AN: Next chapter will be shorter.
Also shoutout to that one fan on reddit who recommended this fic to me. I had a good laugh xD
Chapter 4 Confession
Why didn't Bond use his power? Why was the New Moon on Saturday? Why did Mama hurt Papa? Is Papa going to kill Mama?
Anya spent the week after that terrible Saturday being angry at Bond. She didn't talk to him, didn't sleep on his fluffy furs, and didn't play fetch with him either. Bond didn't seem to understand why, as he continued following her around and wagging his tail whenever she glanced at him as if he thought she was finally going to play with him again.
Bond wouldn't understand. Anya finally found a family that accepted her and yet it was breaking apart and she couldn't do anything about it. And all because Bond refused to use his powers! When she read his mind before that Saturday, all she saw was black stastic like a broken TV.
She thought it was going to be okay! Papa was going to save Scruffy and Mama had a target to kill. She never said the target's name in her mind though; she only referred to them as "he" or "the target". Anya was worried about Papa and Mama leaving or returning at the same time or seeing each other outside or something, but that was all! Who would have thought Mama's mission was to kill Papa!? Bond certainly didn't!
It was a relief that Papa was still alive but after giving Mama an aleeby she still seemed susbicious of Papa!
But the nightmere didn't end here.
On the Friday before Mama's second assassin mission against Papa, Bond finally used his power.
Mama's neck cut open and spilling blood as she lay not moving on the ground while Papa had a bloody knife in his hand and was also hurt but very much alive.
Seeing that was enough for Anya to call a truce between her and Bond.
"We're going to save Papa and Mama," she whispered to him on Sunday night after Mama left and then Papa left. Neither of them checked to see if she was asleep, but they did check on each other though. They definitely weren't expecting her to be awake and ready to go on a mission of her own.
Bond gave a quiet "Worf" as Anya changed into all black clothing* and led him onto her ballconey.
"Are you ready to save the night?" Anya climbed onto him so she was riding on his back.
Bond grunted.
"Then, let's go after them!"
Bond leaped off of the ballconey.
Despite finding out Loid had an alibi which made it impossible for him to be Twilight, a tiny voice continued to whisper in the back of Yor's mind, reminding her of all the similarities the two shared.
"Smell of blood after the night even though he doesn't have any injuries, visible hesitation when asked about the smell, using his left hand over his right hand…"
Yor tried to ignore it but she couldn't help but subconsciously keep track of Loid's every move with her eyes, watching him as he cooked, trying to catch the slightest signs of pain in his movement.
Like he said, the 'numbness' in his arm went away after a while and he was back to using his right hand. And he didn't seem to be in pain. But if he were Twilight, then that could be explained by his superb acting skills.
Yor felt guilty every time she caught herself watching him like a hawk. That's no way to look at my husband! She'd scold herself, but her gut feeling was telling her that he was it and her intuition had never wronged her.
Eventually, she stopped arguing with herself and came to terms with her suspicion. Everything would come to light once she finished this mission. Who Twilight really was and whether their rematch would end in his demise or hers. All would be settled on Sunday.
When Sunday night came, Yor lay in bed just like last time and pretended to be asleep. Except this time, she kept her ears peeled for movement in Loid's room. She heard the rustling sound of him changing, creaking of the bed from the added weight, and the closing and locking of his window.
Yor waited about ten minutes before getting up and heading towards his room. She opened his door slightly to peak inside, breathing out a sigh of relief when she saw him asleep in his bed wearing pajamas.
What were you thinking, doubting your husband like that?
She quickly returned to her room and got dressed and left through the window.
Club Holly was on the outskirts and would take about seven minutes to get there by car. No matter how superhumanly fast Yor may be, it still took her ten minutes to run there.
"Keep an eye out for any possible ways he could have delivered the intel to Twilight."
Finding the intel was too much to ask of her since this wasn't in her area of expertise (this was more in line with a spy's training). However, she was experienced in locating her target from a crowd, especially a target she was familiar with.
She first scoured the crowded entrance. It was impossible to get in under the heavy scrutiny from the bouncers and guards, so Twilight must have found another way. She circled the area to the backdoor and found a man who smelled like garbage moaning about "deal" and "losing job".
A quick conversation told her what she needed.
Twilight had disguised himself as this man.
Then all she needed to do was hide and watch as Twilight left the club with the intel and wait until he was far away before engaging with him. There was a familiar scent that she caught a whiff of while trading blows with him (more like one-sidedly dealing blows to him who preferred to use his gun), but she quickly forgot about it when he threatened her with her family and allowed her rage to take over.
All she saw was Twilight, all she heard was his disguised voice.
Nothing else mattered. Not the booming music and laughter from afar, not the trees swaying in the wind, not the insects buzzing around the lamppost.
Twilight. The bastard wearing the disguise of a poor, innocent man who he dumped into the dumpster.
That was the one who mattered.
Twilight. Twilight.
She was planning on killing him swiftly. It should be easy since he was injured.
But no.
She changed her mind.
He threatened her family.
The thought of Loid, Anya, and even Bond screaming in pain and d-dying made her blood boil.
She was going to rip him apart and make him regret ever thinking of laying his filthy hands on her family!
The fight turned out how she expected it to, with him succumbing to his injuries and her standing over his body after stealing the strip of intel from his pocket while he was distracted.
Now, there are hundreds of ways to hurt a human being without killing them. Which method should I choose?
However, Twilight didn't give her time to choose. The moment she saw that annoying smirk again and heard the threat spilling from his lips, she moved before her brain could catch up and plunged her heel into his shoulder wound, relishing in the sensation of piercing through soft flesh and the groan he let o-
Wait.
What was that?
Yor's eyes widened.
No. It can't be.
She ripped her heels out of his wound in a panic, drawing another pained grunt out of him.
That was Loid's voice.
There was no mistaking it.
That was her husband's voice.
"L-Loid?"
But how?
She reached out with trembling fingers and tugged the mask off of his face, gasping when it was indeed Loid's face that appeared. "N-No way." Yor covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes involuntarily tearing up.
Twilight… No, Loid didn't say a thing.
"I-I'm so sorry! Loid? H-How-"
Yor didn't know what to say. What… What should she even say? This was too surreal. How could Twilight and Loid be the same person?
I was right about that scent earlier. It was the smell of his cologne. The signs were all there. Why didn't I believe it sooner?
She slumped to the ground, her body seemed to have melted as she leaned forward with her hands outreached over the visible injury, unsure what to do. The twisted satisfaction she gained from seeing Twilight in pain had vanished the moment she heard Loid's voice. Along with that was an urge to further cause him harm.
All she wanted now was to end his suffering.
But that voice in the back of her mind, the same voice that suggested the two were one and the same, was yelling at her to continue inflicting pain onto her enemy.
That's right. Twilight is my enemy. I need to keep going. I need to kill him.
But he's also my husband. He's Loid, the kind, loving man who accepted me for who I am and showed genuine affection towards his daughter.
What will happen to Anya if Loid dies? How can I face her again after killing her father? Is he even her father? How much do I even know about him?
Yor came to one conclusion.
Twilight, or Loid, couldn't die. Not before the truth came to light.
He parted his lips to say something, but it was too quiet for her to hear so she leaned forward.
"What did you say?"
A glint was all the warning she got before a knife came swinging towards her throat.
It's too late! I can't dodge it!
Yor leaned back as much as possible within the milliseconds, but it would still be close enough to cut an inch into her flesh. She could dodge bullets and knives without an issue, as long as she was expecting them and saw them coming.
She should have seen this coming miles away.
After all, I'm the one who tried to kill him first.
Her eyes flickered to Loid's face and met his stone cold eyes. Not an ounce of emotions were there. Cold and deadly, like the spy he was supposed to be.
Of course.
What else was I expecting?
He wasn't her husband; he was her enemy.
.
.
But he was also Anya's father.
.
.
This is it.
Thorn Princess had failed, once again.
I'm sorry, Shopkeeper.
She began to close her eyes.
"Bworf!"
The familiar bark was faint compared to how loud her heart was beating against her ribcage, struggling to keep her alive despite its owner's readiness to die. Yor let out a trembling breath, bringing a hand to feel around her neck and only daring to open her eyes after her fingers touched unblemished and intact skin.
I'm alive.
There was a thin cut on her right cheek, deep enough to scar and cause a trail of blood to run down her chin.
I'm alive?
She darted her eyes towards Loid briefly, tentatively, fearing what she would find on his face.
Fearing that stone cold gaze.
There weren't many emotions on his face. Furrowed brows, corners of the lips tilted down into a frown, gone were the cold gaze of Twilight and gentle gaze of Loid, and replaced with nothingness, empty, lifeless, void. Almost like he had deliberately removed all emotions from his face. Why? What was the point of masking his emotions when she already knew he was her enemy and hated her and wanted to kill her?
He had dropped his hand onto the ground. The bloodied knife was still in his grip, but his hand was slackened, relaxed, resting, showing no signs of hostility. Loid turned to look at Bond, who appeared out of nowhere, and that drew Yor's gaze to the family dog.
"Bond!?" She exclaimed upon seeing his appearance.
The white fur on his face was tainted with blood that stemmed from a large gash diagonally across his face, going from the top of one eye to the bottom of another. In his mouth was Anya's bloodied toy gun.
Yor's heart sank.
"B-Bond, where's Anya?"
Bond turned tail and ran.
Yor glanced at Loid who was also looking at her, and felt something akin to mutual understanding transmit through their gaze. "I… I'm going to chase after him."
She picked up Twilight's gun (just in case) and ran after the dog, hoping Loid, no, Twilight would come to his senses and return to being the kind, loving man she had known and chase after her. Not to kill and silence her (that could wait), but to save Anya. Because he was her father and that was the role he should be playing when his child was in danger.
Spy duties should come second, just like how she had left her assassin duties behind and let Twilight live, for Anya's sake.
Twilight was fully prepared to kill Yor.
She wasn't even his real wife. She was like Karen, just another tool he would dispose of once she'd served her purpose.
It should be easy. Attachments like these had long been thrown away the day he decided to become a spy.
Yor was Loid's wife, and Loid was just a mask.
So why did his heart ache when he saw that look in her eyes before he dealt the final blow? Those beautiful crimson eyes that were usually so gentle and caring or deadly and tenacious in her alter ego had something he had never seen in her before: defeat.
What the hell? That didn't belong there. The Yor he knew would fight till her last breath and would drag her enemy down with her if she had to. She wouldn't just...just...admit defeat in the face of death! Did she not care about her life at all, or how her death would affect others? What about her brother? What about Anya?
What about Anya?
Operation Strix no longer needed a wife, but what about Anya?
The little girl who had been adopted and returned four times and yearned for a mama.
Could she really get over Yor's death?
Or would it traumatize her forever?
Anya was just a part of his life, but he and Yor were her entire childhood.
Throwing away attachments was easy for him, but certainly not for a child who barely knew her own address!
Yor had been with her for far too long to not leave any lasting psychological damage if she died. And this would certainly affect Anya's well-being and study and… What if she did poorly in school because of this and got eight Tonitrus bolts and got expelled!? Then all their efforts to get accepted would be for nothing! And Operation Strix would fail!
Twilight hadn't thought this far ahead until he saw that look in Yor's eyes, but by then it was too late to stop.
Fortunately, the sudden appearance of Bond and his bark startled him into involuntarily freezing up, and this momentary pause allowed him to shift his hand so the momentum carried the knife to cut her cheeks rather than her neck. Twilight sighed in relief seeing she was still alive, and then he realized he was showing his emotions on his face and quickly slapped a frown back on.
That's right.
Yor can't die.
At least not until Operation Strix is over.
And she didn't seem to want him dead either, after knowing Twilight was Loid. She obviously loved their little pretend family a lot, which meant the possibility of her exposing him to the SSS was low, not zero, but low. If letting her live meant protecting Anya's happiness, then Twilight was willing to take the risk.
After all, this is what it means to be a (fake) father.
It took him a few tries to get back onto his feet. Twilight wobbled a little to regain his balance before limping towards the car assigned to him by WISE. The night had darkened considerably since he arrived but the club in the distance was as rambunctious as ever.
He ripped up the fabric of Großer's shirt and wrapped it around his shoulder and thigh clumsily. He knew how to apply first aid to a wound properly, but he had neither the time nor the patience for it right now. His daughter's life was on the line, after all. What mattered now was that the wounds ceased bleeding so they wouldn't stain Loid's outfit.
After changing his clothes into Loid Forger's clothes, he started the engine and began driving with his good leg on the pedal, catching up to Yor and Bond in no time.
"Get in." He rolled down the window to call out to her.
Yor just stared at him with her mouth wide-opened.
Loid rolled his eyes. "Do you want to see who's faster, me in my car or you in your heels?"
"I-I'll get in."
Her movement was awkward and lacked her usual finesse or tenacity in her Thorn Princess persona. Loid snorted when he heard a thunk of her hitting her head against the door frame and the quiet yelp she let out.
"Relax, Yor. I won't bite." Loid grinned at her through the rear mirror and enjoyed the blush that climbed up her face.
She's making it seem like I'm the one who nearly killed her.
Oh wait. It was me, actually.
Though she nearly killed me too.
Huh.
"L-Loid, do you want me to drive?"
"Have you ever driven a car before?"
"No…"
"So it's better that I drive."
Yor ducked her head as if she was embarrassed.
The rest of the ride was spent in an awkward silence. He didn't know what to say to her now that both of their secrets were out. Even his years of (fake) dating experiences didn't help in a situation like this. If it was Karen, he could just bring up a topic and let her run her mouth for hours, but that obviously wouldn't work on Yor, who was much more intelligent than that woman.
Silence gave him time to think, and in a situation like this, the only things bouncing around in his mind were negative thoughts.
Letting an assassin sit behind you? I thought you're better than this.
Shut up. She could've killed me earlier but she didn't. So she's not going to kill me now.
That's rather trusting of you, even though you only found out about her deadly secret a week ago after knowing her for ages. The Twilight I know would've found out someone's secret even before meeting them for the first time.
It couldn't be helped. Garden assassins' identities are extremely well hidden-
So are SSS officers, but you found out about Yuri's secret during your first meeting. To me it sounds like you're being willfully ignorant of all the signs. Have you grown attached, Twilight? Have you...fallen for her?
Rather than continuing this pointless argument, Loid kicked that mental speech bubble into the darkest corner of his mind and slammed a lock on it.
He needed to pay attention to saving his daughter.
And also avoid accidentally driving too fast and running over Bond.
In an abandoned gas station not far from the club was an Asian man screaming into the handset while a tied up kid was sitting quietly on the counter.
"What do you mean you're giving up!? You were the one who said you want him dead no matter what!"
"Yeah, but that's before! Nguyen, you weren't awake when he threatened me and my daddy! You don't know how scary he is!"
"And now we have the perfect opportunity to get back at him!" Nguyen insisted. "We don't even need to confront him directly. And I can leave you out of it if you don't want to get involved. Just give me the number you used to contact Garden and I'll talk to them myself!"
"No! If he finds out he'll blame me for helping you!"
Nguyen clicked his tongue in annoyance. "So you're just going to let him trample all over you? Well guess what? I ain't a fucking pussy who'd let a man who crossed me twice get away with it, when I have the perfect weapon to bring him down once and for all!" He glanced at the little girl who he almost ran over with his car before recognizing her and snatching her from the street. She shivered.
"If you're so desperate to die, then go die alone, you pig! I'm NOT risking my life for this bullshit!"
Nguyen slammed the handset onto the counter, snarling as he paced back and forth and murmured to himself. "That fucking bitch! Should've known she's a coward who'd give up after one failure. So what if Twilight is strong? If one assassin doesn't work, then just send two. Or three. Garden wants him dead as well so they'd take this mission even if I don't pay them enough for three assassins. It's obvious this kid is related to him somehow. Even if we can't take advantage of her connection to him, I'm sure Garden has a way to use her to destroy him or, even better, kill that bastard for good. A trash like him deserves to be fed to the dogs like the animal he is…"
Nguyen only remembered the kid's presence when she whimpered. He put on a fake smile. "Don't worry, little girl. You'll find yourself a better daddy soon."
As if. She's no use to us after Twilight is captured or dead. If Garden didn't kill her, I'll kill her for them.
Shit. Now what should I do with her? If I can't get Garden's contact info through Karen, maybe I should contact Edgar…
Before he could finish that train of thought, the dim light in the station flickered once before turning off completely, plunging the abandoned place into darkness.
"What the—!" Nguyen stilled for a second before cursing out loud. "Of course this shitty place would have shitty lights." He directed a mean glare at the kid to scare her. "Stay here, you hear me? If you're not at this spot when I'm back I'll break a finger."
He probably wouldn't, since that would make her cry, which would draw unnecessary attention. But she didn't need to know that.
The kid just blinked innocently at him as if not registering the threat. Yeah, a kid this young probably had never had a broken bone before, so she wouldn't know what a broken finger would feel like. Oh well, whatever.
"Fucking kids…" Nguyen left through the backdoor to search for the utility box. But before he could find it, the lights were back on. "Oh you gotta be kidding me!"
To make matters worse, the girl was gone when he stormed back into the shop, nostrils flaring and fists ready to punch someone.
The moment Yor saw Anya tied up and sitting alone on the counter in the dark, fury washed over her like never before. Not even Twilight's provoking (but empty) threats had made her this furious.
She was before her daughter in the blink of an eye, cutting the ropes binding her and growling when she felt the abraded skin on Anya's arms.
"M-Mama…" Anya's lips trembled, a sign that she was about to cry.
"Shh. Don't worry. You're safe now." Yor forced herself to calm down as she handed Anya to Loid so he could take her outside, out of sight so she wouldn't see what Yor was about to do.
She would love to rip that bastard to pieces, but now wasn't the time for a fun torture session.
Yor crouched in the shadow and waited for the man to storm in before knocking him out with a brick. She then took his gun and shot him in the head with it, her hands twitching as if yearning to do more than give him a quick death.
"All done?" Loid asked as he walked in with Anya in his arms.
"Yes." Yor had kicked the man under a table so Anya wouldn't see his corpse. "Let's go home."
Home.
Yor regretted using this term the moment it left her mouth.
The place I shared with Loid.
But after tonight's incident, would he still be willing to live together with me? With an assassin under his roof? An assassin who went after his life and was the cause of those injuries?
Would he even...let me live?
Seeing Loid limp towards his car filled Yor's chest with guilt.
He's already hurting enough. I should carry Anya for him.
Yor opened her mouth to ask.
But what if he refused? After all, I'm a threat. An assassin. An enemy. Who would trust their enemy with their kid?
She closed her mouth and lowered her head, following behind Loid quietly.
An awkward silence fell between the four.
Yor's silence made Loid even more awkward. The car ride here was already awkward enough and now even Anya and Bond's presence couldn't make it less awkward.
She's not changing her mind is she?
Loid's body stiffened.
After all, her mission is to kill me. If she let me live, then that would mean she failed her mission twice. I don't know how Garden does things, but if a spy, especially an experienced spy, failed their mission twice, then they wouldn't be let off the hook so easily.
Yor's head is bowed so Loid couldn't see her expression.
I can't die, obviously, but she can't die either, for Anya's sake.
Unless there's a way to help Anya get over her death quickly.
Dammit, if only I were a real psychiatrist…
Psychology books taught me nothing about how to deal with a situation like this!
The awkward silence dragged on.
Anya was starting to think it might be a bad idea to get Papa and Mama together. Sure it was fun at first to see them try to hide their secrets from each other (and from her), but this ootcome wasn't what she wanted.
Mama was worried that Papa wanted to devorce her or kick her out of Anya's home.
Papa was worried that Mama wanted to kill him.
And Bond was… Well, Bond was Bond.
Anya could only think of one way to fix this crack in her family.
It was rather simple, if you think about it.
Currently, [Papa ⇄ Mama].
But what if she added something else to the mix?
It was like making a cookie dolf.
You would mix the flower and chocolit chips together, so the chocolit chips were covered with flower, and the flower had chocolit chips in it.
But if you also add sugar into the bowl, then the sugar would get on the chocolit chips and the flower. And the chocolit chips and the flower would get on the sugar as well.
So what she needed to do now was to turn [Papa ⇄ Mama] into [Papa ⇄ Anya ⇄ Mama].
"Papa, please don't devorce Mama," Anya whispered, her hands tightening on Papa's jacket as she hid her face so she wouldn't have to see their reaction. "And Mama, please don't kill Papa."
She felt Papa's body freeze. And then he chuckled, his chest vibrating against her face as he did so. It sounded fake though.
"W-What are you saying? Of course I won't divorce Yor." (Why did she bring this up all of a sudden?)
"Y-Yeah!" Mama said. "Why would I k-kill Loid?" (Did hearing that gunshot give her the wrong idea?)
Anya pressed her face deeper into Papa's jacket, inhaling his scent. It smelled comforting. And she needed this comfort for what she was about to say.
"I can hear your thoughts."
She could almost feel the stop. They stopped moving, they stopped breathing, they stopped thinking, only their hearts continued beating.
And then the thoughts rushed in.
(Wait, what?)
(She's joking right?)
(No, that's impossible.)
(Telepathy doesn't exist.)
"Telepathy does exist."
Papa jumped so hard he nearly dropped Anya, who gripped his labels as tight as she could.
"I'm-"
"Wait." Papa cut her off. "We'll talk in the car."
Anya waited until everyone, including Bond, was seated in the car before explaining her story while Papa put oinkment on her arms and Mama cleaned the wand on Bond's face.
"So you're saying… All this time… You knew?" Papa looked horrified.
Anya nodded.
"So you heard everything… even the…(murderous) ones?" Mama paled.
Anya nodded.
"I thought…it would be exciting to have a spy and an assassin for a Papa and a Mama." Anya gripped a lock of Bond's fluffy fur, the softness warming her heart. "I'm sorry. I didn't want this to happen."
(No one did.)
"It's my fault. Please don't leave me alone." Anya felt tears gather in her eyes, and she let them fall onto Bond's furs, which were so thick he didn't even seem to feel the teardrops.
I don't want to go back to that place.
Anya looked up with watery eyes when she felt Papa's large hand carressing her head. "I'm not going to return you." His eyes were a gentle blue, like the color of the ocean she saw on TV. "Yes, we (Yor and I) are having a slight altercation, but at the end of the day, you two are my family and nothing will change that. (They're Loid's family, and I need to be Loid Forger until Operation Strix is over, so I need them to stay as my family until then.)"
"Loid is right." Anya turned to look at Mama. "Family is more important than anything in this world. It's the reason why I took up this job in the first place: to protect Yuri's carefree life. If failing my mission means you will have a father, then I will gladly do so."
"Even though you're enemies?"
Loid glanced at Yor, who said, "Family sticks together, no matter what. Nothing can break us apart, not our origin, not our job, not our allegiance. When we're a family, our loyalty lies nowhere but with our family."
Anya's lips trembled before she jumped with her arms spread to hook around Papa and Mama's neck, bawling and hugging them with as much power as she had, not even realizing that she was rubbing her tears and snot all over their faces.
Happiness came so quickly that she didn't know what to do with all this love filling her heart.
Well, there was one thing she could do.
Anya fell asleep.
Yor waited until Anya was deep asleep using Bond as a pillow before talking about the more serious issue. "The master spy Twilight wouldn't start a family for no reason, so I guess this is related to a mission."
Loid neither agreed or disagreed. He simply glanced at her, silently urging her to continue while his hand rubbed circles on Anya's back.
"From what Anya said, I presume you adopted her from an orphanage. Since you put so much effort into getting her accepted into Eden Academy and doing well in school, your target, or the purpose of the mission, must have something to do with this school. Either a teacher, a classmate, or a classmate's parent. But if it were a classmate or a teacher, then it shouldn't take this long to complete this mission, so it must be a parent."
Loid chuckled quietly. "So you can be bright when you want to be."
Yor's face reddened. "A-Are you calling me stupid?"
"Well, you certainly can be a little dense and gullible at times." Loid continued before Yor could retort. "You're right. I might as well include you in the loop. Donovan Desmond, have you heard of him?"
"Yes I have. He's the Chairman of the National Unity Party and… Isn't one of Anya's classmates also named Desmond? Um…Da…Daemon?"
"Damian Desmond. That's his son." Loid corrected. "We suspect Donovan of threatening the peace between Westalis and Ostania, so I need to get close to him and probe him for seditious activities."
"Wait!" That's not what I was told. "You're…fighting for peace?"
"Yeah."
"B-But I was told that you…" are an evil scumbag who strives to throw this country into chaos.
Loid shook his head, sighing. "I'm not surprised that Ostania would paint me as a villain. It's just what people do in a time like this. They get overly cautious and sensitive and wouldn't stand for any covert operations they're not privy to, especially if it's an enemy doing these things. Communication is crucial to stopping a war, but no one has any patience for listening to what the enemy is saying when it's so much easier to assume they're evil and execute them. Of course, Westalis is the same. I am the same. That's why my first instinct after finding out your secret was to kill you, not talk it out with you."
"But you let me live." Yor leaned closer to him subconsciously as if felt drawn towards his words. "You had an entire week to kill me, but you didn't."
"...I didn't."
"So you're not like them. You're different."
"I did it for Anya's sake."
"Me too. I let you live for her sake because she needs a father."
"And she needs a mother."
Yor's heart fluttered in her chest as Loid gazed at her with his gentle blue eyes, so unlike the hazy twisted blue of Twilight that never in a million years would she believe they were one and the same if she hadn't unmasked him herself. How could he look at her like she was the most precious thing when he was at her throat not even an hour ago? Not that she was one to talk since she nearly killed him too, but that was before she knew who he was.
He's a spy. This is just an act. Snap out of it!
But was it really? Was everything really just an act, or was there a certain degree of truth sprinkled in there? Loid wasn't just a mask; he was a part of Twilight. That was something Yor had realized after observing his relationship with Anya day after day. They may be a pretend family but he genuinely cared and loved Anya.
And even after Yor nearly killed him, he was willing to spare her life and continue living with her, all for Anya's sake. He was putting his mission on the line for a little girl who he had no obligation to care for. Compromised? Jeopardized? Nothing was more important than protecting Anya's happiness.
If nothing else, his love for Anya was the one thing that was real.
And this was enough for Yor.
At the end of the day, she was just a fake wife, an assassin sent to kill him, a tool who used him for her own benefit as much as he used her for his mission. As soon as his mission was completed, he would be divorcing her and kicking her out, if not killing her on the spot (and she would, of course, fight back). She didn't need him or expect him to like her and show genuine kindness to her. As long as he continued to love Anya like his own daughter, Yor would continue staying with this pretend family and protecting them with her life.
And for this to work out, she absolutely mustn't fall for him and let her emotions destroy this family dynamic.
Yor gripped her shirt, trying to get her heart to stop fluttering.
He's not being nice to you because he wants to. She told herself. He's doing so because he needs to maintain a good relationship with you for this Spy x Family to work. How else should Loid Forger look at his wife other than with a gentle gaze?
Loid's chuckles snapped her out of it and she quickly averted her gaze while blushing furiously.
"So I trust you won't kill me in my sleep?" Loid teased, his eyes crinkling with mirth.
"Only if you won't do the same."
"What about your mission?"
"It's a failure. I will make it up during my next mission. Oh, please don't misunderstand. I'm not doing it for the money or the country. I initially became an assassin to protect Yuri's carefree life, and to prevent the needless tragedies from befalling upon him. But now I have even more people I want to protect." Yor looked up at Loid lovingly– Wait, what? No, not lovingly! Her blush deepened and even climbed up her ears. She wanted to protect him because he was Anya's father. That was all! "Even if I have to get blood on my hands, even if it means living a life that could end at any moment, even if it means I might have to leave you guys behind, I'm going to continue this path because it's the only way to protect those precious to me."
Loid stared at her for a long time like he was finally seeing her for who she really was for the first time. "Your motive is more benevolent than I had expected. I can respect that."
He can respect that.
Yor felt like something was clogging her throat, and she swallowed thickly.
The near-death experience she had during her mission on the cruise surfaced in her mind. She remembered how in order to find the strength to keep on fighting, she had to convince herself that if Loid were to ever discover her reasonings behind this job, he would respect it because he had said "To endure such a harsh job for the sake of another, for the sake of something greater than oneself… I truly admire that."
But that was just a fantasy of hers, a wish come true that most likely wouldn't happen in real life. After all, what normal person could admire an assassin who was tainted with blood and would get excited at the sight of sharp instruments?
But he can respect that.
He actually said it.
Yor's heart swelled with happiness as her eyes started to burn. Even if he was lying, she couldn't care less right now.
It's not just a fantasy.
She needed this acknowledgement.
"I became a spy to create a world where children wouldn't have to cry." Loid glanced at Anya who was drooling on Bond's furs. "So I must continue this path to maintain the peace between the West and the East, even if it means someday I might have to face you again on the battlefield."
"I can respect that as well."
Loid smiled, and for a second it felt like he was genuinely smiling at her as Twilight.
Yor hated herself for having to rid him of that smile.
"Loid."
"Yes?"
"I have a favor to ask of you."
"Anything."
Yor pulled out the gun she knocked out of his hands earlier, grimacing when she saw Loid become tense at the sight of her with his gun.
She handed the gun to him.
"I want you to shoot me."
As expected, his smile dropped.
"What?"
"Shoot me somewhere critical but not too life-threatening that I would die within minutes. They would be suspicious of me if I failed the mission without any injuries."
"But the nearest hospital is miles away. If you failed the mission with that injury, how are you supposed to get medical attention while traveling on foot?"
Yor gasped. "I…didn't think of that."
Loud snorted. He glanced at the abandoned gas station in the distance, and the kidnapper's car parked a few meters before them, and his eyes lit up.
"We can use this to our advantage."
"What do you mean?"
"Tell them that you got shot by Twilight, ran away, saw lights in the distance so you went towards it. And then you saw your husband fighting someone who kidnapped our daughter. So you distracted the kidnapper while I rescued Anya, and you waited until I'm out of sight before shooting him with his own gun because you can't use your signature weapon while being Yor Forger. Then you told me that it was the kidnapper who shot you and gave you that wound, so I then rushed you to the hospital," Loid glanced at the kidnapper's car, "Using that car, because Loid Forger isn't supposed to own a car. And then I called the police after you've been admitted."
"And Anya loves spy cartoons so it's not out of the realm of possibility that she would sneak out of the house at night to fight bad guys or something, and then get snatched off of the streets. Anything is possible with this little one. The police probably wouldn't question her motive."
"That's right." Loid nodded. "It may seem suspicious that all these events are happening to your advantage but they can't deny the fact that Anya did get kidnapped. Both her and Bond have the injuries to prove that. So they have no choice but to believe it's all a coincidence."
Yor opened the car door quietly to not arouse the sleeping girl and the dog while Loid followed suit. "Oh, what should I tell Garden about Twilight? They would expect me to leave some sort of injury on you because I never back out of a fight without at least hurting my opponent to a certain degree."
Both of them glanced at Loid's leg at the same time. He was still limping.
Because you stabbed his leg twice like a psycho.
"U-Um, maybe I can tell them I hurt your bac–"
"Tell them you stabbed my thigh, so they can look for someone limping for the next few weeks." Loid grinned at her. It was a smile that should be comforting to look at, but instead it only pained her and made her feel even more guilty. "You're not a good liar, so it's best to only lie when absolutely necessary."
"B-But what about you?"
I'm not going to let you get caught because of me.
"I wouldn't have survived till now and become Westalis' master spy if I couldn't endure a little pain." Loid straightened his back and began walking normally, without a limp, but Yor knew no matter how much he tried to hide it, he must be in unimaginable pain right now.
"I'm sorry… It's all because of me that y–"
"It's not your fault," Loid said sternly and reached out to wipe the blood off of Yor's chin, causing her to shiver at the contact. She almost forgot about the cut on her cheek. "If we were to continue like this, it's inevitable that we might be forced to hurt each other again in the future to keep up our cover. When that happens, don't blame yourself, and I won't blame myself either."
"I won't blame you."
"Good. That's all the reassurance I need from you." With a pained smile, Loid raised the gun at her once they were far enough from the car. And for a split second, she let herself believe he actually cared. "Now, are you ready?"
Yor felt the muscles in her legs tensing in anticipation for a dodge.
"I'm ready."
She was ready, but the shot still took her by surprise since it had been so long since she received a gunshot wound.
The sound of the shot made her ears ring as pain exploded from her abdomen.
The blood that flowed out of her was warm, and so was the look in Loid's eyes.
Warm and tender, rather than stone cold and deadly.
And for the second time that day, she closed her eyes and let darkness claim her.
But this time, she knew she would be okay.
AN: *Anya's all-black outfit in this chapter comes from Chapter 15.5