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“The customers have all been served, Mr. Shopkeeper.” Yor reported to Garden with bodies strewn about her feet, just as she had so many times before. “And I believe I’ve found the documents you were looking for.”
“Good work as ever, Thorn Princess. The intel you collect from Mr. Edgar should prove invaluable. You’re scheduled for a half day tomorrow, so don’t forget to bring the files in the afternoon.”
“Yes sir, I’ll…” Yor reached for the file that laid nearby, but accidentally bumped it off. A few files fluttered out and slid across the floor, into the moonlight seeping through the boarded up windows of that old warehouse. Her eyes grew wide.
“Thorn Princess? Are you still with me?”
It was a bit of an odd request. Yor wanted Loid to meet her at the park they went to on their first family outing at nine o’clock at night. He was a little uneasy about trusting Anya to Sigmund and his wife so late, but Yor asked so little of him. To deny one simple request could cause discord in the Forger family. He could do anything for the mission. He could do this.
Loid looked down at the file Yor threw at his feet. At the papers that sipped out. At his picture paperclipped to what looked like a very thorough documentation of his background; or, at least, the background Twilight made up for Loid Forger.
He could not do this. Oh, god, he could not do this.
“I think you dropped this. What are these? Files for city hall?”
“Go ahead,” said Yor coldly. Her eyes were on the horizon forward. “Pick them up. Give them a read.”
“I don’t think civilians are supposed to-”
“Pick. Them. Up.”
He picked them up and carried them over to the railing Yor leaned on. He flipped through under the dim light of the moon and the street lights below. It was much what he suspected; a dossier of the potential identity of Agent Twilight. And he was the primary suspect. “A prop for Anya’s spy games?” Loid flinched when Yor looked at him. For a fraction of a second, he really thought Yor had stabbed him through the heart. But it was just her piercing gaze. Her anger. Her blood-lust. And just as quickly, those feelings gave way to disappointment. She turned her face away from Loid, her eyes obscured by her bangs.
“I found those files. They were dropped by a man named Edgar. Do you know who that is?”
“Never heard of him.”
“It says Anya was adopted.”
“Probably a mix-up. A different Anya.”
“Anya Williams. Anya Levski. Anya Roche. Anya Klein. Anya Forger. Have you and your spy friends been passing her around for your missions?”
“Yor, you’re being ridiculous.” Keep your cool, Twilight.
“Is she just a tool to you? No different from a silenced pistol or a line of garrote wire?”
“That’s enough of this.” She’s not wrong, Twilight. Why are you getting so angry over this? That girl is just a means to an end. She always ways. That’s all she’ll ever be to you.
“Where are her real parents? Did you kill them?”
“I said that’s enough!” Loid’s roar echoed across the rooftops of Berlint. He grabbed Yor by the shoulder, and she grasped his wrist in response. Turning toward him, tearful red eyes stared him down as she twisted his arm. Loid winced and gritted his teeth. After a brief moment, before she could truly break anything, Yor let Loid go and pushed him away. The latter rubbed his wrist and turned his body toward the park, while Yor set her eyes on the horizon again. They shared a shiver of guilt, clawing at their backs.
Yor perked her head up upon hearing a flicker. She turned her gaze to Loid, who was lighting up a cigarette. “Since when do you smoke?”
“I stopped when Anya was…” Loid paused and look a long, slow drag. “When I adopted Anya.” Loid lied as naturally as he breathed. He had to make a conscious effort to tell the truth. “She was orphaned. Not my doing."
Yor lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry. I went too far.”
“You did,” Loid replied, feeling less magnanimous. Was this was what the man Yor had known as “Loid Forger” was really like? Not exactly. This wasn’t her Loid. Her Loid didn’t exist. “For what it’s worth,” Agent Twilight picked up where the facade of Loid left off, “I never wanted to involve her. I never should have gone along with this insane plan.”
“How did this even happen? How the hell does The West come up with something like this?”
Another long drag. A long, long drag. “It’s a long story.”
Yor inspected Twilight’s cigarette. Her heels clacked against the pavement as she hurried over to him, making the latter flinch. She held out her hand. “Give me one.”
“...What?”
“Damn lighter…” Twilight grumbled. He sat with Yor on a bench, a fresh cigarette between her lips. But he couldn’t get his lighter to work.
“It’s okay L—Twilight,” she mumbled, the stick of tobacco bobbing between her lips.
“Hold still a minute.” Twilight tucked his cigarette between his lips. He then drew his hands to the sides of Yor’s head, where she snatched them. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said coldly. Yor let him go. He gently held Yor, keeping her head still. She averted her eyes and time or two, but soon she couldn’t resist the allure of his blue eyes.
Blue-eyed devils. That’s what Westerners were, according to all the adults around her when she was little. All of the adults, except her mother. Her mother thought the best of everyone. Not that it saved her, in the end. Still, in that moment, Loid… Twilight’s eyes looked anything but devilish.
“Breath in,” he said as he touched the tip of his lit cigarette to Yor’s virgin one. She did as she was told. Twilight puffed up the cherry until Yor’s tip caught the flame. “Good girl.” The words left his lips without a second thought. For once, he didn’t have to think about what he was saying. He had to be careful. He never knew this kind of freedom before. Not even when he was a boy. He might end up saying all kinds of crazy things. “Sorry.”
“I-it’s fine,” Yor stammered, making the cigarette fall from her lips. Before she could recover, Twilight picked up and offered it to her. He had intended for her to take it between her fingers, but Yor took it between her painted lips. He cleared his throat and turned his face away. This didn’t last long, as Yor was soon gagging on her smoke.
“You tried to breath it all in at once, didn’t you?” Twilight sighed. He turned to find that, indeed, Yor had sucked it down to the filter in one go. Only Yor. He gently patted and rubbed her back until she recovered. He patted his coat, looking for another cigarette. No luck. Just an empty pack. His own cigarette was close to the filter. Well, if nothing else, Yor couldn’t hurt herself on this one. “Here.” Once Yor sat back up, Twilight brought his cigarette to her lips. The heat coming off her cheeks was almost hotter than the cherry. But she accepted the filter between her lips. “Now breath it into your mouth. Your mouth only. Understand?”
Yor nodded, then followed Twilight’s instruction.
“Good. Now, as I take the cigarette away, take a slow, deep breath. Ready?” He withdrew the cigarette, and Yor performed perfectly. “There. Smooth, isn’t it?”
Yor exhaled. “It smells terrible.”
“Good thing I quit,” Twilight chuckled.
“WISE’s plan sounds like more of a lie than anything you’ve ever said to me.”
“I told you it was insane.” He smiled sadly. “You don’t have to stay.”
“What are you going to do with Anya.”
“I’ll fulfill the mission. Help her get those Stella, make her an imperial scholar, and get access to Donovan Desmond.”
“WISE desperately needs to change their name if that’s the sort of idiotic plan they’ve come up with.”
“We’re doing our best with limited resources.”
“Oh, you certainly sound limited.”
“Was… Was that an insult?”
“You’re the infamous Agent Twilight. Figure it out.”
“Heh. I’ve never seen you this catty before.”
“You’ve never pissed me off like this before.”
“What about that one time? That date?”
“What date? Oh! When I was—“Yor paused. “On my period!”
“Ah, understandable.”
Yor was beside herself. Why? Had she never? Thought of that before???
Twilight put out his cigarette on the arm of the bench. He got up and tossed the remains into the trash. “Take Anya with you.”
Yor snapped out of her thoughts. “What?”
“Take her to your brother’s apartment. Tell him we had an argument. That we have irreconcilable differences. We’ll get divorced, and I’ll refuse custody of Anya. She’ll be yours. I know it isn’t fair to put that responsibility on you, but you’ll be able to get financial assistance as a single mother. And no one will question your single status anymore. You’ll be free.”
“And what about you?”
“Not your concern. Go ahead and give that intel to the SSS, if you want. Loid Forger will disappear, and I’ll figure out another way to access Desmond.”
“Why are you even doing all this?” Yor rose to her feet. She approached Twilight, who turned away from her. “Why do you have to get close to Melinda’s husband?”
“He may be planning to reignite the war. I have to do everything to stop that. You should be able to understand that better than anyone. The war took so much from you, just like it took everything I ever cared about. I swear to you, everything that I do is for world peace.”
“Everything? Is tucking Anya into bed for world peace? Is making dinner for world peace? Is taking me on dates for world peace?!”
“Yes! This is a mission. Nothing more.”
Ignore her tears, Twilight.
“What about… What about everything you said?”
Break her heart.
“About my strength?”
Make a clean break, and start over with a new identity.
“About admiring people who give everything for a love one? For something bigger than themselves?”
This is best. You cannot be attached to this woman, or that child.
“I thought I had finally met someone who understood me. Someone who understood how hard it is to give up so much to protect the people you love.”
They are tools for the mission. And now one of your tools is broken. So throw away the whole set.
“Was all of that just part of your mission, Agent Twilight?!”
Stand down, Twilight.
…
“I heard the first kiss was supposed to taste like lemons.”
“Oh?”
“But you taste like an ashtray.”
“Heh. I’m sorry. For so many things.”
“Let’s just go home.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. Please let me stay.”
“I should be the one begging you to stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
“Thank you, Yor.”
“...What do I even call you anymore? What’s your real name?”
“...I lost everyone who knew that name. With you, I want to be Loid Forger.”
“For the mission?” she teased.
“For you. And Anya.”
“For Anya,” she nodded. He paused.
“And you.”
You’re in trouble, Loid Forger.
“I love you, Yor Forger.”
So. Much. Trouble.