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Chapter Text

Loid doesn’t consider himself a user of perfume or cologne.

At least, that’s what he keeps telling himself.

Yet, here he was, spraying a bottle of it onto his wrist. He brings his wrist up to his nose, takes a quick look around his room, and inhales the scent deeply. The smell of roses and citrus quickly begin to feel his nostrils as he goes back in for another inhale. “How has it come to this?” is all he thinks as he continues to smell the scent of the perfume.

It had all started, one day, when Loid was busy making dinner for the family. Anya was busy watching Spy Wars, in the living room, with Bond, and had been notified, by Yor, that she was going to be home late. He was just about to taste his stew, when the sound of the front door opening could be heard. “Mama’s home!!!” Anya whooped, pausing her show, before making her way down the hall. “No running in the house, Anya”, Loid was quick to scold. After a quick taste, he was satisfied with the flavor, he turned off the stove so he could greet his fake wife.

He was welcomed by the sight of Anya hugging Yor’s leg, Bond wagging its tail as the Forger matriarch patted its head. “I thought you said you were going to be late, today?” his brows knitted with concern, after he had greeted her, grabbing her coat as Yor struggled to take off her shoes. “Did something happen?”

“Oh, no”, Yor reassured him, the Forger family walking further into the apartment, and into the living room. “Apparently, we had gotten the photo shoot done earlier, and my boss decided to let everyone go home on time.”

Photo shoot? Twilight doesn’t remember any mention about City Hall taking any photos. At least, nothing newspaper worthy, far as he could tell.

“Keep calm, Twilight”, Loid thought. “Just keep digging for information.”

“I didn’t know City Hall was visited by the press today”, Loid raised an eyebrow in curiosity, hanging Yor’s coat onto the couch. He immediately noticed the pause Yor took mid-step. “O-oh, City Hall wasn’t visited by the press, Loid”, Yor stuttered. “We, er, my boss had a close friend of his visiting, Anya, could you please let go of my leg?” The youngest Forger huffed before scooting herself off of her mama’s foot. “Anya”, Loid’s eyes narrowed as he watched his fake daughter flinch at her name being called. “Since you refuse to do your homework until after dinner, why don’t you and Bond go set up the table.”

“But, Papa, I- “the youngest Forger spoke, but was stopped as Loid patted her on the head. “Don’t worry, I know you can’t reach the plates”, Loid smiled at her. “I did that ahead of time. All you and Bond need to do is, grab the silverware and we can get dinner started.” He watched as his daughter huffed before she, reluctantly, made her way to the kitchen; Bond following closely behind.

“Sorry about that”, Loid sheepishly smiled at Yor, who was on the couch, massaging the spot where Anya was sitting on. “So, you said something about your boss’ friend visiting or something?”

“Ah, yes”, Twilight couldn’t help his eyes narrowing as Yor’s figure began to stiffen. “He…um…well, I…what had happened was- “He watched as Yor’s face began to grow red with embarrassment.

 “Whatever it is she’s hiding, it must be something she’s not willing to open up about right away”, Twilight sighed. “Might as well throw her a bone…don’t need her pulling the same thing like when her brother visited that one time.”

“If you’re not comfortable talking about it, Yor”, Loid reassured. “You don’t have to talk about it right away.” He watched as relief began to wash over her face. “Thank you, Loid”, Yor smiled as her face began to regain its color.

“Mama, Papa!!!” Anya’s voice echoed through the house. “The utonsils are set!!”

“It’s utensils, Anya”, Loid corrected before he felt a hand pat his knee. He looked over to see Yor giggling. “Guess we better go eat”, he watched as the Forger matriarch got up from her spot on the couch, and squeezed right past him. However, as she passed, the smell of roses and citrus began to fill Loid’s nose.

“Since when did Yor change perfumes?” Twilight felt his hands ball into fists, staying behind a little in order to compose himself. The WISE Agent wasn’t one to be going around sniffing people, but he knew, for a fact, that Yor usually wore a perfume that smelled of vanilla and shea butter.

Not whatever this was.

“First, something about a photo shoot, then her stuttering, and now she’s changed perfumes”, Twilight clenched his jaw as millions of scenarios began to run through his head. However, based on everything he saw and, based on her body language, he managed to come to a conclusion…one that didn’t sit well with him.

She’s having an affair at work.

“No”, Twilight shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It’s not an affair when, technically, we aren’t really married.” That’s right, Yor had every right to see whoever she wanted to see. It’s not like as if him and Yor were an actual married couple.

So why did he have this burning sensation in the back of his chest?

“Loid”, Twilight’s train of thought was quickly derailed as soon as he heard Yor’s voice. “Dinner’s getting cold!”

“I’m coming”, Loid called out. Twilight tucked himself back into the depths of Loid’s mind as he made his way to the dining room. As soon as he seated himself at the table, the Forgers began to dig in. “Best not to worry about it”, Loid thought, scooping himself a bowl of stew. “As long as Yor’s relationship doesn’t affect Operation Strix too much, that’s all I care about.” He began to eat the carrot and meat chunks, when he felt a hand resting on his. He looks over to see Anya, smiling at him, flicks of meat sticking to the corners of her mouth. “Yes, Anya?” Loid raises an eyebrow in confusion. “You worry too much, Papa”, Anya giggles.

Huh?

He looks over to Yor, who just smiles and shrugs her shoulders. “Don’t forget to eat your carrots, Anya”, Loid quips, causing the youngest Forger to flinch.

It had been a week since the incident, but Twilight couldn’t stop thinking about it since.

Er, Loid. He meant Loid hadn’t stopped thinking about it since. Loid Forger was the perfect husband and father, interested in the wellbeing of his family.

Twilight was only interested in completing the mission of Operation Strix along with any other missions that had been assigned to him. Nothing more, nothing less.

 In fact, Twilight had just come back from a mission, stopping a trafficking ring who, according to Sylvia, had been smuggling innocent women and children from the West into the East. Fortunately, Twilight was able to make quick work of it and was on his merry way home.

Unfortunately, Loid needed to make a quick run to the market to restock on groceries.

Which, is where he was, now, waiting in line, to get his groceries checked out. It didn’t take long, however, before he was next in line. Loid haphazardly placed all of his groceries onto the moving belt, while the cashier scanned and bagged his items. He watched as the numbers began to grow, his mind wandering as he began to tune out the noise of the store.

What if he’s good looking?

What if he’s a better partner than him?

Will Loid ever meet him one of these days?

What about their family? And Anya?

What if he’s already kis-

“Sir”, his thoughts were immediately broken as he blinked in surprise. “I-I’m sorry”, Loid apologized. “What was the total again?”

“That’ll be fifty dalc, sir”, the cashier deadpanned. Loid fished out his wallet, from the back of his pants, pulling out the correct amount of money. After given the receipt, as well as grabbing his bags, he made his way out of the store, heading towards home.

“You should be ashamed of yourself, Twilight”, the spy scolded himself. “You’re more on the ball than this!”

Loid sighed to himself, adjusting his grip on the paper bags so as he doesn’t squish to groceries. “Maybe I am losing my edge”, Loid pondered aloud as he passed by a store. Many television sets were lined up, and stacked against one another as they showed various commercials in different pixelations, a giant flat screen TV hung proudly in the center.

“Hey, want to know a secret?”

Loid paused mid-step, walking backwards before he stopped in front of the store window. The giant flat screen showed a picture of a man and a woman slumped over in exhaustion.

“Do you ever feel like a peasant? Always dressed in ragged clothes, and smelling like yesterday’s trash?

Loid couldn’t help but snort as the man and woman looked down at their clothes, which were, now, shredded and worn. The man’s dress shirt had sweat stains showing around his armpits, his buttons weren’t lined up right, one side of his shirt was untucked, while his pants had patched up knees. The woman’s bouse looked way too big on her, and it was so faded and worn; her skirt might as well have been a gown with how much was pooled around her. Both of them looking at the camera, and shaking their heads at the narrator’s questions.

“Well, come down to the Garden.”

Suddenly, the black screen pulled away, like a curtain, behind the man and woman, as they found themselves inside an actual garden. Various men and women were dressed in silken fabrics of all sorts of colors, each one holding a bottle of perfume. The camera panned away from the man and woman as it began to take close up shots, from the bust up, of each model, taking their turns to either wink or lick their lips at the camera.

“Located just south of the Marketplace, here at Garden, not only will we have you smelling like royalty, but also make you feel like it too.”

The camera zoomed out, as Loid watched the models surround the man and woman. Once they had pulled away, the man had on a full body tuxedo with his hair gelled back, and the woman had on a strapless black dress, hugging her curves in just the right ways, her hair done up into a bob that curled inwards at the end. They both looked at each other, and smiled as the man wrapped his hands around her waist, while the woman rested her hands onto his chest.

“Garden, feel like the royalty you are.”

Loid couldn’t help but scrunch his face in disappointment. “Well, that was a waste of time”, he huffed. Why had he stopped in the first place? Just as he was about to turn away, he noticed the camera begin to pan away from the models, as well as the man and woman.

What Loid saw next, surprised him:

The screen faded to black, again, as it began to show a woman splayed over a dark red couch. Her luscious figure clung to the couch cushions as she smiled at the camera. Her eyes, a gorgeous red, were glazed over with desire as she turned her head to the side, revealing a golden headband that had thorny vines woven in, as if to replicate a crown. Her black dress poured over the sides of the couch, revealing creamy white legs. Her hair was splayed, like a murky waterfall, giving Loid a hard time telling where her hair ended, and where her dress began. In one of her hands, the camera showed she was holding a rose, as she cupped it close to her chest; the dress hanging much too low for Loid’s liking in that area. But, upon closer inspection, Loid noticed that it was a glass bottle molded to look like one. Rose petals began to fall down on her, some of them landing on her figure, and clinging like a second skin.

Loid’s problem was, it’s not the fact that there was anything wrong with the model. No, in fact, she looked drop dead gorgeous.

It’s the fact that, that model was Yor.

So, this is what she meant by…photo shoot.

“Don’t forget to try our limited-edition Princess collection”, the screen paused for a moment on Yor, as it felt like the narrator was whispering into Loid’s ear, but all he could do was stare, slack-jawed, at the Yor in front of him.

“I mean, admittedly, Yor is a beautiful woman”, Loid chided himself. There have been times where, he’s caught himself staring, but only for a brief moment, and it’s not like Yor flaunted her femininity or anything.

No, the Yor he knew was unbelievably strong, a horrible cook, easily embarrassed, kept the house clean, and served as a pretend mother for Anya, as well as his fake wife for the sake of Operation Strix.

So, why did he feel relief wash over him at the realization that, she wasn’t seeing another man?

Again, Loid knew she was beautiful. But, right now, she was more than beautiful. She was stunning, sexy, desirable, gorgeous, and downright-

“A Goddamn hottie!”

Twilight narrowed his eyes when he felt someone nudge his arm. He gave the stranger a side-eye, giving him a once over: the man’s hair was in an unruly mess, his light brown hair looking like an open palm resting on the top of his head. His dress shirt was untucked from his pants, his belt wasn’t even buckled, his tie was so loose, it looked like a striped noose around his neck, and a beer stein was firmly grasped in one of his hands. Loid couldn’t help but grimace with disgust as the man’s alcoholic beverage swayed back and forth along with the man. Some of it sloshing into the pavement. Loid had heard rumors that, some of the people in this neighborhood were labeled as the local drunks.

He never thought he’d meet one of them.

They watched as, the Yor in front of them, faded away, the TV transitioning to another commercial.

“Aw, what a disappointment”, the man hiccupped, getting closer to Loid. Twilight began to feel annoyed at how much of a hindrance the drunk was.

Loid was getting frustrated at how he had disturbed him.

“You know”, the drunk gave him a lopsided smile, taking a gulp from his drink. “I could use a woman, like that, in my life.”

“Keep calm, Twilight”, Loid chided himself, shrugging off the man, he began to walk away from him. “A spy never- “

“Too bad a woman like her wasn’t here, right now”, Loid stopped mid-step, doing a complete one-eighty. “The things I would do to her…just for one night.” Loid watched with utter disgust as the drunk made a stroking movement, with his free hand, in between his legs. Before Loid had a chance to respond, the drunk merely laughed at him before turning his back, sauntering in the other direction, and away from Loid.

As a spy, one should never draw attention to themselves.

As a spy, one must always keep their cool, no matter the situation.

As a spy, one must never let their emotions cloud their judgement.

That’s what Twilight kept telling himself, even as he dropped the groceries onto the ground, and wasted no time beelining straight towards the drunk.

The man barely had enough time to react, before he felt himself get flung off to the side. The force of the blow was so great, it had caused his beer stein to fly out of his hands, and into millions of pieces onto the pavement. Before he knew it, he found himself on the ground, clenching his face, as the pain began to catch up with him.

Right then and there, Twilight should’ve called it a night. He had gotten his revenge and, therefore, needed to get back home and resume Operation Strix. He was a spy on a mission, not some married man that just watched some drunkard disrespect his wife right in front of him. Twilight had enough.

But Loid was not finished.

In the blink of an eye, Loid was already at the drunkard’s side, a knife held at his throat. He watched as the man visibly shook with fear, staring into his icy blue eyes that oozed blood lust. “Wh-who are you?” he heard the man whimper. Loid couldn’t help the satisfying feeling that bloomed in his chest, and spread throughout his whole body. Deep down, he knew this was wrong. Someone could walk in on them, any minute, and he would’ve been reported to the authorities. He would’ve run the risk of, not only ruining the mission, but also getting his identity revealed. The spy in him was practically screaming in his head to “stand down”, but Loid could only see red at the moment.

He could’ve killed him, right then and there, but then he’d have the hassle of having to take care of discarding the body, as well as the evidence. So, out of the goodness of his heart, and because he was still Loid Forger, he did was any man in his right mind would do.

He let him off with a warning.

“Listen here, bud”, Loid let out a deep, and low, growl, sobering the drunk immediately. “If I ever see you disrespect my wife like that, again…consider this your first and final warning, yeah?” He watched as the man nodded his head vigorously, shoving him back to the ground, and hiding his knife back into his sleeve. “Good”, Loid stepped away from him, his smile instantly painted onto his face, but his voice still oozing with malice. “Now, with all due respect: get out of my sight.” The man didn’t need to be told twice as he scrambled to his feet, Loid watching as he was practically sprinting down the street. With a heavy sigh, Loid turned back to grab his groceries.

Or at least, the ones that weren’t being eaten by a stray dog.

After shooing them away, he resumed his trip home, hoping that he hadn’t taken long enough to make his family worry.

“Fake family, Twilight”, he berated himself. “And what you just did there was way out of line! You should know better!”

If not for the groceries he was carrying, he would’ve already pinched the bridge of his nose. A small habit he had picked up whenever he had stressed himself out.

And, right now, he was beyond stressed.

What had caused him to that? If he had just ignored that stupid Garden commercial, none of this would’ve happened. None of this made sense. He needs to reevaluate the situation, he needs to clean up that mess he created, and make sure it doesn’t come back to haunt him, he needs to get his priorities in straight. He just needs to do a lot of things.

But, what he really needed, is to visit a certain perfume store, first.

Chapter Text

Loid couldn’t believe he was doing this.

No, he shouldn’t be doing this.

Yet, here he was: out on one of his rare day offs, in the marketplace, making his way towards Garden.

For research purposes, of course.

After his little…incident with the drunk, Twilight had realized he had never heard of this perfume shop, until now. So, that night, he had contacted Franky, and asked if he could do some digging while he conducted some research of his own. And, after many countless hours, the two of them managed to only find basic knowledge of the shop: how long it had been a business, when it first opened, its list of perfumes and sponsored brands, and all your basic customer service answers. In fact, the only noticeable thing Twilight had managed to uncover was, he noted how the owner of the shop only referred to himself as “The Gardener” and not his real name, but that was it. Whoever this “Gardener” is, he’s hiding an awful lot for being just a “perfume shop owner”.

Which is why, as soon as Yor and Anya left for school and work, he had Franky watch Bond, and made it his personal mission to see for himself. Sure, he could’ve asked Yor, but that would only result in her stuttering again, and, based on what he saw in the commercial, it clearly was something she wanted to keep a secret from the others. Not to mention, why would Gardener hire women from City Hall? Based on his website, he clearly had the money to hire professional models to showcase his brand.

So, why have Yor involved?

“Something just doesn’t add up”, Twilight thought as he weaved through the crowd. Millions of scenarios began to race through Twilight’s head: are they some underground drug cartel? Another group of rambunctious young adults trying to start up another war? An assassin agency?

Maybe it was the owner Yor was having an affair with?

“No”, Twilight shook his head, earning some confused stares by some onlookers. He merely waved an apology to them, smiling as he kept up appearances. “Don’t be stupid Twilight”, the WISE agent scolded himself. “This isn’t one of Yor’s novellas…it’s not like there’s going to be some big reveal that’s just waiting to happen.” The crowd began to thicken, the further in he began to wander. Pretty soon, he found himself in the section where various flower shops were open, and waiting for business. The possibilities were endless, but the only way for Twilight to find out was, to stop asking questions from behind a screen, and see the answer in person.

Luckily, the Marketplace was much busier than usual on Fridays; giving Twilight the perfect cover, as Loid Forger, to just “so happen” to wander into the perfume shop: a husband, who’s head over heels for his wife, looking for a perfect gift to give her for their upcoming anniversary.

“That sounds about right”, Twilight bemused himself, scanning the area to see if his target was here. Suddenly, in the midst of the crowd, he felt someone bump into him. He looked behind to see, a woman had fallen onto the ground. Various papers and flowers were scattered everywhere as the woman massaged her behind, wincing as she tried to make the pain go away.

“Goodness”, Loid gasped as he kneeled in front of the woman, offering her his hand. “I’m so, terribly, sorry! Are you alright?” He watched as the woman pushed up her glasses, before taking his offered hand. “Yes, thank you, I’m fine”, she responded as she dusted off her khaki pants. “But I should be the one apologizing for bumping into you.” While the woman was finishing dusting herself off, Loid was quick to pick up her papers and flowers before anyone had the chance to step on them. As he gave the woman her supplies back, Twilight was quick to notice a little watering can, Garden’s insignia, stitched on the left bosom of her polo shirt. “Pardon if this may sound forward but do you, by chance, work for Garden? As in, the perfume shop?” Twilight took his hat off, and placed it onto his chest. Taking on the gentlemanly air that was Loid Forger.

The woman’s emerald eyes seemed to glisten with pride, as she smiled and nodded her head. “I do, in fact”, she puffed her chest proudly. “Thank goodness”, Loid sighed with relief, putting his hat back on, as he smiled back at her. “You see, I seem to have gotten myself quite lost looking for it”, he began to explain. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you lead me to it?”

“Of course,” the woman beamed. “After you so kindly helped me, why wouldn’t I?” Just as she was about to turn around, and lead the way, Loid had to pause mid-step as she turned to face him once again. “Oh, but first, where are my manners”, before Loid had realized, the woman stuck her free hand out in the air. The Forger patriarch had a backup slightly, so as to not get hit in the chest. “The name’s Ivory Radicans.” Loid took her hand, both parties giving each other a firm shake. “Loid Forger”, came his reply. “Alright, Mr. Forger, if you follow me, I’ll gladly take you to Garden”, Ivory faced the opposite direction, again, resuming their walk; her red curls bounced with each step as Loid followed closely behind.

It wasn’t long before they had reached their destination. However, what Loid saw wasn’t quite what he’d expect. For one thing, he didn’t expect the perfume shop to be quite so far from the crowd, nor did he expect that it wasn’t as overflowed with the smell of perfumes as he thought it was going to be: pots of various horticulture were lined up and decorated the store’s awning and front, stands holding various intricate glass bottles of perfumes and colognes showcased themselves in the window, the shop’s name painted in golden letters within an equally golden outline of a huge watering can, and, glancing inside, Loid could see the shop’s walls were lined up with various colors of pink, letting onlookers know, just who the ideal audience was for this shop. Its glass door propped open, waiting for business. “Here she is”, Ivory gestured, with her free hand, at the store as if she was showcasing some grandeur mansion, and she happened to be one of the servants working there. Loid looked over to Ivory, and smiled, giving her a small polite bow. “I really appreciate you going this far for me”, Loid thanked, again, as he straightened his back. Ivory merely waved her free hand, her face coloring with embarrassment at his praise. “Ah, it was nothing”, she gave a sheepish smile as she readjusted the papers and flowers in her arms. “I was actually on my way back, anyways, so it’s a win-win if you ask me.”

“Ivory?” Had Twilight not been paying attention, he would’ve missed the voice as it could barely be heard even with how quiet the street was. Said woman turned around, as Loid followed her gaze: standing in the doorway, stood an old man, hunched over, and leaning most of his weight onto his cane. His long white hair was tied back into a ponytail, showing his face as it withered with age. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows, his hands in an equal state as his face, as a pair of suspenders held his dress pants up.

It was rather…anticlimactic.

Here Loid was, imagining the owner of the shop to be some dashing young man. A heartthrob that could make any woman swoon at a mere glance.

Not some old man hobbling his way towards him.

“But that’s beside the point”, Twilight chided. “Remember you’re here on a mission…not to snoop into Yor’s love life.”

He ignored the relief that washed over him.

Polished dress shoes thudded against the sidewalk as Ivory quickly made her way over, meeting the man halfway. “Sorry I was a bit late, Gardener”, Ivory apologized, nodding her head in Loid’s direction. “I was helping a customer find our shop.” Loid took a step forward, taking his hat off again, as he stuck out his right hand. “Pleasure to meet you”, Loid introduced. “My name is- “

However, he was cut off as Gardener waved his hand away. “Ah, no need to be so formal”, Gardener’s gentle smile felt as warm as the sun as he lightly smacked Loid’s hand. “I am merely a gardener tending to my flowers”, the owner explained. “It’s not like you’re visiting somebody from the Embassy.” Loid couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped from his lips.

That immediately scared Twilight.

“He managed to lower my guard in an instant”, Twilight narrowed his eyes as Loid watched Ivory hand Gardener the flowers she had.

Just who is this man?

“Come, come”, Gardener’s words broke Twilight’s train of thought as he beckoned for the two of them to follow. “Let’s get out of this stuffy heat, and into the cool air.” Loid followed, at a distance, as Ivory walked alongside the owner.

Indeed, it was much cooler once they had gotten inside. It was also much bigger than Loid had expected: scattered all over the floor, were tables that showcased various bottles of their own, there were shelves built into the building, parallel to each other, showing off even more perfumes. A small chandelier hung proudly in the center of the white ceiling, the light reflecting off of the equally white flooring. In one corner of the room, stood an island table that had a cash register atop of it. A young man was standing there, reading a book, and, behind him was a white door that, what Loid could only assume, lead to a back room of the store. “Look alive, Michael”, Gardener called out to the young man. “We’ve got a customer.” Michael’s response was, glancing up from his book, gave Loid a nod, then resumed his reading. “Forgive my Michael”, Loid almost jumped out of his skin when he found Gardener standing by him. “He’s still young, and not much of a talker.”

“Ah, it’s no problem”, Loid gave him a reassuring smile. “I have a daughter of my own, so, I know and understand the feeling.” The laugh Gardener had let out almost scarred Loid. He was the last person Loid would expect to laugh as heartily as he did. “Family man”, he said, patting Loid on his shoulder. “I can respect that.” He looked over to Ivory, nodding his head towards the backroom door. “Be a dear, Ivory, and gives those papers, and these plants, to Michael so he can sort them in the back”, Gardener instructed. “And, while I have you here, could you also dust the shelves and tables, too?” Said girl gave a mock salute, the two employees doing as they were told: Michael disappearing in the back, while Ivory grabbed a rag from under the register, and headed over to one of the built-in shelves. “Now then”, Gardener sighed, hobbling over to the nearest table, before leaning some of his weight onto it. “To whom do I owe the pleasure of visiting my shop?” Loid was about to speak up, again, but paused when the owner raised his hand. “And I want none of that fancy shmancy talk”, he explained. “I’m sure you have met much more important people than me.”

“Getting right to the point I see?” Twilight thought as Loid gave him a sheepish grin. “Well,” adjusting his tone, Loid recited Twilight’s story with practiced precision. “My name’s Loid Forger, and I’m just looking for a gift for my wife.”

“Forger?” Twilight noticed Gardener’s gaze looking right over his shoulder. Behind him, Twilight could feel Ivory staring at the them. He could tell the two of them were communicating with each other, through their eyes, but it only lasted a split second before Gardener was looking at him. “You wouldn’t happen to have a wife by the name of Yor Forger, would you?”

“Yes! That’s my wife”, Loid responded. “How do you know her?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

“Ah, well, you see, I had just expanded my shop into this part of town last minute”, Gardener explained. “And, I was in desperate need of people to help showcase my brand. Fortunately, I had a friend of mine who I knew was working in this town’s City Hall.” He looked over to Ivory, silently asking her to get something from the register. The redhead paused what she was doing, made her way over, grabbed, what looked like, a magazine, and handed it to Gardener before resuming her work. “I asked my buddy if I could borrow some of his girls, and he referred to me a small group of them”, he opened the magazine before licking his thumb, flipping through some of the pages. “Your wife happened to be in that group.” He flipped the magazine over, showing Loid the Yor he had seen on the commercial the other day: her entire photo took up both pages, and, on one page, were small pictures of three different perfumes. The fourth one was the one Yor was holding. “Please forgive me for putting her in such a provocative stance”, Gardener knitted his brows in worry. His face made Loid feel like he had just spat curses at such a kind old man. “If I had known I was being granted the pleasure of meeting her husband, I would’ve asked her to be in a more…respectable position.”

“Ah, no, there’s no need”, Loid waved his apology off. “If anything, I have to thank you for doing this; Yor hardly shows off just how beautiful she is, this photo merely proves my point.” The three of them shared a chuckle as Gardener rolled up the magazine, and put it into his back pocket.

“I can see why Yor chose you to be her husband: you see something in her others don’t”, Loid felt his cheeks flush as he found it had become harder to remain eye contact with the owner.

“What’s going on with you, Twilight!?” the spy gawked at himself. “You aren’t some school boy who’s experiencing his first crush!”

“Well, mushy stuff aside”, Gardener chuckled at Loid’s embarrassment. “You said something about wanting to get your wife a gift?”

“Ah, yes, you see, our anniversary is coming up, and I heard about this perfume shop that had recently opened…and I’m assuming that perfume shop is yours?” Loid recited with perfect precision. He had expected the owner to ask about why he brought his business here.

But what he didn’t expect, was the atmosphere that followed.

“It, indeed, is”, Gardener nodded his head in response. However, Twilight felt the air shift around them as soon as Gardener set his cane aside, his arms crossing. “However, your wife never mentioned about your anniversary coming up?”

Twilight narrowed his eyes as he stared down the owner behind Loid’s. He could feel Ivory had stopped what she had been dusting, eyeing him as well.

“Ah, well, how did that old saying go?” Loid smiled, pretending to be ignorant of the sudden shift in the atmosphere. “Something about how, wives can never remember important dates?”

“Yes, I know that old saying”, Gardener retorted. “But, normally, it’s usually the husband who is the one to forget.”

Twilight cursed himself. Whoever this Gardener was, he was backing him into a corner, leaving him little room to squeeze out of, and escape.

“I’ve got to think of something”, Twilight clenched his jaws. “And fast.”

“Ah, so that’s how it goes?” Loid kept his smile. “I guess my family must be have things backwards.” At this point, Twilight was taking random shots in the dark.

Hopefully, he hits something.

“Tell me, Mr. Forger”, Gardener’s eyes narrowed. “Just what exactly are you looking for in my shop?” He eyed Ivory who, subtlety, pulled out a bobby pin from her hair. She slid her thumb on a small part of it, revealing a pointed tip.

Twilight had watched all of this unfold.

“From the looks of the situation”, Twilight calculated. “If I say the wrong thing, he’ll alert her to throw her bobby pin at me…and, something tells me, I won’t live to see another day if it hits me.”

“Well, the truth is, you see, this is kind of embarrassing to say”, Loid scratched the back of his head, while Twilight took a deep breath.

“Here goes nothing”, Twilight thought.

“I saw the commercial you had my wife model for”, he explained. Gardener lifted a hand up to his face, Ivory waiting for him to give the signal. “And, I also recognized one of the perfume bottles you showed me in that magazine…so- “the air around the three began to grow even thicker, as bloodlust began to fill the room.

Gardener lifted his forefinger.

Ivory had her hand at the ready.

Twilight’s heart felt like it was ready to fall out of his ribs.

“To commemorate her debut, I actually wanted to buy the bottle that she modeled with”, Loid looked down at his feet, bashfully, his cheeks growing an even darker shade of red at his admittance.

“Is that all?” Gardener chuckled. He took his hand off of his face, Ivory quickly concealing and putting her bobby pin away.

Loid could only nod, rubbing the back of his head, giving the owner a shy smile. The owner let out another boisterous laugh, as he waved Ivory to come over. “Could you please get the bottle, Mr. Forger is so desperately after, from our Princess collection”, he winked in Loid’s direction. “You know the one.” Ivory giggled behind one hand, making her way to one of the tables, before coming back and handing it over to Loid.

“Must be nice to be head over heels in love with someone”, Ivory teased. This caused Loid’s blush to redden even more as owner and employee laughed at the Forger patriarch’s shamelessness.

So, fast forward to now, here he was, in the confinements of his room, smelling the perfume that reminded him of his wife.

Sexiness and all.

Though, he would never admit it, the bottle he had bought, that day, he had already used up. Resulting into him sneaking into the bathroom, and using Yor’s bottle.

As well as these little “alone time” moments, whenever he was by himself in the apartment.

He took another look around his room, feeling as though someone might pop out at any given moment, catching him in such a shameless manner.

“I really shouldn’t be doing this”, Twilight thought. “This not how I, Twilight, nor Loid Forger would act: like some horny teenaged school boy.”

Yet, as he continued to stare at the bottle, images of how Yor looked flashed through his mind: the way how the dress hugged her curves, how her creamy skin looked so delectable in the lighting, and how, he realized, red and black looked so damn good on her.

Not to mention, since then, Yor has been using this perfume for everyday use.

He eyed the bottle again, recalling what Gardener had said about it:

“This brand is called ‘Parfum Du Ciel’”, he explained. “Or, ‘The Scent of Heaven’.”

Loid sprayed a bit of it onto his wrist, before bringing up to his nose to inhale. Immediately, the familiar scent of roses and citrus began to fill his nostrils. “It smells so good”, Loid praised.

“Thank you”, Gardener smiled graciously. “I made the perfume with two inspiration ideas; the first one is, that it brings out a, sort of, balance: the roses, you smelled, represents the feeling of Heaven’s beauty; making you feel as though you wish to never come down, while, with the citrus smell, I chose tart and sour fruits to help create a, sort of, lingering smell for the roses.” Loid nodded in understanding, the citrus smell, indeed, creating a lingering sensation as he faintly smelled the roses.

He went back to his wrist to smell some more.

“The second inspiration is from the person who is going to be wearing this perfume: a woman”, Gardener laughed as he continued to explain. “You see, just as you say, there are some women, like your wife, who often hide their beauty. But, when they do show it, it’s like inhaling the rose smell all over again! However, when they put their beauty away, it’s like that tart smell, in the aftermath, making you want to come back to remember that ‘Scent of Heaven’ all over again.”

“Scent of Heaven, huh?” Twilight spun the bottle in his hand, a ghost of a smile painting his lips. “How fitting for Yor.”

Though, he managed to walk out of the store alive, thankfully, Twilight realized he never got the information he needed, in the first place, from the establishment nor the owner. Twilight sprayed his wrist one more time, before noticing how the bottle was almost empty.

Looks like he’s going to need to go out, and buy another one.

However, he didn’t mind; so long as he got to carry around Yor’s “Scent of Heaven”.