Mission: The Intricate Form of Holding Hands

Anya was almost as weightless as a feather, both of her hands firmly but gently held by her parents on either side of her as she skipped along the cobblestone path. Bond's leash held steady by Loid with his other hand.

She could hear papa chide her gently, "Anya, don't swing your legs too far, you might fall." Not that either one of her found parents would allow that, Anya mused fondly as she read both of their minds.

'Not that she would fall, of course. I wouldn't allow that under any circumstances.'

'I would sooner crush and dismember my own arm if it means saving Anya from getting hurt!'

'Scary…' the young telepath thought, marveling at how both of her parent's faces may have looked serene and happy, but their thoughts certainly reflected a more violent nature.

Loid's hand was big, easily engulfing Anya's small hand in his, subtle callouses lining the inside of his palms, a testament to the harsh world he must have endured since a young age.

Yor's hand was more slender but also enveloped Anya's in a comfortable, snug grip, her palm was also calloused along with thin cuts that Anya wouldn't have picked up on if she weren't so focused on the texture of her mama's hand. It was softer than Loid's but Anya knew it possessed a strength that could take down a bovine.

Domesticated or not.

Anya shook her head, dislodging the scary thoughts from her mind when she saw a dog, smaller than Bond, playing under the sprinkling fountain in the middle of the park they were walking towards.

Anya quickly tugged herself free of her parent's grips as she sprinted towards the fountain, arms outstretched and a hearty, childish laugh leaving her lips. "Bond, let's go play!"

Bond barked in agreement but froze and glanced hesitantly at his owner. Loid had been training him to sniff out particular scents, as well as free himself from traps and get trusty-looking people for help if the Forger family were in danger. Bond wasn't sure if he was allowed to play yet, given his mediocre results of escaping from traps due to his size.

Much to the canine's joy, Loid bent down to take away the leash and smiled down at Bond, giving him a gentle pat on the head. "Go ahead." Bond dashed off in seconds, but he still heard his owner call after him. "Watch over Anya!"

"Be careful!" the mistress of the house called after him as well. Bond recognized the familiar commands and sped up to catch up to Anya, in too close proximity to the other dog that was there.

Loid scoffed in amusement. "Look at how fast Anya is when it comes to playing. I wish she were that fast at solving mathematical equations."

Yor giggled. "Yuri was just like that when he was as young as Anya, but he quickly grew to love studying, he was smarter than most of the kids in his class." Yor reminisced fondly, "Anya is still young, I'm sure she will get the hang of her studies soon."

Loid silently agreed, despite the small seed of doubt within him, considering Anya's past failures.

And her first Tinitrus bolt.

Loid felt lightheaded again.

Yor noticed the sway in his body immediately. "Loid, are you alright?" her hand gently but firmly landed on his shoulder and Loid steadied himself.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I just remembered when Anya got her first Tinitrus bolt." He clutched at his head and Yor laughed, remembering how her husband fainted after hearing the news for the first time.

"You fainted when you heard the news." Yor sounded sympathetic and amused at the same time and the event took Loid back to the dream he had.

"Yeah…" the war, Westalis vs Ostania, his parents' deaths, his friends dying on a poorly coordinated mission, his-

"Loid?" a gentle, brief touch on his hand cut through Loid's darkening thoughts like a blade.

"Hm?" wide blue eyes shot down to his hand, Yor's fingers still touching the side of his hand for the briefest contact.

She quickly pulled her hand away, her cheeks flaming as hot as the sun, equally red eyes glancing all around them to make sure nobody saw her touch Loid's hand.

'Wait…' Twilight mused almost absentmindedly, 'I'm married. We are married. It's normal for a married couple to hold hands in public as an acceptable form of public display of affection.' He discreetly glanced at Yor, who was staring at her hand as if she wanted to wring it. '…Would Yor be up to it, though?'

Loid cleared his throat and Yor's head immediately shot up to meet his gaze. "I-I'm sorry! I just wanted to check if you were alright and I wasn't thinking and-!"

Her husband softly interrupted her. "Yor, we're married, you're allowed to touch me." He felt his mouth run dry and he quickly corrected himself with another cough, "-to touch my hand- hands I mean. It's considered normal among married couples to hold hands while out in public." He thought back to how Yor once shyly confessed of her having very little experience with men on a romantic level, which mildly confused him given her previous hard work as an escort. Had Camilla lied about Yor's previous profession? Then again, he doubted she associated her previous job with any sort of romantic tone, as he didn't in his disguises and pursuit of women during undercover missions. Either way, raising Yuri alone, Loid knew Yor couldn't have had it easy in any sense of the word.

It was a lonely existence, sacrificing your life for the sake of others to ensure their future was bright and not painted with blood and death.

Yor bit her lips, a habit she had that signaled she was worried or overthinking a situation.

Loid inhaled and threw caution to the wind, his hand grabbing hers in a firm but gentle grip.

'Just like hugging. Except with hands.' Twilight thought, before a sour expression crossed his face. 'Hm, that sounded better in theory.' Loid felt himself exhale, he hadn't even noticed he was holding his breath, when he felt the warm, soft hand in his squeeze him back.

He glanced back at Yor to gauge her reaction, her bangs covering her eyes, but her cheeks and ears covered in light pink, a wobbly smile on her face. "Is…this okay?"

"Yes…" Yor muttered her response before Yor lifted her head.

Loid suddenly felt his heart accelerate alarmingly fast. Was he developing a heart disease? The doctor at WISE assured him he was as healthy as a young man his age could be, except his persistent stomach ulcers. He would have to speak to Handler to request a different doctor.

His developing illness worsened considerably when Yor looked up at him, her eyes seemed to twinkle like the most refined and polished garnets or rubies he had ever seen. Not even the Rosser Reeves ruby could possibly compare to Yor's eyes. "O-Oh my! Thank you Loid, but that's too much! I can't possibly compare!" Yor touched her eyes gingerly, the blush spreading from her cheeks to her ears and neck.

Loid blinked a few times, trying to figure out why Yor seemed so flustered, until he realized he had said his last thought out loud. "A-Ah, I was- it was an observation, I had seen the jewel in the news sometime ago and was reminded of your eyes because they were strikingly similar in color." He felt sweat accumulate at the back of his neck.

'Damn it, how could I say that out loud? How could I allow myself the most cliché comparison of a woman's eyes to prized jewels? Yor must think I'm an absolute fool.'

Despite his thoughts, Yor seemed deeply flattered by the compliment, her hand holding his just a bit more secure and her smile capable of solving world hunger and ending the war.

Loid blamed his ludicrous thoughts on the fact that he would either have to pay a high sum to clean Anya's clothes or shop for new clothes when he looked at the amount of mud on them.

Bond didn't look any better, his previously white fur saturated with the brown substance.

Yor chided softly. "Look at you two, you'll have to have a nice long bath once we get home!"

Anya grumbled, expressing her desire to still play with Bond and the fountain in the park, but Bond seemed thrilled at the prospect of a bath.

'Who wouldn't be thrilled for a bath if Yor was the one to bathe them-'

"L-Loid?!" Yor's alarmed yell didn't quite register to him, he did feel his head pounding and something cold and hard beneath his body.

The only body part of him Loid was hyperaware of was his hand, still clutched in Yor's, her other hand now soothingly rubbing his.

His hand had never felt so warm before.

Bonus:

"Do you have any other doctor to recommend me at WISE?" Twilight sipped at his coffee, keeping Sylvia's gaze and ignoring how her eyes glanced curiously at the white bandage around his head.

He had to file a report to handler, since this technically counted as a work injury, but handler rejected it and sent him to their doctor to be treated, citing a reason similar to 'A family outing is not a work-related incident'. Completely ignoring the fact that said family was fake and absolutely part of his work as a spy.

His handler arched an eyebrow. "Hm? Why? Doctor Adler always did remarkable work for our agency. He also treated that thick skull of yours."

Twilight frowned, ignoring the last remark. "I seem to have a developing heart condition but he failed to find anything."

A strange, almost mocking smile crossed his superior's face. "A heart condition?"

"…Yes. Operation Strix can be very taxing at times, Yor and Anya are doing their best but sometimes we deal with setbacks."

"Mhm, and those setbacks cause you heart issues?" Sylvia took a sip of her coffee, observing her agent with keen, fox-like eyes.

"Not exactly. But my interactions with Yor and Anya sometimes cause me heart burn or my heart starts to accelerate without warning." Twilight wasn't sure why he sensed amusement rolling off of his handler in waves.

Sylvia chuckled. "Ah, I see."

"Do you know of this heart condition then?" Twilight leaned forward, eager to hear what illness may have befallen him. Did it shorten one's lifespan?

Sylvia looked far too amused for someone discussing medical issues. "Yes, it's familiar to me, thought I'm sure in time, you'll come to be very familiar with it too."

Twilight felt himself sweat. 'Is this some type of illness that specifically targets agents? Do all my colleagues suffer from it? What sort of deadly disease could this possibly be?"

Hope you enjoyed! :) I'm still thinking of what to write for the next chapter. Maybe staring into each-other's eyes? Or practicing gestures of affection? If anyone has any ideas let me know!