Some may argue that Yuri Briar was a bit too obsessed with his sister.

And those people were absolutely right.

But how could he not? He owed everything to his sister. The older he grew, the more amazed he was at his sister's ability to take all that responsibility on her shoulders yet never did she once say a cruel word against him. She was always kind and selfless, even though Yuri could see that sometimes, the fact that she never got to go to school and have a 'normal' life was always something she regretted.

At first, he encouraged her to befriend her colleagues in hopes that she would eventually have some kind of social life and normalcy. But from what he hears, they don't exactly get along and it's so hard to make friends the older you get. So, his next resort was to encourage her to find a husband.

Of course, despite his encouragement, he always knew that the day she would find a man, part of him would be jealous. After all, a new man would be his sister's priority. But he always thought that he'd at least have time to adjust before the inevitable happened.

Perhaps that's why he disliked Loid Forger in particular. He stole that time away from Yuri and the reality of the situation hit him all at once, making the pain even stronger.

Yet if Yuri was being honest, there was a part of him that was relieved when he met Loid Forger. Don't get him wrong, he still disapproved and the second Loid makes his sister cry, you better believe he'd be ready to make him disappear.

Besides, he trusted his sister. If she felt safe with this man, well...the least Yuri could do was have a little faith in her. 'No matter what his feelings are, he can't deny that Loid seems to treat Yor right. With the little chihuahua girl and their new dog, they looked like the picture perfect family. So, of course, he couldn't hate them that much despite his jealousy taking ever.

But despite ' everything, he still worried about her.

So, when he had been informed that his beloved sister was in the hospital due to severe poisoning, well, let's just say he didn't take it too well. Of course, he basically dropped everything and all but ran to the hospital.

And sure, he may have scared the nurses on his way here, looking like a deranged man as he asked for Yor Briar ('

Excuse me, sir, but did you mean Yor Forger?'

) and immediately ran as soon as he heard what room she's in.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the familiar uniforms that mark the King's guardsmen. Both satisfaction and fear grew in him: satisfaction because they deserve to be beaten up for not properly protecting his sister but also fear of what that meant for his sister of the King's men were this badly injured.

So, he didn't pay attention to them. At least, not at first. Oh, believe him, he definitely planned to speak with Yor's 'employer'. King or not, it didn't stop the fact that she got hurt under his watch.

But right now, all that mattered was that he needed to see his sister.

As he immediately opened the door without warning, he all but screamed, "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BELOVED SISTER?!"

He expected the worse: his sister bloodied, covered in numerous casts, barely being 'recognisable.

To his surprise, she looked fine, actually. As beautiful as she always was. Save for the hospital gown and the IV drip on her, you wouldn't suspect that she had just been stabbed and poisoned.

So, yes, everything looked fine.

Except for the fact that his sister was practically straddling Loid Forger.

"SISTER!" He cried, pointing a finger at them accusingly.

Fortunately, it seemed like Yor couldn't get off Loid fast enough. As they both sat up like normal, upstanding citizens, they looked away from each other and quickly cleared their throats.

"Y-Yuri! What a surprise!" She stammered with a sheepish smile.

"You!" Yuri said, pointing a finger at Loid, "How dare you take advantage of my sister?! We are in a hospital!"

Loid sighed. He didn't know which one he wanted dead more: himself or Yuri.

"A pleasure to see you, too, Yuri, as always." He drawled.

Glaring at him, he just kept pointing a finger at Loid, "I'll deal with you later. But right now, Yor! What happened?!"

It's almost too fascinating how quickly Yuri's demeanor changes when he's talking to his sister. In an instant, all of his hatred and resentment towards Loid immediately melts away and is replaced by concern, love and care.

Despite Yuri being a pain in the ass, Loid couldn't deny his love for his sister was unconditional and oddly enough, he felt a wave of appreciation for him. So, really, he was curious to see how Yuri would react to what happened.

He decided to get off Yor's bed to stand up (less awkward this way and honestly it's for Yuri's sake) and waited patiently as she explained the whole story to Yuri.

In truth, it was also the first time he heard the story from her perspective and it was fascinating, to say the least. According to her, she protected the King in the nick of time. To Loid and Yuri, this was obviously the fault of the King and his so-called guards. Putting an ordinary person ' no ' putting

Yor

in danger like that was simply unacceptable, especially when it could have easily been prevented. However, in Yor's eyes, William did all he could. After all, he did bring her to the hospital. This assassin seemed to be top notch so how on earth could anyone blame the King's men for dealing with a high caliber assassin?

Something didn't seem right.

"Well, no offense, sis, but

you

survived it, so how tough could he have been?" Yuri asks. Of course, he wasn't one to underestimate his sister's freakish strength. But at the end of the day, his sister was an ordinary civilian. No way could she survive an assassin that killed trained guards.

Of course, Yor didn't just survive. She killed him. 'But they didn't need to know that. It seems like William hasn't told anyone that part yet. In any ordinary scenario, if there was a witness, she had two choices: 1, kill them as well or 2, knock them out somehow, drench them in alcohol, so when they would be found and told tales of a raven-haired woman murdering the people around them, they wouldn't be credible.

But those options were out of Yor's hands. For this was the first time that she actually fainted and would have been unable to complete her mission. Well, had this been a mission, anyway.

In any case, she had to deal with William later on. Based on both Loid and Yuri's reaction, it seems like William had yet to inform anyone that sweet gentle Yor brutally murdered someone before his very eyes.

In the meantime, Yor had to play dumb and give an innocent smile, "I did pass out before I saw what happened. I suppose I was lucky."

"Indeed..." Loid said.

But he wasn't clouded with the rose-colored glasses that Yuri had for Yor. Initially, he was just happy to hear that Yor was alive. But now his mind was clear (well, as clear as it can be after that 'moment'). Most importantly, now he wondered if it was more than just dumb luck. Much like Yuri, he was more than aware of Yor's impressive strength and agility. But would such a thing be enough to escape an assassin?

Speaking of, he needed to find out what happened to said assassin. Did he escape? Was he dead? He must have been dead. He can't imagine him escaping without finishing the job. But did that mean that the King himself killed the assassin? Or was at least one of his guardsmen competent and managed to kill the assassin just as Yor passed out?

"Um, I am a bit tired. If you two don't mind, I'd like to rest for a bit." Yor says.

Had Yuri not been there, she would have asked Loid if he could stay with her as she rested. In fact, she had to stop herself from asking instinctively.

Knowing it would have been the very words she would have said just because she wanted to made her want to crawl under her covers even more.

"Of course, anything for you, Sis." Yuri smiled, then put a hand on Loid's shoulder, "Lottie and I will go outside and let you rest. If you need anything, let us know, okay?"

"Actually, Loid, if you don't mind, could you pick up Anya from school today?" Yor asked timidly. She wasn't very sure if it was appropriate to ask, but she really wanted to see Anya. She wanted to see Anya and Loid and her family together and forget that for a moment, Yor truly thought she was actually going to die a few hours ago.

But then she remembers it's not her place. Just because she wants to doesn't mean she should. "Erm, never mind! I'm sure it's best that Anya doesn't come and bother herself with me-"

"Yor, don't say that. She loves you and she'll want to see you." Loid interrupted, knowing fully well she was about to do that thing where she severely underestimated her impact on this family. "There's no need to scare her with the details, but I think it'll be good for her to see you and for you to see her. After all, it's only natural to want to see our daughter."

"'Our daughter' '" Yor repeated.

It's not like she hasn't heard or said it so many times before. They've always said it: in front of strangers, 'neighbours, friends. But 'everytime 'they said it, Yor always felt her heart skipped a beat.

As he watched this exchange, the possessive part of Yuri wanted to remind everyone in the room that Anya wasn't even Yor's biological daughter. Okay, so, the little boy in him still liked being the 'baby' of the family and the apple of Yor's eye. And sure, part of him not only felt competition with Loid Forger for being the new main man in his sister's life, but now also felt competition with his daughter for being the new baby in her life, too.

But how could he dare say anything? He was about to, but looking at his sister's soft smile and gentle eyes the second their daughter was mentioned...could he really rob her of such a thing?

'You've already taken so much from her, Yuri. You're not the baby brother anymore.

' He told himself,

'Let her have this one. Let her finally have a life outside of you.'

So, he kept his mouth shut. It's not like he was happy about being replaced. But he wasn't completely angry about it either.

His almost-words did not go unnoticed by Loid, who was fully prepared to shut him down if he dared insinuate that Yor was not Anya's mother. When he prepared for a fight, Loid's hand would go into his pocket for his concealed gun. When preparing to dismiss what someone has said, the words would come to Loid before he would even speak them out loud.

But luckily, there was no need. Perhaps Yuri was finally giving Yor a break. Or maybe, just maybe, he was witnessing the younger Briar sibling grow up just a little bit.

Either way, he was grateful. He didn't want anything taking away from the softness in those red eyes. He had a feeling that those crimson eyes would be the death of him, one way or another.

As he and Yuri began to leave, Loid couldn't resist turning around to glance at Yor.

They were both thinking the same thing: they were both too embarrassed to look at each other in the eye, yet somehow, they couldn't look away either.

'Is there a reason you're acting like some kind of schoolboy with a crush, Agent Twilight?'

He asked himself.

It would happen eventually. They would need to talk about what they could have done ' what they

wanted

to do ' right before Yuri showed, up. What this meant.

Perhaps it meant-

"Hey, no longing gazes at each other! Not while I'm still here!" Yuri cringed.

"There are no longing gazes!" They both protested as Yuri closed the door.

No. Not now. Right now, he needs to focus on something else.

Unsurprisingly, the second Yuri closed the door, he immediately turned to Loid. The once kind look in Yuri's face was now filled with anger and distraught.

It was the kind of look that an SSS agent could only reserve for someone he planned to brutally interrogate.

"Tell me everything you know. Right now." He demanded.

Trying to be pleasant, Loid sighed, "I promise, I don't know much more than you do. Everything you just heard from Yor is what I know. I assume that by now, you know about her job with the King."

"Yes, but not much else." Yuri admitted, "The truth is, I couldn't care less about the 'Charletons, but if Big Sis is working for them, I need to know she's safe. So what I want to know is why is someone coming after the 'Charletons 'now? Who is after them?"

"Unfortunately, your guess is as good as mine. The best thing to do would be to consult the King himself." ' Loid thought out loud. Perhaps William would have a better idea of what was happening.

"Yes, where is this infamous King? I'd like to have a...friendly chat." The look on Yuri's face was murderous. It reminded Loid of the look on Yor's face when the Eden board cruelly interrogated Anya.

It didn't take a spy to know that Yuri meant something else when he said ''friendly' chat. But it did take one to know that an SSS agent might do a bit worse than the average person. It 'seems that the Briar siblings had a rather violent streak when it came to the people they loved.

'Loved'...Now there's something to-

"Please stay with Yor." Loid quickly said ' refusing to entertain his thoughts. "I need to pick up Anya...she'd want to visit Yor. I'm sure the King will turn up eventually."

Yuri sighed. Unsatisfied with the answer, but it'll have to do. "I suppose he is still around. ' I spotted his guards earlier."

To his surprise, Yuri grinned.

"Thank you." he said.

Loid nodded, unsure of how to process it. As he left and prepared to go pick up Anya, Yuri called him.

"Loid?" He said. 'Loid turned around to see a somber look on Yuri's face.

"This can't happen again."

Loid nodded in agreement. If there was one thing that he and Yuri could agree on, it was that they wanted Yor safe at any cost.

As for Yuri? Oh, he still doesn't like Loid Forger. But as they say, the enemy of his enemy is his...frenemy, then?

Whatever, point is, they both wanted King Willy out of the picture. So, for now he decided to call a truce.

For now, both Yuri and Loid contemplated exactly what was going on. They couldn't fathom why an assassin was going after the King. The only conclusion was whatever 'organisation 'was out there knew something about the King that neither the SSS nor WISE knew.

A thought which made them both very, very concerned.

Yor got about 20 minutes of rest. She was much too tired to sleep and her thoughts were filled with what had transpired today. To say that it's been a long day was a gross underestimate.

She almost blew her cover. What are the chances that William would believe that her 'yoga and self-defense' class taught her how to literally kill a man with a headband?

Well, then again, both Yuri and Loid seemed to buy her more revealing actions based on her inane excuses. Perhaps William would be no different?

"You'd be surprised." The Shopkeeper once told her, "People believe what they want to believe. If they believe that Yor Forger couldn't possibly hurt a fly and that the possibility of the deadliest assassin being in their midst is close to none, you could even subdue a man in front of their very eyes and they still wouldn't suspect."

"Do you really think so?" Yor asked.

This was back when she was first training, during the early days when she feared that Yuri would begin to suspect. Or worse, the Secret Police.

"I know so. Do you know how many of 'our 'people have escaped suspicions based on their looks alone? In television, we see superheroes wear silly disguises and we think 'there's no way no one wouldn't be able to recognise them just because they wear a pair of glasses'. But in reality, perception plays a key role: no one expects you to be a strong, confident superhero when you're shy and meek. 'Why do you think celebrities can go out in daylight and sometimes not get 'recognised?"

"Is that why everyone here acts so different?"

So many of Garden's elite didn't seem like trained assassins at all. For example, Poison Ivy had an affinity for slipping poison into her target's tea and once famously baked a tart with the remains of a target's cruel uncle and fed it to the target himself. However, she bakes amazing non-lethal and non-human-based cupcakes. Hell, everytime it was someone's birthday, she would show up with a batch of their favorite baked pastry. She says it's her way of de-stressing. To Garden, she was an efficient yet ruthless poison master. To the world, she was Annie Lovette, the sweet baker near the city park who seemed like someone's sweet granny.

Singing Nettle had the voice of an angel and was an opera singer yet used her voice to emit ear-piercing frequencies before killing her target. Elephant Ear bashed the skulls of his victims with a club but was a humble baseball coach for children in the daytime. Even the Shopkeeper himself seemed like the innocuous gardener with gorgeous and exotics plants.

"Precisely. I wouldn't fret too much about it, Thorn Princess. I can tell that you've got a heart of gold and people will see that a mile away." The Shopkeeper smiled at her. "But if it will ease you, you can always take certain precautions to avoid any potential suspicions. Either by acting a certain way or developing the skill to lie about it."

Well, Yor wasn't a very good liar in the end. It's lucky that she was socially awkward to begin with, so she just played into that natural role as suggested by the Shopkeeper.

But she was awfully good at making up excuses for behavior.

Hmm. It wouldn't hurt to ask William to take credit for the assassin's death. It seemed that all Yuri and Loid knew were the fact that she escaped but they didn't know what actually happened to the assassin himself. She wondered if she should ask Yuri to find William for her before he could tell them anything.

As bad as it sounds, she was beginning to think that William would do anything she asked. That, in itself, was another problem: okay, so she was slow to process it, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that William may want more from her than just plain old friendship. She thought perhaps he just felt very grateful for her company. He did strike her as a lonely man and she can imagine that it must be hard for royals to find people they trusted.

In hindsight, all the signs were there: hiring her specifically, having a study where they both worked together, the lunches, the bracelet, the compliments, all of it made sense.

Any suspicion she had at first was erased because she quickly remembered that William must be an honorable man and no such man would want to take a wife and mother away from her husband and child.

'I guess I was wrong...

' Yor thought, slightly disappointed. At herself for not 'realising 'it sooner or at William for not being the man she thought he was.

Oh, today it seemed like she's felt so many new things today: from fear of death to the sudden urge to...

Dare she say it? Oh, let's be honest, now. She wanted more.

But she didn't want more from just anyone. It had to be Loid. It was always Loid. 'She wasn't exactly an expert in the romance department, but surely the fact that he didn't just immediately push her away meant

something

, right?

Once, she thought that her feelings were nothing more than her believing she wants a family. But that's not true. She didn't want just any family. She wanted hers. The one she already had. She wanted it to be with Loid. The thought of having any husband other than him or any child other than Anya seemed unfathomable.

Oh, it was times like this that she wished she could talk to someone who knew the truth. For a second, she contemplated telling Charlotte. As silly as it was, this woman she went and a one-off shopping trip and had a few half-hour coffee dates with after work was the closest thing she had to a best friend. But this was a huge secret, was it not? She couldn't just go blabbering about it to Charlotte, especially given who her brother was.

That's when Yor heard a faint knock at the door. Without thinking, she quickly answered, "Come in!"

To her surprise, it was Franky, walking in crutches and with a cast around his leg.

"Hey, Yor, how's the prettiest poisoned hospital patient?"

Yor giggled, "Hi Franky. Thank you for visit-Oh, what happened to your leg?!"

Franky waved it off, "Oh, I got mugged, that's all."

"Oh, okay." Yor says as if people getting mugged was an everyday and ordinary occurrence. Of course, in her field of work, it wasn't too surprising. "Well, it seems like you're on your feet, so that's good. But please, have a seat, it's a lot better for you."

Franky smiled, obeying her orders. Here that woman was in a literal IV drip and she was thinking more about his comfort. Honestly, Yor was such a sweet kid sometimes. "Thanks! Your brother's outside, by the way. Like a deranged guard dog."

"Oh, er, yes, Yuri does tend to be protective." Yor said sheepishly, letting herself sit up and beginning to eat the food on the tray that the nurse sent over.

"I get the feeling that's an understatement." Franky mused. After a few beats, he began to grin, "So, Yor, I've 'gotta 'ask...is it true Loid beat up the King's men and punched the King in the face?"

Yor nearly choked on her hospital food 'jell-o.

"He what?!"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Franky asked, genuinely curious, "I didn't even see the famous King William yet. Apparently, some of the nurses tended to him as soon as Loid beat the crap out of him. I wouldn't have known if I didn't hear the nurses gossiping about it."

"I-" Yor's mouth dropped. Of course she was furious! Why on earth would Loid hit freaking King of Ostania for?

...But she had to admit, deep down, a part of it sort of found the protectiveness

really

attractive.

"Man, he's got it bad for you." Franky shook his head, smiling, "And it looks like the feeling's mutual."

Yor had a faint pink hue to her cheeks, but he couldn't help but notice the bittersweet smile on her face, "Franky, you're the only one who knows the real reason Loid and I got married."

'More than you think.'

Franky thought.

"Even if I did, hypothetically, want something more.. " Yor says softly, gently tapping her finger on her plate nervously, "I'm not sure he feels the same."

"You kidding me?" Franky scoffed. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed "Everytime 'I come in a room with you and Loid, so much sexual tension that I'm always tempted to leave and say 'you kids need anything? Some snacks? A condom?'"

"Franky!"

"No, I'm serious! You two have more chemistry than Vincent and Allegra!" Franky exclaimed.

Yor couldn't help chuckle slightly, "So you watch 'Berlint 'in Love?"

"I appreciate the occasional romance, yes." Franky huffed, completely downplaying his slight obsession with the show, "And don't get off-topic, 'Mrs 'Forger! 'Everytime 'I walk in a room with you two, I feel like you two are about to rip each other's clothes off and go at it like wild rabbits!"

"Franky!" Yor exclaimed once more.

"Why don't you, anyway? Is it because Bond and Anya are there? If you want, I can take them out for a weekend or something. I owe Loid that much. In the meantime, you two can bang it out and maybe, just maybe, Loid will have that stick up his ass removed for once." Franky suggested.

"Okay, okay, I have to sleep now. Goodbye, Franky." She said, quickly pulling the covers over her face.

"Are you seriously telling me that this entire time, there's never been a time when you thought you could be moment? A longing gaze, a hug that went on for too long, a kiss?"

Well. Does an almost-kiss count?

"Between you and Charlotte, I'm not sure how I'll live." Yor muttered.

Franky's ears perked, suddenly intrigued, "Charlotte? Now, who is she?"

As if on 'cue, the door burst open and once again revealed a blonde bombshell in bright pink. The light of the hallways was enough to blind him, but combine that with the woman's dazzling presence, he felt himself almost taken aback.

"YOR, WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED?!"

Why was everyone bursting into her room, anyway?

"Oh, Yor! Look at you! I'm so relieved that you're okay, but that stupid bonehead brother of mine! He should have taken better care of you!" Charlotte fumed, "I just can't-Oh, hello. I don't believe we've met."

After 'realising 'that Yor was okay, Charlotte immediately felt more at ease. Then she spotted the handsome devil in a cast speaking with her. A cast, huh? Was he in a fight? Oh, Charlotte never could resist a bad boy.

Naturally, Franky didn't exactly waste the opportunity to approach what seemed to be the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on, "Enchante, mademoiselle, I'm Franky, Loid's best friend, even though he likes to pretend he has no friends. I just came here to check on Yor, but had I known that I would be meeting you, I would have cleaned up nicer."

Yor blinked at the sight. Oh, good Lord...

Charlotte giggled, "Actually, I don't think I've ever seen anyone look more handsome."

Once again, Yor looked at Franky, currently in a cast, disheveled clothes, hair in disarray and glasses half-broken.

Really?

"I'm Charlotte, Yor's best friend." She self-proclaimed, to which Yor nearly jumped at. She had a best friend now? "You know, given the fact that the Forgers are our best friends, we really should get better acquainted, don't you think?"

'Should I step out of the room?'

Yor wondered.

"I do know this excellent tea place nearby. Care to join me?" Franky said suavely, trying to emulate Vincent in 'Berlint 'In Love when he first tried to seduce Allegra.

"Of course! It would be my pleas-"

Suddenly, for what seemed like the 'hundreth 'time today, the door burst open and revealed Yuri once again, "Alright, you two, wrap it up! My sister doesn't need to be exposed to your smut!"

Both of them blushed and Yor just simply looked horrified, "Yuri! They're just talking!"

Yuri closed the door behind him and pointed an accusing finger at them, "Ah-ha! You two are the reason that my sister has been acting like a randy teenager lately! No wonder she's feeling up Loid while she's in a freaking hospital bed!"

Franky and Charlotte's eyes widened, but only Franky wore a sly grin, "So, you and Loid have been getting freaky in hospitals, huh?"

"Wow, Yor, didn't think you had it in you!" Charlotte winked.

"No! That's not what-I mean, I-Oh, God." Yor groaned, taking the pillow behind her and putting it over her face. Was it too late to suffocate herself to get her out of this mess?

"It's okay, Yor! It's only natural for a woman to want her husband to ravish her when exposed to a near-death scenario. In fact, after the war, there was a phenomenon called 'post-disaster' sex, where the soldiers knew that this may be the last time they'll ever see their wives, so they made love so passionately-" Charlotte began, only for Yuri to cover his ears.

"La-la-la-la-la, I can't hear you!" Yuri sang.

"Oh, come off it, Briar, your sister's a grown woman!" Franky said.

Yuri growled, "Who are you, anyway? And why do you know about my sister's sex life?!"

"Could we

please

stop talking about my sex life?" Yor begged.

"Ah-ha! So you do have a sex life!" Franky pointed out, then grinned, "Alright, Loid! My boy's getting freaky with the missus."

Charlotte just looked confused, "Well, of course she does! She is married, after all. Why, just this week, when we bumped into Loid at

La 'Soeurette

, he was eyeing this little black 'babydoll 'with red flowers on it-"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Yor couldn't have cared less if it was the assassin's friends coming in to finish the job. She just wanted this nightmare to end!

"Come in!"

Loid could smell the scent of caramel and vanilla in the air, so he knew that Charlotte Charleton was nearby. She could never be a spy. Her scent alone gave her away too easily. By now, the entire hospital probably knew she was here. Well, at least someone other than Yor's brother would be there to keep her company, though he swore he heard Franky's voice not too far. A few seconds later, his thoughts were confirmed when he heard Yuri, guarding Yor's door, say, "Hey, who are you?"

The question was met with a shove and Charlotte's loud voice entering Yor's room.

Oof. Between Franky, Charlotte and Yuri in that room, Loid briefly questioned if perhaps he should go back in and tell them all to leave Yor alone to rest.

Ah, but he couldn't. Anya needed to be picked up, after all. Besides, it's not as if any of them would harm Yor.

He only reached the next hallway when he was finally met face to face with William. His guardsmen, still wobbly and bruised, stood behind him and were on full alert as soon as they saw Loid. Not that they were a threat, anyway. One could hardly be threatened when the guardsmen were barely standing on their own two feet.

To his credit, William showed the most composure. Despite the enormous bruise on his cheek and the cut on his lip, he remained calm and composed.

"At ease, gentlemen. Remember, I said that the Forgers are not to be harmed." William ordered his guardsmen without even turning back. His attention returned to Loid, who was unsurprised by his actions. After all, he was probably blaming himself.

As he should.

"Loid, I didn't get the chance to tell you yet, but I am deeply sorry for Yor's accident. She did not deserve this and I take full responsibility for my guards' negligence and my weak security." William said and he meant every single word. Suddenly, his eyes fell to his feet, ashamed of himself and not being able to look at Yor's husband in the eye, "It's my fault, really. It's completely my fault. Yor saved me, but she shouldn't have had to. I just shouldn't have been so...stupid."

Had Yor not been injured, Loid would have felt sorry for the King. It was obvious that he truly was sorry and felt guilty over it. However, any sympathy on Loid's end, both now and ever, was thrown out the window the second that his wife's very life was in danger.

"You should be telling this to my wife." Loid said firmly, no longer wearing his angered face, but now turned neutral, like he was speaking to a simple subordinate.

"I will. I was actually on my way to do so. I mean, I would have done so as soon as she was available to be seen, but of course, you decided that you were a bit too angry at me." William glared. Don't get him wrong, he completely understood where Loid was coming from and he did feel sorry. Still, the bruises and cuts hurt like hell so there was a teensy part of him annoyed at Loid.

"Oh, come now, your Majesty, you're still alive, are you not?" Loid asked with the same pleasant tone and polite smile he liked to use on William (and Yuri) to make him

extra

pissed off.

William's jaw would have dropped if he wasn't trained to control his emotions.

This

was Loid Forger's response to nearly killing the King of 'Ostania 'only a few seconds ago? Well, he shouldn't be surprise. This was a man deeply in love, after all.

"There is one thing I think I have the right to know, especially considering my wife's work for you." Loid said. He had no qualms in asking this, as any husband would ask this to anyone, so it wasn't exactly suspicious. "Why would someone send an assassin after you?"

William was quiet, unsure of what to say for a few seconds. When Loid caught that microexpression of confusion on William's face, he already knew the answer before he could respond.

"In truth, I am not sure." he admitted, "I suppose I have been dealing with an enormous amount of work, but nothing that would warrant a spy to come after me."

At least, not that William might know.

But Loid may know a few secrets that even the King might not be aware of. It was worth taking a peak at that 'work' he mentioned. Perhaps indirectly, he pissed off the wrong people. It wouldn't surprise him. After all, he knew the annual meeting of the King with the Heads of Government would be coming up soon. Maybe there was something unprecedented that meant that the King would actually have a huge role to play.

"In any case, I believe you should alter your arrangements with my wife. I don't feel comfortable with her at the castle and I'm sure you can understand my concern." Loid said, the last part being more threatening than he intended.

To his credit, if William noticed (he definitely did), he did not react to it. Instead, he remained his composure, "I do understand but at the end of the day, I will respect what Yor chooses. Whether she stays with me or not, I'm sure that you will respect her decision."

Were he not a spy trained to control his facial expressions, Loid's left eye would have twitched, "Whether she stays to

work for you

is her prerogative and of course, I will respect it. She is a grown woman and I trust her judgement. But I will have to insist that you have better trained guardsmen in the future stationed both outside your studies

and

inside."

"Inside? I hardly think this would be necessary." The King scoffed, "After all, Yor and I do tend to enjoy our privacy."

"Alright, enough." Loid decided, hiding his hands into his pockets so he could conceal his clenched fists, "I think I've proven to you earlier than I know what you want out of her. Don't you think it's time to drop your little act?"

"Whatever do you mean?" William asked innocently.

Was he serious? Now, Loid was getting really tired of this. Yor almost died today because of his negligence, yet he was still insistent on pursuing her?

"You want my wife, I understand that. Here I thought that you would give up by now, but apparently, the King of 'Ostania 'has no shame."

William was taken aback. He didn't like being told such things or have his honor questioned.

"I think this is a good time to remind you that regardless of your personal opinions, I am your

King

, Loid Forger." His eyes darkened, "Whatever happens will happen whether you like it or not."

Loid wanted to laugh. Really? Did he truly thing he could scare him? He was Agent Twilight. He was the best spy WISE had to offer. He's taken down warlords, entire mafias, murderers and monstrous people who wanted to do nothing but evil deeds to the world. Not to sound arrogant, but it took a lot to scare him. So, if the King truly thought he could scare Loid by simply reminding him of his status, he had another thing coming.

"And I think this is a good time to remind you that when it comes to my wife, I don't answer to anyone. 'Not 'even kings,

William

." Loid responded, glaring at him, "And I don't know what you think will happen, but Yor won 't go along with anything you try."

"Please, Forger, I can see she wants so much more from you. True, I don't know what goes on behind closed doors, but I can 'recognise 'an unhappy wife when I see one. I never did like seeing them, especially when I know they could be treated so much better elsewhere."

Loid had enough of this. Who was he to say what Yor wanted?! He's known her for less than a month yet he speaks for her. It was time to nip this in the bud and stop going around in circles, "This is the last time I will say this, Charleton: leave my wife alone. If not, I'll

gladly

remind you of just how far I'd be willing to go for her."

Suddenly very aware once again of the bruise on his cheek, William decided to stop pressing on the issue. Then again, it's not like he expected Loid to just give up Yor like that, not without a fight. But he no longer saw the point in arguing, "Regardless, right now, 'I would like to 'apologise 'to Yor. If you don't mind, I would like to do so right now." He said.

Loid sighed. In other circumstances, he would refuse to let William alone with Yor. But she wouldn't be alone. After all, she practically had her own guardsmen in that room right now. Besides, Yor probably wanted to know that William was doing okay. He could tell from how she spoke that she did not blame William at all (which would make her the only one).

"Fine." Loid said, "Go ahead."

He had to admit, given their conversation, William was surprised at Loid's willingness to let him speak to Yor. If nothing else, he did admire Loid's confidence about his wife's fidelity though he was insulted at Loid underestimating his capacity to seduce.

In any case, William ordered his guards to remain in the hall. Loid watched as William gently placed his hand on the doorknob, but before opening it, he turned towards Loid.

"Is there anything I should know about before I enter?"

Yes. No-Filter Franky was there. So was Chatterbox Charlotte. Both probably blaming William. Lastly, her psychotic brother who would most likely murder the King right then and there.

"...No. Absolutely not." Loid smiled.

William nodded in relief and entered Yor's room.

Two seconds later, Loid hears Yuri say, "So you're the guy responsible for my sister being in here?"

Cue the sounds of a crash and several nurses and the guards running into the room.

With a smirk on his face, Loid simply walked away and whistled a gleeful tune.

The school day seemed to take longer than it usually was. Becky's absence was definitely felt, but it was more so Anya's memory of what happened today that kept rushing back to her.

But to her surprise, Sy-On Boy didn't leave her side for one second. He even managed to get his friends to be nice to her. Even now, Damian didn't even mind walking her to the school's gates and waiting for the bus to arrive.

...Only because she was obviously fidgety and nervous, obviously. At least, that's what Damian seemed to keep repeating in his head, for some reason.

"Sy-On Boy," Anya began, "I'm scared."

Her sudden confession threw Damian off. But of course, it was understandable. She did almost die just a few hours ago. Such a thing would have, well, not

scared

Damian per se. Just mildly inconvenience him. He's sure he wouldn't lose his cool like Forger here is.

Still, something about Anya feeling anything less than joy didn't feel right to him.

"You're safe now, don't think about it." Damian advised, even though he suspected that it was easier said than that.

Anya opened her mouth, but shut it just as quickly. Damian noticed that and he immediately wondered what she was thinking.

Oh, how she wished she could tell him. Tell anyone, really. The truth of why being in that river scared her so much. Memories she thought were long gone came rushing back. Even now, she could still feel the prickling coldness on her skin. At first, she thought she was back in that river, holding onto an icy rock with the tip of her fingernails. But then she kept thinking about being back in that weird tube, with everyone looking at her, not caring about how scared she was at all.

"Hey, Forger." Damian waved his hands in front of her face, "Snap out of it."

"Eh?" Anya blinked. She completely zoned out and forgot Sy-On Boy was there.

"You don't need to be scared, ever." Damian told her firmly, "You've got a Mom and Dad...who obviously love you. They'll always be there to protect you. Becky would probably punch anyone or anything that tried to hurt you. And besides, you've got me now."

Anya stared at him, mouth slightly dropped. Was he an 'esper 'too? How on earth did he 'realise 'that she was still scared? But more importantly, how did he know what to say to her to make her feel better?

Well, no, Damian was no 'esper. It was just pretty obvious by the way Anya was fidgeting that she was still frightened by the whole thing.

Then he 'realised 'what was the last part he said and immediately blushed, looked away and rubbed his shoulder, "A-And the boys! Emile and Ewen! Yeah, you've got everyone. Not just me, duh, that's dumb. I mean that's not dumb. But yeah, I'm saying you've got loads of people on your side, so you don't need worry and I-"

Damian was taken aback as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him.

He looked down to see Anya, hugging him tightly and with a certain warmth he hadn't felt before. It reminded him of how he felt when he saw her smile at him after he gave her that four-leaf clover. This wasn't just an excited hug or even a quick spur-of-the-moment one. She held onto him longer and she didn't seem to want to let go.

"Thanks, Sy-On Boy." He hears her say.

"Anytime, Starlight." Damian said, without 'realising 'that a soft smile began to form on his usually scowling face, "Now, get off me."

Anya shook her head and kept her big smile. "Nope. You deserve all the hugs."

"Forger!" Damian said, turning even redder.

"But no one ever hugs you!" Anya protested, "Everyone deserves hugs! 'Specially you!"

"Jeez..." Damian groaned. Though he protested and he could have easily pushed her off, he found that curiously, he didn't want to.

Still, it's not like she could keep hugging him the entire time. People around them were seeing it and were beginning to stare. He's just lucky that Emile and Ewen went back to the dorms early. He didn't want her hugging him, but at the same time, he knew that she'd still be shaking a bit if she was too far from him.

"Erm, listen," Damian began, trying to think of a solution that would be less weird than Forger hugging him the entire time, "Let go of me and you can hold my hand as much as you want!"

Yes, that would be less odd.

Anya looked at him and he could have sworn that he saw stars in those green eyes, "Really? Pinky promise?"

"Sure, sure, pinky promise!" Damian promised, pretending that he hated the idea, "Now let go of me."

She did as he requested. But with a big smile on her face, she quickly held her hand out for him to hold. He could only groan, putting his hand on his face and 'realising 'just what a bad idea it was.

"This is so embarrassing..."

"But you promised!" Anya claimed, her smile slowly disappearing.

That alone was enough for Damian to reach out and hold her hand. Oh, don't get him wrong, his hand was still on his face and he looked away, completely sheepish about the whole thing.

Beside him, Anya couldn't figure Damian out. He used to act so mean. Why was he changing? Even now, he obviously didn't want to hold her hand, but at the same time, she knew that he really didn't want her to be sad again. Sy-On Boy was so peculiar.

But Anya decided that she liked him this way. Weird and peculiar and just like a...

"Tsundere." Anya called him.

"I am not a 'tsundere!" Damian protested.

God, this was so freaking embarrassing.

But if anyone tried to separate Damian's hand from Forger's, he's pretty sure he would have kicked them.

A few minutes pass and to Anya's surprise, she 'recognised 'her Papa's car coming in before the bus even came.

Anya's jaw dropped before quickly turning to Damian, "Don't tell him about today!"

Damian blinked, "What? Why not?"

"I just..." Think it's not a good idea unless Charles get Agent 'Twilight'ed 'or worse, Thorn 'Princess'ed. "I don't want them to know yet."

"Okay." Damian shrugged, slowly beginning to accept that Forger was weird and just learning to go with the flow. "Are you going to let go of my hand, now?"

Anya gasped as if the mere thought of it shocked her, "B-B-But-"

"Alright! You can keep holding it until you leave!" Damian sighed, "But you tell your dad

you

asked to hold my hand!"

"Why does Papa care if I'm holding your hand?" Anya asked.

"Because-" '

Because it will look like we're boyfriend and girlfriend!'

Eh? What was so wrong with that? He's a boy. She's a girl. They were friends. What else were they supposed to call each other?

Regardless, she was interrupted as soon as she could hear Papa's thoughts.

And she really, really, really, didn't like what she heard...

'How am I going to tell her? I don't want to scare her. But what way is there to tell a child 'your mother has been stabbed'?'

Anya gasped and tightened her grip on Damian's hand.

"Hey!" Damian exclaimed, but then saw the look on Anya's face, "Anya?"

But she didn't answer. What happened to Mama?! Did someone go after her? She needed to get to that hospital, quick.

'I don't need to tell her that. I just need to tell her that Yor's in the hospital after she...fell. That's it. Yor is fine, after all. There's no need to cause Anya any distress. I don't want her worrying-Wait a minute. Is that the Desmond boy with her? It seems that Operation Strix is progressing faster than I thought. Curious, I thought he hated her. Wait, is he holding her hand? Why the hell is the Desmond boy holding my little girl's hand?! First Charleton, now Desmond?! Anya Forger, what are you doing to these boys?!'

Anya sighed after hearing that her Mama was fine. But she was confused at the rest of her Papa's thoughts, not really seeing the link between Charles and Damian. Maybe her Papa just didn't like boys? He definitely didn't like the King after all. Also, why did it matter if she was holding his hand? She liked holding people's hands. It reminded her that she wasn't alone.

But as a cool spy, you'd never suspect how mad he was since he got out of the care with a friendly face. Anya 'recognised 'it a long time ago: it was the face of her father who actually wanted to kick someone but instead gave a friendly, kind and innocent smile. His version of a 'heh' smile, she supposed.

"Anya...and Damian Desmond. What a nice surprise!" Loid smiled through gritted teeth.

'Papa is a liar.'

Damian gulped. He had only met Loid Forger once before and he remembered being pretty mean to the poor man. At the time, Damian didn't care about what Anya's Papa thought about him. Well, sort of. Now, things seemed so different. He had an overwhelming urge to impress him.

"H-Hi, 'Mr 'Forger." Since when did he stutter to an adult? All adults were scared of him! They knew who his father was and they didn't hesitate

"It's nice to see you again, Damian." Loid lied, "I hear you've been doing very well at school lately. Anya talks about you very often."

'Eh? No, I don't.

'

The reddened cheeks on the Desmond boy's face told Loid all he needed to know.

Now, Agent Twilight knew that this was a good thing. Damian Desmond having a crush on his daughter was definitely beneficial in Operation Strix, especially if he arranges a playdate. Say, at his home? Under the guise of ordinary parents, he could even propose that Donovan Desmond join them for dinner along with Damian.

On the other hand, Loid Forger wanted nothing more than to kick the kid.

"Eep!" Anya squealed after reading her father's mind. Also, what did he mean by a 'crush'? "P-Papa! Where's Mama?"

She already knew, but she needed Loid to say it out loud. She knew she was fine, but that didn't stop her from wanting to see her Mama.

"Um, well, Mama had a certain complication at work. She's perfectly fine, but the doctors want to take a look at her just to be safe." Loid carefully said, trying not to scare the child.

'If by complication, you mean an assassin tried to kill the King and my wife stopped him but got poisoned and nearly died, then sure.'

Anya gasped, horrified at his thoughts. She knew that her Mama was a cool assassin, but poisoned?! What on earth happened?

Even Damian looked concerned. He didn't like hospitals. He knew it was where bad things came from and though he had never met her, he sincerely hoped that 'Mrs 'Forger was okay.

"I want to see her!" Anya demanded.

Loid sighed. He figured as much and it was hard to deny her when her Mama meant so much to her.

"Of course..." Loid agreed, but then took another look at the Desmond boy, "But for that, you're going to have to let go of Damian's hands, sweetheart."

Before Damian could immediately retract his hand, Anya just pulled his forward, "I don't want to!"

Loid or Damian wanted to protest, but Anya immediately turned to Damian, "Can you come with us?!"

In truth, no, he couldn't. Being outside Eden's campus was strictly forbidden unless his butler Jasper accompanied him in the family limousine. Besides, did he really want to keep holding Anya's hand in front of her parents like this?

But how could he say no to those pleading green eyes?

"I-Erm, I 'sh-" her eyes got even bigger, "Ah, jeez. Fine, I'll come!"

"Yay!" Anya cheered, turning to her Papa, "Can he come, Papa?"

Surely, he would be happy, right? Every step closer to Sy-On Boy's friendship is a step closer to Operation Strix!

Instead, as she read his thoughts, her Papa didn't seem too happy about it. In fact, his thoughts of kicking Damian seemed to come back.

But then again, she might need the support. It's never easy for a child to see their parents in such a state and if it meant that she would have sort of additional comfort, then who was he to deny her?

"Of course. Naturally, I'll have to bring you back to campus, Damian, but I'm sure Anya would be delighted to have a friend with her." He replied as he gestured the children into the backseat of the care.

Being used to only large limousines, Damian asked, "It's small in here. How can you be in such a small car?"

"'Small'?" Anya blinked. It's not like Damian was the size of Billy Watkins, so what did he care? "What's Sy-On Boy's car like?"

"It's long and has lots of room." Damian said, "And there's a big black window that separates the driver from everyone else so we can talk without them listening!"

'Oh, you are not talking to my daughter without me listening.'

Loid thought.

"Wow, that sounds cool! Can we get a bigger car, Papa?" Anya asked.

"Well, I suppose we could try someday." He suggested. By that, he meant that WISE could stand to get him a better vehicle. He knew the goal was to 'blend in' and not stand out, but if they were going to appease the 'Desmonds, the higher class they seemed, the better.

"Hey, how about we listen to the radio?" Loid interrupted, not wanting to hear more about his daughter talking about Damian or being ridiculously wealthy.

As he turned on the radio, a soothing melody came and Anya sighed, feeling peaceful and happy with the soft song. Damian liked it, too, until he heard the words.

Barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly

Just a little change, small to say the least

Both a little scared, neither one prepared-

Damian panicked. That song, those words, Anya holding his hand? It was all too much! "Erm, can we change the song?!"

"What? Why?!" Anya said, finding the song so dreamy.

"Um, sure." Loid asked, a bit confused, turning to the next radio channel. Specifically, his favorite one that tended to play old music.

The kind that played before the war began...

'It's been a long, long time

Haven't felt like this, my dear

Since can't remember when'

This song?

...Again?!

"You know what? You children probably don't want to listen to this old music." Loid said as he swiftly changed the channel once more.

I was enchanted to meet you

Please don't have somebody waiting on you

Please don't be in love with someone else-

"Can we just turn off the radio?!" Damian burst out, a little louder than he expected.

Loid didn't even question it, turning it off so fast and with such pressure that he was afraid he'd break the knob off. "Yes, good idea."

"Hey, I liked those songs! Papa, what was wrong with that song?" Anya asked.

"Sometimes, silence is best." He decided.

"Yep, he's right." Damian agreed.

In both of their thoughts, Anya noticed that they thanked the other for agreeing.

Well, that was odd. What did they have against music?

Why did a flash of Anya pop in Damian's head? Why did a flash of Mama pop in Papa's head?

Anya tried to think about it...

Eh, it's probably nothing.

Anya didn't like hospitals. Well, based on the thoughts she was hearing, nobody seemed to.

But the hospital smells too much like the lab. Everything was too white and bright. She was terrified that the people in the white jackets would come and get her, even though she could hear their thoughts and knew that they meant no harm.

She knew she was safe. Between Sy-On Boy holding her hand and her Papa holding the other, it's not like anyone could get to her.

But you never know. After all, even the best can get taken by surprise.

Like her Mama...

"Mama's okay, though, right?" Anya asked. She knew the answer, but she kept wanting to hear it over and over again until she saw it for herself.

"Yes, she's okay."

It didn't stop her from holding their hands even tighter.

"She's probably fine." Damian said, "If your family is as weird as you are, they'd probably survive a zombie attack."

"Of course not! Anya's family is very normal!" She answers as her Papa opened Mama's hospital room.

Only to find Yuri shaking the King of 'Ostania 'by his collar, Charlotte trying to separate the two, Franky cheering and encouraging the fight, Yor's hands over her face in embarrassment and Loid stone-faced with no intention to stop William from getting hassled.

"I see. So, this is your very normal family?" Damian asked, slightly amused.

Anya couldn't do anything but do her infamous smile. "Heh."

At the sound of her daughter's voice, Yor's head immediately turned up and she just couldn't help but smile.

The sight of her husband and her little girl, all here with her, only seemed to calm and sooth her. All this chaos happening right now and one look at her family, she had complete tunnel vision and didn't seem to care about any of it.

But of course, everyone's behavior was still wildly inappropriate.

Especially since she just noticed little Damian Desmond holding her daughter's hand.

Huh?

She blinked, confused about the sight. But it only snapped her back into the reality that she absolutely needed her daughter in her arms, talking to her about her day and school and how she apparently had a new boyfriend.

"Tell me what happened! Who came after you? Why wasn't my sister protected?!" Yuri said, constantly shaking the King back and forth.

"This is hardly helpful!" Charlotte says.

"But very entertaining." Franky smirked, "Go, Yuri, beat his ass, that guy hurt your sister!"

But amidst all this ruckus, silence fell as a single empty syringe flew across the room, right between Yuri and William. Out of surprise, Yuri dropped William, who was just as shocked as he was, and everyone just stared at the syringe now stuck to the wall in surprise.

"Wow." Both Anya and Loid whispered at the same time.

It didn't take long for everyone to turn their heads and see the murderous aura surrounding sweet Yor Forger. In a hospital gown, hooked to an IV, and bandaged, yet she looked like she could easily take all of them out if she wanted to.

Which, of course, she could, but that's something only a few of them would come to know later.

"Can't you see my daughter is here?" She said quietly, her head lowered and no one could even see her eyes because of her bangs. The sound of multiple nervous gulps echoed around the room. Slowly, Yuri backed away from William, who held his hands up like a criminal caught by the police.

'She's just as scary as her daughter...'

Damian thought, now even more afraid of meeting her officially.

Then with a sweet voice of an angel and the smile of an innocent woman, Yor turned to the kids and asked, "Hi, sweetheart, how was your day? Oh, and you brought a friend!"

Beside her, Loid just felt confused over what just happened. What was it about the Briar siblings that had them looking like war criminals one second then actual living angels the next?

For the first time the whole day, Anya immediately let go of Damian's hand, as well as her Papa's, before gleefully running to Yor's bed with her arms out, "Mama!"

Yor took Anya in her arms and Anya immediately hugged her, refusing to let go.

'I know you're not really mine, but I'm so happy that you're here, anyway.'

She thought.

Anya only hugged her tighter because Yor didn't 'realise 'that she was. She really was hers. Sure, Loid concocted some story about an imaginary mother and he did think that perhaps Anya did have a real mother somewhere out there, but it wasn't the truth. The first mother who didn't care about how odd she was and never once thought of getting rid of her like all her old foster moms did. They couldn't wait to get rid of her.

But here Yor was, scared of losing her instead.

She's not quite sure how she did it, but Anya really lucked out when she found her Mama and Paoa.

Any animosity in that room immediately left when Anya smiled and jumped into Yor's arms. Everyone in that room has their fair share of issues when it comes to their families, so anytime they saw anything like a mother hugging her child, it always seemed like something magical and unfathomable to them.

So, Yuri's anger disappeared when he saw his sister's face glow. William's fear left as Anya went on the tip of her toes to reach Yor's bed. Charlotte cooed after noticing the resemblance in their smiles. Franky just chuckled, wondering how on earth did Loid get things so right without knowing it.

Loid himself wasn't so sure. It was chaos in that room and unsurprisingly, it's been a stressful day. A stressful and...eventful day. Watching Yor and Anya, that all seemed to go away. Truth be told, he wanted everyone else to go away and just leave him be with his girls.

'I'd like to say that this is the first time I felt this way when I looked at you two together, but that's not the truth, is it?'

Loid mused,

'I have been feeling this way toward this family a long time ago. I'd be so tired and exhausted from a long day at work, seconds from collapsing, but one look at your smiles and I feel like I can do anything again.'

Anya's eyes opened and as she watched her Papa, the soft smile on her face turned bigger, like she could literally burst with happiness.

'What else has been happening a long time ago that I tried to deny?'

He wondered.

Damian stared, 'realising 'just how much Anya loved her parents. He'd never seen someone hug their parents so much. He's been told that kids often do, but not the kids in his world. The kids in his world never really saw their parents that much to begin with. Now, usually when he looked at Anya, he felt his chest and stomach feel funny. But right now, he was feeling an odd sense of calm. He felt safe.

'You really do love your family, don't you?'

He thought.

'I wish I did. I think I do. I can't tell. But you drew your family when you thought of what makes you happy. I couldn't even figure out what to draw...What does make me happy?'

Anya's eyes slowly turned towards Damian's, who was merely smiled back at her,

'I'm not sure what being really happy feels like. But you, Starlight, you feel like a teddy bear...'

He couldn't exactly explain it, but all Damian knew was that in a hospital room full of people he had never met before, he's never felt more at ease. Seeing Anya like that made him feel like that.

A huge smile appeared on Anya's face, and before she knew it, she immediately gestured for him to come in, "Mama, that's Damian! But you can call him Sy-On Boy."

Yor giggled, especially when she saw that little vein on Loid's forehead ready to pop.

'It's a little too early to be having the 'meet the parents' moment with Anya.'

Loid sighed in his mind.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Damian." Yor smiled. Curious. She had the exact same smile Anya did when she smiled ever so softly, the one Damian seldom saw but made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. '"Anya's told me a lot about you, you know."

Damian's eyes widened, cautiously walking towards them, "She has?"

Why did it make him happy knowing that she talked about him so much?

Yor nodded, "She says you're really nice to her. I'm so glad she has friends at school. Thank you so much for being there for my little girl."

'Keeping her safe'. Ironic that Yor didn't 'realise 'just how accurate that statement was.

Still, Damian couldn't help but blush. He rarely received compliments from adults. Well, actually, he did. But they always seemed to be lying. He knows that it doesn't make sense, but he always got the feeling adults gave him compliments because they were afraid of him. But Yor Forger seemed to be genuine and her words were just as true.

The more he looked at her, the more he different yet similar she seemed from Anya. At first glance, they didn't really look anything alike. In fact, they had nothing alike. But there was something in those eyes of theirs...although hers was red and Anya's was green like the clover he once gave her, there was something really kind about those eyes. They didn't judge. They didn't scold. Damian felt like he could get a tonito in front of them and not feel one ounce of shame. They'd probably find a way to make him laugh again within seconds.

But more striking was the similarities in their smiles. Both had soft smiles at times, but they also wore the same big smile that could light up a room. He often heard that term and never really understood it. How can a smile light up a room? That never made sense. Well, until now. He couldn't explain it, but things just seemed so much

brighter

around them.

Before he could even stop himself, Damian began to think out loud, "Wow. You're just as pretty as your daughter."

"SAY WHAT?!"

Both Loid and Yuri thought at the same time.

"Eh?!" Anya's eyes widened. Didn't Damian think of her legs as stubby and her face to be like a raccoon and her horns were weird? Oh, wait, no, that was his friends.

"Oh!" Yor chuckled, but she couldn't tell what was more amusing: Damian's embarrassed face, Anya's surprise, or Loid's fury in his eyes.

"Awww, what a little Romeo!" Beside them, Charlotte cooed.

Oh, right, there were other people in the room.

It's not until Anya looked at the blonde in particular that she 'realised 'that she didn't 'recognise 'her at all, "Who're you? Are you a fairy?"

Charlotte laughed, "Consider me a fairy godmother, then, dumpling. I'm Charlotte. I'm the Snooty King of Ostania's sister. I'm a much prettier and smarter royal though, don't you think?"

It was meant to be a joke, but Damian snorted, once again unable to contain himself, "If he's anything like his son, he's not very smart 'at all."

'Maybe I judged the child too quickly. He does seem astute.'

Loid thought.

"'Damian' '" William said, thinking it sounded familiar, "Ah, Damian Desmond."

Of course it was. The little bastard was just as arrogant as his father. Although, he probably didn't know that the 'Snooty King of 'Ostania' was there right now.

"You know my name. Big deal." Damian scoffed, "No need to ask yours. Red hair and bad clothes. You must be a Charleton."

"HA! I told you those trousers were awful!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Charlotte, he did technically insult your fashion, too."

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, please, William, as if anyone could honestly say that I have no style. He was obviously referring to you and Uncle Petyr."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Princess, but I promise I wasn't talking about you. You're very pretty, too." Damian smiled. He meant it, too.

Watching this unfold, Loid was starting to get the sense that while Damian was a brat towards male figures, he seemed to be quite polite and charming towards women. How interesting.

Yuri's eyes widened and Franky dropped his jaw.

'This 'little shit was the famous Desmond kid?!'

Franky thought in bewilderment,

'Loid said he was a prick, but wow. Wait, what's he doing here in the first place?'

"Oh, I see. Well, I am friends with your father, young man. I don't think he'd take too kindly to hear how you've been speaking to grown-ups."

Now, part of Damian began to panic. The last thing he wanted was for his father to be mad at him. After all, no matter what, he still wanted his father to be proud of him. Wasn't that what everything Damian did was for? The

But then he remembers the King's own kid. His dumb, stupid, kid who almost got Anya killed.

"Go punish your family before mine!" Damian exclaimed, a bit angrier than he intended, "Maybe you should get Charles to-"

"-to show you his painting!" Anya finished Damian's sentence nervously. It was obvious that if she let him keep talking, he would blab all about what happened in the creek today. "Y-Yeah, we made a drawing of what makes us happy and he drew you! You and his Mama!

Now, Anya only meant to change the subject entirely. She didn't even know the words that came out of her mouth before she even said it. But she never thought that William would suddenly look so sad.

Then she remembered that Charles' Mama, like Damian's, was an angel.

She could hear the thoughts of everyone in that room and she immediately regretted telling the King about it.

'Oh, William...'

'Queen Diana died too young.'

'I wonder what it's been like for the King and the Little Prince all these years?'

But then, that's when a single thought from her Papa's mind caught her interest.

'Diana Thurlow, the only child of the Thurlow family. Upper middle classmen, married off to Lyle Buchanan when she was only 18 and became even wealthier, though still not exactly what you would consider upper class. Diana pursued her education at the University of Ostania with the help of Lyle's support, where she would meet King William Charleton. Public information will tell you that she left her husband who willingly divorced her. But our intel knows that Lyle Buchanan only agreed to let Diana Thurlow go because the Charletons left a hefty sum to Buchanan to entice him to divorce her. A few years after their initial meeting, Diana becomes Queen Diana Charleton, a queen beloved by the public and known to be humble, gentle and kind-hearted. A true 'Queen of the People'. Charles was born only a few months later. But shortly after Charles turned 4, Queen Diana would die at the young age of 25.'

As her father's words rang in her ears, Anya looked at the King. He looked a lot like his son, especially when he was sad. For a few moments, Anya felt sad for him. How awful it must be to lose someone you loved so much. 'In that way, even though she was mad at Charles, she still felt sad for him. He didn't have a Mama to run to and he clearly missed her if she made him so happy. Even in her young mind, it was clear to Anya that the 'Charletons 'were a very lonely bunch.

But she felt her blood turn cold as soon as she heard the rest of her Papa's thoughts,

'I can only imagine the pain of losing the love of your life and having to raise your child alone. That's why you're so desperate to have Yor, isn't it? I can see the similarities: both Yor and Diana were Ostanian and they do have that certain sharp kindness, a perfect mix of being brave yet caring. She would be an excellent replacement: a stand-in for the public of a beloved Queen, a gentle mother's touch for Charles, and most importantly, your next great love story. But you can't. You won't. She won't leave her family for you. No matter how much I sympathise, I can't just let you take Yor away from us.'

Mama? Away from the family?!

Just then, she decided to turn her attention to the King himself. All she knew was that her Mama had been working with the King but she hadn't seen him since Charles' first day. The last she heard, the King seemed interested in her Mama, calling her pretty. At the time, Anya didn't think much of it. After all, everyone called her Mama pretty. It was nothing new.

But when she heard the King's thoughts, she knew that she should have paid more attention.

'I'm sorry, Charles. I know you miss your mother. I miss her, too. But don't worry. You're going to have a new mother soon. You will love her just as much as I do and we can finally be a happy family again. All I have to do is just make you see, Yor. Make you see just how much happier you could be with us. With me.'

Anya had to think fast ' it all made sense! Lately, her mother's been thinking of how nice the King has been. He's been giving her a fancy new job, delicious foods, pretty new jewelry, everything that Becky said was a sign that a man was in love! What if the King se-doozed 'her?

She could see it now:

'Oh, Yor, I love you! Please be my wife! You would be my real one and not just a fake one for Opra-shun Sticks!'

King William 'would say.

Then her Mama would have hearts in her eyes and say,

'Oh, yes, King William, I will be yours! I will be your wife and the mother of Charles instead! I will leave Papa and Anya and never come back! I never liked them anyway! Then Papa will be depressed! Then Anya will go back to the orphanage! Then the Forger family will be no more!'

Eek

!

"Mama?" Anya turned to Yor, "You would never leave us, right?"

Everyone was taken aback at the young girl's sudden question, but none more so than Loid and Yor.

'Does she know I concealed the truth of the severity of Yor's injuries?! No, impossible. This is merely the way children think. They associate a mere scratch from falling down with death. It's a harmless question. So, why do I find myself oddly anxious at Yor's answer?'

Loid wondered.

"Of course not!" Yor exclaimed, absolutely horrified at the thought. For some reason, Loid sighed in relief.

'I could never leave you, sweetheart. Not now, not ever. I'll be here for as long as you'll want me.'

Yor thought, upset that these were words that would forever go unspoken.

Luckily for her, the one she wanted to hear them the most was a telepath. Anya's heart seemed to swell up with joy, but at the same time, the possibility of what could happen with the King kept scaring her.

"You love Anya right?" She asked.

'So, so, so much. So much more than I thought was possible. I never thought I could love someone this much until you hopped into my life with your quirky little self.'

Yor thought once again.

It's times like these when she was forced to confront the reality of just how much she loved her family and how scared she was at losing them. Without 'realising 'it, her eyes began to well up, dangerously close to crying.

"To the moon and back." She answers with a smile.

Anya's grip on her mother tightened as she heard those words, both in her mind and out of her mouth. Having much less control on her emotions than Yor did, Anya began to cry, both tears of happiness over her mother's love but out of anger and hate over what could have happened and what the King was planning.

"And you love Papa?" She squeaked. Of course, Anya knew the answer, but she needed everyone in that room to hear.

She needed that stupid King to hear.

More importantly, she needed Papa to hear.

'Yes. As much as I don't want to say it out loud. As much as I want to pretend that this is all just an act. As much as I noticed William's actions and all I could do was keep thinking about Loid every single time. I don't just love him. I'm in love with him. I love your Papa so dearly and it's both scarier and more exhilarating than any of my missions combined.'

"Of course I do, sweetheart." Yor said, holding her closer, "I love you and your Papa more than anything in this whole world."

Her words were simple enough that it obviously didn't cover the depth of her emotions, but it was at least enough to get everyone in the room feeling sentimental over it.

As much as he hated to admit it, William could obviously see the truth in her words. Even Yuri, who absolutely despised the Forgers for taking his sister away, felt butterflies as he watched just how happy his sister was. Franky, who knew fully well just how fake this all was, took one look at his pal's face and only his best friend (no matter how much Twilight liked to deny Franky was) could see the inner conflict brewing in Loid's emotionally challenged little mind.

Loid could feel his breath hitched, but kept it cool and carefully reminded himself,

'It's just a ruse, Twilight. She has to say that to Anya and to everyone around her.'

"Then...Then I don't want you working for him anymore!" Anya cried, immediately pointing an accusing finger at William.

Everyone immediately gasped, save for Loid, who just seemed shocked at the sudden turn of events.

"Anya!" Yor said, surprised at her daughter's actions.

"He's a bad guy! He wants to steal you away!" Anya said, then turned to William, "I hate you! Leave my Mama alone!"

"Anya, this is very rude of you." Her Papa said.

'That 's my girl. '

Loid thought, resisting the urge to smirk.

"Anya, stop this right now! ' Yor said.

"No!" Anya shook her head, her face red with tears that began to fall, "He wants to take you away! I don 't want you to go away, Mama, please don't go!"

Anya immediately wrapped her tiny arms around Yor's neck and hugged her so tightly that she was briefly scared that she would hurt her (then she remembered her Mama was crazy strong so that's impossible).

Loid was just amused at first at Anya's newfound hatred of William, but as soon as he saw the tears in her eyes, he quickly headed over to them, sitting next to Yor, putting one arm around her and the other gently caressing Anya's hair, "Shh, shh, it's okay..."

"Oh, sweetheart..." Yor whimpered, hugging Anya back tightly, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Please don't cry."

It did take a while, but Anya's sobs were slowly beginning to disappear. It helped knowing that her Mama's thoughts matched what she had thought before. But it didn't stop Anya from being scared. This wasn't just anyone trying to break up her family. It was the

King of 'Ostania

! And if TV has taught her anything, it's that kings, queens, princes and princesses always got what they wanted in the end.

Watching this all unfold, William knew that it wouldn't do well to have the little Forger girl hate him. She could easily turn Yor against him and he knew that he had to win her over somehow, "Anya, please understand, no one is trying to take your mother 'awa-"

"Are you still here?!" Now it was Damian's turn to snap. He didn't know the Forgers. He knew the Charletons even less. But Anya's accusations didn 't surprise him one bit. If the King was anything like his son, Damian wouldn't put it pass him to try and ruin a family. He couldn't understand why. The Forgers obviously loved each other. What kind of person would try to destroy that? And even if it wasn't true, Damian tended to have tunnel vision: the only thing that mattered was that Anya was crying and it was all the King's fault. ' "You heard the girl, go away already!"

"Yeah!" Franky encouraged, "What the little tyrant said!"

"Okay, I think we just all need to take a deep breath." Charlotte encouraged, "Clearly, emotions are running high. I think Anya needs some time alone with Yor. We all need to get out of the room."

"I think that might be a good idea..." Yor said quietly. She then turned to Loid, looking a little worried about everything, "Could you take Damian down to the cafeteria and maybe get some 'jell-o 'for the kids?"

Both Damian and Loid felt a bit reluctant to leave the room, but Damian quickly learned that he was just as capable of saying 'no' to a Forger woman as Loid was.

"I'll be quick." Loid promised before turning to Damian, "Come on, Damian, I'll let you choose the colors."

"That's silly. They all taste the same." Damian huffed, "...But I want the green one."

Yor laughed as Loid and Damian left. She can imagine that Loid wasn't Damian's biggest fan, what with Damian potentially being Anya's first boyfriend and all.

"What's a boyfriend?" Anya asked.

Eh?!

"Erm, it's a special friend. One that you want to be with all the time." Yor said awkwardly, "Like a Mama and Papa. But not married yet."

"Oh." Anya said, then was simply grossed out at the thought of being anyone's girlfriend, much less Sy-On Boy's. Just because she liked his company and wanted to hold his hand all the time didn't mean anything.

Okay, well, she supposed she didn't mind it too much. "So are you Papa's girlfriend?"

"W-What?!" Yor panicked, "Of course not!"

"But don't you love him?" Anya asked, completely perplexed at it all. "Is it because Papa is too stupid to know he's in love with Mama?"

"Anya, your Papa doesn't love me." Yor said softly.

Anya blinked. She knew that her Mama could be dumb sometimes, but surely she couldn't be this much of a dummy?

"Huh? Yes, he does!" Anya exclaimed, "I can hear it!"

"'Hear it'?"

"Erm, I mean, I-I hear it by how he talks to you! The 'sof-ness in his voice! The passion in his actions!" Yes, Anya was completely reciting that one scene in 'Berlint 'in Love. She had no idea what any of it meant. But Carina told this to Allegra to get her to understand Vincent's feelings for her, so she thought maybe this was the right thing to say?

"I suppose." She blinked. She had no idea where Anya picked up these words. My, Eden was proving to give an impressive education every second. "But Anya, things are complicated."

"How?" Anya asked, "You love him. He loves you. We're already a family. Why does it have to be com-cated?"

Well, Yor didn't really have an answer for that. In truth, Anya was right. Well, partially.

She had to consider the reality of the situation: let's say Loid did share her feelings. Would he still love her if he found out who she really was? She's not sure she could face the heartbreak. He'd probably think she's a monster, too dangerous, and keep her away from him and Anya. The very thought of him made her heart clench and she found herself holding onto Anya a little tighter.

"Papa's not perfect." Anya quips, "He has secrets, too, just like Mama! But he'll love you anyway. I know it!"

Especially since Papa was actually a superspy, too.

Really, Anya didn't see the problem. As far as she's concerned, a spy and an assassin would be perfect for each other. Of course, things were much more complicated in reality, even more so than either Yor or Loid could imagine.

But for now, Yor had to admit, she was beginning to believe Anya's words more and more. After all, even her fellow assassins had families. It was uncommon, sure, but not impossible. Who's to say Yor couldn't be one of the lucky ones?

Perhaps things would work out. Maybe, just maybe, things

didn't

have to be so complicated...

Damian's met a lot of scary adults in his life but rarely was he actually scared of them. At the end of the day, most didn't matter. They were ants compared to his father and as far as he was concerned, the only grown-ups he needed to worry about were those who could give him 'stellas 'or 'tonitos.

Loid Forger could give him neither and in the grand scheme of things, a mere psychiatrist didn't matter at all. So why did he scare him so much?

He found himself trying his best to appear like a good boy. He's not sure

why

he wanted to impress the doctor so much, he just did. So, he held his head up high, shoulders back, back straight and walked in an overly fancy manner, like he'd seen in movies. It's not like the young Desmond boy had bad posture or anything. In fact, for a six-year-old, he had rather good posture and carried himself well. But the pressure made him act in an almost cartoonish way.

This didn't escape Loid. It reminded him of when he first saw Anya walk towards her new classmates in an awkward overly fancy manner, trying so hard to fit in.

Part of Loid thought, well, good, he

should

be trying hard and scared of him. It's natural and even expected to be scared of the father of the girl you liked. In Loid's mind, it didn't matter than he was a Desmond. He had to do so much more to prove that he was worthy of Anya.

Then again, Agent Twilight 'recognised 'this as an opportunity to get closer. Anya becoming his friend, as much as he hated the idea, was a good first step, but having Damian scared of Loid may be a problem.

'If he's scared of me, there's less chances that he would invite Anya over and next to no chance of me meeting Donovan Desmond. This is bad for the mission. I need to make sure this child is comfortable with me.'

Loid thought.

No time like the present.

"So, Damian," Loid began, "I hear you received your first stella. Congratulations, your father must be very proud."

"Well..." Damian said, not wanting to admit that he didn't even pick up the phone when he tried telling him, "He was very proud. He's getting me a pony as a reward."

'Damian Desmond is not a good liar'

, Loid noted. It didn't surprise him that his father probably didn't even hear about the stella, let alone give him some sort of prize.

Damian wasn't his kid, of course, but he was his daughter's friend. And moreover, he was still a child. Loid strived to create a world where children didn't cry, but it occurred to him that perhaps he also needed to consider that just because a child didn't cry does not mean that they were unhappy.

Suddenly, he couldn't help but feel bad for the boy. When Anya got a stella, she was rewarded with a dog. Which, in hindsight, was a bit much. What did Damian have?

"I bet that makes you happy." Loid said, going along with the ruse, not wanting to embarrass the boy.

For a while, Damian bit his lip, pondering about it. To Loid's surprise, Damian suddenly asked, "How do you know what makes you the happiest?"

Loid was taken aback by the sudden question. Upon further reflection, it didn't surprise him that much. The boy was at that age where they were naturally inquisitive about everything around him. 'He remembered Anya mentioning Charles' drawing. Being in the same class, he could only assume Damian was tasked with the same assignment. Perhaps the boy had trouble even figuring out what made him happy, if anything.

Yet as much as Loid didn't like to be schooled by a literal six-year-old, he had to admit, he never asked himself these things. Maybe because he couldn't afford to. In Loid's mind, happiness was no longer an option for him, so he never even tried to figure out what did make him happy. Still, it couldn't hurt to answer the boy, hoping he gave a satisfactory answer.

"Well, 'it's 'whatever makes you feel like smiling all the time even if you're trying to hide it. The thought of it going away makes you scared and sad at the same time. All you want to do is for the happiness to stay there and you want to do everything you can to make sure it does..." Loid trailed off, 'realising 'that he knew a lot more about what made him happy than he thought.

'How curious...'

Loid thought,

'If I was asked this question a year ago, would I have been able to answer as easily?'

As for Damian, Doctor Forger's words ruminated in his head. Of course, given his job, he would know the answer. And it made sense, yet Damian couldn't help but feel envious. Did he have something or someone in mind that made him the happiest?

'Maybe...'

Damian thought.

"You love your family, right?" Damian asked.

"Of course, with all my heart." Loid answered effortlessly. He wasn't quite sure if he was answering by necessity and obligation or by truth.

"So, they make you the happiest?" Damian only asked because if he was being honest, he wasn't sure if his own family made him the happiest.

"I..." Loid began. He knew the right answer was to say of course. But the question seemed to be considered by Agent Twilight, who was pondering the truth about it all himself.

'I would have never been able to answer what makes you the happiest a year ago.'

Loid admitted,

'The only thing that's changed is my family. It might be fake, but the feelings are real nonetheless. I've never felt happier than when I'm with them...'

"Yes. No one and nothing has ever made me feel happier than my wife and daughter." Had Damian been more perceptive, perhaps he would have noticed the change in Loid's voice. This was the voice of a man saying something out loud and beginning to figure things out for the first time.

"Love and happiness often go hand in hand." Loid continued, more so thinking out loud than answering Damian at this point, "I guess love's a little different though."

Damian blinked, "How?"

"Well, it 's more than just making you happy. You keep wanting to hug them, kiss them, hold their hand. Everything just seems better when they 're around. Just them being there makes your heart beat faster yet at the same time, you feel calm and at peace with yourself. You start to see things in a different light, like no matter how bad things get, there 's always hope ' ' Loid trailed off, not quite sure how he knew the answer, 'They make you feel like your heart is about to burst with happiness, but in a good way. You can still love someone and be happy for them if they leave, but only if it means they'll be happier away from you, even if it makes you sad."

'Would she be happier away from me?'

"But how do you know if they'll be happier away?" Damian asked.

"It's complicated." Loid sighed. Did the Desmond boy always ask so many questions?

Damian shrugged, "I guess the only way to find out is to ask if they'd be happier with you."

"Yes, I guess so..." Loid agreed, "It's good practice to be open about such things. You mustn't act rashly and just assume you know what they want. It's best to tell them and let them decide. Maybe they need time to sort out their own feelings. But in any case, it's better to be rejected than to be left wondering your whole life 'what if' '"

'What if? What if this happiness didn't have to go away? What if...what if there's more than I want to admit?'

"You're a good psychiatrist, Doctor Forger." Damian complimented after a while, a rare feat to an adult, "I can see why Anya's so happy."

Loid smiled at him. He was beginning to see why Anya liked Damian so much. He was a good kid, deep down, but acted out for his father's attention.

Without 'realising 'it, Damian's questions sparked the beginning of a very important epiphany...

Anya had long fallen asleep in Yor's arms. For a six-year-old, she was awfully tiny, which only heightened Yor's urge to protect her from everything and everyone.

Call it women's intuition, but she sensed that the little girl suffered a lot. Through no fault of Loid, of course, but perhaps through the passing of her birth mother. Granted, she only had Yuri as a frame of reference, but despite losing their parents, Yuri was never scared of losing Yor. At least, not in the sense that he was scared that she would abandon him. 'Loid would know more about it than her, what with him being a psychiatrist and all. But Anya seemed to have some sort of trauma about abandonment.

'I'm not sure what it is, but I'll do everything I can to prove to you that I'm here to stay.'

Yor promised.

'I'll always be here and I hope you'll always want me here. But if you don't, I'll leave. I'd do anything to make you happy, Anya.'

Although Anya was asleep and unable to hear Yor's thoughts, she'd hear it in time again and again. Good. Anya needed to hear it, to feel assured that she was loved and wanted for once.

A gentle knock came to her door and to her surprise, it was William.

"Hi," he whispered upon seeing Anya asleep in her mother's arms, "I was wondering if I could speak to you for a second."

She hesitated, but then she knew that Anya was a heavy sleeper. As long as they spoke quietly, she wouldn't budge.

"Alright, but let's speak softly." Yor said.

William complied, gently shutting the door behind him, "I'm glad I found time to speak to you. Your brother finally went to the restroom and Charlotte and Franky decided that a few minutes would be fine."

Yor smiled at the thought that the only way William could get through was if Yuri wasn't there.

"Anyway, I haven't properly thanked you." William said. "You saved my life back there. I don't know how I can repay you."

"Well," Yor began, ready to recite the words she had been practicing since she woke up, "I do have two things you can do."

William nodded eagerly, sitting on the edge of her bed and putting his hand on her knee, "Anything, Yor. Name it and it shall be yours."

Yor winced, not feeling too comfortable at William's hand on her knee, even if it was over the blanket. She gently moved her leg, causing William to sit up straight and move his hand. She wondered if he 'realised 'just how uncomfortable he just made her.

"The first request is that you insist that it was you who killed the assassin." She said. She could tell that William was perplexed, so she kept speaking, "I'm highly trained in self-defense, as you might have gathered. And yoga, too. But I don't want it in my conscience either way. A man died by my hand and I'd rather never be reminded of it."

...Ha.

"Please, if anyone asks, just say you stopped him. I might have saved your life, but you were the one who knew what to do to kill him. I believe it might even let you gain some respect knowing that you're able to stop someone with your own hands. You'd be a hero." Yor said, trying hard to put a positive spin on this, like he was doing himself a favor as opposed to her.

"I suppose I could accommodate that." He agreed, though he wasn't too sure why she wouldn't want to take the credit. It's not 'everyday 'a woman can say she saved the King

and

killed an assassin. With such remarkable technique, too. Had he not known better, he would have believed Yor was trained in this sort of thing. "Anything else? You only need to ask and it's yours."

'Including myself.'

He thought.

She took a deep breath, careful in her next words and not wanting to offend him, "I think I want some distance between us."

As soon as the words came out of her lips, he could feel his heart drop. Where did this come from? Was it because she was scared?

"Yor, if this has anything to do with what happened today, I assure you, you'll be perfectly safe next time you enter the castle, I'll-" he began to bargain, but Yor shook her head.

"No, it's not that. It's that I'm beginning to think that you're

'interested'

in me." Just saying the words made her blush with embarrassment.

She didn't know much about love. Much like her daughter, most of what she knew came out of watching shows. But she knew that when a man paid this much attention and showered you with gifts, it could only mean one thing.

You'd think that William would be embarrassed himself, openly admitting to wanting a married woman. But it wouldn't be the first time and he decided that he couldn't bear 'to hide his feelings any longer. Almost losing her today just made him more sure that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"I am." He admitted, "I'm sorry, but I truly am. I know it's wrong given that you are a married woman, but I can't fight it anymore."

"William-" she began, but he refused to let her continue, not without knowing how he felt.

"When you were closing your eyes and in my arms earlier, I thought this was it. You would be gone before I could even tell you how I truly feel. Well, I won't make that mistake again, Yor. Life is too short and we are far too old to pretend there's nothing happening. 'I believe that you might feel something for me, don't you?"

No, she didn't.

Perhaps she foolishly thought she did, but it had nothing to do with William himself.

It was the fact that he was being very open with his pursuit and Loid was not. It was the similar height and build he had to Loid. It was the same facial features that made him and Loid look like cousins. It had nothing to do with the King. Had Yor not met Loid before, she's not even sure she would think twice about William.

But now she knew better and it wasn't fair to William to be Loid's stand-in. Whether Loid reciprocated or not, William deserved better and in the end, it didn't matter: Yor knew a long time ago that she would stay loyal to this family, no matter what would happen.

"I'm sorry, William." She said, "But I don't. Loid, however..."

What she felt for Loid was indescribable at this point. Not only because she'd never experience it before, but because it was all so overwhelming that she couldn't find the words to explain it.

"I'm sorry that Loid hurt you. He shouldn't have done that. But he wasn't wrong in thinking that you're being too forward with your intentions. You need to respect my relationship with my husband." Yor said firmly. She wanted William to really understand this point.

'I must be stronger.'

Yor thought,

'I'm plenty strong physically. But I need to be better, for my family. I need to show them that I can be strong in other ways, too.'

So, she chose to be a little less like Yor Briar and a little more like, well, not exactly like Thorn Princess. She needed an in-between, still remaining true to herself but learning to be more open and strict with people.

Like Yor Forger.

"But does he care for you the way that I do?" William had no doubt that Loid wanted to keep Yor. As any man would. Men are naturally territorial. It's the reason why, for instance, men who didn't want to take his sister as their wife would still be jealous when she courted another. It's why Lyle Buchanan was mad with jealousy when William first showed interest in Diana. In his mind, he figured that Loid loved Yor, as much as any man would love the mother of their child, but did he love

her

?

Not even Yor knew. And this scared her more than any assassination she had to carry out.

Seconds later, the door burst open once again, scaring Anya who immediately woke up.

"Okay, you've had your chance to talk, now get out!" Yuri commanded.

William sighed. Of course he'd be back before he could know the answer.

'The answer to what?

' Anya asked, still bleary-eyed from her nap, '

What's going on?'

"Yuri, don't be rude." Yor chastised, "You're speaking to the King."

"Please, it's fine. I, too, wouldn't be so fond of myself right now." He said, hanging his head in shame. No, not because he was chasing after Yor, but more of the fact that Yor got hurt because of him.

"I'm not 'apologising 'for squat! He got you in trouble, sis! And if you ask me, getting a beating from me

and

Lottie isn't enough!" Yuri huffed.

"Can the King get a beating from Anya, too?" Anya quipped.

Yuri excitedly nodded while Yor shook her head, "No!"

Seconds later, Loid and Damian arrived once more, with Loid carrying a tray full of jelly and Damian already eating his green one.

Why was it 'everytime 'he went into this room, everything just felt so chaotic and full of energy? Despite himself, Damian was amused. It was like being in a real-life drama or something.

Seeing the sweets, Anya immediately hopped off the bed and ran towards the boys.

"Nothing's ever boring with you, is it?" Damian commented as he handed Anya the red jelly.

As she turned to her family, she just gave a huge smile, "Nope. And I love it just the way it is."

Yes, Anya's family was getting larger by the minute. Uncle Yuri and Uncle Franky. Maybe even Charlotte might be her new Auntie. Because Sy-On Boy's own family didn't like him, she'll gladly welcome him into hers. But then there was an interloper, threatening to destroy her perfect balance (yes, another term she heard on TV).

William knew the odds were against him. Everyone in that room wanted him as far from Yor as possible, potentially even Yor herself.

He couldn't give up. Not now. He knew Yor felt something, he could feel it. Of course, he could understand why she'd want to stay out of obligation. But how could he make her see that it didn't have to be this way? She was a free woman and she had a choice. She could easily leave and be with him. Loid and Anya would be fine on their own.

It's not like he went out to find a married woman to fall for, it just happened by chance. But these things so often do. People fall for people they shouldn't 'everyday.

And he's suffered so, so much. God took the love of his life away, left his son motherless. Didn't he deserve someone? Didn't his son deserve better? No, he can't let this go.

How could anyone expect him to give up his last chance at true love?

Anya scowled, hearing his thoughts. "I hate that guy."

It was nearly dinnertime and Damian had to return to Eden, much to both his and Anya's reluctance. He had kept her company, carefully watching and making sure she didn't suddenly get upset at her mother's condition or what almost happened to her. To his delight, it seems like Anya was quickly back to her normal happy self.

But alas, the time came for him to leave. Loid offered to drive him home, which Damian accepted given that there was no other way of getting home. But before they both left, Anya ran up to Damian and gave him another big hug.

"Thanks so much for being here, Sy-On Boy!" she smiled.

Both her mother and her father watched this exchange. Yor had a big smile on her face but Loid was not pleased at all.

As for Damian, well, he was red-faced but at the same time, he didn't want to tell Anya to let go of him.

"Alright, Anya, Damian has to go now." Loid said, quickly pushing Damian out of the room.

Damian had to admit, he felt a bit sad that Anya wasn't hugging him or holding his hand anymore. He wanted her to keep doing it but at the same time, he was sort of glad. She held his hand so tightly because she was afraid. Now, everything was alright, so she didn't feel the need to hold his hand anymore.

So, you know, silver lining, he supposed.

Anya and the pretty blonde lady accompanied Loid and Damian outside. It was getting pretty late, so it was definitely time for Damian to go home. Well, return to Eden's dorms, anyway. Admittingly, he wished he could stay. The Forgers were unexpectedly fun. No one person was the same as the next and they were all so messy and loud and open. So different from the people in his world. Perhaps that's why he liked them so much.

Despite it all, there was so much love in the air. Everyone cared for someone in that room to the point where it almost felt overwhelming to him.

As Loid Forger drove him home, he began to think about today.

So deep in his thoughts, he didn't even notice the song playing on the radio.

Bittersweet and strange

Finding you can change

Learning you were wrong...

He didn 't even notice that he was back in Eden 's campus before Loid snapped him back into reality, 'Damian? We 're here. '

'Oh ' ' Damian said. Strangely enough, he felt a bit upset that he would be gone from the Forgers. 'Thank you for the ride, Mr Forger. '

'You 're welcome, Damian. ' Loid nodded. Before he could think about it, he felt like he had to leave on somewhat good terms. 'Before you leave, have you figured out what makes you the happiest? '

Damian paused. No, he hadn 't.

But Mr Forger certainly gave him a lot to think about.

'When I do, I 'll let you know. ' Damian answered. He had a feeling this wouldn 't be the last time he spoke to Loid Forger.

Loid nodded, waving goodbye as Damian left. Of course, Loid waited until Damian was inside the halls before driving away, just to make sure the kid was safe.

He had to admit: Loid was surprised of the change in the Desmond boy. When he first met him, Damian was rude and very haughty. Well, he was still haughty. But he wasn 't rude anymore. If Loid didn 't know any better, he thought that perhaps Damian was beginning to like him.

'I suppose it 's only natural. Since Damian obviously likes Anya, he would want to impress her parents. '

Loid thought, slightly frowning.

'Still, I suppose it 's better than Charles. '

As for Damian, absent-mindedly walk through the halls of Eden, he kept thinking about the whole day. It 's been quite a whirlwind.

Saving Anya. Holding her hand. Convincing his friends to be her friends. Meeting the Forgers. The conversation he had with Mr Forger.

It was a lot.

Take out the near-death experience of Anya, he had to admit, the whole day felt kind of 'fun?

He can 't remember the last time he felt it.

Then he remembered. It was when he gave Anya that clover. Or when he won the race with her.

Wait a second.

He thought back to that art class. Before his fight with Charles, he remembered trying to figure out the missing picture in his drawing. He knew something belonged there but couldn 't figure out what.

It wasn't the adoration of his classmates. It 'wasn 't 'how people fawned over his status. It was certainly not his brother or family. 'It wasn 't really the stellas, even.

But then it hit him. At the time, he decided to let his pencil do the work for him, more so drawing than thinking at the time in hopes to discover what was meant to be there.

'How did I miss that? '

Damian asked himself as he remembered what he began to draw that day.

The beret. The horns. He even took a pink pencil in his hand.

It was Anya.

She made him happy.

No, she did more. It wasn 't the same way that Emile and Ewen made him happy. It was in a way that made him want to smile all the damn time even though he tried to hide it. It was in a way that had his stupid heart beating stupidly fast. It was in a way that he never wanted her to go away.

It was also in the way that he wanted to make sure she was happy, with or without him.

It 's why he was so insistent on 'bullying ' her. He wanted her to notice him but he couldn 't face what he felt about her so he acted mean instead of telling her how much he liked her. No, how much he

liked

liked her. He thought she was cute the first time he laid eyes on her, but then she went on and punched him and stood up to him and whatever was brewing just snapped further into place.

'I 'd rather die than admit it! '

Those were the exact words he once said when Anya came to apologise.

Admit what? How did he miss it?

It's always been there, from the very beginning. It was Anya. Always Anya.

Oh, he was so screwed.

Because God help him, he had been falling in love with Anya Forger the moment he met her.

As Loid Forger drove away, he was left with his own thoughts. Or rather, his conversation with Damian.

It still surprised him that he was able to answer the boy with such fluency. It was like he had already experienced it all before without realizing it.

So engrossed in his thoughts, he somehow failed to focus on the song playing on the radio in the background.

Wise men say 'only fools rush in'

But I can't help falling in love with you

Shall I stay? 'Would it be a sin?

If I can't help falling in love with you

No, it was time to ask questions about it all.

So, Loid decided to put his Agent Twilight face on and assess everything happening.

Fact 1: he knew what to say when asked about love and happiness.

The reality of what happened slowly hits him. There was no way he could answer this years ago. He'd be stumped and probably just recite the definition of love and happiness from the dictionary. But this wasn't just some textbook answer. It came from him. It was how he truly felt.

Since when did he trust his feelings more than facts?

Fact 2: he kept making excuses to be with Yor. To touch her, to call her pet names, to be with her.

Why?

There was absolutely no need to. Not anymore. At this stage, they could convince anyone and everyone that they were a couple. No one doubted anymore. And even if they did, what did it matter? The goal of getting Anya into Eden was already achieved.

But he did things even when they weren 't in public. To what end? In the name of 'practicing '? For what? They had gotten close enough, but he kept going above and beyond.

This can't happen again. But as the age old saying goes, how could something wrong feel so right?

Fact 3: he lost control everytime something happened with Yor and William.

He doesn't want to acknowledge it, but at this point, he has to admit that his actions when it came to Yor were out of control. Out of

his

control.

Why on earth would he pick a fight with the King of Ostania? Not only would that somehow put him in his radar, but it would just reflect badly on him and jeopordise his true identity.

He knocked out the freaking guardsmen, for crying out loud. Something that he should have avoided at all cost because it only showed off his abilities as a spy.

And yet, when it came to confronting William, there was no tactic. No strategic fighting. It was rage. Pure brutal rage and he couldn 't help it. He just wanted William to be hurt for what he had done to Yor.

He had no reason to do it. Deep down, he knew it wasn 't William 's fault. How could he have predicted an assassin would come? If there was one thing Loid couldn 't fault, it was that William would care about Yor 's safety. Yet Loid was so quick to blame him and even now, he still does even though it defied all logic.

He willingly defied the King of Ostania, all for her.

But even long before William was in the picture, on several occasions, Loid would care just a little too much about Yor.

He cared when the examiner made her feel incompetent back in Eden. Why? He had just met her. He remembered thinking she 's not even his real wife, so why on earth did he care so much? His fists clenched when that asshole Swan insulted her. Why did he want to defend her and make her feel good about herself on several occasions?

Fact 4: a few hours ago, he nearly kissed Yor Forger.

And he was weak. So, so very weak, all to a woman who was literally in a hospital bed. Yet he feels like she could have driven a knife to his chest so very easily and he would have let her.

He had his hands on her waist. He didn 't react when she was practically on top of him. All the women he 's seduced before all in the name of the mission, since when did he ever feel like this?

Like nothing else mattered except for her in that moment. Not even the mission was considered. In fact, you might even say that he didn 't care about any of it.

And that is how it all became clear to Loid Forger.

Who was he kidding? He told himself that he just wanted Yor to be repaid for her service in Operation Strix, nothing more. That he wouldn 't care if she moved on and never spoke to him again even after. But that was all a lie. He didn't want Yor with William. He didn't want Yor with anyone.

He wanted Yor.

He wanted to be the one holding her. He wanted to be the first person she touched when she woke up. He wanted her to look at him tenderly, longingly, lustfully, lovingly. He never wanted a single man to touch her.

She was his. Only his.

In a million years, Loid never expected that this would be his most dangerous mission yet. Not only did his daughter melted his heart, but then in comes Yor Briar and her rose red irises and steals his heart.

Yor Briar and her deadly strength but kind heart. Her sacrifices to make someone else happy.

But he could no longer deny that this was not a new development. ' It never was. It 's been growing since the beginning. It was the 'thorn princess', the poison that seeped in subtly, growing stronger overtime and finally hit its victim like a thunderbolt.

Yet this was no poison. It was sweet. It was pure. It was him and it was her.

It was the fact that nothing else mattered. Not WISE, not the world, not Agent Twilight. The only thing that mattered was his family.

His girls. His downfall. His inspiration.

Oh, he was doomed from the start.

Because, God help him, he had been falling in love with Yor Briar the moment he found her.