#yor's face is almost always not showing????

[nallhir]

closer

[sy-on-boy]

Real talk: the fact that Anya expects to read Demetrius’ mind but sees nothing is kind of sad because Demetrius saw his 6yo brother approach and congratulate him, and had zero thoughts in his brain. But that doesn’t mean Demetrius doesn’t care about him. When Damian stutters, Demetrius initiates conversation by talking about Damian’s grades, showing that he indeed pays attention.

Demetrius seems almost resentful by Damian’s insistence to impress Donovan, giving out a snarky, passive aggressive, teen appropriate response: “How would I know? It’s not as if I’m in regular contact with him.” This is like the passive aggressive version of whatever is going on with Melinda. Damian is a relatively innocent 6yo kid seeking his father’s approval, but both his mother and his brother appear to be seriously affected (in a bad way) by Donovan, and they avoid talking about Donovan even as Damian repeatedly mentions him. Demetrius doesn’t understand Damian’s desire for their father’s approval. He also doesn’t understand his father, hinting at some sort of disconnect between them.

What also saddens me a bit is how Demetrius barely acknowledged Damian’s friends talking to him. Like, they’re six year old kids trying to make a good impression. Still, Demetrius didn’t completely ignore them, just gave a meaningless “oh” and decided to stop thinking about people. It’s very much giving “stressed (and depressed) to the point of apathy”. When facing the innocence (ignorance?) and optimism of 6yo kids, Demetrius doesn’t understand. (And maybe he doesn’t understand friendship, which is what Damian has?)

I mentioned before that characters Anya met are probably “good” characters on the side of Forgers or at least are sympathetic to readers. Because if Anya met a “bad” character and read their mind, she would be too OP and the plot could be quickly solved. It’s like how we all thought Melinda was suspicious when she met Yor, but then Anya met Melinda and read her mind to reveal that she cares about Damian (even if it’s in a twisted way). Demetrius is interesting because he subverts what I said above by thinking very little, so Anya cannot really read him. But so far, I think his portrayal is that of a typical middle schooler with middle school angst, and he cares about Damian even if he has zero thoughts on his brain (and doesn’t like the way Damian craves fatherly approval). He is still a child and presumably a victim of his father’s parenting.

The framing is also interesting. Damian telling his friends to go on without him while he waits for Demetrius. The panel of Demetrius towering over a stuttering Damian. Demetrius going away, showing a panel of him as a small figure in an otherwise blank background. That panel when Anya thinks Damian’s relatives are weird has her looking at Damian while he’s some distance away from her (and the rest of his friends). The brothers feel disconnected. Damian is both eager and nervous to talk to Demetrius. Demetrius is nonchalant and apathetic, but not impolite or outwardly wholly dismissive.

Given Damian’s wacky family situation, I’m glad he has friends at Eden. Ewen and Emile of course are steadfast and loyal companions, always eager to back up their beloved boss man. Anya can read his mind and she knows about his insecurities (and also his weird family).

Becky is also good as a friend because she doesn’t care about sucking up to Damian, she often calls him out, but she also supports Damian when he deserves it. A sweet scene here is Damian saying he’s a Desmond so he’s expected to get a star, and Becky adding “it’s still a great achievement. Congrats!”. Becky is validating his success and telling Damian it’s okay to be proud and happy for himself. Even though she’s usually judgemental towards Damian, she’s still kind to him because that’s who she is as a character.

In the end, Damian still wants his father’s attention. He had no idea Demetrius wasn’t that close to their father… I would assume Demetrius spent most of his time at Eden and this is Damian’s first year at Eden, so he actually gets to interact with his brother instead of hearing things about him?

So far, Demetrius seems like a very jaded character in contrast to Damian who feels like a beam of sunshine now. He’s the heir so he’s got more troubles. But it’s nice that he’s finally debuted and no longer in mystery. Can’t wait to see what Endo has in store for him :)

[waffles-art-writing]

Can you do Ghost(mw2) x female reader who is like Yor from spy x family(the jobs she has not the personality)

Female reader also has a child

COD MWII Ghost x Female!Assassin!Reader. (Reader has a child)

Summary: You’re recalled from retirement of being an Assassin, your daughter being your main priority. You end up going back into the field with Task Force 141. After the mainly successful mission, Ghost takes you home after finding out you’re injured but not sever enough to need to go to the medical wing. You share a soft moment with the cold lieutenant, showing the side of the quiet man no one has seen. The next morning the babysitter drops your daughter back home, your young child coming home to a surprise and a face she hasn’t seen since she was a wee babe.

Proofread: Kinda???? Not really

Pairing: Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley X Female Assassin (AFAB)

Age Rating: 16+

Codename: *Whatever you want it to be*

KEY: Y/N - Your Name. L/N - Last Name. C/N - Codename

Warning/Info: FLUFF!!!! Soft!Ghost, Injury Description, COD Violence, Female!Reader, Weapons. It is reasonably long. Call Of Duty Comic Description of Ghost.

If you want a part 2 please comment!!! <3 :) (PART TWO)

I apologise for the lack of posting, stuff irl has been picking up a lot and I will not be able to post as much as I wish I could. And I am applying for a new job which will result in me having to spend less and less time on here. :( but I’ll update when I can.

A screeching sound pierces through your calm, soundless sleep. The ear piercing sound making you groan, rolling over, smacking your hand onto your nightstand, slapping the screen of your phone. The sound comes to a halt, you look at the time. Eyes widening, you didn’t set the earlier alarm. “Shit shit shit.” You curse out, stumbling to pull on some pants, tossing a shirt over your head as you dash down the hall. Stopping to peek into your daughters room, who is fast asleep, covers pulled up to her chin, a foot sticking out of the bed to the side.

A soft smile spreads across your lips as you look at her. Her hair a mess on the pillow, hands wrapped around her stuffed dog toy, snuggled into it. You move away from the door, continuing on your mission to the bathroom, pulling your hair back into a messy bun. Life has been hectic ever since putting your job as an assassin on hold so you can have your daughter, and not end up losing her cause you’re not around enough. Only two people knew about you and your daughter, both of them still working well and truly.

You flick on the bright light in the bathroom, you look towards the mirror. Dark circles rest under your eyes, hair tousled and messy despite it being pulled up in a messy bun. You lean against the bathroom counter, turning the tap on to brush your teeth. Suddenly your phone vibrates, the sound echoing around the cold room, almost amplifying the sound. You tap the green button on the screen not looking who it was.

“Hello?” You answer, your voice quiet to not wake your daughter.

“Morning L/N.” The deep gravely voice of Price comes from the speakers, it almost sends a chill down your spine. You haven’t been called this early by him in a long while. “Morning John, is there something you need?” You cut straight to the point, not wanting to beat around the bush as to why he is calling you so early in the morning, on a week day of all days.

“Straight to the point as always I see. Yes, we need your expertise for an overview of a mission- Yes I know, before you even complain I know you aren’t in the field anymore, or thats what most say but Laswell says otherwise.” You roll your eyes, of course he would know you still do the occasional job but you haven’t done one for years, you aren’t even sure as to how he thinks you could help. “Mission Overview? What could I possibly help with?” You question, your hands running under the cold water to splash it onto your face.

“Its an Capture or kill mission and if the time comes and we, y’know gotta send the target on their merry way to an early grave, we want you to give us an idea on how we should do it.”

“And why can’t you guys figure it out?”

“L/N we need you for this, its a complicated mission… I myself want you in the field and execute this yourself…”

You sigh, running a hand down your face. You worked for KorTac - a mercenary group - and you assisted Price and his team the Task Force 141 on occasion. But you mainly worked solo, the Task Force 141 never met you, other than Price and Laswell. You met Ghost as well, you both stay in contact occasionally, only in case of emergencies… well more like, needing a ride from the base back home on the very rare occasion he decides to go home.

“Pay?” You ask.

“Whatever your rate is, kid.” He replies.

“Good. I’ll be there in 3 hours.” You hear Price reply with confirmation before hanging up the phone. Your fingers drum against the counter.

Okay, cool, doing another job, nothing new right? Just been out of the field for a few years, just gotta warm up a bit thats all… Right?

———

“Okay behave, don’t do anything silly and listen to your teachers. And remember to listen to Amber’s parents okay? Have a good day and a fun sleepover.” You say to your daughter - Emilia - kissing her forehead. “Yep!” She chimes, a smile spread across her cheeks, her braids neatly tucked up into a ponytail. “Good, Love you.” You smile, pulling her into a hug. “Love you too Mama.” She squeezes her arms around your neck, your crouched form still larger than her. Once you let go, she waves goodbye, running into school towards her friends. You smile, quickly turning around to walk towards the car park.

You make your way towards the dark blue sedan you bought far too long ago, still surprised it still works. Your face falls when you see a figure leaning against the hood of it, hands in their pockets, clad in black. Including a cap and what looks like a skull balaclava. You sigh, knowing who it is. Its not a common thing to see people walk around in a skull print mask and clad in full black.

“Lieutenant…” You greet when you reach him, he stands up and nods to you. “C/N…. Or should I call you Miss L/N?” He pokes, his dead pan tone not helping his remark to come across as teasing. You shake your head with a smile, unlocking the car. “I’m assuming you’ve been sent to make sure I end up coming right?”

Ghost shrugs, a small nod accompanying it. “We can’t be too careful…” He states, climbing into the passenger seat as you get into the drivers side. “Right… whatever you say Ghost.” You huff, buckling yourself in as you pull out of the car parking.

———

“The mission will be tough, but I brought an old acquaintance along to help us plan out a strategy. Boys, meet C/N. She has worked with me in the past and used to work for the Mercenary ground KorTac, she now works solo for the government.” Price states as you stand at the front of the room.

“Hello, Yes before you ask I’m what some call an ‘assassin’. I work solo but I haven’t worked in the field for some years now, as I have had other things going on. But I am still qualified to assist you boys in any way to make sure this mission is a success.” You pause, locking eyes with Ghost, he knows you’re nervous to be here again. You continue to inform them the best strategies for them to be able to do this unnoticed, especially while inside.

———

It’s the day of the mission, you managed to get a babysitter for Emilia. She wasn’t all too happy about you leaving for a few days, but you said you’ll be back in not time, and have a gift for her. Which is partly true, you just hope nothing goes south and cause you to stay away longer than you planned. You want to be back by the weekend, or at least before the new school week starts.

Your plan to stay out of the field didn’t last long, Gaz ended up falling sick with food poisoning, pretty bad food poisoning from the amount of time he spent in the bathroom or medical bay yesterday. Still having an upset gut this morning when you arrived at an ungodly hour in the morning, having just dropped Emilia off at the baby sitters.

The team is communicating back and forth over the comms, you’ve managed to infiltrate the building where the target is. The slick walls on the outside not making the job easier. You are definitely a lot less fit than what you thought you were, but still fit enough to keep up with the team and your job on this mission.

Assassinate the target, and get the hell home.

Simple right? Yeah really simple, if it wasn’t a great big warehouse like building with barely any cover or high points for you to use to your advantage.

———

“Got eyes on the target.” You whisper into the comms, slinking along the beams that support the A-Frame ceiling of the warehouse. “Copy that, Ready when you are C/N.” Price states, Ghost and Soap stating something of confirmation.

You step lightly across the beam, your light footwork going unnoticed by the man littering the floor below you. There’s a catwalk just below you, one armed guard standing at a door that leads into the office where your target sits, back to the door and window that overviews the factory.

The guard walks up and down the cat walk intermittently, observing everything below him. Never above him. How stupid.

As soon as the guard passes by under you, reaching a part in the catwalk railing that’s solid sheet metal. You jump down, landing lightly on your feet, the sounds of the factory drowning out your movement. Crouched low you sneak up behind him, slicing the backs of legs, right through the tendons that keep him standing. You spring up, hand covering his mouth to keep him silent. Other arm wrapping around to the front, quick jerk to the side. Lights out.

You gently lay his limp body down, tucking him up against the metal barrier.

“Guards out, preparing to breach the targets office.” You communicate. “Be careful C/N.” Ghost states over the Comms, both him and Soap just downstairs at the entrance, ready to breach if anything goes sideways. “Always am.” You hear Soap snort at your reply as Price growls at you all to focus.

Your skilful hands test the door, it doesn’t budge, the window that’s just a foot or two away from the edge of the cat walk is open. Either pick lock the door and risk getting caught with your back to the open or swing in through the open window and possibly fall and either hurt your self, die, or break all your bones then die by one of the other guards bullets. Either way you could end up dead.

Window.

Quickest way in.

———

The mission was a success, you managed to get into the room, secure the target and kill them. Clean and quietly. Getting out was a different mission entirely, one of the guards spotted the fact they couldn’t see another guard on the cat walk. They investigated and found the slumped body of the dead guard. Immediately yelling for the alarm to be pulled.

Ghost and Soap busted in to draw their attention to them and away from the office, all you had to do was get the fuck out and get to the extraction point. You managed to slip out the window on the far side of the office, but not without being nicked by the a few bullets.

You manage to sprint across the roof, throwing yourself off the edge and landing on top of a large truck with a large thump. You cough harshly, feeling like your ribs got smashed by a sledge hammer. You stumble to your feet, slipping off the side of the truck and sprinting towards the back fence of the compound, you glance to your right, seeing Ghost and Soap climbing the wall quickly. You fling yourself into the fence, dragging yourself over the top, thankful theres not barbed wire.

“C/N? You good?” Soap calls over the comms, you can hear he’s breathless, the faint sound of Ghost in the background barking orders out to the extraction chopper to start the engine. “Y-Yeah…” You wheeze, rushing through the brush of the forest, weaving in and out of trees heading uphill towards the small clearing the chopper is situated in. Your lungs burn, the cold air stinging your eyes and cheeks. The adrenaline numbing the pain in your leg and arm, your ribs still feeling like you’re wearing a corset.

You stumble into the clearing, Ghost and Soap a few paces ahead, the lieutenant spins around. Noticing you’ve arrived, Soap running to the chopper. You nod to Ghost as you approach, Ghost waits for you to pass before following after you into the chopper. You slump down into the uncomfortable chair of the helicopter, adjusting to keep your ribs from being pushed on by the seat strap.

Both the men ask if you’re okay, you wave them off chuckling while wheezing out a “Just a little unfit is all.” Soap chuckles, Ghost just shakes his head lightly, moving forward to signal for the chopper to get you all out of there.

———

Once back in England and on base you get a phone call from the babysitter a normal thing, it’s almost eight thirty in the evening “Hello?” You ask, bringing the phone to your ear as you walk down path towards the entrance of the base, car parked not too far front he entrance. “Hey Miss L/N! Lizzie here, I was just gonna put Emilia to bed. Are you free to talk to her?” The babysitter Lizzie states, it’s almost like a nightly ritual. Every night that you’re not home, whoever is looking after your daughter will call to see if your available to say goodnight to Emilia.

“Yeah I’m free.” You state, stopping at the end of the path by the entrance of the main building, sitting down on the bench outside. You hear Lizzie talking to Emilia, your daughter sounding tired but excited. “MAMA!” She calls through eh phone, you smile a and laugh lightly hearing your daughters voice warms your heart, her sweet voice making you happy. “Hey pumpkin. You behaving?” You ask her, having a teasing tone. “Yeah! We got to watch a movie while eating dinner!” She states happily, you smile listening to her talk about what happened throughout the day.

The door opens and closes, Ghost slips out into the cold evening. His eyes spot you off to the side, its dusk, the flood lights not coming on just yet. He can see your breath in the cold air, billowing out past your lips. His own breath billowing out into the air as he pulls his mask up, he leans against the small wall of the entrance staircase. He shoves he cigarette between his lips, cupping his hands around the flame of the lighter. He hears your laugh, it echos into the evening air. Its warm and light to his ears, his eyes flick up to watch you. He’s too far away to hear what you’re talking about.

You bid Emilia goodnight, shutting off your phone as you shoved it into your jacket pocket. Sighing as you search your small duffle bag for your keys, knowing you threw them in there. You wince, groaning as you lean over, gripping your side with ragged breaths.

Ghost pushes off the wall as soon as he sees you double over on the bench, showing pain. “Hey hey hey… what’s wrong?” He mumbles, flicking his cigarette in front of his boot and stomping it out. Stopping over the smouldering ashes to crouch down in front of you, pulling his mask down quickly as he kneels. “C/N what’s wrong?” He asks, his voice stern as he looks at your scrunched face, pain obvious across your expression. “My ribs- I… I thought they were just bruised.” You wheeze out, sitting back to look at him. His hands ghost over your knees as he stands, sitting next to you.

“Let me check, we don’t want you to go home with broken bones. Are you hurt anywhere else?” He asks, motioning for you to shrug off your jacket. “Just a few grazes from a bullet but I handled them, they weren’t deep.” You groan, pulling your jacket off, your thick jersey and shirt thankfully being warm enough in the crisp air. “Okay, may I touch your ribs? Under your jumper?” The taller man asks, you nod your head turning slightly so your back is facing him. His glove clad hands snake under your jersey and shirt, ghosting over your waist up to your ribs.

“Did you land on your back or front?” He asks, his fingers delicately pressing against your rib cage. “Front, kinda threw myself off the roof onto a truck roof…” you state, flinching when his hands snake around to your front, right under the hem of your sports bra. Rough gloves pressing into your ribs. You wine, flinching away from his hands. “Ow- Watch it lieutenant…” you snap, your body disagreeing with your sudden movements. “M’sorry” he mumbles, he pulls his hands back. Laying your jacket across your shoulders again. “Well nothing is broken from what I could tell, but you’re not driving.” He states, standing from his spot next to you and grabbing your duffle bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

You look at him confused, a brow raise as you slip your arms through eh jacket again, fixing your jersey and shirt in the process. You stand, looking up at the large man. “What? I need to get home, what the hell do you mean Ghost?” You ask, tone almost angry. “I’m driving you home, you shouldn’t drive when you have damaged ribs.” He states, keeping his explanation to a minimum. You sigh shaking your head as you follow him, he ready knows where your car is. You both arrived in the same vehicle so thankfully he remembered where you parked.

———

The drive back to your place was quiet, the occasional question, or observation. Ghost helps you out of your car, his hand ghosting over the small of your back guiding you up the stairs of the small apartment. “You didn’t have to walk me to my door, Ghost.” You state, unlocking the door and pushing the door open. Toeing off your boots by the door and dumping your bag on the couch as you walk past it, Ghost follows you in, leaving his boots by the door while closing it and locking it. He immediately walks towards your bathroom, he’s been here a few times, he knows the layout like the back of his hand. “Ghost? The hell are-” “Finding your med kit, take your shirt off, I need to properly check your ribs.” You stare down the corridor towards the bathroom with a shocked expression. You throw your coat over the back of the couch, walking down the hallway towards the bathroom, passing it towards your bedroom at the end of the hallway. “I’m in my room just so you know.” You call out, grabbing the hem of your jersey, wincing when you tug it up.

You jump at the feeling of calloused hands resting over yours. “G-Ghost?” You stutter, feeling his presence behind you, his breathing quiet and muffled by his mask. “Let me help.” He offers, more like stating he is going to help you even if you deny it. You lift your arms above your head, wincing at the movement. He tugs the heavy fabric carefully over your head, throwing it over to the hamper in the corner. You wince you turn around, looking up at the taller man. “Why… Why are you doing this?” You ask, brows furrowed.

“You go n’one else to help you, and I know that you wouldn’t get help.” He states, gently pulling your dark shirt up and over your head as well, your sports bra on full display. Ghost’s eyes linger on your chest for a second before quickly adverting his eyes to the medkit on your bed. “Sit down.” He mumbles as he opens the small bag, kneeling down in front of you. You sit with your arms tucked around your stomach, conscious of how you look.

You have always been conscious of your body, especially after your pregnancy. Your tummy never got back to as toned and flat as it was before. Stretch marks paint your hips and thighs, and your lower abdomen like tiger stripes, rough to the touch and unpleasant to look at. Ghost grabs the anti inflammatory cream from the kit, pulling his gloves off and warming the cream up in his hands. You stare at the movement of his hands, mind wandering to thoughts you never thought you would have again.

What would his hands feel like, I wonder if his touch is soft - he lays wears gloves maybe he has soft hands? Maybe they are rough, like his personality. What his he doesn’t like what I look like and thinks I’m disgusting, what if he thinks pathetic for being in pain. What if-

“Y/n?” Ghost asks, he’s being saying your name for the past few moments. You snap your attention back to him, letting out a small ‘huh?’ When you notice him looking at you with slightly furrowed brows. “Can I put the cream on?” He asks, his voice quiet, his hands resting on your legs, palms facing up with the cream smeared across them. “Oh… uh yeah…” A small blush of embarrassment paints your cheeks as you sit straighter, arms resting across your tummy. Ghost watches you sit up properly, reluctant to move your arms. He attempts to work around your arms, gently spreading the cream across your ribs. His hands are calloused but his touch his soft but firm enough to make sure the cream spreads.

“…Love, I need you to move your arms…” He states softly, his eyes looking up to yours, his soft with concern. You furrow your brows, looking away as you move your arms, the yellow light from your lamp glowing softly across your skin. The light bumped stretch marks marring your skin, the deep colour a large contrast against the rest of your skin, most of them have lightened but a few are still dark. You flinch when you feel his hands move lower along your rib cage.

He hasn’t said anything, quiet, like always, eyes analysing everything he is doing in great detail.

He finishes rubbing the cream in after gently lifting the side of your sports bra to get under the cloth, gently massaging the cream into your sore body. “Its still going to be bruise to shit, you’ll have to be careful…” He mumbles, he gently takes your left arm into his hands, peeling back the bandage you haphazardly wrapped around while back on the base. He smears the residue of the cream around the wound, “You did a good job at cleaning it…. Just half assed bandage” he teases lightly, re wrapping your arm with a clean bandage.

You shrug, handing your head, eyes trained on his knee thats pressing into the plush carpet of your room. The same carpet you paid too much money for and installed it yourself while almost 3 months pregnant. A lot of tears have been shed on this carpet, some blood but mainly tears. You hear him say something, your mind elsewhere as you mindlessly shake your head. Not a hundred percent sure on what you were disagreeing too.

You never noticed how detailed his tattoo is, its on display as he takes his jacket off, rolling his long sleeve up. The permanent ink thats been delicately painted into his skin stand out against the rest of his pale skin tone. The scars he’s gained after the tattoo break the ink in small lines, mostly the ink has stayed. His hands are large, rough but gentle. He’s always been a tough and scary man on the outside but you can see he has the same needs as anyone else. Love, affection and care… even partnership. Yes he has the team but he needs something more, but he’s scared, hesitant. Horrified if he gets too attached or too close with someone he cares about he will lose them, he’s terrier he will do the wrong thing, scare them off, pained himself in the a bad light he’s always been known to hold.

Ghost eventually gets to check the bullet graze on your thigh, its shallow. Still needing antibiotic cream and a new bandage, your track pants that unzip up your mid thigh are scrunched up around your hips and upper thigh as he works on your injury. Mumbling something as you hold the clothing out of the way.

“…Can you stay the night?”

Ghost’s movements cease for a brief moment, his breathing stilling as he glances up at you then back down at the bandage he’s wrapping around your thigh. You stay silent, looking at him. Hands itching to do something, but you can’t.

“…Sure…” he replies after a moment.

You nod your head, happy that he agreed. A little anxious despite the fact you know him, he knows you. Fuck he even knows your daughter since she was a wee babe, but hasn’t seen her for some years. She probably won’t remember him at all. She was barely three when he met her, she’s now turning six in a week.

Ghost zips your track pants back up, pulling the fabric down your leg. His hands linger on your covered calf. Fingers pressing in the muscle gently as he stares blankly. You can see he’s thinking, thinking to the point of being motionless. You lean forward, ignoring the slight pain thats throbbing throughout your body. You reach down a tap his hand thats on your calf, knowing he isn’t fond of physical touch. “Ghost…” you whisper, trying to draw him out of his thoughts.

He snaps his head up to look at you, eyes set at a hard glare which soften slightly when he realises its you. You give him a soft smile. “You okay?” You ask softly, his hands falling away from your calf, the warmth going with it. You miss it, the comforting weight and warmth of his large hands gripping your calf. He nods his head as he cleans his throat, standing to clean up the med kit and discard of the old bandages. “Yeah, I’ll be right back… Get uh…” he pauses glancing over at you when he turns to walk to the door. “Change and get into bed, I’ll get you water an a pain killer.” He states, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Ghost shuts the door softly, careful to not slam it. He glances down at his watch. 2245 (10:45pm) he groans quietly, nudging the bathroom door open again the put the med kit back in the sink cabinet.

Why the hell did I agree to stay? What the fuck is wrong with me? Her skin was so soft… Her stretch marks were fucking amazing- FUCK I can’t think like this. I need to stop thinking like this, we are friends… are we even friends? What is she hates me and Is only offering for me to stay out of sympathy or it being late? God she has a kid, I can’t just barge into their life and be the man they see with their mother. I’m not a go-

His thoughts get cut short when he spots a photo of the fridge door, one side of it ripped, torn off. He reaches up and slides it out from under the sunflower magnet. The photo is of you, smiling as bright as the sun thats beaming in through the tree tops. Emilia is cradled in your arms, clearly only a few months old. Her big eyes beaming in sunlight, same colour as yours. Ghost’s fingers trace the ripped edge of the photo, he knew who was supposed to be there. He quickly pins it back to the fridge before taking the pain killers and water to your room.

———

You watch as Ghost places the bottle of water and pain killers on the bedside table. You’re sitting in bed, bag t-shirt and shorts. You look up at ghost, patting the bed next to you. Ghost stares for a moment, shocked you want him in your bed and not to just crash on the couch.

He opens his mouth to deny but you beat him to it. “You aren’t sleeping on that piece of shit couch, you’re staying in here with me. And thats final.” You state, tone firm. Ghost looks from you to the open space on the king sized bed next to you. His eyes flickering back and forth over and over again. “Sleeping on top of the blankets.” He mumbles out, knowing we won’t be able to get past your stubborn attitude, you’re a mother. You know how to get your way. You smile, a soft one of reassurance. You throw a spare shirt at him and point towards the box in the corner.

“Stole this from you a year ago cause you forgot to take it with you after you did your washing here…” You chuckle lightly, “The box should have some basketball shorts or something you can wear. They were my brothers that he gave to me when I was pregnant cause they were bigger than my clothes.” Ghost just nods, crouching down in front of the box and searching through it, he knows you would be angry at him if he slept in his clothes he wore that day.

He looks over at you then towards the lamp next to you, you get the idea and turn over. Back facing him, hand resting on the switch to turn it off as soon as you feel the bed dip behind you. It feels like an eternity for him to lay on the bed, even though he’s on top of the covers. You can hear a small groan emitting from his side of the bed, you flick the switch. The room delving into darkness, the only light peeking out from under our door, the nightlight that sits in the hallway for Emilia happily lighting under the dark corridor.

It quiet, apart from your breathing and Ghost’s muffled breaths, and the starting pitter patter of rain hitting the window. You turn to lay on your back, keeping your eyes on the ceiling.

“Thank you.”

Your soft words break the silence, Ghost looks at you from the corner of his eye. He’s laying like a dead man, straight as board, hands clasped together over his stomach as he looks towards the ceiling.

He hums in response, he turns his head to look at you properly, the dim light from the hallway making it practically impossible to see anything, but his eyes have adjusted easily. He reaches over to clasp your hand thats resting on your own stomach overtop the blankets. Squeezing it softly, letting you know he heard you. A small smile creeps up onto your lips. You turn onto your side, facing him now. He copies your action, bodies mirroring each other as your hands lay clasped together between the two of you. You let out a small sigh, his hand squeezes yours when he hears the heavy breath.

“Emilia would’ve jumped in between us if she was here, she doesn’t like when it starts raining late at night.” You state, smiling to yourself as you trace Ghost’s broad silhouette in the dark room. The small amount of light peeking through the thing curtains behind him on the far side of the room. “So she’s scared of rain?” Ghost’s rough voice cuts through the quiet, the gravel in his voice hoarse but still has a soft tone to it as he tries to talk quietly.

You shrug, unsure what she’s actually scared of. “I think it’s more when it suddenly pours down and it’s dark, the sound and lack of light scares her.” You hum, still trying to figure out what your daughter is scared of, even though you have reassure her many times that its just rain. You hear the deep rumble of Ghost making a humming like sound, like he’s thinking.

“Well… I’m sure there’s no monsters, you’re scary enough” he teases, squeezing your hand. You feign hurt, gasping and swatting his chest lightly. A giggle leaving you, a small, breathy almost non existent chuckle rumbles from Ghost’s chest. “God, if the Ghost thinks I’m scary, I really must be.” You laugh, teasing him back. Your ribs hurt from your laughter, but you’re too caught up in the fact you are hearing the one and only Lieutenant Riley laughing, laying on your bed, your hand in his.

“Nah, yer alright. You’re scary, but not as scary as Price when he hasn’t had his morning coffee” he jokes, tugging you closer slightly, he’s still on top of the blankets. His arm wrapping around your waist, careful on your sore ribs. “That’s true.” You agree, laughing softly as you place a hand on his chest, feather lightly touches run along your back. Your head tucked under his chin, his mask still on. Thankfully he didn’t wear the hard skull one and just a simple fabric one with a skull print.

Your laughter slowly ceases, breathing going back to normal. After a few moments of comfortable silence, you speak up again.

“Thank you again… This means a lot Ghost.”

A beat of silence passes.

“Simon…”

“What?”

“Call me Simon…”

Your eyes widen at his words, a warm feeling flooding your chest as you tuck your face into the nook between his shoulder and neck.

“Thank you Simon.”

“Anytime Y/n”

His words were barely a whisper, you fall back into silence. Its nice, the heat from his body keeping you warm, eating your pain in a way you didn’t think was possible. The pain killers probably taking most the credit for the lack of pain, yet the sense of security and comfort falls over you. Your eyes slide shut, breathing evening out as sleep pulls you into the depths of slumber.

“Goodnight, Love.”

————

You walk out of your room, hair messy, rubbing your eyes, feet padding across the hardwood of the hallway. Mind still in sleep mode. You round the corner into the kitchen from the hallway, bumping into something… more like someone. You wobble as you lose your balance, arms snake around your waist quickly, pulling you close.

“Careful, I don’t wanna take you to the hospital cause you broke your ass.” A deep voice chuckles, you look up, bleary eyed and confused. “O-Oh… Sorry Gho- Simon…” You apologies, rubbing a hand down your face with a groan, leaning your forehead against his chest. He’s changed into his cargo pants from the day before, same shirt from last night. It fits a little tight across his chest and his biceps but not too tight.

“Drinks on the coffee table, go sit down.” He states, his voice still laced with sleep. You look at him confused, glancing over at the coffee table. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to.” You state, walking over to the couch and slumping into it.

“I’m not the one who looks like I got ran over by a bus.” He teases as he walks over, bowl of fruit in hand and more painkillers and a glass of water. You thank him as he hands them to you, he sits next to you on the couch. “Feeling any better?” He asks, voice quiet. You nod your head, scooping some fruit into your mouth. The comfortable quiet gets broken by a knock at the door, you jump from your spot. “Shit” you mumble around a mouthful of fruit. “That’s Lizzie with Emilia.” You state stumbling from the couch, placing the bowl of fruit on the table, throwing your hair back into some sort of up-do. Simon stands from his spot, hands coming to rest on your shoulders. “Sit back down, I’ll get it.” He states, turning to go to the door.

“Wait Simon you still got-” you were gonna say hes still got his mask on, it will scare Lizzie and Emilia and confused them both as well. But your words die in your throat as you watch him tug it over his head, stuffing it in his pocket. You didn’t realise until now he must’ve washed the black war paint off when he got up. You watched in stunned silence, the man who never takes the mask off, ever. Has now taken it off, his dark short cut hair on display.

With baited breath you watch as the door opens, Lizzie coming into view with Emilia standing next to her gripping her hand. Lizzie looks up at the taller male with wide eyes, filled with confusion. You’re too shocked to register any words being exchanged between the two, you’re shaken from your trance when Simon turns to face you with a small smile. Jaw covered with a light stubble, dark chocolate eyes, a small scar cuts into his brow, two other scars rest just above his other brow. His nose is sharp, jawline defined. On his left another scars cuts through his top lip going up to the outer edge of his nose. There’s a another scar that paints his skin from the bridge of his nose trailing to the right, ending on his cheek bone below his eyes.

“MAMA!” Emilia screams, snapping you out of the trance properly. You crouched down catching her in your arms, ignoring the fact she just rammed straight into your heavily bruised ribs. “Hey pumpkin! I missed you so much.” Emilia wraps her arms around your neck, legs clinging to your waist like a koala as you stand up. Your arms scooped under her to support her properly as you walk over to stand next to Simon. “Thanks a lot Lizzie. I’ll go get your pay-” Simon stops you from moving towards the kitchen island to get your wallet. “Already paid her.” He states, hand resting on your lower back as you look up at him. Emilia looks between the two of you smiling. Lizzie waves it off and says shes happy to do it again, you bid her goodbye and close the door.

Emilia dragged Simon off to her room while you talked to Lizzie, saying something about wanting to show him her stuffed toys. You thank Lizzie again, showing your appreciation for her looking after your daughter. Once you closed the door, you stroll down the hallway. Hearing the rumbling timbre of Simon’s voice softly echoing around the apartment. You reach Emilia’s room, leaning against the door frame, you bite your tongue to not giggle at the sight in front of you.

There’s stands, Simon Ghost Riley, Clad in black cargo pants and a dark grey shirt. Sitting Criss Cross Apple Sauce on the floor, the pastel pink fluffy rug below him a strong contrast to his clothing. Emilia is rambling on about her stuff toys, pulling each stuffed animal off her bed to show the large man. Simon’s eyes are soft, just the barest hint of a smile on his lips as he nods along to Emilia’s words.

“And this one is Burt! He’s a water dragon! See!” The young girl states, a large smile on her face, cheeks rosy from excitement to showing a new person her toys. “Nice to meet you Burt.” Simon greets the toy, probably the umpteenth one he has greeted in the span of five minutes. “Nice to meet you too Mr. Simon!” Emilia states, hanging her voice to sound like a boyish drawl. You can’t help but chuckle at this, walking into the room when they both look over at you.

“I see your toys like Mr. Simon quite a lot, sweetheart.” You smile, taking a seat on the ground, knees tucked beneath you. Emilia smiles, nodding her head as she grabs another toy, leaving the small blue dragon next to Simon, like the rest of the toys she’s shown him so far. “She’s very confident and friendly for a kid.” Simon quietly states, keeping his voice low to talk to you. You nod and shrug your shoulders, a small smirk on your lips. “Yeah, I guess so. She always has been.”

“Mr. Simon… are you staying the night?” Emilia ask’s suddenly, gripping her favourite stuffed dog, in her hands. Simon looks from the young girl to you, in which you just nod to Emilia. “If your mum says I can.” He states, his tone soft. Emilia’s eyes light up, she jumps towards you, pressing the dog toy into your chest. “Please mama! Please please please! Can he stay!” She asks, more like demands. You laugh lightly, scooping the young girl up in your arms. Cradling her against you, humming in a a question manner. “Hmmm. I don’t see why not. SO yes, he can stay.” You conclude, laughing when Emilia squeals in excitement. “Thank you thank you!” She dashes from her spot in your arms, towards her bedroom door. “I gotta go build a fort for movies! Don’t come over till I’m done!” She states, dashing towards the living room, her bare feet pounding against the hardwood.

“Well… Look’s like you have a fan.” You tease the quiet man, a small smile on your lips as your eyes soften when you see him. His large and scarred hands softly gripping the small dragon toy in his hands. “Seem’s so… Guess I’m going to be spending more time here.” He states, standing as he places the toy back on the bed. You stand next to him, leaning up and leaving a light kiss on his cheek. “Thank you…” you softly state, placing a hand on his upper arm before leaving the room when you hear Emilia yell something about needing help.

Simon watches you leave, a hand ghosting over his cheek. His chest tightening with emotion, it feels tight but its almost comforting. He shakes his head as he follows you out, planning to help Emilia with her ‘fort’.

[muninnhuginn]

The Anya-Twilight interaction in the middle of this chapter is pretty interesting.

The Anya side of this interaction seems clear enough in that she's trying to obfuscate when asked about her exposure to classical language. The fact we don't see her face as she claims she doesn't remember makes me think she very possibly *does*, but doesn't want to talk about it. And, of course, as I've seen pointed out already, her face when she's first asked is very reminiscent of how she looks in the recent 'Ania' short chapter. She has thoughts/feelings about her past and they've clearly affected her, but they're not for the audience to see yet.

However, the Twilight side of this? I'm a bit stunned at how obviously he does not want to be asking this question of Anya. We know he's considered there's some reason in her past for her knowledge of classical language. We know he's a chronic overthinker. Even last chapter, he was thinking of this, but didn't ask. Anya getting second place though basically removes any plausible deniability. If he doesn't ask now, he's neglecting his duty. But still, he has to work up to it, almost leaves the room before he decides to broach the topic, and when he does, he *mumbles* it. Twilight doesn't really *act* with Anya when it's just them. His mumbling is not an act; it's reluctance.

His reluctance to ask the question of Anya is, in some ways, more egregious than how easily he drops the topic once Anya claims she doesn't remember. Not pushing her further and bringing the topic up later is a valid tactic (and likely one we may see), but we can see that he knows there's more to it. Unlike the audience, he can see her face, after all. And for now, he's indicated he won't push further despite that knowledge. By choosing to back off and patting Anya instead, he's (in a very low-key way admittedly) prioritising Anya over the mission.

It's just so neat how this one interaction showcases so much about the both of them. It hammers in Anya's trauma about her past, without spelling it out in words, but at the same time, it shows how Twilight's approach to fatherhood vs his mission are coming increasingly into conflict. We've had something similar on a larger scale with the recent Yuri-mole arc, with his role as Yor's spouse vs the mission, but it's still playing out on a smaller scale in scenes like this. And it's fascinating how the mission isn't always the clear-cut winner anymore. Sure, early on, we had Twilight sabotaging the Eden entry interview, but that was a moment of passion inspired by his whole "not wanting children to cry" deal. In other words, fuelled by some of his own trauma. In the recent chapters though, he's had time to think and justify before he acts. But the pendulum is still swinging towards his family when given the chance.

[stellar-constellations]

Hello.

Can I please ask for Yuri x /gn!reader fluffy sfw headcanons, with reader being really physically and verbally affectionate, constantly hugging, patting and praising their boyfriend Yuri, and how would he react to that!

Thank you very much..

Yuri Briar x Affectionate! GN! Reader

        Wordcount: 692 words

        This can be read with or without reading my Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series: An Alliance (part 1).

In the beginning stages of the relationship, Yuri is always so flustered and surprised whenever you hug or praise him. He's not on cloud nine, he's basically become a god at this point. 

In the beginning, Yuri's face is always bright red as he avoids your gaze. When you compliment him, he mutters a "thank you" or is always trying to deflect the compliment and spin it around back to you.

"Yuri, your eyes look so pretty today! Like rubies!" you complimented him as you passed by.  "Yours looks more pretty and ruby-ful!" he exclaimed almost aggressively, his fists clenched and his cheeks red as he held a determined look on his face to praise you back.  "Aw, thanks! But my eyes are (eye color)?" you smiled, watching him sink into the ground in not only shame at being so stupid to forget your eyes, but to so aggressively shout at you too (he apologized profusely afterwards).

Whenever you hug Yuri, he stiffens up. He's almost a little worried he's about to die, why else would an angel be hugging him? 

Whenever Yuri sees you, he already knows to hold out his arms so you can jump in his arms and hug him. It doesn't matter what's around him or what's in his hands, he's willing to suffer a first-degree burn from his hot coffee for a few days then have the audacity to not hug you. 

Whenever Yuri sees you, it's now mandatory for him to speak the first compliment before you do first. He feels like he'd be a terrible boyfriend if he didn't compliment you first.

"Yuri! How are you doing? I love your—" "(Y/N), THOSE PANTS LOOK AMAZING ON YOU!" he shouted. "THANK YOU!" you shouted back, matching his energy. "I LOVE YOUR—" "(Y/N), I LOVE YOUR HAIR! IT'S A BREATHTAKING COMPARISON TO YOUR SKIN!" Yuri yelled. "THANK YOU! I LOVE YOUR—" "(Y/N), I LOVE YOUR—" "DAMN IT, YURI! LET ME COMPLIMENT YOU!" you shouted. 

Yuri did in fact not let you compliment him. 

The first time you patted his head he almost became a Yuri Briar soft-serve because you melted his heart with your gesture. His face was beat red and he audibly went quiet while his mind was screaming about you touching him. Whether you had to reach up, bend down, or hold your hand out straight to pat his head, he was freaking out from how cute it was. 

More later in the relationship, Yuri's always expecting you to either physically or verbally show your love whenever you see him. If you accidentally forget a hug or head pat, he will grab your arm and pull you back to him with big tears in his eyes, asking what sin did he commit to suffer such a cruel fate of no loving from you? (He's so dramatic). 

Yuri has no shame pulling you in for a hug or holding your hand in front of his coworkers, boss, or even Yor! 

Yuri likes to return your affectionate gestures. He'll gladly pull you in for a hug or compliment you every time he sees you. Every time he sees you, he has to one-up his compliment from last time. He makes every compliment unique and wholesome, never stopping until you got a big smile on your face and red cheeks to match his pretty ruby eyes. 

Yuri loves your affection, receiving and giving, and he's not afraid to shout it out to the whole world 

Yuri actually did shout out how much he loved you and your affection while drunk once. be wary of his clinginess when he's drunk, hungover, and sober. It looks like he's the affectionate one in the relationship with how much he clings to you. 

Everyone is jealous of your and Yuri's relationship because he will fold to anything you say. You have basically no fights, and fights you do have can easily be resolved with a little bit of affection. He could never be mad at you for more than twenty minutes. 

Thank you so much for the request! I'm slowly chipping away the requests in my inbox so that I can make room for new requests, slowly but surely I'm making progress and gaining motivation. Thank you for reading!

Want more Yuri Briar content? Check out Yuri Briar masterlist!

[yumeka-sxf]

A chronological analysis on Twilight and Yor - Part 25

*This is part of an ongoing post series. If you missed the Introduction/Part 1, click here*

----------

In Part 19, I discussed how Twilight treats Bond as more than a dog when they went on the mission together at Born Laboratories. But the fire rescue episode is where his feelings really seep through. He gets rightfully upset when Bond seemingly attacks people for no reason. But rather than become angry, he not only remains logical – he tries to comprehend why a dog who's been properly trained would act this way, and even entertains the idea that Bond might be sick – but, like with the many times Anya's antics confused him, he puts the responsibility upon himself to understand Bond better.

Even after two of Bond's well-intentioned attempts to help people only caused Twilight to get frustrated, Twilight still decides to trust Bond when he gets agitated about the fire. And even after Bond runs into the burning building when supposedly no one was inside, Twilight still trusts him and thinks that perhaps his nose is sensing someone inside. It's clear that Twilight himself doesn't realize how much trust he has in this dog that he supposedly only keeps around "for the mission." Twilight even risks his own life by going after Bond.

When he realizes that the reason Bond went inside was to rescue another dog, his frustration immediately dissipates. He then smiles at Bond the same way he smiled at Yor on the island when he understood the sacrifice she made for Anya…it's a rare smile reserved only for when one of his family members does something that truly touches him.

And it touches him because making these kinds of sacrifices is what he does all the time. It's an unwavering sense of duty that he feels like he's alone in doing, so he can't help but feel gratified when he sees the same sentiment in others.

It's ironic that Twilight's first encounter with wet Bond is what almost makes him break his facade. Even though "Loid Forger" is supposed to be a normal guy who wouldn't have to hide emotions, and Twilight has inadvertently let some emotions such as fear, frustration, and compassion break through, the act of laughing must be too far removed from his spy persona that he simply can't bring himself to accept it, even when acting as Loid Forger. So all he can do is try to suppress the smirk creeping along his face and tell himself that a spy must always remain composed.

Considering how embarrassed he was when he thought Yor may have seen him skipping at the resort island, he's lucky she wasn't here to see him almost laugh at wet Bond…the embarrassment may have killed him.

This episode continues to show how Twilight is willing to stick his neck out to do what's right even at the risk of revealing himself. He did it not that long ago on a larger scale when he decided to help the SSS diffuse the bomb on the ship, and now he's doing it on a smaller scale with a dramatic fire rescue and apprehending an arsonist.

And once this self-made mission of his is complete, we get the pinnacle of how much Twilight cares for Bond when he tells him that he should think of himself as a family member first and guard dog second, plus how heartbroken "someone" would be if anything happened to him. While he has said compassionate things like this to Yor and Anya before, he seems to have an easier time expressing these feelings to Bond, since Bond is, again, someone with whom he doesn't have to put on acts.

@agentpenguinmann does an excellent job describing in this post how Twilight's compassionate side shines when he's interacting with Bond, or even dogs in general. To quote:

"Speaking of empathy, I think that among many others, one of the best pieces of evidence for it is how [Twilight] treats dogs - creatures over which he has the upper hand. He apologized to one dog three times in the span of a couple of minutes. A dog that was hostile towards him [referring to the German shepherd from the doggy crisis arc].

…in the "saving doggy from the fire" chapter, when the crisis was averted, Twilight got on Bond's eye level to tell him that he's gotta be careful because Anya would be heartbroken if something happened to him. This is something parents do to their kids to help children feel safer, to show them they're giving the kid their full attention. And then he goes right into the 'for the mission' mode at the slightest sign of affection from a dog.

…[Twilight is not] used to receiving any kind of gratitude for his actions. He just kinda doesn't know what to do with it, because literally moments later he gives Bond the Proud Dad look that speaks for itself."

The fact that he took time to say such thoughtful things to a dog, a creature who he probably assumes doesn't understand the meaning of his words, proves how deep his feelings run when someone he cares about puts the well being of others before their own. Even after he says such heartfelt things to Bond, and had patted him on the head several times throughout the day, he gets flustered when Bond affectionately rubs against his leg. He even reverts back to total "for the mission" mode by saying he's only doing this so as not to disrupt the Forger family, which would be bad for his mission. Since he had spent all day alone with Bond, and thus didn't have to put on any acts, he must have finally realized how liberating that felt so he had to correct himself regardless…he really is a work in progress.

But still, the soft smile he gives immediately after, followed by a promise to take Bond to the dog park the next day since he was left out of the vacation…are they the words of a still yet unbroken spy, or a growing dog dad?

When Becky has her play date at the Forger house, Twilight is still unable to fully detach himself from spy mode when forced to interact with a new person, even a child. In his smooth, subtle way, he tries to pry any potential information about the Blackbells from Becky. Interestingly, one of the questions he asks is whether her father plays with her. Compared to the questions he had asked prior about her father's business or whether they go out often, I can't see any benefit, from a spy perspective at least, about asking whether her father plays with her or not. Maybe he absentmindedly asked this because, deep down, he wants to know how other fathers are with their daughters (since he cares about his own aptitude as a father).

When Becky starts "putting the moves" on Twilight, both Twilight and Yor react as one would expect: Twilight is confused, as he typically is when he tries to find logic in the actions of children, while Yor and all her sweet naivety, finds Becky's seemingly innocent affection for Loid endearing. Since she spent a good portion of her life raising Yuri, she doesn't find anything wrong with silly child antics like that, especially since Yuri has always been overwhelmingly affectionate with her, but never in a "wrong" way (at least not from her perspective).

However, when Becky ramps things up, even Twilight begins to feel a bit uncomfortable. He starts thinking that Yor might get the "wrong" idea…perhaps something as dark as manipulating children's hearts for some sinister desire. But, while Yor trusts him more than he knows, she doesn't have nearly as much trust in her own abilities, so her first assumption when Becky mentions being drunk is that she may have done something wrong…like accidentally give a child alcohol!

When Becky finally admits that she was trying to go on a date with Loid, she's shocked that Yor's response is that she's glad so many people love Loid, since he's such a wonderful person. Again, since she's used to Yuri's outpouring admiration for her (with nothing malicious behind it), she doesn't think it's a bad thing for Becky to have similar feelings for Loid. And unlike Fiona, she knows that Loid wouldn't take the silly infatuation of a child seriously, so there's nothing to be jealous about. When Becky asks why Loid chose her, she brings up the time he complimented her on her strength after their date at the bar (since she can't tell Becky the real reason behind their marriage).

This scene implies that even though Loid may not have mentioned this particular part when "they had to have the same conversation again" the next morning, Yor still hadn't completely forgotten about it – his words must have really touched her, since she was not only able to remember them, but it's the first thing that comes to her mind when asked why Loid may have chose her to be his wife (as opposed to something simple, like being good at cleaning, which is what he had said during the Eden interview).

To be continued in Part 26 (whenever season 3 is released!)

<-Return to Part 24

[yeonhours]

dinner maybe !?

author's notes : Honestly I'm scared to post this , this was the fic that got me deleted last time , but hey i actually enjoyed writing this , so let's see how this goes down ㅠㅠ

pairing : bf! yeonjun × reader

genre : smut , non idol au

Yeonjun loves the fact that your wardrobe is filled with  dresses and skirts. You pace around the house or anywhere else for the matter in skimpy and pretty skirts . Soobin and his s/o had invited you both to their home for dinner and today is no different as you sit beside him with a pretty pink skirt that has obviously ridden over your thighs that exposes your creamy plush thighs . “ And you know , i never expected that they would telecast that part in the show !” soobin exclaims as he excitedly talks about the new to-do episode . You are completely immersed in the conversation , laughing about how funny and chaotic the recent episode was . It always feels like soobin is your best friend , you guys easily get along . Yeonjun on the other hand is shamelessly turned on at the feeling of your plush thighs against his. He knows that he is literally sitting at a dinner table , with his best friend and his girlfriend but the thoughts of literally pushing you against the table and flipping your skirt up to ruin yor cunt is absolutely consuming his mind . 

It’s like your thighs are calling out to him. He always had an obsession with your thighs . He likes to fold your legs in a mating press while fucking you deep , so he can pepper kisses across your thighs or better leave pretty bite marks across them . He cannot help himself . So Yeonjun lets his hands drag up the bare skin of your thighs, until he finds the spot where there should be more fabric, your  panties.

 A low groan sounds in the back of his throat when he finds them not there, clearly taken back by surprise at the lack of panties . You gasp at the sensation of his cold finger tips right against your folds that you almost choke on the food . “ Hey are you okay ?” Soobin asks , clearly concerned as you started coughing mid eating . Both Yeonjun’s and your face are a deep shade of red , but when you turn around to look at Yeonjun,  he has this smug look on his face , a clear indicator that you will be fucked stupid tonight . And honestly you don’t know whether you should be sad or excited about it . “ You are begging to be fucked in front of soobinnie , don’t you ?” he whispers in your ear as he slowly drags his finger tips along your folds. You let out a slick of gush the sensation gripping onto his thighs for support . Yeonjun shows you no mercy as he plays with your folds while soobin resumes his talking . His fingertips slowly inches towards your hole but he teases you by pulling them back . He suddenly pulls his fingers out and secretly licks his fingers clean , as if he were tasting the sauce , looking right in the eye with the most fuckable eyes ever . “ Sluts like you do not get to come “ Yeonjun says as he continues eating as if he just didn’t discover you not wearing panties to a dinner with his friend . Your arousal is dripping down your thigh at this point as you pray to god that soobin does not notice it . 

When soobin stands up to put the plates in the sink , you hurriedly stand up and pull your skirt down quickly , and making your way toward the sofa and pulling a comforter over you to hide yourself . Yeonjun on the other hand is having the time of his life , as he follows suit and removing the comforter off of you . He sits himself right beside you , and quickly works down his belt with the clink of a metal and pulls you over his lap . You can feel how hard he is through his boxers as you let out a ‘jjun’ as he gently guides you over his dick . Soobin is still in your hindsight as he clears up the table and you pray to all gods that he does not notice what is happening on his couch . “ What scared that soobin will finally see how much of a cock whore you are for me ? “ he whipers roughly in your ear , still guiding you up and down his clothed cock . His boxers are drenched at this point . He hears soobin’s voice nearing , so he pulls over the comforter over the both of you . He releases his red cock out of the confines and simply flips your skirt over in such a way that it is bunched around your waist . “ ye-yeonjun , no no ah - soobin might come here any moment “ you blabber but to no avail as he teases your hole with the tip of his cock , slightly putting it in but not really . “ Wouldn’t you love that ? Soobin seeing how good i am fucking you and seeing your cunt dripping with cum ?” he whispers and continues taping his cock against your clit . Your face is flushed red and your gripping onto the sides of the couch for dear life as Yeonjun sinks you down on his cock . 

He clenches his jaw as he burrows himself into you completely, the feeling of you around his cock sending him into complete ecstasy. He can feel you adjust yourself  and he wraps his arms around your waist, forcing you to stay in place. He needs to calm himself down first, keep himself from throwing out all of his composure and just pound you senseless . “ such a good slut for me aren’t you?” he whispers as soobin returns with a bunny smile on his face . “ So guys , do you want to watch Netflix ? “

[thelreads]

I think Anya crying when she saw Yor is a bit of character development for Anya. As you said before, she's never reacted like this to life or death situations before and I think that's for two reasons:

1) Before, she's always had another (for lack of a better word) "super human" to rely on. She could rely on Twilight's spy-ness, Yor's strength, and Bond's future sight to support her. This time she was with a bunch of children who had no extraordinary abilities other than being super rich. In this case, *she* was the super human they were relying on (even if they didn't know it). She was alone again, just like she was when she escaped the lab... But then she's not! Her Mama came for her.

2) going off of that, Anya is pretty... Stable(?) for a four year old who regularly almost dies. We see jokes about her mental health from Twilight worrying about it, but honestly, a four year old shouldn't be so blase about almost dying on the reg. She's very "welp I guess this is what's happening now" about a lot of things. Anya doesn't talk about feeling scared or sad. She cried when apologizing to Damien because of, I think, a stress response (she was overwhelmed by the thoughts around her). But I can't think of another time she had a full on, tears streaming down her face, wailing. Even in the lab flashback, she wasn't saying anything, because she knew she wouldn't get comforted. When she cried after Twilight scolded her for studying, she ran to her room. But in this moment, Anya is opening herself up emotionally to Yor. Even if it was just stress, she's allowing herself to cry. And then, instead of being scolded, like she would have been at the lab, her mama hugs her.

Also, I think this highlights a difference between Anya and Twilight's relationship versus Anya and Yor. Anya adores Twilight, and wants to be his mini-me. She considers herself an accomplice to his spy mission, but, ironically, that makes her less emotionally open with him. He's always got so many walls up, that even though she loves him, she's not sure if he loves her. With Yor, Anya knows that Yor is exactly the same inside and out. Anya knows Yor will comfort her when she cries. And it's not that Twilight wouldn't; it's just that Anya isn't sure he will. Which is sad in its own right.

But anyway, this scene is a favorite because we rarely see Anya show that she adores Yor just as much as she adores Loid. It's shown in different ways, but she does love Yor a lot.

Absolutely. Twilight and Anya love each other, but the walls are there for sure. Twilight thinks that he's a tool only useful to keep world peace and thus he keeps a reasonable distance from her, not only to keep his secrets, but I feel that it's also because he knows he wants to show her love that his father never showed him, and that scares him a bit. Anya, on the other hand, not only maintains a distance so both of their secrets are hidden, but probably because she has some unresolved problems with her own father back in the lab. She knows twilight loves her, but she still has trouble accepting the "father" part because of her past.

They'll come around to it eventually, and Yor will be there to hug them both.

[aerequets]

anya's big little sibling conundrum

posted on ao3

summary: Anya is excited about the fact that she's going to be an older sibling, until George spins a different tale. Now she can't stop fearing the worst. Luckily, she has friends and parents to remind her that she isn't going anywhere.

a/n: it's common for only children to get jealous when a new kid is on the way. although this isn't exactly anya being jealous, it's more like her being insecure. i think she would be, since she's been returned four times already (😔) but luckily she has GOOD PARENTS to remind her that that's never happening 😤 also hopefully the kids sound like kids but like idk how 7-8 year olds speak so we'll just have to deal with it ig LMAO

also just a few things:

-this is set 2 years later, so the kids at eden are 8 (anya is 7) -loid and yor are together-together; they told each other about their secret occupations, but not anya yet, because she's really young. (obvs she already knows though)

.

.

.

Anya was going to be an older sister. 

It was a fact she’d been announcing around school ever since she’d found out. Or, more accurately, ever since her parents had decided to tell her last week. It would be bad if she was announcing Mama’s pregnancy without ever having been told. Despite the fact that a lot of the kids at school were rich and snooty and laughed at her for doing ‘commoner’ things, a younger sibling was something many of them didn’t have—and something that money couldn’t buy. Sometimes classmates she hardly talked to would come up to her and ask about it. 

Anya couldn’t lie—she was relishing in the attention a little bit.

Becky had been thrilled, then devastated for a brief spell (“My Loid”, she’d sobbed), but ultimately she was almost as happy as Anya. “I’m a little jealous,” she admitted. “I’d love to have a little baby sister I could dress up. We have to go shopping for clothes.”

“We don’t know if I’ll have a sister or a brother,” Anya pointed out. Becky blinked, as if it hadn’t even occurred to her that the baby might be a boy. 

“We can still go shopping,” she contended. “All baby clothes are cute! There’s gotta be gender-neutral clothes too.” She went on to detail the ways in which infant fashion was, in fact, a great industry with much to offer.

Anya hummed along, but truthfully, her mind wasn’t on clothes. She was thinking of all the cool games she’d play with her sibling. They could be an agent recruit in her spy game! She’d show them cool things like silenced-pistols and hideout spots in their home. They’d share peanuts and watch Spy Wars together. And, of course, Anya would have someone to regale with the tales of her super-cool heroic deeds. 

Anya snapped back to attention when Becky’s voice turned sour. “Ugh, not them again.” 

She didn’t have to look at the approaching posse to see who Becky was referring to. Even though they were in year 3 now—much older, cooler, and more mature in Becky’s own words—Anya hadn’t gotten much closer to Damian. They fought less, but they also weren’t on house-visiting level yet. It was more like a truce than a friendship, but hey. She hadn’t punched him in two whole years. That had to count for something. 

“Look who it is.” Ewen was the first one to speak up, a smirk pulling at his face. “Forger and Blackbell. I bet you two were talking about something stupid, like always.” 

“We were actually talking about baby clothes,” Becky shot back. It had been more of a one-sided conversation, but Anya didn’t mention that. “Since Anya is gonna be a big sister.”

“We know, you’ve only told us a bajillion times,” Emile said, rolling his eyes. “Big deal.”

“Damian’s big brother is perfect. That’s why Damian is perfect too,” Ewen added, gesturing to the boy standing in the middle of their trio. Damian stayed silent and impassive while Ewen went on. “You better clean up your act or you’ll screw up the kid before they even enter school.”

“I’m gonna be a great big sister,” Anya retorted. “I’ll play with them all the time and share my toys and candy. And give them important life or death advice!”

Emile tsked. “I feel bad for the poor child already. Right, Damian?”

Damian looked haughty as ever, fists stuffed in his pant pockets, but he didn’t agree right away. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Demetrius had done that stuff with me, he thought. Anya’s eyes widened. 

“What’re you looking at?” Was what came out of his mouth instead when he caught Anya staring. “Sheesh. The first thing you should teach the kid is that staring all bug-eyed is creepy.” 

With that, the trio sauntered off, leaving behind a disgusted Becky and a shocked Anya. Bug-eyed?! 

“Whatever, don’t mind them,” Becky huffed. “I know you’ll be a great sister.”

“Thanks,” Anya said warmly. Sometimes she thought about how lucky she was to have Becky as a friend. At that moment, George walked by, stopping when he saw them.

“I heard about your baby sibling,” he said. Anya puffed up. 

“Yep, I’m gonna be a—”

“I’m sorry,” George sighed. Anya froze mid-sentence. 

“Huh? What for?” 

“What? You don’t know?” George turned his face up to the sky and, at that moment, a breeze ruffled by, exemplifying the melancholy expression on his face. “Why…your life as you know it is about to end.”

“WHAT?!” Anya hadn’t heard about anything like that. Was the baby going to kill her once it came?! But surely she’d win, right? She’d done Mama’s special training. But—no, wait. Anya balked. The baby was inside Mama. Did that mean it had her strength, too?! Anya’s head spun as she imagined a swole baby. She might just lose her life. 

“Stop talking nonsense,” Becky snapped, dragging Anya out of her reverie. “What do you mean, her life will end?” 

“You wouldn’t know, since you’re an only child,” George replied. “But I do. I got a baby sister last year.”

They’d heard about it. George, normally gloomy and sighing about his lack of a social life, had actually been excited and chatty leading up to the birth of his sister, just like Anya was now. “We know,” Becky said. “Congratula—”

“Don’t congratulate me!” George screeched, suddenly all up in their faces. Becky yelped and leapt back. “I was just like you. A fool, a clown, prancing around—” Anya took great offense to that. “—telling anyone that would listen that I was gonna be an older sibling. But do you know what being an older sibling entails?”

It was silent for a few seconds before Anya realized George’s question wasn’t rhetorical. “Um, no?”

“You become second place.” The fire that had lit in George suddenly died as he wilted, shoulders slouching. “Suddenly there’s an adorable baby. Who’s gonna pay attention to you when there’s the baby? Tell me, are there things you like to do with your parents?”

“Yeah!” The list was too long to fully recite, but Anya still prattled off, “Having teatime, playing spy, going to the park with Bond, doing picnics, watching Mama beat up bad guys, going in the secret doors in Papa’s office—” 

“Get ready to give all that up,” George interrupted decisively. “Because there won’t be any time for that stuff anymore. It’s either gonna be feeding the baby, or changing the baby’s diaper, or putting the baby to sleep, or playing with the baby. No room for you in there.”

Anya’s jaw slackened in horror. Could it be true? She didn’t want to believe that her life with Mama and Papa would change like that. But… Her heart seized. But I’m adopted. Even Mama knew that fact now, ever since she and Papa had come clean to each other about everything (not that they knew that Anya knew). What if they liked the baby more, since it was actually theirs? What if they decided they didn’t need Anya anymore? Realistically, she knew her Mama and Papa would never do that. But anxiety was rolling through her stomach. They’d already started telling her that with the baby, a lot of big changes would come.

Was one of the changes going to be Anya becoming an outsider? 

“Stop scaring her!” Becky scolded, looping a protective arm through Anya’s. “You’re such a downer, George.” With that barb, she dragged Anya away, muttering all the while about how stupid George didn’t know what he was talking about. “That’s not going to happen to you,” she told Anya, impassioned. “For one, my Loid does not discriminate. He’s not going to act all cold towards you just because there’s another kid. And Master Yor has a heart as open as the wide sea! She’s got enough space for a million kids, let alone just two.”

Even though Becky calling her parents “my Loid” and “Master Yor” still weirded her out, Anya was comforted by her best friend’s reassurance. Becky was right: Papa was the most just, level-headed person in the world. And Mama’s heart was the only thing as big and strong as her muscles. She felt her heart lighten up a little as relief filled her core. Everything was going to be fine. 

Or so she thought, until she reached home later that day.

When she opened the door, she was met with the sight of Franky lounging on the sofa. 

“Scruffy?” Anya asked as her Papa was entering the room. “Why are you here?”

“That’s exactly what I said,” he sniffed. He sounded discontent, although he looked awfully comfortable with a cup of coffee and a plate of snacks spread out before him. He turned to Loid. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m not a babysitter?!”

Loid ignored Franky and turned to Anya. He was pulling on his suit-jacket, the one he wore when going out. “Hey there. How was school?”

“Meh. It was the same as usual. But…” Anya considered asking him about what George had said, but decided against it. It was stupid, and Papa was about to leave anyways. ”Where are you going?”

“I’m picking up Yor from work early so we can go to the hospital,” he explained. “The doctor is going to check up on the baby’s growth.”

“Whoa. Can I come?”

Loud chuckled. “Unfortunately, it’s not exactly a thing you can bring a child to. It’s more between the parents, the doctor and the baby.” Anya felt a sting at that sentence. “Which is why Franky here generously offered to stay with you, as he often does.” Franky scoffed.

“Oh… um…” Anya floundered. “Can you help me with my math homework before dinner?” 

Loid’s eyes widened. “You want to work on math?” When Anya nodded, a proud look crossed his face, one that Anya relished in. But the good feeling quickly dissipated when Loid sighed regretfully. “It might take some time at the hospital. We’re planning to be back by dinner. I’ll help you afterwards if there’s time.”

“Oh.” Anya swallowed dryly. She’d never been disappointed to not do math before. “Okay. Bye, Papa.”

He knelt down to hug her. He’d been doing that more often lately. Will he stop once the baby comes? Anya wondered. “Goodbye Anya,” he said, turning around to pin Franky with a stare. “Make sure you behave yourself.”

“Hey, why does it feel like you’re saying that to me?” 

Loid got up, put his hat on, and departed with one final wave, leaving Anya and Franky in the living room.

“You know, I could help you with math too,” Franky said. “I’m a bit of an engineering genius myself.” Anya must not have done a good job of masking her unimpressed-ness, because Franky sat up straight with an incredibly offended look. “What’s that expression?! I’m offering to help you out here!” 

“Why would I want to do math?” Anya asked. She decided to bum around in her room with Bond until her parents got back and left, leaving a flabbergasted Franky behind. 

A few hours later, Anya heard the front door opening and rushed out of her room. “Mama! Papa! You’re back!” 

“Hello, Anya!” Yor opened her arms and swept Anya into a tight hug. She noticed Franky in the living room and smiled at him. “Hello, Franky. Was everything alright?”

“Hey, Yor. Yeah, everything was fine.” As gruff as Franky was with Loid, he’d taken to being extra nice with Yor ever since he found out about her pregnancy. He said it was because he wasn’t going to risk his neck by invoking her (or Loid’s) wrath, but Anya had read his mind. He was excited about meeting the baby in the future. It was a fact that had made Anya laugh before, but now her stomach twisted uncomfortably. Would even Franky be forgetting about her in lieu of the baby?

“How’s the baby coming along?” Franky asked. 

Yor and Loid exchanged a smile. “The fetus is about seven centimeters long now,” Yor said. “And the heartbeat is going strong.”

“How big is seven centimeters?” Anya asked. Loid thought for a few seconds before gesturing to her hand.

“It’s roughly the size of your fist,” he said. Anya clenched her hand and held it up. The baby was awfully small. 

“Hmm. That’s good.” Franky’s stiff words were offset by the growing grin on his face. “Hey, now is the time to start thinking about names, isn’t it? I propose Franklin Junior. Very distinguished.”

Loid’s lip curled up in disgust while Yor laughed. “What if it’s a girl?”

“Frankette. Frankina. There’s lots of options.” 

“Shouldn’t you get going?” Loid asked. Clearly he wasn’t going to risk the chances of Yor actually liking Franky’s suggestions. “It’s getting late.”

“Wow. You’ll have me over three times a week to babysit but I can’t stay for five minutes on my own?”

“You could join us for dinner,” Yor offered. Franky’s scowl eased into a smile as he turned to her.

“Nah, I was just kidding. Besides, I have got a hot date tonight.” He gathered up his things and patted Anya’s head. “Bye, kid. Enjoy your dinner. And I’m raising my rates for babysitting from here on out!” With that, he slammed the door shut. Loid rolled his eyes. 

“Always a handful,” he grumbled. His face melted into a warm smile as he turned to Yor, though. He’d started doing that even before they had told each other their secrets. “I made roasted vegetables earlier today. Do you think you can eat some of that?”

Yor nodded, resting a hand on her stomach. She was only a little over 3 months along, so her coat still covered the small bump. Papa said the bump would get bigger and bigger until it was the size of a watermelon—Anya couldn’t imagine that. “I think those will be good. My body doesn’t reject them as much, at least.” Yor had been suffering morning sickness for the past few weeks. The doctor said it was normal, but Loid still tried finding foods that would make her as less sick as possible. 

They sat down to eat dinner. They all talked to each other like usual, but Anya could read their minds and tell that they were thinking about the baby, too. 

We could convert the unused bedroom into a nursery, Papa thought. I’ve seen magazines and some parents do themes for the rooms, like nautical, or astronomical. Not to mention, some colors like subtle blues relax the body and mind. Something desaturated and pastel would be best to aid the baby’s comfort and growth to the fullest…

I wonder if we could use Loid’s old bedroom as a nursery, Mama was thinking at the same time. We could do cute decorations for the baby! Like knives… oh, that’s not very child-safe. Some well-contained poisons, then? A couple splashes of red on the wall for color-pop… 

Anya shivered. She didn’t really get it—the baby was hardly the size of a tennis ball right now! She couldn’t even read its mind because it didn’t have any thoughts yet. But Mama and Papa were already thinking about its room, and how they would decorate it, and what names would be good if it was a girl or a boy. 

George was right. Things had been changing under her nose and she hadn’t even noticed. Where did that leave her now? 

“Anya?” She jumped and looked up to see her parents watching her in concern. Yor cocked her head. “Are you alright? You haven’t eaten much.”

“I…” She hesitated. She didn’t want to complain and sound like an immature little kid—after all, she was eight now (technically seven, but that was irrelevant)—and put them off. She would have to ask George what to do at school tomorrow.

“I don’t like carrots,” she said instead, pushing them aside on her plate. 

“You should eat them,” Loid chided. “Carrots are good for you.”

“I think your little sibling may like them, too,” Yor said, a faint note of surprise in her voice as she had another piece. She hummed as if it were gourmet steak. “Oh! That’s good.” Anya wrinkled her nose. Of course the baby liked carrots. 

“Are we looking at a carrot craving?” Loid asked teasingly. “I have to say, it’s better than olives dipped in jam.”

“That was just for a couple days,” Yor said, cheeks stuffed with carrots and reddening. “Don’t bash it till you try it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied, leaning his chin on his hands. Anya could detect the sappiness entering their voices (and minds) and quickly shoveled the rest of her potatoes into her mouth. “Mmkay I’ma go now!” 

She had to figure out what to do, and quickly. 

…

The next day at school, Anya spent lunch break looking for George. She didn’t think it would be hard before, but she’d neglected to remember that 1) Eden’s campus was massive, 2) she was tiny and getting around took forever, and 3) George was a recluse, which meant he wasn’t in any of the places she checked first. 

Becky, bless her heart, was accompanying Anya on her search. Anya hadn’t told her why she wanted to meet with George, but after a while Becky frowned. 

“Hey, you aren’t still bothered by what he said yesterday, right?”

Anya froze in the middle of checking underneath a rock. Could Becky read minds too?! “Uhh… nooo?” 

Becky sighed. “I knew his words would bother you. He’s not right, you know.”

“You don’t get it!” Anya burst out. “I didn’t notice before, but the baby is all Mama and Papa think about. We don’t do stuff like before now. I even asked Papa to help me with math—which he loooves when I do—but there wasn’t time for even that! What if they already like the baby more than me?”

“Of course things are going to be different now that there’s a baby. That’s not a bad thing,” Becky soothed. “And they’re not gonna like the baby more. You’re their child, too!”

But I’m adopted. Anya bit her tongue. Nobody else knew that except for their family. Nobody else knew that Anya had been returned four times already because those other parents hadn’t liked her enough. She couldn’t lose this life she had now to the same thing. The very thought of it brought tears to her eyes.

“Oh, Anya!” Becky rushed forward, handkerchief already in hand. “Don’t cry…!”

“Ugh. I’ve seen enough of this,” a far-off voice muttered. The girls turned to see Damian stomping out from behind a pillar, looking incensed, with Ewen and Emile trailing close behind.

“Damian?” Becky was aghast. “Were you stalking us?”

“N-NO!” He yelled. “I just saw you two—running around looking for—and—ARGH!” He facepalmed. “Anyways, I just happened to hear what you guys said.”

“So you were stalking and eavesdropping?!”

“That’s not the point!” Damian snapped. He rounded on Anya, one finger outstretched. “You’re being totally stupid!”

“Wuh?” Anya sniffed. She couldn’t recall doing anything to make Damian this mad at her. At least, not yet. “What’s with you?”

“What’s with me? You’re the one taking George’s words seriously and crying about it!” he retorted. “Everyone knows that guy’s a total drama-queen.” 

“But-but he was right,” Anya said, voice wobbling. “The baby isn’t even born yet and… and Mama and Papa are already way busier than before.”

“Well, duh! If you’re growing a whole human, then things are gonna change for everyone around you.” Well, when he put it like that, Anya couldn’t even argue back. “You don’t even have to do anything for your parents to love you,” he continued. “And you won’t have to do anything special after the baby is born, either. They’ll love you anyways.” He scuffed the ground with his shoe. “That’s just what your parents are like.”  

I’m the youngest kid, and I’m nowhere near the favorite, he thought bitterly. So clearly it’s not a rule for parents to prefer the second kid. 

Anya stalled as she watched Damian. His words were relieving in their truth, sharp-tongued as they were, but his thoughts hurt to hear. All of the things she’d been fearing for the past day were things Damian already went through. She really was lucky. Mama always made sure to give her lots of hugs and she always protected her from bad guys. Papa, even when he didn’t show it, was proud of her for the good things she did. They talked to her and laughed with her and took her places. Her Mama and Papa were nothing like Damian’s parents. 

She wished his weren’t the way they were, either.

“Sy-on boy…” Anya was considering risking her life and giving him a hug (hugs always made her feel better, after all) when they heard approaching footsteps. All of them turned to see George, timely as ever.

“Ah, Anya!” He waved. “I was looking for you.”

“What? Why?” Becky was in front of Anya in a flash, glowering. “Are you gonna put more trash in her head?”

“Yeah, back off,” Damian said, much to Anya’s surprise. But George held his hands up, placating.

“Actually, I came to tell you I changed my mind about the sibling thing.”

Anya was too confused to even read his mind on this one. “...what?”

“You see, there was this action figure I wanted, but my parents got my sister a doll instead,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “But they gave it to me today and said it was a surprise. So siblings aren’t really all that bad.”

It was silent. A breeze sent a few leaves twirling by as they all stared at George. Then—united for maybe the first time in all their years at Eden—Anya, Becky, Damian, Emile and Ewen turned around and walked away together. 

“Hey, where are you guys going?” 

“Total drama queen, like I said,” Damian muttered. At this point their lunch break was almost over. Anya felt a little embarrassed for wasting her (and, inadvertently, everyone else’s) time with such a silly problem. Despite that, though, she felt more relieved than she had been in the past 24 hours. Mama and Papa weren’t going to get rid of her. If Damian could see that, it must be really obvious.

It was when Becky got in a heated argument with Emile and Ewen about tanks that Damian, walking kind-of-next-to Anya but a little too distanced for them to be considered walking together, cleared his throat.  

“You should talk to your parents,” he said. “About what you told Becky, I mean. There’s no point in keeping that stuff to yourself.”

Anya tilted her head as she considered him. He was staring at the ground as they walked. She couldn’t figure him out, and his thoughts weren’t clear enough to be of any help. “Why do you care, Sy-on boy?” she asked, out of genuine curiosity rather than as a jab. 

His head snapped up at that. Anya could practically (and literally) hear him pushing down the urge to pick a fight. Instead, he gritted his teeth, then sighed. “It’s what I would do,” he admitted, “if I had the chance. You’re lucky.” 

She knew that she was lucky. Throwing all caution to the wind, Anya crossed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug.

As far as hugs went, it was pretty awkward. Mostly because he’d gone so rigid that it felt like she was hugging a mannequin. When she pulled back, his face was so red—practically exploding with anger!—that she instantly regretted her actions. Would he put her in jail for touching him? What if she had to spend the rest of her life paying off the debt from touching his rich-person clothes (they all had the same uniform, but still)?! She had to deflect his attention!

“You should come to my house when the baby is born,” she blurted. 

He said nothing. When she peeked into his mind, it was empty. How could it be totally empty? Was this what people meant when they said blind with rage?  

“Pink tanks are equally as functional, if not more!” Becky’s voice, growing in volume, floated over to her. “Who’s gonna look at a pink tank and expect actual damage? It’s a sneak attack in your face. It’s a Trojan horse! I’m not wasting time on this anymore!” She stomped back to Anya and grabbed her wrist. “Come on. It’s a total mistake to think these idiots could actually hold a good opinion,” she huffed. 

Anya heard it when Becky had already dragged her a few paces away from the boys. It was quiet, and could have easily been lost in the surrounding noise, but she heard Damian say it nonetheless.

“Okay.”

…

When Anya got home that day, both Mama and Papa were sitting in the living room. It was a little surprising since she hadn’t seen both of them at the same time this early in the day for a while now. On top of that, it looked like they’d been waiting for her from the way they both got quiet upon her arrival. 

“I’m home?” Her statement came out like a question from her confusion. “Is something happening?” 

“Why don’t you sit down?” Loid said, angling his head towards the sofa. Warily, Anya approached. She wished Bond was in the room so she could take a peek into the future. 

“Uhh…am I in trouble? I swear I didn’t mean to break the green bowl! It was an accident!”

“You’re not in—wait, that was you?” Loid squinted at her. Anya laughed a little too loudly and scrambled onto the sofa. 

“So what’s going on?”

Loid relented and traded a look with Yor. Anya could hear snippets of their thoughts, but couldn’t make any sense of them. Talk to her…recently been feeling…developing…killing anyone who dares harm…efficient communication… It probably didn’t help that their wildly different thoughts were jumbling together. 

“We’ve noticed that you’re a little down recently,” Yor said. “And we were worried about you.” 

Anya felt a pang of guilt at those words. They had worried about her. She almost decided not to tell them what had brought her down because it felt even sillier now, but Damian’s words floated into her head. There’s no point in keeping that stuff to yourself. It’s what I would do if I had the chance. He was right—Anya could bottle it all up and get worried about it again in the future. Or she could confess to her parents and hear what she needed to hear from them. 

“Um… well, the thing is…” Anya felt awkward looking at their faces while confessing possibly the most embarrassing thing she’d done this year, so she fidgeted with her fingers in her lap instead. “See, George at school, he got a baby sister last year. And he told me that once a baby is born the first kid gets forgotten about. He said it becomes about the new baby and there’s no time to do fun stuff with your parents anymore. And I kinda remembered how you were always so busy, even though the baby is, like, only as big as my hand right now.” She was rambling, but was met with silence, so she continued. It was actually a little relieving to spill it all out. “So I got scared… because… I’m adopted and I thought once the baby was born you might not want me anymo—” 

Anya found herself suddenly yanked into a solid, warm embrace. When she reoriented herself, she realized her Mama had wound her arms around her, one hand on the back of her head. Warm drops plipped onto her head and Anya realized that Mama was crying. 

“That will never happen,” she whispered, kissing the top of Anya’s head. “Oh, Anya. Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”

Even more embarrassingly, Anya felt a lump in her throat. “Because it’s stupid. And I know you and Papa wouldn’t do that. But I got scared by what George said anyways.”

A third, warm hand smoothed down her hair. Papa was sitting next to them now. “Your feelings aren’t stupid,” he said softly. “I was thinking about how we might not have properly gotten you used to the idea of having a sibling. But you handled everything so maturely.”

Anya didn’t think freaking out at George’s dramatics and crying in front of her friends was very mature, but Papa’s praise made warmth bloom in her chest anyways. “I was?”

“You were excited about your sibling before anything else.” Yor slightly eased her hold on Anya. The girl leaned back to see both of her parents beaming down at her. “Do you know why this baby is going to be an extremely lucky child?”

“Because they’ll have you and Mama for parents,” she replied, remembering Damian’s words again. You’re lucky. 

“And you as a big sister. You’re going to be an exemplary role model, Anya.”

“...I am?” Anya blinked. “Even with my grades… and my bolts?”

“Yes. Because those things don’t make a person.” Papa poked her chest. “You have a big heart, Anya. You do what’s right and you care about the right things, too. I believe the baby will flourish under your guidance.” 

“We’ll always love you, Anya,” Yor added. “No matter what. And your little sibling will, too.” 

Anya felt like her heart would overflow. Her Mama and Papa couldn’t undo all the times she’d been returned, but for the first time Anya was grateful that she hadn’t stayed with the Levskis, the Williams, the Roches, or anyone else. 

Because then she would have never been a Forger. 

“I’ll tell you everything from now on,” she promised, voice muffled by Yor’s sweater. “I promise.”

“Good.” They stayed like that for a while, the three of them wrapped up, and at some point Bond woke up from his nap in the other room and came over to join them. 

Anya got a fuzzy glimpse of the future from the dog. It looked like she, Mama and Papa were out shopping somewhere, pushing a shopping cart. They were looking at different baby toys. 

Anya was excited. She’d make sure to pick out the best toy for the baby. 

[marchtooctober]

My valentine gift for @wondrousmay @whateversawesome @shiro-s2e2-erukinzu @tare-chan

♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡

A turn to left, a turn to right.

It was one of those rare nights when Loid could not shut himself down to rest. He's wondering why it is so. Maybe it was because his day wasn't as tiring as usual or because of the overdose of caffeine.

In the last two hours, his sleeplessness was spent on staring at the ceiling accompanied with a symphony of unspoken thoughts. His frustration is such that he flipped away the blanket to his side.

*creaking of the door

Loid left the room and did not bother switching the lights on.

He sniffed in the scent of freshly changed curtains as he slid it to the side and without thinking much of it, he looked out of the window as he leaned himself against the corner. There is nothing remarkable below as it is already late into the night and the only ones to see are people who are yet to reach their own homes.

And so Loid had nothing to do but unconsciously stare at the night sky. Only a handful of shimmering stars can be seen due to the urban atmosphere. And more so, because of the full moon high up above, in all its glory.

"The moon is beautiful tonight." Came a voice behind Loid with no warning.

A combination of electrifying jolt and warm shiver spread throughout his body. It made him fix his posture but he did not turn. He didn't need to because he knew the voice. The one which has now grown overly familiar and speaks home to him, all that is sweet and serenity. Yet, like a stimulant, it was enough to affect his heartbeat and breathing which spiked even higher when the very person stood before him.

"You're still up at this time?"

"I'm sorry, Yor. I couldn't sleep." Loid said.

Under the moonlight, Yor looked as though she was its personified goddess.

"I went out to drink water. How about I brew you some tea?" She asked.

"That sounds good. Thank you."

It was merely a minute but Loid was holding his breath. He was caught off guard again by Yor and he contemplated how many times this already happened. In vain he lost count and he was aware that it will do him no good even if he knew. He'd still be vulnerable all the same.

"Here, Loid."

Yor held the cup by the corner near the base so handle is facing Loid. But even with this, their fingertips never failed to make contact. Surely, they would have flinched, if it wasn't for the tea-filled ceramic that they're holding.

Loid tried to compose himself and it frustrated him and he felt rather fidgety.

"Thank you." Loid could say no more than that.

He carelessly drew the cup and burned his lips. It showed on his face that it hurt him quite a bit. How he wish it didn't because Yor stepped nearer to him in worry.

"I must have served it too hot! I'm sorry... Does it hurt?"

Loid could not speak but shook his head, not wanting her to mind it. But it seems Yor did not notice and decided on something else. Swiftly, she held Loid's face and closed in for a kiss.

Loid froze. Again, he was caught off guard. This act is about to drive him mad. It was torture and pleasure at the same time. Though he wanted to shy away, there was no way to resist this attack that took him by surprise.

Soft and lingering. Swayed by the heavenly bliss. How Yor felt on his lips was perhaps the only remedy Loid needed.

"I'm going back now. You should do the same as soon as you're done. The bed feels too big without you." Yor said when she broke away.

Loid could not look elsewhere, his eyes always sought Yor's. Almost as if he is drawn in by those crimson orbs. Exchanging another gaze, Yor smiled and turned away.

Now Loid realized the reason he couldn't sleep.

For every restless contemplation, Yor is his muse. To be loved by her is too good to be true.

♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡♥︎♡

My, myyyy... this took a rather peculiar turn. I'll let you imagine whether this drabble is post-mission/post-revelation/post-confession 😂🤣

Ps. I honestly had a different ending for this but i suddenly decided to go with a very valentine vibe 😂🤣

[nekoro-san]

About Yuri in episode 28

(The episode is already aired so it’s not spoiler guess)

This is a review for today episode because it will Yuri centric and how he’s working in SSS. I have seen lot of negative reviews of this manga chapter 41 but then this is one a few of my chapter and I want to point a few positive and a few of my favorite moments, like this

When Franklin talked to his sick father about their poverty and have no medical to save his mother death. Yuri expression showing emotionless in that panel when he heard their struggles. In my theory , it could be a hint of Briars mother has the same path, to died of poverty and sickness. And Yuri might felt empty after that happens. So might be it’s showing Yuri does felt empathy to Franklin in that moment.

I do remember when Yuri tutor Anya, he also said that he also wants to study about medicine to cure his sister when she was sick. And in lightnovel, he wants Anya to choose the job that can make money so that she would not end up poverty like him and Yor did.

Go back to Frank, I think there is an interesting part after Yuri heard that line of Franklin and his father advise him to change his job for a better life, Franklin refused because to have this job can earn more better money.

In later page, based on Yuri eyes, I do think that he really wants Franklin to change his ideal after his father words, but Franklin still send the reports, to earn the dirty money he wants. For me, like most plot convience , I do want Yuri came out and said how disappointed of him to disobey his dad words and let Franklin change his mind. But Yuri didn’t.

I think there is reason why.In early page, Yuri already act without action, to almost killed him because of the words when Franklin said to the kids about the sss, Yuri’s boss claim him down and told him to wait for “evidences”. That’s why Yuri follow his boss order to do it. Tbh if he didn’t disobey his boss, this sence will be different, but then this is a part of his character development in future. And to show the way the sss shut out their dark secrets 🤷‍♀️ ( of course for a youngster like Yuri, he doesn’t aware of this but to be obedient as a lapdog and how sss control his strength to promote and overworked him)

But what I really love is, Yuri is still Yuri. Despite he doesn’t like Franklin actions, but that didn’t mean he didn’t felt sympathy to his circumstances. He can and still disobey orders, just in his own way. And it’s prove from the moment Yuri said that he will support the financial to Frank’s father. That’s the 1st time the series show Yuri has empathy to Franklin because he also does same thing, to do dirty works for the sake of family. Yuri doesn’t need to do it, but he still do anyway.

This chapter and the moment he felt emotionless ( remind me of Loid expression) make me shed a tear. He’s a good kid. His moral has been messed up and brainwashed, but he does try to do right thing ( even it’s morally confused).

What bother me that I hope to see what’s his interaction with different targets. I always want to see a side story of Yuri meeting Franklin dad and maybe they are sharing the about their past and struggles. This could be a good character development for him because he does showing sympathy to others, whenever it’s family matter. However the story always implies sss being an antagonist side and how brainwashed they would be so it could be never happen.

For me. I do hope in the future chapter, there would be a big consequences of sss that Yuri had to face and he may choose the option to know there would be better way to give his sister a peaceful life.

*Future arc spoilers* Hence, I always to see one of Yuri future colleagues,Chloe, might change his decision on his life. I like Yuri boss but so far he only care about Yuri for his sss job more than to let Yuri disobey his orders ( and his boss starts to notice Yuri didn’t obey his orders at all, especially in bus jacking arc) . In mole arc, Chloe knows that Yuri didn’t obey orders but she seems to care about Yuri reckless condition more than her own mission, which I found adorable. Interacting more with Chloe may let Yuri realize there is someone better to protect, someone that didn’t care for his mission but care for him well being truly. But that is my two cents as if the author want to or not. 🤷‍♀️

[insertmesoftly]

Reasons To Keep You Here (Yuri x AFAB Immigrant Reader) Part 3

Part 1 Part 2

The first to know about your marriage was, of course, the Forger family. Yor burst into tears and went for a bone-crunching hug with both you and Yuri in her arms.

Loid stood behind her, a hand under his chin and he thought about this new development. You with Yuri? …. This could be good or bad for him. Surely, Yuri would insist on moving to your apartment to be close to Yor. But a married life could lead for a good distraction… Loid was cautious on the whole but gave a warm smile and congratulations. He had to turn this to his advantage.

Anya…. Anya was confused. She knew the two of you were NEVER romantically together. Sure you might have gotten friendlier but… what happened to the plan to marry you to someone else? Why Yuri? Had you really become that desperate??? Her thoughts stayed with her as Yor continued her cooing.

‘OH, I KNEW YOU TWO HAD SOMETHING! Yuri, you were so adorable when you kept asking me questions about her! And I saw the way you looked at him, Y/N, and how interested you were in my stories!!! I knew it, I knew it!’ Yor let you both go. You nearly fell to the floor but Yuri caught you and you both slumped together as Yor continued her excited bouncing, heading to the kitchen.

‘THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION! I’m making us a FEAST!!! Oh that’s right… I need to buy some stuff. STAY RIGHT THERE! I’ll be right back!’

‘I’ll go with you. We might as well do our entire grocery run today. You two can look after Anya, right?’ Loid wanted some more time to think about how to approach this. Also… he needed to make sure Yor wasn’t planning on making one of her ‘special dishes.’ You agreed to staying behind. Yuri crossed his arms but did the same. As soon as the married couple left, your new fiancé gave out a big sigh.

‘…. Yor took this way too well. Did she really think we liked each other?’

‘I know… it’s a little… off-putting to realize she always hoped we would do this. No offense but…’

‘No, same here. Eugh.’

‘… atleast we can use this to our advantage? No one suspects a thing!’

‘Yeah… I guess…’ You turned to look at him. He was still visibly pouting.

‘…. You’re sad Yor wasn’t upset.’

‘Shut up.’

You gave him a sympathetic look… which was replaced by shock as you noticed Anya’s…. peculiar face behind Yuri. Eyes squinted, mouth taught, the little girl oozed disapproval and pity. You panicked, wondering how much she heard.

‘Oh, Anya, haha! It’s been a while since we played any games, right? How about it? You get to choose!’

Anya would normally be delighted to play anything with you, you always made it easy for her to win and had the best reactions! But…

Anya’s gaze was fixed on Yuri, who felt her stare and glowered back. As usual, his violent thoughts were broadcasted but largely unneeded with how intense his face was.

‘Pipsqueak should keep quiet and behave if she knows what’s good for her.’

Anya sighed, much like Yuri had just minutes prior. She turned to you and patted your back.

‘Marriage… is so complicated…. I wish you luck.’

‘Huh? What? Anya?!’

~

There was no ceremony. You both agreed it was unnecessary. The prospect of making this sham public with a show like that… really put the two of you, who are such private people, off. All it amounted to was signing paperwork Yuri could make sure was processed properly himself, and the celebration food and gifts the Forger family kept insisting on giving them. You were content with it only being this… but Yuri still remembered your brothers.

As you both walked around your apartment, cleaning for his eventual move to your place… he offered to invite your family for a dinner. You responded almost automatically.

‘A dinner?! Now?? You… you haven’t even moved in yet! They’ll… they’ll know somethings up because there was no ceremony. My step- dad keeps up with the news, they’re going to know about the law! They’re going to be very judgmental of you for marrying me! They’ll think I tricked you… or that you’re a p-pervert, or… or…. They might not even-‘

‘Hey!’ Yuri was surprised by your strong reaction. He dropped what he was using to wipe at a wall to come and grab your shoulders. ‘Hey, hey, it was just a suggestion. Not for them, but for your brothers…’

He knew your home life was rough but… he was confident in his ability to deal with your parents. You shouldn’t worry.

‘I’ve dealt with people like your step-dad. By the time he leaves, he’ll be so impressed by me, he’ll be begging you to let your brothers visit.’

Yuri was being… cocky. His attitude allowed a smile to slip in your lips, but… your anxiety was still flaring. It’d been so long since you saw your parents… since you’ve gotten to cook for your brothers.

… you shakily gulped and nodded. ‘Okay. Okay…. I guess you ARE… the perfect son-in-law he could ask for.’

Yuri grinned, confidence boosted by your agreement. ‘Yeah! Take it from me, he’ll be eating out of my palm by the end of the night!’

Yuri was trained for persuasion.

~

The invitation had been sent. Your mother had agreed. The day had come and you were so… nervous. You wore a dress you kept for rare occasions. Yuri noticed your get up immediately and couldn’t keep his comments to himself.

‘So you DO own a nice dress! Had me fooled.’

‘… I haven’t worn this in three years. I didn’t think it’d still fit.’

To be honest… you weren’t sure if it did. It felt incredibly tight and you knew you’d be sore tomorrow. But you were already this far… With the food ready and dinner plates set, the guests were all that was missing. Your knees wobbled as you went to open the door when you heard them knock.

You were first greeted by the intimidating presence that was your past caretakers. Your step-father had more grey hairs, but still had the same hard eyes and scowl. Your mother was still clinging to his arm, trying hard to pretend she was oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

Your nerves hardened like steel, and you prepared yourself on instinct for the unpleasantness, but two heads half your size hit your stomach. Your brothers got in front of your parents, they could not wait any longer. They clung to your dress and swayed you from side to side as they yelled.

‘YOU LIAR!!!’

‘YOU TOLD US YOU WOULDN’T MARRY YURI!’

‘WE DON’T ACCEPT THIS!’

‘BEHAVE, you two! Let your sister go!’ Your mother’s harsh tone got the two boys to do as she said immediately. They still pouted, but stepped aside to let their mother walk up to you, arms outstretched.

‘Oh, Y/N!!! It’s been SOOOOO LONG! My darling!’

She swept her arms around you and gave you a smooch on your cheek. She lingered too long on your shoulder, humming as she looked at your new husband. You struggled not to push her off.

‘Woooow, Yuri, I presume? You’re as good looking as I’d hoped you’d be! I’m so proud of my daughter!’

Your mother let go of you and moved to Yuri, loudly admiring him. Yuri had on a polite smile. He was compliant and well-mannered as he responded to her every word. You held your breath as your mother asked for your step-father’s thoughts on the man.

‘Oh, look at that! He’s so respectable, isn’t he, darling? Surely, he’s a good man for our Y/N!’

‘A good man wouldn’t marry a woman like Y/N.’

The room got quiet fast. You nervously looked at your step-dad, then at Yuri. His smile didn’t falter.

‘I can assure you, I’m the best there is.’

‘… I doubt that.’

Tensions were flaring. You and your mom looked at each other. She clapped her hands and did what she was best at. Deflecting.

‘Well, where’s the food? We are starving!’

~

You had cooked plenty of food. You made your brother’s favorite, a chicken dish your mother used to make regularly for you, but your step-father disapproved of immensely.

For ‘the adults’, a beef dish and wine Yuri got from work. He bragged explained a business trip he had taken far away, and insisted your in-laws enjoy the fruit of his labors as an important government worker. Your mother flattered Yuri as she continued sipping on her glass. She talked enough for everyone, dominating the conversation with shallow pleasantries. Yuri was good at responding to her, passing as a charming and well-rounded man. You would be impressed any other day but… Your eyes kept flicking to your step-father, who ate but barely touched the wine. His face never changed expressions.

Finally, there was a lull in conversation, which Yuri took as a chance to do some work. He began talking about your step-father’s work. He is the head of the marketing department of a company selling beauty products. He presented himself as an admirer of his position and tried talking about marketing strategies. Praising the newest commercials, casually lying that you keep up with their products and bought their latest powder to wear for tonight. Your step-father took his first sip of the night.

‘Really? Y/N is still as unpresentable as always. Perhaps my products aren’t for people like her.’

Yuri’s smile slightly faltered, but he was quick to pick it up, still his tone dropped a bit. ‘Isn’t your company’s motto, every woman deserves class?’

‘There must be exceptions to every rule of course.’

Yuri narrowed his eyes, his brain itching. Your father was truly unwilling to bend and proving to be undeserving of anymore facade. What was it that made him so spiteful towards you specifically?

‘With all due respect, I fail completely to see anything worth criticism about your step-daughter. Is it because she wasn’t born here? Neither was your wife. What’s so different about the two?

Your step-father made a noise of indignation. ‘Your taste is truly the worst if you don’t know. Or maybe Y/N has simply tricked you into not realizing. I’ll be a good Samaritan and spell it out for you then. MY wife knows her place. She’s never once questioned or given me trouble. She learned to look the part she should and to shut her mouth on matters unbecoming of her. She’s become a respectable example of what people from her country can become. But that girl?’

He pointed straight at you. Unabashed disgust for your very existence.

‘Rude. Unwilling to conform. Unable to learn modesty. She tried my patience time and time again while she was under my roof. She is nothing like her mother, she lives just to spite her!’

‘D-Darling! That’s not true!’ Your mother tried touching your step-father’s shoulder but he slapped it away.

‘SHUT UP, SERENE, I’M LETTING HIM KNOW. Y/N was a menace, always fighting with her classmates and putting the blame on them, dirtying whatever pretty dresses her mother would buy for her, and hell, SHE WOULD ALWAYS YELL BACK AT ME WHENEVER I PUT HER IN HER PLACE. No respect for authority! No respect for her place in this country! Clinging to things from the country her mother fled from like these-‘

He pointed to the children’s chicken. They cowered from his hand.

‘Uncultured dishes! It’s like she doesn’t want to be here! Why did you marry her? You should’ve let her be deport-‘

There was a cracking sound as a chair flew from the table, and suddenly, your stepfather’s body was pulled right across the table, dishes spilling as his body was dragged by Yuri’s grip. His fist was taught with the man’s shirt collar, almost suffocating him. Yuri’s eyes were like pins. The entire family was speechless.

‘I work hard to protect this country. I do everything in my power to make it the best damn place to live in. To make it the safest. To make our people the best.’ His face turned to repulsion as he continued.

‘You are undeserving of the things our government provides you. You’re not worthy of your citizenship OR your status. I don’t work for people like you.’

He let go. Your step-dad fell harder still, barely catching himself from faceplanting the floor.

Nobody moved. No one knew what to do or say. You father took a bit to get off the table, he trembled but his eyes were vicious. He wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of anything. His wife was on him as soon as he stood, napkins on hand, wiping at his shirt. He shook her off.

‘Maybe I should send a strongly worded letter to your offices then. They should know the type of employee they have! You do not represent what this country is!!! Your values are not fit for your position over people.’

Yuri grimaced… but it turned into a smile.

‘You’re free to do as you please. I sure hope you’re ready for the letter you get back.’

‘… I will be.’ Confused, but still bitter, your father now turned to you with all his leftover malice.

‘Say goodbye to your brothers. You’re never seeing them again.’

Your heart sank and your tears began waterfalling. Your worst fears solidified. Your mother got up and couldn’t even turn to you. She looked at the floor and took her boys’ hands, leading them to the door. They kept glancing at you with tears in their eyes, afraid. You still stared at the door when she closed it.

Yuri let out a sigh and raked his hand over his hair. ‘That man is a piece of work. His concerns were…’ Yuri remembered his coworkers. His job. He understood the things your father was concerned were…. Or should BE…. Validated but…

Your sobbing broke him from his thoughts. His eyes widened and he realized too late. You had just been told tonight was a failure.

‘Wait… Y/N, it’s ok-‘

‘Ok?’ You turned to him, trembling slightly. ‘It’s ok? I told you I didn’t want this dinner, but you convinced me! You told me this could be my chance to see my brothers more! I hate that man, but I still put on a dress to keep things peaceful! And you!!!’ You were so mad. You pushed him into the wall behind him. It actually made him stumble from surprise at your rage. You placed a finger on his chest, accentuating your points.

‘YOU. Engaged him! YOU! INSULTED HIM!!! Now he’s never going to let me NEAR Kris and Charles!!’

Your anger had dissipated. Just remembering their faces had you back to sobbing. Yuri was still dumbfounded by your reaction. He had messed up. He had assured you he wouldn’t… and he failed. He felt uncomfortable seeing you cry. How can he comfort you? What can he do? He thought about Yor, what she’d do to make him feel better, and… He steeled himself as he wrapped his arms around you. He was tense, but careful. The contact made you momentarily stop your cries.

‘Yuri?!’

‘… I can fix it.’

You looked up at him, tears still streaming. He couldn’t look at you, embarrassed by your staring, he moved you away from his embrace, but kept his hands on your arms.

‘Give me three days. I promise you. You’ll see your brothers as often as you want.’

The reassured tone. What was it about him that kept making you want to trust in it? In him? You stopped crying, wiping your face. What’s done is done. If Yuri says he can fix it… you’ll just have to see. It’s not like it can get worse.

‘Alright. But I’m still mad at you.’

‘…………….. that’s fine.’ Yuri moved his hands away to cross them over his chest. He got enough courage to look at you properly again. He was relieved, seeing you the slightest bit better. He was still unexpectedly… feeling apologetic. So he moved to the table and began gathering the dishes.

‘I can clean.’ It’s what he used to do to help Yor out all the time. IT felt somewhat familiar. ‘You should grab some of the dessert you made and sit on the couch. I can do this for you.’

You were honestly surprised by the sudden shift in Yuri’s personality. Your chest felt warm having someone care for you like this. You tightened your lips, suppressing the emotion and moved to help him.

‘That’s alright. You can wash and I can dry them. We can eat together when we’re done.’

~

True to his word this time, you opened your mail to find a letter from your father, unexpectedly. He was… uncharacteristically urging you to come and take the boys out for ice cream that Sunday. He’d even give you the money for your trip.

… what kind of magic is this? You walked back to your home in adaze. Yuri was moving the last of his boxes to his room. You would sleep separately, of course. He took one look at you and smiled.

‘Good news?’

‘… what did you do?’

Yuri turned away, trying hard to hide the smirk that was coming on his face. He was doing a poor job. It gave you chills to hear him say,

‘I have some very good friends that can make any man of his status see reason.’

It was easy. There was already a file on the beauty product company’s conspiracies, failed products, mass trash dumping, shady business deals. For the sake of peace, there’s been a rocky relationship between the head of the company and his boss. Having someone complain about his favorite puppy, Yuri… was of course unacceptable.

Yuri’s smile fell from his face and he continued what he was doing like nothing had happened. ‘By the way, since everything is good now, how about treating me? I didn’t get to try that chicken you gave your brothers…’

You clutched your letter and really looked at Yuri as he walked into his room. You were beginning to realize… he may be more influential than you thought. More important. How did you get to be the wife of someone like that?

‘Uh… yeah. I still have the ingredients…’

‘Great! And we still have the wine, too! Maybe what happened that night was for the better.’

Same, cocky Yuri. You grimaced as you passed his door to go to yours.

‘I wouldn’t go that far. You still messed up.’

‘One day you’ll thank me. I finally put your step-dad in his place! I know you enjoyed it a little.’

You put away the letter in a drawer. You would save it. Your smile was genuine and this time, you let the warmth from before stay. You were Yuri’s wife now. You were partners in crime.

‘Yeah. I wish I could’ve given him a punch.’

Unbeknownst to you, Yuri had come inside your room, newly excited and now laughing. ‘Then, how about you forgive me, and I’ll let you get a good one in if he ever tries something again. Deal?’

You laughed back, getting up and shoving him slightly out of the way.

‘You’re so violent! …. Deal.’

The mood was good as you had your dinner, ate, and watched a bit of television together. Neither of you could have suspected that Yuri’s plan had brought a new problem.

Yuri forgot to tell his boss he was married at all.

~

Yuri's boss looked deep into the events that led up to this. Out of nowhere, Yuri has found a wife. A wife that was an immigrant. Someone who would have been deported just a few days after their marriage.

He is getting suspicious about his puppy growing soft and 'helping the enemy.' After all, he was his studious, sadistic student who previously only cared about his sister and the government. He just so happened to fall in love with an immigrant? Unheard of!

He begins putting pressure on Yuri, stopping him one day to bring him to his office. There, he congratulates Yuri and… Yuri immediately tenses. He realized he had overlooked his work getting involved. Fuck. He was prepared for suspicion. Instead, his boss invites Yuri and his wife to dinner with his family. He wants to congratulate them since he didn't get to go to their wedding.

Yuri can recognize his tone. Even though it posed as friendly, the underlying intent was clear. He wanted proof that this marriage was legitimate. Yuri cheerfully agreed and said that his wife would be delighted to know more about him.

So, the interrogation would come later. Yuri had time to prepare.

~

Yuri had Yor dress you up for it, something even you had to bite your tongue and agree on. This was serious. Yor was elated that her brother was taking your debut to his boss so serious! She cried as she agreed to pick out clothes for you. She promised she’d make you beautiful! Yuri could only look at you with doubt as he pushed you towards her. He had to go to his tailor to repair a suit.

The whole day spent with you, Yor, and Anya out and about. Anya was enthralled by the lessons Yor was teaching the both of you on fashion; what would help you stand out, what would help you blend in, how to properly cut a skirt if you ever had to run for your life. It was fascinating, and it began making you see Yor in a new light. Your respect for her grew tenfold.

Your day didn’t end with just clothes-shopping. You were brought back to Yor’s home to let her do your hair and make up. Loid was home, and offered to make snacks. Upon catching him up on the stakes of this make over, Loid very calmly walking into Yor’s bedroom the guestroom where Yor was helping you to begin giving you advice. Despite his calm tone and pleasant smile, it felt like he was grilling you, telling you all about proper manners you should remember, possible conversation topics, and, as a last ditch effort, an excuse to give if you had to get up from the table. By the time everything was over, you felt like a new person. An exhausted person. You were dreading the next hours of your life.

Nevertheless, there was a knock on the door. Loid opened the door.

When Yuri saw you, he was... impressed. Your slouching could still use work, but you looked like you were more poised. Not to mention, his sister worked wonders with making you conventionally pretty. HE gladly thanked his sister and you were on your way. You personally couldn’t help feeling like this ‘new you’ made you look more like your mom. More like the woman your step-father wanted you to be. It made your skin crawl. You stumbled a bit with your walk, making Yuri turn around. He asked if you were okay. You told him what you were thinking.

Yuri snorted. ‘That was the point! You’re playing a role. We both know this isn’t you, but it’s what will help us keep you safe. It’s only for one dinner.’

He looked back at you, trying a joking smile. ‘Don’t be like me and blow it.’

… You sucked it up and gave your all in your greeting when the wife of his boss opened her door.

Everything was actually going smoothly. The topics Loid had quizzed you with were coming in incredibly handy… enough to make you question his foresight. Every delighted answer and quaint movement of your hand added a tally to your score. It was a miracle the chief's wife was immediately endeared to you... uncomfortably so.

It felt a bit… jarring sometimes, the way she spoke about you. She praised you like a child, impressed by the manners you showed and the topics you knew about. She spoke so flagrantly, gleefully, telling her husband that you were clearly a proper member of society! The type the government surely made that rule for!

The chief... was not convinced.

The whole dinner was being misread by Yuri. He had let himself somewhat relax as all attention was on you, and you were doing fine. There were times when he’d jump in, but everything was going well. He didn’t consider that his boss wasn't looking at you for any mistake; his eyes had stayed solely on him.

And it picked up on his never once having touched you, even as you almost tripped getting up to go to the restroom. He did not believe in your marriage.

He's had enough by the time you come back. After staying quiet most of the dinner, he very forcefully uses his wife bringing up the subject to talk about it. How he fears that it could have led to some hasty get-togethers that would prove fruitless.

He picks up his glass and goes further to explain his views on marriages of convenience. They sicken him. There’s no use keeping someone around that shouldn’t be here. IF they are unwanted, they are not needed in this country. These are just facts. He glances at Yuri and smiles. He’s glad his protege is smarter than those who fall for outsiders that trick them. It’s clear that his wife is proper. He picked a good one.

But… just to ease his old mind better. He wishes to see the couple kiss. The wife goes along eagerly, thinking it cute. Yuri is sweating bullets, the irony not lost on him. This is what he had forced on his sister. Panic enveloped him, pierced by his boss’s stare. What was he to do now? He really didn’t want to, he’d never-

All thoughts slipped past his mind as you grabbed his hand. He recoiled on instinct, but it was stopped as your other hand cupped his face and traced his jaw. What was happening?

'What do you say, my darling?'

Your eyes were soft, and your smile looked genuine. It was a sight he hadn't seen before. He stared like a fish as you continued to egg him on. You caressed his cheek, it exploded with color but he didn’t move away as you placed it firmly there.

'I hope you don't mind if I lead today.' A spark in your eye made his stomach flutter and he had to stutter a response of confusion.

'Eh? Eh?? N-No-!'

His first kiss. It would be his first if he let this happen. He couldn’t! He shouldn’t!!! It wasn’t part of the deal! But-

You closed in fast. His eyes zeroed in on your parting lips before he closed them and took in a shaky breath. This was happening... He was letting this happen??! He felt a pressure against his lips that gave him a jolt-

... wait. It didn’t feel like another pair of lips...

He didn’t open his eyes until you let go of him. The mischief in your grin solidified his theory. You faked it.

His boss and his wife were speechless. There were no more complaints. In fact, his boss now saw what potentially drew his student to this woman. She had seemed docile and sweet, but the hunger as she jumped at the chance to kiss him, even in front of strangers?

... Yuri needed someone like that.

The boss's wife you off with left-overs and a promise to invite you to another dinner in the future. Yuri was still left with half a mind over the ordeal, so you took over the goodbyes. You carried the dishes given as you both walked out of their property. The sun was setting, it'd be a long walk home, and Yuri was not getting out of his daze. You shuffled your load to free a hand and tugged on his jacket. He jumped like a startled cat and screamed defensively.

'WHAT? WHAT NOW? STOP TOUCHING ME!'

You'd nearly dropped the food as he waved his arms around, but you caught it in time. With the look you gave him, Yuri finally calmed down. He was still being an ass, though.

'... you did that way too... naturally. You've done that before, right?' Yuri's brain was wrecked as he tried recalling if you had any previous relationships. All his data had pointed to no, but you must have!!

You shrugged. 'I told you I've never had a lover before. But... I did end up helping to clean an acting studio. There was a demonstration on how to fake kiss once.' You laugh at the memory. 'I remember being fascinated. How funny that it’d come in handy!' You give him a wink and you stick out your tongue cheekily.

'It's all about the tilt. You have to hide it.'

Yuri's face still echoed a bit of redness, but he had to admit he was impressed. He grumbled with himself, letting just a bit of it show.

'..... you did good today.'

It made you stop. 'Huh?'

‘I won’t repeat myself!’

‘What? Nooooo, come on, if you’re going to praise me, please continue! See how I took over to make sure we didn’t fail? I saved the day! Unlike you-‘

Yuri took the opportunity of your rambling to take the dishes from you and started to walk faster. 'Yeah, whatever, let's go home already. I bet Yor would like some of this ham.'

You were immediately snapped from your stupor. 'Wait? No! That's mine!! COME ON, YURI, THAT’S THE ONLY THING THAT GOT ME THROUGH THE CONVERSATION!' You follow him as best you could but the bastard was faster and unrelenting.

In the end, Anya ate all the ham and went into a food coma.

~

It was a week after the social battle with Yuri’s boss. Everything had finally been cooling down as you and Yuri fell to a new routine as ‘newlyweds.’ Though you were in charge of most of the cleaning and cooking, Yuri wasn’t opposed to helping out to do something everyday. He was a good roommate, not messy or nitpicky. Life was peaceful.

The icing on the cake came one day as you went to turn in your latest art to your work’s office. The boss pulled you aside and told you, halfheartedly-

Your comic strips have won the recent poll for most popular Sunday strips! You are ecstatic as you walk out of the building. Blinded by your joy, your first instinct was to call Yuri’s work to tell him. As the source of your latest inspiration, he had to know!

Yuri was in the middle of an intense interrogation. His victim, nose bloodied, teeth missing, kept pleading for mercy. He swore he didn’t know anything. Yuri’s eyes narrowed and he gave a sly smile. It’s fine, the man can take his time.

Yuri pulled a new tool of torture. ‘I’ve got all day to help you ‘remember-‘

‘Sir, we need you for something.’

‘…. I’ll be back. I hope you’re more talkative by then.’

He was told that you were calling him as soon as he was out of the door. He wondered what would make you interrupt his work; he’s warned you multiple times about using this line! You were not allowed to do so unless it was important! He was slightly miffed as he got the phone from the receptionist.

It immediately changed to bewilderment. Then cheer.

You’re the most popular?! Your workplace has conceded and will be paying you more for your strips?! You’re finally getting the recognition you deserve!! Yuri is so proud!!!

When you ask him how long he’ll be ‘in his office’ that day… because you wanted to treat him to dinner for all his support, Yuri’s heart skipped a beat. He faced away from the receptionist, suddenly very aware that he was being watched. The cord prevented his privacy.

‘You dummy… this is YOUR victory.’

‘Yeah, but I want to celebrate with you… you’ve done so much for me, Yuri!’

Aughh how can he pass this up? His scowl is contrasted with his burning cheeks and he tells you he’ll try to finish soon. They should get dinner at around 7. You agree and tell him you can’t wait! Yuri hangs up and has to control his face as he steps away, but his coworkers can tell he’s in a good mood now. They tease him as he passes them by.

When he returns to his interrogation, he lets his face slip back into a smile. A genuine one. It confuses the victim.

‘Change of plans… it looks like you’re on a timer for your life.’ Yuri leaves the small tool he previously had for a bigger one. A scarier one.

‘I only need you to keep one hand… which one do you write with?’

~

You both made it to your reservation separately. You were first to arrive and were seated immediately. It wasn’t a fancy place, but you’d heard it had good food and good staff. When the waiter came to get you a drink, you’d realized part of it was true.

The waiter immediately recognized you like you did him. You went to school together.

Yuri walked in on the two of you deep in a discussion. His initial smile was immediately replaced by his usual frown. He sat down as loudly as possible, letting the chair scrape, and his briefcase hit the floor as he sat. His presence cut the conversation short. But it didn’t deter the waiter, who with a smile, asked.

‘Oh, this is your husband?’

Being called that… it brought Yuri back from his black cloud. Your response made his eyes widen too.

‘The one and only. My darling.’

.. all previous emotions were now forfeit. Yuri was flabbergasted, looking from you to the waiter. He nervously coughed, trying hard to get into his role.

Your husband.

Your darling.

‘Yes… hello.’

‘Heh,’ The man grinned. ‘He’s shy?’

‘Pfffttt, not at all!’

The two talked a little more before the waiter finally took their orders and left. Yuri was still feeling a little put off, so he tried remedying it by talking about your strips. He congratulated you again, praising you. You were delighted by the support. You reciprocated quickly, reminding him that none of this would have been possible without his involvement. In true Yuri fashion, he accepted the credit and began flaunting it a bit, teasingly wondering to himself if maybe he should be the one the raise goes to. You playfully gave him a smile and reminded him of his horrendous attempts at art. He said those didn’t count, but you both laughed. Just in time for your food to come.

… unfortunately, that seemed to be the only time you two had gotten without being interrupted. The waiter kept popping his head, chatting you up, taking your attention away to reminisce and to talk about the good days.

Yuri kept trying to butt in. He’d remind the waiter of his job. He assured him the boss let him slack off once in a while. Yuri tried sending him to get him more tableware. He was always quick to come with a smile and a new story for you. Yuri was exasperated and it was like you didn’t notice. You were too busy focusing on him instead of what this dinner was supposed to be. Even when he finally left to attend to other customers, you brought up a bit of your history with him to fill in the gaps.

You told Yuri about how he used to be very popular because he was the best-looking and friendliest guy. Yuri scoffed, commenting that he may be friendly but he’s lost his looks. You tell Yuri there’s nothing wrong with the way he looks now. He looks great! He may have gained some weight but he was still as bright and warm as ever, with new thicker arms to boost. Your compliments only made Yuri stew more.

This time, when he came back, the conversation took an unexpected turn. He had forgotten to tell you he’d gotten married. Yuri almost choked, but managed to save himself smoothly. He was taken! You were taken! That was the end of that, right?

He looked at your face as your old friend chattered about his lovely wife. Your smile was genuine at first as you listened to him go on and on. It… disappeared as soon as he said her name.

‘You remember Veronica? She was always so sweet. I’m so lucky she gave me a chance!’

‘Oh… yeah haha… I’m so glad for you!’

Yuri knew there was something with this wife of his. He didn’t like that the man didn’t notice how uncomfortable you were at all. He didn’t like that you were just letting him continue. Yuri put his foot down.

‘Excuse me.’

You both turned to look at Yuri. His glare was on full effect and aimed straight at your friend.

‘I came here to congratulate my wife and you have been taking up all of her time. Can you please excuse yourself from this table until we are ready for the check?’

‘Oh…. Uh… yeah…. I’m sorry….’

The man got up and left, finally leaving you two alone. There was a bit of silence as he looked you over. He asked you straight up what was up with ‘Veronica.’

You were a bit startled, realizing that Yuri was paying attention to your talks… but you smiled. You shouldn’t be. He’s always paying attention to you. You shakily laughed and sucked in a breath.

‘Remember my dad’s complaints about me starting fights and messing up my mom’s dresses?’

Yuri’s brain ticked with the memory. His frown deepened. ‘Yeah?’

‘Veronica really loved bullying me.’

‘Hmm.’

Yuri got closer, invested in the new anger welling inside of him. ‘And here this guy’s talking about how sweet she was as a kid. How come he doesn’t know?’

You had nowhere to hide from Yuri’s stare. You clutched your sides as you explained. ‘He… has always been detached from things. He was the popular and friendly boy. Veronica didn’t want him seeing her in that light and he… never had any reason to suspect anything.’

‘Well that’s dumb.’ Yuri slammed a hand on the table, glowering. ‘How can someone be so blind for so long? He probably knew but just didn’t want to get involved! And now he’s married to a woman like her!’

‘Yeah…’ You sighed and stared at your food. ‘I guess that’s just love. It makes you not want to see the person’s flaws…’

… Your tone. Your defense of the man. Your smiles and eagerness to give him your attention. Yuri’s brain clicked. He got up and threw much more money than was necessary on the table.

‘We’re leaving.’

‘What?’

He came around to your side and took your hand.

‘Come on.’

‘Yuri??’

You were out the door before you could tell your old friend goodbye. Not that you wanted to…  it was actually preferable to stumble after Yuri under the streetlights. This was familiar by now.

‘You liked him.’ Your mind stopped but Yuri didn’t. He kept walking and talking.

‘You liked that jerk! And you still do?!’ He finally let you go, turning around to confront you. ‘Don’t try to deny it! We both know there’s only one reason you would laugh at jokes as bad as his! Really?? Him??’

Yuri was acting way out of line, his face warped and his movements exaggerated. Your cheeks reddened, having been caught, you were furious as you tried to explain yourself.

‘He was the only guy that was nice to me! Of course anyone would fall for that!’

This put a pause on Yuri. You continued. ‘Nobody liked me. Everyone either left me alone or picked on me. Veronica had them all convinced that I was a violent girl… and he was the only one that kept talking to me like I was normal.’ You hugged yourself, a bitter smile on your face.

‘I always thought… he must just be naïve. He never asked me about the fights or about my life. But it didn’t matter anyways. The conversations were mostly always about him anyways. You were right.’

You shrugged.

‘He’s always been a jerk.’

Yuri took only a bit to process this. He crossed his arms, and nodded to himself. ‘Yeah, I was right. But… don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s like you said. When you love someone… you’re blind to the bad stuff.’

You laughed and decided to keep walking. He followed right beside you.

‘What about you? Have you ever been in love?’

Yuri blinked. He could only ever think about his sister. She was his world. Admitting this now… felt silly. It’s how the two of you were introduced. You already knew how he viewed his siter and you still asked. That meant you were just making sure if there were any others. He shook his head.

‘I never cared. And I never will.’

You laughed again at his serious tone. ‘Oh come on, dream a little! I’m sure there’s someone out there who would love your eccentricities!’

Yuri looked at you strangely. ‘Have you forgotten we’re married? There is no ‘someone’ as an option anymore.’

You furrowed your brows and took the information in. That… felt wrong. You stopped again, mulling it over.

‘This… this only has to be temporary, Yuri. It’s okay if you fall in love with someone. We can work out a divorce-‘

‘What? No! don’t be fucking stupid, Y/N. After all the trouble we’ve gone through.’

Yuri was back to being riled up. You were spewing nonsense now out of nowhere! ‘There is going to be no divorce in our future, not unless YOU find someone! Stop worrying about my love life, it’s never going to happen! We agreed to this!’

‘No we didn’t!’ You insisted. This wasn’t what you wanted. Yuri was young, good looking, and a good man. He deserved to be happy…

Your eyes showed how seriously you chose your words. ‘I can’t ask you to sacrifice your life for me like that. You’ve already done so much for me, Yuri. Please. If you meet someone you want to-‘

‘FUCK!’

Yuri’s patience finally wore thin. He took you by the arm, yanked it, and knocked heads with you, stopping your sentence. You immediately shielded your now throbbing head.

‘OW!?!?’

‘SHUT UP!’

‘WHAT THE HELL!!!!’

‘SHUT UP SHUT UP!!!’

His hands moved to hold you face firmly, cheeks squishing. You could only look on in bewilderment as he continued his tirade.

‘YOU AREN’T ASKING ME TO DO THIS!!! YOU NEVER EVEN CHOSE ME, REMEMBER??? IT WAS ME!!! I DECIDED TO MARRY YOU! I DECIDE WHEN TO GO. AND I SAY, UNTIL THE DAY YOU FIND SOMEONE BETTER…’

He stopped when he felt your breath on his face. He… hadn’t realized he was so close. You were locked in a stare, to which he immediately let you go. He tried regaining his composure as he continued.

‘You…. You’re stuck with me, ok?! We’re in this together!!!’

You didn’t know how to process what you were told. Maybe the hit to the head was part of the problem. All you could do was give him a dazed nod, unable to notice the heat left over on your cheeks. Yuri was all too conscious to his, though, and he turned away from you quickly.

‘Never bring that up again… good gracious as if I’d leave you like that. I am committed to every decision I make, Y/N! Never forget that.’

‘Yeah…’ Your mind was finally clearing, you touched your head again. Despite the pain, you smiled. ‘… you’re a really good man.’

Yuri’s shoulders shook. He had the urge to hit you again… but he refrained.

‘Yeah? Way better than that loser at the restaurant?’

‘Pfft. Yeah. You’re genuine with your kindness. Men like him don’t stand a chance against you.’ Your eyes. They were soft again. It made Yuri lose his breath.

‘Y-Yeah. Whatever. You can keep telling me how amazing I am at home.’

The walk was uneventful, but nice. Halfway home, Yuri asked about your head, but by then the pain had mostly gone. He hadn’t hit you hard, it was mostly the shock, you assured him. Still… he risked his pride by petting your head. You looked at him with such confusion that he immediately rectified this by telling you that he’d hit you once more if you questioned his conduct again. That night served to calm a bit more of your anxiety over this marriage…

And it firmly cemented your want to never piss-off Yuri again.

You woke up with a bruise that made you cancel plans with Yor the next day.

Part 4: Here

[piracytheorist]

OKAY

I think it says a lot about my job that I was able to concentrate on it today and completely forget we GOT TRAILER

It was a mistake to check tumblr first thing in the morning, before I even got out of bed, but in my defense, I didn't expect it would drop at such a day and time! But anyway I did jump off of bed, turned on my laptop and recorded my face as I watched it. I needed to have that memorized XD

So, spoilers about the trailer below, and my own predictions about what each scene could be for! Reminder that I'm anime only, but have read the chapter that the first episode (probably) is based on, so for the most part I know what's going on, but for the rest I'm very much NOT aware :D Don't spoil me please :D

FAKE FAMBLY IS BACK

Manipulative Anya at her best! We love our gremlin!

Oh he's looking good :D

I fucking love this image. Look at Twilight pouting in the background. He doesn't understand why a child finds news boring.

WE GOT BLOOD WE GOT THORN PRINCESS IN ACTION LET'S GOOOOO

your honour I love him. Why does he look like he's ready to cry!

Ok from a first hearing the OP song sounds super cool. I feel like it's got "Mixed Nuts" vibes and I love it! I gotta look it up later!

Jeez Loid. Woman just woke up. Is that how he honeypoted all of his other missions?

Yor having a meltdown in the foreground and Anya being cute waking up in the background <3 I love my fake fambly <3

... okay. That's how his honeypots worked.

Yellow roses, if I'm correct, symbolize friendship. Interesting.

This is going to be a disaster and I cannot wait. Also I'm spotting Anya and Franky doing a horrible job at hiding in the left pic XD

My heart skipped a beat when I heard Anya's voice say "Moja-Moja" :')

Very sneaky. Much hiding. Wow. There's no way Franky thought this was working XD

The way all of this could have been solved with a "I tripped down the stairs and fell on my butt and now it hurts to sit" but hey we're getting a funny date how can I ask for more

Also the way Yor says that line my god

I am so ready for more Yor you have no idea

I gotta say, showing this moment is perfect for anime-onlies who haven't actually read this specific chapter. Loid just looks worried and Yor looks enraged. So many feelings for this episode XD

Are those macarons? What were the fucking chances that yesterday I went like "Next morning I'm gonna pass by that bakery that makes macarons". I haven't had macarons in years, yet I see one (1) advertisement about that bakery and its macarons and I go like yeah why not. Macarons. And now this. The fuck.

GREMLIN ANYA IS BACK

Honestly, her face in official merch is always a :D face with an almost unnaturally big smile all the time that I've missed her silly little face.

AH I WAS SENT THAT AS A MANGA SCREENSHOT!

Are those playing cards she's throwing? And is she reading someone's mind? I don't even care if she's cheating, good for you girl

Yeah, buddy, welcome to the real world.

I remember that line from the end of the bullet-in-butt date chapter, and I gotta admit I don't really like it... but the way Eguchi delivers it makes me think he's not like "Women amirite" but more like "All my years of training did not prepare me for how people are like in their day to day lives because spy training has skewed my perception of day to day 'normal'" and that's perfectly valid.

But also what the fuck is happening here. What is that cat. Why is Yor about to Thorn-Princess it. What.

So Anya goes on a studying rampage, fails, and ends up crying on her penguin?

This only made me sad, what the fuck. It looks like Loid and Yor are looking at her failing grades, and Anya is disappointed in herself. I will don my clown wig again and say "If Loid doesn't go and reassure her so help me GOD"

I... don't like the ending theme song. But that's mostly a matter of taste, I guess.

Aw.

They dare throw this to anime onlies when they know we won't get romantic canon twiyor content until three to five business years from now at least

The assassin group... I'm supposing he means the one Yor works for? How long does "for a while now" mean? Wasn't Yor working for them since she was a teenager caring for Yuri?

In any case, wow that's a very intense visual.

omg omg omg

from the colour and the angle this looks like a vision Bond has. Loid and Yor are smiling and blushing but why does it make me feel sad!!

I don't know if it's because of what is said in that moment (they look like unrelated scenes since the line is being said by a woman who I'm guessing is a fellow assassin working with Yor or something) but then there's this

And we just don't see Yor like that often, if at all in the anime so far.

What is Franky wearing? It looks like a military jacket or something. I wonder if that's just stylistic choice or it's something more important.

*snorts laugh*

Gotta admit, from a few tidbits here and there it looks like Twilight is finally gaining some more understanding of himself and his situation... but the way he says that just makes me think that realization makes him more concerned than anything else.

So I can say with conviction this did fix something in me. Though I guess the first episode will be the bullet-in-butt date, so it will take me another week to go into new territory. But! Bullet-in-butt date in 12 days! And new cool stuff to look for later on! I'm so happy!

(Again, I don't want spoilers for any of these. Just let me have my fun speculating :D)

screenshots taken from the unofficially subtitled trailer here!

[angelique-of-the-volturi-guard]

I’m living for this idea:

One of Loid’s non-spy coworkers moves into his building and they have a new baby. So at one point they come over with the baby. Yor is clearly taken by the little one, but Anya isn’t bothered by that. It’s been evident to her that Yor thinks she’s the cutest so she’s secure in that feeling.

What surprises her is that Loid has a soft spot for the baby.

She can hear his thoughts and see it on his face that he’s speculating about how this family must feel with this baby, how happy they must be, how proud. And he’s actually fairly comfortable with them- more so than with children because he knows they’re just crying to get their basic needs met.

And Anya is pissed.

There is no way that her Papa thinks this baby is cuter than her. And yet the fact that she could see in his face that he thought that baby was cute drives her nuts. The minute they leave and Loid sits down, she clambers into his lap and wraps her arms around his neck, quietly crying into his shirt.

He’s absolutely bewildered by this change in her behavior. And despite his asking several times what’s wrong, she won’t say anything. The only thing he can actually tell is that she’s started sucking her thumb while she’s been holding onto him.

It’s Yor who first figures out the problem. She brings him a cup of coffee, and says “I think somebody’s jealous about sharing her papa’s attention”. And somehow he can’t quite believe he didn’t come up with such an obvious solution on his own.

He thinks regressing is a little beneath her at that age, but also it’s something he knows how to deal with thanks to all the materials he’d read for his job. So, he follows the guidance of the books. He lets her slide back a little, and tries to show her that she doesn’t have to be a baby to get his attention. But he’s noticed that being able to have that time with him to slide back has actually helped her to move forward in different ways. Particularly with her motivation to study. It almost seemed to work to help get her to study on her own once she’d had the time she craved with him.

So, he talks to Yor about it one evening, and she can definitely see what he’s talking about. Her speculation is that Anya wants to feel safer, and this is the first time she’s felt safe enough to be able to slide back since her mother passed. Loid, obviously, isn’t going to rebuke that. So they make an agreement to give her that time together every day. She can cling, ask to be carried, suck her thumb, or make just about any request she wants within reason. And it’s enough to make her happy.

Her grades improve quite a bit, and best of all, the next time they see the baby in the building, the first thing Loid does is move to pick her up to make her feel better. Now that she feels better, she can be more objective about it. And she finds, that time at least, that the baby is actually pretty cute.

She says a silent thanks to the baby, and gently pats him, which makes everyone “awww”, and gets a smug little smile onto Anya’s face. She’s always been the cute one, and now she’s assured of it.

[victorian-platence]

As the months creep into each other, Yuri starts letting you out of his sight more often. Not without watching you closely with SSS equipment unlawfully focused on you, but he just can't keep watching you waste away just in case you try sonething dangerous. At this point, if you decide to embark in treasonous business he will just make sure to stop you himself and do away with the evidence.

There's no particular reason for that.

You start dancing lessons because you miss dancing. You don't much like ostanian dances but you like your dance teacher. You tell Yuri all about how pretty she is, how strong her hands are when she guides you. Yuri sort of wants to have a little less than kind chat with her. But he doesn't. Partly due to a lack of opportunity and partly because you would go back to wasting away if he ruined this for you. He can't bring himself to.

Yuri also starts babysitting his niece more often. At first he keeps telling you about how she is the dumbest kid in the world. Then, slowly, he starts comparing her to Yor when she was a kid, and starts having short bursts of tenderness towards the kid. By the time he notices, he is already bringing her cookies and complaining about (but still watching) the spy propaganda she calls her favourite show. You want to meet the kid. Because she looks adorable in pictures and because you know she drives Yuri crazy and you want to high five her, befriend her maybe, plot against Yuri...

In any case, one unremarkable day, Yuri asks you about home.

He says "How was it? Your home I mean" you give a sigh, assaulted by a thousand memories of sunny days, cracked veredas, dirty streets and clean streets and trees lining all the sidewalks. You think about tilos, pines and jacarandás, lilac and magestic. You think about beaches and mountain lakes, you think about cumbias, reggaetons, traps, ballenatos, bachatas and you think about La gozadera. It tugs a teary smile out of you. There is so much you love and hate about home. You love the people, you hate the people, you despise the goverment, you love the biomes, you hate the sexist boys of when you were growing up, you love the women who enpowered you to want better, god, you miss the food.

"It was beautiful. The skies were always blue, except when it rained, obviously, but here it's almost always rainy or cloudy. Back home the skies were azure and spring smelt like life. I remember it better before the dictatorship. We used to go out clubbing with my friends, not that often cause we were all broke, but we would drink vodka and twerk all night, and go home clutching our keys between our fingers. We stopped going to parties when the dictatorship started. There were still a few, you know, but it became too risky."

"What's twerking?" You blush and give a little high pitched laugh.

"Uh, haha, its a sort of dance. You probably wouldn't like it. Reminds me of my best friend, she was the best dancer and the best friend I could ask for, she was really good at belly dancing, she tried to teach me but I never got past the basics. I hope she still sneaks around to parties, she always tried to get me to go with her, but I never dared. I'd do anything to have gone at least once, to listen to her screaming at me to divorce the movement of my hips from my torso. Did you know she's the one who taught me how to make coffee with spices? I feel so lost without her," you hang your head, spread the palm of your hand over your face. "she was bit like my mum." Yuri doesn't know what to say, so he goes for the first thing he picks out from your diatrive.

"I thought you didn't get along with your mum."

"We were complicated I guess. My mum grew up in the dictatorship before mine. She was obsessed with being descreet, with being so thin she'd disappear in the shadows, so perfect no one would question her. She tried to make me like that, partly because I never thought I would live through what she lived throuh but I don't think anyone could iron me straight. And by god she tried. My mum and my best friend, they were both obsessed with cleaning and perfect things. But my friend understood that I would never be perfect and still loved me. My mum, she could never accept me, but that's okay, because she would call me her 'bebita', her tiny big bebita and she would hug me very close when I cried. I wish I had told her something like 'te quiero mucho, mamita' the last time I went out her door. She must be so heartbroken to have lost yet another part of the family. " Yuri ponders about the families he has separated in the same way yours has been.

Finally he just says:

"I never really knew my parents. My sister raised me and she worked herself bloody at butchery to keep me fed and clothed and if I somehow found myself somewhere where I knew she didn't exist, I think I too would be heartbroken."

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm alive. Do you?" And Yuri thinks you are. You are the most alive thing in his house. You scream, you sing and cry and laugh and gather cats like a cat siren and you make so much noise it's impossible to confuse you for anything other than a living, breathing being.

"You are."

"I didn't mean me."

"Then, sometimes, I guess."

Yuri feels human when you get into this conersations.

"Yuri, I want to go out." You say, and your eyes say please, don't keep me prisoner. Yuri doesn't stand a chance.

"Get changed, I didn't want to cook anyways."

Part 2 Next Part

[open-your-eyes-and-mind]

Ich bin ein Berlinter

Original Upload (AO3)

Published 10/24/2022 - 2,273 words - COMPLETED

Summary:

"His mind felt clouded, almost full, he couldn’t think but he also couldn’t fully focus on the task at hand, it was a troubling feeling, Twilight did not like it." "His eyes felt heavy, like they were being dragged down, he stared down at his pan, however unable to focus on it"

-

OR

Loid faints in his kitchen, seemingly randomly

Notes:

See Closing Remarks

Ich Bin Ein Berlinter

Twilight paused before his door,using that moment to compose himself. Taking stock of his body, noting every minute detail.

His throat felt cold and sharp, no doubt from the intense sprinting he had done in the chilly night air. He felt the dried sweat on his hairline and what settled into the deeper parts of his face. He could still somewhat feel his heartbeat in his ears, and struggled to get his keys out of his pocket, his hands shaking from the spike in his blood pressure, the side effects of a particularly trying mission, direct from the handler.

He took a deep breath, tracking the air as it scratched past his throat and into his lungs, allowing it to fill every part of his chest before drawing it back out. He pulled out a handkerchief to dab the sweat from his face. Rubbing into the salt deposits that were left behind. He attempted to clear his throat, however all that came up was a dry cough. As he unlocked the door and stepped through the threshold, he became Loid Forger once more.

“Hello, I’m home!”, he announced to the house.

Yor stood up from an unseen couch and responded, “Welcome back! How was work?”

“It went well with the exception of a patient who became a bit violent near the end,” Loid said, making an excuse to cover up whatever exhaustion still showed on his body, not wanting to expend the extra effort to push it down more than he already has.

Yor sauntered over to help remove his coat and hat. He basked in the relief after the heavy article was removed from his form, allowing the comparatively cool air to somewhat heal his fatigued body. 

Realizing he had not heard from Anya yet he strided down the hall to the sitting room, where Yor had just come from. As he rounded the corner he saw Anya hunched over the coffee table gripping a crayon in a tight fist, making indecipherable scribbles on a paper in front of her.

 It took a moment for her focus to break long enough to notice Loid, however when she did, she immediately dropped her crayon onto the table and toddled over to Loid, wrapping her arms around his shins,

“Welcome back Papa!” she cried out,

“Good evening Anya,” Loid answered, bending slightly to put a hand on her back, doing his best to hug her back despite not being able to move his legs.

Anya looked up at his face, still gripping his legs in a bear hug, and held a blank expression for a moment, almost like he was listening to him despite him not saying anything. It was an odd habit she maintained but Loid could never find a good reason to correct it.

Suddenly she broke from his legs and announced “Papa! I’m Hungry!”, in that assertive voice she always put on after that look on her face.

Loid smiled warmly, as Yor remarked behind him, “It is about time for dinner, I’ll get it started”,

Loid turned and nodded to her, “I’ll help as well, allow me to wash up”

Within minutes they were both busy in the kitchen, enjoying their individual tasks. Yor efficiently chopped vegetables at the cutting board and Loid tended to a loud and sizzling pan. 

Loid allowed his mind to wander while he waited for the vegetables in his saute, reflecting on the mission he had just returned from. It went well, for the most part, things got somewhat messy towards the end. He glanced down at his knuckles on the hand that was grasping the pan, and noting that they were no longer red. He briefly recalled the scene of chasing the target through the darkened streets and alleys, and then… and then what.

His mind felt clouded, almost full, he couldn’t think but he also couldn’t fully focus on the task at hand, it was a troubling feeling, Twilight did not like it.

He suddenly became aware of the heat on his face, at first he assumed it was from the heat of the pan, but it began to spread. Starting on the bridge of his nose and under his eyes. The breath out of his nose felt hot, almost burning his upper lip. Then the heat spread to his forehead and the apples of his cheeks. His eyes felt heavy, like they were being dragged down, he stared down at his pan, however unable to focus on it. He ceased tossing the vegetables and held still, and his jaw slacked open slightly.

His ears felt full, like they were stuffed with a heavy cotton, also like they were being dragged down, and he became aware of his pulse in them. The sizzling of the pan grew louder, and louder, until it was a white noise like television static, and all other sounds were drowned out.

Yor turned around when she noticed that Loid had stopped moving, “Is something the matter Loid?” she asked, half expecting him to tell her to cut the onions or the peppers finer, but strangely, he didn’t. In fact, he didn’t even seem to realize she said anything.

Loid stood there, unable to lift his eyes, or hear anything but the noise of cooking food. As he stared down, his field of view became smaller, darkness inching into the edges of his vision. He felt so far away.

Suddenly he was facing Yor, did he turn around? Was he facing her before? His vision went black. His knees made an impact with the floor, he didn’t even realize he was falling. Yor yelled something, something too distant to hear, and he just barely heard a noise that sounded like metal clanging, and then he was gone.

He was against the wall, a fiery headed woman towering over him, arms folded.

“You won’t defend anyone with those sloppy blocks, agent,” She commanded, lending a hand to him. He reached out to take it, but the gloved hand grabbed it before he could complete the movement.

And then he was back in the kitchen. His eyes were open but fluttering and he could move them once more. Moved his eyes from staring at the middle distance in the direction of the tiled floor to Yor’s face, that was pushed close to his own. His jaw was slack, but was stalk still as he looked into Yor’s eyes, as was the same for the rest of his body. It was so very heavy, so much so that the idea of moving didn’t even come to him. 

“Loid,” she said, “Loid are you okay?”, maintaining an expression of deep worry,

He didn’t answer, didn’t even think to. 

Slowly his senses returned to him, he could feel his back against the oven, and his shoulders that were hunched in. He looked around the floor, how did he get there? There was an upturned pan beside them both, with half cooked vegetables scattered on the tile. 

“Loid,” Yor repeated

In that moment a single thought formed in his mind, and he declared it as soon as it took shape, “I fainted”

Yor nodded, he became aware of the hand on this shoulder. 

He put a hand to his forehead, trying to clear the fog from his mind, his hand was warm, his head pounded.

There was an impact at his side, “PAPAAAA!” Anya cried out, a little too close to his ear.

He put a hand on her head, and with both Anya and Yor there he started to feel grounded once more. Only for the hand to shoot to his head, when a stabbing headache set in.

He grasped both his temples, his hands uncomfortably warm, eyes screwed shut. 

Yor said something he didn’t catch and he felt his back touch the cool tile. Here was movement next to his face, and a small current of air hit it, and before he knew it a moist towel was on his forehead, he was starting to lose the moments between these events when a hand grabbed his own, which was resting on his chest. 

“Is that better Loid,” a voice announced through the darkness,

Loid latched onto it and pulled himself back into consciousness once more, nodding in the affirmative.

He reached up with his other hand to massage the bridge of his nose, and did his best to connect his thoughts.

He most certainly passed out, which has unfortunately become a rather common occurrence, or at least the dizziness was common. However it was normally after a shock, like when Anya brought home a second tonitrus bolt, but he was just making dinner? and in pretty high spirits. He had no clue what could have caused him to lose consciousness so quickly and that thought came with a particular dread. 

There was so much to do, the success of operation strix was constantly unsure, he had to make sure Anya studied enough, but it was never enough. His missions, each so integral to nationwide peace, he couldn’t afford to screw up a single one of them. His job, his fake job, keeping up appearances there and with his neighbors, constantly trying to quiet their suspicions. 

He simply didn’t have the time to be worrying about his health, but now he is fainting so frequently that it is becoming a pattern, that simply was not an option. So many people were relying on him, so many lives were relying on him, world peace was-

“Loid,” Yor’s voice cut through his thoughts, “You still don’t look well, would you like some water?”

He made a grunting noise of agreement, he knew he wasn’t in danger of losing consciousness, but it was still difficult to keep himself in the moment, he kept getting lost in his thoughts, yet he couldn’t remember what he was just thinking about.

Two firm hands, and two smaller ones, assisted him into a sitting position, he felt the rag that was previously resting on his forehead fall into his hands, and he began to fold in on himself, he lost the seconds before a hand grabbed his and wrapped it around a cold glass.

“Here,” Yor’s kind voice said to him, assisting him in lifting the glass to his lips.

He took a few messy sips before lowering the glass back to his lap. He held the water in his mouth, allowing it to wet his tongue, which felt like a dry piece of fabric, before finally swallowing it with a great effort. The small bit of water felt like a rock sliding down his throat. However the coldness was still able to pull him back to reality somewhat.

Light hit his eyes, he didn’t even know they were shut, he saw Yor kneeling on the floor in front of him, still with that worried expression on her face. He looked to his right slightly and saw a comically worried Anya standing there, tears forming in her eyes,

“Papaaa!! I’m sowwy did I do someting bad?” She cried out, slightly too loud, “Papa only faimts when I’m bad! Was I bad Papa?” 

Loud shook his head, “No Anya, you did nothing wrong,” he let out a small sigh, “I’m just tired is all”

Yor cocked her head slightly, wordless asking if that was the truth, Loid closed his eyes and gave an assuring nod, although he didn’t believe it himself.

“I’d like to sit on the couch, if you don’t mind,” he started again.

Yor wordlessly adjusted her position to one that could lift him up, taking his arm and putting it over her shoulders and using her other arm to support his back. Loid grabbed the counter above him and with a heave they both got him to his feet. Although he leaned on Yor a little more than he wanted to. His legs felt light, like they weren’t there, and he stumbled a few times walking down the short hallway to the sitting room. 

He slid off Yor’s arm and onto the couch, his body begged him to lay down but his mind told him to stay sitting up. He set his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead on his interlocked hands, and closed his eyes, only reopening them when he heard the clatter of a plate on the coffee table in front of him. Dreading the fact that he lost the time between sitting down and dinner being made. 

“Did you fall asleep sitting up?” Yor said to him, still with a hand on the plate of freshly made dinner, distinctly missing the onions and peppers Loid had dropped, “Maybe you should head to bed…” 

“I’ll be alright, besides, Anya needs to study,” he said, surveying the lack of school papers on the coffee table.

“I can handle all that for tonight, you need to rest,” Yor tucked a stray piece of hair back into place, and set down a fresh glass of water. 

Before Loid could answer, the couch cushion beside him sank down, he looked over to see Anya, clumsily holding a plate.

“Anya will eat with Papa today,” She said with a smirk

Soon enough Yor was setting down a third plate on the opposite side of Anya, “I’ll eat here as well, surely it isn’t bad manners to sit on the couch for dinner tonight,” She smiled.

Loid looked at both of them, on either side of him, supporting him, 

“Yes, I suppose I could turn in early tonight,” 

He pushed his hair out of his face and picked up his fork to start eating.

To start eating with his family.

Closing Remarks:

I wrote this to experiment with a new technique of writing. I tried to write the most vivid and immersive descriptions of feelings in the body with the intention of grounding the reader. For the people who like to read to fall asleep, it's meant to relax them :) Let me know if it worked

Of course it had to be whump though because it's all I write

(Also the title is a pun, it doesn't mean much unless you REALLY read into it)

Reblogs and Likes always appreciated <3

Please do not repost, edit, or redistribute in any way