Disclaimer: Don't own Spy X Family, nor any of its characters.
Rating: T
A series of connected one-shots, where the duo have come to realize a certain reality they've been trying to deny, and gradually move forward from there.
Nighttime
There, that should do nicely.
"We'll come again soon" Loid said to the concierge, who thanked them on their way out of the restaurant. Their footsteps echoed across the entrance hall, which was immaculate as always - as per the "elegant life", this building featured a variety of places for people to visit.
Yor briefly looked back at the restaurant.
"There was so much to eat" she noted, her voice hushed behind one hand. "I've never tried half of those foods before today."
Loid glanced at her, lip curved. "Well, don't let anyone else hear you say that" he whispered, to which she nodded. "Even so, I'm glad we got to come here."
"Mmm, yes. But are you sure this isn't cutting into your finances, Loid?"
He almost chuckled out loud. "Don't worry too much, Yor" he assured her, even as they approached the front door. "I have the money to afford these places every once in a while. And besides, I wanted to thank you for everything you do for Anya, hence this date."
She glanced away, cheeks turning pink, yet she was smiling.
Even if it was also to help maintain their cover, it was the truth; they both knew that. And now that they no longer have to think of it as pretend, certain things were different between them, even though he'd also said that they could take as much time as they needed.
Still, one conversation kept coming back to him...
"I- If I had to choose... maybe a sudden one would be best."
"So that you won't be frozen when the time comes? Or accidentally lash out in embarrassment?"
"Yes, um, if you please..."
Loid privately smiled; well, a sudden first kiss was easy enough to prepare, give-or-take a little time. And given that tonight was a full week after said conversation took place, doing so tonight would likely be unexpected, and thus make the gesture all the more effective to Yor.
Then once the first kiss was inevitably processed, others would become easier.
"Perhaps she still might need alcohol to 'loosen up' until she fully gets used to it. Though it'd have to be in small doses, or things might get complicated" he mused internally. "But that's a future step to consider. For now, I must remain focused on this one."
Then: "Um, Loid?"
"Hmm?" he wondered, noticing Yor having stopped - they were just outside now, with a faint wind blowing. "What is it?"
Yor looked at him, a bit sheepish. "I just remembered something from earlier today. A bunch of our neighbors were talking about us" she breathed, "And they mentioned that, well, they weren't sure if they've ever seen us holding hands at all. Apparently they think that's weird."
Unfortunately, that does make sense- Loid thought back, but didn't recall him and Yor holding hands during their time spent together, be it in private or in public (though there had been brushes, such as when Yuri first appeared at home). Granted, this is a minor thing and isn't likely to make people suspicious by itself, but it wouldn't hurt to address this oversight regardless.
The less scrutiny they draw, the better.
Loid looked at her. "I see. Then when we get home, we should stand outside and have a conversation, holding hands the whole time" he mused, to her little surprise. "At least one of our neighbors should be able to see us from their window, and then pass this on to the others. Would that be alright with you, Yor?"
She blinked once, then nodded, hands held together. "Yes, I wouldn't mind" she replied, earnest enough. "I know putting their minds at ease is important to our cover."
"Of course. But it's not just that."
Yor didn't look surprised, and merely glanced away, her lip curling a bit. "I know."
Loid tilted his head, patiently waiting.
"If it's for our cover, I know I can handle this much. But um, I wonder if I might impose upon you, before this plan of yours happens?"
Hmm?
Yor seemed to gather her courage, then looked back at him, cheeks slightly pink. "Perhaps we could... hold hands on the way to the car first?" she asked, and he was a little surprised. "That way I could get a little experience first, and it would make it easier to pretend for our neighbors."
That's not a bad plan - nonetheless, hearing that made him smile a little.
"Sounds good" he assured, before gently holding his hand out. "I appreciate it, Yor."
She looked between him and his hand for a bit, wondering, before she slowly took the latter - even after a few seconds, her motions were hesitant. He did his best to gently guide her, but he would privately admit to a little 'trouble'... that is, the'd been briefly startled by the warmth of her hand, though it didn't stop him for long.
Yor seemed to be having similar thoughts, or so he thought from observing her reactions.
In silent agreement, they began the walk back to their car, parked two minutes away from the restaurant- at times her grip would tighten on his hand. A glance at her expression showed little but nervousness and wonder, however, so he soon ceased worrying about it.
Even so, his own gaze would occasionally flit down to their joined hands-
-her's really were warm.
Home; a little later
Mmm...
Even as she got out of the car, Yor couldn't help but linger on the way Loid's hand had felt. Even now, she stood there looking at her own hand, while Loid - unbeknownst to her - subtly glanced up/around the neighborhood before nodding once, having determined the current situations of their neighbors, broadly speaking.
"It's time, Yor" he whispered to her, drawing her out of it.
Yes, right. Here goes!
"That restaurant was really something, wasn't it?" she asked, a bit louder than normal - she took Loid's hands in both of hers, if focused on her part of the conversation. "The food was excellent, but the choice of music and the polished marble statue really added to the atmosphere."
To that, Loid chuckled. "I quite agree" he stated, equally as 'loud'. "Personally, I would have preferred a different song, but it was quite acceptable nonetheless."
"Well, maybe they'll play your favorite song next time we go out."
"Of course. Even so, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Yor."
When she briefly glanced up, curious about their neighbors, she thought she saw one window - maybe two - with the curtains moved a bit. She couldn't see anyone, but her senses told her that at least one person was watching them...
The plan seems to be working then!
"I really did" Yor agreed, looking back. "Thank you, Loid. I'm so happy."
He gave a little smile, before stepping forward - that surprised her a bit, but she figured it's part of the act. "Good to know. After all, your happiness is my happiness" he spoke, a bit airily by the end.
Even though that's played up, Yor giggled for real, her cheeks a little pink as her eyes closed.
"I'm not worthy of you saying such sweet things."
"Well, I happen to disagree."
Just as he finished, Loid stepped even closer- when she opened her eyes, she jolted when she realized this.
In that exact moment, Loid got very close... and pressed his lips to hers.
It was like an electric shock; her heart pounded against her chest and her pulse shot through the roof, and then it felt like her whole body was tingling! Her hands tightened against Loid's, yet otherwise she just froze - if he reacted to this, she didn't notice, too preoccupied by what's going on right now!
He was kissing her... it felt so warm, a little wet, and- and juicy!
W-Was that because of the cocktails they'd been drinking earlier? It had to be, right?
After what seemed like an eternity, but had only been a second or two, Loid pulled back- Yor let out a gasp, hands unconsciously moving up to her tingling lips. She was suddenly shaking too; all she could do was stare at Loid, wide-eyed, red in the face and her head steaming.
He wasn't entirely unaffected, as his cheeks were a bit red, but he had more composure than her:
"Whew, tonight's wind is rather chilly" he said, still fairly 'loud' for their neighbors' benefits (though he did stumble a bit). "Yor, let's uh, go inside now."
"..."
Loid glanced at her, blinking once as she didn't continue to play her part, but it didn't take him long to notice how stunned she was. Several things surfaced in his expression and the redness soon got a little deeper, but then he gently-yet-firmly grasped her shoulders and helped her 'walk' inside - Yor went with it by instinct, and the motions did help her with her shock, but still she felt like her heart was about to burst!
H-Her first kiss...
...
Hehe, Bond was starting to get better at playing fetch- but then he looked over, and the door opened.
Anya smiled, dropping the toy and standing up. "Papa, mama, you're back" she cheered. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, I'd say so" papa said evenly, putting his coat away. "And I see you behaved yourself while we were gone."
"Anya sure did!"
"Good thing it was only an hour; any longer, and we would've needed a sitter" he thought, before shrugging. "Well, you still behaved yourself. That's good, Anya" he said out loud.
However, Anya saw mama then - who was shakily putting her coat and boots away - and tilted her head. "Are you okay, mama?"
She jolted. "Oh, um... yeah, I am. I just might be a little tired, is all."
Hmm? Mama sounded a little weird.
Anya focused a little-
-but instead of words, all she got from mama's head was feelings and images; it felt like she was steaming, literally!
Anya gasped, awestruck when she realized that mama and papa had just kissed!
They kissed?! They kissed each other!?
Yes, woohoo! Their love is even stronger now!
...Ah, wait, she missed them doing it! No fair!
Papa glanced between them, but seemed to take her gasp as her being concerned (and she was, but still!). "You should go rest then, Yor" he said with ease, stepping forward. "Come on, Anya. Let's see what I can whip up for you in the meantime."
"Ah... okay."
Anya did feel excited about papa's yummy food, but she couldn't help but watch mama move toward her room though, awestruck before she smiled brightly again. She was only distracted when Bond came over, excited about food as well, which made her giggle; Bond was quite smart to figure out that papa was the better cook!
/
Nighttime; rather late
Mmm...
Even though he'd planned for tonight's outcome, he was still surprised at himself, as his thoughts kept coming back to the sensations of the kiss. Loid still couldn't fully understand it: having realized that he did have some feelings for Yor, it was understandable that kissing her would be "different" than past targets, which were simply for the job...
Yet it should still be easy to brush them aside, and focus on what work he needed to focus upon, as per his training.
But with her, it's like his training was borderline-ineffective at times; that's what he didn't get.
Loid shifted a bit, certain that there's still some things that eluded him... perhaps because he'd devoted himself to his spy training, and therefore didn't have the necessary knowledge in this field. That bothered him, but he also figured that he'll continue to learn and figure out what else he didn't understand, particularly in case it started to get in the way of his work.
Though speaking of which, he was still figuring how to tell Handler about this change- how would she react to his marriage no longer being just a cover? It's true that she was surprisingly reasonable about his requests for downtime and hiring new recruits (though that was also an organizational concern), but this was a major shift and could have severe consequences, and at the very least might restrict the missions available to him.
...Though, given the sheer quantity of missions WISE's higher ups consistently put on him, maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
Just then, Loid heard footsteps and he glanced up-
-yet before he could stand (or do anything else), suddenly the door to his bedroom was all-but-slammed open.
"Uh" he breathed, surprised as he stood up. "Yor?"
"*pant* *pant* Lissen here, Loid..." she breathed, moving toward him.
Ah? Barely had he blinked at her tone before he noticed her cheeks were red, and (when he glanced down) that her footsteps were uneven.
"Are you drunk?"
If Yor heard, she didn't answer- in fact, she was suddenly (and surprisingly) aggressive in grabbing his shirt collar, pulling him rather close to her. He was briefly at a loss, but the moment he smelled her breath, his suspicion about her being drunk was instantly confirmed.
"You took my first kiss. It was so emBEARassing!" she drew out, quite expressively. "Yet I liiiked it... and I want more of that feeling!"
As much as he's taking all this in, secretly glad to know that she liked it, he worried about continuing while she's in this state.
"That's uh, fine, Yor" Loid tried to assure, if hesitant. "But, will you even remember this tomorrow?"
"Remember? Who carrrees?" she slurred, swaying. "Just gimme another kiss...!"
At that, she suddenly (if clumsily) 'launched' herself toward him- he instinctively side-stepped her attempt and pulled her grip off his shirt, which only resulted in her face-planting upon the bed. Yet other than the muffled thump and a sound, Yor didn't move much afterward... that threw him off, blinking and concerned as he bent down toward her.
He hesitated briefly, before touching her shoulders.
When he turned her onto her side, Yor's eyes were closed, and her breathing was steady.
"She feel asleep that quickly?" he questioned, slightly dumbfounded. He tried to remember if this had ever happened before... wait, there was that time when he rented the castle for Anya; he recalled Yor - after breaking her heel while fighting him - falling and immediately being out like a light afterward.
As he had this thought, Loid gradually looked at Yor again-
-and she simply lay there, sleeping peacefully, yet still red in her cheeks.
A small smile tugged at his lips.
Picking her up and carrying her back to her room was easy enough, but this almost-incident made him certain of one thing: he would have to do his best with future kisses. Obviously he'd have to wait some time before the next one, as her drunken words aside, doing so too suddenly might not be a good idea... better to let her recover for a little longer first.
And also, he'll need to be wary of other sudden, alcohol-induced 'moves' she might spring on him...
Least till such affections become normal.
Honestly, it wasn't long after I posted the one-shot that I realized that, well... there was no way I could let it stay as a one-shot XD Even so, the support to continue is definitely appreciated!