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Chapter Text

Twilight ran after the culprit, who managed to sneak in despite WISE constrict security, and killed the secretary of the very important person in the event. He was curious, because the culprit didn't savagely kill any other people there, aside from that one specific target. Was that an honor way of Garden assassins?

But the truth that made Twilight run even faster now was the fact that the silhouette of the person was so familiar, he didn't dare to deduce until he confirmed it with his own eyes.

When he finally caught up with the person, they exchanged blows several times. Somehow the agent already expected that he would be no match against the assassins. But only after she slammed him to the ground and took out her knives for the finishing blow did he finally dared to call her.

"Yor, wait!! It's me!!" As he ripped opened his mask. 

Immediately her movement stopped. Her eyes widened in surprise.

However, those seconds of doubts were fatal for her, as another WISE agent, in their try to save Twilight, released a shot, and it injured her shoulder. 

"NO!!" Twilight shouted to his fellow agents.

Yor took the distraction to flee. She ran towards the edge of the building. 

The agent took another aim, which Twilight tried to stop by tackling him. However to his horror, the shot still happened, and he watched in dismay as the bullet grazed his wife's leg and it made her lose her footing and she fell to the alley below. 

Twilight angrily pulled his fellow agents' collar, "I told you to stop shooting!"

"But you were in danger!"

"I already had it under control!"

"But I-...."

"You should listen to the order next time."

The younger agent nodded and gulped when he asked, "Should we-..."

"No. We better return and secure the perimeter."

Twilight did what he needed to do, despite the escalating worry in his chest. He kept reminding himself that his wife was strong enough that she would still be alive despite the wounds and the fall. He took several minutes to linger within his fellow agents to not attract suspicions, before he slowly sneaked out of the place, and went to search for his injured wife. 

He started from the place he calculated would be the place she might fall down into. His keen observant eyes managed to capture a trail of blood, which led him into an abandoned building, about two blocks away. 

The blond agents carefully entered the building, still following the blood trail, until a certain place where it suddenly disappeared. 

He frowned at the peculiar sight, and just when he thought about searching the place, he felt the cold tip of a blade at the back of his neck. 

He gulped, raised his both hands, and spoke slowly, "Yor, it's just me."

"........."

"I'm sorry that you're injured. Please let me help you."

"........."

“Yor, please. We have to stop the bleeding.”

“Why..?” came the rasped reply, which knotted Twilight's stomach in a painful way.

“Because you’re my wife?”

“We’re just pretending.” 

The sharp reply stabbed and twisted his heart in a new level of pain he never knew he could ever feel up until this point. 

True that they were just pretending to be husband and wife in a family full of lies that Twilight had made for his mission. At first. 

But during the journey, Twilight couldn’t deny no matter how hard he tried, that he had fallen for this family and the warmth it brought him. That he had fallen for real, for the amazing woman standing behind him. 

The proof? Well, the excruciating pain of betrayal he currently felt deep down in his ribcage. After all, betrayals could only hurt so much if it was done by those who were the closets to someone. 

And judging by the sharp yet wavering tone his wife used to talk, he suspected she was also experiencing the same pain right now. 

Which meant…..

“True, we started out by pretending. But…. were you only pretending when you protected and showered Anya with your love? Were you only pretending when you laughed and cried when you were around us? Were you only pretending when….. ” he gulped, “... when you kissed me back the other night?”

“..........”

“I want to say I did pretend in all that. But the pain in my chest right now, proved me otherwise.”

“.........”

“Yor?”

She sobbed and lowered her weapon, “I don’t know… Loid…. I don’t know…..”

In an instant, Loid turned and hugged her tight, letting her cry to his chest. When he felt her knees buckled under her weight, he slowly kneeled down with her, never letting go of the hug. “We do have a lot to talk about, but right now, let us stop the bleeding.”

He felt her nodded, slowly let her go, and started patching her up. 

.

They didn’t talk at all ever since he started helping her patched up. To Loid’s concern, his wife didn’t even grunt or hissed when he stitched her wound close. 

Was the shock of the current event numbing her that much?

The man bit down any of his questions and just tried to be grateful that at least she was still conscious. 

After changing her clothes, Loid was now back carrying his injured wife and on their way home. Still in silence. 

It was not unusual for them to have their silence during their walks, however, this time the heavy atmosphere almost suffocated him. 

As if sensing his uneasiness, suddenly he heard Yor whispered, “I’m so tired….”

Loid widened his eyes a bit, but then smiled and answered, “Just sleep then. We’ll be back at home in no time.”

The woman then tightened her arms around his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder. 

Loid took a deep breath. 

In all his life, he never felt this lost and so unsure of what to do next. He knew that he never wanted to let go of this woman, and the family that he currently had.

The problem is how?

.

The next morning, Loid was preparing breakfast for two. He was so glad that Anya went to spend the weekend at Becky's so that he still got time to sort these things out, before the kid returned home. 

Considering their term at the beginning, Loid really have nothing to make Yor stay and play as his wife. But now they knew that they shared mutual feelings…. 

Maybe… . 

He shook his head. It was already bad enough that their relationship was built over lies. To manipulate her feelings so that he could continue with the mission would be beyond despicable. Besides, he knew the real reason he wanted her to stay. 

But will she? After last night?  

The blond man took a deep breath.

Just as he finished arranging the toast and omelette on the plate, plus strawberry and beetroot fresh juices, he saw Yor entering their dining space. 

She looks a bit fresher, but the darkened circle under her eyes showed that she might didn't have had the best sleep last night. To be quite honest, his own appearance might be not so different. 

"Morning, Yor. How are you feeling?" 

She gave him a small smile, "Quite awful actually." 

He chuckled, "Breakfast?"

He purposely arranged so that they would sit side by side during breakfast. Was it because he couldn't look her in the eyes? He honestly didn't know. But Yor didn't seem to mind, and just followed with the unusual arrangement. 

They were having their breakfast in silence, when suddenly Yor addressed the elephant in the room, "So, what will we do from now?"

Loid glanced at her, leaned back and sighed, "I don't know."

"Hmm? That's unusual for you….." 

He frowned, "Because I never had a situation like this before." 

A situation where he involved other people in a long run mission, and involved feelings. His included. 

This time the problem was a jumbled mess of tangled thread, that he knew whichever end he pulled will never give him a satisfying result. She would get hurt. Anya would get hurt. And thousands of others might get hurt. All because he didn't proceed carefully. 

A sudden weight in his shoulder and a warmth at his hand pulled him out of his deep thoughts. He glanced at Yor who was resting her head on him, holding his hand and intertwined their fingers.

"I really don't like it when you have that expression on your face." 

He blinked, "Yor?"

"After last night, I really think we should start trusting each other by sharing our secrets." 

He blinked some more.

"I've been thinking back to the day we first came to our arrangement. Was this family part of your mission?"

He nodded.

"Is Anya your biological daughter?"

"She was adopted."

She nodded, then continued, "Did you mean it? Everything you said to me last night?" 

"Yes." 

She looked at him, "I guess we're stuck to each other then."

His heart beat faster, "You're not angry?"

"To be fair, I have my share of lies too…."

"Yes, but I-...."

"Besides, as your wife, it's my place to support you in whatever you're trying to do. Especially if it's for the good of others."

He gulped, "Even though we're on the opposite sites?"

Yor smiled, "The higher ups didn't need to know about this, right? Besides, as long as we don't interfere with each other's "jobs", then it shouldn't be different then what we've done up until now, right?"

Loid nodded, and tightened his hand holding hers.

True…. Oh so true….. It's dangerous, but, as long as they're together, they could try. 

"Oh but….." He noticed how her eyes suddenly glinted dangerously, and her tone changed, "Now that you already know who I really am, you do know the consequences should you cheat on me, hmmm??" 

His eyes widened, while the hair at the back of his neck stood. 

Did she just show me her other personality on purpose?  

But then he noticed how the corner of her lips quirked upward, and she smiled mischievously. 

The man smiled, and calmly put on his mask, "Yes, Ma'am. But can you please return my kind and cheerful wife to me?"

Her smirk just got wider, as she got closer and whispered, "Oh? Mr. Spy didn't like this side of mine?" 

Gawd! He loves her so much.

Loid cracked a grin himself as he captured her lips in his, "How can I? When they're one and the same amazing woman." 

And just like that, Loid felt the extreme burden on his shoulder gone.

Chapter Text

It's finally done. Operation Strix successfully completed. And thus, what comes next is goodbyes. 

Yor had known ever since she agreed to participate in such Operation, when things were done, so was the family she had grown to love. So she shouldn't be feeling this awful. But honestly, who could control such things? 

They were standing at the top of the building. A block away from remains once a prestigious pharmaceutical laboratory. 

She looked at her husband, whose sadness was evident in his face. No longer covered with multiple masks. 

She nudged her chin towards the remains, "You will fix that, and everything else, right??"

"Yeah," was his somber response.

"But not for us."

He sadly shook his head, "No, not for us."

"I understand."

Police sirens could be heard from the distance.

"They're coming."

"I know," she solemnly said, "I have to go." 

Assassins should remain as urban legends.  

"Mama…."

She averted her gaze towards the little girl, who was covered in a blanket, and eyes started to brim with tears.

Smiling sadly, Yor gave her her last hug, and whispered, "Thank you, for choosing me to be your mother." And she wiped away those tears with her thumb. 

As the sirens could be heard more clearly, she stood up, and ran towards the edge of the building. 

Casting one last glance at her home , she waved her hand, and jumped towards the shadows. 

. 

Weeks after that returned to her quiet morning at a lonely apartment. Other people wouldn't even register the changes, and at most perhaps just gossiping about her being divorced. She honestly didn't care. She just rolled with her routine activities when she was still single, and returned to her usual place in the society, and that was being invisible. 

As she was coming to retrieve her clothes at the Munna and Monicca tailor shop, however, she couldn't stop her memories flooding back. 

Their first meeting was here. 

She smiled sadly when remembering those moments. Now that she knew everything, she should give credit to Anya who had played as their matchmaker. 

She sighed and walked outside. 

Just after stepping at the sidewalk, the hair at the back of her neck stood when suddenly she felt a sharp gaze directed towards her. 

She glared back at the person, and abruptly stopped.

"Ah, pardon my staring, Ma'am. I'm just thinking how beautiful you are…."

Her eyes widened, "You…?" 

The blond man walked closer, "Ah, where's my manner. My name is….. uummm Actually I don't have any name. What would you want to call me?" 

"Loid?" 

"Loid it is then."

"Loid what are you doing here?!" She whispered and glanced right and left, wary of people recognizing the infamous Westalian Spy, Twilight. 

"Actually, I need a favor."

"Huh?" 

"You see, I have a daughter. She's very difficult to understand and can be overly creative sometimes. And I have a dog too. Both of them always made my apartement a wrecking mess. I can hardly walk in it. Can you help me?" 

"Huh??"

Suddenly Loid kneeled on one knee, and popped open a box, with a shiny ruby golden ring in it. 

"Please?"

Yor's eyes widened and mouth agape. She has trouble understanding what was going on. 

"Loid…. What about… err.. your supervisor?" 

He craned his neck and she could see several bluish marks, "I already have her permission."

"But what about me being.. uuuhh… you know…. cleaning service staff??" 

"Yor, I wouldn't do this, if I have any doubts." 

Now Yor started to hyperventilating, and her visions started to blur. 

"Yor??? People are staring at us. Please spare me my dignity?" 

She chuckled and finally answered, "Of course, Loid, I would gladly help you."

"Forever??" 

Her smile became even wider, "Forever." 

Smiling brightly, Loid slided the ring at her finger, and kissed her right there right then, at the front of bystanders who merily clapped and cheered at them.

To be quite honest, neither Yor nor Loid cared about their surroundings, because now they have one another. 

Chapter Text

The sky was bright and beautiful that day. The opposite with the gloomy and sad vibes around him, as the blond man stood in front of the tombstones. The people who attended the funeral left one by one, and finally only him stood at the place.

Loid Forger slowly kneeled in front of said tombstones, putting down a bunch of flowers in front of one of it.

Roses.

Her favorite flower.

He remembered the particular day, when the car transporting the Briar siblings got the accident. A truck with brake failure. He remembered when the police relay the news, just when he had finished a session with one difficult patient.

"If we met under different circumstances.... will you be my wife again....??" He slowly asked the tombstones.

"You know I will....." A voice startled him.

The man immediately stood, and looked at his back.

He saw a blond woman in black attire stood there

The man frowned and sighed, before took the woman's elbow, and started to walk away with her, towards the parking Trabant

"You're not supposed to be here, you know?" He asked the blond woman

"But..... I'm curious....." the woman whispered back, "I really love the eulogy you made... I really teared up..... and I was quite surprised that even chief Barnes showed up!" 

They entered the Trabant and Loid started the engine. 

"That's not the point!!! You're supposed to be dead!! No dead people come to their own funeral! What if people recognize you??" He whispered yelled. 

They started to drive away from the cemetery 

"Oohh? But you ARE the master of disguise, I trust you made my disguise perfect!"

"I did..... but you also need to act like different person"

Yor slapped his hand, "How insulting! You're saying I'm a lousy actress?"

Loid just rolled his eyes, "Where's Anya and Yuri?" 

"At the station, or perhaps inside the train already" was her answer with a cheerful tone.

"Bond?"

"Obediently sit by his masters, obviously...."

And with that, the story of the Forger comes to an end, as they move to a new place with a new identity, but still the same family member. Yes. Yuri included.

Chapter Text

Yor walked slowly as her vision started to blur, making the world around her spins, and her breath started to get heavier in each step. The poison spreading from the nick at her arm was clearly a new type. Deadly one. Should it attacked other people, they would've died instantly. But not her. She's considered one of the best for a reason. Her body was fighting back. What she needed was to get back home safely, drink some more herbs, and have some rest. She will be back on her feet tomorrow. 

She was adjusting the grocery bag in her arms, and trying her best to focus her attention towards the road, when suddenly, "Hiya there, Miss. Care to accompany us for a moment?" 

Yor looked at the two men blocking her way, and politely said, "I'm already married." 

"Ahaha… playing hard to get, eh?" One of the men trying to grab her arms.

She easily grabbed his wrist, twisted it by using said man's momentum, making him drop on one knee with his arm twisted behind his back. He shouted in surprise, and made his other friend try to attack her, but Yor moved the kneeling man towards the new attacker, and made them collide with one another. 

"I believe I said I'm a married woman? Please don't touch me." 

Usually, the threats she gave those who harassed her were enough to make them scamper away. However, her try to stagger away from the place made the men attempt to avenge their pride. 

"Cocky, b*tch!!" 

She readied herself to fight back when somebody grabbed one of the assaulters wrist. 

.

Frankie used all of his weight to push the bigger man down. 

"She already said not to touch her!" 

Unfortunately for him, he was not trained in martial arts and lacked physical power compared with his opponent, so Frankie got punched in the jaw instead. 

The short man saw stars and flopped in his back. When his vision started to clear, he watched in horror as the two men towering over him with their fists ready to pummel him, “Keep your nose elsewhere, Shorty!”   

Poor Frankie tried to cover his face with his arms in anticipation of the barrel of fists that will soon come. But then, one very powerful kick coming from the woman he tried to help, flung the two men at once several meters away. 

“GO. AWAY!!” She growled at those men who immediately scampered for their life.

His jaw slacked as he watched Yor out of breath and turned to addressed him, “You okay?”

Frankie blinked when answered, “Yeah.”

The woman smiled, “Good…..”

He chuckled and stood up, “Right, I forgot how stro-....”

 THUD.

“Huh?” He looked up, and his eyes widened in surprise.

At once he ran and kneeled at the side of the passed out woman, “Hey… hey…. Hang in there, Yor!” And by then he just noticed that she got a fever. 

Scattered groceries caught his eyes, made him scowled, “That jerk Twilight really has to make this woman run errands till she collapses, huh?”

Frankie then found a cab, and brought the woman back to Forgers residence. 

.

The short man caught the ice pack Twilight flung at him, and compressed his swollen jaw. He took a seat at the empty couch in the living room, while watching the father and daughter fret around the mother, who was lying in the love seat. 

Anya soon came with blankets, while Twilight returned with a bowl of warm water and washcloth. Even the dog tried to do something, placing his head atop of the woman’s leg. Perhaps trying to warm them?

Is this supposed to be a fake family?

Suddenly the woman opened her eyes and rose up in panic.  

“Yor! Yor! You’re safe!” Twilight held her shoulder and asked her to focus on him, “It’s me, Loid. Look at me… Look at me… It’s okay... “

“Mama…..” Anya held her hand, forcing her to focus. And by then Yor finally recognize that she was at her home, and she relaxed.

“How…?”

“Frankie took you home…” He straightened when Twilight gestured to him.

Those red eyes found him and softened. She smiled and said, “Thank you….”

Frankie felt his face heated at the genuine gratitude, and mumbled, “No problem.”

It really felt nice to have someone appreciated his effort for once, however small it was. 

He then glanced at his so-called friend 

Quite the opposite from this jerk right here who never even said a simple thanks .

“Just lay down here and rest, okay,” Twilight pushed his wife back to the sofa, and asked Anya to retrieve a glass of water, and the medicine at the kitchen. 

Frankie then stood up and placed the ice pack at the table, “Kay then. Time to go.”

“Frankie, thank you, and sorry for the trouble...”

He waved his hand at the woman and smiled, “Don’t mention it. Besides, you ended up saving me from those jackasses.”

Twilight walked him to the door. Frankie then nudged his friend, “She’s really one of the kind. You should really take good care of her.”

His friend nodded.

“Seriously dude, if you ever make her sad, I won’t help you with the information ever!”

“Yeah, sure…. Here….” Twilight just grinned and shoved him a stack of cash.

Frankie’s eyes bulged out in disbelief, “You dare pay me for bringing your wife home?! What a cold dead heart jerk!”

“No. This is for the photo I asked you to find. Just think of this as down payment.”

He gawked at his friend.

He still snatched the cash though, and shoved it into his pocket, because a cruel reality was a fact that a man gotta earn something to live. Though it didn't stop him from grumbling,"I really don’t get why such a goddess ever agreed to play house with jackass like you."

The blond man cackled and said, "Thank you for bringing her home safely. Really appreciated it, buddy."

Frankie raised his brow.

Did he just…..?  

The shorter man then thought that perhaps playing house really had changed his friend. Though for the better or worse were yet to be determined.

He then walked away while waving his hand.

"Oh! And perhaps this weekend you can……"

He smirked and cut him short, "Yeah… yeah… consider it done. You gotta pamper her like a queen this weekend, or else."

Frankie spared a glance at the grinning blond idiot at his back, and shook his head.

Perhaps those changes are for the better.

Chapter Text

Yor took several books and notes from her locker before closing it. She planned to make today’s assignment at the diners, where she worked part time, located two blocks away from Eden college building. 

She got help from the Ostanian government for her college study to become a kindergarten teacher, but of course it only covered the bare minimum. She still needed to earn money to cover other necessities. And thus, as usual things happened each afternoon, she walked towards WISE diners. 

Ms. Sylvia was a kind lady, to let her work and study at the same time, but she was also quite strict regarding time management (a.k.a tardiness equal to payroll deduction).  

When passing the courtyard, she noticed that there were preparations for annual spring festivals that will be held at the weekend. She looked around and noticed the preparation of booths, a massive bonfire where the afternoon dance will be held, and spots where the fireworks will be launched. 

Yor sighed. 

Deep down inside she wanted to attend such festivals, but even in her last year of study, she wouldn’t be able to. Or to be precise, didn’t want to. She has no close friends to accompany her, and well….. roaming around festivals by one lonesome self was not an interesting idea to begin with.

Thus she continued to walk towards her destination. 

.

Yor glanced at the far corner table at the diner room from behind the counter. There he was again, sitting by himself, taking notes from those thick books. 

She noticed that starting a month ago, the blond man always came to the diner, exactly at 5 pm, and stayed there until their closing time. Always taking notes and…..

The doorbell rang and this time the same short haired blond lady that had been coming for the past week, again sat in front of him. 

She watched from her place how the lady tried to talk sweetly to the man, but he ignored her. And after some time, that lady gave up whatever plan she had, and left. 

.

The next day, the usual scene happened again as Yor chopped the ribs she was told to prepare. 

Only this time, he was pestered by a tall lady with long black hair and bodyguards (?). Yet, the lady was also being ignored. The bodyguards tried to threaten the blond man, but he didn’t bulge. 

Yor frowned and didn’t realize that she chopped the ribs harder until the chopping board made loud noises. She cringed when she looked down and just realized that she chopped the board into two. She would have her payroll deducted because of that, but somehow she didn’t mind it as she saw the bodyguards back off, and the black haired lady then turned and all of them left the blond man alone.

.

Day after that, another blond lady came to pester the man. This woman had that pompous aura around her. She talked and gestured at the man, perhaps asking him to do something. But as always, the man just ignored her. Yor glanced at the scene before her, while mopping the kitchen. 

Apparently, this lady also was rather short tempered compared with the previous ones (and also ill mannered), that suddenly she took her caffe latte and splashed the man with it, then stomping away.

Yor gasped at the scene, and she hurriedly took wet towels to help the man cleaned himself. 

“Are you alright?” she asked the man while she hurriedly dabbed at his clothes, books, notes, and tables.

He scoffed, “That’s Camilla for ya. Could never take ‘no’ as an answer.”

Yor’s eyes widened, “That’s Camilla? The idol of all men on Eden campus??”

The man chuckled and gestured to the brown blotched coloring clothes he was wearing, “Honestly, don’t you think that’s a self proclaimed title??”

The woman just blushed and continued her work. 

“Thank you, by the way. Sorry that you have to redo the cleaning here….”

“No problems….” 

“I’m Loid Forger, pleased to meet yo-...”

“You’re THE Loid Forger?! The most exceptional medical student Eden ever has for years?!” Yor gawked for the second time that day.

“Okay, now that exaggerated rumours are not-.....”

“OH NO! These notes and books! I’ll dry them right away,” the black haired woman hurriedly took a bunch of paper towels and spread them. 

“Ah and your clothes! If I washed them right away…. Wait here, I’ll grab some spare clothes….”

“Ms. Briar….. These are not-....”

But Yor already ran to the staff room, and returned with a plain T-shirt, “Here. Please change your clothes to this. This is not fancy, but it’s clean.”

“Ms. Briar, I don’t want to trouble you any further….”

“It’s no trouble. And just call me Yor,” She smiled back, before she realized something, “How do you know my name?”

The man casually pointed to her name tag neatly pinned on her diner uniform. 

“Oh….” She blushed. 

Of course.  

Why would she ever have that tiny hope that somebody would notice such an invisible student like her in the first place. Especially the one as famous as the man standing before her, who happened to have such a calming sky blue eyes….

Wait…. What are you thinking, Yor??  

She shook her head hard to clean weird thoughts from her head.

Loid smiled, “Actually, I’ve been trying to talk to you. But you’ve always been busy. I don’t want to bother….”

Yor blinked confusedly at the man’s statement.

He then rumagged his backpack, and retrieved a shawl, “I’ve been meaning to return this.”

The lady took the shawl and immediately recognized it. It was hers that she used as the makeshift bandage for a pink haired elementary school girl, around two months ago. 

She had found the girl at the alley behind the diners one day, being bullied by several male high schoolers with dogs. The girl was furiously fighting back, saying things like how the high schoolers shouldn’t bully her friend. It could ended worse than scraped arms, had Yor didn’t intervene. Still the older woman needed some time to calm the kid, tended to her wounds, and walked her home. 

“My niece has tendencies to involve herself into trouble, no matter how many times I tell her to stay away from it. So, I would like to thank you, for saving her that night.”

“It’s the right thing to do….”

His smiles just become bigger, “Ah…. so that’s why she called you that.”

Yor raised her eyebrows at the statement. 

Loid elaborated, “Anya has been very persistent in her want to meet you again. She pestered me to find her ‘Beautiful angel with red eyes’.” 

Yor flustered even more, “That’s not….”

“These days? It really is rare to see someone help others without ulterior motives.”

The lady opened and closed her mouth and tried to say something, but eventually, she opted to change the subject, “Uh… your clothes….?”

“Nah, don’t mind it.”

“Okay….”

“Say, are you free this weekend?”

Yor blinked at the man.

“Do you mind helping me escort a certain very energetic girl to attend her very first Eden spring festival?” 

She blinked even more, “Weren’t healthy kids supposed to have loads of energy in the first place?”

“I’ll leave it to the future kindergarten teacher to always see it as a good thing,” He chuckled, “as I am very sure, I won’t have the patience to follow her around.” 

Yor giggled and smiled brightly, “I will ask the owner regarding my schedule this weekend.”

And that was their first conversations of many many more later in their life, when somewhere in the middle, Yor Briar became Yor Forger.

Chapter Text

The sun set high in the blue summer sky. A perfect day to sail on the Black Beauty. The wind picked up the pace, and it made the Jolly Roger flapped proudly on top of their main mast.  

The captain of the ship, a girl with pink hair wearing traditional pirate headgear, an eyepatch, pirate robe, hook in her hand, black leather pants, and cute boots. She whistled cheerfully while steering the Black Beauty through the ocean. 

Suddenly, her first mate, a tall blond man shouted, "Land ahoy!! 9 o'clock!!"

"Aye!!" Anya Forger, the captain yelled back, "Nice job there, inmate!!"

"First mate! Or just… 'mate'" the blond man, Loid Forger, rolled his eyes, corrected the term, and slid down from the crows nest.

“We’re close to the treasure island, mate! As my magic compass now starts to glow!” The captain was brimming. 

“Aye!” First mate Loid answered unenthusiastically. 

Suddenly the bright sky turned dark, as the sun was covered with thick heavy thunderstorm clouds. The wind blew harder, and the Black Beauty tried her best to roam the raging sea.

“Stay strong, mate!! We’re so close to our treasure!” 

The captain tried her best to steer the Black Beauty and made her sail on course, while the first mate held the sails with all his strength. 

Suddenly a strong wave washed the deck of Black Beauty, and the first mate was washed away. 

“Oh no! Help me, captain!” Loid flatly called his captain. 

“Hang in there mate!!” the captain shouted dramatically, and ran to grab the live preserver. She then threw the live preserver to her mate, and shouted again “Grab it, mate!! I’ll save you!!”

“……..” Loid blinked at the thing thrown at him.

"........."

"........."

“Psst…. Papa, use it!” Anya whispered.

With a heavy sigh, Loid took the Bondman rubber buoy, and hung it around his neck. He then wiped the sweat from his forehead. 

Suddenly a beautiful ‘aaaaaa’ singing voice could be heard. 

Captain Anya gasped dramatically, “The siren!! Help is coming!!”

“Weren’t sirens supposed to be a bad omen for sailors?” Loid thought to himself.

“Look, it’s the mermaid!!” Anya pointed to the edge of the stage, and Loid turned his head towards the direction pointed by his daughter. 

His jaw dropped. 

From the end of the stage, Yor emerged. She was using a grey rotund costume from head to toe, only her face was showing. Loid could see whiskers protruding from the costume around her face, and she was moving the flippers arms as she waddled forward with difficulties because both of her legs were wrapped tightly around the costume tails, only showing her ankles and feet. 

“It’s a frikin’ dugong!” Loid exclaimed. 

“Mermaid is actually a dugong, Papa! We need to stay to the science fact,” Anya deadpanned. 

The audience started to laugh out loud when they saw “the mermaid”. 

Loid felt his face reddened, and not just from the heat. 

He kept reminding himself the reason why he did this embarrassing acting in the first place. 

A week ago, Anya had come home and relayed the news about a probability of earning a stela star, should she win at the summer festival plays. Unfortunately, back to back missions had prevented him from assisting his daughter and Becky in preparing a play scenario, costumes, and props. He left supervision to Yor, but… now he started to question the decision. 

This play scenario made no sense at all. 

Plus, he wondered why Eden Academy thought it was a good idea to build the stage in the middle of their courtyard, under direct heat of summer sun, instead making it in their hall where surely there were aircons. 

“Hang in there, o brave sailors…. I’ll come and save you….” Yor said her lines stiffly.  

She then waddled for several steps towards Loid, but then she tripped and fell flat forward. 

Out of reflex, Loid immediately stood up to help his wife, but then he was yanked backward by the buoy tied to a rope, and fell flat on his bottom. 

Laughs from the audiences again could be heard. 

Yor tried to get up, but the costumes hindered her from doing so. Anya then jumped down from the ‘ship’, approached her mother and tried to help her to no avail.  

Loid removed the buoy from his neck, and hurriedly helped his wife to stand. He then noticed how crimson his wife’s face was, and she was sweating profusely.

“You okay?” He whispered.

“..m fine…” Yor whispered back, then she continued her line, “Look…. The magic island appears!”

“Oh!!” Anya then ran to the ‘island’ stage, and lifted up an Aladdin lamp, “I found the treasure!!” 

"Huh?" Loid raised his brows, "Magic lamp?"

Captain Anya then started to rub the lamp, and with a dramatic puff of smoke, Becky the genie appeared. She was using a very cute simple summer dress.

“Now there’s a genie?” Loid muttered under his breath, while Yor giggled and whispered, “A very cute one.”

“O brave souls, I shall grant three of your wishes!” Becky said her lines proudly. 

“Please give me the most priceless treasure of all time!” Anya then said her first wish. 

“Your wish is my command!” Becky then moves her arms dramatically, “Now I’ll marry Mr. Forger, and become your mom!” 

Loid gawked, “Huh?”

The black haired girl then ran towards Loid, but before she reached him, she was pulled at the side by his daughter. 

“Becky!! You’re supposed to turn my mom into a princess!” Anya whispered to her friend.

“But I want to marry Mr. Forger!”

“Aren’t you supposed to grant my wishes?”

“Yes! And I shall become your mom!”

“I want you as my best friend! I already have a mom! Becky, please stick to the scenario!!” Anya pleaded to her best friend.

The black haired girl sighed, and finally relented, “Fine…. Behold the princess mermaid!!” 

On her que, the puff of smoke filled the stage. Loid saw Yor squirming and tugging from inside her costume.

“What are you doing?” he whispered.

“I’m stuck!” his wife whined.

“I’ll rip this costume open then.”

“No! No! Loid, stop! You’ll ruin the dress!”

“You mean you’re wearing another costume inside that?!” he bewilderedly asked. 

“I’m supposed to transform into a princess,” she whispered back and struggled even harder. Loid noticed how Yor started to sweat even more and breath heavily.

Unfortunately, the smoke cleared out before Yor  managed to shed the dugong costume, and she can only cringed at her failure. She then mouthed her apology to Anya.

Fortunately, the kid immediately thought of an improvised line, and shouted to the audience, “And thus, The Pirate Captain got her most valuable treasure: a family! The Prince as the Father, The Dugong Princess as the Mother, and the Genie as her best friend. They all live happily ever after!”

“Wait, now I’m the prince?? What kind of scenario is this?!” Loid facepalmed. 

The audience aaaw-ed and gave them big applause. 

All four of them bowed and the curtain closed.

They started to walk out of the stage, when Loid noticed Yor swayed and staggered. He reflexively steadied her.

“Sorry, I suddenly feel a bit dizzy….” she smiled sheepishly. 

He frowned and in one swift motion carried his wife bridal style. 

“Lo-...Loid!! Put me down!”

“I’m getting you out of this stupid costume right away, or you’re going to get a heat stroke!” 

“Carry me too, Mr. Forger!”

“Becky!!”

Loid could only roll his eyes at the antics of these ladies, and hope that at least after enduring all this trouble and embarrassment, Anya would get the Stela Star.

Unfortunately for him, there were no promises of stella stars to begin with. It was just a rumour among the students. 

But being able to perform with all of her family and BFF made Anya really happy. 

So that one achievement was enough for him.

Chapter Text

It was one summer afternoon, and the Forgers were having a picnic at the park in their neighborhood. Actually they plan to visit the beach, but Loid's 'emergency' a.k.a sudden mission ruined their plan. And in order to wipe the gloomy dejected expression from Anya's face, Yor suggested that they have a picnic in the nearest park, just for 1-2 hours. As long as Anya got to wear her new summer dress that matches Yor's, the kid would feel content. 

So here they were, sitting and munching on their cakes, and drinking their juice.

"Whoa, Papa!! Look at that! The sky is colored orange!!" 

"It's called Twilight."

Loid couldn't understand why suddenly he felt a bit melancholic. Perhaps because it made him remember the name of a certain person who ruined their plan? 

The kid stared at him and blinked her eyes. 

The blond man smiled and continued, "The moment of Twilight is short. Nobody ever noticed that short period of time, because people usually are on their way home. Exhausted and stressed of the day's activities." 

Exactly the reason he chose the nickname for himself. Because from the day he shed his real name and identity, he would do his part to maintain world peace, yet nobody would notice him. When he was gone, no one would mourn for him. 

"I really like it."

Loid turned his attention towards his wife, eyebrows raised in confusion. 

"It might be short, but in their short time, they always give the soft orange red colour that will make everything it touches shine in a new way," Yor smiled brightly, "Plus the red orange hues kinda give you the warm vibes, no? It will energize those who are walking home from their exhausting day, because soon they will be at home and feel the warmth of their family." 

Loid stared at her when he absorbed the words coming from his wife. 

Blushed, Yor looked down at her lap, "A-… at least…. That's what I feel….."

Anya hugged her mother, "I think so too, Mama…." 

Yor caressed the daughter's pink flocks lovingly, "Really? I am glad you feel the same…."

"And look! Our dress really changes its color!" The little girl's eyes shone brightly, noticing the 'magic' happened before her eyes.

Loid looked at the scene before him. He took notice at how the orange and red color of the Twilight sky softly touched the two ladies of his life. And just like what Yor said, it really made them shone in a way he never saw before. 

Loid just realized then, that Twilight could also make something so warm and beautiful.

With a pang in his heart, he wished that they were his family. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

What are you thinking? Just live in the present. They ARE your family!

He opened his eyes and wished to engrave the scene before him in his heart.

Suddenly an idea popped in his head. The corner of his mouth tugged upward, as he took out the camera from his pocket, and snapped a picture of them. 

"Loid?? What was that?"

He chuckled, "Nothing! Just taking a pic of my lovely ladies basking in the color of the summer Twilight."

So I can keep them with me forever .

Yor giggled, "Oh, sometimes you can be so poetic."

Loid smiled, "Well, you started it, all with those warm and color and such …"

And make me see the more positive meaning of Twilight.  

Yor gasped and put her hand on her chest fauxing an offended expression, "Oh! Now you blame me?"

Loid laughed, "Nah…. I'm blaming my rumbling stomach. Who's up for some dinner at the restaurant?" 

Anya immediately stood up, "Me! Me!"

And the Forgers then continue their night over a feast in their favorite restaurant.

Chapter Text

The night was clear and the crescent moon was shining its brightest. A complete opposite with what currently happened inside Yor's mind. 

She had helped her "husband" with his mission, and the mission came to an end. 

Loid asked her to meet him at this park, obviously to disband this “family” in a gentlemanly way. 

Part of Yor didn't want that, but her other part knew it was inevitable. 

She sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned back at the park bench. 

"Hey." 

Yor opened her eyes and looked at the man that took a seat at her side. She had always loved that sky blue eyes of his, and tonight might be her last time to see it, thus she made sure to use all the little time she had. 

She forced herself to smile, "Hey. Complete all the reports?" 

Loid nodded, "Mhmm…. There's still a lot of paperworks though. But, I'll leave them for some other time."

"Miss Handler okay with that?" 

He chuckled, "Of course not. But I'm fast enough to escape her wrath." 

Yor giggled at his antics. However, she also noticed how he fidgeted on his seat. Most probably he was currently trying to find a way to break up with her, in the best way to spare her feelings. 

Which was impossible, to be honest. 

But both of them know, when the mission was over, so was the Forgers. 

Yor took a deep breath and chose to speak up first, "Well then, good luck to you. I hope you found a way so that Anya could stay. She really loves you so much." She forced down the lump in her throat, and truly tried her best so that her voice didn't shake," Thank you for all this time. Farewell…."

She moved to leave, but Loid's hand grabbed her wrist, "Wait! You're leaving?" 

Yor looked at him, confused. 

The man opened and closed his mouth for several seconds, and finally asked, "Do you hate me?" 

Yor blinked, "No." 

"Do you mind living in a smaller apartment at the side of the city?"

"No."

"Do you mind the ordinary daily lives of the working class?" 

"Of course not." 

"Then…. Will you marry me?" 

Yor stammered, “Wh-... what??”

Loud face flushed as he fidgeted even more, “I mean, be my real wife. Get married for real. Not… not for any mission or whatsoever.” 

Yor’s mind went blank. 

Of all things, she didn’t expect this turn of event. 

Her heart was ecstatic, but the more logical parts of her thought things that were more complicated. Things that made her avoid any relationships and pushed away the idea of settling down all this time. 

Her silence made the man blabbered even more, “I mean, if you want to, I would abandon my current job. I’ll become a true Ostanian. I’ll get ordinary jobs. I could….”

Yor bit her lower lips and touched his hands, getting his full attention, “As much as I want to…. I can’t….”

Loid shut his mouth and gulped. He then spoke carefully, “I see. I understand. Obviously you can’t trust me. Especially after this time, right?” 

“Loid, no! Not that… It’s…. I….”

“You don’t love me?” He whispered.

“No! No!!” She started to grip his hands,”I love you…. So very much….”

“Then….??”

She took a long shaky breath, tears started to brim her eyes,”I…. I love you so much. Which is why I want you to have a happy, healthy, growing family. Things I can’t give you….”

Loid looked at her, and Yor elaborated, “When I choose to enter this world, they made sure my job won’t be hindered by things like pregnancy,” She took a deep breath, and caressed her lower abdomen, “That’s why they….”

Yor then glanced at Loid, and through her tears she said, “Which is why I can’t marry you…”

Loid pulled her into a tight hug and whispered, “Yor, I want to marry you, because I want you to be by my side until the end of my life. We have Anya. And Bond. We are already a complete family. Besides…..” He pulled back and looked at her eyes, “I’m a spy, Yor. I bear the same faith…..”

Yor gasped and her tears spilled. 

Loid then placed his hand on her cheek. And as she leaned to its warmth he wiped away those tears with his thumb, “Which made us so perfect for each other, don’t you think?” 

He continued, “My job sometimes made me do those activities…. AH! But I got my shots…. It’s not like I have STDs or something… And I only do that if I have no other choice… Wait… you don’t need to know this. Ah, I mean… not that I will lie to you, but...”

Yor laughed through her sobs at his blabbering, and it was enough to calm the man.

Loid then smiled and asked her once again, “So, will you marry me, Yor?”

Finally Yor smiled and answered, “Yes.”

Chapter Text

Twilight was walking home from yet another briefing. It was the weekend, and yet he got another mission. Just like usual, really. 

The road was packed with people, but as an experienced spy himself, he easily avoided bumping into people. 

Except for one beautiful blond lady.

Immediately Twilight grasped the lady’s wrist firmly, and politely asked, “I’m very sorry…. But can you return my wallet?”

The blond lady smirked mischievously, “I don’t understand what you’re saying….”

“My wallet. That you took. Just now,” Loid whispered gently while tightening his grip. 

The lady just narrowed her eyes, and then suddenly she shouted, “Is that so??? So after all this time, now you blamed me?!”

Loid confusedly furrowed his eyebrows. Then as the eyes of the pedestrians started to turn at them, slowly he understood what this woman was trying to do. 

“Ma’am, I’m just asking you to return my wallet.”

“I see…. I see now…. All of you men are the same!! Using me then is just like shoving me away ....” 

As murmurs around him started to get louder, Loid felt his own face start to heat. 

This woman was clearly trying to escape from him, by using other people’s judgement implying he was one of those playboys. Loid couldn’t allow her to go away with his wallet, but at the same time he needed to find a way to clear the misunderstandings purposely created by this pickpocket. 

Still confused in choosing his next course of action, suddenly someone’s hand grabbed the thief’s collar and pushed her away from him. 

“Stay away from my husband, you scheming wench !”

Astounded that suddenly she found red eyes glaring at her, the thief tried to retort, “Excuse me?! You’re still defending this man?”

“My husband is such a gentleman, that he will stay faithful to his wife,” Yor snapped at her, “You on the other hand….. How many times have I caught you stalking him?! Never understand the word ‘No’.”

The thief narrowed her eyes on Yor's way to follow her scheme, “I have no idea what you’re talking about….”

“No thief will confess they’re a thief. Now leave….”

Loid noticed how the murmurs around them now started to be directed at the thief, thanks to Yor’s clever maneuvers in turning the table of the conversations. 

But of course the pickpocket wouldn’t accept being humiliated just like that. 

She growled as she took out a knife from her secret pocket, and planned to attack the Forger wife. 

Little did she know that she had picked the worst possible opponent in all of Ostania.

Right before she managed to launch the attack, Yor easily plucked the knife out of her hand, twirled it expertly between her fingers, and pressed its blunted side towards the thief’s neck.

“Don’t. You. Dare.”

Crimson eyes glinted dangerously as it bore into her opponents’ eyes, as Yor blasted her murderous aura at full force towards her. 

Colors drained from the thief’s face, and nobody could blame her. 

Even Westalia’s best spy could only stand there, froze to the ground, and gulped, because he had no idea that the woman who stayed under the same roof as him, could be that scary . Immediately he made a specific mental note, that he will never ever do things that will make him be at the receiving end of his wife's wrath. 

“I’ve tried to be nice. But if I must………” Yor threatened.

The pickpocket shivered.

“I don’t want to see your face ever again.”

The thief nodded. 

“ Leave! ”

Yor threw the knife into the pavement with enough force to make it embedded halfway through. She deliberately made a move to scratch her opponent's clothes along the way, the exact part where the secret compartments were, making all of her pickpocket goods scattered through the pavement. 

The thief didn’t make a move to collect it though. Instead she turned on her heels, and ran for her life. 

As Yor calmly bent down and took Loid’s wallet from the pile, gasps could be heard from the people around them. The bystanders then started to check their belongings and several of them immediately moved to retrieve their stolen goods.

Loid still stood frozen when his wife gave him his wallet back. 

The gear in his brain has trouble processing what has happened before his eyes. 

He only started to move when his wife grabbed his hand and started to drag him away from the commotion, in long confident steps.

“Let’s go home, dear.”

He stared at his wife, and blinked several more times.

Did it actually happen? That for once, he was the one being saved?

Yes it did .

Did it feel nice?

Yes.

And did he feel proud of his wife?

The corner of his lips started to move upward. Obviously.

Did he finally understand the feeling Anya had experienced, everytime she was saved by her mother? 

His smiles grew. Yes he did

Did he feel safe when he absorbed the warmth of her smaller calloused hand that currently enveloped his bigger one?

He glanced at their hands. Yes he did

Did he notice how her confident steps became shorter and smaller as her face grew redder and redder, and her body deflated as her confidence was replaced by embarrassment?

Loid chuckled. Yes he did.

“So-.. Sorry, Loid. I just-... I-… well… that-...”

He couldn’t stop grinning, when he heard his wife stammer. 

When he felt her hand move to release him however, he quickly repositioned his hand, so their fingers intertwined instead. 

He felt her hand flinched for a bit, before relaxing and she held him back.

“Thank you, Yor. That was amazing.”

Her eyes widened, before it darted back to the ground, “It’s… it’s a normal thing wives will do, I guess….”

“Mhmm….” Loid nodded, while thinking back to his previous missions. He tried to imagine what his past female companion would do should he be in such a predicament. 

Loid faintly shook his head because he concluded that they would do nothing. 

“Shall we head home?” He asked the woman beside him.

His wife nodded despite still looking at the ground, with pink still tinting her cheeks.

Chapter Text

Yuri stirred awake slowly, and he realized that for the first time since the last couple days, he felt light and his head didn’t pound anymore. The black haired man then opened his eyes and in a much better mood looked at the concerned face with blue eyes at his bedside.

Wait a minute.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” The man at his side asked him.

Ah… so apparently I'm still dreaming. It is impossible that this man was watching over me during my sick time. Tsk. Such a terrible nightmare.

Yuri then sank back to his pillow, and closed his eyes.

After taking a deep breath for several minutes, once again he opened his eyes. This time he double checked. 

Head pound. Gone.

Nasal congestion. Gone.

Body ache. Gone.

The ceiling. Mine.

The bed. Mine.

The person that had been taking care of me……. 

The young man turned to his side and saw none other than….. 

“LoiLoi!!!” He shouted and abruptly sat up, “What are you doing here?! Where is my sister??!!”

“SHHH!!!” Loid put his finger in his mouth, then pointed in the direction of the couch at the corner of the younger man’s studio apartment. 

The younger Briar then turned his head following the direction pointed, and was relieved to see that Yor was fast asleep at the couch. Covered in blankets. 

“So I see that you’ve recovered. I’m glad.”

“Thanks to my sister. Not you!”

Loid chuckled, “Obviously. But did she get enough rest while she took care of you?”

“Of course!! I’m not a child who needs to be watched 24 hours a day!”

The elder man glanced at the sleeping woman and muttered, “I can see that.”

Yuri growled at the silent accusation, “I’ll let you know that I-...”

But the elder one didn’t get him to finish his sentence as he got up and walked toward the kitchen area, “So, are you hungry?”

The younger Briar gritted his teeth, “I’m not going to eat anything made by you!”

Loid again chuckled as he took a bowl and put a big spoonful of the dish from the pot, “This Southern Stew is Yor’s specialty. I cannot make this.”

Despite growling at the elder man, Yuri couldn’t stop the sparks in his eyes when he received the bowl, and within minutes finished the dish. 

Just when the younger man relished the warm taste of the stew, the elder one needed to ruin the moment by speaking, “I can see that you also had your appetite back.”

“Like I said, I’ve recovered," He spat, but didn't fight back when Loid took the empty bowl from his hand, and refilled it with another portion. 

"How did you know where I live?" The red eyed boy asked while receiving the bowl. 

Loid lifted his brows, and answered, "Yor told me." 

There's several seconds of pause there!  

"You lied!" The SSS officers accused the spy, "Why would my sister tell you about my place?" 

There's a little twitch at the corner of Loid's eyes, when he answered, "Why wouldn't she? She's my wife, and that makes you my brother. My family." 

Yuri really felt uncomfortable hearing the man flawlessly relaying the reasons. The fact that it was true that by marrying his sister, this good for nothing man did become his family too, didn't feel right to him. But Yuri couldn't retort. He blamed his sluggish brain for that. 

So he chose to glare at the man before him, "Tsk. I'm fine now. You can go home."

Loid then lifted up both of his hands, "Okay… okay, I'll immediately go home after fixing your door. I’ll pick your sister up tomorrow morning." 

Loid then stood up and went to the direction of the door. 

"Yeah, just do tha-...." Yuri blinked, "What do you mean by 'fixing my door'?" 

Then something clicked.

Hey, how the hell did he manage to get in?

Loid sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, "Well….. I didn't have the key. And since nobody answered my call, I had to think of the most efficient way of coming in…." 

Yuri gawked when he saw the state of his apartment door, "You whaaat??!!" 

( A little earlier that day….)

Frankie was pulling the folding door to close his tobacco shop when a hand stopped him in doing so.

Glancing up, he met with a panting Twilight.

Lifting his brows, the shorter man silently asked why he was there. 

Twilight then shoved a stack of cash in his face and whispered, "I need Yuri Briar's address. Fast." 

"Whoa…. Calm down," Frankie furrowed his brow and eyeing the amount of money being offered, "Why don't you just ask Yor?" 

"She's supposed to be with him right now." 

"Then why would you need his address? Nothing will go wrong when the sister is in her brother's home." 

"Look, Frankie, just gimme the address….." 

Most of the time as an informant, Frankie wouldn't care less of what his information would be used by the spy. But this time, his conscience kicked in. It was not right to disturb a reunion between siblings if there were no urgent reasons behind it. 

So instead of giving what the spy wanted, Frankie opted to fold his arm and lean on his shop's door frame, "Why?" 

Twilight growled in frustration, "Operation Strix's fate is on the line here, Frankie…." 

"If Yor didn't give you the address, then there's a possibility that she didn't want to get disturbed. So you better tell me the urgent reason, or else…." 

The blond man sighed and finally relented, "Fine. Yuri is sick, and Yor went to his apartment to take care of him." 

"So???" 

"This is the third day she took care of him."

"And which part is wrong with that?" 

"The part where we play as good husband and wife. She promised to call me each day at our agreeable time. Today she didn't." 

Ah….. he misses her…. 

"People might get suspicious if suddenly a wife doesn't contact the husband. And this is the SSS officers house we're talking about." 

And he worries about her…..

"If other SSS officers sniffed about these oddities, Operation Strix's fate is in danger!"

Frankie gave Twilight a ridiculous look when hearing all the lousy excuses. The informant then sighed and asked, "And what is the time she usually called?"

"4 pm." 

He glanced at the clock in his shop, "That's not even an hour late yet….." 

"Here, I'll double the amount. Just gimme the address already." 

Taking a deep breath, Frankie then took a piece of paper, wrote down the address, and gave it to him, "Look, just don't make any scene, allright?" 

"Of course! I'm just playing my part as the good husband." 

Frankie just shook his head.

"Oh, and this is the key to my apartment. Anya should be home in an hour." 

The shorter man just took the key and waved at the already running figure. 

Chapter Text

Loid looked at Yor who stood silently at the edge of the hills. 

Staring at the burning place.

Soundlessly, he came to stand at her side. 

Her usually bright lively ruby eyes were empty. 

Their latest mission was to take down the target. And they did that. 

But it took all remnants of Yor's memories as collateral. 

Loid wasn't sure to call it a success. 

Slowly, he took her hand. 

He could feel the tremble in her hands as he gave a warm squeeze. 

He just hoped that it was enough to give her strength, because he couldn't trust his voice. 

They stood there for some time, until finally Yor glanced at him. 

With a strained smile she whispered, "Let's go home."

Chapter Text

Yor gasped for breath as she leaned at the ship's railing. She looked at the shadow of the smaller ship that had sailed away. The black haired assassins smiled. It looked like Olka managed to get away safely. 

She returned her gaze to the deck. She grunted as she limped to start cleaning the mess, before the guards came. 

.

Yor walked slowly towards the rendezvous room. The cleaning process took longer than usual, probably because she had depleted most of her stamina in the past 2 days. She was carefully traded through the corridor, trying her best to avoid bumping into people. Her brain really couldn't make any reliable excuses for her disheveled appearance. 

She was just glad that considering the time, the probability of her bumping into Loid and Anya was very low. 

"Yor?" 

Or not. 

Oh no! What is Loid doing here?!

She quickened her pace. 

"Yor is that you?" 

Dragging her sluggish feet as fast as she could, Yor hoped she could stop Loid from following her. 

But apparently her husband can be quite persistent. 

She tried to take a sharp turn at the nearest fork, but tripped on her own leg. 

Apparently she was more exhausted than she thought. 

Suddenly a pair of strong hands pulled her into the nearest crevice. Out of instinct, she tried to free herself from the captor. But the captor hussed her, and she immediately recognized him, "Director McMahon!" 

.

They were currently in one of the 2nd class rooms, and the director was patching her up. 

Yor obediently sat still and let her mind wonder. 

In the end, she didn't contact her family at all in the past 2 days. 

Even worse, just now she had run away from Loid. 

What kind of excuses can she tell them? Would they be angry at her? Would they still accept her as part of the Forgers? 

"Thinking about your family?" 

Yor startled at the sudden question, "I… uuh.." 

McMahon chuckled, "You need a lot of work to have something akin to a poker face." 

"I'll try my best." 

The director sighed, "This is exactly what the Shopkeeper's afraid of."

Yor gasped, "The Shopkeeper?"

McMahon continued, "Having your family on board actually turned out to be a great obstacle. You need to work extra hard to focus on the task." 

"I'm sorry….." 

The older man then looked at her and smiled, "But you completed the task at the end. Sure, there are still a lot of things that could be done better, but I say, you passed the test." 

Yor blinked, "Test?"

"Mhmm….. I could report to the Shopkeeper that you actually managed to balance between family life and jobs. Still needs a lot of work. But this is a good start." 

Yor blinked some more. 

McMahon chuckled, "Ah, don't worry about the details. Anyway, now that the task has been done, it's time for your present." 

He then gave Yor a room key and tickets, "A first class room, and a ticket to the amusement park at the resort. Go enjoy the last day of the cruise with your family." 

She looked at the things being offered and asked in excitement, "I'm allowed to do that?"

The director's face softened, "Of course."

Yor was delighted when receiving the gift. 

.

Having a sudden surge of energy, Yor then searched for Loid and Anya. 

To her surprise, she still found them at the activity deck despite the late hours. 

"Loid, Anya!!" 

"Mama!!" The little girl immediately ran into her open arms. 

Yor grunted when the kid accidentally kneed her injured ribs, but she hugged the kid anyway. 

"I miss you, Ma!" 

"I miss you too. I'm sorry that I couldn't contact you sooner…" 

"Are you alright, Yor? You look a bit pale…" 

Yor smiled at her concerned husband, "Never been better!" 

"I managed to finish my job sooner, and look what I have?" She then showed Anya the room keys and the tickets. 

The brightened face of her daughter somehow managed to make her smile even wider.

.

"Whoah whooaah!! The bed is so much softer! The room is so spacious! There's a sofa! Woah woaaah wooahh! This is what I call lusary!" 

"Calm down, Anya! And it's 'luxury'. " 

Yor chuckled at the father-daughter antics, while sitting at the sofa and hugging the pillow.

"Are you sure it's alright for us to stay here, Yor?"

"Of course! The director said so himself! He said I've done a good job." 

Loid smiled, "I'm sure you've done a marvelous job," turning his attention towards Anya, "Stop bouncing on the bed!" 

"Ma! Will there be a big giant wheel at the resort?"

"I'm sure there is! And also many other exciting things!" Yor answered. 

"Which is why, you need to wash those dirty hands and feet, and go to bed immediately!" Loid berated.

"Oui!!" Anya answered excitedly and ran into the bathroom. Loid followed closely behind to make sure the kid didn't break anything. 

Yor sighed in content. After all those high adrenaline jobs that had happened in previous days, having a warm family to be returned into surely felt relaxing.

. 

Loid came out from the bathroom grumbling, "So sorry for that. I don't know where she got that much ener-...." 

He stopped mid sentence when he noticed his wife had fallen asleep on the sofa. 

His blue eyes softened as he approached her. 

Slowly as not to wake her up, the man lifted his wife, put her gently on the bed, and covered her with the blanket.

"You must have been really exhausted," he whispered as he tucked her hair behind the ear, "Welcome home."

Then suddenly he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. With a heated face he asked the owner of said eyes, "What?!" 

"Pa going to kiss Ma?" 

"I'm not!" He hastily moved to the sofa, "You better go to sleep now, or you'll miss the fun tomorrow!" 

"Aye" Anya answered, then she snuggled at her mother's side. 

Loid turned off the light, and as he laid down at the sofa, he made 862 relaxing plans he would do tomorrow with the family.

Chapter Text

Loid moved his feet through the sidewalks of Berlint city. So many things have changed since the past decade. Yet, when he looks around, he could see pictures from his memories playing in front of him like an old movie. 

The three of them ate cakes at that cafeteria. 

Anya ran around with Yor close behind, and he followed them with Bond at that park 

Them eating comfort foods after such bad days at the diners.

People would always comment about how perfect their family was. 

And despite all his initial denials, he was very lucky to be granted the mission, and met with the wonderful ladies of his life. 

His family was never fake. Those memories were never fake. 

Even the most painful one.

If only I had noticed the ambush sooner and I wasn't too late to-……

Loid closed his eyes and tightened his grip at the flower bucket

Stop it. 

The blond man took a deep breath to unclog his tightened throat. 

And he continued to walk towards his destination. 

He moved his feet past the green grass and the row of sunflowers, until he stopped in front of the tombstone. 

He placed the bucket of flowers in front of the stone beside another one. 

Yuri has visited, like always.

He then cleaned the site from dried leaves and twigs, before sitting in front of it.

The man caressed the stone and started talking, “Hey….. it’s been a while.”

He took a deep breath,”So, updates. Anya has graduated from college. Turned out she only needed 3 years to complete the course. So smart isn’t she? And she’s getting married soon. With the second Desmond child of course. I think we both expected that to happen sooner or later, huh,” He chuckled, “She’d tried on the wedding dress, and she looks so pretty. Just like you.”

Loid sighed, and rested his forehead on the stone, “I wish you were here.”

Suddenly a gust of wind took away his fedora, and it forced Loid to immediately rise and run after it. 

Loid managed to retrieve his hat near the rows of sunflowers who stood tall before him. They seemed to dance cheerfully under the bright sunlight. 

The view managed to warm his heart. And he smiled when remembering how his own sunflower never failed to lift his spirit.  

As he placed his fedora back on top of his head, the man smiled, “Yeah. You’re right. No matter how bloodied our hands are, we did manage to protect and raise a wonderful soul.”

Walking away from the place, he spared a glance and whispered, “Until we meet again.”

Chapter Text

Loid entered the apartment as quietly as possible.

Judging by the time, he really hoped that both Anya and Yor already sleeping, because his tired mind (and body) couldn't make any excuses for his disheveled appearance. 

His extra mission today was to find out about the time and location of an illegal weapon transaction. He managed to get the information, but due to certain circumstances he had to eliminate his group of informants. They gave quite a fight, and though he came out victorious, Twilight didn't manage to leave the place unschated. 

Peeking through the door, Loid sighed in relief to see the darkened state of his home. Shedding his coat and fedora, he then slowly dragged his feet towards the bathroom.

"Loid?" 

Startled at the sudden greetings he twirled almost instantly, resulting in him winching and clutching his torso at the sudden jolt of pain.

"Loid! What happened?!" Yor immediately held his arms to steady him. 

"Eerr ….. nothing. It's just…." 

"Another violent patient?"

The blond man nodded at the great excuse his wife made for him. 

"Come, let me help you."

He then let himself be led to the bathroom where Yor then spread their first aid kit, and started cleaning his wounds. 

"You should get more equipment or something. Or perhaps more people to help you. Especially when the patient was this violent." 

He chuckled, "It's not that easy." 

Though he'd really loved it if WISE managed to recruit more people and stopped working him like a dog. Then maybe he could have a proper rest from time to time. 

His wife sighed, "I know. If only I could help….." 

He smiled at the nice intention, and gently held her left hand that still dabbing at the cuts at his temple. 

He caressed the scar at her hand. A painful reminder that "Twilight the Spy" had no excuse to rest. 

Him neglecting the clues at their cruise trip had made him unable to prevent his wife from getting injured while doing her job. The identity of the opposite side that managed to execute such a horrible attack and ruined the negotiation didn't matter to him. 

He was at the site. 

He saw the clues, and chose to ignore it.

And Yor ended up getting hurt. 

He can't afford such things to ever happen again. 

"It's my job, Yor. I'll be fine."

I'll make sure both you and Anya will always be fine.

She sighed, "I know."

"Thank you for the help."

"Anytime," she smiled, "Now clean up and get some rest."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Yor giggled when cleaning the remnants of the used first aid kit, and left him alone to clean up.

.

Yor silently walk closer to the abandoned ship yard. She counted the people standing guard at the door, and took notice of the weapons they wield. 

A boat came close, and several people walked to greet the passenger.

Yor looked closely at their forms, and concluded that despite moving away from their previous spots, these people were indeed her targets. The group that sold illegal weapons to the rebels.

Her mind wandered to her home. 

Loid had come home tired and injured again tonight. Judging from his wounds, his patients must have used weapons, and they must have got it from somewhere. 

Like from this group, for example.

If she could prevent Loid's patients from getting their weapons, then she might be able to prevent Loid from getting injured when doing his job. And Anya wouldn't need to worry. 

Narrowing her eyes in determination, Thorn Princess walked towards her prey.

Brandishing her knives she calmly asked, "Excuse me. I'll be taking your life, if you don't mind."

Chapter Text

When Loid came home that night, he didn't expect to find the apartment to be in such a mess. 

Their kitchen especially. 

"Oh, Loid! Welcome home!" Yor cheerfully greeted him while standing on a chair and cleaning the ceiling from… was that chocolate???

"Uuh…. What happened?" 

She jumped down, and started to mop the floor from…. Was that eggs, flour, dirt??  

"Well…. Anya got an assignment from the school, and we uuh…. We might have overdid it a little bit," his wife sheepishly answered. 

"Okaaaayy??" Loid's brow furrowed as he hung his coat and hat. 

"So here it is, Pa!!!" 

His daughter suddenly stood in front of him presenting a thing (?) on a plate. 

Taking the plate from her, Loid could see that it was stacked toasts (5 or 6 of them), burnt on the edges, topped with chocolate ganache, cut of berries, grated cheese, and whipped cream (?). 

"The school asked us to make Dad's favorite dish. So we made you some toast!" Anya explained excitedly. 

"Come and sit here," he let himself be pushed towards their dining table, and received the fork from the daughter, "and use this."

"Anya thought of all things that might be your favorites, and followed the recipe as best as she could. I can only help a little bit," Yor proudly told him the complete story.

He spared a glance towards his wife who started to wash piles of kitchen tools.

That many tools just to make toasts?

He then returned his attention towards the excited face of his daughter. 

Loid took a breath.

"Alright then…" the man cut a slice of the dish and put it in his mouth. 

Hmm…. The balance is off, toast is too burnt at some sides, chocolate ganache should have more butter, berries will taste better if…

The man stopped his train of thoughts when he saw Anya's face start to frown.

"It's delicious," He stated.

At least it is better than Yor's

His daughter's eyes perked up, "Really? So will you finish it?"

Loid blinked. 

His stomach was still full from the take away dinner. He was not sure he could finish such a heavy dessert in one go.

He looked at the puppy-eyed Anya, and then at the smiling Yor. 

He manned up. 

"Of course." 

He gulped down the dish.

Chapter Text

Yor closed the window behind her as she slipped out to the balcony after a barely successful cleaning. She started to jump to the nearest rooftops, heading to her own apartment. 

Arriving at one rooftop, suddenly her movement stopped. 

She had headed in the wrong direction. 

What is wrong with me today? 

She kept making mistakes after mistakes. 

In her day job. 

In her secret job. 

The woman sighed and took a seat at the edge of the rooftops, viewing the scenery far ahead. 

Darkened sky with only a hint of orange-red from the last of the sunset rays. She could see the stars start to shine brightly, scattered in the purple clear sky. 

Looking down, she could see the lights from the apartment window come to life. 

It made her remember that for one time in her life, she did have a place that was warm to return to. A place where a daughter and the dog would always run around her, and a warm gentle greeting from her husband welcomed her home. 

When the face of the blond man flashed in her mind, she smiled somberly. 

Of all the people in the world

Why do you have to be the one that I thought could become the one to accompany me throughout my hardest days?

She shook her head. 

Turns out all her wonderful memories had been built over lies. And like all lies, it wouldn’t last.

Her mind wandered to the hardest day of her life

.

“We need to break up,” she said, “I’m sorry, Loid, we can’t stay together.”

She could hear her own heart crack when seeing the broken face of her husband

“But, Yor, I thought….”

“They give me no choice……”

How naive of them to think that they could fool their superiors. 

Lucky for her that the Garden acknowledged her hard work, thus she could offer a bargain. She let go of her ‘playing family” and worked extra hard for them, and they will leave her family alone. 

Those gentle blue eyes hardened, and the man nodded stiffly, “I brought you into this mess. I promise you, I’ll find a way.”

“I trust you, Loid. But for now…. I’m sorry…”

.

The red-eyed assassins wiped several stray tears away and took a deep breath. 

When she stood up, her eyes suddenly wandered to the shopping area below, and a familiar person was seen walking away from Ghillie Dhu beauty salon. 

Her heart ached.

Her feet were reluctant to move

She missed him. 

A lot.

His gentle voice, his soft blue eyes, his handsome face.

So close, yet so far away. 

Suddenly the man looked up in her direction and tipped his hat.

Yor gulped down the lump in her throat, even though the corner of her lips tugged upward a little when she returned the gesture.

She hardened her resolve. 

I don’t need to live at peace. I don't care if I have to bloody my hands. As long as they’re happy and safe, I know Loid would understand.

She then turned on her heels and continued her journey.

Chapter Text

It was such a rare weekend where Loid got some free time to spend with his family. 

Scratch that. This was just another mission. Because Handler specifically told him to “go and have fun like a normal family.”

Yeah, didn’t he already tell her that things like this are more exhausting than a normal mission?

But of course, the Handler would never listen to him.

And so Loid took Anya and Yor to roam around the city with their Trabant. 

Took a picnic at the park (with loads of delicious homemade lunch by chef Loid obviously)

Roaming around on a boat in the nearby lake (Loid: Woah! Yor! Row carefully please!! This is not a speedboat!)

Visiting the zoo (Loid: Anya! Don’t pet the Giraffe! And not the Gorilla too!)

Overall it was a fun experience for Anya and Yor (and a tiring one for Loid, as always)

When the night come, they visited the mall and had dinner at one of the food stalls.

Suddenly a crowd catch Anya’s attention, and the kid pulled her parents to see what was the commotion about. 

Turned out, it was a new game attraction. 

The kid would be hanged with a special vest so that they were hanging horizontally, and more or less act as a human ‘claw machine’. The parent will move the contraption following the kid’s lead and at a certain point, they had to press the button, so the kid would be lowered, and they could grab the snacks as much as they could, before being lifted and returned to their previous position. 

“What the…..??” Loid raised his brows.

“Woah!! So cool!!” Anya exclaimed

“You know, the trick is to spread your arms and legs, then pulled them as closely as possible to your body,” Yor calmly analyzed the attraction.

“Really??” The green eyes sparkled, “Papa? Please?? Let me try? Please… please… please….”

“That is ridiculous! I will just buy you the snacks!” Loid refused. 

“But Papa! Those are so cool! Just like Bondman!” Anya once again tried to reason with her dad.

“Which part of that is just like Bondman?”

“The wires and such! And the position! And the mission!”

“What? That’s not…..”

“Loid, why not just let her try?” Yor cut the argument between father and daughter.

Seeing that the situation has turned to 2 versus 1, Loid then sighed and admit his defeat. The father then bought the ticket, and when it was Anya’s turn, he stood at the controlling panel.

“I could buy more snacks with that amount of money,” He grumbled.

“But where’s the fun in that?” Yor giggled. 

Loid glanced at his wife, and then she pointed at the daughter who now was trying her best to grab as many snacks as possible, “The snacks might be overpriced, but aren’t that smile adorable?”

The blond man sighed and finally smiled, “Well, I can’t argue with that.”

His wife just smiled brightly at that, “Today really was fun! Spending time like this truly is the best! We should do it again sometimes.”

Loid's smile got wider, “Yeah….”

“All right, Papa!! One more time!!”

Immediately Loid’s smile turned into a groan. 

Well, at least the family fun day mission is a success!

Chapter Text

“So, what is your plan for today?”

Yor blinked at Camilla’s curious question. 

Receiving no answer, the blond lady’s brow furrowed, “Don’t tell me you forget that today is Valentine's day?”

Yor’s eyes widened in surprise, “I’m…not??”

Camilla sighed, “I wonder how a dunce like you could get such a hot hubby like that.” She then narrowed her eyes, “Are you guys even truly married in the first place?”

Yor sputtered, “Of… Of course, we are!!” 

Oh no!! You’ve been careless, Yor!! 

Forgetting a day this important could make people question your wife status!! 

Think of something!! 

Quick!!

“I never see you wear any ring either….” Camilla pressed some more.

Yor gulped, “I choose not to wear a ring on a daily basis. But I do have it. And we have our marriage certificate……” 

The frowning face looked directly at the red eyes, challenging Yor to spill the truth. Sweating bullets, the Forger matriarch tried to retort as best as she could, “We…. we do have a plan.”

“What plan?”

“It’s a secret. But that’s one of the reasons that I ask to leave the office early.” 

“Huh? When did you ask-...”

“Now.”

“Enough with the chatter!!” Mr. Barnes' scolding came right on time. And as the workers started to scatter back to their respective corners, Yor took the opportunity to ask for her early leave for the day.

.

The black-haired lady had been pacing through the supermarket’s aisle several times already. 

All little information she gathered in that short amount of time to understand tidbits about Valentine's day told her that it involved chocolate, gifts, and dates. 

Going by that order, she tried to find Loid representable chocolate. 

Unfortunately, she had missed the preorder days of chocolatier handcrafted chocolates, so now her only option was the limited choices of chocolate that were left on the sparse shelves of the supermarket. 

This won’t do!! Loid doesn’t like sweets! Perhaps I should give him something more practical?

Suddenly a shiny special package of chocolate caught the woman’s eyes.

Oh? Anya will love this Bondman special peanut chocolate!

Akh!! Anya!!!

The woman gasped when she was reminded that if she wanted to ask Loid for a dinner date, she had to call someone to watch over Anya. 

Lucky for her, Yuri was in town, and she was able to contact her brother in time. Her brother had grumbled at first, but he soon cheered up after Yor promised to give him a bar of special chocolate that she grabbed from the supermarket. 

.

Twilight slipped out from his secret trap door at the hospital and pulled the mechanism to close it. 

He then carefully pulled out the bundled documents in a plastic bag from the inside of his shirt and placed it at his table. 

The man reeked of sardines, courtesy of his last mission of retrieving those documents from an informant who worked at the fisherman’s boat. 

His phone rang.

Expertly the spy switched on his dr. Forger persona and pick up the phone, “dr. Forger speaking….”

“Mrs. Forger is waiting at the lobby,” he heard Nightfall’s monotonous voice relaying the information. 

The man’s brows furrowed in confusion as he glanced at the clock inside his office. He surely didn’t have any plans, and he hadn’t passed his working hour yet. 

“Should I drive her out?”

“No! No!! Tell her to wait for a moment….. I just need some time to …. make myself representable.”

“If she’s bothering your job, I could just-...”

“Fiona,” the man told his coworkers firmly, “Tell her to wait. I’ll leave the documents at my desk.”

“............”

“Fiona. Do you-…”

“Fine.” 

Twilight winced at the sudden harsh hung-up.

The blond man sighed. Suddenly he felt even more tired than he should.

.

After taking a shower and getting rid of the fishy odors as best as he could, he finally met Yor at the Hospital’s lobby.

The corner of his lips tugged upward automatically when he saw the sparks in his wife’s eyes. Somehow his fatigue lessen even for a tiny bit. 

“I’m sorry for making you wait, Yor. Do you need something from the hospital?”

His wife shook her head a bit too violently, “No! I just…. I…. “

The man raised his brows, he silently encouraged his wife to continue.

Blushing madly, Yor finally answered, “Loid, can I invite you to a date right now?”

Eyes slightly widened because Loid never expect such a request coming from her. During their playing house all this time, Yor has never been the one to take such initiative. 

It felt refreshing.

And the realization made his smile widen as he answered, “Of course!”

.

Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, all the restaurants around their vicinity seemed to be fully booked. 

After walking around for some time, they finally gave up on fine dining and bought a simple bratwurst and bread takeaway from a small stall. 

They then ended up at the corner of Yor’s favorite park and sat at the last empty bench available.

The spy truly didn’t understand the reason why all people from the city suddenly decided to dine out at the same time.

Nevertheless, he honestly appreciated being able to sit in a quiet corner of the park and enjoyed the calm afternoon breeze. 

Wondering if his wife also shared the same contentment, Loid glanced at his side.

He nearly choked on his bread upon seeing the gloomy face of his wife.

“Yor?! What’s wrong?”

Yor’s lips quivered when she looked back at him, and whispered, “I’m sorry, Loid. I should’ve prepared the date plan better….”

“It’s fine, Yor. I mean, who would’ve guessed that people decided to dine out at the same time this afternoon, right?”

His wife blinked at him. 

“And to be quite honest, I enjoy sitting in a quiet place like this once in a while.”

“Really?” 

“Yep.” 

His wife’s shoulders significantly deflated in relief that made Loid chuckle. 

Before the man was able to take another bite at his Bratwurst however, his wife presented an awkwardly warped brown box tied with pink ribbon. 

When he gingerly accepted the thing, he heard her whisper shyly, “Happy Valentine, Loid.”

Loid’s mouth hung open. 

Suddenly he knew the reason why people went out of their homes for the day.

He mentally slapped himself for forgetting such an important day. 

“I noticed that you don’t like sweets, Loid. So I think, this gift would be more appropriate,” His wife added. 

He looked down at the gift, then at the bright face of his wife. 

“I-.... Thank you, Yor. I’m sure this…. This…..” He awkwardly pointed at the box. Regaining composure as fast as he could he unwarped the gift and upon seeing the gift inside his brows furrowed, but he continued, “This…. pen will be very useful.”

That’s really an awkward-looking pen. Is it a fountain pen or something?  

Yor grinned from ear to ear, “That’s actually not a real pen.” She then took the ‘pen’ from the box, expertly twist open the rear part to show an empty ampule. 

“It’s a secret injection syringe,” She started to explain, “You can put the calming medicine or something like that inside, and use it to protect yourself, should your patient get too violent.” 

Yor then sheepishly added, “I’m sure you have such type of medicine, right?”

Loid stiffly nodded, “We do, yeah…”

“I mean, obviously you don’t want to hurt your patients. But I noticed that sometimes they can be very violent. Like….” she gestured to him, “I don’t know what happened to you today, no offense, but you smell like fish. Did your patient slap you with fishes today?”

Again the man could only nod at the ridiculous reasons his wife made up. 

“Figures. If I could, I really want to be there to protect you. But I can’t. So…” Yor smiled. 

Loid’s mind went blank. 

His heart felt warm from such a sincere gesture, but at the same time, his mind couldn’t comprehend how wild her imagination can be. 

He chose to focus on the former feelings, and sincerely replied, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The Forger couple then continued their eating in silence. But during the time, Loid actually raked his brain to return the gesture. His forgetting the day obviously made him didn’t prepare any gift. 

A gentle sound of a violin played by the street musicians caught his ears. And the man smirked as he might finally know what to do.

He stood up and offered his hand to Yor, “I’m sorry that I didn’t prepare any gift to give you, but may I offer you this dance?”

Yor looked at his hand, unsure, “I’m not a good dancer….”

“Don’t worry about that. This is not a ball. And I smell like fish. Nobody will judge us.”

Yor chuckled when she finally took his hand and stood up.

The couple then moved their body to their own rhythm. But that’s enough to wash the weariness of the day off.

Bonus: 

During their walk home, Loid couldn’t stop thinking about 1001 ways of how he could use the intricate tools Yor had just given him to help with his missions. Suddenly a very important thing clicked in his mind, and he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Uh… Yor, where did you get this kind of tools?”

Yor stopped in her tracks. She didn’t even think that far when choosing one of her assassinations gadgets as a gift for Loid. It was made by the Garden obviously, but she can’t tell him that. She was sweating bullets when the curious eyes of her husband kept demanding an answer. “I … uuuhh….. Frankie?”

Loid’s brow furrowed at that, but he nodded. He made a mental note to scold Frankie later for daring to give such dangerous inventions to his wife.

Chapter Text

Twilight came home tired and weighed with guilt. His latest mission took casualties. He’d done his mission goals just fine, but he didn’t manage to stop the kid from being a victim.

The mother’s wails still rang in his ears. 

The blond man greeted his teeth. 

During the war, casualties cannot be avoided.

He knew that. He knew it well. 

Then why did the image of the battered mother cradling her lifeless son bother him so much?

Was it because he was getting too convenient playing family?

He took a deep breath and pushed the troubling event away from his mind. 

No matter the reasons for his weak state right now, he had to put on his Loid Forger mask. He had to become a perfect father and husband. 

Perfect father and husband didn’t show their negative emotions.

Taking another deep breath, he finally opened the Forger’s apartment door. 

“I’m home!”

Almost immediately after the greeting left his mouth, his eyes were drawn to Anya’s door. In a flash, the image from before returned to his mind.

“Loid, welcome home….” Yor’s greeting trailed off, “Is everything okay?”

He tore his eyes from the door, and met his wife’s eyes, “Ye-... yeah….”

The wife’s brow furrowed as she inquired further, “Something happened?”

“Anya…. asleep already?”

“Mhmm….”

“I see.”

“Loid, perhaps do you want something? A simple snack, or….?”

He chuckled and forced himself to show his smile as naturally as possible, “I’ll just take a bath and rest early.”

Red eyes asked a silent question, which he answered nonchalantly, “I’m fine. Just… tired.”

Yor nodded silently, and the man then entered the bathroom to let the warm water wash away the tiredness of the day. 

When Loid came out from the bathroom, however, he was met by the smell of freshly brewed chamomile tea.

“I thought maybe you could have some calming tea before bed?” Yor explained to him when he approached the dining room. 

“I see. Thank you, Yor.” Loid again gave her the usual smile while finishing the tea in silence.

Returning the empty cup back to the table, Loid really wanted to enter his room pronto. However, he saw how Yor still staring at him, so as the perfect husband he asked, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

There was a moment of hesitation before she whispered, “Yes.”

Loid was going to ask what the problem was when suddenly a pair of strong arms circled his torso. 

The man flinched but didn’t move from his spot.

“I don’t know what happened. But you can let it out, Loid.”

“Let wha-....” 

He didn’t get to finish the word as suddenly salty water started dripping out from his eyes without him being able to stop it. 

“Huh….?”

Apparently, his body registered the hug as something strong and warm to rely on, as someplace safe, way faster than his brain could register.

The feeling was so alien for an experienced spy like him. 

But it was enough to crack the last defense the man desperately tried to put up.

When he heard Yor whisper, “It’s okay…. Everything’s going to be okay….” He crumbled.

Tears flowed even faster when trembling arms returned the hug as he buried his face on her shoulder. 

Just tonight, he wanted to stop being a spy. Stop doing any missions. 

The strong shoulder underneath his face and the comforting rub at his back made Twilight, for the first time in his life, didn’t want to lie.

Loid hiccuped, “I failed….”

Tomorrow the mask will be returned to its respectable place. 

But tonight, Twilight would let himself be a human.

We are just wounded souls 

So used to put the fake laugh in our face 

But please, just once, for tonight 

Let me cry 

Before I place the (fake) smile back

 “Runtuh” (Crumble) 

by Feby Putri Feat. Fiersa Besari

Chapter Text

The night should have just been a usual cleaning for Yor. 

But then she had to counter the horde of assassins coming her way.

And then suddenly she was distracted by the appearance of a spy, who she nearly slammed her knives into, but fortunately, she managed to stop on time, because she heard Anya screaming at her. 

How could Anya be at the place?

Her priority shifted. 

She tried in all her power to make sure Anya would be safe. 

Including taking a bullet, that never came, because the spy took it for her. 

Anya screamed. 

When the mask fell down, revealing Loid’s face, time froze.

She didn’t remember what happened next.

All was red.

When Yor finally returned to her senses, they were at the hospital, following her husband’s bunk that was being rushed to the operating room. 

After making sure that she was alright (the blood wasn’t hers), the nurse told her to stay in the waiting room, and she obliged.

The sobbing bundle in her arms invoked her motherly instinct, and she did whatever she could to soothe her daughter. 

The police came, and she relayed excuses that they were mugged. She didn’t remember too many details. She was too shocked. And they leave her at that. 

When the doctor emerged from the operating room, they said that they had already done whatever they could, and the rest was up to him. 

Together with Anya who insisted, Yor stayed by Loid’s side, after calling and asking Frankie to take care of Bond. 

Days come and by, and Yor tried her best to stay strong for Anya. Even though the food tastes like ash, she accompanied Anya to eat, however small the portion was. 

She lulled Anya to sleep, promising that she would tell her immediately when Loid woke up. 

On the third day, when Anya already sleeping, Yor couldn’t take it anymore.

Everything crashed at once when she finally registered what has happened. 

Her husband was a spy. He knew that she was an assassin. Anya saw both of them. 

Were they all fake?  

But then, all of that didn’t matter. 

She was supposed to be their shield. She was supposed to be their protector.

And yet…..

A memory flashed in her mind.

“I love Yor just as much as you do. Our daughter loves her too. So whether I had to take a bullet or a nuke, I’m prepared to give my life for her.”

He didn’t lie back then, did he?

Yor looked at the silent prone figure of her husband. 

Tears started to fall free.

“Come back to me, Loid” she whispered.

Weeping silently, she closed her eyes and started to sing between sobs, “Oh prince of mine……. Drift to sleep…..”

Resting her head on the bed beside him, “Oh sweet prince of mine… beneath their silver shine….”

A thumb wiping away the tears on her cheek made her eyes snap open.

Gripping the hand, she sat up abruptly and saw tired blue eyes looking back at her.

The corner of his mouth tugged up ever so slightly, and a hoarse voice greeted her, “I’m sorry. Please don’t cry….”

Tears spilled free as she kissed his palm and leaned into it.

She shook her head and whispered, “Welcome back, Loid…..”

Chapter Text

Yor bolted out as soon as the door of the subway opened. She rushed up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, and soon Berlint crips night air greeted her. 

Looking left and right, she immediately spotted her husband standing beneath the clock pole. 

"Loid!!" 

She saw how the man's bored eyes suddenly lit with life as soon as he noticed she was approaching, and he waved at her, "Hey, there."

"I'm so sorry for being tardy. The…. The sorting of old files took so much time, I-...."

"No worries, Yor," Loid smiled in understanding and chuckled when she audibly sighed in relief. 

They were planning a dinner date for today. It's a necessity to maintain their image as a lovey-dovey couple, and thus this "dinner date" thing had to happen every once in a while. Who knew if they'd meet one or two of their respective colleagues or nosy neighbors, Loid had told her. And of course, Yor believed the much smarter man wholeheartedly. 

"Shall we?" 

"Yes. Umm… do you have any particular place to go?" 

Loid brows furrowed as he was thinking out loud, "I'm thinking of the Facil Restaurant on 68th? During weekdays, they usually don't need reservations beforehand."

Yor nodded.

Truth was, Yor didn't want to go to a fancy restaurant today. Aside from being obviously more expensive, they tended to serve small portions with slow pacings.

The woman had just cleaned a whole battalion of armed drug dealers an hour before (the actual reason for her tardiness). Despite her frame, she was actually a muscle powerhouse. And after working hard she was actually famished. 

Upon seeing her mulling expression, Loid asked further, "Or, maybe you have another place in mind??"

The wife fidgeted. She was not sure whether Loid would want to eat at the place she had in mind. He was coming from a higher social status than her after all. And the place she was about to tell him, could not be considered a fancy place at all. But the man had given her an opportunity to state her opinion. So maybe….. 

"So?"

Yor looked at his face, and she saw he was genuine. Gathering her courage, she then told him, "Uum… Do you mind if we go to Bräustübl on the 164th instead?"

She reasoned, "The place may not be fancy, but they served really good meals, and at an affordable price too." When she saw him raising his eyebrows, she backpedaled, "Of… of course we can go to Facil if-..."

"We can go wherever you want, Yor," He smiled, "Bräustübl we go then." 

The man then offered his elbow which Yor took gladly, as they walked towards their destination. 

.

Loid never expect Yor would want to go to such an ordinary all-you-can-eat restaurant that reeked of barbeque smokes and clamorous chatters. 

Or maybe that was just him botching his observation again, as he was getting sloppy as of late.

Or maybe it was just him wanting to give the best dining experience he could give to his wife. For the sake of their appearance, of course. 

Whatever the reasons, the happy face of Mrs. Forger that sat in front of him as she told the spy about the story behind the place, and how she often visited said place with her brother, made him smile too. 

The bright happy face of her seemed tripled when their orders came. 

"Psst, Loid, you can just dig in using your hands here. Nobody will care about eating etiquette or whatsoever," his wife whispered at him when he was about to use his fork and knife to eat the barbecued ribs. 

Obviously, Loid was not a stranger to eating by hand, but he was currently playing a doctor. Surely doctors would have manners and…. 

He stopped his thinking as he saw Yor devours her first plate just like that. 

“Mmmm!!! This place’s ribs are the best!!” She squealed.

The blond man smirked at that and shrugged. 

Who would eat ribs with cutleries anyway? 

As he took his first bite, he couldn’t help but agreed with his wife. “Whoah! It is!!”

“Riighht??? One plate will never be enough!”

Started to pick up his pace, he answered through a mouthful, “You bet!” 

What he didn’t expect was that Yor didn’t lie. 

Literally.

His brows were lifted higher and higher as the second, third, and fifth plate of ribs serves come and devoured within minutes in front of his very eyes. No sign of stopping as of yet.

Truly mesmerized, he commented, “You really like ribs, huh?”

Stopping mid chewing, Yor’s face immediately turned red and she stammered, “I… Uuh… we-... Well…”

Realizing that his comment might induce unnecessary misunderstandings, Loid immediately clarified, “No, I mean, why did you never tell me? I could cook ribs for you, you know?”

Truth was, Loid immediately felt ashamed. 

First, for not noticing his wife’s favorite food. Second, seeing the amount of food Yor was able to eat, was she ever felt content with the amount of food he provided on daily basis?

But before he was able to blame himself for being sloppy, Yor gulped down and answered, “I don’t have any specific favorite meals. I eat any kind of food. It’s just, maybe, this place felt relaxing, or….. Or maybe it’s because I skipped my lunch today.”

“You skipped lunch???” Loid flabbergasted, “You cannot do that. You could just give me a call and I could...”

“Did you have your lunch, Loid?” She tilted her head.

“Yes.” He lied just as easily as he breathed.

Or so he thought. 

Loid started to sweat bullets when Yor stared unimpressed at him. “A bit….”

Under the undeterred stare of those red eyes, he fidgeted, and finally admitted, “No. But I- …”

“Then that’s enough reason to double our dinner amount!! This is an all-you-can-eat place after all!” She beamed. 

Loid blinked when he tried to grasp Yor’s logic. 

The man slowly shook his head because he should know that Yor never thought of complicated things. That was one of her traits that he liked. 

As a friend, of course.

Loid then chuckled, before he raised his hand and told the waiter, “More ribs, please!”

.

Stomach full and feeling contented, the Forger parents exit the place and Loid made mental note to visit the place again sometime in the future. 

When they were about to walk home, however, they bumped into Yuri, Camilla, and Dominic.

“Yor?”

“Sis?”

They turned to the voice sources, and Yor happily greeted them, “Yuri! Camilla and Dominic too! Were you guys hanging out?”

“Good evening.” Loid politely greeted them too and tried his best not to twitch his eye when he saw the hostile glare sent his way by his brother-in-law.

“Did you just take your gorgeous husband to this ordinary place, Yor?” Camilla asked her with a furrowed brow.

“It serves wonderful food?” Yor confusedly answered.

“And I love it.” Loid deliberately circled his arm around her waist to show Yor’s co-worker that he support his wife’s idea wholeheartedly because he knew how Camilla loved to put Yor in a hard place. He felt Yor flinched under his touch, but he hoped she understood that this was just part of their show. Judging by how she slowly stood closer to him, Loid could be sure that she understand the signal. 

“Shall we head home together, then?” Yor asked the party before them. 

They agreed, and all of them started to walk towards the same subway station. 

Loid offered Yor his elbow which she take without hesitance. For the sake of their appearance, of course. 

They were chattering about mundane things when suddenly Yor stopped talking and sniffed at him. 

“Mmmm….. You smell delicious!” 

Loid raised his brows, because of course they would smell like barbequed ribs after spending almost two hours in the restaurant. Remembering that his wife had gulped down almost eight plates of ribs, plus other side dishes, he chuckled, “You still want to eat me??”

He saw his wife tilt her head as if in deep thinking, while the corner of her lips tugged upward in a rare mischievous smile, “Mmmm… it depends. Are you anywhere as delicious as the ribs we just had?”

Loid laughed at that. Who knew that his wife really can have such a bottomless pit of stomach.

“Good God!! Get a room you two!!” Camilla groaned while Dominic chuckled beside her.

“Sis???!!! Since when did you become so lewd??” Yuri stared at them with big round eyes.

“Come on, Dominic!!” Camilla pulled her lover and start pacing faster away from them.

“I’ll… I’ll get you for ruining my sister, Loiloi!!!” Yuri ran even faster with tears streaming down his face.

The Forger parents blinked their eyes in confusion. 

“I guess they don’t like ribs, huh, Loid?”

Loid just shrugged his shoulders, “Maybe so…”

They then continue walking home hand in hand. Just for precaution in case they bumped into another acquaintance, of course.

Chapter Text

Twilight glides and lands silently at the border of the mansion. He makes sure to move inside the shadows while taking in his surroundings for any sign of Garden members around him. 

He had done his research meticulously. It was really painstakingly difficult to find any crumbs of information regarding these urban legends.

But against all odds, he manages to pinpoint the location of an underground event that is about to erupt. Having no other choice, he plans to partake in said event and demands his rewards after. Of course, he plans to survive until the time came.  

After making sure he is already in a safe position to be able to observe his vicinity, Twilight rechecks his tools. He only brings minimal weapons: his trusted Glock with several extra magazines, a combat knife, and a simple bulletproof vest. Compared to his usual preparation this is below the minimum. Handler has been warning him about this. She had insisted to give him backups. But he rejects it adamantly. 

This is his own personal mission. He will not, cannot, involve his agency.

This is about his responsibility as the head of the family. 

He needs to find his wife. 

He needs to find Yor. 

For him. 

For Anya. 

Taking a deep breath to calm his wiring nerve, his memory flashes to that fateful night. The last time he saw her. 

.

Twilight can only watch in horror as Yor, no, the Thorn Princess carried his limp body over her shoulder, while simultaneously obliterating those who dare to block her path. 

It was supposed to be a simple ordinary information-gathering mission for him. He didn't realize when he inhaled the paralyzing gas before all his limbs refused to listen to his order. And all of a sudden he was caught up in the middle of the war between Ostania’s warriors of death. 

It was by pure luck that he was found by his own wife. 

She had told him that she had an urgent mission out of town for several days over the phone. But apparently, that was a lie. 

When she finally managed to get near the border of the warehouse, he was dropped gently inside a metal box usually used for delivering goods. 

He saw how she arranged the cable to said box, and tethered it into a steel cable that led to an adjacent building across the harbor. 

"Yor…." He called weakly.

She cupped both of his cheeks and whispered. "Stay safe, Loid. Return to Anya." He noticed the urgency in her wavering voice, and his heart clenched.

"Yor…. Let me help…."

She shook her head, "This is not your war."

"Will you come home?" He desperately forced all of his willpower to stay conscious.

She smiled somberly. "I'll try my best."

"If you don't, I'll find you."

She captured his lips with hers. He felt the crushing weight in his chest when he noticed the desperation behind her trembling lips. 

When he heard her whisper so delicately. "Then find me." His eyes widened. He immediately understood the implied meaning behind her words. 

"WAI-....."

His carrier was propelled harshly. 

The last thing he saw before darkness engulfed him was his wife's back as she marched inside the building. 

.

Twilight takes a shuddering deep breath. 

She asked me to find her. And that's what I’m doing.  

He is adjusting his night vision goggles, courtesy of Frankie, when suddenly he felt someone behind him. 

Cursing, he tries to reach for his Glock, but his movements are easily nullified. In that split second, he finds all of his joints locked, and his face planted on the ground. 

Something looks like massive pruning shears stab the ground inches from his eyes and make him gulp. 

"Sticking your nose noisily can get you killed. I thought you've learned your lesson?"

He has a hunch about who the person might be. Especially after he gets a glimpse of the person standing behind him, who he recognizes as Yor's director at the City Hall. 

"Pardon my intrusion, Sir. I just want to help."

"This is not your war, Knight of the West. Our Princess already shed her blood in making sure you're not getting tangled in our mess."

"I might not be physically as strong as her, or any of your men. But I have my own strength that can be of use. At least my presence could confound the adversary." He bargains. 

“No one ever willingly enters war if they wouldn’t gain any advantage out of it. What is your purpose?”

“I need to see her.”

".........." 

Upon seeing the unwavering look from the elderly person, Twilight literally begs him. “Please, Sir. I need her. Our daughter needs her.”

There is a significant amount of pause before the man declares his concern,  "Admittedly, with her out of commission, we are at a slight disadvantage of our manpower."

Twilight wastes no time to grab the opportunity, "Then let me take her place, let me prove myself worthy of your Princess."

The silence stretches like an eternity for Twilight, before the grip on his hands is released, and he stands up immediately.

"I shall take your offer, noble Knight of the West. But we are not to be responsible for your safety."

Ignoring the pain from his joints, Twilight squares his shoulders. "I won't let you down, Sir."

. 

He thought he had known the horror of war because he had been a soldier himself. But Twilight is quite astonished to know that the horrors; that sometimes still gives him nightmares from time to time even after a decade; have nowhere close to the horror seen in this battle of death between two shadow organizations of Ostania. 

Occasionally engaging in battle himself, either for his own survival or giving assistance to the Garden warriors, Twilight pushes his ability to the maximum. Trying to prove his worth, he tries his best to offer so many tactical strategies, taking into account all the strengths in their available manpower and environmental advantages. And soon enough, the battle is over to the victory of Garden. 

And he manages to survive though not unscathed. 

The first phase is a success…… 

He mutters tiredly before passing out from exhaustion. 

.

Coming into his senses, the first thing he notices is that he is laying down in a room akin to a hospital room. Sitting up slowly, he notices that all of his wounds have been tended professionally. 

“How are you feeling?”

He astonishedly snaps his head towards the source of the greetings.

Geez, these assassins really can mask their presence, huh?

“Good, I guess.”

The man who Loid recognizes as Yor’s director gives him a small smile before nodding. “On behalf of the Shopkeeper, I give you our utmost gratitude for your help.” 

Loid nods, “I’m glad to know that I can be of service.”

The blond man hears the elder one chuckle, “Honestly, I expect no less from one of Westalia’s best.” Wasting no time, the man gestures towards the door and continues talking, “Now for your request, are you well enough to follow me?”

Eyes widen slightly, Loid is immediately on his feet. “Anytime, Sir.”

He nods and starts to walk with Loid hot on his heels. 

Throughout their little walk, Loid feels his heart rate spike up alongside his anticipation mixed with dreads. He thought he managed to mask his emotions and anxiety, but apparently, for a veteran assassin, he is not that good. 

After walking through a series of hallways in silence, they finally stop in front of a double door, and he hears the elder sigh, “You know, Mr. Forger, I’ve been the one assigned to nurture our Princess ever since she was still a young talented bud.” 

Loid looks at the elder man before him, and he saw how the man looks at him tenderly before continuing, “She’s always thought of others before herself. And always makes sure nobody worries about her by plastering a cheerful attitude anywhere anytime. But I see it with my own eyes how she’s genuinely happy when she’s with you and the family you make. She even said it herself multiple times, how the family she has now is the greatest thing that happens in her life.” Loid’s mouth opens slightly at that statement, and he notices how the elder man’s face softens when he continues, “So please take good care of her?”

Loid gulps and nods, “I will, Sir. You have my words.”

The director nods, and moves to open the door. 

Loid gasps when he saw the condition of his wife. 

Lying motionless on the bed, Yor looks so pale with multiple wires connecting her arms and chest to multiple machines that beep and move steadily all around her. He can see the tight bandages around her torso and upper limbs in places that are not covered with her clothes or blankets. 

“She has passed the critical condition and now is stable. But, she hasn’t woken up yet.” The director then gestures to him, allowing him to enter the room. “You may stay.”

Loid wastes no more time striding to her side. 

He feels his eyes hot as he takes her hand so gently and caresses her cheek lovingly.

“Yor…… it’s me……” He whispers.

Pressing their joined hands into his chest, he moves forward. 

“Please, darling…. Open your eyes…..” 

He whispers all his desperation, closes his eyes, and gently presses his lips on hers.

When he retreats, he feels her finger twitch, and he holds his breath. 

Looking expectantly at her face, Loid chokes down his sobs when he sees her eyes flutter open. And soon enough he can see the most beautiful ruby eyes that slowly but surely glimmer in life.

“Hey there,” Loid whispers as he kisses her fingers.

Voice hoarse from not being used, but she manages to answer him. “You found me….”

“I did.” Loid chuckles breathily. “Shall we go home?”

She gives him the most beautiful smile. “I’d love that.”

Chapter Text

Loid shuts the Spy Wars comic in his hand and gets up from the sofa. His mind already wanders around anyway. 

The clock already shows 11.30 pm, and his wife hasn’t come home yet. 

Yes, Yor has said that she’s going to work overtime for 3 days and 2 nights. And she’d be very ‘busy’ so that she won’t be able to contact him, but she’d assured him that it was just an ‘ordinary’ job. 

And yes, as part of their agreement, they have promised to trust each other abilities. 

But…..

Anya had long gone retiring for the night, but before she falls asleep she assured him that her Mama was going to come home very late, but everything will be fine. 

The kid was so sure, cause well…. Bond’s vision.

But…… 

This is already the 3rd night (30 minutes before the day change and it will be the 4th!!). And she hasn’t come home.

So as her husband, Loid has every right to worried, right?

He clicks his tongue when glancing at the clock once again. The long arm had just moved a strip.

Why must time be this slow??

Loid really hates waiting and doing nothing. 

After pacing up and down, he then decides to go to the kitchen and reheat the hot towel, and hot water for the tea. 

Just right after the water boils, he finally hears the jiggling of keys, and their apartment door opens.

Immediately, he turns off all the fire and briskly walks to greet his wife. 

The first thing he observes is her gait. And upon seeing that she walks like she normally does (with no sounds), he sighs in relief. “Welcome home, dear!”

Yor’s mouth hangs open for a while before easing into an apologetic smile, “I’m home. Oh, Loid, I’m so sorry….. Works took longer than-....”

Loid doesn’t let her finish, as he approaches her, hands hovering over her shoulders, “The most important thing is that you’re home now. Are you hurt anywhere?” 

He looks at her form from head to toe and circles around her while helping his wife take off her coat, making Yor giggle. “I’m good. Just a little sore. But nothing out of concern.”

Nodding in satisfaction, he then leads his wife to sit in their dining room deliberately ignoring her questioning looks, before returning to the kitchen. 

“Do you want to eat something? I can reheat our leftover or cook something simple-..”

“I’m fine, Loid.”

“Ok.”

Returning to the dining room, he gives her the hot towel and prepares the tea. Before Yor could ask, Loid already telling the reason, “Anya told me that you’re going to need something warm.”

When Yor raises her brows, he just shrugs, “Bond said so.”

“Ah…..” Yor nods and chuckles breathily, “You shouldn’t have-...”

“I should. And I want to, Yor. I’m your husband.” 

The blush on her cheeks feels so satisfying, but Loid is not done yet. “You take your time in finishing the tea, I’ll prepare the bath.”

“Loid, you really don’t have to…..”

But of course, he ignores her protest.

After filing the bathtub with the perfect temperature water and bubble foam, he sees Yor peeking her head inside. “Perfect timing! The water’s ready.” Once again he intervenes right when she opens her mouth.

“Loid I-...”

“Come.” He takes her hand and leads her to their bathroom. 

When he puts his fingers at her zip, Yor stops him. “Loid, I can do this myself.”

Yes, of course, Loid knows that his wife can do all of this by herself, but for tonight he wants to be selfish. So he changes his face, and put on his best puppy eyes he can muster (if Anya can always make her mother do things for her with this expression, why can’t he?). “Please, Yor. I want to help you. Let me. Please?”

Yor opens and closes her mouth several times, but finally, she relents. Smiling fondly, she gives his hand a light squeeze, “Alright. Thank you, dear.”

Loid smiles as his heart fills with giddy happiness.

He then helps her prepare and enter the tub for the long-deserved relaxation. 

Squeezing the shampoo his wife usually uses, he then starts helping her clean her hair from sticky dirt. Of course, he also rubs and massages her scalp, base of her neck, and shoulders, which results in Yor humming in contentment. 

When he feels her head leaning limply following his every movement, Loid chuckles fondly as his eyes soften. 

He then leans forward and captures her lips. “Hey, don’t sleep in the tub. You’ll catch a cold.”

Her eyes flicker open and he can see the most beautiful ruby eyes full of mirth. 

He feels her arms snake around at the back of his neck and pulls him for another kiss. “Miss you too…..” 

.

Fresh and clean, they finally settle on their bed. 

Loid circles his arms around her waist and pulls her close till her back is pressed into his chest, enjoying the warmth of her body. 

Nuzzling his head at the crook of her neck, he lets the smells of fresh bath soap and shampoo fills his nostrils. 

He feels Yor lays her hand on his and gives him a light squeeze. “G’night, Loid”

“Night, Yor.”

And finally, after two sleepless nights, Loid can finally have his decent rest.

Chapter Text

Finally, Yor Briar stands before the demon Twilight. She’s about to do the task passed down through the Briar family for generations: kill the demon Twilight.

Twilight: (looks at her up and down) So, when will we start?

Yor: You’re not afraid?

Twilight: Why should I be? The fact that I stand before you means that your ancestors had failed times and times again to kill me. What makes you any different?

Yor: I’m the best in my generation.

Twilight: (bored) I’ve heard that countless times.

Yor: I see.

Twilight: You see what?

Yor: (holding her chin, deeply thinking) So…..

Twilight: So?

Yor: What is the reason for my family to keep trying to kill you?

Twilight: That’s because………..

Yor: Because???

Twilight: (holding his chin, trying hard to remember)

Yor: Yes??

Twilight: I actually forgot.

Yor: Well, there’re lots of stories that have been passed down through my family. Would you like to hear them over tea and cookies? I made them myself.

Twilight: Well, this is the first. Sure.

They then sit down.

Little does Twilight know that he has to utilize all his power not to pass out over cookies.

Especially not when the killer is in front of him, waiting for his review regarding the cookies she’s made with big puppy-eyed expectations.

He has a reputation to maintain. That’s all.

Chapter Text

Yor stretches her stiff back and shoulder while she silently closes Anya's bedroom door. 

Finally, after a very long tiring battle of making her daughter get out of her little angel costume, preparing her to bed, and loads of bedtime stories, Anya feels asleep. 

The Forger matriarch trudges to the living room to turn off the lights and prepares to sleep when she sees her husband still sulking at their loveseat. 

She blinks.

Is it possible that Loid still feels bad about what happened during their little adventure around the neighborhood? 

It was Anya’s idea that all of them participate in the neighborhood tradition to wear costumes during this time of the year, and then parade through their neighborhood while greeting others and simply enjoying the festivals. 

Her husband, being such a perfectionist that he is, prepares the best costumes and the best route plans so that the family can enjoy the best festival ever. 

However, a small mishap happened. 

A heavy rain suddenly poured on them, and during their hasty retreat, Anya's costume got splashed by dirty water from a passing car, which upset the girl. 

And that ruined all of Loid's perfect plans. Which, as usual, didn't go as badly as he thinks. 

At the end of the day, all of them, especially Anya, still managed to have fun. 

It is still a wonderful outing day for the family.

Yor humphs. 

She will not let him continue to sulk.

She purses her lips and thinks hard. 

She looks at the demon costume her husband is still wearing, and looks at her own angel costume. A sudden idea pops into her head, and she smirks mischievously.

Silently she rummages through their kitchen pantry and retrieves several things. 

The woman then strides to their living room and without warning, she throws the bulb of garlic at Loid. 

As expected, her husband's instinct kicks in and he catches it without difficulties as he exclaims "What the…??!!"

"Begone demon!!!" Yor growls while showing him the makeshift wooden cross she made by using their wooden spatulas. 

She sees her husband blinking and continues her act, "Begone!! Leave my husband alone!!" 

She then lifts the makeshift cross and thrust it towards Loid's chest playfully, so that Loid can easily grab her arms. 

Yor grins at him, but when she sees Loid's eyebrows furrow and his eyes narrow, her grins drop. 

"Yor….." He growls her name, and she feels her heart sink. 

Uh oh…. Did I upset him further?  

Loid pulls her arms towards him as he towers over her, "Do you really think garlic will work on me?" 

Uh oh…. He IS upset!! What have you done, Yor??

Yor gulps and stammers, "So-... sorry I just-..."

"I'm not a Dracula." 

Huh? Yor blinks.

"And do you think wooden crux will work on me?" He moves forward forcing Yor to move backward until her leg touches the edge of their sofa.

Loid moves his face so close she can feel his breath tickling her face when he whispers, "I am not a vampire." He continues moving forward until their lips nearly touch, “I AM the mighty demon that can devour your soul" 

Yor holds his chest and pushes slightly, "Lo… Loid, what are you doing?"

He stops his advance, straightens himself, and tilts his head, "Aren't we doing some role play?" 

"A role play?" 

The term sounds familiar to her. She must've read it somewhere. But she can't remember. 

"Surely you don't start to flirt with me, and expect me not to reciprocate?"

Flirt? 

Role play?  

Yor's eyes widen as blood rushes to her face when she remembers where she has ever read such terms. 

Cammila's female magazines!! In THAT specific section!!

She hears Loid chuckle breathily, "You really didn't intend it that way, huh?" 

Yor shakes her head furiously, "No! I just want you to stop sulking."

"Ah!" Loid smiles and scratches the base of his neck, while a hint of blush can be seen coloring his cheek. "Sorry. My bad."

Yor meekly asks, "Did it work?" 

Loid grins, “It will always work when you’re the one doing it.”

Yor yelps when all of a sudden Loid scoops her and whisper, "Now Mrs. Forger, I would love to show you my gratitude in private. May I?”

Yor chuckles and kisses him. “Yes you may, Mr. Forger.”

And let's just say that finally, Yor understands how magazines tend to exaggerate things.

Chapter Text

Sylvia Sherwood is a veteran spy. 

Yes, she might have not been in the field for several years ever since she became WISE Handler Ostanian division, but still, she IS a spy who has been trained physically and mentally to prepare herself for any unfavorable conditions. 

Thus, she will NOT scream like some schoolgirl, even when she is being carried bridal style by a younger woman, whose body is smaller than hers.

At most, she will just hold her breath while forcing her erratic heartbeat to stay beating steady, when the lithe woman jumps from one skyscraper to another. 

Wait . 

The Full Metal Lady widens her eyes when she cannot see any other skyscrapers in front of her, and yet, The Thorn Princess doesn't slow down her run. 

In fact, she sped up. (How is THAT even possible???!!)

"Uuuh….. excuse me…."

"Please hold on tight, Ma'am" 

Sylvia instinctively tightens her hold on the younger one's bare shoulder; she might accidentally scratch them. 

"Wait for a second. You don't plan to-....."

Yor leaps. 

KYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!

.

Sylvia's soul finally returns to her body when Yor put her gently on the bed of a room. 

She is blinking rapidly to assess her location.

The room is clean. Only consist of twin beds, a small table with one chair, a simple wardrobe, and a bathroom. 

"This is an apartment at the border of Berlint."

Thorn Princess answers her silent question when effortlessly lifting the wardrobe, table, and chair to block the door. 

"Lo-.., Twilight prepared this place, and told me to bring you here until he finishes the 'clean up' at your office."

The younger one then retrieves a briefcase and first aid kit box. 

She places the briefcase near her arm, "He also said that you might need this for extra protection, in case I was busy engaging your pursuer." 

A briefcase gun. She nods. 

Of course, Twilight would go to such a length when preparing backup plans. 

Yor then open the first aid kit and kneel near her injured leg and start inspecting it. 

"May I?" 

Sylvia nods, giving her permission to the younger one to remove the makeshift bandages and her stockings.

She hisses upon touch, and immediately understands that she won't be walking for several months ahead. 

She pinches the bridge of her nose. The day has turned worse and worse with each passing minute.

"Ma'am, I think-..."

"Sylvia." 

With a disastrous day such as today, she had enough formality.

"Huh?" 

"You can call me Sylvia, Yor." 

Yor blinks and reluctantly nods, "O-okay. Well, uhh…. It looks like the bullet went through, but it grazed the femur….."

"Fractured bone." 

Yor nods and then gives her a bright smile, "But the fragments are still aligned. That means I can stitch the flesh wounds to slow down the bleeding until the situation is clear and you can get proper medical help."

Ah, such positivity. So cute

Sylvia chuckles. "Don't worry. I've been in a worse situation." 

"Of course," She sees Yor frowns, "But this is still going to hurt."

"I'll live. Please carry on." 

"I'll do it as fast as I can."

She nods her approval, hugs the pillow, and bites on it. 

.

True to her words, the painful process ends fast enough to Sylvia's relief. 

After bandaging the wounds tightly, the Forger's mother then gives her a glass of water which she gulps down hungrily. 

To her surprise, the next thing Yor does is open the bathroom door to retrieve Sylvia's German Shepherd. 

The dog immediately comes to her and licks her hand worriedly. 

Sylvia can't help but chuckle, "Relax boy, Mama will live."

The red-haired woman then turns her attention back to her savior, who currently is sitting stiffly near the door.

Sylvia can see how hard the younger one is to look calm, but honestly, she won't fool anyone with how visible her fidgeting is, keep looking in the direction of the ongoing battles at WISE HQ. 

Wearing emotions in her sleeves, huh? I wonder how she can keep her job a secret from anyone up until now. Me included. Sylvia shakes her head in disbelief.

She then clears her throat, "Thank you so much for your help. I'll be fine now. You can go help your husband." 

Yor's head snaps at her, and she stammers, "Uuh… but Lo-.., I mean, Twilight asked me to guard you."

Sylvia clicks her tongue.

That foolish idiot!!

She shakes her head and sighs, "That idiot just doesn't want to see you get hurt."

"Huh?" 

Upon receiving questioning looks from a pair of ruby orbs, Sylvia pinches the bridge of her nose again. She can feel the tingling feeling at her temple, a sign of upcoming migraine that has nothing to do with the immense pain of fractured bone, or blood loss. 

These two really are going to be the end of me .

"Tell me Yor, did Twilight specifically tell you to take the longer route and bring me to this place via that specific window?"

Yor nods.

"That means he has done his meticulous preparations to distract the enemies. Aside from false routes, there must be numerous traps surrounding each entrance; if not on the whole building itself; and cover any access to come to this room. Trust me. This place is the safest place in the whole city."

It needs several seconds for Yor to chew the information before a realization sinks in and she starts to scowl. 

Sylvia raises her hand in a calming motion, "Ah, but please don't kill him. I think I understand his reasons."

Yor mutters through gritted teeth, "He promises to stop keeping things to himself." 

"Please be patient with him, Yor. He….." She sighs, "I can still remember his devastated face clear as day, when he tore this city brick by brick searching for you, during the war of your assassins organization."

"But that was different."

"Was it?" She challenges the assassin, "Didn't you quite literally throw your body in the line of harm so that he can live?"

She sees the younger one inattentively caress the ribs under her left breast, most definitely the location of her mortal wound. 

Sylvia smiles somberly, "You know that he has lost everything in his past, Yor. He will break beyond repair if he loses you. So please be patient with him."

She sees Yor frown before muttering, "Sorry…"

The elder one chuckles, "Don't. I guess that's why both of you are meant for each other." 

Sylvia sees how Yor is still conflicted though.

Oh heaven, have mercy. Do I really have to chaperone these two again?

She takes a deep calming breath, "On second thought, I think I understand why that idiot agent of mine wants to keep you away from our business. It is already a disgrace for us to be blindsided by this typical trojan horse scheme. Asking for help from an enemy country assassin would make us lose our dignity completely."

"Uum…. Actually, Shopkeeper said that Garden is only returning the favor," Yor chimes in. 

"Hmm…. Twilight was doing a solo act at that time, though that information is classified," The elder one starts to talk under her breath, "But, drastic times call for drastic measures. I need my loyal agents to stay alive to show them how a real spy works. If these bastards want to play rough, then I'll gladly show them why I got the name Full Metal Lady."

She then returns her attention to the assassin in front of her, "And there are your justifications." 

When Yor blinks confusedly, Sylvia takes another deep breath, "I'm asking your help to bring my loyal agents safely from the commotions at the HQ; including your husband; so that I can have a proper revenge."

Yor's face immediately brightens and she salutes, "On it, Ma'am!" 

The assassin immediately stands up. 

Sylvia thinks that Yor will bolt to help Twilight right away, but she is wrong.

First, Yor rearranges the makeshift barricades to block the one and only safe entry of the room. Second, she ensures Sylvia has the basic needs within arm's reach: energy bars, water, and even urinals and wipes (did Twilight really prepare that?!). Third: she makes sure the German Shepherd has enough kibbles and water and also prepares folded sheets for the dog to rest. 

Yor double-checks everything, making sure all is prepared accordingly, and that Sylvia is comfortable in her current immobile position. Only after that then she perches at the window ready to depart. 

Sylvia is actually quite amazed. 

"I'll be back as soon as possible," Yor looks at her. She pauses for a while before giving the Handler a grateful smile, "And thank you so much, Ms. Sylvia." 

She then jumps down from the 3rd story building.

Sylvia blinks astonishingly before chuckling. This woman is not as gullible as people believe, huh?

A whining from her right makes the red-haired lady look down, and pet her dog. 

"Yes boy, she is your friend, Bond's master."

Another whining.

"Yep. One of a kind indeed."

Sylvia now understands why Twilight falls head over heels for her. 

As he should.

Chapter Text

For the umpteenth time, Twilight was scolded by the Handler for buying ‘unnecessary’ things for the mission. 

The latest one was of him buying this antique desk from an auction. 

Twilight insisted that this kind of desk, with tremendous amounts of secret buttons and drawers, is a necessary tool for a spy.

Not for hiding important tools or reports. 

No.

Those things are way too important to be kept inside a thing that screams ‘I can keep secrets’.

It can, however, acts as a decoy. 

At that time, Handle scoffed and laughed at his idea of a person being foolish enough to fall for such simple traps.

But his current 'predicament' has proven that Twilight’s hunch is always true. 

Groaning when moving his neck due to an ache at the back of his head, Loid blinks his eyes and takes in his surroundings. 

These goons are so sloppy that they didn't hit him in efficient moves, nor check if their captive was truly out before bringing him to this place.

If his memory serves him right, he is currently being tied up in a chair at the 6th-story building, two blocks away from Berlint Hospital. 

He sees how his four assaulters have enough manpower to drag the desk from his Hospital office. 

How on earth nobody has contacted the police for such a sloppy kidnapping and robbery act from the Hospital is beyond his comprehension. 

Not that he had hoped the police would save him from any kidnapping.

No. 

He has another person reliable for such dire occasions. 

He had hoped the police would come so that he could put a stop to these annoyingly different kinds of poorly executed plans in trying to extract information from Loid Forger regarding his research on new methods of therapy in psychiatry that has been bothering him for the past three days.

A non-existent fraud research Twilight has made up to solidify Loid Forger's activity. 

"Oh look at that…. Finally awake, huh?" One of the leaner goons finally notices him. The man grabs Loid's collar and yanks it closer, "You better start talking if you still want your pretty face intact!" 

Twilight is so bored with such by-the-book threats that he doesn't even want to spend energy in acting scared.

"Talk about what?" 

SLAPS .

What's with this so-called delinquent who cannot even slap properly? 

"Acting stupid won't help you."

Loid sighs tiredly and looks at the three entrapments that they had managed to open. 

Seriously? Only three secrets compartment after 10 minutes?  

"Press the third right leaf at the upper left decoration."

Loid rolls his eyes when two people start poking roughly at each leaf with their chubby fingers. 

Nothing will work obviously. It needs precision to push with slender objects. Such as pencils, which they actually brought together with the desk. 

Loid feels another rough shake at his collar accompanied by angry yells at his face, "STOP LYING!!" 

"I'm not. Try pushing it with the pencils."

They look at one another before one of them picks up the pencil and presses the spot correctly. 

A hidden drawer pops up. 

And it is empty.

SLAPS . 

"Deceptions will only make you suffer!" 

Loid shrugs uninterestedly, "This special desk has so many secret compartments. I can't help it if I forget which one I used."

SLAPS. SLAPS.

"Perhaps if we rattle your brain, it will jog some memory, hmm???"

Loid grimaces at the monotonous method of torturing he has been receiving. 

Fortunately, it will end soon. 

Maybe it won't hurt to entertain these people one last time. So Loid feigns a gasp as he says, "Oh!! Ooohh!!! It's coming!!" 

The confused face in front of him is so adorable. "What is coming?" 

All of a sudden the door to the room is roughly blown from its hinges and slams into two goons, knocking them unconscious.

A second later, the most beautiful woman in her pink coat enters the room calmly and is seen searching the room with her beautiful ruby eyes until she meets his gaze.

Loid smirks proudly. "My wife."

The grip on his collar is released as part of his so-called interrogator's focus shifts toward the arrival of Thorn Princess. "What the…."

Loid notices how his wife's expression darkened when she took in his condition. 

Such a worry wart she can be sometimes . Loid muses lovingly. 

But he has to warn her lest things get too out of control. Thus he tells her, "Kids." 

And almost immediately, he can see Yor swiftly slide back her stilettos inside their respective compartments on her sleeves before charging at the remaining two goons. 

Knocking them unconscious with two swift one-finger pressures at the specific spots each. 

Beautiful . Loid smiles proudly as he easily unties himself from the ropes that bind him, and stands.

"Oh my Goodness, Loid!" Yor immediately came to his side. She turns his head from side to side,  nursing his bruised cheek. 

Loid leans into her touch and cups his own hand on top of hers, "I'm fine, Yor."

"We need to find an ice pack soon. I think I saw a store one block away." 

"Nah, we can do it at home." He casually intertwines their hand and pulls her towards the door. "Did you manage to buy the ingredients for dinner?"

"I did. I left them in front of the stairs. I don't want to ruin them in case things go south." 

Yor then points towards the unconscious goons, "So, did your plan work?" 

Loid glances at the room and shrugs, "I hope so."

"Does the desk help?" 

"Mmmm….. unfortunately, not so much." 

Yor gasps, "Oh dear…. Will the Handler be okay with that?" 

Loid just shrugs. "Anya loves to play with it when she is playing detectives in my office, so it does serve its purposes." 

Yor chuckles at that. "I see."

He then places his arm on her shoulder and leads her out of the place, "Now come on. We should start dinner soon. I'm hungry."

The couple then starts to continue their evening just like any other day.

Chapter Text

After one, two, and three different occasions in the past, Twilight shouldn’t be surprised by the fact that his wife is afraid of bugs. 

Like ….. really afraid of it. 

It shouldn’t be an excuse

But after their reveal, and seeing with his own eyes how amazing and beautiful Thorn Princess dances during her work with the gracefulness of a death angel, sometimes he forgets that the infamous and deadly Garden assassin is also the same Yor Forger. 

His lovely adorable wife. 

Who obviously is afraid of bugs.

So when suddenly she jumps onto his arm and hugs his neck so tight almost to the point of choking while pointing with a trembling finger towards a spot near clumps of dead bodies during their after-mission cleaning, he should’ve known. 

But alas. 

He forgets

“Y-... Princess? You okay?”

“Pl-.... please……”

Twilight raises his brows as he carefully came closer to the spot and sees an upside-down insect trapped in the pool of blood, helplessly moving its legs.

He chuckles and moves his feet. But immediately his wife says “Don’t step on it!!”

“Huh?”

“Don’t!! Or else it will splat and its inside will-….” She gags. “And more will come….”

Again, Twilight raises his brows at this new information. 

Apparently, his wife found a squashed insect to be more disturbing than all of the other visceral scattered around their workplace. 

Noted .

“Okay. So what should I do?”

“Just, throw it away!”

“Well…. Then I should put you down somewhe-...”

“No!! Just do it quickly!! Think of something!!” she clings harder.

Twilight slack-jawed. But then he nods in determination. “Okay.”

He is Westalis’ best spy. 

If his wife demands him to remove the bug while clinging to him, he will do it perfectly. 

Yor is happy with her life. 

Sure during several first weeks when their secrets are out in the open, she stumbled. 

But everything was sorted out in the end.

And she cannot be happier as of late.

Especially since her husband was never shy in asking her for help during his mission. 

In other words, Yor can actively do something to make sure he came home safely, instead of just being worried and just staying at home.

Just like what she is doing right now.

While Twilight is tampering with trinkets in the other room to find all the information WISE needs, it is her job to make sure he can do his job in peace. A.k.a clean the place from guards.

She stalks toward her last customer for the day. 

The man already flops on his back and desperately moves backward, throwing anything in his vicinity toward her. 

Thorn Princess smiles politely and easily swats at the objects thrown at her. “Respectfully sir, may I have the honor of-...”

She stops when she felt something crawling on her arm.

Suddenly the world goes quiet as Thorn Princess has a good look and instantly recognizes the thing.

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

.

Twilight’s heart drops to his stomach when he hears the shrilling voice of his wife

He stops his work immediately and runs toward her place, taking out his guns in the process.

Just right after he steps into the next room, a creature slams hard into him knocking air from his lungs, and then choking him by clinging its limbs towards his neck and waist.

It takes several milliseconds for him to recognize that the “koala-like creature” is indeed his wife.

His mind immediately registers the most probable cause of such a phenomenon. 

And his eyes immediately zoom in on the sole culprit whose face immediately loosing his ugly grin, while both hands still clutching cages that contain multiple tiny despicable creatures.

He growls. “These (BANG) dirty paws (BANG) who dare to (BANG) throw bugs towards my wife (BANG) SHOULD CEASE TO EXIST!! (BANG)” 

“I’m sorry!!!” the poor guard begs.

Twilight's face darkens. 

“No!” 

(BANG)

Twilight is having a bad day.

Nothing has been done perfectly today. There were always mishaps here and there, and those made him need longer time to finish those tasks.

It made him come home past dinner. 

Opening his apartment door, he is not surprised to see Yor getting up from the living room and strides toward him. 

He smiles tiredly. “I’m home.’

“Welcome home, Loid.” He sees her searching for any injuries on him while helping him with the coat. 

His smile goes wider. “I’m okay. Just tired.”

Yor nods in satisfaction. “Go have some hot water bath. I’ll reheat today’s dinner. Take outs. Don’t worry.”

Loid chuckles. “I’ll eat anything you feed me.”

Yor lightly slaps his arm. “Flatterer.”

Loid just grins and enters their bathroom

.

To Loid’s dismay, the hot water didn't elevate his mood.

There’re still unexplainable knots inside of him. 

He looks in the direction of the kitchen, the origin of smells of delicious food.

But that’s not what he wants right now.

He frowns. 

He knows what he wants, but would it be despicable if he did that?

After several seconds of contemplation, Loid then approaches his wife in the kitchen.

His wife’s face brightens when seeing him. Turning off the fire and plates the food, she says, “It will be ready in a minute.” 

“Careful Yor.”

“Hmm??”

He points to a place near her hands. “Bugs.”

Immediately Yor drops the pan and jumps into his arms. “REALLY??!!”

He holds her tighter so she stops fidgeting, and nuzzles her hair. 

The warmth and smells of faint floral slowly release the uncomfortable knots and finally, he can relax. 

He smiles and whispers, “Really.”

He can feel her slowly relax in his arms.

It has been raining nonstop since the early morning of the weekend. 

Lucky for Yor, no missions for both of her and Loid.

And even though they had to cancel their park outing, all of the family members were still able to spend their time at home cheerfully and peacefully.

It is nighttime. 

They already tuck Anya into her bedroom, and now it is time for their night tea routine. 

While preparing the hot water and cups, Yor glances at her husband who sits at the head of the sofa while her mind replays yesterday’s conversation between her and her coworkers at City Halls. 

The women were talking about an article in Woman magazine. About things, spouses usually do when they were trapped inside their houses during snowstorms or any other causes. 

It is not exactly a snowstorm right now, but aren’t they also ‘trapped’ inside their houses all day?

Should she also do the things being mentioned in the magazine as now they are truly a couple?

Yor can feel her face getting warm. 

She shakes her head when remembering that Loid said every couple has their own way, and they don’t need to do the same thing other couples do to be happy. 

But… but….  

Is it wrong if she wants to-.....

“Yor? Is everything alright?” 

She squeaks and feels her face getting warmer.

Almost immediately she can hear Loid move from the living room and strides toward her. 

It’s now or never!! She nods in determination.

As soon as Loid enters the kitchen, Yor jumps toward him. And he catches her in his arms as always. 

“Yor??”

“Bu-....bugs….” She stutters as she burrows her head in the crook of his neck. 

“Where?”

Yor wrings her fingers in whatever directions in her back. “Flying…. Somewhere….” And she returns hugging her husband's neck.

After a couple of seconds, she can feel her husband’s tense body relaxing. 

She swears she can hear the smile as he whispers, “I see. That’s terrible.”

Yor can’t stop her own smile when she nods, “Yes.”

She can feel her husband hugs her tighter and says, “It’s okay. You’re safe here.”

She hums in contentment. 

.

If only the two of them were out of their own bubble, they should be able to hear a little girl’s groan, a dog’s whimper, and a door closing with unnecessary force.

.

Bonus: 

Anya slams the bundle of newspaper towards a bug in her school table while grumbling, “Disgusting!”

Becky squeals in awe, “Indeed they are! You’re so brave, Anya.” and then she adds, “But do you really need to kill them like that?”

Anya nods. “Yes. I should. They are DISGUSTING!”

Becky nods and takes note that Anya really hates bugs. 

Unfortunately, Anya never plans to reveal the real reason behind her hatred toward bugs, because she knows full well what her best friend will do if she finds out. 

Chapter Text

Attending a gala always unnerves Yor.

Too many people. Too many eyes on her.

Of course, she has many experiences in attending a gala, most often to do her assassination jobs.

So blending in, or to be more specific, being invisible in a gala has been one of her skills.

That’s not what her concern is.

This time, she has to attend a gala as Loid’s wife.

And the part where she has to do things perfectly so as not to embarrass her husband is actually the thing that makes her nervous.

Because Loid has asked for her help (like she has wanted him to do!). And then he bought her this amazing dress. He even helped her with her hair-do and make-up (she never knew Loid had such a skill. But of course, her husband is perfect in everything!)

At the very least, she has to perform well.

She tries her best to ignore the feeling of eyes following her every movement.

For Loid’s sake!

The music plays and Yor feels dread in her stomach.

This is it….

It is time to dance.

Yor takes a deep breath. When Loid extends his hand, she accepts it.

Just like practice…. Just like practice….

Her husband (thankfully) leads her to the margin of the dancing floor, and he gently guides her hand to rest on his shoulder. She can feel the warmth of his hand placed on the small of her back when they get ready to dance.

“Come closer.” She hears him whisper.

Yor gulps and steps closer, but his hand pulls her even closer until their body nearly flush one another.

Her heart starts to beat faster, but then she hears Loid whisper, “So tell me, what did Anya and Bond have been doing this morning?”

“Huh?”

“I saw the remnants of colorful papers, and the crafting tools weren’t in their places.”

Yor blinks. And she starts to smile. "Oh, Anya was trying to create a photo frame from unused utensils."

The music starts to play, and they start to move. But she hears him continue, "Oh really? Then why didn't I see it among our family photos?"

She chuckles, "That's because she insists on adding flowers and other ornaments on the frame."

"And…?"

Yor starts to let her own body move on pure muscle memory as she giggles recalling the antics of their daughter and dog earlier. "Unfortunately, the ornaments made from paper didn't come out as she envisioned. And despite my reassurance, Anya was upset."

She moves her body in sync with Loid's lead while continuing the story. "So I told her about pressed flowers."

She twirls and extends her arms before returning to Loid's side, and she hears him whisper, "And…?"

"And that's what Anya and Bond have been doing in their room, until you came home."

The first song ends and Yor grins widely, fully aware of what Loid's been doing.

The fact that such a simple tactic works wonders only adds to Yor's amazement toward her husband.

"Thank you, Loid. For always taking care of me."

"Anytime, Yor. It's the least I can do after asking you to accompany me. And I really enjoy your company, by the way." He grins in return.

Their conversation continues when they swing their bodies to follow the second song.

"So, tell me about how to make a beautiful pressed flower? I can't let my daughter and dog beat me in a skill, now can I?"

Yor laughs. "Well… you can start by…"

Chapter Text

Yor flicks her stilettos to remove the blood.

She sweeps her eyes around the messy room. Confirming that no survivor lasts, she releases the tension on her shoulders.

She rips open her mask and wigs and finally takes a look at the one remaining man still standing.

His blue eyes shimmer with recognition.

"Yor."

She tenses her jaw muscles. "Loid."

She notices the tense muscle in his body but his hand that holds the gun remains lax.

"What are you doing here?"

He sounds calm.

Too calm.

Yor narrows her eyes. "Doing my mission."

"To kill me?"

She turns to face him completely. "I'm an assassin."

His eyes widen for a split second and then harden. "I see."

She takes one step closer.

"But I am also a wife."

Another step.

"And a mother."

She can see him gulp.

She takes another step.

"My daughter is anxious and sad."

Another step.

"As her mother, it is my responsibility to do whatever I can, to stop her uneasiness."

She stands just shy away from his reach and looks directly at those two blue eyes.

The usual calm eyes that are currently storming with emotions.

He faintly says, "I'm a fake."

There's a tremble at the end of the sentence.

"This and that. You can't do that if you're fake."

"I lie."

"Aren't we all?"

His eyes start to glisten.

"That's why. Let me be by your side."

She asks, "Come closer."

And he takes that one step.

She lifts up her hand and gently swipes away the stray tears on his cheek.

"Haven't I told you to rely on me a little?"

She gently lays her head on his shoulder.

"For tonight and tomorrow too. Let me protect you."

His arms encircle her torso.

And his body trembles.

Yor gently caresses the nape of his neck and whispers, "Let's go home."

He nods.

Chapter Text

"Your Highness. This is Ms. Yor Roseate. She is to be assigned as your personal bodyguard starting today." 

Prince Loid Forger raises his brows as he looks up from the thick tomes in front of him. "And why do you think I need a personal bodyguard, Ms. Sherwood?" 

The red-haired General of the Royal Knights' brow furrows. "I think you know full well of the reason." 

Loid looks directly at her eyes. "I'm afraid I do not. Please enlighten me?" 

Instead of backing down, the older woman hardens her looks. "Do you really want me to spell it to you?" 

He sighs in defeat. 

He should've known better than to challenge their Royal Knights General, who is also his personal trainer and has been with him since they were young. 

Of course, the woman would know his nighttime shenanigans. And even though he had tried his best to cover his most recent injury (he was so sure he had done it secretly), those things do not escape Sylvia's observation. 

"You won't tell Father, will you?" 

The red-haired woman smirks. "Are you questioning my diplomatic ability?"

He chuckles, "No. Of course not." And then he mutters, "I still value my life after all." 

"What was that?"

"Nothing!!" He stands up and comes closer. "So, any special reason for assigning Ms. Roseate as my personal bodyguard? Why don't you yourself be one?" 

He saw the general gesture at the stiff woman beside her. "She might be the newest recruit, but she happens to be the strongest and most talented."

"Newest recruit?" 

"Mhmm. But I highly suggest you not underestimate her, lest you want to taste her wrath." 

Loid doesn't like the smug face of his martial arts mentor. 

There must be a hidden agenda that Sylvia is scheming. 

He plans to uncover that along the way. 

The man then focuses on the dark-haired woman that stand in perfect stance ever since she is introduced. 

Dark long hair, red eyes, and a lean figure. 

What interests him most is her unique lean rapier-like swords that rest at her hip. 

Double swords? Interesting….

"Well then. It's a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Roseate."

"The honor is mine, Your Highness." He sees her bow. 

Mmm… very polite. Let's see how long until she asks to be replaced.

"And I trust you'll be on your best behavior, Your Highness? Please do not underestimate the 'recent' rumors."

Darn it! Loid is sure that he has suppressed the smirk.

"Of course, Ms. Sherwood. You can count on me for that."

The look that Sylvia gives him tells that she doesn't believe every single word that he says. 

Loid just smiles politely. 

She knows me too well.  

.

It is the first day that Yor is officially on duty as crowned Prince Loid Forger Henderson's personal bodyguard. 

And she feels nervous. 

No, she doesn't think that her skills are under-standard. 

She has passed General Sherwood's tests with flying colors. 

It's the responsibility that unnerves her. 

If something bad happens to His Highness, then aside from that her head will be on the line, it will soil her reputation. 

And her mission.

She simply cannot allow that to happen.

So, she makes sure to stay close to His Highness and observe her surroundings thoroughly.

The day's tasks are part of Prince Loid's daily routines as crowned prince. He goes around villages, listening to the farmers' problems and giving advice to solve them and also taking notes for things the palace has to intervene to make sure they have a good harvest in upcoming months. 

In other places, he monitors the progress of their new harbor, designed to make sure their fish products can be packed and distributed to wider areas, one of the most promising export commodities of Westalis. 

On the way, he always returns the greetings of his subjects. 

Yor often hear about the humbleness of the Prince of Westalis. But to witness said act by her very own eyes is certainly a different experience. 

Seeing how the people of Westalia clearly love the Prince, and how he reciprocates each one of greetings is a bit overwhelming for her. 

There's a certain pang of alien emotion bubbling in her chest. 

When was the last time I felt envious of other people?

She squashes the feeling by refocusing on her task. 

The amount of people gathering so close to him can mean danger.

What if someone with bad intentions was among these people and was waiting for a chance to harm the Prince? 

So she better do her job properly and observe every small movement of the people, the environment, and every possible place for any surprise attack. 

Thankfully, no incident occurred that day until they returned to the palace.

.

Arriving back at the palace, Loid then sits in his room and starts to read, and sign paperwork. 

All the time, his newly assigned personal bodyguard sticks to his side, like what a usual bodyguard does. 

However, Loid's keen observation noticed how Ms. Roseate many times look tense and glaring at his surroundings. 

And she is still doing it now. He muses. 

"Are you always this stiff, Ms. Roseate?" 

He raises his brow when he sees her start. 

She immediately bows "Apologies, Your Highness." 

Loid chuckles and waves his hand. "Relax, will you? This is the last of my tasks for the day by the way. You are dismissed."

Yor blinks and answers, "I am sorry Your Highness. Ms. Sherwood assigned me to be at your side 24/7."

Loid's eyebrows arch, "24/7? Must you stay by my side even when I'm doing my business at the loo?"

Face immediately flushes, he hears Yor stammers, "O-Of course I'll be waiting outside, Sir…. I mean, Your Highness."

Loid guffaws. "That would be unnecessary. Sylvia can be too paranoid sometimes. But rest assured. Nothing bad will happen inside the palace. You may rest." 

He gives her his best reassuring smile which always manages to convince everyone. 

It looks like she is included.

He sees her fidgeting for a moment before finally Yor bows and retreats from his room. 

Loid smirks triumphantly. 

It is time to leave this confined palace and continue his nighttime routine. 

.

After applying the fake mustache and goatee, clad in his cloak, Loid, or now known as Twilight, sneaks out of the palace through a secret passage. 

The first place he always visits is The Frizz Tavern. 

The place may be reeking of tobacco smells and alcohol, but people always gather there and so are information and rumors. 

Today is no different. 

He comes in and takes his seat at the corner of the bar. Right beside a curly-haired man, who once again is seen trying to woo the waiter and failing. 

Slapping his shoulder, Twilight greets him. "Yo, Frankie. Still trying?" 

The shorter man grumbles, "Shut it! If only you would share one or two of your persona with me, you stingy bastard!" 

"It's not right to pursue women through deception, Frankie."

"You're one to talk!" Frankie grumbles, "Who is she?" 

Twilight raises one eyebrow, "Who's what?"

Frankie places his chin in his palm and points past Twilight, "Her of course, who else?" 

Puzzled, Twilight twirls on his chair and almost jumps from it in surprise. 

"Good evening." The calm and soft voice of Yor Roseate greets him.

Thankfully she is wearing a massive cloak that covers her from head to toe, hiding her royal guard uniform, and a mask that hides half of her face. 

But that doesn't answer his question, so he whispers, "What are you doing, here?!" 

"I'm following my order from Ms. She-...." 

Twilight immediately clamps her mouth and whispers, "No no no! Not here!"

Frankie peeks from his shoulder and says, " So you do know her. Is she another of your-..."

Twilight doesn't let him finish as he abruptly grabs Yor's wrist and briskly walks out from the tavern's back door. 

After making sure that they are alone, Twilight starts his questions, "How do you know where to find me?" 

"I'm following Your Highness."

Following him? From the palace? But he didn't feel anyone's presence .

He presses on, "Nobody should know I left the palace."

"I've been following you since you left the room."

Twilight blinks, "But I went through…." He abruptly stops himself lest he blurts his secret. 

"That passage is indeed very cleverly built, as expected from Your Highness. But as Ms. Sherwood said it is-...."

He lifts his hand to stop her, "Wait wait….. Sylvia knows about that??!!" 

The woman in front of him shrugs, "It's not that hard to find." 

Twilight faces faults. 

And suddenly Sylvia's warning rings in his mind: do not underestimate her.

.

.

.

Several weeks prior

“You are to go on a solo mission in a faraway place. I wish you to keep up your impeccable performance and not put shame on our country.” 

Yor bows her head deeply. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Go. And make our country proud.” 

Once again Yor bows her head and turns to leave the majestic throne room.

“Oh, and Yor…”

She stops and turns to face the King of Ostania. 

She notices how His Majesty’s face softens a fraction as he whispers, “Please be careful.”

Yor smiles. “I will… Father.”

She then continues to pack her belongings and immediately departs to the kingdom of the West. 

Chapter Text

Yor is sitting near the pond at the mall. 

They are currently on their “scheduled date to maintain true couple persona”. Yor is currently waiting for Loid who has been going to buy them a refreshment after roaming around the mall. 

Yor is very grateful for the small break. Because after “working overtime” for 4 consecutive nights, she is quite tired. She has put on her most convincing smile throughout their date, but it seems Loid can still see the underlying tiredness in her. 

No, Yor!! Don’t be ungrateful!! She shakes her head vehemently. Loid is tired too, but he is still going on with the schedule.  

She then slaps her cheeks. Come on! Be more energetic!

“Oh my gosh!! This is truly very pretty, darling!!”

A squeal of delight coming from her left makes Yor turns her head to observe the source.

A couple has just exited a jewelry store. The woman is admiring the gem on her finger while at the same time nuzzling the man. 

“Nothing but the best for my dear darling!” Yor hears the man return the gesture.

Soon after they share a very passionate kiss that Yor’s face feels warm and she has to avert her eyes. 

Is giving gifts and kissing in public a normal thing for couples to do?? She puts both of her palms on her cheeks, hoping to ease the warmth there before Loid returns.

Suddenly she gasps when she remembers the day’s conversation at the break room of City Hall. 

“Look at this new necklace and earrings my boyfriend bought me!!” Millie squealed in delight.

“It’s a cheap imitation.” Sharon answered uninterestedly, puffing out smoke through the opened window.

“It’s the intention that matters the most!” Millie chirped.

“Right. And that is exactly the sign that he is cheating.” Camilla scoffed and yet she eyed the jewelry intently.

“You guys are just jealous because your partners didn’t buy you anything.” Millie looked at her reflection in the mirror and aligned her head right to left. “Look at Yor-senpai. She didn’t find this strange because her gorgeous husband must’ve bought her plenty of things, right??”

“Ah.. uh….” Yor blabbered her answers when three pairs of eyes focused on her.

Returning to the present, Yor's mouth squiggles. Oh no! Loid and I never buy each other anything. Does this make us suspicious??

Yor dreadfully look at the Jewelry Store. Maybe I should–...

“Sorry for waiting, Yor.” 

“GAAHH!!” Yor jumps in her seat upon hearing Loid’s soft voice. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to–...” Loid is taken aback.

“No no no !! It’s alright. I was just spacing out.” She forces a smile.

Loid tilts his head and gives her the drink, “Are you tired?”

Accepting the drink Yor immediately denies, “No! Not at all. I was just…” She glances at the jewelry store. “I just remembered that at City Hall today….”

She shakes her head. No, Yor. Don’t be silly. You can’t just buy Loid anything. You haven’t asked whether Loid is comfortable with wearing any jewelry. 

And thus she smiles at Loid and says, “Nevermind. So, where are we going next?” 

But Loid is seen following her gaze and then he asks, “Shall we take a look?”

Yor is aghast, “No! That’s not what I meant. There were a couple that–...”

“To be honest, I’ve been thinking of buying you a ring for a long time,” He cuts her and smiles, “And now may be the best moment.” 

Yor wrings her hand, “No need. You already gave me a ring.”

“Huh?” Loid furrows his brows, “I don’t think I ever give you…??”

“That night. After Cammila’s party. When we were…uumm” Yor’s suddenly finds her heart beating faster when she recites the moment when they exchange their vows. 

Loid’s face dawns and he whispers, “You keep that?”

“Of course!” Yor exclaims, “You gave it to me!”

She sees how his mouth moves through clenched jaw before he says, “We shall go to the store right now. I insist.”

Yor confusedly answers, “But I–...”

“It’s a very normal thing a couple do, Yor.” Loid suddenly turns serious, “If I don't do it, people might get suspicious about us.”

Yor gasps. So what Millie said was true after all!! 

With new determination, Yor nods and stands up 

Both of them then march to the jewelry store.

.

“Something caught your interest, Ma’am?” Yor turns to look at the elderly woman who happens to run the store.

She bites her lower lips and mumbles, “I’m not sure. All of these are sparkling and beautiful.”

Yor furrows her brows hard. I never really had any jewelry before. Which one should I choose? A good value for money? The most sparkling one? The one that can be used as a secret weapon?? 

Loid tries to help her, “Perhaps you can arrange a custom-made one?”

“Absolutely, Sir! Please kindly sit here and wait for a moment.” The woman gestures to the stools at the corner of the store and hastily goes to the inner part of the shop.

Yor’s eyes bulge. “Wait, Loid. That might be-...”

“You can have something more to your liking that way, no?” He smiles gently and leads Yor to sit down with him.

Yor nods at his logic. 

Before long the shop owner comes back and sits in front of them. She then carefully places a tray covered in black velvet at the table in front of them. On top of the tray lay numerous gems in different cutting and colors. 

Yor’s jaw drops in awe. “Wow…..”

“We can start by choosing the stone that you like, Ma’am.” The shop owner gestures at the gems.

Yor glances at the elder lady before licking her lips nervously and focusing on the gems in front of her.

I never thought buying jewelry would be this difficult! She internally shouts in frustration.

After several seconds of silence, the shop owner chimes, “May I suggest some advice?”

Yor looks at her pleadingly, “Please do!!”

The elder woman smiles gently, “While it’s true the stones are different by their values, their color, or even their cutting, it doesn't define how one chooses their lucky stones. Just choose your favorite one. The one that can give you courage. The one that can be your good luck charm. That is the best way to choose your treasures.”

Yor blinks when she tries to comprehend the advice.

Soon after, Loid chimes from her side, “For example, you can choose the stone according to your favorite color.” 

She turns her head and looks at her husband who smiles supportively to her right, while hearing the shop lady agree with him, “That is such a wonderful example, Sir!”

Favorite colors, huh? She muses while looking directly at Loid’s eyes.

Yor looks back at the shop owner and whispers, “Then, do you have a gem that’s the same color as his eyes?”

At the same time, she hears Loid sputters, and the shop owner squeals.

Huh??! What?? Did I say something wrong??  

“Oh my. Oh my. OH MY!!! Of course, I have, dear!!” the shop owner practically screeches in delight and runs to the back of the shop, “Wait here!” 

Yor is truly confused by the commotion happening around her.

“Yo-... Yor?? Are you sure that is the color that you want?”

Yor turns her attention back to her husband, and she nods. “Yes. I’ve always loved how your eyes are like the clear water of the ocean. They are beautiful. Calm. Peaceful. And… I’ve always felt accepted when I look at them.” 

Suddenly, Loid clamps his mouth as his face turns a shade of red. 

Oh no!! I really did something wrong, didn't I?? Loid must be angry with me!! Yor flabbergast. Immediately she tries to backpedal, “No, Loid I’m sor–...”

“Here are my collections!” The shop owner returns with vigor and puts another tray in front of them. “They range from the modest to the best to the–..”

“I’m sorry, I think I’ll–...”

Before she can muster the sentence, Loid slams the table and slides his card to the shop owner. 

He then growls, “The best one. Give my wife the best stone you have!!”

The shop owner’s eyes glint as she nods vigorously, “Of course, Sir!”

Huh??? 

.

That day, they ended up buying a very beautiful stone and even made a custom ring, whose design was consulted with Yor for several days until she granted her assent.

Today, Yor is vibrating with excitement when she returns home from her latest assignment which made her return home later than usual. 

It’s too bad that Anya has gone to bed so she cannot share the excitement with the child, but she can always show it to her daughter later. 

After a quick shower, she immediately joins Loid in their living room for their nightly tea routine.

Still giddy, she sits on her usual spot on the loveseat and shows him the small velvet box. 

“Oh! It’s done already?” Loid smiles. 

Yor smiles brightly and nods. “It is!!”

“Have you tried it?”

She shakes her head, “Not yet.” 

She then smiles brightly and rambles, “I’ve seen the design and it’s gorgeous. I’m sure the real thing will be even more beautiful. So I want to show you first. And I want you to be the one who put it–..”

She halts her tongue. 

Wait wait, Yor!! If you ask Loid to put the ring on your finger, doesn’t it mean…..

All of a sudden she remembers a romantic scene from Berlint in Love. It was such a peak romantic and fulfilling scene that Yor can’t help but shed a tear in happiness for the two characters. 

And that might be also what nudges her to have the silly idea of asking Loid in the first place. It sounds like a good idea at first, but….. 

Her heart starts to beat faster and faster. 

She grips the box hard and looks at the floor. Oh no. Oh No! I should–...

“Yor.”

She snaps her head at her husband. “Y–... yes??”

“May I?” He kneels in front of her, opening his palm up.

Since when did he???  

Her lip squiggles. “Uuuh… maybe… maybe it’s best if….”

He tugs at the box. “Please?”

Yor forcefully relaxes her finger, letting Loid take the box from her. 

He then opens the box with one hand, while his other hand gently takes her left hand.

Yor feels her chest about to burst. 

Her face feels extremely hot. 

When she feels the cold ring touch her finger, she flinches. 

She cannot take it any longer so she shuts her eyes. 

She is focusing so hard to hold back her violent reflexes, especially when she feels Loid’s reverent touch as he slides the ring onto her finger. 

After what felt like forever, Yor finally felt the ring settle perfectly on her finger. 

For some unknown reason, the sensation makes her tremble. 

“Yor. Breathe….”

“Phwaaaahh….” She lets go of the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

She can hear Loid’s whispers. “You can open your eyes too.”

Slowly Yor opens her eyes and immediately she comes face to face with Loid, who for some reason flushes red. 

“Beautiful.” 

Yor blinks. “Huh?”

Loid gulps, “The-... The ring. Look.” 

Yor looks down and gasps. 

She then lifts her hand to observe the ring under their living room’s lamp. 

Yor really is in awe. The ring truly is beautiful. And… “It does have the same color as your eye ” 

Loid splutters.

“Loid?”

“Te–.. Tea??” 

Just like that time, Loid is seen clamping his mouth and his face turns extremely red. “Are you alright, Loid?”

He nods stiffly and returns to his seat in an awkward motion.

His odd behavior concerns Yor, but if the man says that he’s alright, then Yor has to believe him. 

She clutches at her finger as she smiles. “Thank you so much, Loid. I’ll treasure this forever!”

Despite his condition, her husband manages to smile brightly and nods.

Chapter Text

“Uuhh…. It won’t come off….”

It’s been almost 30 minutes, and yet the blood won’t come off Yor’s hands. 

She washes and washes and washes. 

The blood is still there.

Under her nail beds. 

Between the cuticles. 

She has to clean her dirty hands before she touches Anya’s head and tucks her to sleep

She has to clean these dirty hands before she washes Bond’s pristine white fur.

She has to clean these dirty hands before she tries to cook a new dinner recipe from that book Loid’s bought her. 

She has to-...

“Yor, that’s enough.”

Warm hands envelop her trembling one. 

“Ju-... just a bit more and-...”

But that hand turns off the faucet and soon envelops her hands in a soft clean warm towel.

“They are already very clean.” 

Her husband’s warm and calming voice pulls her from the spiraling thought. 

She blinks several times and tries to focus on Loid’s steady taps on her hands. A movement both to dry them at the same time a steady rhythm to guide her breathing. 

And it works. 

It always works. 

Taking several shuddering breaths, Yor finally lifts her face and looks at her husband’s face. 

His brows are furrowed when he concentrates on dabbing antiseptics to the scrapes littered her hands. 

“I’m sorry.” She is so ashamed. “They are dirty.”

“No, they are not.” Loid’s voice is so benevolent. “They do what they had to do: to raise a boy into a fine man, to keep a child feel safe, to caress a dog to his content, to cook a wonderful meal for a family, and to be the home of a wounded, tired soul of a man.”

Her husband brings her hands close to his mouth and places a kiss on her fingers. “These hands are the hands of the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

Yor blinks hard to keep the tears from falling. 

When she feels her husband's hand enveloping her own, she takes a good look at them. 

His hands are bigger than hers. 

Equally calloused. 

Equally bloody. 

And yet, his hands are warm. 

Strong. 

Steady. 

Safe. 

She feels his tugs. “Let’s go home. I’ll prepare a good bath.”

She manages a watery smile. “Okay.”

Chapter Text

It never occurs to Yor that there will be a day when she can come home from gruesome cleaning work to a lovely and warm home. 

That she would find a man who understands her, and accepts her as she is.

A man as wonderful as Loid, who is also the father of a beautiful and energetic daughter, and also a proud owner of a great Pyrenees dog. 

A man who will always welcome her home, prepare a good fulfilling late dinner, and also prepare a warm bath.

Yor especially loves it when he joins her, and shares the ‘home - shenanigans’ she missed during her more than 24 hours of work. 

Just like now. 

She rests her head on his shoulder as she closes her lids and listens to the amusing story.

Loid got a real patient emergency during their outing. When he returned to the park, It looked like that Anya and Franky had some kind of dog competition with Loid’s Handler’s dog Aaron, which somehow attracted other people’s dogs to join. Things that started fun ended up with a brawl over some minor disappointment and to top it up, it was suddenly raining, and somehow the park ended up as a big pool of mud.

Yor can easily picture how happy Anya and Bond playing with mud, despite the dirt on their clothes and fur.

Her smile blooms.

“I’m glad you found amusement in my misery during your absence.”

Yor blinks her eyes open and turns her head to look at her husband.

Is he pouting??

She chuckles and plants a kiss on his cheek. 

“I’m sorry dear, I know it’s a pain to clean that dirt from Anya’s clothes and Bond’s fur. But I’m sure you’ve done an amazing job in making sure they are clean before entering the apartment.”

“I thought spraying them with a hose at the parking lot would teach them something. But instead they, alongside Franky, found it to be fun.” He grumbles.

Yor laughed. “Of course. Playing with water is always fun.” Eyes full with mirth she adds, “And it truly wonderful to hear they can have so much fun peacefully. Make my work so much worth it.”

She lifts her hand and smoothens the creases between Loid’s brows. “Don’t you think?”

His eyes softened. He takes her hand and plants a soft kiss. “Yeah. I’m sorry you have to listen to me whining after having such a long day.”

She shakes her head. “Not at all. I love to hear any story coming from you.”

“Only you would find that kind of story as amusing.” He harrumphs and makes Yor giggles. 

Yep. 

This life is so much worth fighting for. 

Chapter Text

When Yor first sets foot on 128th Park Avenue, she feels a warm welcome from the Forger Father and Daughter.

It’s an experience that’s a stark contrast to her cold and empty single apartment.

However, despite being friendly and smiling, there’s something about Loid that feels off.

Loid seems to show that there’s some sort of privacy boundary that shouldn’t be crossed.

Maybe Yor still feels uneasy, and as a stranger, she thinks she shouldn’t ask for too much, especially after being welcomed so warmly into their home.

After some time, as their daily routines grow more harmonious, Yor becomes very grateful for Anya’s behavior toward her, which is as if she’s her own child. Loid himself seems to be making a great effort to make Yor feel comfortable in their home. But once again, Yor still feels that behind Loid’s friendly smile, there’s something strange. Even when that smile is directed at his own child.

Yor thinks, perhaps Loid is still grieving the loss of his wife.

Until one day, when Bond arrives at the house, Yor finally sees a different smile from Loid.

That smile is filled with affection for Anya and Bond, who are sleeping in the living room.

And that makes Yor’s heart warm.

Perhaps the wound in Loid’s heart is beginning to heal.

A moment later, when Yor herself feels insecure, especially after learning from Loid’s colleague that she’s full of flaws, Loid suddenly directs that soft, gentle smile toward her.

A smile that makes Yor’s heart tremble and feel touched.

A hunch tells Yor that what makes Loid’s smile different is that it reaches his eyes.

And from that moment on, Yor promises to do everything she can, so Loid can smile from the heart and feel more relaxed.