[I'll never forget all those nights Yor would come home utterly exhausted, only to collapse on the sofa and pass out for hours. I'd wait up for her to return home, eager to show her my school assignment for that week- with an A+ as per usual.
I'd find her there asleep on the couch and just cry. Sitting down on the floor, I'd lean up against the sofa while weeping so hard, slowly letting my resentment grow unchecked for the cruel, heartless country that had forsaken us. It wasn't our fault we were orphans, so why did my sister- a young teenager at the time- have to work so hard? It wasn't fair; it was never fair. The deck was stacked against us from the start…. and I hated it.
The only good thing to come from all this pent-up rage was it made me a top assassin. Not even a year into this line of work and we are suddenly richer than most party members. Yor and I had money to spare; she could live like a queen if she wanted. It still didn't make up for those cold, endless, withering nights though….. I was still resented the world; I despised my own home country.
After weeping until I had a headache, I would crawl up onto the couch and lay down next to my sister. With one last, pained glimpse at the wary stress lines in her face, I'd shut my eyes drift to sleep.]
"Yur!" "Yuri!" We screamed, racing into each other's arms. Yuri laughed, picking me up to spin me around while embracing me closely. We both closed our eyes, holding the other tight. He hugged me while holding me up in the air like that for a second, and when he set me down on my feet, he kissed both my cheeks and forehead. My smile was a mile wide as I pressed my head into his shoulder. "Yuri….."
When he finally pulled away, he placed a massive bouquet of roses in my arms. My eyes grew in delight. "Oh, how lovely! Thank you! You didn't have to do that." "Course I did. Nothing's too good for my big sister," Yuri's fingers gave the edge of my hair a little twirl. Flashing him a grateful grin, we both then turned our attention to my astonished-looking husband; I don't think anticipated that we'd be this close. Taking my brother's hand, I gently led him over to Loid, whom he was NOT smiling at.
"Brother, this is Loid Forger, my husband." Yuri gave Loid a once over, and then a very judgement stare. "Your husband? Huh, not the kind of man I imagined you'd end up with. Still, I suppose it's better having you married than single in this political climate. Forger, was it? Pleasure. I'm Yuri Briar, Yor's younger brother," he stuck out his hand to shake Loid's, who did so a tad reluctantly. Neither man looked particularly pleased with the other, sending each other hushed glares and leers. Loid's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Charmed," was all he said. I frowned. He's not; I knew Yuri may be a bit overprotective as brothers are, but I never expected them to be so frosty towards one another right off the bat. Maybe Yuri and I should have met at a café on our own this time instead…. Then again, it was his idea to come here to the apartment, and he'd have to meet Loid sometime. He was my husband, after all.
The two men made agonizingly awkward, tense small talk while I made the tea for everyone. They were sitting in the living room; Loid in the chair and Yuri on the sofa. I joined them, first handing over their cups of tea and bringing in a plate of cookies. I sat down on the couch next to my brother. He immediately smiled at me, relaxing his posture a little once I was there. We gave each other a kind look.
"So! What have you gentlemen been talking about?" This seemed like an innocent-enough question… or so I thought. Yuri perked up a tad. "Mr. Forger here was just telling me how you two met." Oh no….. "O-Oh! A-And what has he told you so far?" "That you ran into each other after you finished work one day and went to a café together." I blew a little internal sigh of relief. Well that's not exactly the truth or a lie- it's a bad summary of the whole story, but I'll take it. My grin returned. "Heh, well more or less. Running into Loid was certainly…. a surprise." "And a well-timed one at that. I heard they just arrest another three girls from your old job," my beloved brother relied. This surprised but didn't shock me; the secret service had been getting a little out of hand with their arrests of single women lately. I was just so thankful that wasn't a worry of mine anymore.
Loid took a sip of his tea and glared back at Yuri from his side of the room. "Now it's your turn to answer a question. What is it you do for work, Mr. Briar?" My husband's fingers interlaced together. I cringed but tried to appear visibly calm; I knew this moment was coming but was still anxious. Luckily Yuri was more prepared for such situations than me. I sat there, quietly sipping my beverage while I let him do all the talking. Mirroring Loid's body language, my brother too interlocked his fingers, leaning forward slightly. "That's a very complicated question. I'm not sure how much Yor's told you." "Not much," Loid instantly shot back, making me inwardly wince again.
Yuri let himself grin slyly a tad before lowering his shoulders in a show of confidence. "That's no surprise; I haven't disclosed much to her myself. I work for a very particular division of the State Security Service." Loid wore an unimpressed frown; not because he thought Yuri's fake job was minimal, but I doubt he liked the implications. "So you're an officer, then?" "An interrogator. I have a highly specialized set of skills which are useful for sniffing out Westalis spies. It's my job to….. Well, perhaps I shouldn't share anymore. I wouldn't want to put my sister at any risk," Yuri grinned, shutting his eyes momentarily. Loid's glare narrowed onto him suspiciously. "Course not."
The whole time I watched my brother in awe. Wow, he's gotten good at lying about his profession! It was hard to question him when he spoke with such authority on the matter. And by the looks of it, Loid believed him- thank goodness. Smiling and leaning back a bit, I rubbed Yuri's back approvingly. He gave me yet another grin at this, and our eyes locked for a minute. Meanwhile Loid witnessed our behaviour keenly, finishing off his tea; it was like he was digesting and analysing the situation.
When Yuri gazed back his way, his expression was much friendlier. He chuckled softly, shrugging his shoulders. "Ah, but that's just how things turned out. You must know how it is; you work for the party too, don't you Mr. Forger?" "Yes! Loid's a psychiatrist," I announced proudly. Yuri's head nodded in understanding. "A psychiatrist? Well, that's fine line of work; can't have enough of 'em….. in this government," Yuri added under this breath, glaring away for a moment. "It's alright," Loid's fingers twitched a little; something I noticed. My brother grinned at him lightly again. "So long as it pays well- that's the main thing, isn't it?" "That's one way to look at it," my husband didn't sound happy but wasn't rude either.
They made a few more comments to one another until the phone suddenly rang; probably Franky to say he was on his way. Loid excused himself from us, leaving my brother and I alone for a moment. Yuri waited until he was out of earshot before turning back to me; his expression immediately more severe and serious.
"Alright, now that's it just us, we've got to talk about getting you out of Ostania," he whispered in a low, barely audible tone. I gasped surprised, but again, not shocked; this wasn't the first time he'd brought up smuggling me out of the country before. My head leaned in nearer to his. "Yuri, I can't…." "Listen, I've got a contact. He can smuggle you across the border into Westalis. I can arrange for you to live there, sis; you'll have an apartment and everything you'll need."
"Brother, no! I can't leave Loid; we just got married!" "That can be altered," his eyes lowered a sliver. "Divorce is illegal in Ostania! Besides, what would happen to his position in the party if I left him? The secret service would surely get involved. Wives do not just abandon their husbands for "no good reason". He'd be stripped of his party membership and likely arrested. You know what happens then."
Yuri pressed his lips together momentarily, seemingly upset by this. "You have to think rationally, sis. There's a war on the horizon. What will happen to you if Loid is called to serve and he dies? You should get out while you still can." "If Loid dies in the war, then I'll leave the country. But I can't go now; Loid needs me, and if I'm caught trying to escape Ostania, we'll both be shot. It's too risky, Yuri. Besides! The war isn't guaranteed yet. Maybe it won't happen; there's a chance."
"But what if it does, sister? You deserve a better life than this. Even if being married affords you some security, the government keeps stripping away women's rights every day. You could have a better life in Westalis- you could be free….." Yuri paused here to take a breath, his hand reaching over to cover the top of mine on the sofa cushion. His lips parted a tad in desperation. "You deserve to be somewhere you can be free, Yor." Yuri, my mouth opened instinctively as I stared so lovingly, so adoring at this precious man…. This precious man I watched grow from a boy into a man. The man who became an assassin so I wouldn't have to become a…..
"Loid is my freedom here, Yuri." "But for how long? That's the part I'm worried about, sis." My thumb rose to run along the side of his cheek. Our foreheads pressed together and Yuri shut his eyes. "I know you are, brother, but I need to stay…. at least for now. If I should ever be a widow, tell I'll leave, but until then….." I didn't feel the need to complete my sentence; he knew already what I was going to say. Yuri exhaled, keeping his head pressed against mine. "I can't lose you, Yor…. I can't." "You won't. We've been through worse. After all, we've survived this long; if we can make it without Mom and Dad, we can make it through anything." "Yes, we can… if we're together." "We'll always be together, brother. I will always be here for you- just like I always have been."
Yuri's bottom lip quivered as he reached up to grab onto my arm, clinging onto it tightly. "I owe everything to you, sis. You gave so much up for me… Your education, your teenage years, even almost…." But he stopped himself from continuing. He drew in a long, much-needed breath, still keeping his eyes closed. "You raised me; you saved me. Everything I have…. Everything I am… I owe it all to you, and I'm just so incredibly grateful. I want to save you, like you saved me…. after our folks died. You were all I had left back then; you were all I had left of them….. And I just couldn't imagine a world without you." "Yuri….." My mouth trembled. His breathing matching mine just then as we both closed our eyes, savouring the essence of that one moment together. Yuri inhaled, as did I. "I love you so much, little brother." "I love you, sister…"
Neither of us had noticed that Loid had been standing nearby, watching.