Survival

#12 It's just an affair for everyone

Lila was lying on her stomach in bed, her eyes closed, thinking. Five had just come back from the bathroom, lay down beside her and kissed her exposed shoulder. Lila smiled and rolled over onto her back. Five brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her on the lips. They were lying in bed in his apartment the next morning - after everything that had happened at the bar.

"Feeling better?"

"Not really..."

"Is there anything I can do?"

Lila smiled, "I could think of a few things... but there's no time for that right now... I have to get up, get ready and go talk to my parents... and of course see my kids..."

"If you wanted, I'd come with you..."

"Yeah, I know... but it's better if I talk to them myself... it'll probably be a bit more difficult before they stop seeing you as just my affair." Then she smirked at that, "Actually, what are we kidding, everyone sees us as just an affair. Well, maybe except for Luther and Sloane."

"Yeah, I know..."

"I had no idea how terribly hard it would be, explaining it to someone... those seven years do not exist for anyone... it's like maybe we just made it up or something... god... that would be the craziest story..."

"Well, maybe in a few years we'll tell about it at family reunions when someone finally wants to hear and understand."

"Like how masked bandits tried to kill us and how we hunted rats on the subway? Plus, as a bonus, the best recipes?"

"Oh yeah, that'd be totally perfect ice breaker for, like, birthday parties."

Lila imagined this and had to laugh, vividly seeing the uncomprehending and disgusted faces. But she was immediately saddened, "no one will ever fully understand, will they?"

Five shook his head, "Probably not... even after my first return, no one could really imagine how long I'd been gone and what I'd experienced... but there'd been a few years since I'd been gone anyway... so it was probably a lot easier for others to understand."

"Mmmm... well, that offers only one solution."

"Yes?"

"Run away for a few years, maybe to Hawaii, that would be great! Maybe then others will start to take us seriously." She joked.

"Right... and we run away there like Jerome and Nancy?"

"Of course!"

"I wish them that."

"Yeah, those two would definitely have it easier..." she sighed.

"Don't worry about it, okay? We know what happened. And the important thing is how we see each other, isn't it?"

"And how do you think I see you?"

Five mused. "As a partner in crime and mischief, perhaps?"

"Could be." She laughed. Then she looked at him for longer moment, stroked his cheek, and kissed him.

"What did I do to deserve this?" He smiled.

"This is going to sound stupid..."

"Then that makes me wonder all the more."

"Back in the day... when I imagined what it would be like to be married and have a family someday... I imagined it something like this... that I'd have a partner to team up with... especially after being brought up to deal with everything on my own... I thought it would be nice if I had someone to rely on and who could rely on me... someone to make me laugh when I was sad... someone to help me up when I fell... and someone to work things out with... because we'd be on the same page... you know what I mean?"