The Shopkeeper had called her, and Yor knew why.

Her last assignments had been '

messy

. Definitely not at the level of her training nor the Garden 's standards. On top of it, she 'd gotten hurt a couple of times; not too severely, but it was unlike her.

Once before, the Shopkeeper had asked her if family life had dulled her senses. The answer back then was no, and it was still no.

However, she would be lying if she didn 't admit that in the last couple of weeks, she 'd been

distracted

by

certain

event that occurred at a park at the beginning of a snowfall.

After said event, she 'd managed to remain calm in front of her family and walk back home as if it was something that happened every day, however, her heart was beating so fast she thought it would stop at any given moment.

It had been the same whenever she saw her husband and when she was alone too; in fact, this happened whenever she had the chance to think about it, which was

all the time

.

That had caused her to become sloppy at both jobs. It wasn 't a big deal at her day job at City Hall, but whenever it happened at her assassin job, consequences were a little bit more notorious.

Yor knew she 'd always been a terrible liar, so trying to excuse herself in front of someone who knew her so well was simply pointless.

'Loid kissed me, ' she blurted out before the Shopkeeper could even ask her anything.

Shopkeeper raised his eyebrows and kept tending to his garden without looking at her.

'So, he finally caved in, ' he chuckled.

Yor was surprised to hear his answer.

'Tell me, Yor, was anybody injured after that kiss? ' he joked.

'No. I did not hit him, ' she answered bashfully.

'Well, well, looks like things are evolving between you two, ' he reckoned.

There was a moment of silence between them. The man kept pulling weeds from the ground and Yor stood there not really sure what to say.

That man had basically raised her. He taught her everything and knew her better than herself. She almost wanted to ask him what she should do next, because honestly, she had no clue.

'Are you not going to tell me anything about my assignments? I know I haven 't been as efficient as usual, ' Yor spoke looking at her shoes.

'And now I know why, ' he countered, wiping some sweat from his brow.

Yor looked away.

'And you, Yor? What is Loid Forger to you? Do you see him as a father-figure who 's given you a home? Or perhaps just a partner and friend? Or could it be that now 'you see him as

man

? '

Yor blushed furiously and Shopkeeper got his answer.

'So, Thorn Princess is growing up too. ' A little nostalgia snuck into his words.

Out of all the children he had trained, he had grown attached to Yor the most. In many ways, she was his daughter 'a twisted weapon just like him. Nevertheless, Yor was so much more special. Even with her astronomical kill count, she 'd managed to keep her soul taintless. In his eyes, he still saw that 12-year-old who knew so little of the world.

But he understood now that had changed 'because of Loid Forger.

He knew since the beginning of her arrangement with Forger that things wouldn 't remain the same. Yor was wired for love and happiness. That 's exactly what Loid and Anya had given her. He 'd seen her change and bloom like one of those roses in late winter. She was no longer a child.

'I don 't know what to do, ' she confessed blushing and the Shopkeeper saw a light in her eyes he hadn 't seen before.

He knew exactly what it was, but he wouldn 't spoil the surprise for his adoptive daughter.

He got up and stretched, placing his hands on his achy lower back.

'I 'm confident you 'll figure it out, ' he assured her, stretching some more. 'These things tend to fall perfectly on their own. '

Yor twisted her mouth. She wanted a more specific answer from her mentor.

'Now, about your work, you know what happens when someone gets distracted, right? ' he said raising an eyebrow.

'Yes. I promise, I won 't get distracted anymore, ' she answered determined.

'Good, because I would hate having to clean your blood off the floor. '

It was one of those of his rare warnings.

'Don 't worry, it won't come to that. '

***

'So, you 're almost done with Strix, right? '

Franky asked while giving Twilight a newspaper with an encoded message.

'Yeah, ' Twilight answered. "I've been in the game long enough to know when something is coming to an end."

'So, are you going to miss them? ' Franky asked faking innocence.

'Who? ' Twilight pretended not to understand him.

'You know! Your kid and your

gorgeous

wife, ' he said.

He hated the way Franky referred to his wife, 'even when it was true.

'It 's what 's required of me, ' he answered curtly.

Twilight eyed the newspaper and Franky took a sip of juice before talking again.

'Do you think she 'd go out with me after you 're gone? '.

That caught Twilight 's attention. He immediately looked at his friend with murderous eyes.

'You stay away from her, ' he hissed.

'Calm down, I was just kidding! ' he laughed at his expense.

Twilight 's eyes returned to the newspaper.

'Plus, even if it 's not me, eventually she 'll probably move on, ' the informant said casually.

Franky knew how to push his buttons. It was his gift.

'I 'm leaving, ' Twilight said taking his briefcase and newspaper before walking away.

'Oh, come on! Don 't tell me you haven 't thought about it! ' he heard Franky yell.

Of course, he had thought about it.

He tried in vain not to, but the closer he got to finishing the mission, the more he obsessed about his wife moving on.

Twilight knew it was irrational to be jealous of someone who didn 't exist, of that mysterious figure who was Yor 's future.

He wasn 't stupid. She was the most beautiful woman he 'd laid eyes on. He felt deeply attracted to her, if he was honest with himself, this had been so since the beginning. When he told her on the day they met that he thought she was beautiful, he wasn 't lying. Even when she was completely oblivious to her own looks, he saw how other men watched her (including Franky).

To make matters worse, he'd dared to kiss her. That didn't help him at all.

Now that Yor had gain a more confidence in herself, now that she knew she could be a capable wife, he knew it was only matter of time after his 'death' before the inevitable 'someone would come into her life, and she would truly love that man.

A collection of imaginary scenarios flashed before his eyes, in the classic Twilight mode:

Yor meeting someone '

Yor smiling and blushing, the way she always did.

Yor 's crimson eyes shining.

Yor kissing that mystery man from the future.

She 's in love. Loid Forger is her past. He 's become nothing but a weird arrangement she used to have, a moment in her long, happy life. In the blink of an eye, she 's forgotten all about him.

NO!

A voice inside him screamed

.

As he thought that, he didn 't realize he was clenching the front of his shirt, a nervous habit he used to have when he was a child.

It was almost as he had somehow felt physical pain.

He wanted to go home.