Chapter Text
It was nearly the weekend when Yor sat easily on the couch beside Twilight as had become their routine, took his hand, then said shyly, “I-I think I’m ready for the next step…”
“Alright,” Twilight said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “If you’re sure you’re comfortable and relaxed around this—” he raised her hand up and pressed his lips to her palm, lingering for a moment— “then I was thinking we could try a forehead kiss next.”
“Th-that sounds alright,” Yor said, looking at him and then back down to her lap. She tightened her grip on his hand before releasing it, pulling one leg up and turning somewhat to face him.
Twilight did the same, half standing so he was at the right height. Bracing one hand against the back of the couch, Twilight leaned closer, watching her expression carefully. The closer he got, the redder she became.
“I can’t do it, I can’t do it!” Yor jumped back to the far end of the couch, shaking her head furiously.
Twilight frowned and sat back. “You don’t need to force yourself to do something that’s still uncomfortable, we can stick to hand holding for a while longer with the occasional palm or finger kiss. I promise I won’t push you, this is fine. I don’t want you uncomfortable around me.”
“No! No.” Yor took a deep breath and scooted back towards him a couple inches. “It’s just a forehead kiss! I wanna be able to do that. Forehead kisses aren’t romantic either, I kiss Anya on the forehead every time I tuck her in. I used to do the same thing for Yuri, too! I just have to think of it like that.”
“Maybe you should try kissing me, instead,” Twilight said, deliberately relaxing back against the armrest. “It might not seem as daunting if you’re the one doing the action.”
Yor nodded, scooting the rest of the way back to him. “I think that would help. I just have to think of it like tucking Anya or little Yuri in for bed!”
“Take however much time you need,” Twilight said, smiling at her. “I won’t move, I promise. You can do all the kissing.”
“Right!” Yor gave one more sharp nod, then half stood and braced her hand on the back of the couch in exact imitation of him. She leaned closer, blush deepening, and hesitated. “Um, Loid? Do you think you could, close your eyes? And keep them shut until I say.”
“Of course.” Twilight nodded and did as requested, then went perfectly still again as he’d promised. It was surprisingly difficult to do so with a flustered Yor inching closer and closer to his face. But, he could hardly expect her to trust him if he so clearly showed that he did not trust her. Besides, if he flinched back it would likely remind Yor of her rather, forceful, habitual response to these scenarios, and that would only add to her insecurities. With that in mind, Twilight projected an air of calm and total relaxation.
A few moments later, Yor’s hand brushed over his forehead and up, as though to push his hair out of the way. It was combed, and too short for that to really be necessary anyway, but he supposed that both Yuri and Anya had bangs long enough to interfere with a forehead kiss. Yor was likely doing the action subconsciously to make this scenario feel closer to what she was familiar with.
Twilight waited, taking note of her scent as she leaned closer, then retreated, then leaned closer again. It was overlaid with the vaguely floral smell of her soaps, a hint of nervous sweat, and laced with the tiniest trace of something sharp and metallic. That was odd. Her earrings, perhaps?
Eventually, Yor’s lips pressed feather-light against his skin. She pulled away almost immediately. But, then her hand returned to his forehead, and so did her lips. Yor kissed him once, twice, thrice more before fully pulling away.
“Y-you can open your eyes now,” she said. She’d sat back, though her leg was still up on the couch, tucked underneath her, and she was wringing her hands.
“How was that?” Loid asked.
“Good! I… Th-that was good.” Yor turned her head away and held out her hand. “This is good! It’s working.”
Twilight accepted her offered hand with a smile. “Just so long as you’re happy with it.”
Yor nodded vigorously, looking back at him. “Yes, I’m very happy with it. Thanks for all this, for helping me and being so patient. I know I’m not very good at acting like a normal wife.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Twilight said, raising her hand in both of his. “Like I’ve said before, you’re a valued member of the Forger family, you have nothing to worry about. You make a great wife and mother.”
“Thanks, Loid,” she said with a shy little smile. “That means a lot.”
Twilight brought her hand to his lips and kissed a trail across it. A little bit more seduction, reinforcement that these evenings were romantic, but not so much as to overwhelm her. He tried not to notice the little surge of satisfaction and… pleasure? Happiness? Something that swelled in his chest and made him feel all light and warm as he saw Yor’s smile widen just the tiniest bit, her blush deepen.
He also tried not to notice the complete truth in his words as he closed his eyes, raising their clasped hands and tilting his head against them, and said, “I’m glad I found you, and that it was you I asked to be my wife. I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Really…?” Yor’s voice was a tiny whisper. “You, you really are?”
“Yes.” Twilight opened his eyes, meeting her gaze. “I meant every word.”
And that was mildly concerning. Even if he could afford emotional attachments—which he certainly could not—bringing potentially messy and volatile real feelings into this could result in the destabilization of their marriage and the failure of Operation Strix! If Yor ever did become unsatisfied with no romance in her life he would of course step in to give her that, but unless and until that happened it was best if their relationship remained strictly platonic. He would have to be careful with how much charm he used. Twilight had seen first hand just how challenging real marriages were.
In retrospect, he was extremely glad he’d found Yor to play the role of his wife. She was perhaps the most ideal woman in the whole city to fill that position, his fellow WISE agents included.
“I-I’m glad too,” Yor said, bringing her free hand up to join his. “I’m glad I’m your wife. I really love Anya, and I love our life together. That’s why I want to do everything I can to protect this marriage.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
“Hey, Loid? Close your eyes for me one more time?”
Twilight did so.
A moment later, Yor kissed his forehead again. Then she turned on the couch, releasing his hands to allow for the repositioning, and leaned against him.
“You can open your eyes…” she whispered. “I-is this alright? Sorry, I probably should’ve asked first. I can move-”
“Don’t, this is fine,” Twilight said, tentatively wrapping his arms around her. “Do you mind if I pull you a little closer and hold you like this?”
“G-go ahead.”
Twilight pulled her back, adjusting his position at the same time so she was more comfortably nestled against him, sitting between his legs instead of on his knee. He used one hand to grab a couch pillow and stuff it behind his back in the corner for extra support, then leaned into the couch, pulling Yor with him.
“Is this still good?” he asked, returning his arm to her waist.
Yor nodded. “Yeah. This is- this is good. I’d like to just, stay, here, for a little while. If that’s alright.”
Twilight leaned his face into her shoulder and the crook of her neck. Somehow, this felt far more intimate than, well, anything he’d ever experienced. You’re being silly, Twilight.
“Yor?”
“Yes?”
“You truly are a remarkable woman. Thank you for letting me be your husband.”
Bonus
~The Next Day~
“You seem awfully happy today,” Camilla said as Yor dropped off the files she’d asked for.
“Oh, yeah, my husband and I had a really sweet talk last night. Loid is really a wonderful man.”
Camilla snorted.
“Is talking all you did last night?” Sharon asked from her desk.
“Yeah,” Millie added, “what did you do after talking?”
“Huh? Oh, well, I suppose we just went to bed.”
“And I’ll just bet you two got up to some real freaky stuff there,” Camilla said. “We get it, you’re married to Mr. Perfect, and you two get up to all sorts of crazy things in bed. No need to rub it in.”
“W-what?!” Yor jerked her gaze back to Camilla, heat rising in her face. She squeaked something even she couldn’t sort out and shook her head violently. “No! Nope! No we didn’t do anything! It’s nothing at all like that!”
“Whatever you say, Yor,” Sharon said with a sigh. “I just wish my husband left me half as eager to get home each day as yours does. I swear, I don’t know how you two manage with a kid in the house.”
Yor spun on the woman, opening and closing her mouth a few times. No words came out. Finally she just shook her head again. Yor should’ve just stuck to Loid’s advice not to talk about their marriage at all. She wouldn’t even be able to look at him tonight, not with that in her head!
They’d set her progress back to worse than she’d been before even starting this training with Loid!
How on earth am I going to survive the weekend…?