Chapter Text
Operation Strix was in jeopardy.
Well, it was almost in jeopardy, if not for how Yuri had backed off in the nick of time. Looking back, he could not comprehend why the secret police had insisted on them kissing, only to decide that he could not bring himself to see his sister being lovey-dovey with someone else in front of him. Either the younger Briar was a peculiar man, or he was just an extremely incoherent drunk.
Maybe it was both, Loid decided.
He had been leaving his missions to fate too much these days, he thought with a groan as he brought his hand up to press his temples. He had adopted Anya when she had completed a seemingly difficult crossword, only to realise that she was a failing child who barely passed the Eden entrance exams. Until today, he did not know what exactly went wrong with his deductions, or how Anya could crack such a difficult crossword puzzle but not do simple arithmetics. And then there was Yor, who had seemed somewhat eccentric and out of place in an upper class society, admiring guillotine artworks and the sharpness of knives in a daze. Things seemed to have worked out better after they had helped the old lady retrieve her wallet, but looking back, Operation Strix only panned out to an outcome Loid desired through methods Loid never would have imagined.
There were too many risks.
Loid figured that he could handle a risk or two, but it was about time that he started to take a more active approach. Perhaps he could nip the situation in the bud starting from his relationship with Yor.
Anya was kept happy because she had a complete family now, and a happy Anya meant that she would continue to go to school, in turn approaching Damian Desmond and helping him to infiltrate the Desmond family. It made perfect sense - the first loophole in this family he would have to fix was his relationship with Yor. He could not risk anyone else finding out that they were a fake couple, and reporting them to the Secret Police. That would have been extremely detrimental to his mission.
For now, it seemed that Yuri had been the only one who suspected, but having heard the conversation between Yor and her coworkers that afternoon, Loid could not help worrying that they could also be a problem. Not that he could blame Yor, but there had been little the two had done together to offer her much stories to her coworkers about the stability of their relationship.
Of course, because it was one built on shaky lies.
Loid shut his eyes as he leaned back into his seat. It was late at night and he should have been sleeping, but reflecting on his mission made him realise that there was a glaring loophole altogether. He mulled over the series of events that had panned out with Yor and Yuri the previous night. The dinner had been going pretty well. Yor had even somehow managed to trick Yuri into believing why she had kept the truth about their marriage from him, and although the secret police had seemed guarded against Loid, the spy figured that he had handled the situation smoothly.
Ah, it started from when they had touched hands.
That was it. In his agitation to express his disdain towards Loid, Yuri had knocked off a glass, and Loid and Yor had scrambled to clean off the water at the same time. Their fingers had brushed against each other, and they had backed away on instinct.
A rookie mistake, Loid groaned at the memory. Although Yuri had been drunk, he was still sensible enough to realise that any loving couple which had been married for a year should not have shied away from just touching their hands.
He had to tackle the problem from the root. It was as simple as that - he just had to make Yor comfortable with physical contact. She had seemed so close to breaking down even at the idea of kissing, but anyone knew that a loving couple had to exchange kisses from time to time.
Loid thought that he had been doing well as a father, but had not realised that he was failing terribly being a husband.
He would just have to come up with a strategy to help Yor be comfortable with being a couple, starting from helping her (and himself) conquer the awkwardness of even brushing fingers, and then kissing. Well, he had no problem pulling off such acts when he had to play the part of a lover, why had he never thought of doing such actions as a husband?
Yes, that was a brilliant plan. It would help Operation Strix progress even further and much more smoothly.
"Welcome back, Loid," Yor was huddled behind the kitchen counter brewing tea for herself, and hummed happily when she saw her husband enter through the door.
"I’m home," Loid answered with a smile as he shedded his fedora and coat, before entering the house. He did not miss how Yor fetched his cup to brew him another cup of tea as well, the smile on his lips peaking even more as he took a seat on the couch.
Yor bent over the coffee table to leave their cups on the table, and was just about to return to the kitchen when Loid stopped her and gently patted the seat beside her. She gave him a questioning look, but took a seat regardless and placed the tray on the corner of the table.
"Yor, I was thinking about the events that happened recently," a somewhat confused yet determined nod from Yor. "Considering how Yuri had his suspicions about marriage, perhaps it’s a sign that… we need to behave more like a married couple."
Yor had been lifting her cup from the table, and almost dropped her cup in surprise. She blinked a few times, before shock crossed her face after having processed what her husband had just said. "W-w-what do you mean? Is this about the… k-k-kiss?"
Loid nodded his head, amused at how flustered Yor had gotten. It was very proof that he had picked the right problem to solve - helping Yor adjust to the ways of a married woman. "I know it may be difficult, but our marriage could be in jeopardy if anyone else figured that we were married conditionally and report us."
Yor gulped. That would be a serious problem for her, considering how she wanted to stay out of the secret police’s radar and continue her assassination career. She bit her lip as she peered away thoughtfully, nervous at the idea about having to be more physical with her fake husband. It had been a tough enough hurdle for her to kiss (although it didn’t happen), much less having to make this a regular thing. Holding Loid’s hand, hugging or even kissing him daily - would she be able to live up to that?
"I know it sounds intimidating, but let’s take it slowly if you’re willing," Loid could sense her hesitation, but being persuasive was one of the talents he was most prideful of. He knew that Yor was desperate to protect the marriage for camouflage purposes, but was simply deterred since she had little experience with relationships. Having anticipated that, he had crafted a plan to take things in Yor’s stride. Hopefully, that would get her buy-in. "We can take things step by step, and start small from just holding hands."
At that, Loid held out his hand to the tray that Yor had left on the table. He brought it closer to them, an encouraging gleam flickering in his eyes. "Could you hold the tray with me, Yor?"
Yor bit her lip. That should not have seem as intimidating as every other act of affection she could imagine, but even she knew that it was such a simple act that almost blew their cover with Yuri. Her gaze flickered to Loid uncertainly, but her confidence was renewed when she saw him smile gently at him.
In the few months they had been together, Yor had learnt better than to doubt Loid for harbouring any unkind intentions. He was a kind gentleman who had always been patient with her, despite her many shortcomings, and if he had crafted a plan for them, he must have had made it in consideration for her as well.
She nodded slowly, before reaching out her own fingers shakily towards the tray. Her fingers first clenched around the rim, a distance away from Loid’s, before she gulped and painfully closed the distance.
Yor could almost hear her pulse thundering in her ears, finding herself grow conscious about Loid being able to hear how anxious she was too. If she took any longer, even Loid might get angry at her-
"It’s alright, take your time. You must be comfortable with it," Loid said gently.
Yor looked up at him, surprised and almost on the verge of tears. She couldn’t be so selfish. Even Loid was going out of his way to help her, she just couldn’t let him down.
Drawing a deep breath, Yor brought her fingers to just brush against Loid’s.
A nod of approval from Loid and an earnest, encouraging smile. "That’s great, Yor. I’m going to put my hand over yours next, okay?"
A meek nod. Yor watched as Loid slowly lifted his hand away from the tray, finding herself grip the tray harder as his hand approached hers. While her gaze was fixated on his hand, Loid’s gaze was fixated on her. While he had much experience with other women, he had to respect that this was an entirely new experience for Yor and be careful to not scare her away. That would worsen the state of Operation Strix, and he simply could not risk that.
Loid watched as Yor slowly released her breath, and finally took the opportunity to place his hand over hers. The city hall worker blinked at the realisation that it was over, before turning over to him with a bright smile.
"We did it, Loid!"
Loid couldn’t help but crack into a laugh at how she was radiating with happiness. Even Yor was laughing now.
"Anya is home!"
The two turned to their daughter, who had burst through the door with her arms flailed in the air happily. She paused as her gaze paused at her parents holding hands.
"Papa and Mama are being lovey-dovey."
Before Yor could retract her hand, Loid held on even tighter and gave her a firm smile. If even their daughter could acknowledge that they were being a perfect couple, then they were off on the right start.
"And that’s how parents should behave," Loid retorted firmly, closing his fingers firmly over Yor’s. He could feel the city hall worker’s hands warming up from her embarrassment, but knew that this was too soon for them to give up. Perhaps what he could do for now was to give her a break. "Anya, go on and wash up first, and we can revise your school work together."
"Okey dokey," Anya nodded her head and retreated to her room. Of course, as a telepath, she had already read her father’s mind and realised that this was part of his ploy for Operation Strix. For the purpose of world peace, she would just have to cooperate for now.
Once the little girl was out of sight, Loid slowly brought his fingers away. It was only then did he notice that Yor was pretty much overheating from embarrassment.
Looks like they still had a long way to go.