CHAPTER 4

October 30

YOR

Yor backed out of her bedroom with a hum and into Loid's side. She jumped and a piece of laundry flew up out of the basket in her hands.

He reached out and snatched it out of the air lightning fast. "Good morning, Yor-san," he said. She could feel how warm he was where her back was pressed against his arm.

Her face burnt scarlet and hot. Yor snatched her blouse back just as fast and heard a rip.

Loid's eyebrows raised.

"Excuse me," Yor yelped. She turned and power walked to the washing machine. After a moment, she heard his steps start up again towards the kitchen. Oh! She'd forgotten to answer. "Good morning!" she said belatedly.

His laugh echoed around the apartment as water turned on.

Yor grumbled to herself and examined the blouse for damage. She was sure she'd heard something tear, but she didn't see anything wrong… She fussed with it for a moment but ended up tossing it in and starting the washing machine. She was getting low on clean work clothes. She would have done it yesterday, but she'd been too tired after going to her assassination work.

"It'll be fine," Yor told herself. She put her hands on her hips and took in a deep breath. "It's going to be another wonderful day!"

She breezed off to the kitchen and started back up her humming. When she made her way there Loid met her eyes, smiled, and then started humming the same song. She felt her face flush a little, but it felt very nice.

'I never thought I would live with someone again after Yuri moved out.'

"You're up early again this morning," she noticed. She was up an hour earlier than usual so that she could wash and dry her clothes before work. He was usually awake before her, but not this early.

He picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. "Ah." Loid crinkled his eyes and put the cup back down with a soft sound. "It is quite early, isn't it?" His eyes flicked to the water heater. "Peppermint this morning?"

Yor blinked at him without understanding. Then it clicked. "Yes, please!"

Loid pulled tea leaves out of the cupboard and put them into the strainer. She squeezed past him to grab down her favorite mug and set it under the water heater just as he started the water.

After her tea, Yor busied herself as Loid's sous chef. She cut and diced the vegetables he put in front of her without asking any questions. When he gave her flour to sift, she finally put on her apron and happily got to that as well. He thanked her and sent her off to her morning routine when he had his bread dough rising. Yor sniffed at the yeasty air but went to pull out her fitness mat. Her sleeping clothes doubled as workout clothes. She worked up a light sweat, washed her hands, and hung up the clean laundry before getting in her shower. After, she put her workout clothes in the washer and fixed her hair.

She gave herself a critical once-over and then nodded decisively. She was ready! Yor shed her bathrobe in exchange for her work clothes and then made her way back to the kitchen. By now, it smelled incredible. She stopped to inhale it.

"Loid-san, what is this?"

He turned from his armchair to see that she was bent over the oven. "It's a broccoli and bacon quiche." Loid went back to his newspaper and took a sip out of what had to be his third cup of coffee.

Yor turned her head to the side like an owl. "Quiche and bread?" she wondered.

He let out a little laugh. "Ah, the bread is for dinner, Yor-san." Loid flashed her his perfectly white smile. "We won't have much time after work to cook and eat, since Anya-chan has a rehearsal."

"Oh." Her mouth hung open. Then she shut it. "That's right," Yor agreed. Her eyes slid shut in a smile. "Ah, what time is that?"

Loid-san paused. "We should check in Anya's bag. They would have sent her home with a flier."

Yor nodded in determination. "You're right!" She clenched her fist and went to take the bag off the peg where Anya put it when she got home. She carefully emptied it and flipped through notebooks and folders until she found an orange piece of paper with the event name as the title. She held it up victoriously. "I have found it!"

"What time is it?" There was a rustle as Loid-san shut his newspaper and looked over at her.

"Ah…" Yor scanned the information. "She doesn't play the violin, so her event must be the pumpkin choir. That's at 7:15." She put the schedule on the end table.

"Yor-san," Loid said slowly. "What is a pumpkin choir?"

She opened her mouth to answer.

…She did not know the answer. Yor had a feeling of foreboding that it meant something more than a regular choir did.

"I will ask Anya-chan after she wakes up," Yor promised.

Loid-san nodded his thanks at her. Then the oven alarm chimed. He went to the kitchen and she handed him the blue oven mitts. Yor took a step back as he opened it up with a gust of hot air and carefully extracted his perfectly golden quiche.

Her mouth watered. "Ahhh, it smells delicious, Loid-san!" She clasped her hands together. "How long should we wait for it to cool?"

"Thank you." He shot her a warm look as he took the oven mitts off. Something about the sight made her heart skip a beat. "Not too long. Fifteen minutes should be enough. Will you eat with me or with Anya?"

Yor felt her stomach grumble. "I'll eat with you," she decided. So she did. She scraped her empty plate forlornly and watched as Loid got ready to go.

"Just to confirm." He turned from the door, hat in his hand and briefcase on his arm. "You will double check that there is nothing we need to prepare for the pumpkin choir. You will be able to meet Anya after school tonight and help her with her homework, and I will make dinner. I already have our costumes for tomorrow night. Is there anything else?"

Yor ran through a mental list. Check, check, check, it all seemed right except for the last thing. She blinked at him. "My costume?" Yor asked. "I just found out about that yesterday. I haven't had time."

"Don't worry about it," Loid-san said, with another one of his eye-crinkling smiles. The sight of it knocked the thoughts right out of her head. "You'll be a witch."

'I really like his smile.'

She stared at him with her mouth slightly open and managed to ask, "Like- ah, how I was a witch when we played with Anya at the castle?" It wasn't the right costume this time, but no one had told him.

"No, no," he said. She processed his words belatedly. "We're doing a different costume this time. It wouldn't be any fun to do the same costumes again! Have a good day, Yor-san!"

"B-but!" She raised a hand. He must have interpreted it as a goodbye wave because Loid-san was already closing the door.

Yor stood in the silence of the living room for a moment, reeling from his smile and his statement. "Anya would be very upset!" Yor put a hand to her mouth. "I- Oh, no." She started to pace. "This isn't good at all."

She waited nervously for the time to wake Anya up. Then she haunted the next room, fidgeting and wondering what she should say. Should she say anything? Loid was the father, so perhaps she shouldn't interfere… But she knew that Anya believed they would dress as characters from Spy Wars, and she would be really upset if she was surprised… She went back to pacing and then startled when Anya's little feet shuffled into the room.

"Good morning, Anya-chan," Yor sang nervously. The little girl was too tired to notice. She was still in her pajamas. Yor felt her heart melt.

'I miss when Yuri-kun was this small. She's so sweet.'

Anya-chan perked up and rubbed her eye, yawning as she looked at Yor. "Mama, good morning," she said, and then held her arms up and out for a hug.

Yor scooped her up, careful to be gentle with the little girl. "Oh, my sweet girl," she crooned.

'She's going to be so upset. I have to tell her. We have a little time to fix it. Or should I call Loid-san and fix it, so that Anya-chan never knows there was a misunderstanding?'

Anya-chan pulled away, signaling the hug was over. Regretfully, Yor let her go and then pulled out the little girl's chair.

"Anya is so lucky to have Mama," the little girl declared. She climbed up onto her chair. "Anya trusts Mama!"

'I'll fix it,' Yor vowed internally. 'I can't interrupt her precious smile!'

She served Anya a generous slice of the quiche and then took more for herself without pausing. Loid probably wouldn't even notice how much she'd eaten.

'I'll go and get my tutu costume after work today. And I will call Loid's office to let him know that he must be Bondman! If he needs anything to add to his costume, I can get it while I'm shopping. Oh… It's a lot to do. Maybe I'll have to do this at lunch. I'll try to get it all done during my lunch break.'

Anya leapt out of her chair and wrapped Yor in another hug. Yor was so surprised that she nearly fell backwards. "A-Anya-chan!" She hugged back and stroked the little girl's soft hair. Then she let go. "Please eat your breakfast." She tried to be stern.

"Yes, Mama." Anya sat back down and picked up her fork primly.

Then Yor remembered. "Anya, what does 'Pumpkin Choir' mean?" She blinked at the darling girl. "Are you singing pumpkin songs?"

Anya shook her head. "No. They're just regular songs." She slumped. In a much quieter tone she said, "Anya is afraid she might have to be the Pumpkin Queen."

…

Yor ignored that last part. "Then why is it called a Pumpkin Choir?"

"We have to wear pumpkin costumes." Anya picked at her breakfast and then seemed to remember something. "Oh. Right. Anya needs a pumpkin costume, Mama."

"Before tomorrow?" Yor felt her head spin.

Anya shrugged. "I guess? I don't know if we are supposed to wear them tonight. Probably not."

Yor laughed nervously.

'I don't know if I can do all of this! I'll have to do my best.'

She packed Anya up into her fall coat, slipped on her own gloves, and then took her to the bus stop. After that Yor rushed off to work. She arrived early and asked permission to take an early lunch to go shopping. The morning passed without a call from the shopkeeper. At 11:15 she put on her coat and went out to the shops. It was surprisingly easy to find a pumpkin costume in Anya's size. It was much harder to find a tutu that would fit an adult. Yor agonized over it, but did end up discovering that she could squeeze into one meant for an older child. She huffed and puffed with effort, but the woman in the mirror… was definitely wearing a tutu. Yor looked away self consciously.

'I need opaque pink tights. I'll go to the hosiery next.'

She rushed out the door and nearly crashed into a familiar old man wearing a festive orange scarf around his throat. He was otherwise in very boring business clothes, so the accessory stuck out. His face twisted into a furious expression when he saw her face. "It's you," he hissed. He had a very scratchy voice. "I have been searching for your vile face. I have returned from the grave-"

She didn't have time to be social!

"I'm sorry I bumped into you," Yor apologized with a bow, and rushed down the sidewalk. Behind her there came a crash of glass. She vaguely noticed the sound of screaming, but Yor was in a hurry and she didn't turn around. She had to buy tights, right now! And then she had to call Loid.