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“Bond, be careful!” Twilight chided as the Great Pyrenees sprinted back and forth down the hallway of the new apartment. The spy found himself using his well-honed reflexes to prevent a box or two from crashing down on him or the family dog, not that it was much of a struggle but it made him seriously reconsider his choice in carrying four boxes at once.
Why is this move such a damn hassle? He thought as he continued towards his new room, lightly kicking the door with his shoe to open it wider. The space was a touch smaller than the previous room he had lived in, but it was by no means the smallest space he’d ever stayed in. That honor, if it could be called that, went to a broom closet that he had needed to utilize as a “safe house” on a moving train. Granted, at that time he had barely had enough items to fill a suitcase and most of it had been spy equipment.
Becoming Loid Forger had come with a whole host of belongings that were necessary: clothing, toiletries, shoes, his spy gear (of course), books (mostly research material to be able to maintain the façade of a psychiatrist), kitchen supplies, and on and on. A small part of him missed the days when everything he owned could fit in a shoe box. But there was no going back to those days. Not after everything that had changed with Strix. Not after how much he had changed.
The spy maneuvered the boxes onto the bed and looked around the room. He had already done several sweeps of this new apartment and was happy to note all of the escape routes and defensible positions and his room had several places he could utilize for defense should they be needed. However, due to the speed of this necessary move there had been some things he hadn’t been able to arrange ahead of time.
While it was a small quibble, the closet space in all the rooms only had a solid tension bar for hanging clothing. No shelving was installed and that was something he would need to rectify as soon as he got his room functional and Anya’s room completely moved in. But even with Yor’s help, he doubted they would be able to get the girl’s room prepared, install the closet shelving in all three bedrooms, and put away all of his (and her) weapons.
Deciding it would be best to get those items out of the way first, if only to prevent any number of disaster scenarios that made their home in his mind regarding his sneaky daughter accidentally or intentionally getting into things she shouldn’t, he carefully picked up a box and briefcase that contained most of his weapons and headed back out of the room. In the hallway was a closet that, thankfully, already had shelving installed and could easily be secured with a far out of reach bolt lock (and additional padlock if need be). He'd have to organize it later for functionality's sake, but for now would serve its purpose to keep Anya (and Bond) safe.
His mind swirling through the never ending checklist in his mind, it was instinct alone that prevented him from hitting something and falling flat on his back. The box he held lightly tapped against another cardboard box followed by a delicate yelp as the door to the closet opened just a touch, stopping an eighth of a meter from his face.
“Oh dear!” Yor gasped, juggling her own box for a second. It didn’t shake too hard or hit the floor, but Twilight couldn’t help but marvel at how she managed to keep the three boxes of varying sizes steady. “I’m so sorry, Loid-san! I didn’t see you.”
“It’s alright,” He chuckled, moving slightly within the hallway so her face was in his field of vision. “I was a little lost in my head. I’m sorry for getting underfoot.” He eyed the boxes for a second, noting that, unlike her other belongings, these ones had no identifier of what they contained. “Would you like a hand?”
"Um, well…" she fluttered, ruby eyes flicking back and forth for a moment. "I-I got it! Plus… they are very heavy! Yeah! I don't want you to strain yourself."
It was obviously a lie, something she wasn't entirely comfortable explaining. Which probably meant that it was about her job. Even with most of the truth about their occupations in the open, he found that Yor was the one that struggled the most to be verbally honest when it came to work. Even after weeks of knowing who he was and after the joint meeting between his handler and her director, she would give ridiculous excuses if she returned home late from an assignment and routinely lied about her injuries. Twilight could only guess that this was primarily because she had hidden that side of her life for longer than he had been a spy, a truth her director had explained to him rather than his wife herself.
But this was all new to them: their secrets being out, the tentative partnership between their organizations, the being assigned joint assignments…
Everything except that they were the Forgers, partners in raising Anya and a pretend couple for the world to see.
Maybe he was just faster at adapting.
"It's alright," Twilight reassured with a gentle smile as he put down his briefcase and pulled the closet door open more. "Let me get the door for you. If you like, I can use the highest shelf. There should be enough room for my gear and we can put your supplies on the next shelf."
Yor blinked before flushing and ducking her face behind the boxes in her hands. "I'm sorry, Lo- Twi- um... I just…" her voice lowered to barely a whisper. "Still not used to this."
"That's okay," Twilight answered quietly, turning to the closet and hefting his briefcase up to the top shelf. "This is new to both of us. We'll figure out the new normal eventually. Give yourself a little grace, Yor." He turned a smile her way before narrowing his gaze at the box in his hand, doing a brief calculation in his head before pushing it efficiently onto the highest shelf next to his briefcase. It was a slightly tight fit and he would need to adjust it later, but it would do for the moment.
Brushing his hands together, he nodded and stepped away. "Did you want some help putting them on the shelf?" He asked, cordially.
His wife considered it for a moment before shaking her head. "I can get it! Though I-I do appreciate the offer."
"Of course!" He replied, a smile pulling at his lip, even if a very small feeling of disappointment pricked in his chest. He pushed it away. Considering she was an assassin, he could understand her hesitation with him handling her tools, especially if she kept poisons in one of those boxes. If the roles had been reversed, he would have thought twice about having her handle his munitions.
But he had trusted her on several occasions to carry his briefcase, the one with a built in machine gun. Granted, she didn't know that and he wasn't going to attempt to manipulate or persuade her into letting him help.
Baby steps, Tasogare, he chastised himself, stepping away from the closet to give her all the room she needed. Trust is a marathon, not a sprint.
"If you need any help, I'll be finishing up in my room. Feel free to knock or call," he smiled at her.
Yor nodded, a warmer smile pulling at her lip. "Thank you."
The door to Loid's room clicked shut behind him. Maybe it was some level of unease on her part, but Yor couldn't help but wonder if she had messed up, her smile dropping from her face as she watched the door. As if she had failed some kind of test.
Even Bond looked kind of disappointed as he looked at her for a moment before lumbering out to the dog bed they had set up in the living room. He didn't huff or whine, but something in his posture just told her that he had expected something different from what happened in the hallway. Which… could have been true all things considered.
Letting out a very quiet sigh, she turned back to the closet and juggled her boxes. Regardless of what could have happened, it hadn't and she had to live with that. There's no point in dwelling on it, Yor told herself again and again as she slid the boxes into her chosen shelf.
But before she made her way back to her room, her eyes followed the journey Loid had made back to his. Her sharp hearing picked up the rustle of objects being moved and sorted, a slight creek of his bed or the movement of hangers occasionally interjecting. He didn't sound like he needed assistance and he hadn't asked for any, so there was no reason to interfere.
That didn't stop the wish from deep within her that bubbled up to the surface.
She pushed it away and walked to her room.
Maybe another day. When I'm braver.