"And then, Anya showed me her Stella. She was the first in the class to get a Stella star! Well, she was also the first to get a 'Tonito, but still. She did it because she punched Damian Desmond in the face!" Charles said.

William laughed, "Really? That sweet little girl punched a Desmond?"

Charles nodded, "Becky says it's because Anya was protecting her. Isn't she cool?"

'Protecting someone, huh?

', William chuckled,

'Like mother, like daughter, I suppose.'

They were awfully close to each other. He could tell by the smile on Yor's face when she saw Anya. 'Though it's odd. Anya looked nothing like her parents. But he supposed there must be something running in the Forger blood, because much like how his son couldn't stop thinking about Anya Forger, William couldn't stop thinking about her mother.

What a fascinating woman. She was feminine and respectful, but the fierce look in her eyes when she thought that William was going to be attacked...well, he's never seen anything quite like it before. 'Well, that's a lie. He was suddenly reminded of Charles' late mother: the most beautiful woman in the world, voice as soft as rain, but could put the fear in an entire room with but the icy look in her eyes.

As he watched his son speak about the girl, William smiled bittersweetly. His wife would have loved to witness their son's first crush.

Life could be cruel, sometimes.

For instance, he finds a woman so alluring and enchanting yet he's unable to approach her. At least, not the normal way he would.

He could laugh at the irony. For three years, his advisors pestered him to remarry. It's not like there was a lack of willing candidates: the Charleston genes of having a tall frame, silky red hair, piercing gray eyes, were already winning combinations on their own but when you combine royalty into it, well, of course women were flocking from every corner.

But there was often a problem with these women: either they were clearly only interested in him for his title or they were obviously not fond of Charles. William could never be with a woman who was unkind to children.

Of course, it definitely helped that Yor was beautiful.

Sadly, she was married. Although, who's to say she was happy? She did act rather oddly around her husband. He found it strange that a father could not make time to regularly see his wife and child.

As he looked at the stack of documents on his table. All those meetings that needed to be done, so much agendas, and requirements, it suddenly occurred to him that maybe...

He needed a clerk.

It was only a day, but it only took a day to figure out that absolutely everybody loved Charles. Every teacher couldn't stop talking about how smart he was, every boy wanted to be his friend, every girl wanted to be his princess.

Now, these are things that Damian normally wouldn't care much about. Okay, that's a lie, he did like having people be in awe over the fact that he was

the

Damian Desmond. ' But it's not like that power was completely gone: people still respected him, after all. They still liked him and his word was still law around here and no prince was going to change that.

So why exactly did Charles irk him so much?

Well, to be fair, Charles didn't irk him all the time. 'But 'everytime 'Damian looked over at Anya, she was always looking over at Charles. For some reason, it annoyed him. What's so great about that Charles anyway? Is it the prince thing? Pff. Princes are overrated. Father told him that the royals don't actually have any power anyway. So, if you think about it, Damian is much better than Charles could ever be.

Unfortunately, Anya didn't think that way.

It was PE and as usual, lots of people surrounded Charles. Despite his popularity, it seems that Charles remained humble and friendly to everyone. 'Anya's not quite sure why she was suddenly always happy and excited to see Charles. He was just so nice and cool and he's a prince! Why wouldn't she like him?

The best part is, Anya knew for a fact he liked her, too.

'Aw. Why's everyone talking to me? I wanted to sit next to Anya. She looks pretty with her hair tied up. Is she looking at me? Do I look at her? Oh, no, what did this boy beside me just ask me? Um...oh, I really should listen to people when they're talking to me!'

Anya giggled at the Prince's thoughts. Boys were stupid, but they were funny sometimes, too.

How unfortunate that Anya wasn't paying attention. If she had listened to the whole room instead of listening to Charles, she might have heard something interesting in the mind of one Damian Desmond...

'

Hm. Seems like she likes him, too. He probably likes her back. But that's not fair! I saw her first! Erm, I mean, I don't care. I really, really, really, don't care.'

"Do you think Anya's going to become a princess?" Ewen asked out of curiosity.

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Damian said, causing Ewen and Emile to jump.

"Sorry, Boss! We were just wondering! But you're right. She doesn't deserve to be a princess!" Emile justified.

Damian grumbled. That's not exactly why. But Emile had a point.

"Yeah, princesses are dumb." He finally said.

What did princesses do all day except for sing to animals and sleep? Nothing. Anya shouldn't be a princess. He couldn't see her being something so dull and boring. She was too, well, 'Anya' for that. No, she's not worthy of being a princess. She was a...a superhero. The kind who punched the bad guys and fought for world peace. That's who Anya Forger was, not somebody's stupid princess.

Hmm. Well, okay, if Anya was a superhero, does that mean Damian was...the bad guy?

"Alright, everyone, we're doing three-legged races today. You'll have to learn to work together. So, everyone, get into groups of two!" The gym teacher announced, breaking his thoughts. Thank goodness, too, because he was starting to feel guilty and he's not really sure why.

"Oh, okay!" Becky said and she and Anya automatically glued together.

"No, Miss Blackwell. At this academy, we want to teach 'you 'children from the beginning that you have to learn to get along with the opposite gender!"

"Upset 'genwunner?" Anya asked.

The coach sighed. "That means we want boy-girl groups."

Across the hall, Anya immediately looked at Charles. He was, after all, the only boy who was nice to her. To her surprise, even though he was immediately surrounded by a sea of girls who wanted to be his partner, Charles caught her eye and smiled. He immediately began walking towards her and Anya waited in anticipation.

The closer he got, the more the kids around held their breath. 'Was the prince really asking the delinquent to be his partner?!

They were right in front of each other now, and everyone in the room gasped as they watched. It was like watching a real life cartoon where the prince asked the princess to dance with him. Kind of like Cinderella.

"It fits too, because Anya's so poor too!"

Becky thought, squealing at the sight.

Instead of a gym class, they were all transported to a beautiful ballroom in a magical castle. It was a beautiful night and everyone was in high spirits. Everything smelled like roses and candy. They all wore dresses but none more beautiful than Anya's. They could all see it now: though Anya was a commoner, she enchanted Prince Charles. The moment he saw her, Prince Charles walked to the middle of the ballroom. Under the shining stars, Princess Anya would wait as he would ask for her hand to dance.

In the eyes of every first grader there, they were witnessing a fairytale, with pastel colors and stars and glitters everywhere.

"Hello, Anya." Charles smiled pleasantly, though the slight blush on his cheek was noticeable.

Anya couldn't help but turn pink herself. "H-Hi, Char-"

Anya was then yanked away from Charles' view. The sudden action made him jump a bit and when he looked for Anya, all he saw was Damian Desmond dragging her away by her hand.

The whole class groaned as their fairytale fantasies immediately snapped out and they were back to the smelly gym.

"Come on, Short Legs, you're my partner."

"WHAT?!" Anya gasped, "B-But, Charles-"

"What about him?" Damian huffed. Then he crossed his arms and looked away as he asked, "I mean, would you rather be his partner?"

Well, yes. Duh. Why on earth would Anya want to be his partner?

She was about to say just that, but then she remembered: the mission! Of course! She can't let a pretty face distract her from the mission!

Then she also noticed the look on Sy-On boy's face and suddenly she was confused. Why did Sy-On boy 'look so upset?

'She can't possibly say no, right?

I mean, if she does, well, then fine, she can go with him. I don't care. I don't.

But, so, does she not like me? Does that she means she likes him more than me?'

"I don't!" Anya blurted out. As she tended to, she spoke before she could 'realise 'she was hearing something she wasn't supposed to.

Damian looked confused, "Huh?"

"I like Sy-On boy!" Anya promised.

Well, she wasn't actually lying. Sometimes, she hated Sy-On boy. But there were times when he was kind to her and suddenly she liked him again. Actually, come to think about it, he was a total...

"You're a 'tsundere."

Besides, despite their fighting, Anya doesn't actually dislike him. "Sometimes you're mean, but then you act like a good guy. You're like a tsundere."

Damian nearly tripped over himself, "WHAT?! I am not a 'tsundere! Don't say stupid things, Short Legs!"

"But why do you want to be Anya's partner?"

"Because..." Damian scrambled for ideas. Even when the little 'pinkette 'tried to read his mind, all she heard were panic thoughts until finally one settled, "Because your short legs will make it easier for us to win.

"What? How?"

"I don't have time to explain, just...just come on!" He said as they headed towards the gym teacher, who was giving out ropes to each pair.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anya saw Charles looking at her. He was partnered up with another girl from the class, but Anya saw that despite the girl talking, Charles wasn't paying much attention.

'I wish she was my partner instead. Why did the Desmond boy have to pick her like that? I don't get it. I thought he didn't like her.

Oh. She's looking!'

Anya laughed, giving a big wave to him.

Charles couldn't help but smile at the girl's antics. He began to wave back, but suddenly, his view of Anya was immediately blocked by Damian, who put an arm on front of her loke some sort of shield, "Hey, Charleton, you're the enemy, stop being all nice with her!"

"Damian,

no one

is an enemy." The gym teacher reassured, rubbing the temples of his forehead. Did the infamous Desmond paranoia reach even 6-year-olds, too?

"And Charles would never be Anya's enemy, he likes her!" Becky loudly proclaimed.

Giggles spread in the classroom as they all began to chant, "

Charles likes 'Anyaaa!

"

Suddenly, all eyes were on Anya. She could hear thousands of thoughts running through her mind, all teasing her for her crush, so she loudly said, "He does not!"

"

Anya likes 'Chaaarles!"

The class chanted again.

Damian growled, "She does not!"

"

Damian likes 'Anyaaaa!"

Damian turned the same shade of pink as Anya's hair. Thankfully, his friends were there to defend his honor.

"He does not!" Ewen defended.

"Ewen likes Damian!"

To everyone's surprise, Becky was the one to say, "He does not!"

"Becky likes Ewen!"

And it all came back to full circle with Emile saying, "She does not!"

"Emile likes Ewen!"

"Enough, nobody likes Ewen!" The gym teacher said, "Nobody likes anyone!"

"Anya doesn't like you very much." She deadpanned at the annoyed gym teacher.

He sighed,

'They told me the pink-haired one would be trouble. They told me her and the Desmond boy were a recipe for disaster and I just didn't listen...'

'...What did I do?'

Anya thought.

"Can everyone just tie their ankles together already?" The teacher sighed, deciding that after today, he would announce his retirement.

'Why does every teacher I have always think that?

' Anya wondered.

Regardless, all pairs had their ankles tied together. Even though Stellas weren't involved, the Eden children were notoriously competitive, all vying for some form of praise so that they could brag to their parents.

Except for Anya, who honestly couldn't have cared less in any normal circumstances.

But being paired with Sy-On Boy meant that she needed to win. Why? It was simple:

Step 1 ' Sy-On Boy wins with Anya

Step 2 ' Sy-On Boy wants to be her friend

Step 3 ' Anya, being Sy-On Boy's new bestie, says she wants to visit his house

Step 4 ' Sy-On Boy says yes, Papa and the Bad Guy meet and Papa convinces him to be nice or else Mama will beat him up

Step 5 ' World Peace

Fool-proof plan.

The kids were instructed to go on one end of the gym class, as the coach set up a paper string on the other end that would mark the finish line and the winners.

For all their tiny five and six year old legs, the kids stared at the big space they had to run across to get to the finish line. To them, it would take forever!

But instead of focusing on the game, Anya couldn't help but take a 'peak 'at Damian's thoughts...

'

Why did I choose her as a teammate? She's like the worst person to team up with in a race. She's got tiny legs, we'll never get there in time.

Now, a part of Anya would suddenly feel very discouraged hearing those thoughts. Instead, it filled her with a fire inside and she was now more determined than ever to win Sy-On Boy's friendship and achieve world peace.

'I'll use Mama's killer running technique...and what I've seen in cartoons.'

Anya decided.

"Oy, don't get arrogant. You were the same last time during dodgeball, remember?" Damian said, remembering just how fearsome Anya looked, only to completely throw like, well, a girl.

"It's not the same!" Anya insisted, "There's no Stella. So we can just pretend so we can win."

Damian raised his eyebrow, "Pretend?"

"Yes! You and I are spies and we're here to get world peace, but then the bad guys found us and now they're chasing after us so we have to get to the end first!" Anya declared, suddenly excited with her idea.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Damian deadpanned.

Anya sighed. "You're so boring."

"Eh?!" Damian screeched, "I'm not boring,

you're

boring! 'Desmonds 'aren't boring!"

"Fine, then don't worry Agent Sy-On Boy Desmond." She said, eyes deadly determined, fists clenched, and knees out and ready to battle. "This time...we will not fail."

Yes, she was totally trying to mimic Bondman in last night's episode.

'Tch. She's so ridic-'

But Damian Desmond wasn't even able to finish his thought because before he knew it, it was time to start the race.

And here's the real shocker.

They were actually ahead.

And Damian was actually having trouble keeping up with Anya's speed.

"S-Slow down!" He told Anya, but Anya wasn't having it.

"We can't let our enemies win!" She exclaimed. Yes, again, from Bondman.

"'Enemies'?" Damian repeated, frantically trying not to trip as he kept up with Anya.

But then, Damian tried to imagine Anya's ridiculous little fantasy scenario: him and Anya, heroes running away from the bad guys. They've trained for this their whole lives and this was the Big Mission before the happy ending. They had to escape and they could only escape together. He looked at the paper string that marked the finish line and imagined it was a portal closing up and if they didn't make it in time before their enemies, they would be trapped there forever.

In short...

"WE CAN'T LET OUR ENEMIES WIN!"

Damian roared as he found himself finally matching Anya's speed (well, almost, anyway).

Across the hall, Henry Henderson watched how curiously, Anya and the Desmond boy were suddenly perfectly in-sync with each other. It was almost hypnotic to watch and quite unusual for children to be so coordinated. Especially when they hated each other so much.

Or at least claimed to.

But in Damian's case, all he could think about was how fun this kind of was. Pretending, he means. That this wasn't gym class at all. No school, no academics, no nothing.

Though Damian didn't 'realise 'it, he was smiling and enjoying himself. Being a Desmond meant all sorts of things and one of them was everything always had to be taken seriously. But this, right now, he 'kinda 'wished this could go on longer. Was it because for once, nothing was at stake, or was it her effect?

Wait.

Damian's thoughts stopped once he saw the wall right in front of him. 'There was no more space to run to. 'They were at the end of the finish line. 'He looked around and no one else was there.

They won.

THEY WON.

Damian took Anya by her shoulders and smiled, "WE WON!"

"WE WON!" Anya said excitedly, beginning to jump.

To the shock of everyone, Damian mirrored her.

They all stared for a few seconds as mortal enemies, Anya Forger and Damian Desmond, held each other excitedly, jumped in circles, and sang 'we won' ever and over again.

"We won, we won, we won!"

Henry watched curiously. Was this elegant 'behaviour? It would be under normal circumstances. It's inelegant to be such a boastful winner.

However, these were not normal circumstances.

He was under no illusion that the Forger girl and the Desmond boy had a rivalry of some sorts. An outside perspective might even assume that Damian was bullying Anya, though in reality, it looked more like typical childish bickering than anything else.

It was admirable for them to win despite their alleged disdain. In fact, one may argue they've learned the very lesson that this particular class was meant to teach: learning to overcome adversity despite differences.

He couldn't help but smile at the sight. It was also very rare that the Desmond boy truly smiled and actually looked like the child he is.

But soon (well, soon-ish), the two slowly began to realise the attention they were drawing and began to stop.

Faster than the speed of light, Damian immediately stepped away from Anya. He cooly put his hands in his pocket and looked down, clearing his throat.

"Good job, Forger."

She blinked. Why did he call her by her last name?

"Thanks...Desmond?" She said, but the name felt odd to say.

"Don't call me that!" Damian snapped, feeling his cheeks getting red, "Just...call me Damian. Or Sy-On Boy, like you always do."

Before he knew it, a huge smile spread on Anya's face, "Okay, Sy-On Boy!"

To his surprise, his usual urge to snap back wasn't there. All he could see was how happy and excited she was, over something so silly, too. It's not like they actually won anything special.

"Anya! You won!" Becky said, running excitedly to her friend and giving her a big hug.

That didn't annoy Damian, as Becky being around Anya was as common as Emile and Ewen being around him. But then, the Stupid Prince showed up right beside Becky and as soon as Becky was done, he ended up giving her a hug, too.

"You're so cool, Anya!" He heard him say.

Why did Damian suddenly feel so mad?

Was it because Anya hugged him back? Or was it that look on Anya's face when she did hug him? He'd never seen that look on her face before. She looked like the girls in those movies, drooling over the boy with cool super-powers.

Charles didn't have any super-powers. Why was she drooling over him?

"Sy-On Boy was so fast, too!" Anya insisted, reverting the attention back to him.

Admittingly, he was surprised she didn't forget about him. Whenever Damian's brother was around, his Father would always end up ignoring him. Although he was still young, Damian had grown accustomed to it and expected the same.

But as he looked at Anya Forger's bright green eyes, full of anticipation for him to speak with her friends, he turned bright red yet again. He wasn't really sure what to say, only that he had to say

something

, so he ended up blurting out, '"Yes, well...you run good."

If it was any more possible, her eyes sparkled even more with excitement. Was he just fooling himself or did that simple and oafish compliment made her happier than Stupid Prince's hug?

"Yeah, you were so cool, Boss!" He saw Emile and Ewen immediately step in between him and Anya.

Evidently, Anya took that as a sign to make her leave as she and Becky began walking around together, whispering to each other. To his delight, Charles didn't go with them. Instead, some of their classmates made a circle around Charles, asking him to be their next partner.

All eyes on royalty, except for Damian who could only look at the commoner. How odd. He supposed after further consideration, he didn't actually

hate

her. She's annoying. And she's still a peasant. And she's still really, really weird. But she wasn't all bad. She was nice...and pretty strong. And 'kinda 'funny with the faces she make sometimes.

But yes, Damian supposed he was somewhat fond of Anya, but that didn't mean he

liked

her.

Of course not.

Stop thinking otherwise.

'Peasants.

Franky arrived at the Forger residence with newfound resolve, a determined face, and a bag full of weapons and armor if needed.

You see, last night, at exactly 1am, he received a message from Agent Twilight, telling him that he needed to be at the Forger residence at 1700 hours sharp and that he had to prepare for a mission vital for Operation Strix. He didn't specify what, so naturally, Franky came prepared.

At 1700 hours, right on time, Agent Twilight opened the door. He was wearing one of his nicer suits, so Franky could only imagine they were going undercover.

"Alright, I'm here, what's the big mission?" Franky said, fist pumping and full of adrenaline.

The slightly opened door became wider as the Forger child squeezed her way in, "Operation is play Spies and Princesses with Anya!"

As she opened the door, the apartment was covered in toys that looked like they were designed to be booby traps (for a child anyway). Bond was wearing a dog collar made to look like a suit collar, Anya's dolls were dressed up in fancy clothing, and Anya herself was holding a toy gun.

He also spotted the incredibly smoking 'Mrs 'Forger in the back, putting her thick winter coat over a very pretty dress that showed off most of her, um, 'assets'.

Anya blinked. '

Mama is on fire? Why does everyone keep thinking she's hot? Papa kept thinking it for hours since Mama put on the pretty dress. But it's winter, she should be cold.'

"Oh, Franky!" Yor smiled as she wrapped a red scarf around her neck, "Thanks so much for coming on short notice! Loid said you had plenty of free time, but it's still very kind of you to come and babysit."

"

Babysit?!"

He repeated, looking at Loid, who only gave an innocent smile.

"Yes, I know it's short noticed but the restaurant I wanted to go to finally had an opening and I just can't miss the opportunity to spend time with my wife. It is important to go on dates together, after all." Loid kept giving a very innocent explanation that made Franky want to throw the bag full of weapons at him.

"Fine, fine..." Franky sighed. He supposed babysitting was probably better than spending the night getting shot at. "But you owe me!"

"Thanks, Franky, you're the best." Loid tapped his shoulder as he put his arm out for Yor to take. '"Anya, on your best 'behaviour, okay?"

"Promise! Scruffy and I will have a great time!" Anya nodded.

As Loid and Yor left on their date, Loid couldn't help but grin. He could feel Franky's eyes burning in the back of his head.

Though Loid's not sure what he was complaining about. After all, he was proving to be a valuable asset to Operation Strix.

And it was. After all, it would be a huge problem if Yor was pulling away from them. How else could they maintain their image?

Of course, this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that a very attractive man was interested in is wife. Nothing at all.

As for Yor, she was a little bit surprised. Loid's asked her on the occasional 'date', just as a treat to say thank you for everything she's been doing, really. Although if you asked her, she should be thanking him. After all, he did give her a family.

It's curious. Once upon a time, Yor's family was only her and Yuri. Then Yuri grew up, of course, and in Yor's mind, her sole purpose to exist was fulfilled: she had made sure that her little brother was protected, safe, healthy, and happy. He was now a grown man and there was nothing more than she could do. So all she kept doing was her job. It gave her a sense of purpose, at least. She was getting rid of bad people who would otherwise hurt so many good people.

Like her mother and father

...

She never thought about anything other than her job. It was all she needed. The thought of a husband and children never really crossed her mind. It was something she could do without.

But now that she's had a taste of it, she's not sure she could ever go back.

As for Loid, on nights like these, although he doesn't like to admit it, he plays pretend.

Granted, he usually plays pretend, for the sake of missions: pretend to be an ordinary taxi driver, pretend to be a regular Joe accountant, pretend to be Karen's boyfriend. He told himself that it was no different than when he was a child and he pretended to be soldiers with his friends.

Of course, if he knew then what he knew now...

Now, he was adopting the role of a dutiful husband out on a date with his beautiful wife.

Erm. Wife. No need to add in the 'beautiful'. Not that she wasn't of course. Just felt unnecessary.

Anyway, so he decided to book a table at a restaurant that he spotted Yor glancing at once or twice. He figured she had an interest, so he went ahead and chose that restaurant.

"I hope you'll like the restaurant." He tells her.

As he looked at her, he noticed her shiver and the slight discomfort in her face, "I'm sure I will! You always have the best tastes when it comes to these things."

"Yor?"

"Hmm?"

Loid put his arm out, waiting for Yor to take it, "We've talked about this."

"Eh?!" Yor panicked and Loid couldn't help but grin. It's been months since they agreed that they should make an effort to be more 'physical' in public. They've always done a good job, but so far, Yor always pulled a certain face 'everytime. She blushed, but she'd also ramble nervously.

He'd never tell you, but sometimes Loid found himself suggesting physical contact just to see Yor's reaction. What can he say? It was priceless, and she was so endearing for it.

"You're cold. It's only natural that you huddle closer to your husband for warmth." He smiles innocently at her, 'unendlessly 'amused by her reactions.

"Of course! You're right...you have a point." Yor's blush begins to fade away, but due to the cold, she still has a rosy glow around her cheeks.

As she placed her white-gloved hand around Loid's arm and walked closer to him, he could smell the scent of that perfume she wore. It was a 'polarising 'mix of soft cashmere and a sharp rose.

Now, a rose is rarely described as 'sharp', but it reminded Loid of a specific scent...

There was this poison, you see, rumored to have been concocted at the hands of a Garden agent years ago, before Loid even joined WISE. The poison was known to be deadly as it didn't act straight away: it would take months and months. But before then, you would feel strange things: chest pains, heart palpitations, sudden warmth all the time, dilated 'pupils..symptoms 'that didn't seem all that special. But then the poison does its magic and eventually stops the heart of its victim. 'The poison itself was quite difficult to make and obtain. He's used it a few times: it was a poison called 'spina princeps'.

Or loosely translated, 'thorn princess'. It actually had a very pleasant rosy scent.

It seemed fitting, somehow, that the scent would find its way back to Yor. After all, sometimes Loid would get a glimpse of Yor that went beyond the 'na 've and sweet' person she was at first. But then again, that's what made him appreciate her all the more.

A woman like that, who could be so sweet yet deadly, was always going to be poison for a man like Loid. 'His eyes trailed to the woman on his arm, with her long dark hair and rose eyes, and noticed that she suddenly had a wistful look in her eyes.

"I'm being silly." She laughs a bit, "I'm sorry. I've never really been in a relationship before and I keep forgetting that casual physical contact comes with having a 'boyf-

husband

."

"You keep saying that. I still have a hard time believing that no one's ever courted you before." Loid says.

And honestly? Out of the many things that have shocked him in his line of work, the idea that no one has wanted to be Yor Briar's man was one of the more unbelievable facts he's learned on the job.

"And you keep saying

that

." She repeated after him with a grin, "You 'can not 'believe it all you want, Loid Forger, but it's the truth. But it's not all bad. I've always been too busy with other things to think about relationships."

"The thought never crossed your mind?" Loid asked.

Yor shook her head. "I suppose I was forced to have different priorities...winters like these, for example, are so romantic. But growing up, harsh winters meant that I would focus on how many trees I had to chop down to get wood for the fire or how on earth I was going to afford food when prices went up so much."

"I'm sorry you had to do that. You were so young, too." Loid says softly. It's one of the things he and Yor had in common: both had to grow up too fast. "Winters especially can be difficult."

"Even so, winter's my favorite season." Yor confesses.

"Oh?" Loid said, slightly surprised.

"Winter was a difficult time for me and my brother. Sometimes we'd fall asleep in front of the fireplace. There were days when all we ate was cabbage soup." She admits. But then, she began to smile softly. '"But...despite it all, there was the snow. Yuri loved the snow. He'd always make snowmen and sometimes we'd have snowball fights. It reminded me that even during difficult times there's still plenty of things to smile about."

Unexpectedly, Loid couldn't help but smile slightly. He secretly felt the same. Even during hard times, there were always sparks of joy that could he found everywhere. Sometimes, it seemed small, but oddly enough it gave him hope. It was his raison d' 'tre

"I've never had a snowball fight." Loid admitted, "We didn't get much snow where I grew up. Whatever snow was there was mostly slush. Not the best."

"Oh. Well, surely, there must have been other games you could play." Yor suggested.

Loid shook his head. His thoughts fled back to the early days of the war. After it began, it all went downhill. All traces of childhood were stolen from him and from then on, all he knew was survival on the streets.

Although he didn't answer, the look on his face spoke volumes to Yor and she found her heart aching for him. 'She knew Loid also had a difficult childhood but he didn't have anyone. At least she had Yuri to give her hope. 'But then she imagined poor little Loid, all alone. Now, she can imagine him watching kids playing around with the snow and think back to those days when he was a lonely child.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried." She said, feeling horrible that he suddenly felt so bad.

But instead of making her feel guilty, Loid just gave his usual charming smile and waved it off, "Don't worry about it, Yor. It's okay. Not every child needs to have a snowball fight."

"That's true." She smiled, thankful that he was able to forget about it so easily.

Still, part of her didn't believe it was very fair. She's met so many people in her life, and out of all of them, Loid Forger definitely deserved a happy childhood memory.

So, she couldn't help herself.

She discretely took a small amount of snow in her hand, then threw it at Loid's shoulder.

Loid blinked.

"What are you doing?"

Yor's smile disappeared. ' Suddenly, it occurred to her that perhaps Loid didn't want to do something so childish.

"I'm sorry! I just thought, well, you seemed so sad when you were talking about snowball fights? So, I thought, well, it's not too late to have one...It was silly, let's just g-"

Yor didn't finish her sentence, as she suddenly felt a pile of feathery snow thrown at her. Funny. It wasn't a snowball so much as an armful of powdery snow and thrown at her gently like a mist.

When she finally focused on Loid's face, that's when she noticed a new expression she's never seen before: an almost playful grin.

Her lips matched his and she slowly bent down to grab some snow. He did the same.

And before they knew it, they were off. Swiftly running to get cover and never losing each other out of their sight.

Loid thought strategically. If he focused on small snowballs, it would be easier to make new ones and constantly rapid fire. On the other hand, large snowballs would provide more damage, making it easier to-

"Oof!" Loid fell back as what felt like a huge block of snow hit him.

"Loid, don't think so hard!" Yor encouraged. She knew that Loid Forger liked to plan and usually, she admired him for it. But right now, she didn't want Loid to be the methodical planner he always had to be. She wanted him to do what he could never do as a little boy. "Just throw and have fun!"

Loid blinked. It wasn't in his nature not to strategise. It was what kept him alive for so long.

But then again, if he was doing something as childish as a snowball fight, what was the harm?

A grin spread on Loid's face at that moment. He'd never know it, but it was the exact same grin he had as a little boy, long before there were even whispers of a war.

He threw a snowball at Yor, who ended up laughing at the cold contact. In retaliation, she picked up snow on the bark of a tree and immediately hurled it at him.

"Terrible aim, Yor!" Loid called out, easily dodging it at first, only to receive a second snowball to the face not more than a second later.

"I'm sorry, Loid, I didn't quite catch that?" She said innocently from behind the tree.

Loid chuckled, "Who knew you could be so sneaky?"

And for a while, that was all they did: they just grabbed snow and threw it at each other. Mostly missed. And if they did hit each other, it was on the leg or the shoulder. The snowballs were terribly formed and they threw no better than actual children.

Yet the more Loid looked at Yor's face, flushed pink from the cold and the running, her vibrant ruby eyes and her breathy laugh, he swore he could feel his own laughter slowly bubbling up from inside of him.

Was this what fun felt like?

At some point, although the fight started with them apart, they came closer to each other with every snowball thrown until eventually, they were practically face to face 'agsain.

"You're getting slower, Yor. I think I'm winning." Loid said triumphantly, grin on his face and another snowball in his hand.

"Oh really?" Yor challenged, getting ready to throw another snowball, but instead, she slipped on ice and fell backwards.

"Yor-!" Loid said, reaching out to grab her, but in the mess, she grabbed him instead and brought him down with her until he was basically on top of her.

They both released the snow in their hands and could only focus on each other. Loid had his hands on the side of Yor's head, keeping him from completely falling on her, and she had her hands on his chest.

With all the adrenaline rushing through, although Yor felt a little nervous having Loid so close to her in

this

position, she couldn't help but feel a little bold, "Now's not the time nor the place, darling."

The look on her husband's face was worth it. It was his turn to turn red and feel embarrassed.

Still, her victory was only temporarily. No matter

how

alluring she was when she called him 'darling', in the battle of seduction, Loid would always have the upper hand, "Then I can't wait to get home, my dear."

Yor's eyes widened and she swore her face was so hot that she probably melted the snow she was lying on top of.

In truth, Yor could flip him over easily.

(flip him, make sure he couldn't use his legs anymore, crush his windpipe, but of course that's reserved for actual targets)

But she couldn't bring herself to, especially not with that look on Loid's face. He panted from the cold, but did so with a smile. That smile that Yor suspects few have seen.

"It's nice to see you like this." She smiles, "You're always so worried. I'm just glad that you can find moments to be happy."

"Well, being with you and Anya make it easy." Oops. He didn't mean to say that.

What. Was. Wrong. With. Him?

What was it about those two that had Loid Forger, always so careful and calculating with his words, occasionally burst out something meaningful that he may not have even realised himself?

Yor began to sit up, resting on her elbows and never breaking her gaze from Loid's blue eyes.

They were awfully close to each other.

Loid thought, maybe just this once ...

But before either of them could make a move, Loid's phone began to ring and pierce against the gentle breeze of winter wind.

Immediately, they both got off each other and stood up, feeling oddly warm around their face despite the cold.

"Sorry, I didnt mean to-"

"No, i shouldn't-

"No really it was my fault

"Dont 'worry it's really not I-" Yor stammered, "Um, maybe you should answer your phone?"

Loid nodded. At this point, anything to get his mind off what just happened.

"Hello?"

"GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE. YOUR DEMON SPAWN FOUND THE PEANUT COOKIES. I REPEAT. ' SHE FOUND THE COOKIES."

Loid put a palm over his face, "Great. Now she's hyper."

Yor gave a quizzical look, and Loid just mouths 'she ate the cookies'. Yor just laughed. Anya's antics were so amusing and watching Loid deal with them was simultaneously entertaining and endearing. "Tell Franky we'll come back and bring some food on the way."

"But what about our date?" Loid asked, "I don't want you to be disappointed."

"I think the night has been romantic enough." Yor blushed. The words seemed to have escaped her before she could stop herself.

Part of Loid began to panic. Was it all too much? Was she repulsed by his behaviour? Did she want to go home and never talk to him again?

"I'd love for nothing more than to end the night sipping tea and cocoa with you and Anya." She confessed.

Loid nods, smiling to no one and about nothing in particular, as he tells Franky they'll be there soon.

Once they got home, it took 4 hours but they finally got Anya to bed. Apparently, ever since she won a race today, she's convinced that she's the fastest woman alive and decided to run in the entire apartment to show off her 'superhuman speed'.

Well, what comes up most come down and eventually, her little sugar rush did crash, much to Loid and Yor's delight. Afterwards, they decided to reward themselves to tea.

"That was unexpectedly tiring." Yor noted.

"I blame you." Loid gently teased and continued quickly as he saw Yor's worried face, "All that training with you has increased her speed. She's a roadrunner."

Yor laughed, "I'm sorry. But at least it's a good workout?

"True." he nodded, although he knew damn well his 'other job' took enough exercise as it is.

Still, he would consider the night to be a great success. 'It was only then that Loid realised that he never experienced an awkward silence with Yor. Despite not knowing her for long, she seemed to have a calming presence.

In the background, the crackling of the fireplace sang in tandem with the woman singing on the radio they accidentally left on.

"Living with you is easy living

It's easy to live when you're in love

And I'm so in love

There's nothing in life but you..."

Feeling the warmth of the tea down his throat and simply listening to the old jazzy tune, Loid could feel his whole body relax, sinking into the couch contently. Although neither his mind would not let him think of the possibility, his body was beginning to say 'I could get used to this.'

"About earlier..." Loid began after a while.

Yor blushed, "Um, I-

"It was the most fun I've had since...well, I can't even remember." Loid said softly as he began to realise that memories of fun seemed to escape him. "Thank you."

Though she was surprised at first, Yor ended up smiling at him. "You're welcome, Loid."

He's seen a lot of her smile lately.

And knowing he was the cause of it, well, it somehow warmed his heart a bit.

...Of course, it was likely because Yor being happy would bode well for their perfect family image. And Loid's sure his fondness is due to the fact that she seemed perfect for Operation Strix.

The pair merely sat in silence, drinking their tea and enjoyed each other's company into the wee hours of the night.

Neither noticed that they were sitting closer than they ever had before.

"Yor?"

"Hmm?

"I'm glad that out of all the women I could have met, I found you."

At the time, he was so sure that he meant it in a practical sense. Not only did Yor radiate the sort of rare class and elegance despite her upbringing, not only was she caring for Anya despite her not being her biological daughter, and not only was she generally a kind and loving person, but she was someone that Loid became fond of. In another life, Loid could have seen them becoming close friends.

But yes, Loid was fond of Yor, but that didn't mean he

liked

her.

Of course not.

...Shut up.