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Yor couldn't quite place her finger on it, but for some reason her husband looked especially...good at the moment.
Not good as in well, although he certainly was looking much better these days. Loid had recently come into a bit of vacation time from work- something he desperately needed what with how hard he pushed himself everyday- and Yor was equal parts surprised and relieved when he came home with the news. So in that sense at least, Loid did look good. The bags under his eyes had all but disappeared, and his hunched shoulders straightened out in no time at all. A day or two of resting at home and he looked like a new man, and it made Yor happy to see him like that.
Though, having said that...he really did look like a whole new person from her perspective.
Yor stood in the doorway to her apartment. Her evening coat hung draped over her arm, and she stared stalwart at the form of her husband as he reached over to grab it from her. He greeted her warmly upon her return after a long day at work, and smiled in that oh-so charming way that was uniquely Loid Forger. Heavy blush stained Yor's cheeks, and as Loid asked her how her day was she looked him over with all the observational finesse that a world-class assassin would otherwise use to stake out her next hit with.
His hair? Messy. Unkempt, scraggly, and not at all like the usual coiffed style he usually wore. It was a fresh-out-the-shower look, one she'd seen from him multiple times before and that had become his default look during his extended stay-cation. Loid Forger was a composed, well-carried fellow; meanwhile, this Loid looked like a fresh-faced college student...although...
"...Yor?" he asked, still waiting to take her coat. He titled his head a bit, confused as to what she was staring at.
His face- it wasn't smooth. Not like usual. To Yor's knowledge, Loid hadn't shaved in the past few days, either. A light stubble clung to his chin; there was now texture to his face that in many ways didn't suit him in the slightest, and yet...Yor didn't hate it. Quite the contrary, in fact. The longer she stared, the more hair she saw, and the more she approved.
Yet even so, there was something else about Loid that really cemented the fact that he really did, indeed, look different.
It didn't hit her until he finally got tired of waiting for her. He stepped up to take Yor's coat, putting him within breathing distance of her. Yor's eyes boggled at his sudden presence, and it was then that she noticed that it was -in fact- his eyes that were different. Not necessarily what they looked like, but rather what sat atop them. Half-rimmed glasses, a pair of which she'd never seen him wear before. They moved as his brow furrowed.
"Long day I take it?" he asked with a fair amount of amusement in his voice.
Immediately, Yor scrambled to cover her tracks. "Y-Yes! Just a bit tired I suppose."
"I can imagine," Loid nodded. He turned to put Yor's coat away. "I'll start up a bath for you."
B-Bath? Yor's mind boggled at the notion, though it failed to catch Loid's attention. He was already walking towards the hallway by the time she came to her senses, which only made the woman's cheeks grow even more flustered. Loid had been nothing if not helpful during his extended time at home, which ended up being both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, Yor was more than warm on the idea of him being there every evening to cook dinner and help Anya with homework. On the other hand though, he sometimes failed to realize his helpfulness could be construed as...
Well, she didn't need to say it, did she?
Taking her coat. Drawing her bath. Having a glass a wine ready for her afterwards- if she was right in assuming that new bottle on the table was meant for just such an occasion.
It was all so wholly domestic. He was wholly domestic, and Yor tried in vain to shake the looming thought from her brain. He was a fake husband in an equally fake marriage. Everything he did was an act, and she was no different. Yor kept repeating the idea over and over in her head, even as she followed in Loid's footsteps on her way to gather fresh clothes for her bath. The door to her room opened and closed, shutting Yor off from the rest of the house. It was a welcome reprieve, though ultimately short-lived. It lasted only as long as it took her to thumb through her dresser.
In her search for clean clothes, she gathered all she needed. Shorts. Socks. A comfy shirt. And...panties.
Yor's eyes fell on the underwear in front of her, and she caught herself staring.
She...couldn't remember the last time she did laundry...?
And then it hit her; Loid's been doing it.
Neatly folded and arranged- not at all like how she usually stowed her clothes, which was just to throw them in there and sift through it all later. Immediately, Yor's eyes spiraled at the realization; never mind the fact that Loid had been in her room (though she wasn't upset over it), no, she was far too hung up on the fact that Loid Forger, her husband, had touched her delicates.
She wore those! They were...and he was-!? And she-!?
Yor broke. Her jaw hung open, and all she could do was quietly retrieve her clothes and high-tail it out of her room. She exited in record time, and made no attempt to linger in the hallway. She skipped maybe two or three steps, and immediately found herself at the bathroom door. She flung it open and hopped in, all in the name of not having to look Loid in the eyes before bathing. Her attention was on not being seen, and so she didn't even bother checking to see if said room was empty or not. She closed her eyes and fell against the door in relief...but then a second later reopened them both.
"Hey, perfect timing," Loid's voice snapped her to full attention. "Bath's done."
Yor squeaked. She didn't mean to. He caught her fully by surprise, so much so that she couldn't say anything in response. All she could do was stare wide-eyed at the form of Loid Forger as he sat at the edge of the bath, hand dripping from having tested the temperature of the water. He smiled at her innocently. There was no way he could know the thoughts running through his wife's head at that moment, which ended up being a jumbled mess of several different things all at once.
It was those damn glasses. She didn't know where they came from or why he had them on; he'd worn a pair briefly upon moving in together, but hadn't touched them since. These weren't even the same pair- did he have a prescription? Why didn't she know that before? They were married, she should know that! Well, fake married. More like roommates, in practice...though roommates didn't draw baths or buy bottles of wine for each other. Also most roommates didn't have a daughter together, nor did they typically cause each other to turn into a blushing mess with just their voice. Like at that moment.
Yor hid the lower half of her face with the balled up clothes in her hand to spare Loid the frown that tugged at her lips. It wasn't a sad or upset expression- just distressed. She could default to no other, and it ended up backfiring a little as her husband picked up on it. He tilted his head at the sight of her internal panic, and promptly rose to his feet. Yor followed him with her eyes as he made his way over to her- well, not her, but rather the door behind her. She, however, stood in front of it, and ended up being becoming an obstacle in his way.
He went to open the door. His arm brushed against Yor's, and remained there as he held onto the knob. He couldn't open it with her standing there. "I'll leave you alone now."
No, don't!- is what immediately crossed Yor's mind. She stood transfixed at Loid's close proximity and frozen at her own thoughts as they raced through her head. What are you talking about, Yor?! She honestly didn't know. All she did know was that Loid was right in front of her, breathing the same air as her. She came up to his shoulders without shoes on, and at that moment she was eye-level with his chest. Yor's eyes creaked up to meet Loid's, and she was granted a close-up look of his vacation face. Roughed-up hair. Scruffy face. Sky blue eyes behind sharp metal.
...She didn't know what she wanted him to do at that moment, but it certainly wasn't to leave.
Yor couldn't say that, though. In fact, she could say nothing at all. Despite whatever siren call that was ringing in her ears at that moment, Yor's limp muscles would not oblige. The most she could do was nod pathetically at her husband's request. Yor buried her face further into the bundle of clothes in her hands and scooted meekly out the way. He spared her not another glance before leaving, and once the door closed behind him Yor instantly deflated. She collapsed to the floor and exhaled all the air that had been stuck in her lungs for what felt like an eternity.
Though Yor was quickly relieved, guilt and regret immediately accompanied it. Great, now Loid probably thought she was upset with him. She couldn't even talk to him like a normal person, and now she'd have to think of an excuse to tell him afterwards. Yor sighed and shook her head; perhaps the bath would help clear her head a bit. She placed her faith in warm water, and made sure to lock the bathroom door behind her before finally taking a dip. Steam filled the room, and it wasn't long before Yor submerged herself in a hot embrace- one that (un)fortunately had nothing to do with her husband.
Loid, meanwhile, retreated back into the living room. He sighed upon resuming his previous spot at the head of the coffee table, and he retrieved his book that he'd been reading before Yor arrived. Thumbing through the pages, he absently glossed over the words on the page as internally he sorted through the past week or two. A long vacation. A long time doing absolutely nothing.
A security scare at WISE had prompted all deep-cover agents to go dark for an extended period of time. Agent Twilight was among them, hence why he suddenly had zero missions and a suspiciously convenient amount of vacation time at his clinic job. With little else to do, he'd spent his free time catching up on reading- which had prompted his return to wearing spectacles. It was easier on his eyes, and wearing them would likely help to avoid future sight deterioration in his later years. Plus, Anya said they looked good. So there was that.
Aside from taking his family to the park to keep up appearances, there was no need for him to go outside other than to get groceries. Being a shut-in, he didn't find it all that necessary to worry about what his hair looked like. That included the stubble on his face, though going shaggy wasn't something he'd done since before he became an agent. Back then it was all peach fuzz and tiny whiskers; now as a grown man he was surprised to see how quickly it grew in. One or two days without shaving and he hardly recognized himself anymore. What the hell happened to him?
Too comfortable around Yor and Anya, most likely. To be fair, at this point in Operation Strix, he expected some level of familiarity with them. Being on vacation though, even he was surprised with how low he held his guard around them. Before becoming Mr. Forger, he would have never entertained the idea of sitting in close proximity to someone else, let alone falling asleep around them. Now, he was reduced to sharing the loveseat with his daughter and passing out half-way through her nightly cartoon binge. Then his wife would wake him up and...god, he was a mess.
Loid flipped the page of his book and shook his head. He continued to indulge for a time, until a few minutes later when suddenly there was movement at the door. Loid looked up just as it opened to reveal his daughter. She hopped inside and closed the door behind her. Immediately, from the other side of the apartment, there came a boof. Bond, whom up until that point had been asleep, suddenly awoke at the sound of his master's return. The sounds of his thundering footsteps signaled to Anya that she was about to be mauled, and she held her arms out to receive the pup.
Bond tackled her, and Anya was just big enough to keep from falling over. "Hi, Bond! Hi, papa!"
"Hello, Anya," Loid replied. He closed his book for good this time and leaned over in his chair. "How was school?"
"Good. I'm tired." The little girl yawned as Bond went to lick her face. "We had another dodge ball tournament today. We lost. Again."
"Mm, well, you learn more from failure than success." To a point. In all fairness though, Cecile hall wasn't exactly the pinnacle of Eden Academy fitness.
Anya then shrugged and announced to everyone that she was going to take nap. Loid nodded, though as she walked away he sealed her fate by demanding she do her homework upon awaking. With a grumble, Anya stomped off and a moment later the sound of her door closing echoed through out the apartment. Slightly annoyed, Loid let her behavior slide and spread out on the loveseat. He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling; seeing as how Anya would be out like a light, there was no point in starting dinner. Again, he had nothing to do.
Though, an idea came to him. His eyes fell to the side, and from the corner of his vision he spied the wine bottle he'd gotten earlier in the day. A brand and vintage that was comparable to the kind that Yuri had given him and Yor not too long ago. Loid figured his wife might like it. Seeing as how he couldn't get drunk, he usually defaulted to whatever she preferred. And despite his lack of inebriation when it came to alcoholic beverages, that didn't necessarily mean he didn't find any pleasure in drinking them.
Might as well uncork it?
Loid rose to his feet. He made his way over to the kitchen and fumbled through the junk drawer, finding a simple silver wine key somewhere in the back. He retrieved it, along with some wine glasses, and went back to do the deed; like a professional sommelier, he cut the tinfoil off the bottle in record time. The cork came soon after, and Loid gave the spirit a whiff before pouring- it smelled good.
He prepared two glasses; one for himself and one for Yor, and his timing couldn't have been better. By the time the rim of the bottle was lifted, the hallway erupted in steam as his wife emerged from the bathroom. It wasn't his intention to have wine ready for her the moment she got out, though Loid figured it must have ended up looking that way. Internally he sighed to himself; she was likely annoyed with him for being so attentive, and this probably wouldn't do him any favors. Still, he had everything ready. There was no point in not handing her one now.
Loid grabbed both glasses and went to meet Yor halfway. She was too preoccupied with drying her hair to really notice him coming towards her, which ended up being a blessing in disguise. It spared Loid having to explain why he stopped mid-step at the sight of his wife, or rather at the sight of what she was wearing. She'd forgone the usual nightgown and instead seemed to grab whatever clothes she could find. That included a pair shorts that Loid had to do a double take over to make sure they were even there; it almost didn't look like it, and that was entirely due to her shirt covering it completely.
Or rather, his shirt.
A white t-shirt. He'd lent it to her once before for some unrelated incident and apparently had forgotten to ask for it back- which was even more inexcusable given that he'd been doing her laundry for the past two weeks. With that said though, Loid couldn't be bothered to even entertain the notion at that moment. He was too busy staring at Yor from a perspective he rarely -if ever- got to see of her. Barefoot. Long legs. The small, but filled out frame of a young woman who seemed the definition of fit and healthy. Those shorts were tight on her, not at all like his shirt. It draped over her top-half and drowned out her torso...except of course for the outline of her chest.
Agent Twilight of Westalis' WISE had been with a lot of women for the sake of the mission -some of them also having taken a shirt or two from him- but the faint definition of Yor's bra-less bosom was something that he had no counter against. And if not him then certainly not perfect family man and husband, Loid Forger. He'd only ever seen her like this once before, which was the last time she'd worn his clothes- and also the last time he found himself cursing to himself under his breath at the mere sight of her.
Shit.
It was about the only coherent thing he could say as he shook himself back to his senses. Loid kept his eyes up as he closed the gap between him and Yor, the latter of whom quickly realized that he was there. She finished wringing her hair with a towel and let the sopping locks fall to the side, and Loid cleared his throat at the sight. Steam rolled off her skin, and her body was flushed. If there was ever a moment in time when Loid caught himself looking at Yor in a way that wasn't purely professional...it was probably right then as he handed her the glass of wine.
She blinked, surprised by the gesture, though eased into a smile. Clearly, she wasn't annoyed with him. "Oh! Thank you, Loid."
"Of course," Loid replied tightly. He made it his sole mission to look her square in the eyes, and not let his stare wander elsewhere.
Yor stared back up at him. She seemed to have calmed down after their earlier encounter, though now it was Loid who felt a bit...strained. He said nothing though, and neither did Yor; the latter simply draped the towel over her arm and grabbed her glass with both hands, as if it were a hot beverage on a cold winter evening. Quickly realizing the wine to be his way out of an awkward situation, Loid raised his own glass and motioned to Yor in a silent toast. They both partook and let the red liquid stain their lips, then went right back to staring at each other again.
"Loid?" Yor spoke up, hands still wrapped around her wine. "Can you see?"
Loid blinked and tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"Your glasses," Yor pointed. "I've never seen you wear them before. Is your vision blurry? Do you have trouble seeing important things?"
Loid paused. He continued to stare at his wife, and slowly felt an amused smirk pull at the side of his face. "Well, I can always see you perfectly fine, Yor. With or without glasses."
"O-Oh!" This time, it was Yor who hesitated. She curled around the glass in her hand, while at the same time a shaky smile wormed its way across her lips. "That's...good to hear!"
Maybe there was no meaning behind those words, or maybe there was and it simply went over Yor's head. Regardless of the how, what, or why, it didn't change the fact that Loid and Yor stood together in the hallway and stared at one another in silent content. Alcohol swirled in their hands and throats, but it wasn't the root cause of their flushed cheeks. For Yor, it had more to do with the face that stared down at her; the one belonging to the man that played the role of her husband, and one which she'd do anything to see smile like that again.
For Loid, it was a different reason. Rather, it had more to do with a singular thought took root in his brain- if only for a moment. It floated away from him as quickly as it appeared, but its brief presence in his brain was enough to cause the normally collected agent to take a step back and reevalute some things. Mainly, his personal conduct towards the woman that played the role of his wife. Yor. Mrs. Forger. For all intents and purposes, a person whom he she could keep his distance with...and that's precisely the conclusion that he ended up coming to. Both him and Yor, in fact.
For the sake of keeping things simple between them, Loid needed to go back to work soon.
Or else.