Chapter Text
Chadwick Curtis was never supposed to see his son again. He certainly wasn’t supposed to see his granddaughter. He had the strength of will to stay away from them for their own safety. When the request form for additional SSS security for an Eden College field trip crossed his desk, he only hesitated for a moment before passing it along to Yuri unsigned.
The man who would care to go on that field trip was dead. He’d been killed in the first attack of the war and he’d died hours later when he heard his wife and son had been bombed. He didn’t get to reap the benefits of being a grandfather now.
Chadwick Curtis didn’t have a son. He had an imaginary wife he mentioned to civilians so they wouldn’t get suspicious, but that was the extent of his family.
And that was good.
And that was fine.
And then Yuri cornered him in the locker room and asked for a favor.
“Sir! It’s an emergency!” Yuri looked so panicked, Curtis couldn’t imagine it was anything less than another war had started or his sister was pregnant. “They won’t let me go on the Eden field trip!”
What?
Yuri ran a hand through his hair and griped,
“The chuwawa is so stupid that even if she recognised me, she wouldn’t put together that I’m with State Security, but the Commander doesn't want to take any chances of my identity being revealed. Apparently I’ve got moxy? Whatever that means? Anyway, I can’t just let the gremlin go out on her own, especially after what happened last time, the last two times! GAH! I’m going anyway!”
Curtis raised his hand slightly, the universal sign for wait, and said,
“Hold on. You got away with disobeying a direct order during the Red Circus hijacking because you’ve got potential and everything turned out for the best. You don’t get passes like that twice. Insubordination won’t just get you fired, you’d be looking at a court-martial, potential prison time, and suspicion of espionage. You’re smarter than that.” But as always, Yuri became very stupid where his family was concerned.
“The only way I’m not going is if you do!”
Curtis blinked, his mind stalling.
“Pardon?”
“Anya knows you too, and I told her you’re a safe person so if things go wrong she won’t cry or whatever. She’s such a shrimp she’d probably die from dehydration if she cried for more than five minutes.” He grumbled.
“You realize that any of the children recognising an SSS agent is what we want to avoid, yes?”
“I know! But how am I supposed to stay here and do paperwork when my niece could be in danger!?” Yuri didn’t even realize he’d just called Anya his niece, a fact he’d staunchly denied up until now. He dropped into a deep bow, chest parallel to the floor in a way that made Curtis’ back ache. “Please, Sir! I’ll do anything!”
He shouldn’t. Getting close to his granddaughter would only mean trouble. But...Chadwick Curtis didn’t have a granddaughter.
They say the human mind can justify anything given the proper motivation, from incredible violence to incredible stupidity. It a split second, Chadwick justified the latter.
“Alright. I’ll do it.”
“Please, I- wait did you say you’ll do it?”
Curtis raised an unimpressed eyebrow.
“I did. What time do they leave?”
Yuri perked up and rambled,
“They leave at ten in four buses, two decoys, two legitimate. They want an agent on every bus plus four at the actual location. They’re visiting that nature reserve that was just established, a national park. Stupid munchkin is going to be so mad that there aren’t any swings.”
“Then you’ll just have to take her to a regular park on your next day off.”
“Yeah that sounds- Hey! Where’d you get the idea that I’d want to spend my day off with Loidy’s daughter!?” He shouted, blushing furiously. “If anything, I’m glad I don’t have to spend the day listening to her rattle on and on about her dumb dad and dog and cartoons!” He hurried out of the room and Chadwick felt amusement bubble up in his chest.
He’d never had any siblings himself, but he’d seen younger brothers and sisters chasing after the eldest while said eldest griped about having no choice but to love and protect them. It would be adorable if the big brother in question weren’t a grown man.
He changed back into his civvies and combed his hair to look a little less military. He checked his reflection and his heart clenched.
Was this what his son would look like in another twenty years?
He hoped Loid’s eyes would be more expressive and less weary. He hoped the lines on his face were from smiling or laughing and not frowning or worrying. He hoped his son was never scarred so obviously it made children stare and adults avoid his eyes.
In this line or work, Chadwick didn’t hold out much hope that he himself would live another twenty years to find out. But he hoped, even if hope was one of those incredibly stupid things people justify to themselves, that his son would be happy.
He shrugged on his suit coat and straightened his shoulders. He took a moment to prepare himself before every potentially hazardous mission. And what could be more hazardous than monitoring forty six-year-olds for five hours?
“Good afternoon, or perhaps, good evening, Agent Twilight. As you know a monument has been built in Ostonia’s first National Park. Because the preserve is near a previous shelling site, the media is heralding the construct as a monument to peace and a symbol of a healing nation. After the dedication, the park will be open to the general public, but tours are being given to select groups in advance. We’ve received intelligence that there will be an attempt to sabotage the monument before its dedication tomorrow. This is too important to leave in someone else’s hands, Agent Twilight. Secure the monument and preserve the fragile veneer of peace between East and West.”
Twilight hung up the pay phone and put back on his hat.
‘This is perfect. I’d planned on going there anyway to keep an eye on Anya. Now, I have an official reason to take the day off work.’ He exited the phone booth and thought, ‘Although, it’s possible I’m being overly paranoid. How much trouble could she possibly get into out in the middle of nowhere?’ A shiver ran down his spine. ‘On the other hand, maybe I’m not being paranoid enough.’