Chapter Text
You hadn’t known it would start raining.
If you had, you might’ve taken a coat or something. Anything that could block the downpour from pelting you and drenching you to the bone. Unfortunately, you’re left in a threadbare sweater and a dirty skirt that comes down past your knees, hugging your arms close to your body in hopes to keep any semblance of warmth. With wet hair plastered to your head and sticking to your face, you continue on, hurriedly walking through the streets of Ostania in search of some kind of shelter that’s hidden enough that your pursuer won’t be able to find you.
You weren’t sure if she was coming after you just yet, but you knew it was inevitable that she’d begin her search soon enough, and you had to be as far away from her as possible before she started. A shudder wracked your body, and it’s unclear if it’s from the rain, or the thought of being caught by the woman you were running from…
It’s by some stroke of luck that as you continue scurrying down the miserable sidewalk, that you manage to catch a glimpse of an overhang protruding from a building just up ahead. You breathe a small sigh of relief, before picking up the pace a little, your flats soaked as you step in a couple more puddles but you can’t really bring yourself to care too much at the moment.
Once underneath the overhang, you let go of your arms, shaking your hands out and pacing in a small circle in an attempt to warm yourself up, the rain leaving a chill that lingered on your skin and seeped into your muscles. The gloomy afternoon air is cold, and the heavy rain certainly doesn’t help. With soaking wet clothes weighing you down, you move closer to the building, leaning against the bricks as you look out towards the street and other buildings. There’s a couple people out and about, all of them holding umbrellas and bundled up in raincoats, briskly hurrying to their destinations. A couple of them pass by you, barely sparing a glance before continuing on their way.
Sighing, you brush some stray hair from your face, the wet strands sticking to your skin the same way your clothes cling to you. Trying to wring the water out of your hair, you quietly curse as you accidentally tug a little too hard, but you manage to dry it enough that it isn’t dripping anymore.
Footsteps from your left catch your attention, and you look towards whoever is approaching you warily, ready to run if it happens to be the woman you were running from. Fortunately, it seemed to just be a man making his way to work or something. You breathe out a sigh of relief, reaching down to brush a couple leaves off your skirt as you wait for him to walk by you. Only for the steps to stop about a foot away from you, and the man starts to speak.
“Awful weather isn’t it?” He says. You look up, getting a good look at him. He’s tall, really tall, and his hair is dark with a couple silver strands here and there. His clothes are well-kept, and style suggests that he’s most likely upper-middle class. In one hand, he holds an umbrella, and the other hand reaches towards you and plucks a blade of grass from your sweater. “You must be freezing...”
“Oh, I’m alright, thank you.” you smile pleasantly, fiddling with your fingers in front of you, feigning sheepishness. “I just forgot my jacket at home.”
“As well as your umbrella it seems.” the man chuckled, before looking at you with a curious expression. “Where are you headed?”
“I uh…..” You hesitate for a moment, thinking of an answer. You hadn’t originally had a destination in mind other than just away . After a moment, you think of a place that might be mundane enough to not raise any suspicion. “The grocery store?”
“The grocers? But you don’t have a purse on you.” he observes, raising a brow.
“I’ve got my mothers wallet in my skirt pocket.” You lie easily. Your skirt didn’t even have pockets. The man looks at you for a moment, before nodding, seemingly accepting that answer.
“Well, why don’t I walk you there? I wouldn’t want to leave a little thing like you to brave this weather on her own.” He says, tapping his umbrella on the sidewalk. You look at him for a moment, a slight nagging feeling in the back of your head, and it’s only now that you realize the two of you are the only ones on the street. A sudden nervousness fills you, but you push it aside.
“Sure. I appreciate it.” You tell him, nodding at his suggestion. The man smiles, gesturing ahead.
“Splendid. Let’s go.” he hums, opening his umbrella and holding it above him as he steps out from under the overhang. “Come along then, it’s a short walk.” He states.
You nod again, walking out from the shelter of the overhang and under the umbrella. The two of you began making your way down the street, thankfully in the opposite direction of which you’d come from, the rain pattering on the umbrella above and the pavement around you, the drops exploding on impact and splattering your shoes and ankles as you walked, both pairs of footsteps crunching against the sidewalk.
You both walk for a little while longer, a slightly uncomfortable silence lingering between you, but you were unwilling to be the first to break it. The man himself doesn’t look too bothered by it, and it seemed that the two of you wouldn’t be speaking the whole way to the grocery store. That was at least until he placed his hand on your lower back and started to lead you into an alleyway between an antique store and what looked to be the hospital. You looked at the man, furrowing your brows.
“Ah, sorry, where are you taking me? I don’t think the grocery store is this way…” you say, chuckling nervously, your bad feeling spiking and practically screaming in your brain. The man looks down at you, giving a closed mouth smile that was just a tad too unsettling. He laughed, patting your back a little as he continued to walk further into the alley.
“Hm? Oh don’t worry, it’s just a shortcut, don’t worry.” The man chuckles, his steps not slowing. You swallow thickly, glancing ahead and seeing that the end of the alleyway was bricked off. No, this was very much not a shortcut. It’s barely two more steps forward after you realize this that you stop in your tracks, gently grabbing his arm and removing his hand from the small of your back. He turns his head toward you as you take a step back.
“I just remembered that my mother needed me to grab her medication for her.” You state, getting ready to bolt. The man just looks at you for another moment, his smile having fallen slightly, only for him to suddenly perk up.
“That’s not an issue, the hospital is right there, I can wait for you just outside.” he suggests, stepping towards you again. You step back, the man taking another step towards you.
“No, no that’s okay. Truly, I don’t want to inconvenience you. I’m sure you must have business to attend to.” You say. You’re about to turn and scurry into the hospital to hide until he leaves, only for him to suddenly grab your wrist. He tugs you back quickly, before shoving you against one of the walls of the alley. You let out a loud pained gasp, before the man shoved his umbrella against your throat. A choked off noise leaves you as he presses it against you harder, and you bring your hands up to try and push it away from your throat. The man leans his face a little closer to you, his free hand reaching into his coat pocket.
“It pains me to bring it to this extreme, dear.” he muses, pulling out a small revolver and pressing it against your forehead. You look up at the gun, tears pricking at your eyes as you suddenly become terrified in a way you’ve never been before. “Your wallet.”
“What?” you barely manage to stammer, struggling to try and get away from him, until the gun is pressed into your skin a little harsher, and you still. The man’s unsettling smile from earlier is gone, and it’s replaced with an unimpressed frown.
“Give me your wallet. You said you had one” He demands again, and now you’re terrified for another reason.
“I don’t have one-”
“Don’t lie to me!”
“I’m not! I promise!” You exclaim, wincing as the umbrella returns to choking you. The man glares at you, before slowly lowering his umbrella, letting it drop to the ground, rolling away a couple feet. You watch it, not daring to move while he has the gun still pressed against your forehead. He reaches towards your skirt, moving the folds and patting it down in search of the wallet you’d claimed to have earlier. Your fingers twitch, and you desperately want to shove him away and run for your life,
After about thirty seconds, he pulls his hand away from your skirt with a frustrated huff. His glare intensifies, and the gun digs into your skin a little harder, causing you to let out a small whimper of pain.
“Well then what the fuck do you suggest I do with you then? I can’t just let you go, you’ll tell the cops.” He states. You discreetly reach your fingers slightly towards where the umbrella had rolled to, keeping your eyes on the man threatening you.
“I won’t- I promise-”
“You’re an idiot if you think I’ll believe you.” He spits harshly. “I don’t usually go for girls your age, but you’ve pissed me off, so I might make an exception-”
He’s interrupted by his own umbrella smacking him in the face. You drop to your knees the moment the umbrella whacks him, and it was a good thing you did, because the gun went off as he stumbled backwards. Glass shatters somewhere above you, and you cover your head, a few shards raining onto you and a couple of them cutting you.
You stand up after you hear the man groan, and you see him regaining his balance. He’s looking around for whoever threw the umbrella at him, the gun still pointed at you. While he’s distracted, you dive behind a wooden crate, scanning the area around for anything you can use to protect yourself, and you spot a crowbar about five feet away. Reaching your hand out towards it. It’s barely able to shift a few inches, before you hear the sounds of a struggle coming from the direction of where the man had been a moment ago.
Peeking your head over the top of the crate, you see the dark haired man limp on the pavement, the gun he’d been holding earlier now lying beside his hand. The man seems to be unconscious, and it's then that you see there’s another man standing over him, tugging at the sleeves of his green suit jacket. His sharp blue eyes scan around the alleyway, before they land on you, and you quickly duck down behind the crate again, your back pressed against the wood. He’d definitely seen you, and you weren’t sure if he was friend or foe and-
“Are you alright, miss?” You quickly look up, meeting icy blue eyes framed by strands of wet blond hair. The man in green had a hand braced on the crate you’re hiding behind as he crouches next to it. He gives you a once over, scanning over your features and lingering on the slowly bleeding cuts on your hands. “That man… did he hurt you?”
The two of you look at each other for a moment, and you’re trying to get a read on him. You’re trying to figure out his intentions, but you can’t even decipher anything from his gaze except for slight worry. After a moment, you speak up.
“I’m… I’m okay… he just wanted money from me, I think…” you tell him. The man in green hums, looking back at the man who was lying unconscious, and you can hear more people entering the alleyway, gasps and affronted voices filling the space. Your shoulders hike up a little towards your ears, and your fingers twitch as you suddenly grow more nervous at the increase of people that might see you, and to your dismay, the blond man seems to notice. Someone from the group calls out towards the man in front of you, footsteps getting closer.
“Dr. Forger? Is everything alright over there? Who are you talking to?” A woman says. The man, who you can deduce as being Dr. Forger, raises his hand with his palm facing the approaching woman, a pleasant smile on his face.
“Yes Darla, everything is fine. Stay there for a moment please. Can you get someone to call the authorities to come pick him up?” He receives an affirmative answer, and the footsteps of the woman retreating away, and you relax minutely. Dr. Forger returns his attention to you. “The rain doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop, and you’re bleeding. I’d like it if you came into the hospital so that one of the nurses can have a look at you.”
Fiddling with your fingers, you frown slightly. “I have places to be…” You have a woman to be outrunning actually.
“Perhaps, but it shouldn’t take too long. If not for your health, then at least for my peace of mind.” The man says gently. His voice sounds so kind, and he makes it sound like he’s truly worried for your health. You can feel yourself giving in.
“I don’t even know your name….” The man chuckles as you say this.
“I suppose you don’t. My name is Loid Forger. I’m a psychiatrist at the hospital.” he tells you, gesturing to the building the two of you are next to. You nod, picking at your ratty sweater, and tell him your name. Loid smiles a little more. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you. Will you please come inside?”
It’s a few more moments, but eventually you nod. Loids smile gets a little softer, and he asks if you need help to stand, and when you shake your head no, he nods. Loid stands and a couple seconds after, you stand as well. Loid looks at you for a second, before he shrugs off his coat and drapes it over your shoulders.
“Come on. Let's head inside.” He hums, before leading you towards the exit of the alleyway. You’re too stunned by the gesture to protest, and the jacket is too warm to give back. You clutch at the fabric, drawing it closer to yourself as you walk beside him. There’s a few people standing around the unconscious man from before, and when they spot you walking beside Loid, they give small gasps and worried glances. Two women start fawning over, getting too close and too intrusive for your liking. A hand gently lands on your shoulder, steering through the thin crowd towards the front door of the hospital, Loids voice asking for some space, and you can’t help but appreciate it a little.
It’s only once you’re inside the hospital that you let out a small sigh of relief.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
About twenty minutes after you enter the building, you’re sitting on a hospital bed, your ratty blue sweater lying folded on the bed beside you as a nurse finishes bandaging up the back of your neck, fingers and forearms. Apparently the glass that had fallen from the window the man had shot earlier had cut you up a lot more than you assumed. Another nurse is standing on your other side, gently drying your hair with a towel, muttering something about not wanting you to get sick. You appreciate it though, as you can now feel just how chilly it is now that you’re left in just your skirt and a black tank top.
A police officer had come into the room earlier, asking you a few questions. You had complied as well as you were able to, but the cop was making you a little nervous. Thoughts of possibly being dragged back to where you’d run from having your fingers trembling. Luckily, you’d managed to stay calm enough until the police officer seemed satisfied with all the answers you’d given him, and he left with a tip of his hat and wishes for your recovery.
The sound of a knock on the doorframe leading into the room caught yours and the nurses attention, and the three of you looked up, seeing Loid standing in the doorway. He gives a small smile.
“How’s she doing?” He asks. The nurse that was now putting away the extra bandages giggled.
“She’s doing alright Dr. Forger. Just a few glass cuts and scrapes.” She explained. “She’ll be right as rain in no time.”
“Lovely.” Loid chuckles, stepping into the room as he continues to talk. “Would you mind if I spoke with her once you’re finished? It’d be best if it was just the two of us.”
Both nurses look at you, as if asking for your permission. You can only nod, a little nervous, but both nurses had been talking about how lucky you were that Loid was in the office and had noticed the struggle. They had gone on and on about how much they admired and appreciated the psychiatrist, so at this point, you figured that he was at least a little trustworthy. Both nurses smiled at you a little, before hurriedly finishing up tending to you, before leaving the room with cheerful goodbyes, leaving you and Loid alone in the hospital room.
Loid sits on the chair next to the hospital bed, leaning his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together in front of him.
“I’m glad you’re not too hurt.” he muses. You nod in acknowledgement, leaving the both of you in silence for a moment, before he starts speaking again. “Is it alright if I ask you a few questions?”
“Mhm.” you hum. Loid smiles, seemingly pleased. He thinks for a moment, before beginning his questioning.
“How old are you?”
“15.”
“Alright, are you in school?”
“I was…. homeschooled.”
“Your parents were homeschooling you?”
“Kind of…”
“Kind of?”
“I can read and write… I can do a little math… I’m okay at science...”
“I see. I was told by a nurse that you didn’t want anyone contacting your parents… are you in any trouble at home?” Loid asks. You frown a little, glancing away. Loid frowns a little as well, before moving to assure you. “You can tell me if you’d like. It will stay between us.”
“I…” You sigh, tapping your fingers against your knees anxiously. “I don’t want to go back…” The confession causes Loids eyes to widen minutely, but he clears his throat, continuing on.
“Is it alright if I ask why not?” He asks. All he receives in return is silence and the quiet shuffling of fabric as you fiddle with the pleats of your skirt. Loid waits for a few moments more, before nodding. “That’s alright. You don’t have to tell me. Do you live with your parents or a family member?”
You hesitate, before shaking your head slightly, glancing at the floor.
“Where did you live?” he asks gently. You think of an answer for a moment.
“An orphanage…” Loid looks at you for a moment, and his expression suggests he’s unsurprised at this. He hums, thinking for a moment. “And you don’t wish to go back there…”
The two of you are left in silence for a little while as Loid thinks about something gods only know about for a bit, before he suddenly stands up and announces that he needs to make a phone call. He exits the room, and you’re left sitting on the hospital bed, unsure if you should stay there and wait for him to return, or if you should just leave and sneak onto a train out of the city.
You’re halfway through the thought, when Loid comes back into the room, a soft smile on his face.
“Apologies, I was just speaking with my wife.” He tells you, before clearing his throat and stepping closer to the hospital bed. “How… how would you feel about spending the night at my place?”
You look at him incredulously, your brows furrowed as you look at him in confusion. Loid coughs, holding his fist in front of his mouth.
“Sorry, that might have sounded strange. I just meant it would be more comfortable than staying the night here in the hospital. My wife has agreed that it’s alright if you’d like to spend the night in our home. You can refuse of course, but I insist that it’s alright.” Loid clarifies. Your eyes are wide, and you’re unsure if you should agree. Yes, he’s been nice to you so far, and yes maybe it would be an easier way to hide from the woman you were running from, but it’s still a little nerve wracking to think about staying the night with him and his family.
“Are… are you sure…?” You ask, a little nervously. “I don’t want to inconvenience you…”
“It’s not an inconvenience, I promise.” Loid chuckles, smiling gently as he waits for your answer. Silently going through any possible protests you might have against his offer, you sit there for a moment, sorting through your thoughts for any big reason that you should refuse, but you’re tired, and cold, and there’s a lingering fear nagging in the back of your head that you’re going to get caught. With a small sigh, you slowly nod.
“I… I guess it’s okay…” You tell him, receiving a happy smile in return.
“Good, I’m glad.” He chuckles. “Alright, well, let’s head out then. You arrived just at the end of my shift, so luckily we can leave right away. We’ll just have to stop at my office so I can grab my things.”
With another nod, you hop down from the hospital bed, grabbing your folded up sweater and slipping it on over your tank top, shuddering at the remaining dampness of the fabric, before following Loid as he stepped out of the room. The two of you walk through the halls of the hospital, a few nurses and even a few patients greeting Loid and bidding the both of you a good evening as you make your way to his office. You stop outside a door with a name card that had Loids name on it, and he steps inside, taking a few minutes to gather up a few items and put them in a briefcase, before grabbing his umbrella and stepping back out into the hallway. Loid gives you a little grin.
“Ready?” He asks. You nod, and Loid starts to lead you out of the hospital. Loid bids goodbye to the receptionist at the front desk as you leave, the blond opening his umbrella once you’re both outside and holding it above the both of you. He starts to walk down the sidewalk, and you follow alongside him, glad to be covered from the rain this time.
You both continue walking, the rain having let up only a little bit in the time that you’d been in the hospital, but you enjoyed the rain a lot more when it wasn’t drenching you to the bone. The journey to Loid’s house is spent in silence, though this time instead of the uncomfortable silence that had permeated the air with the man that had attacked you, the quiet was pleasant.
The walk to the apartment building Loid lived in lasted little more than ten minutes, which was nice because you were getting a little chilly. He’d offered you his coat more than once, but this time you had refused each time he offered, not wanting to burden him any more than you already were. As the two of you head inside and make your way up to his apartment, you see a couple older ladies looking at the both of you, before beginning to whisper to each other. You can’t hear what they’re saying, but Loid pats your shoulder, stopping in front of a door and pulling out a set of keys.
“Don’t worry, they’re just a little nosy.” He assures, getting the door unlocked and pushing it open. He steps inside, gesturing for you to follow him, and once you comply, he closes the door behind you. He sets his umbrella next to the door, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it on a hook next to the door, in between a beige coat and a small dark blue coat. He takes off his shoes and sets them on a mat next to the door, and you do the same, leaving you both in socks as he walks further into the main room of the apartment.
“Yor, Anya, I’m home!” he calls out, picking up a magazine from the floor and setting it on the low coffee table. The sound of a door opening quickly startles you a little, but you’re barely able to process it when a small girl with pink hair comes running from the hallway on the left of the living room. She nearly flings herself at Loid, who picks her up into his arms as she hugs him.
“Papa! Did you help lots of sick people today?” She asks excitedly.
“I’d like to think so.” he chuckles, and you can’t help but think it’s cute. The girl snaps her head towards you almost as if she’d heard you, causing you to jolt a little, and you half wonder if you’d said that out loud. The little girl lets out a startled noise.
“Papa there’s a stranger in our house!” she gasps, pointing at you. You shift a little awkwardly, as another door opens and footsteps come from the hallway the girl had run into the room from. A woman with red eyes and black hair steps into the room, looking around the room with a slightly worried expression.
“Is everything alright out here- oh!” She gasps upon seeing you, and immediately hurries over, her hands hovering as she looks you over. “Oh goodness, you must be freezing!”
“I’m okay…” You tell her, though she isn’t wrong. You are rather cold, and the damp clothes and hair weren’t helping. The woman frowns a little, looking back at Loid and the girl, who were watching the interaction unfold. She turns her attention back to you.
“Why don’t you come in and we can run you a bath?” She suggests.
“It’s okay, really… you don’t need to trouble yourself…” You say, already feeling bad for accepting the offer to stay the night.
“We insist. It’d be a shame if you got sick.” Loid states. You fiddle with your fingers for a moment, before nodding in agreement, both of the adults in the room relaxing minutely as you do so. The woman smiles, before gently taking your hand.
“Come on. Let's get it ready for you.” she hums, before leading you to the bathroom. You can hear the little girl asking Loid a couple questions about you, but you enter the bathroom before you can hear him answer them. The noirette sits on the edge of the tub, running the water and testing the temperature as the tub starts to fill up. You’re standing near the doorway, watching her a little nervously as she does so. She smiles at you. “My name is Yor, by the way.”
You nod hesitantly, and tell her your name in return. Her smile brightens a little, and she turns off the faucet when she deems the tub full enough, pointing out the different soaps you could use. She stands and tells you to take as long as you need, and she’s about to leave the room, and you step aside to let her out, when there’s a knock on the doorframe. The both of you look at the doorway, and see Loid and the pink haired girl standing there. Loid is holding some clothes, and the girl is peeking at you from behind his legs. Loid sets the clothes on the edge of the sink. He tells you to put your dirty clothes in the hamper so that they can be washed, before taking the young girl’s hand and leaving the room. You can’t help but think that these people are being too nice to you…
Yor gives you one last smile, and tells you to call her if you need anything, before leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind her. A moment after she leaves, you lock the door and breathe out a slight sigh of relief, only peeling off your wet clothes and the bandages on your fingers and arms once you’re sure that none of the Forger family will be able to walk in on you. You gently set your clothes in the hamper and put the bandages in the trash bin, before stepping into the tub. You can’t help but breathe out a little relaxed sigh as you sink down into the water until it’s up to your neck, briefly wincing as the water made contact with the tiny cuts you’d acquired earlier. The warmth of the water starts to seep into you, and chases away the chill lingering in your muscles. You sit there for a little while, just letting yourself warm up, but you eventually decide to begin to clean your hair and body.
Reaching your hand out slightly, you look at one of the soap bottles. You concentrate for a moment, and watch as the bottle shakes a little, before it wobbles off the side of the tub and falls into the water. With a little sigh, you shift a little, reaching forward and grabbing it out of the water. Perhaps you’re still a little too on edge… regardless of that failed attempt, you start to clean yourself off. As you do so, you enjoy the way the soap smelled and how it felt to scrub away any grime that clung to your skin.
You take a little longer to soak in the water once you’re done, before you decide that it’s been long enough. Standing up, you step out of the tub and onto the mat next to it, grabbing a towel from a small closet, wrapping it around yourself as you pull the stopper in the tub to let the water drain. Drying yourself off (thankfully it didn’t irritate your injuries too much), you can’t help but think about how nice this is… how nice it is to take a bath, how nice it is to have soap that smells nice, and how nice these people have been treating you… It’s as you’re drying your hair that you pause, your fingers tightening on the fabric.
‘Don’t get used to things you can’t have…’
You remind yourself, sighing as you set the towel in the hamper, grabbing the clothes Loid had brought you and putting them on. It’s a large grey t-shirt and a pair of long plaid pyjama pants. Both items are pretty big on you, and you guess that they both belong to Loid. You can’t help but smile a bit, a little amused. Turning, you unlock the bathroom door, pulling it open. You’re about to step into the hallway, but the little girl is standing right there. You jolt, a little startled at her appearance. She’s looking up at you with wide green eyes. After a moment of staring at each other, you glance to the side, before returning your eyes to her.
“Um… hello…” You greet her, nodding a little. The girl looks at you for a moment, before smiling brightly and pointing at you excitedly.
“I’m Anya! And I’m the big boss here!” She exclaims with a proud grin, her voice mimicking a man, you assume. “The big boss wants to know your name!”
You’re left a little startled by her enthusiasm, but you give her a little smile before introducing yourself to her. She looks pleased after you do so and she laughs.
“Welcome new agent! It’s time for ory…. Uh… ory-entaysh-on !” Anya announces, sounding out the word ‘orientation’ phonetically, and you think it's rather cute. She takes your hand, dragging you to the living room, where Yor and Loid are sitting on the couch, discussing something quietly until the two of you enter the room, to which they go silent. You figure that they were most likely talking about you, and you can’t help but feel a little anxious at the thought of that. Anya brings you out of your thoughts by dragging you to sit in front of the television with her. She sits on the floor, pulling you down until you sit next to her, before she turns to look at Loid and Yor.
“Papa it’s Bondman time!” Anya says loudly. Loid chuckles, before he stands up and walks over, turning on the television and tuning it to a channel playing a show about some kind of spy. You’ve barely thought about how you’ve never seen the show before, when Anya lets out a loud gasp, shaking your arm and asking if you’ve really never seen it before.
“No, I haven’t.” you tell her quietly, confused on how she’d figured that out so quickly. A slightly stressed expression takes over her face, before she quickly starts explaining the show and everything about it, using plenty of sound effects. Anya is halfway through her explanation when Yor gently calls your name. Turning your head, you see her smiling at you, holding a brush.
“Is it alright if I brush your hair for you?” She asks. You think about it for a moment, a little unsure, before you nod. Yor visibly brightens, and she stands from the couch, walking over to you, before sitting behind you. The woman gently takes some of your hair into her hands, before starting to carefully brush out your hair. Somehow, she manages to avoid tugging on your hair or snagging the brush on any knots that you know are very present. It’s… surprisingly relaxing to have someone brushing your hair for you.
Anya continues to talk about her show, and Yor continues to brush your hair, until you’re all interrupted by the sound of Loid calling out to the three of you from the kitchen, saying that dinner was ready. Anya got up quickly, excitedly running to the table in the dining room. Yor giggled a little, putting the brush down on the coffee table.
“I’m all finished. Let’s go eat. Loid is an excellent cook.” She tells you, standing up and holding a hand out to help you up as well. You hesitate, before taking it, and the strength with which she pulls you up throws you for a loop. Yor is a lot stronger than she looked. The noirette smiles happily, before heading to the dining table to sit with her family. You follow behind her, sitting in the chair left unoccupied by the three of them, looking at the meal on the table and the family in front of you. They’re all dishing up each other's plates, and Loid takes your plate, putting a good amount of food on it, before setting it back down in front of you.
“Dig in. Eat as much as you like, there’s plenty enough for seconds if you want.” He tells you. You’re about to say that the offer was way too generous, but your stomach rumbles, and you flush pink in embarrassment, deciding to just start eating to distract yourself from the embarrassment. Much to your enjoyment, Yor hadn’t lied about Loid’s skills in the kitchen. The meal was absolutely delicious . You’ve never had anything this tasty in your life…
The four of you continue with your meal, the Forgers all chatting and joking around, on occasion trying to bring you into the conversation, to which you did your best to participate whenever you were asked a question or whenever they asked your opinion. The dinner continued on for a while, and when it had come to a conclusion and you had offered to clear off the table or wash the dishes to help repay them for their hospitality, Yor and Loid simply laughed, telling you that there wasn’t a need for that, and to just relax. You had frowned, but nodded, not wanting to pester them as they started to clean up.
Anya was back in the living room, a couple pieces of paper scattered around as she drew on them with colourful crayons. You sat next to her on the floor, and she grinned at you, holding up the paper she’d been drawing on proudly.
“Look, look! Aren’t I good?” She asked, her voice sounding excited. You looked at the paper, tilting your head a little in an attempt to figure out what it was. Unfortunately, you couldn’t really decipher much of it other than a little stick figure with pink scribbles on its head. You smile a bit as you answer her.
“It’s really good, Anya. Is that you?” You ask, pointing at the stick figure. Her eyes are practically sparkling as she nods enthusiastically.
“Yeah! It’s me fighting the bad guys!” She laughed, and you couldn’t stop the little chuckle that left you. You watch her draw a little longer, shaking your head when she offered to let you draw as well, much more content to just sit there and take in all the events of the day. Truly, it had been quite wild.
It’s about an hour later that Loid looks at the clock on the wall, and stands from his seat on the couch where he’d been reading some book you didn’t care to look at the title of.
“Alright you two. It’s Anya’s bedtime, and I think you should probably hit the hay as well.” He announces, looking between you and Anya. Anya pouts, letting out a drawn out groan and protesting that she wasn’t tired, but you only nodded, not wanting to argue when he was so graciously letting you spend the night. It takes a moment, but he manages to convince Anya to go to bed, and he takes her to her room, the girl still grumbling the whole way regardless. Yor stands from her spot on the couch as well, smiling at you.
“You can stay in the guestroom tonight.” she tells you, leading you down the hallway and towards a door on the left side of the bathroom. She pushes it open, revealing a sparsely decorated room, a bed pushed against the far wall, a nightstand with a lamp on it placed next to it. There’s a wardrobe set against the wall opposite of the bed and there’s a wooden chair sitting in front of a nice looking wooden desk on the wall that held the door. She looks at you, gesturing at the room. “Make yourself at home.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Forger… this is all so nice of you guys…” You tell her, stepping into the room. It really is nice of them to even let you spend the night, let alone let you sleep in a room this nice. A chuckle rings out behind the two of you, and you turn, only to see Loid standing there with a bear plushie in his hands.
“Anya said she wanted you to have this for the night.” he explains, holding the bear out to you. You just look at him incredulously, brows furrowed, and you’re sure you look like an idiot just staring at him. He smiles. “She thought you might be a little uneasy, so she wanted you to borrow Agent Bear to make you feel better.”
You stare for a moment longer, before gently taking the plushie from him, looking down at it in your hands. Looking back up at the married couple in front of you, you’re almost startled at the way they’re looking at you. Their gazes are both filled with something akin to affection, and you can’t help but be a little embarrassed, but you offhandedly think that it’s kind of nice.
“Thank you… I’ll… I appreciate it.” You nod. Yor and Loid nod, taking a step back out of the room.
“Just let us know if you need anything. Yor’s room is the second one on the left, and mine is the one at the end of the hall.” Loid explains. You nod once again, and the two of them bid you a goodnight, before closing the door to the spare bedroom shut. It’s a couple minutes after they’ve left that you finally move. You move towards the bed, the lamp on the nightstand lit, and the only source of light in the room at the moment. Pulling the covers up, you crawl into bed, the mattress the comfiest thing you think you’ve ever slept on in your life. Holding the bear above you, you stare at it for a couple minutes, silently asking it how the hell you ended up in this situation… When it predictably doesn’t give you an answer, you sigh, reaching over and turning off the lamp, plunging yourself into darkness.
You turn onto your side, hugging the bear close to you as you close your eyes in an attempt to fall asleep. Loid and Yor can be heard moving around the apartment, but it’s not loud enough to keep you awake. In fact, you think that if it was silent you might not be able to sleep at all. You don’t know how long it is until you finally manage to drift off, the faint thought of ‘I wish I could stay…’ following you as you slip into a dreamless sleep.