Work Text:
Although Twilight was a renowned spy - WISE’s best agent, in fact - one could not blame him for nearly spitting out his drink when his daughter Anya loudly proclaimed, “Anya wants a little brother or sister!”
As Twilight placed his cup back on the table - careful not to let his mouth morph into a grimace - his wife, Yor, squirmed in her seat, her face turning nearly as red as the sweater she was wearing. Anya looked at her parents expectantly, her hands splayed on the wooden table as she stood up in her seat.
“Anya,” Twilight chided, “please sit down. You’re going to fall and get hurt.”
Anya harrumphed, but sat back down in her chair and crossed her arms as she looked back and forth at Twilight and Yor.
“Now that you’re sitting politely,” Twilight continued, choosing his words with care, “why, er, the sudden announcement?”
“Because I want to be a big sister!” Anya exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air.
Like any good spy, Twilight schooled his face into a look of indifference, glancing at Yor out of the corner of his eye. She was no longer squirming, but her shoulders were tense, practically up to her shoulders. With a sigh, Twilight faced Anya again.
“I understand that, but what brought you to this… decision?”
“Well! I heard a girl in my class saying that her mama was having a baby,” Anya explained, bouncing in her seat again. “And her friend told her that being a big sister is awesome! So Anya wants to be awesome too!”
Twilight sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “I see… so you heard two classmates talking about babies and thought you would like one too?”
Anya nodded, her eyes positively shining. “Yes!”
“I’m sorry, Anya, but that’s not how it works,” he explained as patiently as he could.
“Why?”
“Well, a baby is…. A baby is a big decision,” continued Twilight, tapping his fingers on the table.
“Why?”
“The parents have to decide if they want a baby.”
“Why can’t you just go pick one up?” Anya asked, her eyes widening. No doubt she was thinking about Twilight showing up at her orphanage out of the blue.
“Anya,” Yor cut in finally, her voice sweet, gentle even. “I understand your feelings, really I do. I love my baby brother more than anything, but it’s a big responsibility.”
“Exactly,” Twilight agreed. “Plus, it’s not as easy as just picking a baby out or - or anything like that.”
Anya thought about that a moment, cocking her head to the side. Scrunching her nose, she finally asked, “How do mamas have babies anyways?”
Twilight felt more than saw Yor flinch, and he himself tried very, very hard not to let out a deep sigh. “Anya,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “Yor and I are very happy with you as our daughter, okay? Now, please finish your dinner so you can go take a bath.”
Fortunately, after a moment of careful consideration of her parents, Anya acquiesced and went back to stabbing her hamburg steak with her fork. Twilight and Yor sighed in unison, catching each other’s glances out of the corners of their eyes.
After that, dinner was a simple affair, even if it was a bit more subdued than usual.
Once dinner was finished and Anya was bathed and in bed, Twilight and Yor collapsed on the couch in the living room.
“Well,” Yor said timidly, looking over Twilight, “that was… quite the dinner.”
“Indeed,” Twilight agreed, nodding tiredly. His bones felt heavy, weary. He was so, so tired.
Yor was quiet for a moment, her lower lip jutted out in thought. Twilight could tell she was thinking, even if wasn’t exactly sure what she was thinking about.
“Loid…” she began slowly, physically turning her body so that she could face Twilight. “Why - I mean - how come you and your previous wife didn’t have a second child?”
“Ah,” Twilight replied, clearing his throat. He should have expected this; luckily, Twilight was someone who always planned ahead. “Unfortunately, she passed before we could consider it.”
“Oh! Loid, I’m so sorry!” Yor apologized quickly, her cheeks flushing pink. “I didn’t - I thought - I’m sorry! I didn’t mean -”
“Yor, Yor, it’s okay!” he assured her, taking both of her hands in his. “I understand the curiosity.”
Yor nodded slowly, releasing a deep exhale as her shoulders drooped. “Still, Loid, that was insensitive of me.”
“It wasn’t, I promise,” Twilight repeated, squeezing her hands in a comforting manner.
Again, Yor nodded before pulling her hands out of Twilight’s grasp and placing them on her lap. Twilight watched her twiddle her thumbs a bit, clearly still deep in thought.
“Yor…” he began carefully, shifting closer to her. “Is there… is there anything else you want to discuss?”
“Hm?” Yor asked, eyes snapping up to meet his. “I - well - I was just thinking about the girls at work. Something they said.”
“Oh?” he asked, though Twilight knew where this was going. Again, he should have expected this and yet…
“They wanted to know when we were going to try for a second,” Yor finally stated quietly, dropping her head down so that her hair covered her face.
“Ah…” Twilight cleared his throat. “Right.”
“I told them we were happy with Anya!” she stated, her voice pitched high; she was embarrassed, of course, why wouldn’t she be?
“You know, Yor, it’s been a long day,” Twilight stated, standing up quickly and taking a step away from the couch. “I’m a bit tired; don’t you think it’s time for bed?”
Yor looked up at him, her eyes wide and cheeks still flushed red. Her teeth worried her bottom lip as she studied Twilight, making him feel like she was invading his every atom. He cleared his throat as she stood up carefully, eyes still on her husband.
“You’re right, Loid,” she finally agreed, stepping away from him. “I - I don’t know what came over me. I just thought - Well, I thought you’d find the humor in this situation.” She let out an embarrassed giggle, covering her face with her hands. “Oh, Loid, I’m sorry.”
“Again, not to worry,” he assured her, shifting back and forth on his feet. “I think we both need rest, that’s all. And hopefully, by tomorrow, Anya will have forgotten about this whole notion.”
“Yes, yes, you’re right,” Yor stated more firmly, peeking at Loid from between her fingers. “I’ll just, um, head to my room. Good night!”
And with that, Yor fluttered out of the room, her words lingering in the air behind her. Twilight sighed again, rolling his shoulders and neck to ease the tension that crept up on him during their conversation.
He made his way down the hall slowly, tiptoeing past Anya’s and Yor’s rooms, cocking his head to see if any noise was to be heard. When he was satisfied with the silence - was he though? - he opened his bedroom door and slipped inside, closing the door firmly behind him.
As he puttered around his room, stripping out of his pants and shirt so he could change into a more comfortable pair of sweatpants, he thought about Anya and Yor.
Another child? Really? Anya he shouldn’t be so surprised about, but Yor?
Well, she didn’t explicitly say she wanted another child, just that her coworkers were prodding her for the details of her and Loid’s sex life - or lack thereof. Gossiping ladies, all of them.
Like he told Yor, by tomorrow morning, Anya would have forgotten the whole idea. And Yor probably would as well.
But as he finally crawled into bed, arranging his tired limbs into a more comfortable position, he couldn’t help but think, But will I forget?