Work Text:
Crack
the sound reverberates in the dingy interrogation room as Yuri lets go of the head he practically melded with the table. He tsks when the man remains motionless, blood flowing out from underneath his skull, knowing he overdid it this time. It can't be helped, he thinks, the prospect of giving his sister a surprise visit - picturing the joy and tears that would surely fall as she rushes to hug him while Loidy seethes with jealousy in the corner - is all too exciting.
He won't be getting any more information tonight it seems. He lets a loose a helpless sigh as he stares impassively at the Westalis rat beneath him.
His Captain, who is currently leaning against one of the grimy walls of the room, shoots him an irritated look, probably feeling vexed that Yuri rendered a potential WISE spy comatose. Yuri simply shrugs in response as if to say, 'can i go now?' , It's not like the spy is Twilight or anyone of similar calibre- it isn't worth his time.
Knowing the reason for Yuri's eagerness to leave, thanks to his numerous tirades throughout the day, his captain takes the case file sitting on the table and hands it to him so that he can make his report on the Interrogation in his own time.
Taking this as his sign to get the hell out of here, Yuri is out of the door in a flash.
A piece of paper is lodged in between the captain's fingers, he didn't even have time to loosen his grip on the file before Yuri snatched it up and bolted.
———------
Twilight stares up at the ceiling in despair, draped across the sofa while listening to Frankie's incessant pacing as he delves into the intricacies of his failing love life.
He thought Frankie came over because he had a new lead on how to get closer to Donovan Desmond. Yor took Anya outside (something about teaching her to know the enemy?) so they can talk without Yor suspecting anything. He wants to kick Frankie out but he still hadn't told him the information, so he waited.
and waited, and waited...and waited.
Feeling a migraine coming on, Twilight spoke, his voice cutting through Frankie's oration about how he has superior flirting skills but his nerves take over when in front of a girl.
"And this is imperative for me to know, how?" He deadpans.
Frankie looks seconds away from popping a blood vessel, "That brings me to my next point!" he gesticulates angrily, "if you had just waited a little more patiently you would know why already."
Now it's Twilight's turn to feel like popping a blood vessel. He resists the urge to knock the man unconscious. Stay calm, he chides himself, you're Twilight. The top-rated spy in Westalis. Emotions are secondary. He then belatedly adds, even if it has arguably been the most exhausting week of my life.
He snaps out of his thoughts as Frankie's next words have him groaning internally, though his face remains placid throughout it all.
"I need you to help me become a pro, you're the only guy I know who's managed to snag countless ladies!" Then Frankie falls to his knees, hands scrunching around Twilight's trouser legs while looking up at him placatingly.
Twilight stares down at him silently while moving out of Frankie's hold.
"I promise to give you the information if you just do this one thing for me!" Frankie tries once more, "please! You don't want to see your best friend depressed do you!?"
Twilight doesn't know who is who's best friend but he decides to humour Frankie since there seems to be no avoiding the situation. Not to mention how Operation Strix has reached a stalemate and he urgently needs a new lead to tip the scales.
Twilight lightly nods his head in confirmation to Frankie's plea.
"You have thirty minutes."
Frankie huffs, switching back to being angry, "Of course you'd say tha- wait really!?" His eyes sparkle with renewed vigor, "I knew you cared for me! Wow Twilight...I'm super touched..." Frankie sniffles, hand on heart. Twilight ignores him.
He's not an expert at 'snagging ladies' like Frankie claims he is. He simply logs every possible outcome linked to a myriad of behavioural responses, making an educated deduction from the answers in front of him. Flowcharts also provide insurmountable assistance.
He tries explaining this to Frankie but that idea is immediately shot down.
Twilight glances at his wristwatch, "twenty-five minutes."
Feeling the pressure of time, Frankie suggests, "Ju-just teach me your best trick! You know...the one that never fails no matter who you try it on!" looking at Twilight's confused expression he trudges on ahead, "You must have one! It's like a trump card!"
Pondering over his words with a frown on his face, only one answer arises when he thinks about it. Operation Honey Trap. However, it isn't entirely accurate to say that it never fails, that is, it has only failed once.
Twilight rubs his chin absentmindedly at the thought, trying to soothe a phantom pain.
He runs a hand through his hair and tiredly sighs.
——----------
"Use this as a last resort." He advises Frankie as they reenact Twilight's demonstration of the honey trap, both men sitting opposite each other on the sofa, cross-legged.
"Yeah, yeah, watch me do it better than you Haha!"
Twilight levels him a flat stare.
Frankie pretends he doesn't see that and puts on a determined expression. He gently takes Twilight's hands in his and leans forward - readying to burst into action.
"My!" He bellows, bursting Twilight's eardrums, "I have never come across beauty as enchanting as yours! That golden blonde hair-" He takes a few strands of Twilight's hair, caressing them between his fingertips, "and alluring blue eyes...Forgive me for not confessing to you sooner, you just make me so nervous...let's get Married for real!" Frankie proceeds to raise his other hand to cup the side of Twilight's face.
Twilight raises his hand to smack Frankie away, positive that Frankie does not understand the concept of operation honey trap and is just tarnishing his teaching methods.
His hand freezes in mid air and changes its trajectory to slap a hand over Frankie's mouth that was already opening again to ensue his onslaught of corny lines.
Why did he do this? It was because at that moment he heard a flurry of heavy footsteps that were increasing their speed at Frankie's every word. Time seemed to slow as Twilight ran through various possibilities about the source of the sound.
The heavy thud, thud, thud sounded like combat boots and if he strained his ear and closed his eyes he could hear a small clink of metal slapping on the hardwood floor after every step.
Combat boots with hollow metal engraved in their heel or hanging at the back of the sole... Twilight quickly deduced that it was the latter and that this was part of the uniform worn by the SSS. It wasn't their standard uniform but a variant that no one other than Twilight (and a select few predecessors) would be able to discern after studying the State Security Service for arguably the longest time.
Frankie tries pushing at the hand on his mouth, his eyebrows scrunched downwards in annoyance.
Twilight was readying to stand up to investigate at the door when said door flew open with a loud thwack- causing Frankie to fall forwards with a yelp at the sound.
Forwards... onto Twilight.
His back hits the sofa as Frankie's weight threatens to restrict his airflow at the force of his fall, seriously, what does this guy eat?
Twilight wastes no time in shoving Frankie off of him, as their limbs were precariously entangled.
He feels a twinge of guilt at Frankie's pained groan as he flies off the sofa and hits the wall, sliding down pitifully while leaving behind a Frankie shaped crater in the wall. Maybe I used too much force, He winces internally.
Twilight doesn't spend long dwelling on Frankie's wellbeing as he takes note in his peripheral, of the figure standing in the doorway.
——————
Yuri sees the top floor of the apartment complex at last. There's a skip in his step as he leisurely hums whilst walking up the last of the stairs. He's long since noticed that the complex is usually quiet, most of its inhabitants consisting of old ladies and the like. This is why he's able to clearly pick up yelling coming from the direction of his sister's home.
His instincts to protect his sister overtake him as he rushes in the direction of the yelling. I knew that Loidy was a shady guy! He's probably harassing my sister who's too kind to fight back.
Yuri feels a surge of glee at finally being given justification to put Loidy in his place. Don't worry sis! I'll beat him up good! Heheh...his face won't be so perfectly symmetrical once I'm finished, then sis will find him ugly and dump him! Hahaha...
Yuri's fantasy comes to an abrupt halt as he hears a few tidbits from the yelling;
"golden blonde hair...", "blue eyes", "you make me so nervous..."
That is not my sister's melodic voice, He thinks, it's too rough and grating.
His steps increase tenfold at the last, "let's get married-" He doesn't know if they say anymore as every step he takes is fuelled with unbridled rage, blocking out the outside world, too angry to think about anything else. That bastard dares to be unfaithful to my sister!?
Yuri kicks the door open, shattering the doorknob, he freezes at the scene before him.
Loidy laid down flat on the sofa with some short curly-headed man on top of him. Yuri's eyes travel down to their entangled limbs and back up to Loidy's hand pressed against the other's mouth.
He watches almost trancelike as the blonde-haired man throws the other guy off of him, standing up to dust off his shirt, back towards Yuri. Loidy moves to lift the other man to his feet with one hand,
"Frankie, you really outdid yourself this time." He continues, "I'm sure you'll get the main part in the play if you show them what you just showed me." He then turns to Yuri, eyes widening in surprise.
"Yuri-san! What brings you here?" Loidy chuckles in surprise, lifting a hand to scratch behind his head.
Yuri doesn't buy his faux act one bit. Why would he throw curly-head like that if he wasn't doing something suspicious?
Narrowing his eyes at him, Yuri doesn't answer and glances around, looking for his sister.
Noticing his glances,"Ah! Sorry, Yor isn't here right now, she's out with Anya." Loidy says while nonchalantly sitting back down on the sofa, dragging curly-head over to do the same, albeit, with less grace. He runs a hand through his (definitely far from perfect) hair as though trying to make himself more presentable for his guest.
If he were truly a good host, he'd offer me some tea or something. This guys got terrible manners...what does sis even see him. Yuri sneers internally.
Yuri narrows his eyes again, zeroing in on the hand on the other man's - Frankie's, - shoulder. They seem awfully familiar with each other...was he really not doing anything unfaithful?
As if reading his mind, the blonde-haired man spoke again, "How silly of me, forgetting to get my brother some tea, you take it with two sugars right?" Damnit, He remembered. Was this guy some sort of lunatic? Yuri stares at his genial smile and his questioning but mirthful eyes, searching for any sign of deceit.
"Actually, I only drink coffee," He hates coffee, "I stopped drinking tea a long time ago," He drank it this morning, "you should know this already since my sister would've told you."