Chapter Text
Two Years Later.
“Ah Dr Forger, we meet at last.”
Well it has only taken a two year wait, persuading Yor to hold this ridiculous party and 90 minutes of stalking you around our apartment till I could get you on your own, Loid thought. We could have met a damn sight earlier if I had been able to access Garden HQ on the 15 failed attempts I made.
“Shopkeeper!” He offered the Shopkeeper a drink. “Thank you for coming to Yolanna’s birthday celebration. Your presence has made Yor very happy.”
“The Thorn Princess is looking radiant and Yolanna is growing so fast, I cannot believe it has been a year already.”
Loid looked over at Yor with their baby, glowing as she mingled with their friends and colleagues. The Shopkeeper was right on both counts.
Loid smiled.“I agree.”
“Your other daughter?” The Shopkeeper inquired.
Is being kept well away from you, as per your condition to accepting Yor’s invitation. Though as soon as Anya realises that I have abandoned my supervisory role of her to talk to you, I imagine you will be meeting her very soon.
His smile broadened. “Anya is also very well, thank you.”
The Shopkeeper smiled avuncularly. “I am grateful that you have desisted in your attempts to access our premises, we are regrettably not in a position to welcome guests.” The unspoken words of, if you had not done so we would have pruned you despite the Thorn Princess, hung heavily in the air.
“Yes, I am sorry for the confusion. Yor made your position much clearer to me after you explained your concerns to her.” She had been furious with him and held a knife to his throat as she told him she might as well cut it herself if he was so keen on committing suicide, it would be a kinder and quicker end than Hemlock would give him.
The Shopkeeper looked at Loid curiously, “What were you looking for?”
“Answers!”
The Shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. “I understood that you had changed your profession.”
“It is a personal rather than professional curiosity.”
The Shopkeeper indicated he was listening.
“I wanted to know if you were the original source to WISE, informing us of Jupiter’s operation at the weapon’s plant.”
“Yes.” The Shopkeeper affirmed easily. “ Is that all?”
“Why? Why inform WISE, why not the SSS?” He asked eagerly.This question had bothered him for so long, Loid almost blurted it out.
“There are many tools available to use in the garden, I think it is important to use them all. I also thought it was about time that Twilight and the Thorn Princess met. You were both making things overly complicated.”
“You knew who I was?” Loid was genuinely surprised.
“Of course. The Thorn Princess is very precious to me, I would not have let her marry anyone unworthy.”
“Did you not consider a spy unworthy?” Despite himself Loid was being distracted.
“I think that you have many admirable talents, not least of which is making the Thorn Princess happy, and I believe you will prove to be a considerable an asset to Ostania.”
“You know I am Westalian?”
The Shopkeeper pulled his face, as though disagreeing. “Your mother was Westalian , but you [REDACTED] are more complicated.”
Loid was shocked. “You know my name?”
The Shopkeeper popped a canape in his mouth nonchalantly. “It was your father’s. We were colleagues. Friends.”
“My father was Ostanian and Garden?”
The Shopkeeper nodded.
Good Grief! Loid sat down.
“Yes. He chose to live with your mother in Westalia. I think he would have been very pleased with how you turned out. You resemble him.”
Loid didn’t say anything for a moment his mind buzzing with thoughts and questions, then “What happened to him?”
“He died on an assassination mission, attempting to prevented the war.” Off Loid’s look, “Even Garden are not invincible and nobody can survive a bomb.”
There was a pause in conversation, which Shopkeeper eventually broke.
“You have a very eclectic mix of guests at your party.” He said affably.
He had had a few quite interesting conversations with some hospital workers and Eden parents, however, avoiding the spies and SSS officials, in the shape of Yuri and Chloe had been tiresome. Loid didn’t respond, his mind taken up with the new information he had just received.
“I do not wish to be rude, but our time is running short, is there anything else you wish to ask before I take my leave?”
Loid shook his head, trying to clear the bombshell of his thoughts. “Why did Garden destroy the people at the factories not the weapons? And why did you not take out the plotters earlier? "
“Our purpose is to clear our world of evil and treacherous people who threaten our country. The arms themselves are not evil, just things, and they were the rightful property of the government, who now have them. As for taking out the plotters, as I said earlier, other tools were more appropriate for the task so we utilized those.”
“Tools like me?” Loid asked dryly.
“Yes.” The Shopkeeper replied simply.
Anya had spotted them from across the room.
“Goodbye [REDACTED] our time is up, I see your daughter has managed to evade her mother and is approaching, and I would not have my thoughts known. Please do give my love to the Thorn Princess, remind her to bring Yolanna on her next visit.”
By the time Anya reached Loid, the Shopkeeper had gone. She scrambled onto her Papa’s lap and snuggled in, smearing chocolate on his trousers as she did so. He sighed the exasperated sigh he saved just for her, but she just smiled at him. They both knew it was an act and he loved their cuddles just as much as she did.
“So what have you learned?” He asked her.
She looked innocent “You told me I wasn’t allowed to listen to anyone’s thoughts”.
He raised his eyebrows at her, “And we both know you ignored me.”
She smiled mischievously at him. “All those nurses from the hospital have weird thoughts about you.”
“Mmmmm”. He seemed unimpressed.
“And some of the men have weird thoughts about Mama. Do you want to know which ones?” She asked innocently, then watched him in a savage internal struggle for a moment, before he finally managed stiffly. “No, lets move on from weird thoughts.”
"The lady with the big hat, your old boss. She want’s you to decide if you want to be a spy again.”
“Does she now.” Affecting surprise. He had foolishly hoped he could conceal that from Anya. Anya raised an eyebrow and he pretended not to notice so she continued.
“The lady who is pretending to be someone else, really hates Mama.”
Ah so Fiona did come after all. “Which one is she?” He asked and Anya pointed her out. He would go and talk to her later.
“What about the man I was just talking to.” Loid asked casually.
“He has sheep’s hair”. Anya observed.
“Yes.” Said Loid patiently.
“Mama said I speshually could not go near him.” Anya said artlessly.
“I am aware. I am also aware that your range is sufficiently large to read him from the other room and I have no doubt you did.”
“He was tricky. He can hide his thoughts.”
“Can he?” Loid was honestly surprised.
“As well as me?” Loid had been practising and was getting quite good.
She didn’t answer.
“Ah so better than me then.”
She nodded. “But I did hear him think he misses Mama and wants her to come back and work for him.”
“Oh!” Loid looked concerned.
“There you are!” Yor had arrived unnoticed and she swung Anya up out of Loid’s arms, into a hug.
“You are missing the cake Miss Anya!”
“Yay! Cake!” Sang Anya and she immediately scarpered off to the kitchen and food.
“It’s ok you can relax, the Shopkeeper has gone, you don’t need to protect him from her anymore.” Loid said amused by her ruse.
“Oh no, I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to him”
She looked genuinely disappointed and not for the first time, Loid wondered at Yor’s obvious affection for the creepy old man.
He took her hand and gestured towards their guests. “Everyone looks very happy and content. As for Yolanna, I’m not sure Chloe would give her up even if you asked. You could always take a break from hosting and give your husband 5 minutes. "
Yor smiled at him teasingly and placed her hand suggestively high up on his thigh. “Only 5 minutes, Dr Forger, you are selling yourself short.”
He grinned the boyish grin, he shared only with her. “I can’t believe you are propositioning me in public, I’m a married man!” He placed his hand on hers.
“But then again after last night…….” His grin widened when she blushed. “Can you remember when you couldn’t even hold my hand?”
“Yes, but I had the personal attention of Berlintz top psychologist to cure me. It’s no wonder they made you the Director of Psychology, you can clearly work miracles.” She moved her hand off his thigh and entwined his fingers in hers.
He smiled. “You're right. All that arduous hand holding and difficult welcome home kisses, not to mention the massage. It was such hard work, I deserved some sort of medal? .”
“Ow!” He ruefully retrieved his crushed fingers.
“Did he answer your questions?” She asked.
“Who?” Said Loid, confused by the abrupt subject change.
“The Shopkeeper. That was the reason you pushed for this party wasn’t it? “
Ah. So she had known.
“Surprisingly he did.” Including the very personal ones I didn’t ask. What was that about? Why did he do that? Who the hell is this man? Loid thought.
“What did you think of him?” Yor asked enthusiastically.
Oh that he is terrifyingly sinister and very possibly evil. One fluffy white cat short of a Bondsman villain and almost certainly has some God complex.
“He’s…no Father Christmas, despite the hair.” He settled on diplomatically.
Yor giggled. “He’s a pussycat.” She said happily.
What was this unnervingly close relationship she had with the creep? Could he really persuade her to go back to Garden?
“Do you ever miss being with Garden, Yor?” He was watching her closely.
She considered the question. “Sometimes. Not really the killing, but it felt like I was doing important work and..well, I was really, really good at it.” She blushed a little at her boast. “I sometimes help with training when I go to visit Shopkeeper.”
She sensed his disquiet and placed her hand on his cheek. “I wouldn’t swap what I have now for anything.”
She wondered why he was speculating about this. “What about you? Have you decided to take that job of Handler?” There was a small pause “I always thought you would go back to being a spy when you managed to learn how to block your thoughts from Anya.” She said quietly.
“Would you mind. Being the Handler would be more specialised and there would definitely be no honey trap work?”
“I would understand.” She said carefully.
That wasn’t the same thing, but Loid knew what she meant. If she ever felt the need to go back to being an assassin, he wouldn’t like it, but would understand the compulsion and wouldn’t try to stop her.
He thought about his father, heroically intending to stop a war and save the world, but in reality all he achieved was failing to protect his family, abandoning his son to a desolate, miserable and precarious fate. The idea of his own children experiencing what he had made Loid's blood run cold. Yor's acceptance wasn’t enough, if he rejoined WISE any risks or sacrifices he took now would be hers and their children’s too and Loid would allow nothing to jeopardise his main mission of being there for his family.
“Thank you Yor.” He squeezed her hand, grateful that she would make it so easy for him if he chose this. No screaming, no hysterics, just understanding and support. One of the many, many things he loved about her.
“But this is not my decision to make, it’s ours and I will not agree to anything that you are not comfortable with.“
Moved by his love and consideration of her, Yor drew him into a deep and loving kiss and for a moment it felt as though they had escaped from the World and it's demands, there was only this moment and each other. They were the only two people in existence. Until the World abruptly dragged them back… ,
“Mama! Papa! Stop doing that! Unkie is vomiting blood again!”
The End