Chapter Text
Anya was eight years old.
Probably.
That was how old everybody else at Eden was. Becky was eight. Ewen and Emile were eight. Sy-on Boy was eight. So Anya was probably eight too. She wasn't completely sure.
There were too many secrets in her family to spend much time worrying about birthdays. Papa was a super spy. Mama was a secret assassin. Bond could see the future and was a very good boy. Anya could read minds. Anya was eight and that was easiest.
She was stretched across one end of the couch with Bond on the floor in front of her, while a cartoon played on television. Mama sat beside her, smiling whenever something funny happened. Papa sat across the room with a newspaper open in front of his face. He looked like he was reading. He wasn't really.
Anya knew because she could hear his thoughts. Papa's brain was always full of mission things. Timetables. Reports. Names. Boring spy stuff. Today he was worrying about budgets.
Sometimes Anya wondered if Papa ever stopped thinking. Or if he could quiet the thoughts down sometimes. Anya wished she could ask him to not worry so much in his head.
Sometimes she could distract him.
"Anya likes this show," she announced. “Let’s watch another episode, Papa!”
Mama smiled anyway. "One more before dinner, Miss Anya."
Papa hummed absently from behind his newspaper.
Anya narrowed her eyes.
Bond's tail stopped moving.
Anya sat upright immediately. She knew that look. Bond always got that look before a future vision. His eyes became distant and dopey, fixed on something nobody else could see (except for Anya, obviously).
The television disappeared from Anya's attention. The television didn't matter anymore. Future vision mattered.
Without hesitation, she reached into Bond's thoughts.
The living room vanished.
The kitchen appeared.
Mama was standing beside the counter with a hand covering her face, the other bracing the counter. She was crying. Not onion crying. Not the kind of crying that happened when somebody got a skinned knee. Tears ran down her cheeks while her shoulders shook. Beside her stood Papa.
Watching her.
The vision ended.
Anya gasped so loudly that Yor jumped out of her seat.
"Goodness! What's the matter, Anya?"
Oh no. No no no no.
Mama was crying in Bond's vision.
This was bad.
Very bad.
Anya immediately turned toward Papa. Reading his mind was difficult because there was always so much happening inside it.. Mission details. Plans. Then one thought drifted close enough for her to catch.
It's a threat to the mission. You can't do it. Strix is too important.
Another followed. It was like Papa's head had two voices fighting.
Just do it, Twilight. Damnit.
Anya froze.
It's been so long. There's no way she doesn't see this coming.
Threat to Strix.
Mission.
Twilight.
Papa was definitely about to mess everything up.
Maybe he found out Mama was an assassin. Maybe he found out some other secret. Maybe there were even more secrets Anya didn't know about. Adults always seemed to have extra secrets hidden somewhere. Whatever it was, Papa was scared.
And Mama was going to cry.
The answer was obvious.
Divorce.
Becky had explained it once during lunch. It sounded terrible. There were lawyers involved. Possibly judges. Definitely crying. Becky had sounded very sure, which meant it was probably true.
Across the couch, Mama laughed softly at something happening on television.
Anya looked at her.
Mama looked happy right now.
That was the problem.
Mama didn't know.
Quickly, Anya checked her thoughts. Immediately she was buried beneath warm feelings.
I wonder if this show is too scary for Miss Anya.
Loid has been so quiet tonight, I hope he isn't working too hard.
I’m so lucky that we have leftovers and I didn't need to try and cook—
Mama was having happy thoughts. Mama was completely doomed.
Poor Mama.
Anya figured she only had one hour at most to save her. To save the family. Bond’s visions normally didn't take too long. She immediately scooted across the couch and attached herself to Mama's side, snuggling into her sweater.
"Oh? What's this?"
Anya wrapped both arms around her.
"Mama."
"Yes?"
"Anya loves Mama sooooo much."
The smile Mama gave her was so bright it almost hurt to look at.
"I love you too, Miss Anya."
Mama pulled her into a hug. Anya squeezed back as hard as she could. Mama clearly needed extra hugs. If divorce was coming, she would probably need a lot of them.
After a moment Anya pulled back and pointed directly at stupid Agent Twilight.
"Papa."
Papa lowered the newspaper slightly.
"Yes?"
"Anya thinks Mama is very pretty."
Mama immediately turned bright red.
"A-Anya!"
Anya ignored her. This was important. Very important.
Papa blinked. Then looked at Mama. Then back at Anya.
"Yor is beautiful."
Mama made a strange choking noise.
Anya sat up straighter. Good.
Maybe compliments scared divorce away. (That sounded like something Becky would say.)
"Say more nice things about Mama."
Papa stared at the two of them.
"What brought this on?"
"Say more nice things."
Mama covered her face. "Miss Anya, you really don't have to—"
"Yes!”
"No, really—"
"Nice things, Papa!"
For several seconds nobody moved. Eventually Papa sighed the way he did whenever he was about to call Anya froster-ating.
"Anya, your mother is kind. She's hardworking. She's strong.”
Then Loid smiled slightly.
"And she's an excellent mother and wife, and we are very lucky to have her."
Anya blinked.
Mama's thoughts exploded.
Excellent mother— Excellent wife— Oh, Loid!
Anya grinned.
Excellent Anya, she thought. Another win for Starlight Anya.
For the next hour she continued her operation. She sat in Mama's lap. She insisted on family snacks. She made everybody stay in the same room. Whenever Papa drifted toward his office she dragged him back. Whenever Mama stood up to do chores Anya invented reasons for her to sit down again. It was exhausting work.
Eventually Bond stood up.
“Dinner time for you all ready, Bond?” Mama said, standing up despite Anya’s protests.
Anya's stomach dropped.
The future was happening now.
Bond trotted toward the kitchen. Her best agent was a traitor.
Without hesitation Mama followed him. Anya followed both of them. Papa followed all of them. Within moments the entire family stood in the kitchen together.
Anya looked around nervously.
Nothing seemed dangerous.
There were no spy tools No assassin weapons. No divorce lawyers.
Maybe she had fixed it. Maybe she was a genius.
She read Papa’s mind.
Just do it, Twilight. Do it before you lose your nerve.
Then Loid cleared his throat. Anya turned.
Papa looked nervous as he slowly reached into his pocket. Gun. She thought. Gun with a silencer.
No, too small.
Ninja star was more likely.
Maybe she could just scream or faint like the ladies in Berlint in Love did, that would distract Papa.
Anya braced herself for some terrible, tiny weapon. Instead he produced a small box. Mama blinked. Too many times.
"Loid?"
Mama stopped moving. Anya stopped moving. Even Bond sat down. For a moment nobody said anything. The kitchen felt very quiet all of a sudden, except for the hum of the refrigerator and the cartoon still playing faintly in the other room. Mama stared at the box like she had forgotten how blinking and thinking worked. Papa looked almost as nervous as she did, which was strange because Papa was Twilight. Twilight wasn't supposed to get nervous.
Then Papa rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yor," he began.
Mama's eyes immediately got bigger.
"When we first met, this arrangement was supposed to be temporary."
Anya froze. Temporary? Temporary?! The divorce was happening, and Anya’s life was over.
"It was supposed to be convenient. For both of us." He laughed quietly. "Honestly, I don't think either of us expected things to turn out the way they did."
Mama was staring at him now, not the box.
Papa took a slow breath.
"Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking of this as an arrangement."
Anya blinked.
That didn't sound very divorce-y.
Papa opened the box. Inside was a ring. A real, super shiny ring. Papa looked down at the ring for a moment before looking back at Mama .
"I love our life together. I love coming home and finding Anya asleep on the couch after she said she'd be studying."
"Anya was studying," Anya informed him automatically.
Neither of them heard her.
"I love hearing Bond bark at absolutely nothing in the middle of the night." A faint smile appeared on Papa's face. "I love our home. I love our family."
Mama's hands were shaking.
And then Papa said the strangest thing of all.
"And I love you, Yor."
Anya nearly fell over. Mama looked like she was about to fall over too. Papa swallowed and looked a little green. Bond would be in trouble if they all fell over and no one got his dinner.
"I don't think of this marriage as pretend anymore. At least not for me. This family is real. You're real, and my feelings for you definitely are real," He held out the ring box. "So I wanted to give you a real ring."
For a second nobody moved.
Then Mama started crying.
Exactly like Bond had seen.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. She covered her mouth with one hand while the other clutched the edge of the counter. Her shoulders shook. Bond had been right.
Again.
Anya immediately checked Papa's thoughts.
oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God.
Anya stared.
Papa was panicking.
Papa didn't panic often. Twilight wasn't supposed to panic. Twilight fought terrorists. Twilight jumped out of airplanes. Twilight wore disguises. Apparently Twilight was terrified of jewelry.
Anya quickly turned toward Mama.
oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God.
Mama was panicking too.
Mama was the scariest person Anya knew.
This wasn't helping.
Then another thought drifted through Papa's mind.
She doesn't know that I know.
Anya blinked.
Mama's thoughts crashed into her.
He doesn't know that I know.
Anya froze.
Mama knew?
Papa knew?
They knew?!
Anya had spent years carrying everybody's secrets. Papa was a spy. Mama was an assassin. Bond saw the future. Anya read minds. That was how the family worked. Nobody knew anybody else's thing except for Anya.
Except apparently everybody knew everybody else's thing.
Papa knew. Mama knew.
Anya listened harder.
She doesn't know that I know. oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God.
He doesn't know that I know. oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God.
Anya's mouth slowly fell open.
Maybe they knew they knew but didn't know the other one knew they knew. But no one knew Anya knew unless they secretly knew she knew.
Anya suddenly had a headache.
Mama and Papa were impossible.
Papa rubbed his head.
"I would have gotten you roses as well, but I know the thorns can be a pain."
Mama let out a watery laugh. Mama smiled weakly with tears in her eyes.
"That's a wise choice."
Papa looked like he'd been punched in the gut. He laughed too but Anya thought it sounded more like crying.
It sounded like one of those grown up conversations where people secretly meant something else. Adults did that all the time. They would say one thing and somehow mean another thing. It was extremely annoying.
Papa stepped closer. Mama stepped closer too. They both had their mouths a little bit opened.
"Anya thinks this problem is solved. Mama, you can stop crying. Papa is just flirting."
For a second nobody said anything. Then Papa laughed again, and Mama laughed too, even while tears were still running down her face.
"Anya thinks Papa is very bad at flirting," she informed them.
Papa covered part of his face with one hand.
"Thank you for your input, Anya."
"No problemo, Papa!”
Something loosened inside Anya's chest. Nobody was leaving. Nobody was destroying the family. Nobody was ruining Operation Strix, and Papa had a ring and not a gun with a silencer.
The mission was saved.
Mama was still crying a little, but now she was smiling too. Papa was smiling back at her. They kept looking at each other in a weird and dizzy way.
But it was much better than divorce.
Anya looked down at Bond. Bond looked back up at her.
Very good dog.
He had found the problem. Starlight Anya had solved the problem.
Together, they saved the family.