Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I don’t want to work with Lieutenant Briar anymore, Captain."

The older man nodded. “That is understandable. After the incident…” he trailed off, watching as Chloe lowered her head at the mention of it.

“Yes… It is very unfortunate, but if I cannot trust my partner in a life-or-death situation like that, then the mission is more likely to fail from the very start.”

Her Captain softened his gaze for the briefest of seconds, placing his elbows on his desk and lacing his fingers under his chin. “Missions are our priority, yes, and sometimes we lose officers here and there. It comes with the job, as we all know. Negligence like that incident, however, should never happen. I am determined to scold him to no end, and even though I should report this to the Director, I trust that this experience will teach Yuri a valuable lesson without the need for severe punishment. I ask that you keep quiet about it too, Chloe. Let me handle it.”

Chloe nodded. If the Director got word of it, Yuri could very well be fired, and despite everything, she didn’t want that. She opened her mouth to add more to the conversation—probably to assure her Captain that she would perform her job to perfection from then on, no matter what had happened the day before.

However, the man cut her off before she could even start talking.

“In this specific case, Chloe, I know for a fact that you are not requesting this solely for the sake of future missions.”

The young woman, who had been standing as stiffly as possible, hands behind her back in the usual manner expected when speaking to a superior in the SSS, flinched slightly at his words.

“You feel personally hurt by his actions, and I acknowledge that.”

Chloe regained her posture but couldn’t bring herself to meet the sharp blue eyes inspecting her. Admitting that she saw Yuri as someone closer to her than any of her other colleagues would be admitting to a weakness—one that could jeopardize her actions and thoughts on the job.

“Please, relax. I’ve been on enough missions with you two to observe and accept that you are… friends? You’ve known each other since college, after all. And even though you sometimes bicker like preschoolers, you have carried out missions together almost to perfection every single time. Your friendship is not an obstacle.”

Chloe had, for some time now, actually wanted to reach that level of friendship with Yuri, but, whether deliberately or not, he had shut down every attempt she made to grow closer outside of work. He had rejected her offers for coffee, turned down invitations to watch the latest action movie at the cinema, and even when they had crossed paths on their days off, he barely acknowledged her with a nod—never stopping to say hello.

“I— ahem, I wouldn’t go as far as to call us friends, sir. As you already know, he is not an easy person to deal with by any means. He has openly demonstrated positive sentiments only towards his sister…”

Her voice faded into a murmur at the mention of Yor Forger. That woman wasn’t to blame for the incident, of course. It was solely on Yuri. But Chloe couldn’t help but silently curse the influence she unknowingly had over him. After all, it had nearly cost Chloe her life.

“Whatever your relationship is, I know it’s important to you. So, I am allowing you to take a few days off to gather your thoughts and return with renewed energy. There are no missions that require your presence at the moment anyway.”

“S-Sir—!” Chloe protested, but her Captain gave her one of his extremely rare, tiny smiles, and she found she couldn’t refuse his kindness. She could never see him as anything other than her superior, but she silently thanked her luck—once again—for allowing her to work under someone not as rigid as the other SSS superiors.

“Very well, sir. I appreciate it.” She saluted, returning the smile.

“There are three reasons why I will not be reporting the incident to the Director, even though you damn well know that was the first thing I should have done as soon as we got back to HQ yesterday.”

Yuri stood as rigid as a wooden plank, his head lowered as his Captain paced the room, his tone barely containing his anger.

“Reason number one: despite everything, the mission was accomplished. If that hadn’t been the case, I would have had no choice but to report our failure.”

He spoke slowly but firmly, emphasizing the severity of the situation as he circled the younger man.

“Reason number two: getting you fired would be a waste of talent, and God knows we need as many qualified personnel as possible. One mistake—as terrible as it was—will not erase your past deeds.”

Yuri didn’t react to the veiled praise. Now was the time to shut up, listen, and accept that he had fucked up.

“Reason number three: I know Chloe wouldn’t want you to lose your job, and she would inevitably feel guilty if we kicked you out. I cannot allow a valuable agent like her to lose her edge because of your actions. That would be unfair—to both her and the SSS as a whole.”

Yuri lowered his head even further, ruby eyes shamefully fixed on his polished boots.

“I will accept any punishment you see fit, sir,” he murmured.

The older man sighed, leaning against the wall. “The love you have for your sister is the main source of your physical and mental strength, and the reason why you have performed so well at this job.” He paused, watching as Yuri remained unmoving. “Yesterday, that same love became the cause of a screw-up that cannot be repeated under any circumstances.”

“I…” Yuri started, struggling to link his love for Yor to the fact that it had put Chloe in danger. “I understand.”

“Good. As punishment, you are banned from field missions for the time being, unless absolutely necessary. Stay at HQ, handle both your paperwork and Chloe’s, assist with interrogations when called upon, and…”

“…And?” Yuri raised his eyes to his superior.

“Clean the men’s showers and locker room. It’s been a while since anyone has been free enough to handle cleaning duty. You’ll have plenty of time to reflect on your behavior while scrubbing away the filth left by your colleagues.”

Yuri knew better than to complain. In fact, he should be kissing his Captain’s boots in gratitude. The alternative was termination, and that was unthinkable.

“Understood, sir. Thank you.” He saluted.

His superior nodded and moved toward the door but was stopped by Yuri’s anxious voice.

“S-Sir… How is Chloe? I haven’t seen her since yesterday and didn’t even get the chance to apologize to her with all the commotion.”

“She’s taking a few days off, so don’t disturb her. When she returns, it’s up to her whether she wants to talk to you or not.”

Yuri frowned, cursing at himself. He deserved every ounce of her anger, of course. But he was furious with himself, too, because he had tainted his love for Yor by putting one of his most trusted colleagues in mortal danger because of it.

“Yuri,” his Captain called as he opened the door. “You won’t be working with her anymore—not for missions, not for interrogations, not even for paperwork. At least for now.”

Yuri was stunned. It wasn’t as if he and Chloe worked together all the time, since squad members were assigned different partners based on mission requirements, but he appreciated her character and bluntness. He found her presence oddly comforting—perhaps because he had known her for years. He liked working with her, even if admitting that was difficult for someone like him, who had been rejecting human connections outside of his sister since childhood.

“Did she request that?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“You can’t blame her for that, son.”

No, he couldn’t. She had every right to distrust him now.

Chapter Text

"Alright, I think I see them," Chloe murmured from behind her cup of tea, discreetly observing three men approaching the café where she was sitting with Yuri, both clad in inconspicuous civilian clothing.

"Don't intervene until the deal is done," came their Captain’s voice through the tiny earpiece they each wore. "Remember, you two are going for the dealers, and Team 2 will handle the buyers and the documents as soon as they walk away from the scene. Those traitors will probably leave in different directions after the deal. Focus solely on your three objectives."

"Roger that," Yuri answered, sipping his coffee.

The mission was simple—one that anyone at the SSS had done at least a dozen times: someone was carrying suspicious documents to a suspicious place to illegally trade them for money, and they needed to find out what those documents contained and who was behind the operation. Of course, arresting the criminals was a given.

"I think at least two of them are carrying guns," Chloe observed expertly. The shape of the weapons concealed beneath the men’s clothing was clear to her trained eyes as an SSS officer—something no normal civilian would have noticed.

"That complicates things a bit," their Captain sighed. "We don’t know for sure what information they have, but if they’re willing to throw a few bullets for it, then it must be very valuable. Incapacitate them before they even reach for their weapons, but don’t kill them. We need them alive for interrogation."

"We’re aware, Captain," Yuri murmured, watching the men stop briefly in front of the café.

"A reminder about our objective is always welcome," Chloe added, making Yuri roll his eyes.

"I can see from here that they’re looking toward the alleyway between the café and the shop next door. I need confirmation so I can tell Team 2 to stand by on the other side," their superior cut in before Yuri could reply.

"Affirmative," Chloe said, finishing her tea. "I guess that’s where the deal will take place. Until the buyers arrive, they’re killing time by leafing through the café’s menu at the door."

"Those pathetic bastards," Yuri growled, drinking the remainder of his coffee.

Both SSS officers waited at their table, making light conversation to maintain their cover in case the dealers decided to glance inside through the large windows. Chloe occasionally let out a giggle or two, even if what Yuri was saying wasn’t funny at all, and they made sure to be seen sharing a piece of cake placed between them on a small plate. Looking like a pair of friends, colleagues, or even a young couple wasn’t new to them, but they kept their interactions subtle to avoid drawing excessive attention.

"Team 2 has just confirmed that a few suspicious-looking guys are walking toward the café. Prepare yourselves," the Captain's voice took on an even more serious tone.

"Alright, let’s do this," Yuri nodded, taking out his wallet to pay.

As they slowly gathered their things, they spotted two men—clearly posing as tourists—stopping at the café door. As soon as they arrived, the three dealers casually left, turning the corner toward the alleyway. Moments later, the two newcomers acted as if the menu didn’t interest them after all and followed suit.

"Go, go!" the Captain murmured urgently into their ears.

Yuri slapped a bunch of Dalc onto the counter and walked to the door, Chloe close behind.

By the time they stepped outside, the traitors to Ostania had already entered the alleyway, deep enough to be out of sight from the street.

"Alright, we run inside as fast as we can, go for their limbs so they can’t draw their weapons, and knock them unconscious," Yuri whispered. “Ready?”

Chloe nodded. She raised her hand and counted down with her fingers. When her hand closed into a fist, they both took off at full speed.

However, when barely a few seconds had passed, Chloe suddenly realized she was running alone—Yuri was no longer behind her.

Her heart leaped to her throat. What the hell was he doing? Did he change the plan? Was he going to appear from another angle? Jump down from the café roof?

She cursed under her breath. It was too late to hesitate now. The dealers had already spotted her as they turned around with the money from the deal, the buyers nowhere in sight.

Frowning, Chloe ran even faster. She had been given instructions, and she would complete her part of the mission—with or without Yuri.

Then, suddenly, the loud voice of her partner reached her from behind.

"Yor, no! Are you alright?! Have you hurt yourself?!"

He had just started running after Chloe when he felt it. The unmistakable presence of his dear sister—clear as day—just across the street. But… There was something wrong.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

And then he heard it. The sound of her footsteps—unsteady. Limping. Was she… hurt?

He whipped around at lightning speed, just in time to see Yor, her hands full of grocery bags, struggling to walk. One of her heels had broken and was barely hanging on, and as luck would have it, then it suddenly got caught between two cobblestones.

As if in slow-motion, she managed to recover her bags, which had flown from her arms when she tripped, but at the last second, she lost her balance again. Foot still trapped in her broken shoe, she tumbled backward—landing on her butt beneath a pile of groceries.

"Yor, no! Are you alright?! Have you hurt yourself?!" Yuri screamed, turning off his brain and instinctively bolting toward her, forgetting everything else around him. I will have whoever designed those cobblestones and her shoes executed!

Strangers immediately surrounded Yor, helping her up, completely unaware of her frantic brother dodging traffic to reach her.

"What in the fucking hell are you doing, Briar?!" the Captain's furious voice roared in Yuri’s ear. "Why is Chloe facing those armed men alone?! Where the hell are you?!"

Yuri snapped back to reality, light returning back to the corners of his gaze and illuminating his receding tunnelling vision. He was in the middle of the road, and he nearly got hit by a truck that barely managed to swerve around him.

Fuck! What the hell am I doing?!

He spun back around and sprinted toward the alleyway, fueled by panic. Thankfully, the crowd around Yor was too focused on her mid-air grocery-saving skills to pay him any attention. A wave of relief hit him as he heard her assure the onlookers that she was fine. That gave him the strength to run even faster—

—Only to come to a dead stop at the horrifying sight before him.

Chloe had managed to knock out one of the dealers, who lay face-down on the ground, his arm clearly broken. The other two, both scratched up—one with a bleeding, broken nose—had her pinned against the wall, face-first.

They were pressing their guns against her back and nape.

"What a cutie you are," one of them sneered, his breath hot against her ear. "A shame a woman like you works for the SSS trash. Or… are you a spy?" He chuckled darkly. "I’d love to have some alone time with you, but unfortunately, we have to kill y—"

He never finished his sentence.

A brutal strike to the back of his head sent him crumpling to the ground.

The second man had no time to react—Yuri grabbed a fistful of his hair, yanked him away from Chloe, and slammed his face into the wall. Hard. He collapsed instantly.

Chloe slid to her knees, her legs momentarily failing her. Yuri reached out to help, but she harshly slapped his hand away. When she looked up at him, her eyes were filled with so much hurt and betrayal that it left him reeling.

"What the hell happened?!" came the Captain’s panting voice. He had abandoned his vantage point of observation, storming toward them in fury. He was on Yuri in an instant, grabbing him harshly by the lapels of his jacket.

"What are you playing at, Briar?" he whispered furiously.

"I—I was—" Yuri stammered, unable to find the words.

"Sir…" Chloe, who had forced herself to stand, coughed to steady her voice. "We should secure these three and leave. We’re bound to be discovered any moment now. Team 2 has the buyers and documents, correct?"

"I assume so—I lost contact rushing here," their Captain said, finally letting go of Yuri. "Are you hurt?"

Chloe shook her head, already gathering all possible evidence and the money from the deal scattered on the ground.

Yuri and the Captain joined her, and in less than a minute, they were carrying the criminals as they walked back to their van through the maze of narrow alleys to avoid the public eye.

After finally contacting Team 2 and confirming that they had succeeded in their part of the mission and were also on their way to HQ—in spite of the Captain’s fury, after having to fabricate a fake story about why he had lost contact with them during the most crucial part of the operation—the three of them finally entered their cramped vehicle and drove away.

Yuri sat at the back of the van alongside the unconscious criminals, silently accepting the severe scolding he was getting from his Captain. He was only allowed to speak to clarify why he had abandoned his duties in the middle of the mission, and as much as he tried to explain that he had coincidentally seen Yor and believed she was in severe danger, his own story ended up sounding pathetic even to himself. He couldn’t explain with words that he had literally felt as if his brain had shut off and had acted on pure, desperate instinct. They wouldn’t believe him, rightfully.

After all, if one were to compare both situations, his partner had ended up with two loaded guns pressed against her body due to his negligence.

As he spoke, he observed Chloe sitting in front of him in the passenger seat, and even though she didn’t say a word during the entire ride back to HQ, Yuri could see her shaking her head in disbelief as she listened to his side of things.

“The fact that you managed to arrive on time and successfully end the mission is not an excuse for your behavior. Things could have taken a turn for the worse in an instant, and we all know that,” their superior sighed and paused, letting that last statement sink in. “I want both your reports on my desk by the end of the day.”

Neither of them had time to say anything else as they finally arrived at the SSS building, but they all knew this was a turning point for their team dynamic—at least for the immediate future.

Chapter Text

Chloe had a secret guilty pleasure that only a few of her friends outside of work knew about: she loved watching Berlint in Love. All the over-the-top romantic drama served as a way to take her mind off the seriousness her job brought into her life.

It was the first night of her two-day permit when she plopped down on her sofa with her dinner and turned on her small TV. The opening song of the show was already finishing, and Chloe waited in eager anticipation for the first scene after the cruel cliffhanger the showrunners had pulled last week. Vincent and Sonia had finally decided to confront his family about his arranged marriage to a Westalis woman and were almost ready to confess that they actually loved each other. But then the episode had ended, and Chloe remembered groaning in frustration as the screen faded to black and the credits started rolling.

The song finally ended, transitioning to the scene of the two lovers standing together inside Vincent’s family home.

“Before you say anything else, son, think about your sister’s feelings,” Vincent’s father spoke. “She chose her best friend as the perfect candidate for you, and we approved of her. And now you are rejecting our kindness after you agreed to the marriage!”

“How can you be this cruel, Vincent?” his sister cried. “I thought you loved Susan! I will never speak to you again if you don’t marry her!”

“And who is this woman that you have brought into our house?” Vincent’s mother asked with disgust.

Chloe munched on her dinner, trepidation building in her chest.

“My dear sister, please, don’t speak like that!” Vincent pleaded. “I don’t want to choose between my family and my true love!”

“Y-Your true love?!” his father screamed, his gaze snapping to Sonia.

“That’s enough, Vincent! You have betrayed me after everything I did for you!” His sister had dramatic tears rolling down her cheeks, a close-up of her face adding to the severity the scene tried to convey.

She ran away, and Vincent reached out to stop her.

“Amanda, wait! I will never do anything that hurts your feelings! I will marry Susan if that makes you happy!”

Sonia’s eyes widened, mirroring Chloe’s as she watched the scene unfold.

The incident from two days ago came crashing down on her thoughts, but she shook her head and tried to refocus on the show—with poor results. She distractedly pushed around her dinner with her fork, separating the peas from the carrots on her plate, thinking that having to choose between family and anything else was a terrible experience, both in reality and in fiction.

But she also pitied Sonia, who had just been stabbed in the back by the one person she trusted most in that moment.

She forced her mind away from those thoughts and looked at the TV again. The scene had changed, and now Vincent and Sonia stood together at the front gate of the house.

“Sonia, I—” Vincent started to say.

“No, I understand. Your sister has sacrificed much for you, and you don’t want to hurt her feelings. I thought she and your parents would have been more accepting, but I was wrong.” The wind picked up at that moment, making her perfect hair swish around her face as she looked up at her lover. “I will never make you choose between your family and me, Vincent, but I am also hurt by what just happened. I need to protect my feelings too. This is goodbye, my love.”

She kissed his cheek and turned around, a single tear escaping her left eye as she walked toward the sunset.

Chloe let out a shaky breath as the scene shifted to focus on a group of secondary characters. That was when she mostly stopped paying attention to the TV.

All day, she had tried to distract herself from recalling the incident—from dwelling on the fact that she had felt betrayed by Yuri, from trying to understand how he, a lieutenant of the SSS, had deemed it more important to rush to help his sister—who was not actually in danger—rather than to complete a mission that threatened the peace of their nation. Not to mention that he had left her alone to fend off three armed criminals by herself.

Because Yor Forger is the single most important thing to him, plain and simple. I can’t let myself forget that.

And honestly, she understood—she really did. She was happy that Yuri had such a strong role model in his life, that he had someone he could truly rely on, someone who made him feel safe and loved. Even if his obsession reached a level of creepiness that Chloe was happy to brush off for his sake.

She would never, ever dare to interfere between Yuri and his sister—because, for him, family came first.

But…

But I also understand how you feel, Sonia.

Yuri scrubbed the floor of one of the showers, the borrowed overalls from the storage room drenched at the knees as he crawled around, trying to get rid of all the filth that had accumulated over the past three weeks. A tiny ponytail hung loosely at the back of his head, and a few strands of his hair had started to stick to his sweaty temples.

He had been cursing himself for the past 24 hours, but now that Chloe had been away for a day, the self-hatred he felt had multiplied tenfold.

Like his Captain had said, he was indeed reflecting—thinking about why he had done what he did two days ago. But he still hadn’t reached a definite conclusion.

He was very aware of why he was so overprotective of Yor. He knew that all the sacrifices he made for her would never be enough to compensate for everything she had done for him during his childhood. He owed her his life—and every little success he had accomplished alongside it.

And he knew she was proud of him. Very proud, in fact.

Yuri frowned and scrubbed harder.

He also knew, without a doubt, that Yor would hate that he had put their nation at risk because he had prioritized running toward her instead of stopping the criminals conducting illegal deals in the shadows. She would hate even more that he had put another person in danger because of his negligence.

And Chloe was not just another person, a voice in the back of his head reminded him.

Yes, Yor would definitely be sad and disappointed if she ever found out what had happened two days ago.

He stood from the floor and stretched, his bones popping in the process. He had almost finished with the showers—tomorrow, he would take care of the locker room. He didn’t mind doing this, and even less if it redeemed him, even just a tiny bit, for his stupid actions.

He dabbed at his forehead with the collar of his t-shirt, then rinsed the cleaning cloth in his hand before walking to the next shower.

Ever since he became an adult, the once calm and reflective Yuri had become impulsive, always on edge for Yor’s sake. He had accepted that reality long ago—because it was necessary to protect her from the world.

But he realized that those traits were incompatible with situations that had already taken place in his life—like the incident. And with situations that would undoubtedly continue to happen in the future.

Many things related to Yor escaped his control, and as much as it pained him, he had to learn to live with that.

He would have to make decisions and choose—and the answer would not always be his sister… right?

Right. Because what happened two days ago was proof of that.

Yor could not always come first, especially not when the situation required his full attention elsewhere.

But is that it? Is that why I did it?

Have I reached a point where I mess up at my job because I’m worried about every single little thing that concerns Yor?

No. There had to be something more.

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Chapter Text

Chloe, indeed, returned to work with renewed energy after two days of rest, during which she indulged in some of her favorite activities and caught up with family and old friends. She was ready to face whatever was thrown her way—except, perhaps, coming face-to-face with Yuri. She didn’t feel mentally prepared to hear him cry and whine about how his sister needed him the most that day.

“Captain, did you call me?” she asked, poking her head inside his office.

Her superior gestured for her to close the door and approach his desk.

“It’s good to see you again, Chloe. I hope you’re feeling better.” At her nod and smile, he continued. “Well, let me tell you what we've found out about the three dealers we brought in the other day, as well as the two buyers.” He paused, leafing through a stack of documents scattered across his desk. “It seems there’s some sort of plot involving the delivery of illegal weapons to Westalis. We don’t know who the ultimate recipients are, but one of the buyers has at least confirmed that the West’s government is not involved. To sum up, we still haven’t determined who any of them are working for. The only other thing we know for sure is that the weapons don’t come from Blackbell Heavy Industries, so it’s possible we’re dealing with underworld organizations.”

“I see,” Chloe mused. “But… that’s it? No names, locations, goals, or related plots?”

The Captain sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “The documents we got from the buyers only contained details about the cargo they’re sending to the West—nothing more. And the signatures are just random scribbles that don’t match anything in our database. As for the criminals we caught… four out of five have talked, but to be honest, they haven’t told us much.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “After almost three days? What happened?”

“As much as it pains me to admit this, nobody does interrogations like Briar—not even myself. His methods are the most effective when dealing with stubborn suspects.”

“So…” Chloe trailed off, waiting for him to continue.

“So, it seems I must revoke part of his punishment and allow him to interrogate the last one. I really wanted us to handle this ourselves, but we honestly can’t afford to delay any further.”

Chloe widened her eyes, slightly shocked that Yuri’s punishment had included being banned from interrogations. She had already heard some of her colleagues remarking that the men's showers and locker room had never been so pristine—apparently, all thanks to Lieutenant Briar, who had been spotted sweating profusely as he scrubbed every nook and cranny of both spaces.

“I’d like to watch the interrogation, sir,” Chloe requested. “From outside the room, of course,” she added quickly, not ready to face Yuri just yet. “If I’m going to be working on this case, I should hear the information firsthand.”

“Yes, I’ll allow it. Let’s go.”

Yuri had just finished the last of Chloe’s paperwork when he was summoned to the interrogation rooms in the basement of the building. He was surprised—mostly wondering if his punishment had been lifted—but he gladly complied nonetheless.

Upon entering one of the rooms, he was met with the sight of a handcuffed man, clearly roughed up, with one of his cheeks swollen—most likely the work of the previous interrogator. He was debating whether to adopt the "nice policeman" façade when he suddenly recognized the man.

It was him.

The one who had made those disgusting remarks to Chloe.

The one who had pressed his gun to the back of her neck.

Unbeknownst to Yuri, Chloe and the Captain had just positioned themselves behind the darkened window to observe the interrogation. And just like her younger lieutenant, Chloe had also recognized that pathetic excuse for a man.

“Are you all right?” her superior asked, noticing her flinch out of the corner of his eye.

“Yes… It’s just that…” She shook her head. “I don’t fear death while on the job, but I honestly feared for my integrity when that pig—”

“Say no more. After Yuri wrings all the information out of him, we’ll have him executed,” the older man growled resolutely.

“I appreciate your concern, sir.”

 “Well, well, what do we have here? A stinking piece of shit,” Yuri spat as he sat down across from the man, who eyed him with amusement.

“They sent another one to talk to me? What, are you all a bunch of incompetent rats who don’t know how to do your job?” he sneered.

“I see. So you don’t remember me?” Yuri leaned forward. “Not surprising, considering you were too busy breathing down my colleague’s neck like a lecherous degenerate just before I nearly cracked your skull.”

“So it was you who knocked me out, bastard?” the man growled.

“I should have killed you on the spot, but unfortunately, you have important information we need. So, talk. Who sent you, and who’s waiting for the weapons in Westalis?”

“Hah! As if I’d tell you anything, brat. Bring that sexy colleague of yours here, and maybe I’ll tell her a thing or two,” he smirked wickedly, licking his lips.

From outside the room, Chloe would never admit it out loud, but her heart skipped a beat when Yuri immediately stood from his chair and punched the man square in the jaw.

“She has better things to do than deal with scum like you,” Yuri murmured threateningly, grabbing the man by the shirt and forcing him to his feet. “Mention her one more time, and I’ll rip your teeth out one by one.”

Yuri’s crazed eyes were enough to make the man whimper in fear.

"You know, kid," the man started after being pushed back down into his chair, "I'm not telling you this because I'm afraid of you, of course."

His bluff was obvious to Yuri, who was also returning to his own chair, but he let the man continue.

"Maybe you SSS bastards are incapable of finding my boss because you're looking for a big, dangerous mafia man."

"Go on." Yuri's red eyes conveyed his mood, and the man was quick to speak again.

"My boss could be a woman." His tone was enigmatic, as if he had the upper hand and could drag this conversation out for as long as he wanted. He rubbed his sore jaw against his shoulder before continuing. "You're only focusing on investigating women if they're single, afraid they might be spies, but you idiots are neglecting everyone else. And that's all I'm going to tell you."

Yuri, itching to get his hands on the man again, immediately shot his arm forward, grabbing him by the throat and digging his gloved nails into his skin.

"You’re not leaving this room until you tell me what I want to hear, you disgusting piece of garbage."

His voice dropped several octaves as his grip tightened, making the man gag and struggle for air.

After a few more seconds of resistance, Yuri finally let go.

The man coughed violently before speaking, his voice now raspy. "My boss likes to go to nightclubs… surround herself with pretty boys like you. What a shame you work for this wretched institution, brat. I know she would have liked you and your… roughness."

Even though there was a record keeper inside the interrogation room with Yuri and the criminal, the captain had also pulled out a small notepad, jotting down essential details.

"It’s very possible we’ll need to send an agent undercover if what this man is saying is indeed true," he remarked.

Chloe remained silent, but in her mind, she knew that, in physical terms, no man inside the SSS could compare to "Pretty Face" Yuri—like some of her female colleagues liked to call him behind his back.

"Go on. Speak. You still haven’t told me anything useful," Yuri urged, already tired of sharing oxygen with the damn pig, who was clearly still stalling for time.

"I've said enough for you to do me a little favor," the man smirked, still full of fight. "I don’t give a fuck if you told me not to talk about that hot co-worker of yours anymore. Bring her to me, and I—"

After leaving the interrogation room, Yuri removed his bloodied gloves, muffling the pained whines of the barely conscious man as he closed the door behind him.

Still seething with anger, he tried to compose himself as his Captain approached, followed at a distance by Chloe, who avoided looking at him.

“Well done,” the older man nodded in acknowledgment. “We got everything we need to begin the investigation. Now go clean the blood from your uniform—you know how hard it is to remove if it sets in.”

Yuri saluted as the Captain turned and walked away. Chloe’s eyes barely passed over him as she followed suit.

“C-Chloe!” Yuri called, making her stop, though she didn’t turn around. “Um… Did you watch the interrogation? I taught that bastard a lesson, and…” he trailed off, sheepishly, his weak attempt at redemption sounding ridiculous even to himself. Not waiting for her to answer, he added, quickly, “I’m sorry about the other day. I acted on impulse and put you in danger as a result. I am ashamed of my actions.”

Chloe remained silent. For a moment, Yuri thought she hadn’t heard him. Then, still without looking at him, she finally spoke, ignoring the first part of his ramblings.

“I acknowledge your apology, Lieutenant. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

She hadn’t looked at him. Not even a glance.

Her voice, usually so full of energy when she spoke to him, had been cold and distant.

Yuri frowned.

No, this wasn’t going well.

"Dominic, are you up for a few drinks?"

Yuri had returned home half an hour ago, taken a quick shower, and eaten something before deciding he needed actual advice.

Trying to figure out on his own why Chloe was still upset after his apology was a lost cause. He needed the only person he could truly call a friend—his apartment neighbor and a man who happened to be dating a complicated woman like Camilla. If Dominic couldn’t help him, no one could.

The blond man stood at his door, a wide smile stretching across his lips.

"Yuri! It’s been a while!" he greeted, patting the younger man on the arm. "Sure! Let me grab my coat and keys first."

Five minutes later, both men were on their way to a bar near their apartment building, a place they occasionally visited to drink and catch up—if their respective jobs allowed for it.

The music was loud when they entered, but not enough to disrupt a conversation. They elbowed their way through the crowd, dodging people who were dancing or playing pool and darts, until they reached a small table at the back.

"I’ll order for both of us," Dominic said, leaving his coat on the back of his chair as Yuri sat down on the opposite side. "The usual?"

"Please, and thank you."

As Dominic approached the bar to order, Yuri looked around. This place was nothing like the nightclubs frequented by underworld lords. Thanks to his interrogation earlier, he now knew that in order to protect Ostania, the SSS needed to capture a woman selling weapons to a Western organization planning to kill her ex-husband in her name.

Apparently, the man had defected to the neighboring country to be with his mistress, taking with him part of his ex-wife’s money and possessions, as well as many members of the organization loyal to him. The woman wanted him dead for it. Now, out of bitterness, Madame Kirsa—that was her name—flaunted her wealth and sought the company of young men in clubs of questionable reputation.

A nasty divorce between two powerful underworld leaders was definitely not something Yuri had expected to have on his bingo card.

"Here you go. The whiskey you love so much," Dominic said, placing both glasses on the table before sitting down. "Cheers!"

"Wait, wait, let me get this straight. So your friend left his co-worker to deal with a bunch of thieves… because his mother tripped and fell on the other side of the street?"

Yuri cringed internally. He hoped the details he had changed in the story made it believable enough and that Dominic wouldn’t suspect a thing.

"Y-yeah. He’s already apologized to his co-worker, but apparently, she didn’t even look at him and just walked away. But she told him she acknowledged the apology, so he doesn’t understand what the problem might be."

"Well, if his mother had been in mortal danger, I could see why he would help her first, but that wasn’t the case. So I’m honestly having trouble understanding his train of thought."

Yuri cringed even more. This was not going well.

"He’s at a loss and asked for my help. But honestly, I’m at a loss too, Dominic. What should he do? And why is his co-worker still angry?"

Dominic nearly choked on his drink. "You’re seriously asking why she’s angry?" He stared at Yuri, eyes wide in disbelief. "Well, for starters, you don’t ditch someone without a proper explanation. A simple ‘Hey, I’ll be back in a minute, sorry’ should be a given. But in this case, he left her alone while she was being robbed by three thieves? He’s an idiot, plain and simple.”

Yuri said nothing, and simply drank from his whiskey, his mind a tumultuous mess.

Dominic went on, nursing his own drink in his hand, "He chose instead of prioritizing, and that’s probably what his co-worker feels. I bet she doesn’t trust him now, and I don’t blame her. She probably had to accept his apology just to keep the peace at work."

Yuri’s shoulders slumped. "So… is it unsalvageable?"

"Well, your friend definitely needs to understand why he acted that way. He needs to figure out the reason that situation with his mother made him abandon all reason for the sake of impulse, you know?"

"I’ll… tell him that."

"Good. And then I suggest he goes and explains everything to his co-worker. An apology alone isn’t enough—she needs to understand why he screwed up. That way, she knows he actually cares about her but just made the wrong decision because of whatever internal struggle he’s dealing with." Dominic paused, frowning at Yuri. "Wait… he does care about her, right?" He raised an eyebrow, considering that as a possible explanation.

"Yes, he does. He doesn’t see her as just another co-worker. I think they could almost be considered friends," Yuri murmured. "I heard she also cares about him a lot."

"Then that probably makes it even worse. She’s not just some random colleague—she actually trusted him, and now she feels betrayed. Your friend really messed up, Yuri. I don’t know him, but I would love to have him in front of me right now and shake some sense into him,” Dominic concluded, finishing off his drink.

Yuri brought his glass to his lips and said nothing, pointedly avoiding the blond man’s gaze.

If only you knew, Dominic.

Chapter Text

"Alright, listen, everyone."

The Captain regarded the chosen officers from his squad who were assigned to what they had called Operation Nightclub.

"It’s time for us to gather as much intel as possible before we come into contact with Madame Kirsa herself. We’ve already gotten word that our mission to stop the deal the other day has forced her underground—for now. She knows the SSS is breathing down her neck, so she needs to find other ways to escape our radar. This, however, makes things even more dangerous for us, since she’ll likely be extra cautious the next time she resurfaces."

Everyone nodded as copies of all the intel Yuri had managed to extract from the dealer were passed from hand to hand.

"Lieutenant Briar won’t be joining us for this operation, but the interrogation he conducted should be in your hands now. Study it, and I will assign you different tasks later."

He paused, a determined frown etched between his brows.

"We will catch all the criminals—for Ostania."

Everyone saluted, sharing the sentiment.

"Yes, sir!"

Yuri left work, tiredly dragging his feet across the pavement. He was moody and frustrated for two main reasons:

One: He was not allowed to join Operation Nightclub. Or any operation, for that matter.

Two: Chloe was still acting as if he didn’t exist.

He clicked his tongue, still at a loss for how to approach her, as Dominic had suggested. He was even more at a loss for what he was supposed to tell her since he still wasn’t entirely sure of the real reason he had lost his mind that fateful day and acted the way he did. Chloe had done so much for him; it was unfair that he didn’t have an answer to give her.

In retrospect, after spending hours cleaning and thinking about everything, Yuri realized that he had never really treated Chloe as well as she deserved—even before the incident.

Without even thinking, he had subconsciously started walking toward Yor’s house. Like countless times before, he sought comfort in his sister when things weren’t going well for him.

He paused. He wanted to see her, but it was dinnertime, which meant Loi-Loi and Chihuahua girl were also going to be there.

He sighed, trying to push down the irritation crawling up his skin as he envisioned the face of the man he hated most in the world—alongside Twilight—smiling up at Yor as if he were the first and only man in her life.

Over my dead body!

Determined to reclaim his rightful place by his sister’s side, he stomped toward the building.

"I’ve come to see you, big sis!"

Like always, Yuri practically kicked open the Forgers' door, letting himself in with a big grin. No matter how much he despised Loi-Loi, he should always greet Yor with happiness and love.

"Yuri!" His sister greeted him from the couch, equally happy and surprised by his sudden appearance. She paused, fidgeting with her hands as she glanced at the wall clock. "Um… isn’t it a bit late for a visit? Not that I’m not happy to see you, of course!"

He hung his coat on the hat stand as Bond sniffed around him, then walked toward Yor, who was still sitting on the couch.

"Well, I was just passing by, and I figu—" He cut himself off at the sight of her bandaged ankle. "What happened to you, Yor?! Did that stupid Lo—" He cried out, rushing to kneel in front of her, but was interrupted by the arrival of his two worst nightmares.

"It’s Unkie," Anya announced.

"Good evening, Yuri," Loid greeted with a smile.

"Good evening, my ass!" Yuri jumped to his feet, immediately shoving an accusatory finger in Loid’s face. "What did you do to my sister?!"

"Language, Yuri!" Yor chastised, indicating with her eyes that there was a child in the room. "Loid didn’t do anything to me! I just fell on the street almost a week ago and twisted my ankle!"

Oh. Right.

Yuri lowered his hand but still glared daggers at the blond man.

"Sorry I didn’t tell you during our call two days ago," Yor continued. "It’s nothing serious, and I didn’t want to worry you. Loid has been taking care of me since I got home that day," she finished, a small blush dusting her cheeks.

And, of course, he couldn’t tell her that he had been there and watched her trip and fall. Revealing that he was part of the SSS and undercover at the time? Impossible. Lying and saying he just happened to be there but didn’t approach to check on her because he had something more important to do? Unthinkable.

What could he have possibly said was more important than her?

Loid smiled at Yor before turning to Yuri. "Your sister is a very strong woman, but you already know that." Then, he looked back at her. "I’m more than happy to take care of you, Yor. This is nothing."

"B-but Loid," Yor protested, her blush deepening, "it’s been a week already, and my ankle is barely swollen now! You’ve done more than enough—taking me to the hospital, driving me to work and picking me up, taking care of everything around the house, even checking on my foot every day…"

"And I’ll continue to do so until you’ve completely recovered. I'm your husband, after all, so it is my duty to take care of you," he said softly, taking the small towel draped over his shoulder and signaling for Anya to approach. The little girl handed him what looked like a bag of ice—one that Yuri just now realized she had been holding the entire time.

Yuri felt his legs turn to jelly at the horror unfolding before him. The conversation, the way they looked at each other, the blush on Yor’s face—it was all too much.

Failing to find his voice, he staggered toward the armchair and collapsed into it before he could faint. Anya, having retreated from her parents, stood beside him and whispered conspiratorially, making sure they didn’t overhear.

"Papa and Mama have been flirting non-stop since the day Mama came home with a tennis ball inside her ankle," she said. "Watch, Unkie." She elbowed his leg and nodded toward them.

To his added misery, he was subjected to an even greater horror.

The blond bastard knelt in front of Yor and, very carefully—as if cradling a baby bird—took her foot in his hand.

"L-Loid, th-there’s no need for you to keep doing this," she stammered, covering her flushed face with her hands. "My brother is also here, and…" She trailed off, unable to continue.

"Don’t worry, Yor," Loid said with a fond smile, gently pressing the wrapped ice pack against her ankle. "I think we can ease Yuri’s worries if he sees that I’m taking good care of you."

Yuri’s vision blurred. The world gradually sounding more and more distant, as though he were sinking into a deep lake, the surface slowly disappearing from view.

"See, Unkie? Papa even bought Mama new shoes to replace—"

That was the last thing he heard before everything faded into a sea of silence, his own heartbeat pounding deafeningly in his ears.

And then, with a shiver that ran through his entire body, it finally dawned on him.

So this is the reason.

Yuri had managed to gather enough strength to grab his things and leave, rejecting their suggestion that he stay for dinner with a wave of his hand and muttering to Yor that he would call her one of these days and to take care.

His visit to his sister, which was supposed to cheer him up, had ended up making him so miserable that he now looked more like a zombie than he had when he left work.

But at least he had gained clarity.

More or less. That was it. His mind was a whirlwind of chaotic thoughts as he mechanically walked home.

What had been the last word he’d heard from Chihuahua Girl before he almost passed out? Ah, yes—replace.

I have been completely replaced. Yor doesn’t need me anymore.

It all came down to that realization. Loid Forger had, subconsciously or not, pushed him aside and taken his place by Yor’s side. And while Yuri had fought against it with everything he had, he found it impossible to go back to how things were before.

He chuckled mirthlessly as he remembered the first night he met Yor’s husband. That night, he had already told that blond bastard why he was unhappy with their marriage—with the overall situation of another man suddenly taking his place. But now it was far worse. Unbearable.

Both his sister and that liar had assured him on several occasions—including that first night—that he was irreplaceable, that nobody knew Yor like he did, that he would always be the first.

Yet Yor hadn’t even called him to tell him she was hurt.

She had relied on Forger all these days, under the guise that she didn’t want him to worry.

But what was he supposed to do with his life if not care for Yor? Worry for her? What was the purpose, then? Apprehending criminals meant nothing if she didn’t even rely on him for simple things like taking her to the hospital or driving her home after work.

After that first visit to their home, he had come to realize that his increasing fits of anger, moodiness, and reckless behavior had a name: Loid Forger.

No. Not just the name. The action. Loid Forger stealing the thing he loved and treasured the most.

He had stolen the only thing that made Yuri wake up in the morning, that made him push himself to the limit at work, that made him sleep five hours in four days because he couldn’t allow himself to waste time not being useful to her.

And now, Loid Forger provided for Yor dotingly, robbing Yuri of all his effort.

Slowly but surely, as he kept walking home, he untangled the unreadable web of his mind and connected the dots.

He was starting to understand what to say to Chloe. He was starting to see the reason why he had acted so desperately irrational that day.

Yes, he would speak to her.

But not tonight.

Tonight, the only thing he wanted to do was get drunk at home and pass out on his bed.

Chapter Text

The faint sound of his alarm clock reached his ears, slowly bringing him back to the world of the living. By the time he had finally regained consciousness, the sound had become barely tolerable.

With his eyes still closed, Yuri clumsily reached for the offending object that just wouldn’t stop ringing. He had fallen asleep face-down, his cheek pressed against the mattress, barely concealing the puddle of drool soaking the entire side of his face as he slowly slid toward his nightstand.

He blindly turned off the alarm clock, though the horrible sound still echoed in his ears.

His head hurt like hell, and he was now starting to regret the amount of alcohol he had consumed the previous night before collapsing onto his bed—still wearing his shirt, tie, and pants.

The first coherent thought his mind managed to form was that it was Sunday, which meant it was his day off—if there were no missions that required him. Unfortunately, that was not the case. He should have been out collecting intel for Operation Nightclub with the rest of the squad, but he was still grounded.

His first true free day in a very long time, and he would most likely spend it trying to survive his hangover.

I’m pathetic.

He slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, his hair plastered to his wet cheek, and forced his eyes to focus. Traces of the events at the Forgers’ began to resurface in his mind, but instead of panicking like he had as soon as he got home yesterday, Yuri simply gazed emptily at the liquor bottles scattered around his bed.

Truly pathetic.

It was almost lunchtime by the time Yuri—through immense effort and the need to take a break every five minutes—finally completed his tasks despite his throbbing head: taking a shower, eating something that didn’t make him puke, changing his bedsheets, and getting rid of all the empty bottles.

He was on his way to make some recovery soup when his doorbell rang. The loud sound made him flinch, and he cursed under his breath at whoever was on the other side of the door.

He immediately regretted it when he saw Yor’s smiling face. Though, not enough to take it back when he glanced down at the Chihuahua brat accompanying her.

“Unkie looks like poop,” Anya stated blankly.

“Anya!” Yor scolded softly before looking up at her brother with a sweet smile. “Sorry for the sudden visit, Yuri. Loid dropped us off for just a few minutes, so we won’t intrude, don’t worry.”

“Yor! What are you doing here?” He teared up slightly at the sight of his beloved sister—only for the moment to be ruined by a sudden burp from the pink-haired brat. Yuri ignored her. “You are never an intrusion! Why can’t you stay?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe another day? Loid and Bond are waiting outside,” she said apologetically. “We were on our way to the park, but as we passed by your building, I asked Loid if I could come up and see how you were doing. You left looking so sad yesterday—I just got worried. Anya wanted to see you too.” She lovingly patted the girl on the head, making her grin.

“You were worried about me, Yor?” He was on the brink of sobbing now, and Chihuahua Girl had the audacity to roll her eyes at him.

“Of course I was!” Yor looked almost offended. “Is something bothering you? Can I help somehow?”

And as much as he wanted to drop to his knees, hug Yor’s legs, and beg her to return to him, he managed to sniff back his snot and tears and adopt a serene façade.

“I just had a rough day at work yesterday, that’s all,” he said, forcing his voice to sound appeasing. But he knew he had to give Yor a bit more in order to ease her concern. “A co-worker of mine is a bit upset with me at the moment. She doesn’t get my way of doing paperwork, and I don’t get hers. As you see, nothing of importance.”

It was the lamest excuse that had ever come out of his mouth, and the unnerving way Chihuahua Girl was looking at him made it seem as if she was seeing right through it.

Her face displayed a range of emotions that Yuri couldn’t connect to what he had just said: another eye-roll first, then a squint, as if she were hearing something suspicious, and finally, a look of complete surprise.

What’s up with this brat?

Suddenly, the little girl returned her expression to normal and avoided his gaze.

“Do you want to call me later so we can talk about it, Yuri?” Yor asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, her expression filled with genuine concern.

Yuri shook his head. “There’s no need, big sis. I… I’m sure I can handle it myself.”

And Yuri wasn’t sure if he had meant just his situation with Chloe—or if he had also included the inner turmoil he was facing over Yor.

He decided it was both.

After all, one of the issues had been a direct consequence of the other.

Anya descended the stairs of her uncle’s apartment building. Her short legs, combined with Mama’s slight limp, made their descent slow, but that gave her plenty of time to think about what she had just seen inside Unkie Yuri’s mind.

She was already used to seeing and hearing about his love for Mama and his hatred for Papa. That was boring—and tiring. There had been plenty of that in his racing thoughts. But as soon as he had mentioned his co-worker, something new appeared—a face she didn’t recognize.

A very pretty lady.

Her name, apparently, was Chloe.

Anya had managed to glimpse a few blurred scenes that were both exciting and dangerous before she stopped reading his mind. The pretty lady—who, according to Unkie’s thoughts, worked with him in the Secret Police—had two guns pressed against her. But then, Unkie came and saved her!

But he was also feeling sad because he had been near Mama when she hurt her foot and hadn’t been able to help her. And then he felt furious because the pretty lady had been in danger because of him.

Anya didn’t understand.

But what she did understand was that Unkie Yuri never, ever thought about another woman who wasn’t her Mama.

So… was this pretty lady, Chloe, important to him too?

This was too difficult.

She needed an expert.

Yuri sighed after Yor and Anya had left—both from relief and sadness. He wanted Yor to stay longer, but he wasn’t ready to speak casually to her yet. The revelation he had made the previous night had shaken all his thoughts about her in the most confusing manner. Worrying his sister was the last thing he wanted.

And, of course, he didn’t want to deal with Chihuahua Girl and her weird expressions.

After eating his bland soup and taking an aspirin, Yuri decided to focus on his other problem: Chloe.

With the new day and the soup providing him with a clearer mind, he began pacing the room, quietly analyzing everything.

First of all, the affirmation that explained his current predicament:

Chloe was important to him.

If it had been anyone else from work—even within his squad—he wouldn’t have wasted so much time worrying about it. But somehow, at some point since they started working together at the SSS, Chloe had pushed her way into the part of his mind reserved for the people he cared about: Yor, Dominic, his Captain… even Chihuahua Girl now.

Even though they hadn’t been close in college, finding her in the SSS—on his squad, no less—had given him an inexplicable sense of familiarity and relief.

They understood each other in work-related matters, and she was the only person in the SSS, alongside their Captain, who knew about his childhood—about Yor’s sacrifice, their parents, and the war that had taken them away from the two siblings.

And Chloe had always listened—whether he was angry, sad, or frustrated. She had definitely slapped some sense into him when he needed it, in spite of his empty threats of having her executed, and she had no qualms about being rough—both with words and actions—when she wanted to get her point through his thick skull.

Yuri, who was known for questioning the authority of his immediate superior on more than one occasion, had learned to listen to Chloe, a subordinate of his, whenever he was being irrational or in need of a scolding.

He chuckled, slightly amused. Maybe that was the reason their Captain had been making them work together more frequently these days.

Not anymore, though, he reminded himself, biting down on his lip.

In retrospect, Yuri realized that Chloe had always been there. Even in college, she had tried to talk to him a few times, always with a smile on her face, before being told off by his younger self. Eventually, she had given up on trying to befriend him back then.

He shamefully recalled all the more recent times she had offered to grab coffee together, go see a movie, or simply talk about their lives. He was still pushing her away—after all these years and the so-called maturing journey he had supposedly gone on.

No wonder she hadn’t even graced him with a glance when he delivered his pathetic apology.

The only thing he had ever offered Chloe in return for all her kindness was something that hadn’t even needed to be born from his own desire or goodwill. It was something imposed on him—and on all SSS officers—by the nature of their job: protecting assigned partners during missions.

And he had even failed at that.

If not for his ongoing hangover, Yuri would have already banged his head against the wall for his own stupidity.

I need to fix this. I need to apologize again—and make it count this time.

But how?

Yuri was aware of his lack of experience in handling situations like this. He knew how to apologize to Yor, who was a saint and had never truly been angry with him. He knew how to appear humble and admit his mistakes in front of the Director and other superiors that weren's his Captain, until they let him off the hook.

But the situation with Chloe required a different approach. This wasn’t just work-related—it was personal. He needed to apologize for everything, and he now understood that the few remorseful words he had given her weren’t just useless—they were insulting.

After a few more minutes of hesitation, an idea suddenly formed in his mind. Without wasting another second, he strode to his bedroom, changed, and grabbed his coat.

There was one place in Berlint that had always provided him with the knowledge and information he sought—not just answers to academic questions, but also insight into more practical matters he encountered in day-to-day life.

Chapter Text

How to Make a Woman Fall for You in 10 Steps.

How to Prepare the Perfect Date for Any Occasion.

All About Love! Easy Ways to Make Women Notice You.

Women. The Ins and Outs of These Fascinating Creatures.

The library was packed, but Yuri didn't pay any attention to the people surrounding him, his frown deepening as he swept his finger across the spines of the neatly arranged books. The increasingly unhelpful titles only soured his mood further, but he kept searching, determined to find anything even remotely useful.

Books about the workplace were no help either. They were all about etiquette, climbing the corporate ladder to get a promotion, or how to get along with co-workers.

Yuri didn’t want to solve a problem with any co-worker. He wanted to solve a problem with Chloe.

He moved to another section of the self-help aisle, this one filled with books on making friends and being more likable. Useless. Yuri didn’t need any of that.

Frustrated, he started grabbing books—ones he thought might be useful to his endeavor, even if they only provided a few ideas he could later develop into something else.

Embarrassed by the titles piling up in his arms, he made sure to hide behind them as he wandered the library, searching for the furthest, most isolated table he could find. Once he finally sat down, he opened the first book.

Yuri sighed, rubbing his eyes in defeat.

What a way to spend a Sunday. Hungover and reading self-help books in the library.

“So, what did you need to talk about, Anya?”

Becky hopped onto a bench during recess, followed by Anya, who had to climb up due to her short stature.

The pink-haired girl was silent for a moment, pondering how to present her questions to her friend.

“What does it mean when a man starts thinking about another woman?” she finally asked. “When there was only one woman inside his head, but now there are two?”

Becky almost jumped out of her seat before suddenly grabbing Anya’s hands, her face flushing.

“Is Loid finally thinking about me?! Are you telling me your mother is no longer the only woman in his thoughts?!” she squealed.

Anya stared at her with the blankest of expressions.

“No,” she muttered flatly.

“Aw…” Becky let go of her hands, clearly disappointed. “One day, Becky… one day,” she reassured herself.

Anya sighed. “I’m talking about my Unkie. Mama and I stopped by his place yesterday to visit before going to the park with Papa and Bond.”

Becky let out a dreamy sigh, cupping her cheeks.

“Loid in the park, his shiny hair reflecting the sunrays and—”

“Becky.” Anya deadpanned.

“R-right, sorry, Anya.”

“As I was saying, Unkie was sad. So while he and Mama talked, I decided to read his… diary! Yes, his diary! And I found out that he was writing about a woman who wasn’t my Mama.”

Thankfully, Anya had talked about her family dynamics with Becky plenty of times, so the Blackbell heiress was already familiar with the strong bond between Anya’s uncle and his sister—a connection forged in childhood due to the trauma of losing their parents at such a young age. Becky thought it was beautiful and tragic, even if Yuri’s obsession with his sister was something she didn’t quite understand.

But hey, who was she to judge?

“That is weird,” Becky conceded. “But it all depends on the context, and we already know the context with your uncle and your mom.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Did he write anything about this woman? Any clues about who she might be?”

Anya thought hard about what she had managed to extract from the blurry images she had seen.

“I think she’s a cow-orker of Unkie.”

“Co-worker, Anya,” Becky corrected.

Anya nodded and continued. “Her name is Chloe, and she’s very pretty. Unkie helped her at work, but she got mad at him and now won’t talk to him. He doesn’t know what to do.”

Despite not fully understanding the situation, Becky blushed a little and immediately jumped to the most obvious conclusion her romance-fueled mind could reach.

“Sounds like a lovers’ quarrel! He needs to apologize—no matter if he’s right or wrong!” Then she furrowed her brows. “Wait, how do you know she’s pretty? Did he write that?”

“W-well, no!” Anya panicked slightly, racking her brain for an excuse. “I just saw a picture of her between the pages of the diary!”

Becky’s eyes lit up. She clasped her hands together against her chest, her expression turning dreamy.

“He keeps a picture of her in his diary?!”

“I—”

“Anya!” Becky squeaked, looking at her with the same spark in her eyes she got whenever she talked about Berlint in Love. “He obviously loves her in spite of their fight!”

Anya sighed, turning forward while Becky rambled excitedly about love beside her.

She still didn’t understand Unkie Yuri’s thoughts about Miss Chloe. Compared to what he felt for her Mama, love wasn’t there. She couldn’t even tell if he considered her a friend or not.

Anya was still lost.

And adults were weird.

Monday. The first day of Yuri’s personal mission: Operation Peace with Chloe.

Target spotted at the coffee machine during break time. Entering the scene in 3… 2… 1…

“G-good morning, Chloe.”

Stuttering already? Bad. Sweating like a dog? Even worse.

But the target had turned to him, so there was no backing down now.

“Lieutenant.”

Cold. She barely looked at him as she finished her coffee, giving him little time to respond before turning to leave.

God, she was still pissed—if her completely out-of-character behavior was anything to go by.

“Wait!”

She turned back slowly, looking almost bored, as if waiting for a child to say something she was obligated to pretend was interesting.

“What is it, sir?”

Her sweet voice, laced with venom, made his skin crawl.

Affirmative. She was still fuming.

Yuri’s mind suddenly went blank. All that research from yesterday at the library? Gone.

Luckily, he had written down some ideas on a tiny slip of paper, stuffed into the pocket of his uniform. He discreetly pulled it out and hid it in his palm, raising his hand as if adjusting his hat.

A quick peek.

Step 1: Break the ice with casual conversation.

“Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?”

Chloe’s expression was unreadable, and Yuri immediately knew he had messed up.

She didn’t even bother responding. Instead, she glanced at her watch—ready to leave again.

Shit. Retreat! Change tactics!

Yuri scratched his shoulder and stole another peek at the paper.

Step 2: Ask about her day.

“How are you? Everything fine, or…?” He trailed off, suddenly unsure where to take the question. God, I wish this was as easy as an interrogation. “...Or not?” he finished lamely, tugging at his tie as Chloe’s eyes turned icier.

“I’m perfectly fine, Lieutenant,” she said flatly. “I have work to do.”

And just like that, she was already halfway out of the break room.

Panicking, Yuri glanced at the paper again, reading the first thing his eyes landed on.

Step 7: Compliment her.

“That uniform—!” he blurted out as she disappeared from view.

Chloe stopped and took a step back, standing in the doorway but not looking at him.

Yuri’s heart hammered in his chest. But she was listening, so he had to make it count.

“That uniform suits you!” he finally finished, cringing at his own words. Before he could stop himself, his mouth worsened the situation even more. “It… it seems they gave you the correct size!”

He watched in horror as her confusion turned murderous.

With a flick of her head, she raised her chin and strode away.

Yuri collapsed to his knees, alone in the break room, cursing to the heavens.

Tuesday.

Another attempt at carrying out Operation Peace with Chloe presented itself unexpectedly when they crossed paths in the parking lot that morning.

He had prepared a new approach—had even practiced what to say in front of the mirror.

This was his chance.

“Chloe!” Yuri called just as she was stepping out of her car.

The eye roll that followed didn’t go unnoticed, but he pressed on, starting to speak before she could get away.

“Listen, I really wanted to—”

“Good morning, Chloe! Lieutenant,” a man from their squad greeted them as he approached, looking agitated. “I just got back from spending all night monitoring one of our target’s supposed hideouts, and I have new intel! Others who were out on surveillance apparently got some news as well, and they’re already on their way.”

“We must hurry, then,” Chloe said. “Let’s inform everyone and get to work as soon as possible.”

“Yes!”

The two hurried inside the building together, leaving Yuri behind—still standing there, his mouth open, the next word stuck in his throat.

A freezing gust of wind hit him square in the face, adding to his misery.

That same morning, rumors started circulating: Lieutenant Briar had been seen standing like a statue in the middle of the parking lot for a very, very long time.

Some even swore they had seen him tearing up, whispering one of his subordinate’s names again and again.

Chapter Text

It had only been half an hour since Chloe arrived from the parking lot with her fellow officer, yet the room assigned to Operation Nightclub was already in chaos. Every squad member involved was running around like headless chickens. Things only got worse when the officers assigned to surveillance missions arrived all at once, each claiming there had been movement on their target’s side.

Intel was exchanged, pinned to walls, written into reports, or played on recorders. Time was running out—Madame Kirsa would resurface soon, and they had to act before she did.

Soon. It’ll be soon, Chloe thought as she transcribed a report. Madame Kirsa wants revenge on her ex, so she won’t stop until she gets what she wants. Just like Melissa in that episode of Berlint in Love, where she…

She shook the thought away, forcing herself to focus despite the mental tug-of-war pulling her in another direction—mainly toward Yuri and his attempts to talk to her.

Her heart was torn. On one hand, she knew his efforts were sincere, however weak. On the other, his mistake had been too severe to simply forgive and forget. She had always been patient with Yuri, even when he took his moods out on her, but she refused to be undervalued anymore. If she forgave him too easily, nothing would change. Worse, the cycle would repeat the next time he was forced to prioritize between her and Yor Forger in case another incident occurred.

Chloe chuckled bitterly at her own hypocrisy. She had always seen Yuri as the same brat she knew in college—a moody kid in need of patience and guidance. Even he had noticed that was how she treated him. But now, after what happened, that perception had shifted, although not entirely. He was still childish about his sister, but he was also an adult, a high-ranking officer in the SSS, and a man who had killed and tortured for politics, espionage, and war. She couldn't keep making excuses and coddling him anymore.

Maybe he doesn’t realize that I see him a bit differently now, she thought. Maybe he expects me to forgive him, like always.

But she wouldn’t.

Yuri needed to understand—without her prompting—that what he did was inexcusable. He had to show that he had learned from it, with or without her forgiveness.

Chloe exhaled, realizing her fingers had stalled on the typewriter. Cursing her wandering mind, she resumed typing at double speed to make up for lost time.

A while later, her Captain tapped her shoulder.

“Chloe, I need you to discuss an important part of the operation.”

She raised a brow but followed him into the adjacent room, where she was surprised to find her other few female colleagues already gathered. After exchanging greetings, they sat in scattered chairs while the Captain addressed them.

“Ladies, I need your advice.”

They shared puzzled glances.

“I know only Officer Chloe officially works under me, but this is an unofficial meeting, and I hope you understand.”

They nodded hesitantly.

“Everything discussed here is confidential,” he continued. “I can’t disclose full details, but I'm sure the majority of you know that my squad and I are working on a very delicate operation. The thing is, we need an officer to go undercover. He must meet certain physical requirements—young and attractive—but we need a woman’s perspective to decide who fits the role best.”

The women exchanged looks, still unsure of their task.

“So… What we need to do is... We just need to give our opinion on who is the most attractive officer in your squad, sir?” one finally asked, clearly taken aback about these out-of-the-ordinary instructions.

“Basically, yes.”

The Captain pinned twenty photographs to the wall. “These are my selected subordinates.” Then, he added ten more. “These men, meanwhile, match our target’s known preferences. Use them as a reference to pick one from my squad.”

The women stood, examining the faces. Chloe frowned.

Her squad was already unbalanced—it consisted, mostly, of men over forty. Of the twenty pictured, only five or six could reasonably pass for the kind of man Madame Kirsa might take interest in. The ten reference photos had been taken by officers monitoring her old haunts. Those young men had been seen with her before she went into hiding, according to some eye-witnesses, and they still frequented those places after that.

“Sir,” one woman spoke up, “wasn’t Lieutenant Briar on your squad? Why isn’t he here? I’d choose him.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Chloe’s stomach twisted at the mention of Yuri. If he hadn’t been an idiot—if he hadn’t started losing his mind in the middle of covert operations—his picture might have been pinned to the wall too. 

“Lieutenant Briar is currently buried under paperwork,” the Captain said flatly.

Because he had become unreliable and we cannot count on him.

Chloe bit her lip, pushing away the guilt for thinking like that. It was the truth.

The women refocused on the photos, slowly discarding candidates. When only six remained, Chloe’s unease grew. Yes, they were the most attractive, but none were seasoned in undercover work.

We’re screwed.

This wasn’t just some low-level crook. Madame Kirsa was an underworld matriarch with power, money, and experience. She was trying to smuggle weapons to Westalis to kill an even more powerful underworld lord. If she had dealt with criminals and spies alike during her path to success, why would she trust an inexperienced young man that suddenly approached her?

We are severely screwed.

But what choice did they have? If they sent an experienced officer who didn’t fit her type, he’d never get close. At least with one of these six, they had a chance.

Chloe sighed and pointed to one of them.

“Him.”

She glanced at her captain, who seemed to hear the uncertainty in her voice.

Chapter Text

Wednesday. Operation Peace with Chloe couldn’t even be attempted since she had been in lockdown, along with every participant in Operation Nightclub, since yesterday morning—just after Yuri had been left standing like an idiot in the middle of the parking lot.

His whole body itched under his uniform as he angrily typed away at whatever reports his Captain threw his way. His superior was the only one allowed to leave the lockdown room to attend to the rest of his subordinates who were not part of the operation.

Yuri’s right leg bounced in anticipation as he looked at the clock on the wall, counting down the minutes until the day was over and everyone was allowed to go home.

During one of the many visits his Captain had made to his desk to drop off yet another stack of papers, Yuri had managed to ask if the lockdown would continue the next day as well.

“I can’t disclose anything to you or anyone outside the operation, Yuri,” the older man reminded him.

“Please, Captain. I just…” He paused, a bit embarrassed about his reason for asking. “I just want to talk to Chloe. It’s been more than a week since my screw-up, and I’ve barely exchanged a few words with her. She’s still—rightly—upset with me. I never thought I’d be anxious about someone not liking me or hating my guts, but…”

The Captain sighed. “I know, son. Chloe isn’t just someone. As the saying goes, ‘you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.’ Don’t think I’m not upset about the whole situation either, but this is between you two. If you really want to mend things, you need to show her appreciation and gratitude.”

“I… I’m trying, but it’s honestly not going well…” he sighed, tiredly. “That’s why I wanted to try again today. Every day. So she doesn’t think I’m giving up on fixing things. I’d love to be back on field missions, of course, but if I had to choose, I’d rather at least be on speaking terms with Chloe again.”

The blond man massaged his temples. “Alright. Yes, everyone is going home tonight. Working for three days straight is something that only you could accomplish, Yuri. Go and talk to Chloe later—if she isn’t too tired.”

That had been Yuri’s conversation with his superior not long ago, and since then, he’d been ready to jump out of his chair and go look for Chloe.

“Chloe? Yes, she was the first one to leave, Lieutenant. I saw her heading straight for the women’s locker room as soon as we were dismissed.”

Yuri had stopped one of his colleagues who had just emerged from the lockdown room. Since no one outside Operation Nightclub was allowed near it—for fear of leaking confidential information—he had been forced to wait until he ran into someone by chance.

Shit. He cursed under his breath, wiping his head in the general direction of the locker rooms.

“Was that long ago?” he asked urgently.

“Hmm… maybe fifteen minutes ago, sir.”

“Alright. You’re dismissed.”

The officer saluted and left, and Yuri rushed to the women’s locker room, praying to whoever might listen that he’d get even the smallest chance to talk to Chloe today.

He couldn’t deal with his situation with Yor at the moment—nor in the foreseeable future—so he had to do everything in his power to at least fix things with Chloe before he went insane.

“No, Lieutenant Briar, Officer Chloe isn’t in the locker room anymore. We usually chat for a while, but today I barely had time to say a word before she had already changed and rushed out the door. I heard she’s working on a very difficult operation, so maybe she was just exhausted and dying to go home.”

The SSS had a small number of female officers, so they all knew each other, even if they didn’t work together. Yuri quickly thanked the woman he had managed to stop right outside the locker room and fled, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable with his presence there.

“What do I do now?” he hissed through gritted teeth.

Desperation was a powerful motivator in difficult situations. Yuri glanced at his watch just as an idea popped into his mind—something he’d read in one of those ridiculous books from the library.

Maybe she’ll kill me for this… but I have to try.

I’m gonna miss the beginning of Berlint in Love! Crap!

Chloe stepped on the gas, making sure not to break any traffic laws while going as fast as she could. Due to the increasing pressure of Operation Nightclub, everyone had left later than usual, trying to squeeze in as much work as possible. As a result, Chloe was now running late to watch her favorite soap opera—the only thing that could distract her from her exhausting thoughts.

She knew she should go straight to bed, having barely slept in two days, but she was an overthinker at night. The thought of lying awake, her mind filled with Yuri’s persistent attempts to talk to her, was more daunting than her need for sleep.

As soon as she arrived at her apartment, Chloe took off her coat with one hand and turned on the TV with the other. Good. It hadn’t started yet. Maybe she even had five minutes to take a quick shower and change into her pyjamas.

“Phew!”

Just as Chloe returned to her small living room, the TV started playing the opening song of Berlint in Love. She quickly went to the fridge to grab some leftovers to heat up, her movements fast and precise.

Sonia and Vincent have to talk again soon. What he did to her at his parents’ house was shitty. I wonder if he’ll apologize in today’s episode…

Ring!

Chloe nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of the doorbell. She immediately glanced at the wall clock, frowning. Who could be at her door at this hour? It was almost 8 p.m. on a weekday…

She silently walked up to the door and peered through the peephole, only to be thoroughly confused by the indistinguishable patterns pressing too close to the glass. There was something purple blocking her view, and that was all she could make out.

She was considering grabbing the pistol she kept under her pillow when the doorbell rang again.

“W-who is it?” she asked, her heart pounding.

“Chloe! Please, open up! It’s me, Yuri!”

What?!

She flung the door open—only to let out a surprised squeal as a gigantic bouquet of purple flowers immediately smacked her in the face.

She stumbled back, alarmed, swatting at the flowers before looking up—only to meet red, puppy-dog eyes and a tiny pout.

A sweating Yuri Briar sheepishly ran a hand through his hair. “I begged the florist to let me buy these just as they were closing. I… I hope you like them…”

Chloe stood frozen, as if she had just been slapped, utterly flabbergasted and unable to utter a single word. Her eyes flicked between the flowers and Yuri’s face, trying to process the situation.

“What the—?” she started, finally finding her voice.

She was immediately cut off when the man in front of her dropped to his knees and shoved the bouquet into her arms.

“Please, I beg you—forgive me, Chloe!” His eyes teared up as he crawled a bit closer, pushing the flowers against her even harder. “Please, please, please!”

She stared at him, completely taken aback by his sudden outburst.

A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of her neighbours coming out to check on the commotion—only to witness a kneeling man crying at her doorstep while holding a bouquet of flowers bigger than her entire torso.

Oh, hell no.

Without hesitation, she grabbed Yuri by the ear, yanked him up to his feet, and dragged him inside her apartment, paying no mind to his protests. She slammed the door shut behind them and rested her back against it, noticing her own pulse hammering against her neck.

"Ouch, Chloe..." Yuri murmured, patting his red ear.

"What is the meaning of all this, Yuri?" she asked, a bit out of breath. "H-how—why—?" she babbled incoherently, a thousand questions piling up in her mouth.

Yuri sighed, lowering the bouquet, causing some flowers to fall to the floor in the process.

"I… didn’t know how to talk to you at work, how to start a conversation in order to apologize, so coming here was the only option I could think of. Thank goodness we’ve dropped each other off at home many times before, so at least I knew my way here…" he explained slowly, his eyes trained on the floor between them. "I had a whole speech prepared for when you opened the door, but when I saw your confused face… I guess I panicked. Sorry about that. I really want to tell you everything I’ve been thinking about this past week."

Chloe breathed in and then out, slowly, concentrating on the air filling and leaving her lungs as she inspected the man in front of her. His body language—slumped shoulders, downcast gaze, slightly trembling hands, tiny pout—indicated that he was nervous but genuine in his words. She took in the sight because Yuri Briar looking remorseful while holding a comically large bouquet of flowers wasn’t something she saw every day.

Her attention was briefly drawn to her TV, still on, displaying Berlint in Love. She clicked her tongue and quickly strode towards it, making Yuri jump slightly as she passed by his side, and turned it off. Now was not the time for romantic drama on TV when she had a more pressing situation standing in her living room.

"Yuri," she called, turning to him. He was still unmoving. "Take a seat."

He silently obeyed, walking toward her sofa. Chloe intercepted him and, gently, while avoiding his eyes, took the bouquet from his hands.

"I’ll put these in water. Thank you, I really like them."

He simply nodded, releasing the flowers carefully, as if afraid to startle her again.

Chloe didn’t think too deeply about their meaning. They were beautiful and a nice gesture, of course, but Yuri was known to prefer flowers as gifts for everyone. She had seen him leave work with roses for his sister countless times, and when their Captain had to stay in the hospital for a week after a dangerous mission, Yuri had sent him a small bouquet of get-well-soon daisies.

Purple was her favourite colour, though. But she doubted Yuri had known that when he chose these flowers for her.

Neither of them spoke as she walked to her small kitchen, adjacent to the living room. She was grateful for the sound of running water as she filled a vase—it covered the silence between them for a bit.

A short while later, after setting the vase on her kitchen counter, she returned with a pack of canned beers and a small plate of cheese and bread.

"You didn’t have to—"

Chloe cut him off as she sat down in her armchair, positioning herself to face him. "Judging by what you told me before, you still haven’t eaten dinner. I’m already heating some leftovers in the oven, but this will have to do while we wait."

Yuri lowered his head. "Thank you," he said softly.

"Just one beer for you, though," Chloe warned, well-acquainted with his drunken behaviour.

He nodded, a bit embarrassed, and took one can for himself.

"I’m sorry for coming here at this hour, Chloe. I’m only realizing now that you’re wearing pyjamas. You must be really tired after that lockdown… Were you about to go to sleep when I arrived?" he asked, eyeing her striped long pants and top, which didn’t match the style he was used to seeing her wear. Baby yellow, with small frills at the ends of her sleeves. Definitely a surprise.

"I—" Chloe suddenly blushed, nervously grabbing a can of beer for herself. Gosh, Yuri acting all meek and apologetic was messing with her brain chemistry. Had he been hiding this side of him all this time?

Yuri eyed her curiously. Surely, she wasn’t embarrassed about wearing pyjamas in his presence? They weren’t indecent or revealing by any means, so he didn’t understand the reason for her flushed cheeks.

Chloe sighed, defeated, deciding to disclose the true nature of her nervousness. Her secret. Maybe it would help break the tension between them and push Yuri to start speaking about the serious matter they were both skirting around.

"I was about to have dinner… while watching my favourite TV show…" she paused, steeling herself for her confession. "Berlint in Love."

Yuri blinked a few times, his hand frozen mid-air as he reached for a piece of cheese.

"T-the soap opera?" he finally asked, his voice carefully avoiding any mocking or judgmental tone.

Chloe nodded. "Yes. It helps me unwind, and the drama is hilariously exaggerated. Go on, laugh if you want."

She said that, but the slightly defiant look she gave Yuri made him gulp and refocus on the cheese instead. The possibility of getting slapped by Chloe was always unpredictable.

"My nie—Chihuahua girl told me that her best friend, the heiress of Blackbell Heavy Industries, loves Berlint in Love and is always talking about it with her, even though she doesn’t understand a word of it."

And at that instant, for the first time since the incident that had created such a rift between them, Yuri felt a slight bit of pressure lift from his chest. Because at the mention of Anya Forger, Chloe’s lips quirked upward a bit, forming a tiny smile, followed by the softest of giggles.

Yuri didn’t have time to bask in the sight or the way his body started to relax little by little, because her expression suddenly turned surprised, and she widened her eyes at him.

"Wait, she’s best friends with the daughter of Blackbell?! Whoa, that school sure is something."

"That’s where Loi-Loi and his ex-wife wanted her to study, according to what Yor told me long ago…" he trailed off, brought back to the present and the purpose of his visit to Chloe’s apartment at the mention of Yor and that blond bastard.

Thankfully, he was granted a few minutes to compose his thoughts as the oven signalled with a ring that the food was ready, and Chloe went to retrieve it.

He knew that as soon as she returned to the living room, he would need to open Pandora’s box and let sincerity and remorse speak for him if he wanted to accomplish his mission.

Chapter Text

“I honestly don’t know how to start…” Yuri murmured after swallowing the first bite of food. “This past week has been an eye-opener, for sure.”

Chloe said nothing, giving him as much time and space as he needed. If she was about to witness some kind of growth from Yuri Briar himself, she’d better wait and let it all play out at its own rhythm.

“I guess it all stems from the relationship I’ve had with Yor since we were kids. I’ve always been dependent on her, emotionally and physically, and while I’ve obviously learned to take care of basic needs by myself since becoming an adult, I guess the emotional connection with my sister never evolved.”

Chloe knew all that. Yuri always reverted to a kid—childish mannerisms and all—whenever anything remotely connected to his sister came up. That part of his brain had never been able to fully develop, likely due to unhealed childhood trauma, Chloe deduced.

“Her sudden marriage to Forger left me lost,” Yuri continued, his voice dripping with sadness, and Chloe’s heart clenched painfully. “Did I want her to find a good man and settle down? Of course I did! I still do…”

He passed his hand tiredly down his face and took a swig from his beer, giving himself a few seconds before continuing.

“The problem is, the immense hurt I felt when she forgot to tell me she’d been married for an entire year never went away,” he sighed, lowering his head at the admittance. “That was the first time in my life I felt pushed away by Yor. The first time I truly feared my sister could be leaving me behind—when I still very much depended on her… But I never blamed her, of course, because my sister isn’t like that. How could someone like her, who sacrificed her life for me, suddenly forget to tell her only blood relative that she was married and had a child under her care?”

“That’s why you dislike her husband. Because you believe he’s manipulating her into straying from you. You think he’s trying to erase the relationship you and your sister built together since childhood,” Chloe finished for him. And while Yuri winced at her use of the word husband, he nodded in agreement.

“I hate to admit this, but I don’t think he’s doing it consciously or out of malice. He’s not actively trying to sabotage me, but he is doing so by being too perfect, too caring, too loving, too good at everything. Yor suddenly has all she needs and more—so where do I fit into all that? I simply don’t. That’s why she forgot to tell me about the marriage. That’s why she doesn’t rely on me anymore,” Yuri finished, his voice breaking in utter defeat.

“Yuri…” Chloe murmured softly, her eyes sad as she gazed at him.

“What am I, if not Yor’s protector? What do I have left if the only role I’ve ever performed in my adult life is suddenly taken away from me? My job, my lifestyle, what I do, what I eat, my dreams, what I love, what I hate—they’re all connected to her…”

Chloe remained silent after his tirade, watching, with pity in every pore of her skin, the lost child that was Yuri Briar at that moment.

“The incident…” he went on, his voice a bit raspy. Chloe’s entire body tensed at the mention of it, biting her lip in anticipation of what he’d say. “As soon as I saw my sister falling in the street, everything came crashing down. It was like my brain stopped working entirely. All I could do was run to her—mindlessly.” Yuri paused, massaging his temples from the mental strain of confessing it all. “Many things had been building since she told me about the marriage: the helplessness of being left behind, the frustration toward Forger always being there for her, the feeling that I had to compete for her attention… It was exhausting…” he trailed off in a broken whisper, lifting a pair of sad, defeated eyes toward Chloe, tears welling up, ready to spill. “It all overflowed in that moment, and I… I felt that I needed to be the one to run to her. To remind her I was still by her side—even if she didn’t need me anymore…” He couldn’t continue. He hid his face behind his hands as a sob shook his entire body.

To anyone else, Yuri might have sounded dramatic, exaggerating—maybe even unhinged. But Chloe could understand him, at least somewhat, after years of witnessing how Yuri regarded Yor. Even if she knew it was hurting him in the long run. And if this conversation was any indication, she’d been right.

“I’m sorry, Chloe,” he cried, still hidden behind his hands, his shaking voice slightly muffled. “I’m truly sorry you had to deal with that situation alone. I can’t forgive myself for putting you in danger. I wish I could go back in time and do things differently... I can’t even imagine what would have happened if…”

Watching Yuri cry broke something in her. She couldn’t bring herself to punish him anymore. She wasn’t a sadist, and she appreciated that Crazy Yuri Briar—as some men at work liked to call him—was opening up and showing that no, he wasn’t crazy. Just broken, since childhood.

She wondered if he’d allow her to sit by his side and hold him while he cried, hunched over and hidden behind his hands.

To hell with it.

She stood and walked to the couch, deciding she wouldn’t know unless she tried.

Slowly, she lowered herself beside him until the side of her body pressed against his. Acting before she could second-guess it, she wrapped one arm around his back, the other across his front. His forehead ended up against her forearm due to his posture, and now Chloe could see and feel his sobs shaking through him.

He didn’t pull away. He didn’t move at all. So Chloe gave him time—let him cry as long as he needed.

“Listen, Yuri,” she began softly, “I remember telling you I didn’t personally understand how you and your sister operated, since I don’t have siblings… but I witnessed something, for a long time, from a distance,” she sighed, her voice tinged with memory. “How my mother lost herself after I moved out. You and your sister remind me a lot of her. You’re both the embodiment of her two biggest struggles.”

Yuri stiffened slightly in her arms. He was listening, even as he continued to cry. Chloe knew she was usually a closed book—totally unlike him—so this would come as a surprise.

She cleared her throat. “From the moment I was born, my mother poured every ounce of herself into raising me. She did everything in her power to make sure I got a higher education—something neither she nor any woman in our family was allowed to have. But she abandoned herself in the process. Her dreams, her hobbies, her friends... And that’s not healthy, Yuri.” She paused, noticing his sobs growing quieter, his shaking subsiding.

She gently moved her hand along his back, rubbing in slow circles to calm him.

“Loving someone shouldn’t be incompatible with loving yourself. You have to keep your own identity, even while caring for others. I’m grateful, but I still feel guilty every day for the life my mother could’ve had if not for me. Even if it wasn’t my fault. So think—would you want your sister to feel guilty, knowing you’re not letting yourself find your own happiness because of her?”

At that, Yuri suddenly straightened, forcing Chloe to remove her arms from around him. He sat tall, as if struck by lightning. Her words had landed.

He turned to look at her, eyes red and puffy, panic creeping into his expression.

Chloe scooted slightly away, overwhelmed by his taller frame pressing into hers, her cheek brushing his shoulder. She continued once she found some space.

“A-and… I think you should be happy that Yor, unlike my mother, didn’t lose herself while taking care of you. Aren’t you glad she’s happy now? Living her own life, doing what she enjoys? Now you both have the chance to grow as individuals. You can share your experiences when you meet. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Yuri looked at her with fresh tears, his brows drawn tightly together.

“You are…” he began, a whisper.

Chloe braced herself for a scolding—for stepping over the line.

“…c-completely right… I guess.”

She widened her eyes—because yes, she had been very eloquent, if she did say so herself—but she hadn’t expected to get him to agree with her so easily. Was this the power of a week of self-reflection? Maybe the incident hadn’t been entirely negative, if it had served to trigger some kind of change in Yuri—both in his relationship with his sister... and maybe with her too.

“I mean,” he went on, “of course I want her to be happy and have her own life and interests outside of me, it’s just…”

“Yuri.” Chloe wasn’t going to let him finish that sentence; it would only hurt him more. “Your sister still needs you—but not in the way you think. Be her brother, her equal, her support when she calls for you. Be her confidant, her best friend. But don’t try to be what Loid Forger is to her now. He won’t ever replace you, and you won’t replace him either. You both have different roles in Yor’s life.”

“I…”

“From what you’ve told me, she never got to experience romantic love, teen crushes, first dates... Let her have that now, please,” she breathed out, her tone pleading. She had unconsciously scooted closer again as she said that, looking up at Yuri with eyes that begged for understanding.

He looked down at her for what felt like an eternity—long enough that Chloe began to cower slightly under his intense gaze. She coughed lightly and retreated, putting a foot’s distance between them and turning her gaze to the coffee table in front of them. She leaned forward a bit and grabbed her beer, finishing it off in one large gulp.

“Chloe,” Yuri said finally, making her turn to him. “Why do you care so much about my sister? Not that I’m not glad, of course, but…”

“Idiot. Because she’s important to you, so of course she’s important to me too. And also, I like her. She’s done a good job raising a brat like you.”

Yuri gasped, his eyes beginning to water again.

“D-did I say something wro—”

Chloe’s eyes only had time to widen before Yuri suddenly lunged sideways and collided with her, embracing her tightly as he let out a sob against the crook of her neck. The force of the impact—combined with his greater height and weight—sent her falling onto her back against the couch, with him on top. Her head hit the, fortunately, soft armrest.

She let out a high-pitched squeal just as a violent blush crept up her neck and onto her face.

“You’re the best, Chloe!” Yuri was crying and babbling incoherently, completely unaware of their position. “You are—ooff!”

She had immediately rolled to the side and shoved him off, making him fall unceremoniously between the couch and the table with a loud thud. The plates and beer cans rattled from the impact, and she was sure the downstairs neighbors had heard it too.

“You are a brute!” he groaned from the floor.

“Serves you right!” Chloe stuck out her tongue at him, her face still flushing. “Now get up and finish your dinner before it gets cold.”

She actually offered her hand to help him up, and he took it, giving her a small, grateful smile in return.

“Hey, Chloe,” he said after a short while, swallowing the last bite on his plate. “Are we… are we good?” he asked timidly, then sighed. “I’m sorry you ended up comforting me when my whole purpose had been to apologize… You must be exhausted after work, and I’ve been nothing but a burden.”

He didn’t give Chloe time to respond before springing to his feet and opening his arms in a sincere gesture toward her. “I can apologize again, if you want. I’ve learned quite a few ways to do it, thanks to some books from the library.”

“What? Books from—” She gave him a confused look, then shook her head and decided to ask about that later. She sighed before answering his question.

“Yes, Yuri, we’re good. I forgive you because it's clear you've made some deep self reflection. You’ve made the effort to open your heart to me, and I know that’s been really hard for you. I’ve never seen you like that—so distressed, so sincere… I’m glad you feel comfortable enough around me to let me see that side of you.” She smiled up at him, and he scratched the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. “After this talk, I know nothing like the incident will happen again… right?” she asked, eyeing him knowingly.

“If something like that ever happens again, it means I’ve genuinely gone crazy and need to be removed from the SSS. I give you permission to shoot me if I ever put you in danger again, Chloe.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” she said, her face breaking into a wide grin.

Yuri chuckled, amused. Chloe’s eyes were kind again, and her tone was free of the cold edge it had carried all throughout the past week.

He was glad he’d come to talk. And if the pressure lifting from his chest and muscles was any indication, his body agreed.

Yuri had earned Chloe’s forgiveness—and maybe, as a side dish, a little inner healing too.

Thank you, Dominic, and Grovelling for Dummies, 1957 Edition.

Chapter Text

They’d never seen their Captain display such a wide smile before—not once in all the years they’d known him. The moment he saw them walk into the break room together, it was as if a proud father had just witnessed his children accomplishing something amazing, like winning a race or getting into law school.

He grabbed each of them by one shoulder and nodded. “I gather you’ve had an important conversation?”

“Yes, sir,” Chloe answered. “I think everything’s been resolved… more or less.”

She trailed off as she glanced over at Yuri, who was fidgeting with his fingers.

“I wanted to ask you both…” he began, looking first at Chloe, then at his superior, “if I could work with you again. Only if it’s alright with Chloe, of course,” he finished, timidly, avoiding their eyes. “B-but don’t feel pressured,” he added quickly, glancing at her.

Chloe scratched her ear. “I… I guess I have no problem with that now. I trust you, Lieutenant—and I trust your better judgment from now on.”

Yuri nodded, slightly embarrassed.

Their Captain looked at them for a moment, taking in their dynamic, before finally speaking. “I suppose, if Chloe has no qualms, I can agree to let you join us again, Briar.”

Yuri’s eyes lit up, and his lips quirked into a wide grin.

“But,” the older man added, “you know what will happen if you mess up like that again.”

Yuri’s smile faltered a bit, but he immediately composed himself and saluted. “Yes, sir!”

“That’s good. Now, let’s have some coffee while you two tell me everything that’s happened this past week, because I’ve been hearing all kinds of crazy rumors that didn’t make any sense. Someone even said they saw Yuri crying in the parking lot the other day.”

The two younger members of the trio briefly shared a look, but said nothing.

“Also, as your superior, I need to know the details of how this change of heart from Chloe came about. How did you two reconcile?”

“Well, you see…”

The three of them sat down, coffee in hand. Yuri and Chloe told him everything with the utmost sincerity, though they left out some of the more embarrassing details. This man had seen them at their lowest on countless occasions and had always been there to lift them up, so he deserved the truth—not only as a Captain who needed to supervise the dynamic of his subordinates, but also as a personal confidant within the cold institution that was the SSS.

“Lieutenant Briar will join us for Operation Nightclub.”

The Captain’s voice rang out, commanding, as he announced the news to everyone in the room.

“He’s finally been relieved from his previous tasks and will be more than happy to be assisted by any of you as he gets acquainted with the details of this mission.”

All the men inside saluted. “Yes, sir!”

Yuri nodded to everyone, walking further into the room alongside Chloe and their Captain.

After a while of going around and getting explanations and updates on the intel they’d gathered over the past week—all thanks to his initial interrogation of that wretched dealer—Yuri came across an unexplainable scene unfolding in a corner of the room.

“Chloe,” he called, prompting her to stand up from her typewriter and walk over, “what’s with Officer Ferent? What is he doing?”

Chloe glanced over at the man in question, who was clearly struggling to control his nerves as he murmured something to himself while reading from a sheet of paper. He repeatedly ran a hand through his hair or over his face, tugging at his collar as his eyes darted between the paper and the wall, as if he were talking to it.

“He’s rehearsing, Lieutenant,” Chloe replied. “He’s the one chosen to approach our target and infiltrate her circle in order to get us the intel we need to stop the weapons batch from reaching Westalis.”

Yuri raised an eyebrow, watching the man act out a kiss to an imaginary hand, his own hand trembling in midair.

“Look at him. He looks like he’s about to faint,” Yuri commented, shaking his head. “Who chose him? I doubt that our Capt—”

“Me,” Chloe sighed, “and the rest of the ladies.”

Yuri turned to her, his face contorted in utter confusion. “But isn’t Ferent a specialist in explosives? Why did you think it was a good idea to send him?”

“Because he’s attractive, Lieutenant,” Chloe murmured, low enough for only Yuri to hear.

At his flabbergasted expression, Chloe giggled behind her hand. “Sorry. What I mean is that we need to send a handsome young man to Madame Kirsa—as you already know—and he seemed to be the best option.”

“I— ahem, I see,” Yuri said, composing himself. “Yes, now I remember. During the interrogation, the dealer mentioned that woman’s preferences in men.”

Chloe nodded. “Well, Officer Ferent was chosen for that reason, and also because he’s one of the few young ones here who has a girlfriend, so he surely has some kind of real experience with women… right?”

They both watched in silence as Ferent performed an overly exaggerated bow, nearly knocking his head against the wall.

“I don’t know, Chloe… I really don’t know.”

That night, at the Forgers’ residence, Yor hung up the phone after a conversation with Yuri and smiled to herself in relief.

“Yor, is everything alright? Is Yuri feeling better now?” Loid asked as he approached with plates and a few glasses to set the table for dinner.

“He is,” she answered, her smile widening. “It looks like he and his co-worker are finally able to see eye to eye on how to do paperwork. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs seems like a really hard place to work in, if even paperwork methodology is discussed to the extent of fighting,” she added, clearly worried for her brother.

Loid looked at her with fondness, finding her innocence quite adorable.

If only you knew, Yor.

He supposed that Yuri’s "co-worker" was obviously another SSS officer, and that the conflict had nothing to do with paperwork, but likely with some mission or operation.

Well, if WISE hasn’t told me anything, that means it’s not something I should concern myself with.

“Oh! Sorry, Loid. Let me handle that! You cooked dinner, so it’s the least I can do!” Yor exclaimed, a bit flustered, hurrying over to try and take the plates and glasses from his hands.

He let her, glad that she felt happy to be of use, even though there was no real need for it. He could easily manage most of the housework himself, but whenever Yor smiled softly at him for letting her help, he felt it was worth pretending she was doing him a huge favor.

That his heart swelled when she looked up at him with a blush blooming across her cheeks was not something he was willing to acknowledge to anyone—least of all to himself.

This is part of the mission. This is for Operation Strix.

Sitting in front of the TV, Anya could only roll her eyes at the way her Papa lied to himself every day.

That was nothing new, so she turned her attention to the bits of conversation between her Mama and Unkie Yuri that she’d been able to hear. It seemed he’d finally stopped fighting with Miss Chloe, and he was happier now because of it.

She recalled her own conversation with Becky—at least the parts that didn’t sound like they were taken straight out of Berlint in Love. What was Miss Chloe to Unkie? Becky had said that every relationship needed to have a "contect," or something like that. Anya didn’t know what that meant, but she was now even more curious about the woman who could affect her Unkie’s mood the same way her Mama did.

The next day, on Friday, the Director announced that everyone not on guard duty would be allowed to enjoy the weekend, including those participating in the operation. After days of exhaustive work, the superiors deemed it fitting to let everyone rest, so they could return on Monday with renewed energy.

Just as everyone was gathering their things to go to the locker rooms and change, Yuri stopped Chloe.

“Hey, so…”

She looked up at him over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at his hesitation.

“What’s the matter, Lieutenant?”

The man opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure how to start. When he finally spoke, his tone was shy, with a barely perceptible hint of grumpiness.

“Um—I was wondering if you were free tomorrow after lunch.”

He didn’t elaborate, so Chloe widened her eyes in disbelief. Yuri Briar… was going to ask her to spend time together outside of work?

“Now you want to be friends with me?” she asked, amused but genuinely curious, her heart racing a bit in her chest. “I thought you didn’t, and I quote, ‘need friends’? Or maybe you’ve changed your mind after our talk?”

“It’s not—ugh!” Yuri started, frustrated. “Listen, you missed Wednesday’s episode of your soap opera because of me, right? I wanted to fix that.”

He crossed his arms proudly over his chest and avoided her eyes as she studied him.

“And how did you plan to do that?” she asked slowly, her tone suspicious.

“A few of my informants owed me a big one, and they happen to work at the cinema. You know how informants have an insane net of contacts and connections, right?”

Chloe nodded, still unsure where he was going with this.

“Well, they managed to pull a few strings with people from the TV studios—who apparently owed them favors in turn—and they got a copy of Wednesday’s episode, ready to be played at the cinema.”

Chloe gasped, her eyes widening further. “What?”

Yuri nodded. “They have to return it on Sunday, though, so tomorrow’s the only day it’ll be available for us to watch.”

Chloe hadn’t yet recovered from the first surprise when Yuri delivered the second.

“You want to watch it too?!”

“Well, I mean… ‘want’ is a strong word,” he muttered, scratching the back of his head and avoiding her eyes again. “This was my idea, and my way of compensating you, so it’d be weird if I didn’t tag along.”

Chloe studied him, wondering who this man in front of her was—and where he had hidden the real Yuri Briar. She could see him growing restless under her gaze, tapping his foot on the floor, his face contorting in nervous irritation.

“W-well?” he snapped. “Are you free or not?”

Chloe let a grin form on her face.

“Of course.”

Chapter Text

Yuri looked at the clock on the wall as he ate breakfast on Saturday morning. He had to meet up with Chloe at 5 p.m., but before that, he’d been thinking about paying a visit to Yor.

And her husband and daughter...

His ears rang at those words taking form in his mind, but he shook his head to try and stop the discomfort.

He needed exposure to the reality of Yor’s situation. He needed to come to terms with the fact that she was married—that Loi-Loi was part of her life as much as he was. Otherwise, he would go insane, and something like the incident was bound to happen again, sooner or later.

He would take baby steps, of course. As much as he was trying to fight down his anger toward Forger after his talk with Chloe, Yuri wanted to spend as little time as possible witnessing whatever romantic shenanigans his sister and that man had going on between them. A quick visit would suffice.

“I’m here, Yor!”

Yuri practically kicked the door open, as he always did when he showed up unannounced at the Forgers’ residence.

A delicious smell coming from the kitchen immediately inundated his nostrils, and just as he was about to walk over and see if it was his sister cooking one of her exquisite dishes, the last person Yuri wanted to see popped his head out to greet him instead.

“What a surprise, Yuri! Are you here to see Yor?”

“Of course, Loi-Loi! Who else?” he barked in response, hanging his jacket on the hat stand. Coming here had been enough effort on Yuri’s part—nobody said he had to be nice on top of that.

The blond man ignored his harsh tone and left the kitchen entirely to greet him properly. Yuri noticed he was wearing an apron and clenched his teeth at himself for having previously acknowledged that the food smelled delicious. If it had been cooked by Forger, then it wasn’t deserving of his praise.

“Where is my sister?”

“She—”

“I’m home!” Yor’s voice suddenly came from behind Yuri, a big smile stretching across her lips. “I bought the ingredients for—Oh, Yuri!”

“Big Sis! I came here to see you!” he greeted her, full of energetic joy at seeing her smiling face. “Where were you? Let me help you with those bags.”

Loid was faster, though, and in the blink of an eye, he walked over to his wife and relieved her of the grocery bags. “I was about to say she’d gone to buy a few ingredients I was missing for my dish, but it seems she’s arrived just in time.” He smiled down at her in appreciation. “Thanks, Yor. Why don’t you and Yuri go sit down while I finish everything up?” Then he looked over at the younger Briar. “You are staying for lunch, right, Yuri?”

“Oh, great idea!” Yor chimed in, clapping her hands together. If Loid didn’t mind, then she was happy to have her brother over.

Yuri glared at Loid, a defiant glint pulsing in his eyes. He’d just tried to help Yor, but he’d been beaten to it once again. Just as he was about to spit out his displeasure, Chloe’s words swept into his mind.

He won’t ever replace you, and you won’t replace him either.

Right. He forced himself to calm down. Loi-Loi could take care of the bags, and he could take care of chatting with Yor for the meantime. His initial anger hadn’t allowed him to see that he’d ended up getting the best half of the bargain.

He remembered he’d just been asked a question.

“I…” He was about to say no, that he wouldn’t stay, but at Yor’s hopeful eyes, he found it impossible to refuse. “Alright…”

“Anya! Your uncle is here!” Yor called, sticking her head into the corridor. “Also, lunch is almost ready!”

Little feet—of both a kid and a dog—could immediately be heard approaching the living room just as Yor turned around and sat down with Yuri on the sofa.

“Unkie Yuri!” Anya greeted, running up to him, followed by Bond. “You feel happier now, right?”

“What are you talking about, Chihuahua girl?” he asked, flinching a bit at her high-pitched voice. He’d given up trying to stop her from calling him uncle, though.

“Well, you don’t look like poop anymore, and—”

“Anya!” Yor chastised her once again at that observation. “We don’t say those words to people,” she corrected kindly.

“Sorry,” she pouted. “What Anya means is that Unkie doesn’t have a sad face anymore.”

“Aw, were you also worried about him? You’re always so perceptive about everyone’s feelings,” Yor gushed, sitting Anya on her lap. “Your uncle’s been having some difficulties at work, but now everything’s resolved. Right, Yuri?”

He was taken aback, not having expected to be pushed to talk about his work with a kid. But at Yor’s pointed look, he understood that his sister was asking him to ease the girl’s worries.

“I… uh… Yeah.” He scratched the back of his head, awkwardly. “I had a misunderstanding with a colleague, but now everything’s fine,” he said concisely.

I can’t tell Yor that I’m going to the cinema later with her. She might get the wrong idea. Even if it’s the weekend, I could be making better use of my time, improving myself in areas where I’m still lacking—not going to watch freaking Berlint in Love. Yor will think I’m wasting my time, won’t she? Or… maybe not? I should also do things that have nothing to do with Yor, right? That’s what Chloe said…

Anya blinked at the tirade of thoughts she’d just read from her uncle’s mind. The answer he’d given out loud hid much more beneath the surface. Berlint in Love? At the cinema? With Miss Chloe? Anya’s mind began racing at all the information. She forced herself to compose her outward appearance, not wanting to give herself away. She nodded, acknowledging his answer before asking another question.

“Anya is happy for Unkie! What other plans do you have for today?” Her tone was innocent, as if it were just a coincidence that her question aligned with his thoughts. Maybe she could get more info about Miss Chloe if she got him to answer. The idea of uncovering a mystery made Anya giddy with excitement.

Yuri jumped a bit at the question. “W-why do you ask that?” he snapped, caught by surprise. “It’s none of your business!”

“Yuri!” Now it was his turn to get scolded by Yor. “Be nice to Anya! She’s just trying to bond with you.”

No, Mama, Anya is trying to know more about his plan with Miss Chloe…

Not betraying her real thoughts, Anya nodded energetically at her mother’s affirmation. “Eschactly, Unkie. Anya is trying hard, but you are making it difficult. Don’t you want to talk with me?” For emphasis, she added a fake pout, followed by a sniff.

Yuri physically recoiled, panic forming in his chest. “Wait, wait! Don’t start crying now! I’ll talk to you!”

Yor smiled happily at them and stood up from the sofa, setting Anya down in her place. “I’ll go and help Loid. You two catch up in the meantime, alright?”

“Yes,” they both said at the same time—with clearly different levels of enthusiasm.

After Yor was out of earshot, Anya immediately turned to her uncle with the smuggest of smirks he had ever seen on her face, making him flinch away from her.

“W-what’s with that face, Chihuahua girl?”

“Now that Mama has gone to flirt with Papa, Unkie can speak with Anya about his plans. Don’t worry, my lips are see-led,” she whispered the last part in an excessively conspiratorial tone.

Yuri couldn’t help the disgusted expression that twisted his face.

“First, don’t use the word flirt when you talk about Yor and that id—your father. Second, you need to stop watching that cartoon about spies, because it’s frying your brain. Haven’t you heard of privacy? I don’t have to tell you anything,” he stated, revoking his previous panic-induced promise to talk.

He crossed his arms over his chest and raised his chin in the air, turning his face away from her.

“I will tell Mama that you don’t want to speak with Anya.”

Yuri immediately snapped his head toward her again, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets at the sudden blackmail.

The girl was displaying the blankest of expressions, her eyes unblinking, staring into his very soul.

Shit, she’s good! If she ends up in the SSS, she could be a great interrogator.

Her lips quirked into one of her trademark smug smirks then, almost as if she’d been able to hear his thoughts. Yuri pulled at the collar of his t-shirt and gulped, his resolve wavering.

“H-hey now,” he tried to placate her, “there’s no need to go to such lengths.”

Alarmed, he quickly glanced at Yor, who was fortunately blissfully unaware of what was happening. She and Loi-Loi were facing the stove, so Yuri could only see their backs and part of their profiles when they turned to each other.

“If you won’t talk to Anya, then let Anya do the talking, Unkie,” the girl said, her now-innocent tone hiding something Yuri didn’t like at all. “Papa and Mama are being lovey-dovey all the time,” she started. “They flirt non-stop, even when we have guests over.”

For some reason he couldn’t comprehend, Chihuahua Girl’s smirk was turning unnervingly wide, far too all-knowing for his liking. Did she really have the upper hand here?

Panicking again, Yuri looked over at the two people in the kitchen. “T-they… They are not flirting, you brat,” he started, his voice raspy, and he had to gulp again, this time to swallow the tight knot in his throat. “They’re cooking, together, s-shoulder to shoulder, and…” he trailed off, his conviction diminishing by the second.

“Oh yeah, this is nothing!” the girl said excitedly, scooting a bit closer to him. “Do you want Anya to tell you all the things they do?”

Yuri felt faint and had to lean back against the sofa.

“T-the things they do...” he babbled, his gaze clouding. “The things they d-do…”

No, definitely not. Under no circumstance would he ever be ready for that. It was already a huge step on his part that he wasn’t crying over his sister’s shoulder as she and “blondie” flirted in his presence. Hearing or seeing more would be the end of him.

“Unkie, do you prefer to talk about your day instead? Papa and Mama do so many things together that Anya would get tired from speaking so much,” she said innocently, blinking up at him with wide eyes.

He slowly looked down at her again, and Yuri swore her mouth twitched briefly into another smirk—although maybe it was his overwhelmed mind playing tricks on his senses. He didn’t have the energy or mental capacity to fight her anymore.

Chihuahua Girl was a dangerous opponent. Dangerous and extremely curious. He didn’t know why she was so adamant about knowing his plans for the day, but he was too scared to ask.

“I’m going to the cinema later, to watch the latest episode of Berlint in Love with that colleague I had an argument with. I have to meet her at 5, at the entrance of the cinema, next to the candy shop,” he confessed weakly, still reclining against the sofa as if all the energy had been drained from his body.

Anya’s lips quirked into a knowing smile, and she empathetically patted her dejected uncle on the arm. “See, Unkie? It wasn’t that hard, right? You have to let those things out instead of bot-ling them up.”

In the back of his swirling mind, Yuri wondered what kind of monster Yor and Loi-Loi were raising in this house.

Anya giggled at her uncle’s dramatic antics, but scooted even closer to him and leaned over to his ear.

“Don’t worry, Anya will keep this informashion to herself. Top secret!”

“Becky, Anya has something important to tell you.”

She was hunched over the receiver of the phone, looking conspiratorially over her shoulder to make sure she was truly alone. Luckily, her father had left right after lunch to attend to some work related to his cover job at the hospital, leaving through the door alongside her uncle. Her mother was currently taking a shower.

“Anya, tell me!” Becky said excitedly from the other end of the line. “Is it gossip?”

Anya supposed it was. She proceeded to tell Becky all about how her uncle had finally reconciled with Miss Chloe, and their meeting later at the cinema. Becky grew more excited by the second, but at the mention of Berlint in Love, she finally exploded.

“What?!” she screeched, making Anya flinch away from the phone. “Anya, get ready soon. I’m picking you up in two hours. We need to witness your uncle’s date with our own two eyes! Tell Loid and your mother that we’re going to the cinema to watch… uhhh… The Princess and the Toad!”

Becky hung up, leaving Anya staring at the receiver in disbelief. Who would have thought that Becky’s love for romance and gossip would make her the perfect partner for this mission?

“Since when do you like going to the cinema, young Miss?” Martha Marriott asked as she drove the two girls toward Berlint’s cultural district. “You’ve never had the need to go to one thanks to the private projection room at home, so what’s going on?”

“Well, I wanted to experience how Anya did it. She needs to watch movies at the cinema like the rest of the common people, so I thought it would be an immersive experience for me!” Becky lied easily.

Martha sighed, regretting her question. “Sorry, Miss Anya. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sure that going to the cinema will be a humbling experience for the young Miss.”

Anya didn’t mind Becky’s harmless comments about their different lifestyles, so she simply shrugged. “Anya wants to spend time with Becky, and I don’t think Papa and Mama would’ve liked The Princess and the… uuuh—”

“The Toad,” Becky filled in for her, not wanting Martha to suspect their real plan. “We’re excited to watch it, right Anya?” she added, elbowing her friend.

“Uh? Oh, yes! Anya is sure it will be fun!”

She looked out the window as Martha turned toward the cinema’s private parking. It was a good thing her Mama had let her go, even if she’d had to lie about the real purpose of their outing. Apparently, having Becky’s butler accompany them—as always—was enough of a deterrent to keep her parents from asking too many questions.

They had faith in someone who was also being lied to this time.

Anya felt a little bad, but it was all for the sake of her investigation.

Chapter Text

Luckily, when they emerged from the underground parking garage and started approaching the main entrance of the cinema, Anya saw that her uncle was already there, waiting alone as he uninterestedly read the titles of all the movies they were screening that day.

“Becky, that’s Unkie Yuri” Anya whispered to her friend. She grabbed her by the hand, and pulled her to hide them both behind a gigantic flower pot. Martha, who was walking several feet behind, stopped and looked at them with a quirked eyebrow.

Becky peeked her head out of their hiding spot to get a better view, and her eyes almost left their sockets as she practically choked on a gasp.

“That’s-” she gulped, before continuing with a trembling hand pointing at Yuri, “That’s your uncle?!”

Anya slapped a hand against Becky’s mouth and dragged her behind the flower pot again. “Shhh! He’s going to hear you! We need to wait for Miss Chloe to appear before we give our location away!” she urged, using a phrase she heard from Spy Wars.

Becky nodded, and took a few deep breaths before speaking again in hushed screams. “How could you hide this from me, Anya? First your father, and now your uncle? He is not as elegant as my beloved Loid, but still! Are all the men in your family so ridiculously dreamy and handsome?”

Anya contorted her face in disgust. “Ew. Unkie Yuri is handsome because he looks like Mama, but his mood is the worst. You can’t like him, Becky”

“Well, I will be the one deciding that! Maybe that woman, Chloe, is not as pretty as you said. Maybe I was completely wrong and he doesn’t like her at all. I’m sure that if he gets to know me-”

“Young Miss!” Martha reprimanded, finally deciding to approach them after getting a weak grasp of the situation. “That is not how a lady as yourself should behave!”

“Shhh!” the two girls chastised, grabbing her by the trousers and pulling her towards the wall with them, the flowerpot covering only up to her waist.

“Can you two tell me what is going on?” she asked in a lower voice, arms crossed over her chest.

“Later, Martha, later!” Becky swatted her hand a bit as she turned to Yuri again. “We need to stay focused!”

The woman simply sighed tiredly, but remained in place and decided to play along, even if the three of them were getting looks from the passers-by.

After a few minutes, at 5 o’clock sharp, they heard a female voice from the other side of the street.

“Yuri! I’m here!”

A woman in her early twenties, dressed in an oversized coat, long skirt and brown boots, ran up to him after waiting for an opening between the passing cars, her also long earrings dangling around as she moved.

“Is that her?” Becky stomped her foot on the ground, clearly frustrated. “Ugh! She is super pretty, and her fashion style, although worse than mine, looks surprisingly nice and chic. I have to say, Anya, that if your uncle ends up marrying her, your entire family would consist of good looking people! You are so lucky!” she added, her whining tone denoting clear jealousy.

Anya looked at her friend with boredom in her eyes.

Anya doesn’t care about that. What Anya cares about is that Miss Chloe is also from the SSS, so it would be exciting to have her around!

“Young Miss, you shouldn’t talk about other people like that” Martha lectured again. “We don’t know the nature of their relationship. A man and a woman of the same age can simply be friends, and nothing more”

At that, Anya caught some interesting images forming in the old woman’s head that she didn’t understand. For some reason, Mr. Henderson was in them.

She decided to focus her attention on her uncle and Miss Chloe again, though, least she missed up important details. Alongside Becky and Martha, Anya leaned in a bit closer behind their hiding spot, the three of them straining their ears so they could hear the pair better.

“Hey there” Yuri greeted, turning to the newcomer. “You are just in time, let’s go”

“No way. I’m getting popcorn first!” Chloe answered. “It’s been ages since the last time I went to the cinema. Let me do this properly!”

“Fine” Yuri sighed, rolling his eyes as he followed Chloe to the candy shop.

Once they disappeared inside, Anya and Becky turned to each other and nodded in silent agreement.

The two abandoned their hiding spot behind the flower pot and took off towards the candy shop, leaving a confused Martha trailing on behind them.

“Young Miss! Miss Anya!” she called, her voice still low in spite of everything. “This is not appropriate in the least! And, by the way, didn’t you want to watch The Princess and the Toad? It’s going to start soon!”

“I want popcorn, Martha” Becky improvised, looking at her butler over her shoulder.

“Me too!” Anya added, nodding energetically. “And a bag of peanuts!”

Once they stopped at the door of the shop, however, their cover was suddenly blown.

Yuri slammed the door open, emerging from the interior as soon as the girls were about to peer inside, and grabbed Anya by the back of her coat, lifting her up until she was at his eye-level.

“Aha! Got you!”

“Noo! Anya was discovered too soon!” the girl whined, thrashing around a bit in his grasp.

“Chihuahua girl, you have done a terrible job at concealing yourself. What the fu-? ...Ahem! What on earth are you doing here?!” he seethed. “I speak with you about my plans for today and you suddenly appear here? And don’t tell me you wanted to coincidentally watch a movie! I noticed you and your little friend here spying on me the moment you arrived!”

Becky swooned, her heart racing at being acknowledged by this furious man, while Martha gasped at the realization that this had been an elaborate plan concocted by the two girls since the beginning, and she’d been out of the loop the whole time.

“Unkie! Anya was simply-” the pink-haired girl started before getting interrupted by Becky.

“S-S-Sir!” she called, her voice trembling. “My name is Becky Blackbell, I’m 6 years old, I go to Eden Academy, my father is the owner of Blackbell Heavy Industries, my favourite TV show is Berlint in Love, I have a dog named-”

Martha quickly picked Becky up and placed her under her arm, interrupting her tirade. She bowed her head repeatedly in an apologetic gesture.

“I’m sorry. I’m extremely sorry”

Yuri blinked in utter confusion, but before any of them could say anything else, the door of the candy shop opened again, and a smiling Chloe cradling a bucket of popcorn made her way out.

“Did someone say Berlint in Love? It seems these adorable spies of ours have very refined tastes”. Her expression turned pensive then, “The show is rated PG 16, though…”

She swatted the air in dismissal, and grinned again. “Well, who cares? Anya Forger and Becky Blackbell, right? Mr. Grumpy here has told me about you both”. She ignored Yuri’s murderous gaze as she greeted the two girls, who were still trapped in the air by him and Martha.

While Becky almost fainted at hearing that, Anya returned the smile, and nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes! I’m Anya! Has Unkie really talked to you about us?”

“No, I haven’t!” he screamed, staring daggers at Chloe as his face flushed.

She glanced up at him innocently, and silently smirked at his mortified expression. She decided to have a little fun at his expense.

“Of course he has! He always tells me about his adorable niece and how happy he is to see her every time he goes to visit his sister! He tells me so much, that he’d even mentioned Miss Blackbell at some point, because she is Anya’s best friend, right?”

“I-I-I…” Becky babbled incoherently, her face burning red.

“Chloe!” Yuri barked. “Stop spitting such nonsen-!”

“Sorry, Madam, I didn’t catch your name” Chloe saved Becky from an aneurysm and drowned down Yuri’s annoying voice by turning her attention to Martha.

The older woman bowed again, still apologetic. “My name is Martha Marriott. I’m a butler for the Blackbell family, and the personal caretaker of Miss Becky”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Chloe, his work colleague at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs” she said, making sure to add that last statement, just in case. She then elbowed Yuri on the ribs.

He turned his furious eyes to her for the nth time, but understood her message and complied nonetheless. He finally placed Anya on the ground, and grumbled a bit before speaking. “Yuri Briar. I’m Yor’s brother and Anya’s… uncle”

Anya gasped before grinning up at him, as if he’d just said the most wonderful thing in the world. And in a sense, he’d done just that in her eyes, even if his intention might have been simply to avoid inquisitive stares from Becky and Martha.

“Unkie! You finally said Anya’s name, and called yourself my uncle!” she exclaimed, hopping excitedly in place.

“Ugh, don’t get used to it, brat” he grumbled again, avoiding everyone’s eyes.

“Anyway!” Chloe chimed in, finally deciding to save Yuri a bit of face. “I heard Miss Becky say that she likes Berlint in Love, and coincidentally, it is also my favourite show! We were about to go and watch last Wednesday’s episode in one of the theatres. We got exclusive access, hehe. Would you like to join us?”

“What?!” Yuri and Becky screamed at the same time. Him, looking completely outraged; her, springing to life under Martha’s arm, practically with hearts in her eyes.

“Oh, there is no need, thank you. The young Miss has already watched the episode on the day it aired. The girls were actually going to watch another movie, right?” Martha said with a forced smile, still trying to veer the situation towards a plan that was never on the table to begin with.

Anya debated internally with herself for a few seconds. She didn’t want to watch neither Berlint in Love nor The Princess and the Toad. She simply came here to investigate who was the other important woman in her uncle’s life. Rejecting the invitation was surely going to cut said investigation short, so the answer was clear. And it seemed Becky agreed, although for entirely different reasons.

She nodded up to Chloe, her face breaking into a wide grin.

“We will go with you!”

--------

Yuri dragged his feet against the carpeted floor, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

He was walking behind the group towards the theatre, eyeing the two girls and his co-worker, who conversed animatedly in front of him. Chloe was flanked by Chihuahua girl and Little Blackbell, who were both pestering her with questions about him, speaking over each other in their high-pitched voices. One was asking for embarrassing anecdotes about him, while the other asked suspiciously inappropriate questions about his love life. Chloe entertained them as best as she could, clearly having the time of her life at his expense.

Yuri simply wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

The lady butler was the only normal one amongst them, but it seemed that even she had given up in trying to control the girls.

All of them were carrying copious amounts of popcorn and candy, mainly the younger ones. Thankfully, Little Blackbell had taken care of the payment, so his wallet was safe for now.

He massaged his temples. If it were him talking to Blackbell’s heiress, he would be trying to wrench some info out of her that could benefit the SSS, but Chloe was wasting a precious opportunity by telling the girl that he had been single his entire life because he was nothing short of annoying.

He would have her executed one of these days.

He gazed at her with curiosity in the midst of his furious embarrassment, studying the colleague who had accompanied him on countless missions, who had worked with him with the seriousness and precision that their job required, who had treated him like the higher-rank officer that he was unless she had needed to rightfully correct him. The Chloe walking now in front of him was way different, someone who was unrestrained from SSS hierarchy and was freely and cheerfully speaking her mind, unafraid of shattering his dignity in front of his little niece and the little heiress of Ostania’s most powerful military manufacturer.

That relaxed genuine smile she was portraying as she spoke to the girls was certainly something he’d never seen before in her, so Yuri held back his tongue and endured their conversation. Chloe was, thankfully, not telling them about the utterly embarrassing anecdotes, so she was still saving him some grace.

Yuri sighed, defeated. He owed Chloe, and if she was having fun, then he would shut up for once and let her be.

But, was she really enjoying this? Getting their outing hijacked by Chihuahua girl, her best friend, and the latter’s old babysitter? Was she simply happy to finally meet the brat he’d talked to her about before? Or maybe finding a kindred spirit that shared her enthusiasm for Berlint in Love had uplifted her mood?

He guessed he was not the best company to enjoy this kind of activity.

Maybe he wasn’t the best company, altogether.

“Unkie”. Chihuahua girl addressed him, slowing down for a second to fall into place by his side. “Anya promises not to tell Mama nor anybody else about this ooting. Anya knows you don’t like to talk much about your life, not even with Mama, so Anya won’t say a word. This will stay as a private investigashion of Agent Starlight and her partners”

“Investigation” he corrected. “About what?”

He mentally thanked her for seemingly wanting to keep this from Yor. He wasn’t ready to open up to her yet about what he did in his free time, least she got disappointed in him… Even if Chloe had assured him that Yor would be happy that he did other activities outside of work with people that wasn’t her, he still wasn’t entirely convinced about that. After all, he knew Yor better than anyone. If someone could understand his sister, it was him.

Chihuahua girl seemed to be extremely intuitive of other people’s struggles, and he was glad that he didn’t have to tell her about his internal demons for her to respect his wishes.

Even if she, herself, had ended up coming here to spy on him with two more people.

He sighed, deciding to cut her some slack, if even for his own peace of mind.

The girl smiled widely at him and placed her small hand in his, swinging them back and forth. It was annoying, but he bit his tongue down and endured it.

“About you, Unkie!” she answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Anya barely knows you, because you never want to talk to me, so when you spoke about the cinema and about a friend of yours, Anya got very happy! Miss Chloe seems cool and Becky likes her too!”

A pang of guilt hit Yuri right across the heart. It’s not like he hated the small girl that was holding his hand tightly. She… She simply was Forger’s daughter, so by association, someone who had contributed to the open wound he still carried around. He silently cared for her, but couldn’t bring himself to completely change his views of her and her father, and even less, demonstrate it with openly-positive words and actions.

“Chloe is not a friend” he said mechanically, almost as if a robot had a pre-recorded phrase that was triggered every time someone pressed a button. Yuri’s trigger was the assumption people made sometimes about him having friends. He had always rejected the notion, even in relation to Dominic. It was easier like that. “Just another colleague from work, no one special”

Liar.

He shook his head, forcing his own voice out of his mind.

“Do cow-orkers usually go to the cinema alone? Mama and Papa have never been invited by people from their work to watch a movie with them. Sometimes, Mama has drinks with some women from her job, but they go as a group. Are you sure Miss Chloe is not a special cow-orker?”

Yuri tensed at the implications. If someone as young as Chihuahua girl was making those kinds of assumptions, then Chloe herself was surely thinking that too, right? Had he given her the idea that this was some kind of date?

His mind started to race. He had invited her to the cinema, to a theatre reserved for just the two of them, where they would be alone and in the dark, watching the sappiest and most vomit-inducing romantic show invented by humankind. Chloe even knew he’d gone to the length of contacting his informants and calling in some favours from them just to get her the episode she missed because of him.

Fuck!

Chihuahua girl suddenly flinched a bit, but he paid no mind to her. He had messed up, greatly. He’d messed up so bad that he was now relieved and thankful for the three hijackers that would be accompanying them inside that dark room.

He just hoped Chloe didn’t read too much into it and didn’t slap him to the end of the world.

Wait, but she had accepted, right?

He stopped dead in his tracks when that realization hit him, making Anya trip as he pulled her back with him, only to suddenly start walking again a second later.

If Chloe had thought he was trying to make a move on her, she would have surely said a decisive “no” as soon as he proposed this plan.

He raised his pensive eyes to her again, still walking in front of him with Little Blackbell pressed to her side, the girl now bombarding her with questions about the kind of relationship she had with him. She gave nothing away, answering with the same standard phrase he himself had given to Chihuahua girl.

“He is a work colleague, just that”

Yuri frowned.

Liar.

--------

He and Chloe sat side by side in the middle row, flanked by Little Blackbell and Chihuahua girl respectively, with the lady butler taking a spot next to the brunette girl.

The old woman had tried to get him and Chloe to sit together alone, offering to take the girls to the back row, so as to not disturb them.

Yuri had remained silent, afraid to both agree and disagree to the proposition. Yes, the original plan had been to be completely alone with Chloe, but after his earlier epiphany, he was afraid that she would be getting the wrong idea of the whole ordeal. However, he also didn’t want to have the shrilling voices of the two girls drilling into his ears the whole time. He knew how Chihuahua girl got when she watched Spy Wars, and Little Blackbell had been rambling since they stepped foot inside the building, so he doubted she would ever shut up. Additionally, the girl had protested when her butler tried to take her away, claiming, for some reason Yuri didn’t understand, that she wanted to sit next to him.

After a few chaotic moments in which Chihuahua girl also started to ask for a seat next to him while the butler still fought to be heard and take the girls to the back, Chloe intervened. Yuri was saved by her diplomatic techniques, convincing Little Blackbell to sit by her side instead so they could comment on the episode, and arguing that her butler would surely like to seat next to her as well.

The seating arrangements had finally been made, and the episode started after the lights went off.

Time passed gradually, and Yuri was barely understanding whatever was happening on the screen, his knowledge of Berlint in Love too limited to properly get what all the hype was about. The only thing that was becoming clear to him was that this was the most absurd show he’d ever had the misfortune to watch in his entire life. The male lead having no backbone and standing for himself against his sister was dumb. The female lead suffering for a man like that was even dumber. Yuri didn’t understand who approved of this script.

He intermittently heard Little Blackbell whispering to Chloe after some scenes, the two of them commenting on them as if they were experts on the matter. He guessed they were.

“Oh, you will love what happens next!” he heard the girl say. “Pay attention, Miss Chloe!”

By his side, Chloe, with her eyes trained on the screen, was gripping her popcorn bucket so hard that she was unconsciously twisting the cardboard in her hands. Yuri looked at her in silent amusement, incredulous that she had this secret side to her that contrasted so greatly with what little he knew of her. Another addition to his “list of Chloe’s traits” he was discovering today.

He curiously trailed his eyes over her profile, wondering if he should tease her later for her deep frown and the way she was chewing on her lip in anticipation of the scene. Interestingly, or maybe not, Yuri just realized that Chloe had actually been wearing a very faint-coloured lipstick, and it was gradually coming off due to the torture her teeth were inflicting upon her lower lip.

He was so bored, that that simple movement was becoming hypnotizing…

Yuri shifted in his seat and coughed slightly, tearing his eyes away when he realized he’d been staring for a few seconds too-long. Luckily, Chloe paid no mind to him at all.

He focused again on the screen, where the dumb protagonists, who Yuri recalled were Vincent and Sonia, were finally having an extremely important and anticipated reunion, if the reactions of both Little Blackbell and Chloe were anything to go by.

“I won’t marry Susan, Sonia. I love you… Always have, and always will”

“Oh, Vincent!”

The man got down on one knee, and Yuri heard twin gasps coming from his right side. He looked out of the corner of his eye, and had to supress an incredulous snort when he discerned in the darkness that Chloe and Little Blackbell were grasping each other’s hand as if their life depended on it. To his left side, Chihuahua girl had fallen asleep a long time ago.

“Sonia, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”

At that moment, chaos erupted. Yuri found himself suddenly covered in popcorn, the bucket flying away from Chloe’s grasp as she excitedly threw both her hands in the air to cover her mouth. Little Blackbell was squealing like a madwoman, kicking her feet around as she excitedly slapped Chloe in the thigh. Chihuahua girl suddenly bolted awake, presumably scared to death due to the commotion, and almost hit her head against the seat in front of her.

“I told you that you would love this!” the brunette girl shrieked.

“Oh, finally! I hope this means Susan is gone for good!” Chloe added, her eyes wide.

Yuri rolled his eyes and was about to start screaming too for having been showered in popcorn, when a second round of squealing courtesy of the girl in pigtails came as the female lead agreed to the marriage proposal.

A make out scene between the protagonists followed immediately after, and Yuri automatically slapped a hand against Chihuahua girl’s eyes, shielding her from such depravity.

On the other side, he discerned that the lady butler had done the same to Little Blackbell.

“Young Miss, you are indeed too young to watch this part. I didn’t let you watch it last Wednesday and I won’t make an exception today” he heard her say.

“Aw, but Martha!”

Chloe turned to him then, with a big grin that reached her eyes. She was clearly about to explain something to him about the importance of the scene that had just transpired, when her gaze suddenly turned confused and started moving all over his head and face.

“What happened to you?” she snorted. “Why are you covered in popcorn?”

“It was you, idiot” he growled. “You spilled your bucket all over me”

“Really? Pffft, sorry” she giggled, clearly not sorry at all. “Let me help. It seems those annoying little remains at the bottom of the bucket have stuck to your hair”.

She raised a hand and dusted off the top of his head first, little pieces of popcorn falling around his eyes and onto his clothes.

Yuri briefly raised his gaze to the screen from above Chloe’s head. For some reason he couldn’t comprehend, the two protagonists were still making out, shoving their tongues down each other’s throats as the emotional music picked up. He pressed his hand against his niece’s eyes a bit more firmly, in spite of her confused protests.

Chloe entered his peripheral vision again as she continued her actions, her hand moving a bit lower towards the side of his head, where she flicked her fingers a bit as more popcorn dust abandoned his dark locks. She briefly grazed his skin, making his eyes return to her again.

Her silhouette was framed by the light coming from the screen, and in that perspective Yuri was able to discern a few loose strands of hair that had escaped her usually perfectly-combed bob. She was portraying a concentrated expression, her sharp gaze searching around for more remains in the dim light. Her eyelashes were very long, Yuri noticed when she blinked a few times.

The loud music and the lewd noises of the kiss blared inside his ears. Just how long was this scene going to last?

“Let me fix your bangs. They’re completely covered in popcorn” Chloe said, stifling a laugh as she shifted on her seat and scooted a bit closer. Her hand passed in front of his eyes, her fingers briefly caressing his forehead as she got rid of the mess.

Why was the music so damn loud? When were the protagonists supposed to stop kissing? Why was he letting Chloe touch him like this?

Overwhelmed and conditioned by what was happening on the screen, Yuri’s wavering gaze dizzily lowered to her lips, to the mess she’d made by biting down and removing half of the lipstick away in the process.

She was doing it again, concentrated on her task, the lipstick smudging a bit against the skin under her lower lip.

Yuri swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.

“Done” Chloe stated, giving him a playful pat against his forehead. She accommodated herself back on her seat again, and returned her attention to the screen. The music finally lowered, and the protagonists stopped kissing at last, now walking into the horizon hand in hand.

Yuri woke up from whatever trance he’d been subjected to, his ears ringing, and removed his trembling hand from Chihuahua girl’s eyes. He noticed, relieved, that she had fallen asleep again.

He envied her. He wished he could sleep and only wake up when this whole ordeal had finally come to an end.

He also wished that Chloe fixed her damn lipstick once and for all.

--------

Little Blackbell gasped to the point of choking as the lights came on inside the theatre half an hour later, the ending credits of the episode rolling on the screen. She pointed to Chloe’s face, then to Yuri’s, and flushed to the tip of her ears.

“You… You’ve kissed?!”

“What?!” the two of them screamed, equal parts astounded and outraged, and matched her blushing countenance with a fresh red colour creeping up their cheeks.

“Miss Chloe’s lipstick is all smudged! Did it happen when Martha covered my eyes?” the girl pouted, indignant.

“Young Miss!”

Chloe immediately brought her fingers to her lips, and scrubbed rapidly around them to get rid of whatever remains were staining her skin.

“That’s not-­!” Yuri yelled, alarmed, raising his hands defensively. “I would never-! Why would I do that?!”

As the two SSS agents denied the accusations and explained the reality of the situation, Anya finally blinked her eyes open, a trail of drool rolling down her chin.

As she caught parts of the heated conversation, she decided to close her eyes again and take another quick nap, concluding her investigation about her uncle and Miss Chloe.

She had reached some very interesting conclusions that she, for the moment, would be keeping to herself.

--------

“Well, that was something” Chloe smiled fondly at Anya and Becky as the two girls waved at them from the passing limousine that drove away from the cinema. “Your niece and Blackbell’s daughter are adorable”

“I definitely wouldn’t use that word to describe them” Yuri grumbled, massaging his pounding temples.

Chloe laughed lightly, shoving him playfully.

“Aw, come on. It wasn’t that bad. They were good company, and I had fun with them. Besides, little Becky’s crush on you was an hilarious addition to this outing”

“Her what?” Yuri asked, dismayed. “So that’s why she was asking those ridiculous questions? You know what? No, I don’t want to know. Don’t speak about it”

Chloe giggled again, bringing her fingers up to cover her mouth.

Yuri noticed that she’d completely removed the lipstick, presumably during that bathroom break all of them had taken after leaving the theatre.

“Seriously, Yuri, I had a great time” she added, her laugh morphing into a sincere and candid smile. “Thanks for doing this. You could have simply let me come alone, or even do nothing at all, but instead you’ve made the effort to join me, in spite of probably finding Berlint in Love absolutely repulsing”, she smiled humorously at him. “This means a lot, thank you”

Yuri turned his eyes away and crossed his arms over his chest, not knowing how to properly respond to her sincere feelings. “Shut up, don’t mention it. If anyone at work gets wind of this, I will have you executed”

“Deal” she laughed.

They silently started walking together, their respective apartments sharing the same path for the moment. The sun had already set, and the chilling air of the night was starting to pick up. After a moment of silence, Chloe cleared her throat and spoke again.

“Hey, I don’t want to force anything on you, and I don’t want you to think that I have expectations for you to consider me a friend after today but…” she trailed off, catching Yuri’s attention. “After our talk the other day… You know… If you ever want to do something outside of work with someone that’s not your sister, just call me, alright? I would be happy to spend more time with an annoying brat like you” she added, playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

Yuri looked at her out of the corner of his eye, deciding to ignore yet another one of the many instances in which she annoyingly referred to him as a brat. He was silently reassured that she was leaving the labelling of whatever their relationship was to him, though. She was not pressuring, but merely offering her company.

He was also relieved that she wasn’t slapping him under the belief this had been a romantic date. It seemed he had been worried for nothing.

He merely nodded once, refusing to delve too deep into the fact that he didn’t find the idea of meeting Chloe again outside work too unpleasant.

“Noted”

Chapter Text

The following week passed exhaustingly slow. In addition to her other tasks, Chloe had been assigned to help officer Nigel Ferent with his practice speech and approach methods for Madame Kirsa in a different room, away from the prying eyes of their colleagues. She had acted as if she was the matriarch, and had let him try to “seduce” her with both words and actions as best as he could. It had been awkward and a bit bizarre at the beginning, but Ferent was easy to get along with, and she did her best to encourage him. However, despite both their best efforts, the man was still too nervous, too afraid of making a mistake. He was still too inexperienced, and it was clear he was dying to go back to his work amongst explosives and fire hazards.

Chloe only hoped that when the time came for him to have the real Madame Kirsa face to face, their training helped him overcome the situation unscathed and successfully.

Wednesday’s episode of Berlint in Love had her smiling the entire time, as memories of her time at the cinema with Yuri, Anya, Becky and Martha flashed through her mind. That same night, she unfortunately had to say goodbye to the purple flowers Yuri gifted her exactly a week earlier. She’d done her best to care for them, but flowers were bound to wilt sooner or later. Slipping a coat over her pyjamas, she put on her boots and descended the stairs of her building, the wilted bouquet secured in her arms as she headed toward the small communal garden in the back.

Maybe it was silly of her, and maybe she was giving it more importance than she should, but simply tossing the flowers in the trash felt disrespectful and wasteful, so she decided to place them under one of the big trees in the garden instead. At least now, the earth, the squirrels and the birds could make use of them.

On Friday, some of her colleagues proposed they all went to get some well-deserved drinks together after work. Chloe agreed, alongside the majority of young members of the squad who had no family or other responsibilities at home to attend to.

“Lieutenant, will you join us?” she asked Yuri in private as they were gathering up their belongings before leaving.

“No” he stated dryly. At her unimpressed gaze, he sighed and elaborated, “I know, I know… I ‘should go out more and try to enjoy myself’. I get it. But… I can’t let myself get too distracted either”

“Aw, come on! Let’s have some fun for once! You are the youngest here and you are acting like that? How old are you in reality?” she joked in a low voice, so no one could hear their conversation.

“Officer, if you have a death wish, just say so” Yuri said darkly. “Speaking like that to a superior...You constantly call me a brat, now you are suggesting that I’m-”

“Even the Captain will come, and he doubles us in age” Chloe continued, completely ignoring his empty threats. “I get that you didn’t want to go to parties and social gatherings during our university years, and to be fair, you were too young then, but things are different now!”

“…”

“Look, I promise I will personally drive you home the moment you tell me you want to leave, alright?” Chloe insisted. “Besides, don’t you want to tell your sister that you are getting along with your co-workers? I’m sure she will be happy to hear that”

At the mention of Yor, Yuri perked up immediately, and his serious demeanor vanished in an instant. “Alright, I will go!”

“Seriously, I wish I shouldn’t need to use her name as bait, Lieutenant”

--------

“Another round of shots!”

Fourteen people sat cramped together around a circular big table in a corner of the local bar they’ve chosen. It was complete chaos.

The music was not too loud, but the crowds filling the place added to their own blaring conversations and drunken laughs made it almost impossible to communicate without screaming their heads off. People continuously came and went from the table to the bar, ordering round after round, while others took constant toilet breaks or decided to try their luck with the darts. Many changed seats every time someone got up, so they could talk to other colleagues that had been previously too far away from them. At some point, a violent game of domino full of insults and threats took place between the four occupants of the left side of the table.

Chloe was currently squished between two colleagues named Johan and Alphonse, and both of them were insisting on paying for the next round of shots, screaming at each other from above her head.

Alphonse had taken advantage of the fact that Yuri had momentarily abandoned his seat besides Chloe to go to the toilet, and had immediately plopped into the empty chair afterwards, not giving anyone else the opportunity to occupy it while their Lieutenant was away.

“Hey, hey, calm down, tigers” the Captain, the only one who seemed sober, chuckled at the scene from the other side of the table. “We get it. You want to brag about your money in front of the lady, but I think she isn’t interested at all”

Oblivious of the men at her sides, Chloe was leaning over the table, engaged in deep and loud conversation with another colleague sitting somewhere to her right side. They both raised their current shot glasses in the air to toast from the distance that separated them, and downed their drinks in one go.

The alcohol burned her throat momentarily, but Chloe sighed contentedly at the pleasant tipsiness she was feeling.

“Come on! Where is the next round of shots?” someone who just came back from playing darts screamed aloud. “Alphonse, shut up and go to the bar! Didn’t you just get a raise? Prove it!”

“Ha! In your face, Johan!” the aforementioned man flipped his colleague off before leaving the table.

“Yeah, well, I will pay for the next—!”

“Johan…” Chloe started, slurring his name slightly as she smiled venomously at him. “Could you kindly stop screaming for a few minutes? You and Alphonse have been giving me a migraine for the past ten minutes”

“Oh! Sure, Chloe, sorry” he coughed a bit, clearing his throat. “So… Now that we are alone, how about telling me a little about yourself? And then I can tell you all about the new sports car that I want to buy”

He was slurring his words too, and when he passed a hand over his hair to comb it back with his fingers, Chloe had to bite down on her lip to supress a snort at his weak flirting attempts.

Before she could respond, a loud voice screamed just as its owner approached them.

“Hey! Ish thish man bothering you, Chl-Chro-Chloe?”

Yuri, who had just returned from the toilet, zig-zagged towards them in wide strides, his face drunkenly red. Chloe couldn’t contain her laughter anymore.

Yuri almost collided against her chair as he stopped abruptly by her side, and immediately turned to Johan and grabbed him by the collar of the shirt.

“Who aregh you, and why are you sitting at ourgh table?” he murmured threateningly.

“S-sir!” Johan yelped. “It’s me, Johan! I’ve been sitting here the entire time! Didn’t you see me?”

“Hey, it’s true” Chloe intervened half-heartedly, trying to placate Yuri in spite of the amused laugh she was unsuccessfully trying to hide behind her hand. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice him at all considering you were sitting so close to each other”

“Johan…” Yuri squinted his eyes as he inspected the face in front of him. “Oh, I didn’t rrrecognize you without the uniform”

He immediately released the man, dusted off his clothes and returned to his seat, slightly kicking Chloe’s chair the process as he stumbled on his feet.

“What the hell was that?” Johan whispered to her, tugging at the collar Yuri had so roughly yanked.

“He is a lightweight” Chloe shrugged. “Don’t take it to heart. Some people shouldn’t drink if they don’t know when to stop”

“Hey! I heard you!” Yuri snapped, turning to her. 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever” she dismissed his little outburst with a flick of her wrist before leaning towards him with a knowing smile. “Listen, Yuri, what do you say we take a break outside while we eat something? Or maybe you want to go home?”

He looked at her with unfocused eyes, contemplating the options.

“No, you promished to drive me home, but you cannot do that now”

“True, I’ve drank quite a bit myself” Chloe admitted. “If you want to leave, I can pay for a taxi. Take it as a gift for letting me convince you to come here”

“I don’t want to leave yet” Yuri frowned. “I know what I shaid, but you were rrright. Thish ish not too bad. I can shtay a bit longer”

Chloe’s smile reached her eyes as she grinned happily. She was proud of Yuri, and she was also proud of herself for successfully pushing him slightly out of his comfort zone.

“Alright, I’m going to grab a bratwurst from that small kiosk outside. Want to come? It will do you good to eat something, Yuri. You can barely walk straight”

“Yeah, let’sh go. I need some fresh airgh anyway”

They both got up from their seats, and Chloe turned her attention to their Captain, who was in the middle of a game of poker with the officers around him.

“Sir, we are going to get a bite outside. It’s too hot and stuffy here, and my head is killing me. We’ll be back shortly”

 “Of course, take your time”

--------

They sat together on a bench on the other side of the street, facing the bar. The noise inside was so loud, that they could even hear entire screamed conversations from their colleagues and other patrons.

“Feeling better?” Chloe asked, munching on her food.

Yuri nodded, taking another bite of the juicy sausage. “Yes, thanks. I don’t even know what I was drinking anymore. How many rounds did we have?”

“I have no idea. I lost count at seven” Chloe sighed. “But hey, at least you are not slurring your words anymore. Food really is a miracle. Cheers” she added, raising her snack solemnly towards him.

Yuri complied and slightly bumped his food against hers before taking another bite.

“Hey, so…” he started awkwardly a while later, both of them having almost finished their bratwursts. “Was I interrupting something?”

Chloe raised a confused eyebrow at him. “Uh, what do you mean?”

Yuri cleared his throat, looking for the right words to say.

“You and Johan” he clarified at last. “I got the impression he was trying to flirt with you, and maybe I got in the way. I honestly didn’t recognize him, I swear” he added, uncomfortably scratching the back of his neck as he avoided her eyes.

Chloe studied him for what seemed like an eternity, until Yuri apparently couldn’t stand her intense gaze piercing the side of his head anymore, and finally turned to her.

“W-well?”

Chloe’s pensive expression broke when the corners of her lips started twitching, and she immediately slapped a hand against her mouth to try to muffle the loudest and most undignified snort she’d ever let out in her entire life.

At Yuri’s flabbergasted look, she broke down in full fits of laughter, not bothering to control herself anymore.

“W-why are you laughing?” he asked, trying to understand whatever joke he’d said that had her doubling over herself on the bench.

Unable to speak, Chloe simply grabbed at her stomach and let it all out, slapping her thigh several times in the process.

Yuri waited patiently until she was done, his eyes wide in shock at her strong display of amusement caused by still unknown reasons.

“You should have seen yourself at that moment —pffft. You almost choked when you tried to say my name!” Chloe finally spoke, panting between words. “And Johan’s face when you grabbed him? Poor dude!” she guffawed, throwing her head back.

“H-hey! I thought he was a random creep that had joined the table!” Yuri tried to defend himself.

“No, no, I believe you!” Chloe panted, wiping away a tear from her eye. “But it was hilarious nonetheless, Yuri” she chuckled, trying to calm herself down as she massaged her aching cheeks.

The man grumbled under his breath, blushing in embarrassment. “Tsk, it won’t happen again”

Chloe smiled down at her lap, letting out a final small breathy laugh. Not only did her cheeks hurt, but her stomach and the sides of her head did as well.

“In any case,” she started, speaking a bit softer, “I can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed like this”. She raised her eyes to him again, “So thank you for that. You’ve made my night”

Yuri’s blush of embarrassment deepened. He didn’t know what to do or say to that, so he decided to threaten her again. “Yeah, well, I will throw you in prison for laughing at a superior”

“I see. How many years will I serve for that?”

“As many as I want”

“Oh, then it’s probably going to be a life sentence” Chloe sighed. “Pity, I was going to tell Johan to take me out on a date sometime”

She noticed Yuri’s slight frown deepening. “Well, I will make sure to give you a private room during visitation hours so you can get all kissy-kissy with him” he scoffed.

Chloe tried to remain serious and composed in spite of the joking banter, but laughter threatened to leave from her lips once again. Kissy-kissy? Who said that apart from toddlers?

She cleared her throat a few times before speaking again, making sure that another snort didn’t escape her body the next time she opened her mouth.

“Yeah, uh… I would love to continue this conversation about that hilarious alternative reality in which I rot forever in jail, but the mental image of Johan and me kissing is making my skin crawl, so let’s leave it at that”

At that, she saw Yuri’s frown softening slightly. “Oh, so that means…” he trailed off.

“That means that yeah, he was trying to flirt with me, but I don’t see him that way at all. He reminds me too much of my ex” she added, making a disgusted face. A second later, her eyes suddenly widened in realization. “Wait, Yuri, do you remember my ex, Raphael? It just came to mind that we were all together in a few classes during our last year in college”

“Hmm” Yuri tapped his chin in thought, before nodding slowly a moment later. “I think I do. Was it the dude who was always boasting about the latest watch he bought, or about that vacation house his family owned in that winter resort?”

“Ugh… Yeah...” Chloe passed a hand down her face. “He was a narcissistic rich boy that only went to our public college to have fun amongst us poor folks, but I didn’t see it at the time… I thought I was lucky to be his girl” she added, almost gagging.

“Uhh… What?” Yuri glanced at her, eyebrow quirked high.

“I know, I know…” she sighed, turning away from his inquisitive eyes. “I can remember he didn’t even want me to leave his side during class breaks. I think he saw me as just another accessory to his growing collection of shiny objects he could gloat about”

“…”

“What an idiot” she and Yuri said at the same time, after a beat.

Chloe laughed softly, and she also noticed the faint curve of a smile on Yuri’s lips.

“Why did you two break up?” he asked after a while, his eyes now trained on the door of the bar. “Was it for that reason?”

“Wow, I didn’t take you for a gossiper” Chloe smirked.

Yuri shrugged. “I’m simply curious. I’m a bit surprised to hear that you were actually unhappy with him. Someone like you taking shit from a dude like that is not something I can easily imagine”

Chloe bit down a smile at the veiled compliment. “I was younger then, more naïve, and being surrounded by mostly men at college made me feel insecure… So being the girlfriend of a rich cool guy seemed like the perfect scenario for me”

Yuri turned to her, his eyes hardening slightly. Chloe held his gaze, silently wondering what he would say next. Yuri being so invested in a story of her life was definitely a first, and she didn’t want to miss a single detail about his reactions.

“It didn’t seem like you were having it rough, to be honest” he finally said. “You were always annoyingly cheerful, and I remember you made good friends with some of the girls from other classes. Heck, you even tried to be friends with me, of all people” he scoffed, shaking his head.

“I’ve always liked to adopt lonely puppies, in spite of my own struggles” she answered, smirking up at him.

He glowered at her with murderous blood red eyes; eyes that could intimidate even the toughest of men. For Chloe, his reaction only added a layer of amusement to the moment. It was so easy to rile him up, that annoying him had become somewhat of a fun habit.

There was also the added thrill of knowing what Yuri was capable of when he got angry, and how she always seemed to get away with anything she said or did to him, even if he looked like he wanted to murder her, or even threatened to do so.

She, of course, would be taking those thoughts to the grave.

“Anyway,” she said, breaking the tension. “I broke up with Raphael when he berated me for wanting to join the SSS. It seemed he didn’t like the idea of his girlfriend learning to shoot a gun and break some bones while wearing a ‘manly’ uniform”

“What an idiot” Yuri spat, repeating his earlier statement. “A very good reason to dump his ass”

“Exactly” Chloe nodded. “After that, some parts of my personality changed for the better, because I realized I wouldn’t be taking that amount of shit from anyone again in my life”

If Yuri was now looking at her with newfound respect, it was likely just in her head, because his next words didn’t align with his expression.

“Well, I’m certainly sure of that” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as if he were an angry kid. “That slap back at the Chicken Circle hideout still stings, you know? You could have been a little gentler”

“Yuri, you deserved it”

“I know, but still”

Suddenly, the door to the bar opened, and their Captain emerged from it, slowly walking up to them.

“I’m glad to see you two are getting along better than ever” he smiled down at his two young subordinates, who immediately stood up from the bench in respect of his seniority. “I know I said to take your time, but a few of the still sober people inside there are starting to wonder where you two might have disappeared to, if you know what I mean”

Chloe immediately flushed up to the roots of her hair, her whole body tensing at the implications. Beside her, she noticed Yuri having a somewhat similar reaction, even if his exaggerated display of shock slightly offended her for the briefest of moments.

Having their co-workers wondering if she was romantically involved with a superior would be bad, and a more pressing matter at the moment. They had to go back inside the bar now.

"Don't worry, I know what you two were doing here. Yuri still has bratwurst sauce on his cheek after all" the Captain assured them. "But I guess it's better if you two return to the table before the rumours start"

Chloe nodded fervently.

“Yes. Let’s go back inside, please”

Chapter Text

A few people glanced their way when they arrived at the table but didn’t say a word, quickly returning to their drinks and conversations.

Chloe sighed, relieved. At least in appearance, it seemed nothing would come out of her little escapade with Yuri, and rumours wouldn’t start spreading any time soon.

When they went back to their previous seats, they found out only Chloe’s chair by Johan’s side was still free. Alphonse was occupying Yuri’s place again, and the two men were arguing loudly, a wide array of shots spread in front of them on the table.

“What’s wrong?” Chloe asked, sitting down. Yuri hung around behind her, curious as to what the problem was, while their Captain returned to his seat in front of them.

The two officers turned to Chloe and drunkenly started screaming their dilemma at her, forcing her to tune her interpretation skills to the max in order to understand them.

“Alright,” she said after they told her everything. “So the problem is that you paid a round of fireball shots together, but several people found the drink too strong and returned their glasses to you”

Both men nodded fervently.

“And now you don’t know what to do with the remaining shots, but you refuse to throw them away because they are expensive” Yuri finished for her.

“Eschactly, sshir” Alphonse nodded drunkenly.

After a moment of deep thought, Yuri tapped Chloe on the back of her head, making her look at him over her shoulder.

“So, two of those are ours, right?” he pointed to the small glasses, to which she nodded. “If you are up to it, why don’t we have a drinking competition to also get rid of the rest?”

“What?” she asked, twisting her body so she could look at him properly. “A drinking competition of fireball shots? After we’ve both managed to mostly recover from the amount of alcohol we drank before? Are you serious?”

Her eyes conveyed a hidden message that she hoped he understood: I am supposed to drive you home! I can’t drink anymore!

Yuri shrugged. “Yeah, why not? In spite of the break we took before, that doesn’t mean any of us can safely drive home. Alcohol takes a lot of time to leave our system” he reasoned. “I think we should do it… Unless you can’t handle fireball shots, that is” he finished with a tone of superiority.

His eyes flickered to their Captain, the only one who’d barely drunk since they arrived, and then back to Chloe, sending a message of his own: He isn’t drinking, he can take us home!

She frowned at that, shaking her head no. We are not bothering the Captain!

“I can perfectly handle fireball shots, thank you very much” she stated out loud instead, crossing her arms over her chest.

“And I can drive you both home” the Captain chimed in, obviously very aware of the secret conversation his two officers were having with their eyes. “There aren’t many shots left for you to drink anyway, so I’m not worried that you two will throw up inside my car”

 “It’sh only six shots, Chloe” Johan slurred, leaning towards her. “Three for each of you. C’mon, they are going to go to wasshte otherwishe, and they were expenshive”

“Honestly… I thought money wasn’t a problem for you two” she sighed, massaging her temples at the idiocy surrounding her. Her eyes then moved to Yuri, an annoyed frown crowning them. “We are making a bet, of course. The loser has to get coffee for the winner for two weeks, and bring it to them every single morning. Agree?”

Yuri smiled enigmatically, and nodded.

“Agree”

--------

“Three, two, one, go!”  

Chloe grabbed the first shot and downed it in one go, immediately reaching for the next one as she swallowed. Two more to go.

She made a face as she slapped at her chest to help the liquid go down her throat. It was disgusting.

Yuri, who had managed to retrieve his chair from Alphonse, barely reacted at all, savouring the drink with his tongue as if he was having the most delicious cocktail.

The colleagues who had been sitting farther away were now gathered around them, all watching the contest and cheering for the two participants. Some were even making bets on who would win, or who would end up throwing up first.

The two grabbed the next shot and drank it, Chloe pinching her nose in a feeble attempt to protect herself from the strong smell. She almost gagged as she forced the liquid down.

When she glanced sideways, she saw that Yuri was already downing the third and last glass. At that moment, Chloe froze in realization.

She was going to lose.

Yuri was practically immune to strong smells and disgusting flavours.

She cursed internally as she quickly reached for her last shot. That little cheater… He was playing with an advantage she didn’t have.

By the time she’d finished, those who had bet on Yuri were congratulating him, while extending their palms to their losing colleagues in order to collect the money they had wagered.

Yuri was looking at her with an enigmatic smile that only confirmed what she already knew.

“I even slowed down for you, you know” he mocked her, slurring his words a bit. “I win”

“Cheater” she muttered, reaching for a candy in her pocket to get rid of the taste of the shots. “I’m never doing this again with you”

“Oh, I never took you for a sore loser” he chuckled. “Too bad, Chloe. I can’t wait to have my coffee delivered to my hands for the next few weeks”

“Ugh!”

--------

“Good night!”

“See you on Monday!”

“Bye, everyone!”

The fourteen members of the SSS hoped into taxis or walked in different directions after saying their goodbyes at the bar’s front door, with Yuri, Chloe and their Captain walking together to the latter’s car.

After their drinking contest, the two younger ones were positively drunk again, and their Captain had to use both his arms to help guide them in the direction of his vehicle.

He opened one of the back doors first and shoved Yuri inside, then accompanied Chloe to the other and gently placed her down before closing it behind her.

“Chloe,” Yuri called, his drunk voice raspy. “Help me with the seatbelt. I cannot put it on for the life of me”

“Wait, it’s too dark inside the car, I am also struggling with mine” she answered, her words leaving her mouth with difficulty as her blurry eyes tried to focus on the task at hand.

The Captain took his place behind the wheel and closed his door, glancing in the rear-view mirror at his two subordinates fighting fiercely against the seatbelts. He rolled his eyes and sighed to the heavens, deciding to ignore them and simply focus on the road.

After a good five minutes, Chloe had managed to secure herself, but both she and Yuri were still trying to put his seatbelt on.

“Lift your ass, Yuri!” Chloe snapped, “You are sitting on the buckle!”

“I can’t! My head will hit the roof if I do that!”

“I’m not asking you to stand up! Just lift your damn ass!”

“Ouch! Don’t pull on the seatbelt like that, idiot! You are going to slice my neck!”

“It’s your own fault!”

A vein inside their Captain’s forehead almost popped out of his skin. He briefly turned his head back to them, furious.

“I swear I’ll leave you stranded on the curb if you don’t shut up!”

Both Yuri and Chloe immediately released Yuri’s seatbelt and sat up straight in their seats. “Yes, Sir! Sorry, Sir!”

The blond man grumbled under his breath and focused again on the road, gripping the wheel tightly at the sound of snorting and drunken giggling now coming from behind him.

Offering himself to drive these two toddlers home had been a mistake. A terrible mistake.

--------

It may have been a mistake, but at the sight that greeted him from the rear-view mirror, he couldn’t help the gentle smile that tugged at his lips.

It had been ten minutes of silence since he screamed at Yuri and Chloe to shut up, and now it seemed that tiredness had finally caught up to them.

A small part of Yuri’s head rested precariously over Chloe’s, his whole body leaning to the side over the middle seat that separated them, held up in the air by the seatbelt they had finally managed to secure around him. It seemed that he had unconsciously fallen over her side during the last roundabout the car had taken.

Chloe, completely unaware, was getting her hair tussled by Yuri’s temple resting over the top of her head. Her mouth hung slightly open, a trail of drool peeking out from the corner of her lips.

The Captain sighed, blinking tiredly. He was starting to make a decision based on the circumstances surrounding him at the moment. His two passengers were too drunk and exhausted for him to safely leave them at their door, but he was also feeling too worn out now to accompany them throughout all the process until they each were tucked in bed.

Many things could go wrong if he left them alone… Maybe they fell over the stairs, maybe they couldn’t find their keys and ended up sleeping outside their door, maybe their hangover would kill them in the morning, maybe they threw up on themselves while they slept and choked to death… He shook his head, silently embarrassed at his fatalistic conclusions. More realistic, though, was the fact that Chloe needed to go back to retrieve her car at some point, so she needed someone to take her there.

Making up his mind, he drove the car with a new destination in mind: his home.

--------

Not without difficulty, the Captain supported Yuri and Chloe in each of his arms, the two of them drunkenly dozing off against him since the moment he’d helped them out of the car. Luckily for him, his apartment building had an old elevator that easily carried them to his floor.

He fumbled for his keys, momentarily letting Yuri rest against the wall by the door as he unlocked it, but quickly caught the young man before he could collapse to the floor.

He kicked the door shut as he dragged their practically unconscious bodies inside, dropping them each onto one of his sofas—Yuri on the larger one in the corner of the living room, and Chloe on the smaller one in front of the TV.

He took off their coats and shoes, and covered them both with blankets he took from a closet. He made sure both of them were laying down on their sides, facing the room, in case they actually ended up throwing up in their sleep.

He provided glasses of water and left them on a coffee table near the sofas, and then he switched the light off and went to bed himself, closing the door of his bedroom behind him.

After a few minutes of tossing and turning, he got up again.

Just in case Yuri and Chloe needed him, he left the door open.

--------

Yuri woke up in the middle of the night, his bladder on the brink of exploding.

Heavily disoriented, he blinked a few times until his eyes slightly adjusted to the near-complete darkness of the room, the only faint source of light coming through the window, from a street lamp outside the building.

He didn’t know where he was, but he was covered in a blanket and his coat and shoes were gone, so at least he knew he was somewhere safe. There was someone he couldn’t see near him, the sound of calm breathing unmistakable.

Ignoring his headache, he got up from the sofa, and slowly walked with his hands in front of him until his palms found a wall. He was still drunk, but at least he had recovered most of his senses, so he put them to use. His sleepy eyes recognized a few dark shapes here and there, and the area faintly illuminated by the window contained part of a table and a chair he’d seen before.

As he moved by the wall, his hands eventually found a bookshelf. It housed some sturdy books that had their titles written in relief over their spines. He traced his fingers over one of them, slowly.

History of Ostania Military II

Yuri sighed in relief, his suspicions becoming clear at that moment. So he was in his Captain’s living room, sleeping on his sofa, possibly due to him passing out in the older man’s car and making it a more difficult task to get him to his own house safely after they left the bar.

Wait, then that meant…

Now with the layout of the place clearly pictured in his mind, Yuri easily navigated it in the darkness, eventually finding the light switch of the small bathroom on the corridor. The light illuminated part of the living room, and now Yuri could see the occupant that was sleeping soundly on the other sofa.

He couldn’t spare a second longer dwelling on the fact that Chloe was also here, because he was about to piss his pants any moment now. He rushed inside the toilet without looking back.

--------

Yuri left the bathroom after washing his hands, but left the light on since he wanted to check up on Chloe before going back to sleep. He surmised that she’d also fallen asleep on the way back from the bar, and that was why their Captain had brought her here as well.

He hesitated for a moment as he stopped in front of her, wondering if getting so close while she was sleeping would be inappropriate.

Before he could dwell further on those thoughts, something caught his eye, and he leaned a bit toward her to get a better view.

Chloe’s lips were trembling slightly, and a small frown peeking from under her bangs creased her brow. Looking at the outline of her body under the blanket, Yuri could see that she was curled over herself, her hands gripping the edge of the fluffy cloth tightly.

She is cold.

He immediately turned to the sofa he’d been sleeping on and grabbed his blanket without a second thought. Careful as to not wake Chloe up, he dropped it over her, making sure her feet and hands were covered and protected from the chilly air of the room.

When she stirred a bit in her sleep, Yuri took a panicked step back, but then breathed in relief when he noticed she was simply snuggling comfortably under the new warmness that enveloped her.

Her frown disappeared, and a calm expression took over her soft features.

Yuri didn’t even realize he was starting to smile until the corners of his mouth tugged uncomfortably at his parched lips. Mentally berating himself for showing such unexpected weakness, he turned to the coffee table, grabbed one of the glasses of water, and downed it on one go.

He placed it down harsher than he intended to, and he flinched at the sound that shattered the silence of the room. Clenching his teeth, he slowly turned to Chloe, praying he hadn’t woken her.

After a tense moment of waiting for a reaction, Yuri exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, glad to see that the sleeping woman hadn’t moved an inch.

Just in case, Yuri observed her for a few seconds longer, not daring to move until he was certain she was still asleep. Her peaceful expression, so calm and serene, was a stark contrast to the loud, carefree woman who had nearly choked with laughter at his expense outside the bar.

He frowned, wondering how two people as different as they were could have such a strange relationship and dynamic.

He was sometimes aware of his short-comings, and his lack of social skills. But Chloe? Chloe was a moron that was always keeping him on his toes due to her unexpected reactions, always dismissing his sharp words, always laughing around him, always grinning in spite of his harsh tone. She was a complete idiot.

Her melodious voice echoed inside his head, soft and sincere.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve laughed like this, Yuri. So thank you for that. You’ve made my night.

His heart skipped a beat.

Alarmed, Yuri’s eyes widened, and he immediately clutched his chest with one hand, instinctively stepping back as if the distance could force the unwelcome thoughts out of his head.

What the fuck was that?

He gripped his shirt tighter, cursing under his breath at the completely out-of-the-blue reaction, and feeling utterly unprepared for the way his heart betrayed him like that.