Disclamer: Spy x Family belongs to Tatsuya Endo.
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The new recruit is a huge mistake.
At least, that's what Nightfall believes, following with her icing eyes the moving figure of the new woman joining her training.
Twilight must also understand how terrible she is, of course, not a single detail escapes him.
But Nightfall sees the slightly redder of his cheeks, and the trace of warmth on his serious eyes as he guides this new woman under his care—the spot that used to belong only to her.
Nightfall narrows her eyes at the scene.
The new recruit is a huge mistake.
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Both of them were surprised when they first met her one morning.
They could see the red when she stared back at them—her orbits like melted and burned honey, gaze pierced in the wall like she wasn't really there. Like an already trained soldier, the mysterious woman was in line next to her, ready to follow Twilight's orders—as if she was ready for him to be her mentor as well.
That couldn't be it. No. Nightfall couldn't accept such a thing.
When her dearest Twilight asked about her, still slightly surprised, the woman informed her that she had been designated by the Handler on their section the day before. After processing the information for a moment, he easily accepted her words as she showed him a card with her information as the newest spy of WISE. At first, Twilight paid no mind to this new woman, starting the training from the start and expecting her to easily follow him and Nightfall.
Hmp.
Nightfall only warned her in her mind to not stare too much at their mentor—uncaring that this woman became one of her new partners.
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At first, she's a terrible liar.
Face flustered, awkward smile, eyes looking everywhere but her target.
Nightfall has to hold a laugh every time Twilight facepalms, unable to proceed with her.
He looks at the new woman again, hands on his waist as she stands like a child who has been commenting on the same mistake over and over.
"All right, then, what do we answer in this hypothetical scenario?"
"Uh- I… I just forgot!"
Nightfall blinks. Twilight has a deadpan stare.
"You need to be… more specific in your lies."
Surprisingly, the woman smiles proudly as she fixes her mistake.
"Right! I forgot that I had forgotten to tell you, sir!"
Twilight has to hold to groan between his hands as he sighs, next to him, Nightfall remains expressionless.
She has nothing to worry about.
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But the problem starts when Twilight starts to spend more time with her, trying to teach her.
Of course, as it always happens with the new ones, she does not give her real name. She doesn't seem rebellious or uneducated, but she isn't good at following Twilight's instructions too well either—almost as if this woman lacks basic common sense or even social skills. On their training together, Nightfall naturally suprasses her on almost everything except for combat skills. Because of this, and of how often she messes up, Twilight spends more time with this woman, teaching her, more than he ever has with Nightfall.
Nightfall wants to believe that she has nothing to worry about.
The problem is, Twilight was never this patient, as he prefers his time and missions alone.
But he starts to take her to his missions, the shortest and easiest ones, and requests to be designated to the ones that are assigned to her.
Like he worries for her—beyond being her assigned mentor.
Nightfall's jaw tenses until it hurts.
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But she surprises everyone with her combat skills.
On the few missions they give this newbie for practice, she becomes particularly an expert with knives.
She's a little flower slowly blooming, her hands damp petals and her pretty frame a melted shadow—and because of this, she gains the nickname of Thorn Rose between their agents, even though she doesn't have an official codename yet. In the few times she actually succeeds on the painfully normal, easy missions they give to her, Twilight is always congratulating her, even complimenting her. The newbie, or rather, Thorn Rose, seems less distant and dull than before—now more cheerful and full of life, trying to become friends with her as well.
Everytime they're back from an extra mission, or she's back from a solo one, she clenches her fists with excitement and smiles with courage, promising Twilight that she will become a better spy in the future—that she will work harder.
Twilight's smile shouldn't be filled with such sincerity.
"You already work hard enough", he murmurs.
As if his heart is slowly melting.
That can't be—that's her job to do.
Nightfall narrows her eyes at Thorn Rose, without her even noticing.
(and Twilight, to himself, wonders if becoming the mentor of this new spy has been throwing him off balance).
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Twilight always seems particularly against the missions where Thorn Rose has to seduce a man in order to gain information.
She's still not quite prepared for it, he says.
From a side, it's true, as she's still slow when it comes to her acting skills—even if she's progressing.
But Twilight allows her on various solo missions without a problem, now fully trusting her. Except, that's it, when she has to pretend to be with a man.
Thorn Rose tilts her head, confused.
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Nightfall has to swallow her pride whenever she has to go on a mission together with her.
She has become good. Quite good.
Thorn Rose also particularly spends her time saving her from having her head decapitated—her combat skills making Nightfall almost shiver, thinking that she would have been a great assassin or bodyguard (oh if only she were to quit and take those jobs).
She almost believes that they could be friends, even though Nightfall has seen the way Thorn Rose has stared at her own interactions with Twilight—she always feels nervous, awkward, and a little jealous. Good. Perhaps Twilight looks at her in a way only outsiders can notice, Nightfall wants to believe, as her heart throbs against her ribs with excitement.
Nightfall is a bit surprised that she's given a mission far-away, for a couple of weeks only. And even though it hurts her to be away from her dear Twilight, she's glad to have a break from this woman that she still can't figure out, that she still can't stand at all. Nightfall should be worried about leaving them both alone with each other, but she knows that this will work fine: like this, without her around, Twilight will realize how terrible this Thorn Rose woman actually is and how much she lacks skills—ending up with missing her and wanting her by his side again.
She doesn't know that a particular big operation will come to surface in her absence.
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"You both are to marry and have a child."
Twilight spits his coffee and Thorn Rose's face burns in her own red.
"We have seven days to have a child?!"
Sylvia stares at him calmly, uncaring for his reaction. Sighing, she explains the plans for Operation Strix step by step, the infiltrations and the roles they will have to keep—acting as civil and close to each other as possible. Make a believable couple. Twilight and Thorn Rose glance at each other from their sides, him sighing as his expression remains calm and serious, while Thorn Rose moves her hands nervously as she tries to hold back her growing blush.
They're to start the next day.
Hours later, when she's alone, Thorn Rose comes back to the Handler office. She awkwardly asks her if she believes that she should be given an operation with such importance at this one, as she's still not a great liar and probably not a very good mother as well. This time, Sylvia simply smiles as she rests her hand on her cheek.
"I believe Twilight works at his best when it's with you."
Thorn Rose tilts her head in confusion.
"Do you really think so?"
"I do", she gives a final sip to her tea. "I make no mistakes, agent, now go get ready."
Stuttering and apologizing, Thorn Rise finally leaves, and Sylvia sighs in her solitude.
Some spies could be dangerously naive sometimes.
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Both spies stand in front of the orphanage.
"Remember your role, Mrs. Yor Forger", he murmurs as he fixes his hat.
"Yes sir—I mean, darling!"
As he sighs, he knocks on the door. Twilight glances at his partner, and he has to hold back his little blush as he stares at her—lovely in a pink dress and with a golden rose on her hair, similar to the ones she decided to use on her training.
He's also glad that she has been assigned the role of his wife.
For the mission, of course.
Not because he wanted to.
Twilight glances at his partner—no, his wife, one more time, and he coughs a bit on his fist, trying to control himself.
When they walk through the countless children, he slowly holds her hand, feeling her tense for a moment until, to his relief and delight, she's interlacing their fingers together. Twilight holds back a smile as he puts all his attention on the next step of Operation Strix, lamenting that this wasn't a mission where either him or his wife (fake, fake wife) could just infiltrate by themselves, instead of giving such a burden to a child.
That's what he thinks, until his new wife suddenly breaks into a smile, a genuine and bright one.
"Hello, dear, are you playing with your toy?"
Twilight fixes his eyes on the corner where Thorn Rose, now Yor, is staring at with a big smile. A little child with bouncy pink hair and strange little horns stares back at them with a slight blush, her eyes livid and glancing at Yor, then at him, then at Yor again.
She looks concentrated—almost as if she's reading them.
"Oh, do you want that kid?", the drunken caretaker asks. "Anya, get over here!"
She looks to young, but Twilight stares at Yor's bright smile, the first one he has ever since in weeks, staring back at the child who looks at them with surprisingly hopeful eyes and blushed cheeks.
He sighs in a little smile.
Perhaps this will do.
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