's just a lot to take in," She said.

"Exactly what don't you understand?" Five asked, his eyebrows knitted together in irritation.

"Why didn't you time travel back?" Vanya asked before Five scoffed, and let out a sarcastic sigh.

"Gee, wish I thought of that. Time travel is a crapshoot. I went into the ice and never
acron-ed," Five responded in annoyance before he glanced up at Vanya. "You didn't think I'd try everything to get back to my family?" He spoke with his gritted teeth.

Vanya hesitated, her eyes dropping to the ground. "If you grew old there, you know, in the apocalypse, how come you still look like a kid?" Vanya asked, waving her hand to Five's current state.

"I already told you," Five said, walking past Tatiana and his sister to the counter, slamming the glass down with an irritated thud.

"I must have gotten the equations wrong," He raised his voice, his hand wrapped around the bottle of liquor.

"Didn't Dad used to always say that..." Vanya spoke while Tatiana watched Five poured himself another glass of rum. "...time travel could mess up your mind?" Vanya asked, vaguely remembering what Reginald taught his children.

Five brought the cup to his lip, taking another sip. "Maybe that's what's happening?" Vanya asked before he set the glass down.

"This is a mistake, you're too young..." Five turned around, grabbing something off the table before he walked to the door. "...too naive to understand,"

"No. Five... Five, wait," Vanya called out to her brother while Tatiana followed him behind, tugging on his arm. Five halted in his tracks before he turned around with a scowl.

"I haven't seen you in a long time. Tate and I don't want to lose you again. That's all," Vanya spoke, hoping she could convince him to stay the night. Five sighed tiredly, not wanting to argue with her right now.

"And you know what, it's getting late, I have lessons early, and I need to sleep, and I'm sure you do, too," Vanya said before she walked over to the couch, pulling down the makeshift blanket.

"We'll talk in the morning again. Okay, I promise?" Vanya spoke softly before she pulled away from the couch. "Night," Vanya said before she headed into her room.

"Night," Five nodded while Tatiana pulled her sister into a hug.

"Sleep well, alright?" Tatiana whispered before she pulled away.

"I'm... gonna go freshen up," Tatiana muttered before she turned on her heel and walked inside the bathroom.

Five waited for Tatiana to close the door behind her before he unwrapped the cloth, revealing a glass eyeball. He turned the eyeball around, noticing the manufacturer and the serial number written on the back.

Five didn't want to disappoint, let alone disturb Vanya; Tatiana was a no-brainer. He didn't want them to worry. So, he quietly got up from the couch. He twisted the doorknob softly before he glanced over between the bathroom and Vanya's room.

He then turned around and left the apartment, letting the door shut behind him.

author's note
apparently, my teachers watch tua and she said season one is her favourite season. I DO NOT BLAME HER because I get to see more details with each rewatch holy shit it's so beautiful