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A look of frustration and disappointment had managed to form itself throughout his sharp, chiseled face.
How could’ve he allowed himself to be this foolish?
One deep, exasperated sigh began to escape from his chapped lips, along with a chill that ran through his spine in his thick – beige winter coat. It had been the end of December, the day of Christmas Eve, and Loid Forger, also known by his alias Twilight- the greatest spy in all of Westalis, still had not figured out what to get for his fake wife, Yor Forger.
I’ve spent the whole month pondering and deducting several ideas to ensure that Yor gets the best Christmas gift she could ask for, obviously for the sake of remaining the perfect husband, but to no avail. It’s quite literally the day before Christmas, and I have yet to come up with the ideal present.
Loid kept criticizing himself while frantically strolling through the city of Berlint. He had of course looked through several boutiques and other various stores along the way, but nothing had seemed to catch his eye, or had seemed like a “Yor gift” to him.
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Meanwhile at the Forger residence, there was a rising panic taking place in the kitchen. Yor had taken the opportunity to surprise Loid while he had claimed to be out for a “patient emergency”.
My gosh Yor, Loid does all these things for you, and you can’t even figure out how to properly cut a carrot?
Her fingers contained a multitude of deep cuts, but to her that didn’t matter.
You properly cooked stew that one time, is that actually all you know how to cook?
During the time Yor had been consciously doubting herself, Anya had been completely oblivious to her troubles as she was snuggling with Bond while watching her favorite tv show, Spy Wars. In normal circumstances Anya would’ve sensed the rising tensions in the kitchen, but it had been the season finale of Spy Wars, and she was completely captivated by the episode.
“Go Bondman Go! Kaboom! Gettim!”
Whilst standing at the kitchen sink to wash the blood off her tense hands, Yor snuck a few glances at Anya as she was impersonating Bondman by throwing fake punches and kicks in the air which almost caused her to fall down, resulting in Bond observing Anya with an inquisitive expression, his fluffy white head tilted to the left and his tiny ears slightly perked up. Although this may have caused Yor to let out a small chuckle and relieved her of any emotional strain she was currently having for a brief moment, she immediately shifted back into the mindset of insecurity.
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After many, MANY trial and errors, Loid finally stumbled upon a shop window after he had been trudging down the street defeatedly, his slumped back and fatigued face being all the more prominent. There it was, the perfect gift, glistening in the sun’s slowly setting shine, which highlighted just how long he had been out. He swore he had never bought something so fast in his life. In fact, Loid had been so overwhelmed with relief that he had practically SKIPPED on the way home.
As Loid slowly reached for the rustic doorknob of his apartment, he was immediately greeted by a wave of melancholic aura. He knew this aura wasn’t stemming from Anya, as she had cheerfully greeted Loid by tightly hugging his left leg. Of course, he responded by patting her head, but quickly resumed his investigation regarding the gloomy aura. His eyes shifted around, but eventually got fixated on Yor standing in the kitchen. She was wiping away tears, too bothered by her own inability to even realize that Loid had come home.
“Yor, what happened? Are you okay?”
Loid set aside the gifts he bought and started slowly walking towards her, as to not make her feel uncomfortable or not make himself feel like he was overstepping boundaries.
“Oh, L-Loid! I didn’t notice you came home! I’m fine, just busy cutting onions...ehehe.” Yor nervously giggled, her rosy lips began to form a gentle smile across her face, but Loid immediately saw through her fake facade.
“Yor. Tell me... what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong I swear! These onions are just... extra crazy today!”
“Yor.”
She paused, her crimson eyes leaving contact with Loid’s sapphire eyes, her gentle smile instantly dropping to that of a rueful one. She began debating whether she really wanted to tell Loid about the current situation. On one hand, she truthfully did not know what she was doing and needed A LOT of guidance, but on the other hand if she did seek this guidance, she would be making Loid do all the work for the millionth time. All of this back and forth debating in her consciousness filled her with such an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness, that tears started welling up her eyes to a point where her vision was completely blurry. At that point she simply lost all control and just let everything pour out.
Almost as if it was a reflex, Loid instantly rushed to Yor, wrapping his brawny arms around her slim physique, allowing her head to rest on his shoulder while he had been tenderly caressing her nape. Loid instinctively began pulling back as he realized how impulsive his decision to embrace Yor was, but to his surprise she instantly pulled him back, not wanting to leave his warm- comforting touch. Anya had sensed the situation and had also joined in on the hug, wrapping her small arms around Yor’s leg. She didn’t necessarily know what was happening, but all she knew was that her mom needed this. No words had been said this entire interaction, but the amount of relief Yor had felt filled those gaps.
After she had gained her composure, Yor gently pulled back from Loid. She still wasn’t keeping eye contact with him, but at least she had no tears left in her eyes. She started fidgeting with her hands, took a deep breath, and bluntly told Loid:
“I was trying to surprise you with Christmas Eve dinner.”
Loid started off with a slightly shocked expression, but it shortly began to transfigure into a smile, his gaze softening. He grabbed Yor’s hands, which completely caught Yor off guard. This time she made full eye contact with Loid, he looked at her with such an empathetic expression, his gaze in addition to the warmth from his hands made her cheeks acquire a shade of pink darker than Anya’s hair. She stuttered for a bit, and what made it worse was that Loid acted completely casual about this, he didn’t loosen his grip or anything of the sort. Meanwhile Anya tiptoed away and went back to watching Spy Wars with Bond, secretly admiring her parents from afar.
“Yor, this isn’t something you need to do alone. Cooking can be a two-way job.”
“I-I know…but I wanted to somewhat make up for all the times you cooked for me.”
Loid sighed, but not in an irritated manner.
“I am surprised. I really appreciate it but seeing you in a state like this is something I can’t be happy with.”
His hands let go of Yor’s hands, lowering them down to Yor’s shoulders as he began to turn her around gently, facing her against the cutting board and placing a knife in her right hand.
“We’ll do this together, okay?”
He positioned his right hand on top of Yor’s and put his other hand on the counter next to Yor’s left hand. Yor jolted at the sudden gesture, her cheeks still containing the same prominent shade of pink as before. Their bodies were so close together that she was more focused on that than the actual task at hand. In fact, they were so close that Yor was so certain that Loid could feel her heartbeat echoing against him.
“Ok, now you might want to use the ‘claw grip’ technique to stabilize the ingredients, and to ensure that you don’t get those same cuts that you currently have on your hands. Here, take the fingers of your non-dominant hand and make a claw out of them. Then, press your fingertips into the actual ingredients themselves.” Loid instructed in a slow tone, so as to not conflict with Yor’s inexperience in the kitchen.
“Got it!” Yor replied with a confident tone, feeling a sense of relief that she had such a kind husband that was willing to help her throughout this process.
They were moving the knife together at a steady pace, Loid made sure he kept giving her words of affirmation in order to encourage her. However, just as Loid became confident that Yor could keep this up on her own, someone had walked into their apartment.
It was Yuri.
He had cheerfully walked into their apartment with a big bouquet of flowers along with a bag of gifts, which he would later set aside, excited to see his older sister. His face immediately dropped at the sight of Loid practically hugging Yor (in his mind at least). Loid looked in his general direction and nodded in order to address him, but quickly turned back to Yor. Yuri scowled at the lack of acknowledgement he was receiving, leading him to cough so he could gain their attention. This cough worked on Anya, as she had run over to Yuri.
“Unkie is here!” Anya exclaimed with a sense of excitement, happy to reunite with her uncle after such a long time apart.
It wasn’t until this exchange between Yuri and Anya that Yuri finally caught the attention of Yor, she had been so concentrated on her cooking.
“Oh Yuri! I didn’t notice you came in!”
Yuri grimaced.
“Yor, what do you think you’re doing in the kitchen with Lottie?!”
“Mama and Papa are flirting!” Anya chimed in. Loid couldn’t tell if Yuri’s aura was that of a defeated one, or of a menacing one.
“No! he was just teaching me how to cook!” Yor reassured, waving her arms around as though she had been caught in a morbid crime.
“But you already know how to cook so well!”
“Ehhh… I really don’t.”
“He’s brainwashed you into thinking your cooking is horrible, hasn’t he?”
At this point Yuri had formed his hands into fists and walked with great anger closely to Loid, looking directly into his eyes while conveying one of the most ominous looks Loid has ever seen.
“So that’s it. Yor just isn’t good enough for you. You have to have the best of the best.”
Loid reacted by exchanging an irritated expression with Yuri. He doesn’t know why this comment ticked him off so much, but to him, it was almost as if Yuri was dismissing Yor’s efforts.
“I can assure you; I appreciate everything Yor cooks and does for me.”
As Yor observed the tension, she felt a growing feeling of frustration develop inside her. She hated when Yuri exaggerated situations like this.
“Yuri please! Loid saw how desperate I was and really helped me out! I don’t want you fighting with him like this, especially during the holidays.”
“But Yor he- “
“Now that we’re all together, why don’t we do some of the Christmas activities that Anya wanted to do?”
Yor cut him off, clasping her hands together and forming her lips into an infectious smile.
“Oh ya! I saw an adverteezment on Spy Wars that people were making gin-ger bread houses”
Yor put her pointer finger to her chin, her face contained a pensive expression.
“Hmm. We need to go to the supermarket to buy some then.”
Loid politely contradicted her statement.
“Actually, gingerbread is pretty easy to make. I’m sure we can whip up some easily.”
Yor turned to make eye contact with Loid, giving him an affirming nod. Yuri frowned at their interaction but had a sudden attitude change when an idea popped into his head.
“Why don’t me and Lottie see who can make the best gingerbread, and you and Chihuahua girl can go relax on the couch with the dog?”
“Okay! as much as I’d like to help, I’d probably just be a burden. In fact, a little competition might be fun! Just don’t be too aggressive with Loid!”
Loid exchanged soft smiles with her, then began rummaging through their kitchen cupboards in order to find his favorite bowl to put the wet ingredients in. Once he found it, Yuri immediately snatched the bowl from his grasp.
“Uh… okay” Loid reacted, clearly sensing what the vibe of this competition was going to be.
And thus began a repeating pattern of Yuri thinking he was sabotaging and stealing Loid’s resources. Loid of course, deflected off these blows every time as he always had a backup plan, and he was Twilight after all. While this meaningless one-sided bickering was going on, Yor and Anya were calmly cuddling up to each other on the couch. Bond laid below them, warming up their feet with his thick, soft fur. Anya tried her best to stay awake through the Christmas special that was currently airing, but she eventually met her demise as she repeatedly kept opening and closing her eyes, fighting to stay awake. She ultimately gave up and ceased this fighting, resting her head against Yor’s body. Yor couldn’t help but look at Anya with a loving smile before she herself started drifting off to sleep.
Eventually Loid and Yuri finally put their gingerbread in the oven, calling Yor and Anya to tell them that it was almost ready. Loid received no response, pushing him to go and check up on them. He discovered the sight of the girls snuggling up to each other, eyes peacefully closed with nothing but pure bliss plastered onto their delicate faces.
It’s been a long day for us huh?
Loid steadily reached out his veined hand as he pat the top of Anya’s head, then shifted his hand over to Yor as he gently brushed the hair out of her face, all while embracing a doting expression for his girls.
“Hey! Don’t get all handsy with my sister!”
Yuri hastily walked over to Loid, filling the space between Yor and Loid. Loid furrowed his brows, placing his pointer finger in front off his lips in order to shush Yuri. After leaving Yuri speechless because he had realized how loud he was, Loid then maneuvered his way around him, reaching for the thick blanket that had been on the other side of the coach, and carefully pulled it over Yor and Anya.
“Lottie, I have an idea.” Yuri had tapped Loid’s shoulder, mischievously whispering into his ear.
“What is it?”
“Why don’t you and I see who can finish preparing the food and table the fastest?”
“…Why?”
“To surprise Yor and Chihuahua girl obviously. No loving husband would deny this offer.”
Loid immediately assimilated into a competitive spirit, he was Twilight after all, and being the perfect- loving husband was part of his mission.
“Let’s do it.”
Surprisingly, for the longest time Loid and Yuri had managed to make as little as noise as possible despite noise- inducing elements such as the meat sizzling on the pan, or the sound of fragile ornaments clanking together as they added more decorations to the girthy Christmas tree. It wasn’t until Yuri accidentally knocked over an empty pot placed on the kitchen counter, the impact of its metal surface area striking the hard brown floor, that Yor had been awakened.
“Wha- What time is it?”
Loid and Yuri turned to see Yor standing near the couch, her scarred hands formed into tiny fists as she was lazily rubbing her eyes back and forth.
“YOR! IM SO SORRY, I DIDN’T MEAN TO WAKE YOU, PLEASE FORGIVE ME.”
“Calm down Yuri, Anya is still sleeping.”
Yor sluggishly walked towards the kitchen where Yuri and Loid had been standing, the pungent aroma luring her.
“Mmm.. something smells good!”
“We wanted to surprise you and Anya with Christmas dinner while you guys were sleeping.”
Loid traded gentle smiles with Yor. However, she slowly began to display an expression containing a mass amount of guilt, all while fidgeting with her fingers.
“...I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help... again”
“Yor, we did this willingly. We just wanted to surprise you so that you can relax after all you did today.”
Loid began to approach Yor, Yuri soon followed right behind him.
“Yeah, what Lottie said. To you it might seem like you don’t do much, but it’s actually the opposite. You’ve been this way your whole life, trying to make everyone happy but are so hard on yourself. Your never give yourself credit for the amount of work that you do even when it’s obvious. Reliable people need people to rely on too, so don’t feel guilty about it. Yor, you’re the most hardworking person I know. I just wish you would realize that.”
Yor tried her best to hold back tears, all before enveloping Yuri in the tightest hug he’s ever experienced, so tight that he wasn’t sure how his ribs didn’t break like the other time. Loid took a step back, allowing the siblings to enjoy their personal moment. To his surprise Yor had reached for Loid as well, involving him in the very snug hug.
“Thank you guys. I don’t know how I got to be so lucky.” Yor sniffled.
Yor released them out of the tight squeeze, bashfully tucking her jet-black hair behind her slightly pink, tinted ear.
“So, let’s wake Anya and get Christmas Eve started, shall we?”
Yuri and Loid merrily nodded, they both resumed setting up the dining table as Yor had shifted her attention to Anya on the couch.
“Psst.. Anya, time to eat.” Yor softly whispered into Anya’s ear, tapping her relaxed shoulders, which resulted in Anya tiredly groaning.
“…5.. more.. minitsh.”
Anya lazily rolled back into her previous curled-up position, causing Yor to giggle while covering her mouth with her hand. She then snapped out of her laughter and began slowly shaking Anya.
“Anya… cmon it’s time to eat! The gingerbread is ready, so we can build the houses after!”
Anya immediately yelped, jolting herself awake. She ran over to the dining table at a speed faster than light. Yor triumphantly smirked, almost as if she had predicted Anya’s excited reaction. Anya probably ate even faster than she had ran, gulping down each bite, seemingly without chewing.
“Cmon.. you’ll choke” Loid lectured, expressing disgusted body language as seen through his lowered eyebrows and wrinkled nose, looking as if he had just seen the vilest thing ever.
Anya hastily shoved the comforting Christmas Eve meal down her throat, ignoring her fathers request. She completely tuned everyone out in fact, their sounds of overlapping joy overpowered by her intense excitement for the family activity they were about to conduct. She turned her attention towards the glossy window, the glow from the window making the snow seemingly more apparent.
“Papa, I wanna play in the snow”
“Right now? But its late...” Loid replied with a concerned expression as he discovered how dark it was outside.
“Anya doesn’t care! I wanna play noew!
Like a toddler, Anya started thrashing her arms around and wailing as she dropped to the wooden floor and threw a tantrum. Yuri reacted with annoyance, rolling his auburn eyes. He’s never really been around children, so this form of expression from younger kids was something he hadn’t been used to. Loid and Yor however, had grown accustomed to this, as they faced each other with mutual considerate glances. They have a moment of communication through telepathy, in a sense that Loid read Yor nodding at him as a way of saying “I’ll handle this.”
Yor calmy sat up from her seat, pushing the copper-colored chair towards the table. She bent her knees in a way that allowed her to be eye-level with Anya, so as to not intimidate her by towering over her.
“Anya, honey, I know you want to go in the snow right now but look at how dark and scary it is outside! Plus, you wouldn’t want to lose time for all the other things you wanted to do tonight like bake cookies, build gingerbread houses, and watch Christmas movies, right?” Yor calmy reasoned, all while cupping Anya’s face, wiping her tears away with her thumbs as they fell.
“But...” Anya sniffled. “It just looks so fun and pillowy.”
Anya stepped back from her mother’s touch, guiltily looking down on the floor and toying with her fingers, ashamed of her dramatic outburst from a moment ago. Yor kept eye contact with her daughter and started to adjust her concerned facial expression into one of pure motherly love. Yor then pulled Anya into an even more loving embrace, tucking Anya’s petite face into her chest, providing Anya with endless comfort.
“I know, I know. But then you have something to look forward to tomorrow! I’m sure you’re going to wake us all up bright and early, were going to open presents, and then have an amazing time playing in the cold snow with you!” Yor reassured Anya, moving her hands in a circular motion on Anya’s back, which gradually allowed Anya to cease her crying as Yor felt Anya’s heightening breaths shift to slow and normal ones against her chest.
Pulling back from the embrace, Anya began aggressively rubbing her puffy eyes that had been created through her sobs. Looking at her mother, the two engaged in laughter after realizing how much Anya had drenched her mother’s shirt, due to a mixture of tears and maybe some snot as well. Yor then picked up Anya as she began to stand, holding Anya with her left hand and leaning her against her body in order to make her body weight seem lighter.
“C’mon, what do you say we start decorating our gingerbread houses? Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Anya reacted to her mom’s request with a simple nod. Adhering to her daughter’s request, the two went on their way to the kitchen. Loid couldn’t help but see a glimpse of his mother in Yor, her method of comforting Anya reminded him of how his mother used to relax him whenever he got anxious over a bomb hitting his home any minute during the prime time of war. Oh, how he missed her, but he way happy Yor was able to provide that same feeling towards Anya. It's people like Yor that give him hope towards his goal of creating a world where no child has to cry.
After this brief moment of recollection, Loid would soon follow his girls into the kitchen, the scattered glops of frosting providing for a rather slippery floor. Yuri soon followed, later helping the family create Christmas cookies, although it took a while due to the fact that him and Loid kept going back and forth between chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. Anya ended up craving both, so she proposed that they create two batches. Besides that encounter, everything went smoothly and there was no unsatisfied face in sight, hell even Yuri had hints of joy scattered across his face.
The group then decided to end their night by snuggling up on the couch and watching Christmas movies, with Yor offering hot chocolate to everyone as it was one of the few things she was good at making. Despite the slight awkwardness in the beginning from Yor and Loid stemming from the fact that they had to share a blanket and were in such close proximity so as to not seem suspicious to Yuri, the coziness made them forget about it, providing for a nice, warm feeling. Although Anya was sat so close to the tv with Bond, even she couldn’t fight the nice relaxing feeling she was experiencing and nestled herself into Bond’s fur as she drifted to sleep, her warm cup of hot cocoa still in her hand.
One prolonged yawn from Yor was enough to signal to the everyone else that they should probably head to bed. Although, this came with a problem that Yor and Loid had been dreading since the beginning of this fake fiasco. They had to sleep in the same bed.
After Yor and Loid blushed from just the thought of it, the three got up from the couch, with Loid gently picking up Anya and holding her bridal style, slowly making his way to Anya’s room and carefully opening her door, making sure any squeaking from the floorboards or creaking from the door did not wake her up. In the meantime, Yor had gestured Yuri to follow her to the “guest room,” although the unexpected visit from him made her realize that she had to conceal some of her assassin weapons and gather her pajamas from the room, making her suddenly pause in the middle of the hallway.
“Oh! Um.. just remembered I have to tidy up a bit and make your bed, I’ll be right out soon I promise!”
Yuri couldn’t help but get confused at the sudden suggestion.
“Um, okay but I honestly don’t really mind sis.”
“No! No! Please I insist!” Before Yuri even had a chance to reply, Yor aggressively slammed the door in Yuri’s face, making it clear she was in a hurry.
Since I’m obviously rushing, I won’t even have time to change in here right now, and Yuri would wonder why I suddenly have pajamas on when I walk out. That would make me look even more suspicious..
After pondering about this situation and hiding her weapons, Yor reluctantly collected her pajamas, hiding them under her clothes so that Yuri wouldn’t notice the fact that her and Loid sleep separately. After walking out into the hallway, she was not only met with the same confused Yuri, but a tired Loid closing the door to Anya’s room. Seeing Loid reminded her of the fact that she was still holding her pajamas underneath her clothes.
Crap, I can’t even ask Yuri if I could use the bathroom to change before he showers because then he would get suspicious and ask why I can’t do it in the bedroom since I’m married to Loid
Seeing her defeat, she tiredly trudged into Loid’s room, thankfully not seeing the “YES!” bedsheets as Loid didn’t have time to set it up, not wanting to make this situation more awkward than it already was. Loid soon hesitantly followed Yor into his room, catching a glimpse of Yuri’s troubled face after seeing the two enter a bedroom together.
“Um, so Loid. About the changing situation... Yuri is currently in the bathroom right now... so what do you think we should do?” Yor fiddled with her thumbs, attempting to cover her face in her jet-black hair to hide the deep shade of pink blush that stretched across her face.
“Hm. Well I don’t know about you, but I’m too tired to do anything drastic. What if we just face away from each other and change in opposite corners? I swear I will not look.”
Yor questioned Loid’s suggestion for a moment, her face clearly indicating she was deep in thought, but she ultimately concluded that she trusted Loid and knew he wouldn’t do anything malicious. Loid gathered his pajamas, a clean pair of black boxers and a grey t-shirt, and faced the corner closest to the wall while Yor faced the corner closest to the door. This situation only lasted for a few minutes, but the increasing tension made it feel like it lasted an hour for the two. Loid had of course, been with hundreds of women throughout his career. Of course like this one, they had all been fake relationships , some even requiring him to put himself through sexual situations, although he had never felt anything towards them. This moment however, despite not even seeing Yor’s bare frame, the mere thought of it happening across the room made him feel a certain way he hadn’t really felt, but the reason as to why was puzzling him. Despite this pent-up feeling, he still managed to keep his promise and hadn’t looked over. On the flip side, Yor had fought her intentions for so long until she eventually gave in and snuck a peak. Thankfully, Loid wasn’t completely nude, otherwise she would have probably fainted (dramatically speaking of course), but she did catch a glimpse of his exposed back, providing her with a sense of lust that then began to transform into a form of sadness after further observation of his backside.
He has so many scars just like me… It must be rough being a psychologist nowadays, having to deal with violent patients like that. Yet despite that, all this time he’s come home late with a smile on his face, having to make our family dinner because I don’t know how to cook. How selfish of me.
After succumbing to her own thoughts, Yor had snapped out of it after realizing that Loid was putting his shirt on.
I got to put my clothes on quick so that Loid doesn’t wonder why I’m taking so long!
Yor rapidly pulled her navy-blue nightgown over her, relieved that she wasn’t wearing a two piece that would take her even longer to put on.
“Are you done, Yor?” Loid asked patiently, waiting until his wife responded so he could turn around.
“I- I’m done!”
The two turned around, but despite wearing a nightgown that covered most of her skin, the clothing accentuated Yor’s figure really well, giving weight to her breasts and highlighting her curves. The mere sight of it made Loid slightly blush, which he thought was strange considering that he’s seen a naked women’s body before, so why did he suddenly feel flustered towards a clothed one? Was it because it was Yor? No, can’t be, she’s just a fake wife.
Get a grip Twilight! You’ve been with hundreds of women!
The same fact couldn’t be said for Yor, which made her share a similar feeling to Loid, as she hadn’t really been in such proximity like that with a man before. She knew Loid had a muscular physique ever since she had touched his chest when she was about to kiss him the first time that Yuri had come over, but to see it in such a tense environment made her heart race.
Loid stepped up and decided to be the one to end the obvious tension, moving his way over to the bed and pulling down the covers, asking Yor which side she preferred to sleep on. Loid’s question got lost in Yor’s mind as she continued to watch him, both in awe of seeing him like this and anxious over the fact that she was seeing him like this.
“Uh, Yor?”
“Oh sorry, um I don’t really have a preference so choose whichever side you would like!” Yor shrugged, slightly embarrassed she didn’t answer him the first time he asked.
“Ok well in that case I’ll sleep close to the wall since I’m already on this side anyways.”
“Well good night Loid. Sorry my brother put us in this situation.”
Yor made her way to the light, turning it off and joining Loid in bed. She made sure to face as far away from him as she could with her back facing Loid, she was practically falling off the bed but that didn’t matter to her, as she felt as though she was already intruding on his privacy enough.
“No worries, good night Yor. Merry Christmas Eve.”
Loid pulled the covers and burrowed his head into his silk pillow.
Merry Christmas Eve.
Yor couldn’t stop thinking about the last sentence Loid had told Yor, as it made her think about the fact that she didn’t know much about Loid’s childhood, more specifically, what his Christmas was like when he was younger. Eventually, she couldn’t sleep over the growing curiosity, so she was compelled to ask.
“Loid, are you still awake?”
Loid groaned in response. Yor couldn’t see his face but the noises he made in response indicated that he was in fact sleeping, but she had rudely woken him up thanks to her greedy desires.
“Oh no! I’m so sorry! Please go back to sleep, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Yor put her hand over her mouth, she couldn’t believe she had woken Loid up as if she wasn’t already putting him through enough.
“It’s alright Yor, it takes a while for me to fall asleep anyway. Is something wrong?” Loid replied with a husky voice.
Yor turned around and inched closer to Loid, her front now facing his back to properly project her voice if they were to potentially have a conversation.
“I guess it just hasn’t hit me that it was the holidays until now.” Yor slightly giggled. “It kind of got me thinking that I really don’t know much about you, or your childhood for that matter. What was Christmas like for you?”
Loid paused, Yor couldn’t detect any sort of movement of him, aside from his breath hitching from the sudden question. Yor covered her face with her hands as she realized the nature of her question, Loid barely knew about her so what gives her the right to ask her a question about him?
“Oh my gosh. Who asks that sort of question? I’m sorry, that was so inappropriate Loid! Especially since we agreed this relationship would only be for our convenience and nothing more. I’m horrib-“
Loid promptly turned around to face Yor, grabbing her wrists and gently pulling them away from her guilt-filled face.
“It’s okay Yor, Its okay.”
Loid inched closer to Yor, brushing her silk hair away from her face to relax her. There was a brief silent moment between the two, as Loid’s reassuring gaze gave Yor the confidence to believe she was just in her curiosity. Loid turned to face the ceiling to avoid eye contact, it was kind of hard to share anything personal about him, let alone his childhood.
“When I was younger, I actually hated Christmas. My family couldn’t really afford any gifts so when I saw these rich kids receiving them, it only reminded me of my own troubles. Why couldn’t I have been born in a family like that? I hated the actual idea of the holiday as well. Why preach about a holiday so focused on miracles and a joyful time when there was nothing of the sort happening around me? Children were dying, buildings were getting destroyed daily, families were getting separated every day, but apparently it was okay because eventually some miracle was going to save me.”
Loid paused as he realized he had to be the gentle husband that is Loid and not some guy that’s depressed over a holiday that’s supposed to bring nothing but joy…Loid wouldn’t do that. When looking back at Yor he expected to see a face of pure disgust from the mere sight of seeing her fake husband rant in a gloomy tone, but instead he received an empathetic expression plastered onto her angelic face. Loid let in a deep breath, once again turning his face away from Yor. It was evident he wanted to stray the topic of discussion away from him.
“Um anyway, we should get some sleep.”
But Yor wasn’t letting him get off the hook that easily. She grabbed his hand, causing him to whip his head to look back at her from the sudden gesture, she looked furious.
“Nobody should have to go through that Loid!! The fact that you still go on in life, attempting to provide Anya with the childhood you never had, is one of the things I’ve always liked about you. You’re a really inspiring person, so give yourself some credit for it.” Yor placed her free hand on top of the one already holding Loids hand, trapping his hand in her grasp.
Loid blushed at the rare hand contact, but eventually came to his senses and realized this wasn’t a time to be blushing. Yor was being serious and wanted him to know that.
“Thank you, Yor. While we’re on the topic, what was Christmas like to you when you were younger? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Yor released Loid’s hand from her grasp and instead positioned one of her hands on top of her chin to pursue a pensive expression.
“Hmm. Well, much similar to you, I wasn’t really a fan of Christmas either. Don’t get me wrong, when my parents were around, I loved it. We didn’t have much, but we managed by just enjoying the time we spent together. We would laugh and play family games until we physically couldn’t. When they died, it was hard to accept but I knew I had to be strong for my brother. I never wanted to let the spirit of Christmas die for Yuri, so every year I would save all the money I had to buy the best Christmas gift I could get for him, of course leaving some aside for food and other things we needed. It was hard to get that money, but his smile made it all worth it.”
Yor smiled at the memory, then started nervously fidgeting because she was worried about how Loid was going to react.
Loid suddenly pulled her in for a small hug. He wanted to remind Yor that she was strong, without saying it out loud. The pair later pulled back from the brief interaction, leaving both blushing from the contact.
“I guess we’re both really depressing, huh?” Loid chuckled.
“I guess we are.” Yor’s gaze softened, joining Loid in the laughter.
Eventually after many “good night” exchanges, the two fell into their slumber. It wasn’t until Anya’s loud footsteps and panting from the excited running she had been doing that the two had woken up.
“Its Christmas!It’s Christma-…Mama and Papa are flirting.”
It took a while for the couple to adjust their eyes, the glow from the snow emanating an even brighter light. Only for them to find themselves cuddling each other despite going to sleep without having even a hair on the other person’s side. So, they were pretty dumbfounded to discover Yor’s leg resting on top of Loid, both of her arms wrapping around his waist, and to have one of Loid’s arms wrapped around Yor, caressing her back, while the other arm looped around her head, as he fiddled with her hair using his hand. They both jumped back as they jolted at the sudden exchange. After a while, they both dismissed it, instead focusing their attention on the excited pink-haired girl that was standing at the head of the bed.
“Anya... its six in the morning.” Loid complained as he sat up from the awkward position he was found in, rubbing his tired blue eyes.
“But its Christmas!” Anya insisted, not giving up until her parents got out of bed.
“Okay, you win Anya. Yuri used to be the exact same way.” Yor agreed, setting the covers aside and getting out of bed.
“C’mon, let’s go wake Uncle Yuri up!” Loid watched as the two girls excitedly skipped out the door, holding each other’s hands. He wasn’t used to spending Christmas eve with anyone, let alone people he calls a family, so this was all new to him.
“Well alright then.” Loid soon got out of bed, following the two girls.
After rushing through their breakfast due to Anya’s excitement, everyone gathered at the couch for presents. Everyone exclaimed words of gratitude throughout their presents, Anya was especially happy after seeing she got a full set of Spy Wars comics and new plushies. Loid felt his breathing halt when he saw Anya reaching for a small box wrapped in sage green wrapping paper, settled under a crimson red bow. That was the gift he picked out for Yor the day before.
“It says it’s for Mama.” Anya walked over to Yor, handing over the tiny box. After lightly shaking the gift like a child, Yor ripped the bow off the box, peeling the wrapping paper. After opening the actual box, she was left speechless with no reaction other than her hand placing itself on her mouth. Loid rushed to her side, attempting to grab the gift from her hands.
“I’m sorry Yor. I can return it don’t worry.”
Yuri couldn’t see what was in the box, so he instantly became agitated at Loid for being an inconsiderate husband (at least in his point of view). Yor pulled out the gift in the box with the hand that had been previously covering her mouth.
“No! Its perfect Loid! It looks exactly like my mother’s necklace. I can’t believe you remembered me pointing it out that one time we went on a stroll through Berlint.”
Loid sighed, relieved to see Yor enjoying the present he got for her.
“I’ll admit, it was very difficult to find. Want me to put it on for you?”
Yor nodded in response, turned around, and casted aside her black hair. Loid wrapped the necklace around Yor’s neck and clasped it, the ruby gemstone on the necklace complimented her eyes beautifully. Yuri just stared at Yor with a sense of awe, he started to feel nostalgic as Yor looked like a spitting image of their late mother. After a few more discussions, Anya remembered what she was begging so hard for the night before.
“Let’s go play in the Shnow!” Before any of them had time to respond, Anya had already run into her room, rummaging through her drawers as she was looking for her winter clothes.
“We did promise her.” Yor acknowledged her request, encouraging the others to get up and get dressed as well.
The various sights of seeing his family playing in the snow such as Anya excitedly battling her uncle in a snowball fight, Yor playing ball with Bond in the snow, just made Loid realize that maybe Christmas wasn't so bad. He could get used to this.