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The Forgers' home seemed as peaceful as ever. But it only seemed that way.
Four days earlier, Anya had been kidnapped from school. The secret service, under Donovan Desmond's orders, took her away and brought her back to the laboratory she had escaped from years before.
But what no one expected was that some secret service agents would disagree with what was happening and secretly join forces, even under the threat of losing their lives by being branded traitors for disobeying orders, to try to stop the experiments from continuing.
Yuri learned more about Project <C>, which was Anya, his niece. Twilight found out too.
And Yuri discovered that he was Twilight. And he told Yor.
She felt used and deceived, even though she had also lied to him. Worst of all was discovering that Anya had also been nothing more than a pawn in a secret mission.
Twilight tried to prove that he loved her and cared about Anya. He even tried to force Yuri to help rescue Anya.
Then Yor decided to reveal her secret profession.
She couldn't simply say that she had never hidden anything from anyone. She had also lied and deceived. But she had been deceived by the only two men she loved. That made her question whether she could truly trust them.
Still, that was not the right time to argue. So they joined forces to rescue Anya.
Twilight contacted WISE and received support from several agents.
Yor received authorization from Garden to save Anya and was able to count on the partnership of Matthew McMahon and Hemlock.
Yuri had Chloe's and Curtis's help.
Twilight couldn't believe how important Anya had become to him. He would risk everything to save her. If it hadn't been for Sylvia, his colleagues would have thought he had gone mad. And seeing that little girl unconscious in his arms—the girl who had brought so much joy and worry into his life nearly a year earlier—made the ground disappear beneath his feet.
Yor tried to stay strong for him at that moment. But she was suffering inside as well. Her little daughter was paler than she had ever been. She tried to comfort Twilight, but her own heart was shattered too.
They managed to get Anya out of there and take her somewhere safe. After that, she remained unconscious for three days.
Those three days in the hospital helped Twilight and Yor better understand each other's motivations. Twilight no longer wanted to lie to Yor. So he told her the whole truth, from his past to Operation Strix. He also told her how living with her and Anya had reminded him what it meant to be human, to be loved, and to love.
Yor also opened up about her own secret.
When Anya finally woke up, she was discharged from WISE's secret hospital.
Loid and Yor took her back home.
Months earlier, Twilight had asked Sylvia to let him stay with Anya and Yor after Operation Strix ended. She passed the request on to the higher-ups, who were reviewing the case.
While still at the hospital, Twilight was informed that he would remain with the family for the time being to ensure Anya's protection, and that the final decision would come within the next few days. Sylvia assured him that the decision would likely be favorable, especially after the recent events.
But now, he doubted Yor would allow him to stay.
They had put Anya to sleep in Yor's room, since it had the larger bed. Anya didn't want to be alone and had asked to sleep with Mama and Papa.
They were both sitting facing each other, their knees almost touching, beside Anya, who slept beneath the heavy blankets. Bond was sleeping at the foot of the bed.
Looking away from the little pink-haired child, Yor looked directly at Twilight's face, dimly lit by the warm glow of the bedside lamp.
"You look tired," she said, her voice sounding emotionless. "You should sleep. You've been awake for four days."
Twilight glanced at her. Did she still care about him?
He looked away.
"You're right."
Yor stood up and left the room. From the sound of her footsteps, he realized she had stopped in the hallway.
Then he stood and walked into the hallway, leaving Bond asleep beside Anya. He gently pulled the door almost shut, leaving a sliver of light shining into the room. Even though WISE, Garden, Yuri, and his fellow secret service agents had practically eliminated every threat, he still couldn't trust leaving Anya alone.
"Yor..."
"What is your real name?"
The question caught him completely off guard. He froze, unsure how to answer. He believed he had forgotten his own name.
"I mean... we haven't talked about... us," she said, gesturing between herself and the man standing before her, "since that day."
"I understand."
"Loid, I..." Her breathing faltered. "I just want to know what to call you!"
"Loid. I'm Loid Forger. I'm also Twilight, but... when I'm here, with you... I'm Loid Forger. Or whoever I've become as that man."
"Did you really need us for a mission?"
He hesitated before answering, holding his breath. Twilight no longer wanted to lie to the woman he loved.
"Yes."
A brief pause followed.
"I needed to prevent another war."
Yor slowly nodded, looking away.
He was certain she wouldn't stay with him, and he wouldn't try to stop her. He had hurt her. It was understandable if she didn't even want to look at him anymore.
Even so, the words escaped his mouth before he realized it.
"Yor, forgi—"
"I know... your goal was to make sure no one else went through what we went through as children. You told me that."
A brief silence followed.
"And I lied too." A melancholy, sarcastic smile appeared on her lips. "I used you.
"But you did it to survive."
"And you did it so other children—including Anya—could have a different childhood than ours."
She still wasn't looking at him, while he gazed at her with pleading eyes.
"Even so... I was wrong. I wanted to tell you so many times. But it could have put you and Anya in danger. I didn't want you..." He held his breath before finally letting it out. A hollow laugh escaped him like a heavy sigh. "It didn't matter in the end. Look what happened to Anya."
Yor looked at him.
"There was no way you could have predicted that, and..."
"If I had found out sooner..."
"Would you have been able to stop it?"
"If I had told you," he whispered, his voice heavy, "maybe we could have..." He closed his eyes.
"Loid..."
Yor stepped closer.
He opened his eyes, and she once again saw tears forming in them.
"It wasn't your fault, Loid."
"Anya... she said Bond saw the future, but she didn't tell me because she was afraid I'd abandon her." His voice became desperate—the voice of a man desperate and disappointed in himself. "Yor, I'm a terrible father. At first, I kept telling myself that once the mission was over, I'd put her in a better orphanage than the one I found her in. Just imagine how much that must have hurt her."
Tears rolled down his face.
"Loid."
Yor gently took hold of his wrist.
"Don't blame yourself."
He looked into her eyes. Yor's gentle eyes rested on him.
"I saw how you were when you found Anya in that laboratory. I've never seen you so... vulnerable. You looked at me in a way that broke my heart. You love Anya so much. I'm certain of it."
Loid could no longer hold back his emotions.
Then Yor embraced him, trying to comfort him.
"You're a wonderful father."
She gently stroked his back.
"Let me stay, Yor. Please. Let me stay with you."
His voice was muffled against her shoulder as his fingers clutched the fabric of her sweater.
At that moment, she couldn't hold back her tears either.
"And why do you need my permission, Loid? I was wrong too. I wanted to tell you about my secret job, but I was so afraid you'd despise me."
"I would never do that."
He pulled back from the embrace and held her by the shoulders.
"Yor, you had to survive to take care of your brother. And you wanted to keep Anya safe."
"And I couldn't."
"No, Yor. No."
He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.
"Without you, I couldn't have rescued Anya."
Silence filled the hallway. The only sound was the ticking of the clock. The tears on their faces slowly dried. Then Yor said,
"So... let's stop blaming ourselves?"
He opened his eyes.
Yor's red eyes, red like rubies, met his blue ones.
"Anya is with us. She's safe. And she wants both of us. She needs us, Loid."
"Do you forgive me, Yor?"
She smiled and raised her hand to caress his face.
"Only if you forgive me too."
He couldn't help smiling as well.
He took her hand and pressed it against his cheek.
"I was never upset with you. It's impossible for me. Yor, I love you so much..."
She stood on tiptoe, held him by the shoulders, gently pulled him closer, and kissed him.
It caught him by surprise.
Yor always did that.
She was the only one capable of disarming Twilight.
And he liked that.
He liked being surprised by her.
He loved her so much.
Then he gently wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
That kiss meant everything to both of them.
After everything, they wanted to stay together as a family.
Not only because of Anya, but because of the love they shared.
They pulled away from the kiss, their faces close enough to feel each other's breath.
Still embracing, Yor lowered her feet back to the floor, making Loid lean farther forward.
Then he rested his head on her shoulder and tightened his embrace.
He heard Yor whisper softly into his ear as she stroked his hair.
"I love you, Loid."
Those words finally made him lower his guard. He thought he had thanked her out loud, but the words never left his mind.
At that moment, exhaustion overcame him. Four sleepless nights worrying about Anya finally caught up with his body.
"Loid!"
Yor leaned forward, trying to keep him from falling.
"Loid! Did you fall asleep?"
He jerked upright and stepped away from her.
She stared at him in alarm.
"Ah... I think my body finally relaxed after everything." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.
She let out a soft laugh.
"You should go to sleep."
"You too, Yor. It's been a hard few days."
A small voice came from the bedroom, interrupting them.
"Mama?"
They walked back to the room and opened the door halfway. Anya was sitting up with the blankets covering her legs.
"Hi, Anya. I'm here."
Yor walked over to the bed and sat beside her.
Anya's big eyes sparkled.
"Mama didn't call me Miss Anya."
"Ah... you're right."
Suddenly, Anya hugged her.
Her little arms wrapped around Yor's waist and squeezed tightly.
The unexpected gesture left Yor speechless. But she soon hugged Anya back, gently stroking the top of her head.
Then she heard Anya say, "Thank you, Mommy."
Yor looked at Loid, who was standing beside the bed, astonished. He smiled at her.
"Anya... you called me Mommy, not Mama," Yor whispered.
"Yeah. You're my mom, and Papa is my dad. We're never going to be separated again, right?"
Yor looked at Loid, who decided to sit beside them on the bed.
"No, Anya. We're staying together. The four of us." He gently rubbed his daughter's back.
Bond gave a quiet bark to remind them that he was part of the family too.
Anya smiled happily as she pulled away from Yor. Then her eyes filled with tears, and she began to cry.
"Anya was scared... of losing you..."
She sobbed, rubbing her tiny clenched fists against her eyes.
Loid moved closer and hugged her. Seeing his daughter cry made his heart ache.
She threw herself into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder.
Yor moved closer too and joined the embrace.
"We're not going anywhere, Anya. Loid and I will stay with you until you grow up."
"Anya doesn't want to grow up," the little girl whimpered against her father's shoulder.
Loid and Yor smiled at that.
But Loid still felt haunted by the fact that he had once thought about abandoning Anya.
"Forgive me, Anya."
Anya pulled away from the hug and knelt on the bed.
"Dad already asked me to forgive him at the hospital, and I already forgave him."
"Can you still hear what I'm thinking?" Loid asked worriedly.
"No. I don't know what the bad men did to my head. I can't hear anything anymore."
She finished with a yawn. She had to be exhausted after so much stress.
A child only five years old—her true age, after nearly a year since Loid adopted her—should never have had to go through anything like that.
It was a relief to know she could no longer hear thoughts.
That had certainly been a burden.
She might not have seen it that way, but trying to solve everyone else's problems was exhausting for him—let alone for a child.
"Let's go to sleep, Anya," he said, wiping away her tears with his thumb.
Yor watched them with great affection. Twilight believed himself to be a cold man. But she knew he was completely wrong about himself. He was a man full of feelings. He just needed to learn how to express them.
"Okay, Daddy."
He smiled when he heard Anya call him Dad.
Then he noticed Yor watching him. He smiled back at her and slid his hand across the blanket until it reached his wife's hand.
Anya, standing on the bed, saw the gesture and said with a grin,
"Mommy and Daddy are flirting!"
The couple smiled.
"Yes, Anya. We are."
"And just like you asked, we're going to sleep with you."
She became even more excited at her father's words.
*****
Loid lay beside Anya, watching her sleep when Yor entered the room, already wearing her long nightgown.
His eyes followed her as she walked toward the bed.
She lifted the edge of the blanket and sat down. She brought her feet onto the bed and covered herself. Yor noticed how peacefully Anya slept between her and Loid. She couldn't help smiling.
Then Loid rested his head on the pillow, looking at Yor from the other side of the bed. She turned off the bedside lamp beside her and lay down as well. She rested her hand on Anya's stomach, and Loid placed his hand over hers.
Even with only the moonlight illuminating the room, Loid could see the shine in Yor's eyes as she softly said,
"Good night, Loid."
He smiled at her and replied,
"Good night, Yor."
At that moment, Twilight wished they could both hear his thoughts.
All he could feel was gratitude.
He was grateful that those two women had chosen him to be the father and husband of the Forger family.
To him, that was what peace felt like.