Loid sighed as he fixed his tie in front of the mirror, making sure it and his brand new suit looked impeccable.
Eden Academy was holding a Christmas party to which all students and parents were invited and while Loid himself didn't care much for the holiday or any of the excitement around it, he hoped that Donovan Desmond would show up too, and even if the man didn't, it would at least be a good oppertunity to make connections with some of the other important parents.
He perked up at hearing a door open and turning around he found his 'wife' and 'daughter' making their way to him.
"Papa look! Do I look pretty?!" Anya excitedly asked him, spinning around and showing off her puffy pink dress.
"Of course you do." he chuckled, feeling some of his earlier nerves starting to melt away at her innocence.
"Almost as pretty as Mama?" she then 'whispered' which was honestly just as loud at when she'd normally talked.
He had to surpress a snort, glancing as Yor who was attempting to hide her own smile behind her hand, her bright red eyes sparkling in amusment.
"I think you're even prettier, but don't tell Mama!" he knelt down and 'whispered' back, grinning at the happy giggle that earned.
"Still," he said, standing up and looking at Yor, "You really look lovely too, Yor."
It was true, after all.
Yor was always a beautiful woman and together with her long red dress looked almost royal, perfect for tonight.
She had also put on some make-up, her mouth bright red too.
"A-Ah! Thank you! And you look very handsome yourself, Loid!" Yor's face flushed as red as her dress as she stuttered, shy like always.
"Well then," he then said, holding out a hand to Anya and arm to Yor, "Shall we go, ladies?"
With that off they went.
"Whoa!" Anya gasped loudly, spinning in place as she tried to take in everything at once at the admittedly beautiful ballroom that was set up.
As expected, Eden went big in everything they did or not do it at all.
"That tree is gorgeous!" Yor admired the huge Christmas tree that was set up, decorated in mostly gold and silver, with hints of red and green here and there, somehow managing to look festive with still an air of elegance that the school prided itself on.
Around the room there were several other decorations, thought the tree really stole the show.
There were also several tables set up with food and drinks.
"Becky!" "Anya!" he was pulled from his thoughts at hearing Anya and her best friend finding each other, sharing a big hug.
Glancing over he found the Blackbells making their way to them too.
'Showtime, Twilight.' he thought to himself before fixing a friendly smile on his face.
With that the night went on pretty well as even while Donovan Desmond disappointedly didn't show up, Loid still got to talk to several important figures, smiling and nodding along as they gushed or sometimes outright bragged about their own kids, made a few comments about Anya himself and fished for information about their companies, social positions and more.
Glancing over at Yor he found her in a group of mothers, doing the same as him, though without the fishing for information, so much honest excitement as she talking about just the simplest things Anya did that made her Anya.
He really did pick the perfect woman to be the girl's mother.
Ever since become her step-mother, Yor loved Anya like she was her own and made sure to let everyone know so.
And... He couldn't blame her.
Anya was sweet, funny, bold and so much more and impossible not to love and- Wait.
'Don't get carried away, Twilight! She's just with you for the mission!' he scolded himself in his head.
Speaking of Anya, he took a moment to look around the room, finding her and Becky at one of the food tables, snacking on cookies and giggling about whatever they were talking about.
Anya then said something that made Becky affectionately roll her eyes, only to freeze as she looked up.
"They put up mistletoe?!" she blurted and both he and several parents and even a few students froze at that.
Sure enough, right above the two girls hung a plant with berries and a big red bow from a string.
Who in their right mind would hang up something like that at a party with kids, many of which weren't even in the double-digits!?
"Wha...? What's Missile Toe?" Anya asked, completely oblivious as she also stared up.
This as least seemed to snap Becky from her daze, the girl smiling back in amusement.
"Oh Anya. Sometimes I forget how much you still have to learn about the world." she said, shaking her head in a way which she probably thought was wise and worldly, but honestly came across as a little condescending.
"Mistletoe is a wonderful Christmas tradition. On Christmas and the days around it, whenever two people who love each other very much are under it, they kiss each other." she explained proudly.
"Oh..." Anya said thoughtfully, "If you say so then I guess-"
She didn't finish her sentence, instead leaning forward and pressing her lips to Becky's cheek in a sloppy kiss.
"Eep! A-Anya?! What was that for?!" Becky yelped, covering her cheek, her face bright red.
"Because you said people who love each other give each other kisses under the Missile Toe and I love you Becky!" Anya happily explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Then again, to Anya it probably was.
"Oh Anya!" Becky cried, looking like she was about to burst in tears, "I love you too! Come here! Mwah!" she leapt forward and pressed a big smooch on Anya's cheek, earning a squeal of delight, the two afterwards hugging each other tightly and giggling.
"Awww!" several adults and even a few older female students cooed at the display.
Glancing at Yor he found her and Becky's mother huddled and clutching each other's hands as they looked at their daughters with googly eyes.
"Our girls are just the cutest!" Mrs Blackbell gushed.
"So cute, so cute!" Yor agreed with a high-pitched voice.
Loid chuckled at them and went to throw a sheepish smile at Mr Blackbell, only to find him in the same state as the ladies.
He sighed and looked back at the girls.
He had to admit, they were adorable together and his heart warmed a bit.
He wasn't sure how sure long passed after that, when he found himself and Yor standing against a random wall with glasses of champagne as they watched Anya, Becky and a few other girls from their class dance together.
He wanted to scold himself for how he was just standing there, feeling relaxed of all things, but found he didn't care.
Suddenly Anya stopped with a gasp and ran towards them, calling at the girls to hang on a moment.
"Papa, mama!" she panted as she stood in front of them.
"Oh, is everything okay, Anya?" Loid asked.
"Can you both kneel down?" she asked,
He shared a confused glance with Yor before both doing as she asked.
Anya was bouncing on her toes with a big smile, obviously excited about whatever she was planning.
Loid what about to ask her again when she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek and right after did the same to Yor.
This brought a very rare instance where Twilight, the master spy was completly speechless.
From the corner of his eye he saw Yor's face matching her dress again and he faintly felt a warmth on his own face too.
"You were both under the Missile Toe and I love you both a lot, so there!" Anya explained herself proudly, holding up her arms.
His heart skipped beat.
He had figured Anya liked him and might even love him like a child would, but to hear her actually say it was so much different.
"Anya... That's-" he went to say, getting cutt off by Yor snatching the girl into her arms with a cry of "Come here, you!" and start showering her face in kisses.
"Ah! Mama, noooooo!" Anya laughed as she wiggled in Yor's arms.
When Yor finally stopped Anya was covered in red lipstick-kisses.
"Geez, look at her now. She's like a little red dalmation puppy." Loid lightly told Yor who giggled sheepishly.
With that he carefully took their daughter into his own arms and gently cleaned her face with a hankerchief.
As he did so her words replayced in his head.
Anya loved him.
This sweet little girl who was always there to greet him at the door if he came home late, who always wanted to spend time with him and who just mad him feel happy and content loved him.
This girl loved him and- and- and he loved her back.
Her face was the first one to ever pop into his mind any time he needed a reminder of why he did what he did.
To make the world a saver place for all kids, but mostly her.
For his daughter.
"Thank you, Anya," he whispered in her hair, pressing a soft kiss on her head, "I love you too."
And he meant it with his whole heart.
Pulling away he found her looking up at him, eyes shining and looking happier than he'd ever seen her.
He could faintly hear cooing around them but he didn't care, just wanting to focus on his little girl.
"Hey, mama and papa are under the Missile Toe together too~" Anya suddenly grinned mischievously.
Loid felt his heart stop and his blood turn to ice.
Never mind! This child was an absolute nightmate!
It took every single ounce of will-power and muscle control to not have his eye twitching as the girl snickered like she was anjoying his awkwardness, along with several voices from other peopl around thm chuckling.
Turning towards Yor he found her like he should have expected.
Face a should-be impossible shade of red and a hair's lenght away from having a full-blown panic-attack.
Knowing he couldn't really refuse kissing his 'wife' in public he took a dep breath, prayed he wouldn't get kicked in the face and launched across the room and turned to fully face and gently called her name.
"Y-YES?!" Yor blurted nervously.
Slowly, careful not to startle her he took her hand in his own, knelt on the ground in front her and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand.
He lingered for a moment before slowly pulling away, looking up at her stunned face.
"Ah... It's tradition after all..." he smiled sheepishly after a few to many seconds of silence.
"R-Right! Merry Christmas!" Yor smiled back blightly, the lights illuminating her and making her look almost angelic.
Loid quickly got up, not wanting to be caught staring, trying to calm his fluttering heart.
Looking around he found a couple adults and even some kids smiling at the interaction, some woman scolding her husband with "How come you never give me any gentlemanly romantic gestures like that?!"
Looking back at Anya her found her grinning widely at both of them.
"And what's with that face, young lady? How about I wipe it off for you?!" he made a show of attempting to grab her, snorting as she squealed and ran off to her classmates again.
Standing up straight he sighed as he looked after her, unable to resist the smile forming on his face as he watched her excitedly wave at Damian Desmond and promptly stick her tongue out when the boy responded rudely.
Sure, Anya could be a handful at times, but she made his live much more bright in so many ways.
'I really do love you, you little terror." he thought at her.
She promptly turned around with another bright smile as if she heard him, even when he was sure he hadn't said it out loud.
Eh, who even cared?
He was just gonna enjoy his evening with his daughter and wife who had come to join him with her own smile.
He might enjoy the holidays this year after all.