"So", Peter's voice started strong but became quieter, worry bleeding through. "What do we do now? How do we stop it?"

They were back seated outside a closed department store. Feet in the gutter and sitting on the curb with the wrappers of burgers and fries stuffed into a bag between them. Night had fallen and it was only the orange glow of the street lamps that illuminated their forms. No one else to be seen. Just two boys sat on the side of the street. Five was playing with the knife Peter had stolen from one of the men who had attacked them in the donut shop. The blond had been wearing the belt with it under his untucked shirt ever since, the shadow of it hidden by his hoodie. Five knew it was there and had wordlessly reached over and stolen it while Peter was still eating. The brush of his cold hand startling against his lower back had caused Peter to coughed and blinked at him for the surprise.

Now Five was watching the light gleam on the sharp blade thoughtfully. His gaze unreadable. Peter observed in silence for a moment. "Darling. We've hit a road block. This is your family, what do you want to do now?"

It may have been mean of him but Peter did not care much for humanity. He had never been socialised much as a kid and then he had spent the majority of his life in the apocalypse with nothing but Five, manakins and cockroaches for company. Call him unfeeling but he found it hard to care for people he did not really know. He guessed that was why he loved Five so much. He knew him like the back of his hand, yet sometimes he could not read him at all. A beautiful and dangerous mystery that kept him intrigued.

"I am afraid to say that for now I do not know", Five sighed, finally looking up. "Give me a second to think things through and I am sure something will come to me".

He turned to Peter and studied him with those amber brown eyes of his. Peter stared back, feeling no need to hide from such a gaze. He had never felt the need to and he guessed that it was one of the reasons Five liked him so much. The brunette seemed to give in to something, as there was a second of resolution in those eyes, then he leaned over and connected their lips. Peter blinked, for it was not common for Five to initiate their kisses, before kissing back. His hands straying to grip the other boy's blazer as the kiss deepened. Mouths moving together as if they seemed to memorise the feel of each other.

"Darling", Peter giggled when they finally separated. His lips pink and hair mussed from where the brunette had been running his hand through it. "What was that for?"

"Just remembering that you are not a hallucination", Five muttered back. Inhaling deeply before diving back in. Peter met him halfway. This kiss sharper, almost biting. If the previous one was about simply reminding each other, this one was a fight. This one was more them. Each proving to match each other in fierceness and tenacity. Five often kissed that way. Sharp, slightly painful, hard. As if he sought to test Peter's resolve was time, see if he could drive him away. It never worked because Peter always met him head on, matching the bites and the sharpness.

This was them. It was real. They might have continued kissing for hours, as long as it took for Five to feel satisfied, if it wasn't for the nearly soundless tree of shoes on tarmac. The two boys paused before Peter sighed into the kiss and pulled away. "What the fuck do you want?" He demanded, face turning to the two figures silhouetted by the lamps. He felt Five reach for the knife that had fallen between them during their kissing. The gleam of the blade hidden between them as the two figures stepped out into the light.

They wore the sam black suits that all assassins of the Commission wore. But the masks around their heads were round and garishly cartoon. A pink dog and a blue bear. Peter felt Five tense next to him and then the two assassins raised their guns. Peter shot up into the air while Five threw himself to the side. The patter and ping of machine gun bullets bouncing off the curb where they had just been sitting.

"There!" Five shouted up at Peter. The blonde twisting and turning in dizzying circles in the air to avoid the bullets aimed at him by the pink dog with a shotgun. The blue bear was holding a larger weapon. It was hard to tell in the glow but it shot shells that exploded on impact. One missed Five just as the boy blinked away. Peter caught a glimpse of him just as the boy reappeared inside of a target nearby.

Cover. Good thinking. The store would provide all the needed cover for Five. But it was not the best environment for Peter. He needed the freedom to move. With Five temporarily covered, he could move. The machine gun rattled as it kept on firing up, following Peter's sudden sharp ascent. The ground dropping of far beneath him until he was hidden amongst the night sky. The cloud cover hiding him from any light below.

It wasn't hard to swoop up and over, using the gloom of the night to his advantage. Flight was soundless and he made no noise as he arced overhead and down between the circles lit by street lamps to land on the roof of the store Five had ducked into. His trainers hovering barely an inch off the surface least his feet make any noise.

"Shit", the pink dog cursed loud enough for Peter to hear. "Lost him. Did you see that. He flew".

"Well they did say they were special", the blue bear commented as he pushed the doors. They were locked but a the Pink dog fired a few rounds into the glass. It shattered and an alarm began wailing. Blue and red lights flashing inside. Peter watched the two of them step inside and out of sight.

He went to reach for a weapon and sighed as he recalled Five stealing it from him. "Bloody dammit". He stood up from his crouch and looked around as his hands patted his pockets. Nothing but some crumpled dollar bills and a few coins he had stolen from Five's various siblings. (Allison had not notice him going through her purse. Nor had Luther with his wallet. Or the few people he had pickpocketed while following Five around the city. The other boy had noticed the behaviour but didn't care). The wind ruffled his fizzy curls as he raised his head and spotted something. There was a phone box, old with broken glass and graffiti, half way down the street. Peter might just have enough change for a call to the local authorities.

unedited