-The Phantom-

-Doomsday Talk And Drinks-

The warm ceramic mug grasped tightly in (y/n) hands causes her palms to redden slightly. Slowly lifting the cup to her face, she inhales the strong aroma of the vanilla flavored coffee. The room falls into an uncomfortable silence, nothing but the faint sound of the vehicles outside rushing past the building, their headlights casting shadows upon Vanya's cream colored walls. Finally taking a sip of her the coffee Vanya had so graciously offered to her, (y/n) set down her mug and meets Five's analyzing gaze.

"What did you-uh-" She has trouble finding the right words ,"-do? You know...After finding out the world ended."

"I survived off of scraps-" He takes a sip of his own coffee, chuckling darkly, "canned food, cockroaches, anything I could find. You know that rumor that Twinkies have an endless shelf life? It's total bullshit"

"I can't even imagine." Vanya leans forward, resting her elbows on top of her knees. (y/n) watches, her eyebrows raised in concern, as her brother only shrugs in response.

"You do whatever it takes to survive-" He pauses, a dark look in his eyes ,"-or you die. So we adapted. Whatever the world threw at us, we found a way to overcome it."

Upon hearing his words, Vanya and (y/n) glance over at each other, both of their eyes swirling with the same concerned curiosity.

"Wait, I'm sorry-" (y/n) eyes her brother suspiciously ,"-'we'? I thought you said that there wasn't anybody else there..."

He ignores the question, lifting up his now empty mug and turning to Vanya

"You got anything stronger?"

"I have some Hennessy?"

"Go fetch it, will you?"

Hesitating slightly, Vanya stands up from her spot and collects the mugs sitting at the table. She leaves the living room. With the two alone, Vanya setting up drinks in the kitchen, Five clears his throat lightly when he notices (y/n)'s worried glance.

"Stop looking at me like that" He demands softly, avoiding her gaze.

"Like what?"

"Like you're worried about me breaking down"

"Five, I think that's kind of unfair" (y/n) defends, her voice tired from the overwhelming information she's had to process tonight ,"The things you're saying, they're a lot to take in. Of course I'm going to be worried about you.

"We both are, Five" Vanya adds, handing him a glass filled to the middle with the strong smelling amber liquid. Taking it into his own hands, the two watch as he takes a long swig of the drink. If she wasn't so exhausted and serious right now, (y/n) probably would have laughed at the sight.

"Five, are you okay?" Vanya asks hesitantly. (y/n) watches as the boy looks up from his drink, furrowing his eyebrows slightly before chuckling bitterly

"You guy's think I'm crazy, don't you?" It's less of a question and more of an accusation, his voice sounding almost hurt when he looks in between the concerned eyes of his sisters.

"No, i-it's just-" Vanya stammers, sighing quietly before continuing ,"It's a lot to process right now-"

"Exactly what don't you understand?" he interrupts, frustration clear in his voice

"Why didn't you just time travel back?"

"Gee, wish I'd thought of that!" Five answers sarcastically, rolling his eyes , "Time travel is a crap shoot. I went into the ice and never acorn-ed. You think I didn't try everything to get back to my family?"

"Five-" (y/n) quickly intervenes upon hearing the hurt lacing his low voice ,"You know she didn't mean it like that. Please be patient with us, we're just trying to understand."

"Fine, what do you need help understanding?" Although he complies, she can still hear the frustration in his voice. It was different this time around though, (y/n) could see that he really was trying. Vanya takes a moment to think before crossing her arms across her chest.

"If you grew old there, you know, in the apocalypse" She looks Five up and down, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion ,"how come you still look like a kid?"

"I told you already" He scoffs, moving past the two to place his empty glass onto the counter, swiftly pouring himself another drink ,"I must have got the equations wrong."

"I mean, dad always used to say that time travel could..." Vanya glances over at (y/n) almost as if asking to back her up on what she's about to say ,"Mess up your mind. Well, maybe that's what's happening?"

"This was a mistake..." He chugs down the drink, mumbling to himself before breezing past the two girls staring at his form with wide eyes ,"I thought you guys would understand, but it's clear to me now that I have to do this by myself"

"Five!" (y/n) is the first to break free of her frozen state, calling the boys name desperately as he stop just before opening the door ,"Five, don't you dare walk out on us now."

Sighing, he turns so that he's just barely facing the girls. His side profile sharp underneath the yellow light, (y/n) watches his frustrated form intensely as he clenches his jaw. Taking a couple steps forward, she places a gentle hand onto the boys upper arm

"Five, please" Her voice is quiet, "We just got you back."

"We haven't seen you in a long time and we don't want to lose you again, that's all" Vanya adds, hazel eyes begging the boy to stay. A sigh of relief escapes (y/n)'s lips when his hand removes itself from the metal doorknob.

"It's getting late, okay?" Vanya continues, moving over to stand by the couch ,"I have lessons early, and I need to sleep, and I'm sure you do too."

Grabbing a hold of a soft grey blanket draped over the back frame of the couch, she swiftly throws it over the cushions, creating a makeshift bed for him to sleep on. Gently coaxing him forward, (y/n) watches the scene fondly, a relieved smile gracing her lips when she sees Five awkwardly sink down into the sofa.

"We'll talk about this in the morning, okay? I promise" Vanya steps away to let him settle in. (y/n), seeing this as her cue to leave, walks over to stand next to Vanya.

"I'm going to head out, clear my head a little bit." She sighs, running a head through her (h/c) locks ,"It was nice to see you again. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure thing, (y/n). Night" She bids the two siblings goodnight before stepping into her own room, closing the door behind her. Turning around, she faces Five still sitting awkwardly on the edge of the couch cushion. He seems lost in his own thoughts, his face a slight scowl.

"Hey" She calls out to him softly ,"I'm glad that you felt comfortable enough to talk to us about this. I want you to know that I meant what I said before. I'm here for you, okay? Whatever you're going through or whatever you have to do...You don't have to do it alone."

"I appreciate that, Casper" His small frown quirks up into a slight smirk, teasing her with the dumb nickname. Upon seeing the comforting sight, she returns a kind smile before letting herself out of the apartment. Shutting the door behind herself, she finds her heart ache slightly.

"8 days..." She whispers. If what Five had said was true, if he meant every single word he said, then that meant that the world was going to end. The thought sends shivers down her spine. In a singular day, the world she grew to love seemed to be ripping away at it's seems. It was falling apart. Everything she knew and love was going to be gone. How do you go about living life after that?

"You find a way to survive" Stuffing her hands into her pockets, she takes confident strides down the dimly lit hallway, her face lit with a new found determination. (y/n) thinks about her family. A group of mentally unstable, off brand, superheroes who spent their lives running away from each other. She knows now that they have to stop running away. Family, found or not, is all you have. Whatever happens is going to happen. And she was going to try her damnedest to make sure her family makes it out okay because she isn't about to let herself lose any of them ever again.