To anyone else Lia just looked a bit strange. Wandering about the streets, with a completely vacant look on her face. Drugs maybe? Or perhaps deep in thought? That was what passer's by saw anyway.
Anyone who looked a little closer would suspect drugs. Her feet bloody and bruised from walking about barefoot, her hair windswept, she looked like a crack victim, unsure where they were walking.
But anyone who looked even a little closer would notice that Lia did not look back, nor did she double take, and she did not look lost. A thin line of determination sat heavy on her brow. Despite the dazed look on her face, something inside her knew exactly where she was going. Like she was going down a path she had gone so many times before.
To most that passed her by she was simply another person on the pavement that they would have to move out the way for, an insignificant being in their busy lives. But to one particular person she was a saviour, a constant, and who he needed most.
"Little Lia?" his voice was almost begging, pleading that it was indeed the small brunette that stood in front of him.
Lia's eyes lost their glaze, her brown eyes widening in horror at the sight in front of her.
There stood Klaus, in -well not all his glory. He looked terrible.
His clothes were filthy, every inch of skin showing was covered in either blood, dirt, or any other possible substance. To his right lay a smoldering briefcase, that had definitely seen better days.
To any of the other siblings, they would have assume Klaus was on a bender the night before. They would have confused his army clothes with costume, his authentic dog tags with 'Klaus' little trinkets', his tear stained cheeks with sweating from partying, his red eyes they'd assume were courtesy of drugs.
But Lia always saw him. She saw the pain, the fear and the loss. She did not know how, but she knew.
Her arms opened and Klaus collapsed into them.
The sight was almost comical if it wasn't so heartbreaking; a giant comforted by a mouse. But it was the gut-wrenching sobs that really hit home to Lia.
She had not heard those cries since Klaus would get locked up with the dead.
"He's gone Lia, He's gone,"
Lia nodded silently. "Come on Klausy, let's get you a drink," she helped him to his feet.
Klaus said nothing for the walk back, his eyes never wavered from the pavement in-front of him, as if he were trying not to think about what happened.
Lia let him walk in silence, never pestering or saying a word. One thought was in her mind constantly, like an itch she could not scratch.
She knew what Klaus was upset about, she could even picture the scene he had just come from clearly in her mind.
But why?
**********
Klaus was stood in his room, slowly putting the pieces of himself back together. Lia was waiting outside of the open door, giving him just a little privacy whilst he dressed - but mainly to keep an eye on any unsympathetic siblings that walked past.
Lia didn't have to wait long.
An unsuspecting Number Five was on his way to interrogate his brother, with the tact and grace of a drunk moose. As soon as he walked past the door, he realised that Klaus would know something useful, something he could get ahold of and use.
Five was not good at reading the room.
However before he could even step foot through the doorway, Lia had him pinned against the opposite wall, an arm around his throat, her other hand protecting his head from bouncing of the wall.
"Lia what the fu-"
"Don't. You. Dare,"
Five blinked, not threatened enough to try and fight back, but incredulos to why Lia was so mad at him. He hadn't even done anything and here she was picking a fight.
"I wasn't even doing-" But Lia cut him off again, her eyes narrowed at him.
"You are going to interrogate Klaus, having no idea what trauma he has just been through, and your interrogations are intense and downright mean. No. Stay away,"
Five frowned at her, pushing her arm away.
"Fine I'll be gentle, happy?"
Lia snorted "You haven't been gentle a day in your life," she said grabbing for his arm as he went to walk past her.
Five looked down to where her hand held a strong grip on his elbow and shook his head with a small smile.
"Wait till you get some of those memories back, you'll see that I can be very gentle,"
Lia's brow furrowed, then her eyes widened and grip relaxed "Oh you perv,"
But it was too late, Five had already waltzed into Klaus' room, a smirk still highlighting his face. Lia muttered about how he was an utter asshole, but couldn't help but wonder if there had been a hint of truth in Five's words.
"You okay?" came Five's words to Klaus. In his defense, he did seem genuinely concerned for his brother.
Klaus looked up, "Yeah-just long night,"
Five took another step into the room, "More than one from the looks of it, I don't remember the dog tags,"
"They were a ...friends,"
"And the tattoo?"
"You know I don't actually remember getting it," Lia sniffed slightly, at least Five was warming up to it rather than going full interrogation mode.
She listened as Five verbally prodded and poked Klaus about the time travel until he got his assumptions proven. Klaus had been kidnapped, and he ended up stealing a briefcase.
Unfortunately in a very Five fashion, he completely discarded the fact that Klaus had been brutally tortured, beaten, taken back in time, lost everything and was clearly PTSD ridden - instead he focused on the seemingly important briefcase. His happy face took a horrible turn however, when Klaus admitted to destroying it.
Something in Five snapped
"What the hell were you thinking?" Lia gave him his dues, he clearly wanted to shout but kept it under wraps.
The two brothers continued to argue, one voice raising higher than that before him, and Lia rolled her eyes.
It wasn't until Klaus left the room did Lia step in. Five was scribbling away on a piece of paper, he did not even glance up when Lia entered her arms folded as she leant against the wall opposite.
"Real gentle Five, I totally should have believed you,"
Five leant back against the chair, meeting her deadly gaze, seemingly unbothered. "There's an apocalypse coming, and you're worried about somebody's feelings? Feelings won't matter if they're dead."
Lia shook her head at him, turning to leave before she glanced back
"Have you ever considered that this whole apocalypse thing could be the result of someone's feelings?"
Five watched her go a slight sorrow in his eyes.
Despite everything, he had rather hoped he'd have Lia by his side for the end of the world, but it seemed that even faces with uncertain death, her morals remained in tact.
It was as Lia collapsed on her bed in the academy, she realised the sheer predicament she was in.
Beside her was a photograph, a simple polaroid picture that she had set up when she was younger. Her, Five, Klaus and Ben. Klaus and Ben were grinning, arms around each other. It was the one time Lia had gotten them to stop arguing. But what drew her attention the most was her and Five.
She was laughing towards the camera, donut icing all round her mouth and nose, and Five was looking at her. She always assumed it was disgust with the amount of donut that was around her face, but now she knew that look.
Even as children, Five Hargreeves loved her.
A knock to the door shook any thoughts of Five away, until she saw him leaning against the doorway.
She sat up, her heart slightly hopeful.
"I need to use your walls," was all he said before hopping on the bed and drawing all sorts of numbers on them.
Lia blinked. "Excuse me,"
"I ran out of wall space. " was all he said. Didn't even spare her a glance.
Lia stood up shaking her head. "At least take your shoes off before going on my bed, you'll get mud on my covers,"
Five rolled his eyes "You don't even live here,"
Lia crossed her arms "Still, you shouldn't be wearing shoes in the house, yet alone my BED."
Five ignored her, still frantically scribbling. Lia went on with her rant.
"Your handwriting still hasn't improved, you won't be able to read what you're doing. And then you'll take up my room - oh wait you're already doing that! With not even a please. You know you're very rude, you say that we were a thing..or are a thing...or are to be a thing... you get my point. My point is why would I fall in love with someone who is just rude? That does not seem fun at all - in fact-"
She was cut off by a heavy sigh from Five, who had gotten down from the bed and now stood before her eyes. He placed two hands on either side of her face as she looked up at him in slight shock. He pulled her in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
Lia blinked at him, not sure how to process what just happened. The sex jokes were funny, but this was more...intimate.
"Please sit down, and let me draw on your walls so I can save your life and stop the apocalypse. Sound reasonable?"
Lia made a noise about to protest, but admitted defeat and sat on the chair by the window, watching the birds outside. She did not even notice Luther come into her room and start to question Five. She accepted the fact that whatever Five was doing she was not going to like it, so opted to just not know.
Unfortunately she was whisked out of her little daydream as Luther had deemed it appropriate to grab her by the throat and hold her out the window.
"Hey," she frowned looking at the ground many feet below her.
Five looked murderous "Put her down," his gun now pointed at Luther.
"You're not killing anyone, I know she's important to you so it's her or the gun,"
Lia felt like she was there for ages, just hanging by the grip of Luther's hand around her neck. She didn't know why she wasn't struggling to escape, perhaps she knew it was fruitless, or perhaps she trusted Luther not to drop her, or Five to drop the gun and rush to her side. But as the seconds ticked on, Luther's grip did not waver, and Five did not drop the gun.
It wasn't until Luther released her that the true fear set in. Her heart seemed to shatter inside her chest, the pieces cutting deep into every part of her being.
The in a flash of blue she was in Five's arms once again, the two falling to the floor. Lia was propped up in Five's arms as he cradled her. The look in his eyes was unreadable but Lia could not look away from him.
"You're a good person Five, otherwise you wouldn't have risked everything coming back to save us all. But you're not on your own anymore,"
Five's gaze moved to the window "There is one way," he began "But it's just about impossible,"
Lia slowly sat up, facing Luther with an annoyed frown on her face. He chose not to look at her.
"More impossible than what brought you back here?"
Lia stood up pointing her finger at Luther "You just dropped me out of a goddamn window,"
Luther shrugged awkwardly, starting to shift backwards searching for the words "I'm..it was necessary," Lia huffed in denial and sank back to her cozy chair by the window.
"Get out my room."
Luther gave a little smile, gesturing to the doorway that he was standing on the edge of
"I'm not in your room,"
Lia threw a pillow at him.
UNEDITED