Loid set down his clipboard and flashed me a grateful smile. "That's enough practice for one day. Thank you again for your patience with all this, Mrs. Forger. I can guarantee that all this hard work will pay off," he meant in terms of the interview. I grinned and nodded in agreement. "I'm beginning to truly believe you, Loid. But we can keep practicing if you'd like." He shook his head. "No, I think we've exhausted the topic for now; plus I think some fresh air would do us both some good. Come, let's go for a walk." It wasn't unusual that a man should ask his wife such a thing, but it felt like such a "couply" thing to do that my heart started to flutter a little. Loid put on his coat and helped me into mine. Then, after locking the door, he grinned my way. His gloved hand stretched out to grab my hand. "Let's go," he cooed gently. I could only nod in ecstasy.

Loid took me to a café where he ordered us tea and me a piece of cake. When I refused it, he adamantly placed it in front of me, ordering me to eat. He may not be the most romantic man alive, but he shows his care and concern in different ways. I picked up the fork, eying my husband from across the table as I started nibbling on my cake; he was busy pouring us a cup of tea. I watched him quietly, and I smiled to myself…

The rest of the morning and early afternoon went by pretty fast. We strolled all along downtown's centre, going into the parks and stopping for ice cream. We went to see one of those picture-shows later in the day. The theatre was crowded so we had to seat fairly close together. The film was funny in some parts, scary in others. In one particularly frightening scene, I felt myself and instinctively reach for Loid's hand. Both our eyes widened once mine fingers caressed his, and we blinked away from the screen to each other momentarily. I was of course blushing to high heaven while Loid also looked flummoxed. My hand immediately snatched away, lifting up to my beating chest instead.

Once the movie was over, we decided to take the long route back towards our apartment. "It's still early. Plenty of time left for us this afternoon," Loid checked his watch. I grinned at him, pleased to hear this. "What would you like to do next?" He gazed back to me curiously. "I picked the film. I believe it's your turn to choose, Mrs. Forger." "Hmmmmmm," bringing my forefinger up to my lip, I weighed my options for a minute. Then I gave him another happy grin. "How about we go to the history museum, the one with the art gallery?" "The history museum?" His eyebrow raised. I nodded. "It's one of my favourites. My brother and I used to go there all the time. He let out a sigh, shutting his eyes. "If that's where you'd like to go….." Hesitation suddenly overshadowed my choice as my grin faded. "We don't have to go if you don't want to." And he smiled back at me. "I said it was your turn to pick; to the history museum we go," he announced, taking my hand again.

The museum was as busy as you can imagine. Loid and I had to hold hands the whole we were inside so as not to lose each other; something I wasn't unhappy about. He confided in me that he'd never been here before, and since I knew where everything was, he let me take the lead for once. I gently guided him from room to room until we reached the portrait gallery. Only in here was it quiet enough for us to finally release one another with safety. He went to one side of the room and I went to the other. There were only a few other couples in here with us, though they were examining the painting together. My eyes glanced towards them, and then back at the canvas. Huh, I guess they're real couples… Real married people. The thought made me purse my lips tight together.

I hadn't realized I had made my way in front of a painting of a nude lady lying down on a sofa. Once I did notice little fact, my cheeks coloured all sorts of different shades and I tore my head away. I wanted to scream when Loid elected to re-join me now of all times; he didn't see the piece right away, instead grinning at me. "So many beautiful paintings. Which one do you like?" He inquired innocently, only then glancing behind me to see what I was standing in front of. His eyes widened and his face flushed, though not in a bad sense. It made me shoot him a little glare.

"You're not supposed to look at stuff like that. You're a married man now." Loid blinked, utterly scandalized. "W-What?! No! I mean… It's just a piece of art! A-And anyway, I don't have time for any of….. that," his head twisted to the side and his hands were quick to fix his tie. His flustered reaction was so cute, I couldn't help but stifle a smile. My eyebrow raised a tad playfully in his direction. "Is that so? I always thought you were of culture." He blushed, still refusing to meet my stare. This was more fun than it probably should have been for me… It took everything I had to keep from grinning like a little schoolgirl. Meanwhile Loid looked like he was struggling to maintain his composure. He fixed his tie again and cleared his throat awkwardly. "The air in here oppresses me. Let's go out for a minute to get some fresh air."

I don't know why, but this was the very first time I felt compelled to tease him, to be mischievous, playful….. This clever grin rolled across my lips as he began to exit the room. I almost had to cover my mouth with my hand. "Of course….. Mr. Forger."

I'd never seen Loid's legs freeze so quickly before. Very slowly his head spun back toward me from over his shoulder. He looked like I'd just slapped him across the face, and he had no idea why. It honestly made me want to laugh but I refrained as we weren't the only ones in the room. His mouth hung ajar slightly, his arms stiff as boards at his sides.

"What…. did you just call me?" He managed to get out dumbstruck. Grinning and having way too much of a good time, I came over to his side in a casual manner. "That's your name, isn't it? Mr. Forger….." Loid stared down at me totally bewildered; I'd never called him that before, and I doubt he knew what to make of it. Heh, I don't think he liked it though, judging by that immediate frown across his lips.

"Don't call me that." "Why not? You call me "Mrs. Forger"," I continued to tease. His scowl intensified. "That's different." "How?" "Because that's your name." "And Mr. Forger is yours. Heh, I think it has a nice ring to it, "Mr. Forger"," I giggled. He eyed me a moment, then sunk in his own knowing, mocking grin, catching onto what I was doing. "I think "Loid" sounds better from your lips," his tone also had a hint of playfulness in it. Our eyes locked, and our grins matched the other's. "Oh, you think so? And how long then, might I ask, are you going to keep calling me "Mrs. Forger"? If you're so insistent on me calling you by your first name? Don't you think that's a little unfair?" "Certainly not. Contrary to what you may believe, "Loid" sounds a hundred times better than "Mr. Forger". Besides, that's the only thing you've ever called me; it would be odd if you were to change it now." "Yes, I suppose it would. But then, I wouldn't mind it if you started calling me "Yor"," I sighed, gazing back to the painting.

Loid blinked, perplexed for a second. "I didn't think you'd like that," he relayed truthfully, making me look at him puzzled. "Why not?" And his eyes reached mine again, sincerely and innocently so….. "Because it's the first thing I called you by," I think he meant this in a more logistic, technical sense… but that's not how I understood, which he soon realized by the stunned expression I was currently giving him. My hands curled into elated fists as my cheeks sizzled a deep crimson. Our eyes tore away from each other rapidly; you could feel the heat radiating off both of us.

Then I giggled to myself, closing my eyes for a minute. "Fine then. The day you start calling me "Yor", I'll start calling you "Mr. Forger"." "Then I'll never call you….. that," Loid cleared his throat, also keeping his eyes shut. I laughed softly. "Then I'll never stop calling you "Loid", Loid." And he peered back my way, only to smile with such sincerity that it could melt your heart. I don't think he realized he was looking at me that way just then, how definite and genuine his expression was…..

"Good."