Chapter Text
“Good day, or perhaps, good evening, Agent Twilight. Thanks to you, the minister lives to see another day. Now, then, I have your next mission. Your target: Donovan Desmond, the leader of the National Unity Party. He is a great threat to the truce between the East and the West. Your mission is to get close to him and probe any seditious activities. In order to achieve this, you will get married and have a child.”
That’s how they ended up here. Twilight and Nightfall – No, Loid and Fiona Forger – were just a normal loving family looking to enroll their daughter, Anya Forger, into the prestigious Eden Academy in hopes of turning her into an imperial scholar to get close to their target: Donovan Desmond.
Twilight never intended on having Nightfall partner up with him for this mission considering the risks, however, she was very insistent, so he accepted. He carried a box of her things into her own bedroom with her following behind him.
“Twil-” She cleared her throat, “Darling, would it not be better for us to share a bedroom together? So that people believe we’re a real family?” She asked.
He put down the last of her things as he turned to her. “I’ve already planned everything. If ever we have guests over, we’ll set up a bedroom to look like a shared one. We’ll probably have to take a few pictures just to make it seem more realistic but for now, let’s just settle in.” He said as he walked past her to check on Anya.
‘One day…’ She thought as she went into her own bedroom to begin unpacking her things.
“Anya.” Twilight called out to his fake daughter.
“Papa!” She smiled as she ran out of her own bedroom. “I love my new room!”
“That’s good. Now, it’s time we prepare you for the entrance exam. We’ll start by studying math, then reading, and go into writing.” He told her as he grabbed a few books from a box and placed them on the coffee table in the living room.
Anya looked up at him with furrowed brows. “No! I don’t wanna study! Anya hates studying!” She shouted.
He tried his best to calm her down. Nightfall walked out of her bedroom to see the commotion between Twilight and their daughter. “Anya, it’s imperative that you study for your entrance exam. Otherwise, you’ll never get into Eden.” She spoke, her stoic expression unchanged.
Anya looked up at her fake father and mother. Their heads were filled with different thoughts on her. She looked over at her father, who was thinking of ways that could make her study. She looked over at her mother, who simply thought of replacing her. That instantly brought tears to her eyes.
“Noooo! Don’t replace me! I promise I’ll be good!” She cried out loud. Nightfall’s stoic expression remained unchanged, but behind it was shock. Twilight, on the other hand, panicked as he tried his best to calm her down otherwise she’d get them reported for child neglect. Nothing seemed to work as Anya kept on crying, begging her parents not to replace her.
“Where are you getting that idea?” Twilight asked her.
Throughout her cries, they heard a knock at the door. Twilight looked over at it.
Shit.
He assumed it was either one of the neighbors coming over to complain about the noise, the State Security Service, or an enemy. He didn’t have time to look into every one of his neighbors' backgrounds. He made a mental note to do just that after Anya went to sleep.
Twilight looked over at Nightfall. “Will you calm her down? I’ll get the door.”
She nodded at him as she went over to Anya, who continued to cry.
Twilight reached for the door handle, his free hand at the ready in case they'd been compromised. He opened the door, ready to strike, only to be greeted by a woman in a red sweater. She held a plant in her hand as she gave him a warm smile.
“Hello! I’m Yor Briar. I heard we had new neighbors move in today, so I wanted to be the first to welcome you.” She smiled as she stuck the plant out to him.
Twilight blinked at her, putting on his best fake smile as he took the plant from her. “Ah, thank you, Ms. Briar. I’m Loid Forger, it’s nice to me-”
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Anya crying and Fiona trying to calm her down but to no avail. Twilight looked at the two in shock and back at Yor who simply stared at the scene in front of her, a hand covering her mouth. ‘Shit! If this keeps up, she’ll most likely report us to the authorities!’
“S-sorry about that! We just moved in so I guess she’s still getting used to the new apartment.” He lied.
“Oh, poor thing.” Yor said as she looked at Anya sympathetically. “I’ve gone through the same thing with my younger brother. Try taking her around the neighborhood, I’m sure it’ll ease her worries and calm her right down.” She smiled.
Twilight nodded his head at her as he let out a smile. “Thank you. We might just try that.”
The sound of Anya’s crying stopped as the two looked over and saw her eating a pack of peanuts and a frustrated looking Nightfall. She looked over at them as she fixed herself up and walked up next to her husband as she put an arm around his causing Twilight to raise a brow at her action. “Sorry for that. I’m Fiona Forger.” She introduced herself.
Yor smiled at her, “it’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Forger.”
Anya then ran up to them as she looked up at Yor who looked down at her with a warm smile. “Hello, I’m Anya Horger. I’ve been with my Papa and Mama for a long time.”
‘That was completely unnecessary.’ Both Twilight and Nightfall thought.
Yor chuckled as she bent down to the little girl’s height. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Anya. I hope you like your new home.” She gave the girl a warm smile as she patted her head and stood up again. She then turned towards Twilight and Nightfall. “It was nice meeting you. I’ll be on my way now.”
Both Twilight and Nightfall nodded at her as she made her way down the stairs while they closed the door. Anya looked up at her parents, pointing at the now closed door. “She’s very nice.”
Twilight looked down at her, a blank expression on his face. “Hmm.” He looked over at Nightfall, whose arm was still linked around his as he pulled it away from her. “Good job committing to the act.” He told her as he walked back over to the coffee table. A small blush appeared on the stoic woman’s face as she thought about his compliment.
“Anya, it’s time you study.” Twilight told her as he grabbed the book to hand it to her.
“I wanna go on an ooting!” She exclaimed while jumping.
“An outing?” Twilight tilted his head at her confused. “Right now?”
“No. As I said before Anya, it’s imperative that you study for the entrance exams. You must memorize every lesson down to its core. You will study right now. No exceptions.” Nightfall spoke as she took the book from Twilight and put it in front of the little girl. She took the small chair they bought her and had her sit in it. Anya simply crossed her arms and looked down at the book in front of her.
‘Try taking her around the neighborhood. I’m sure it’ll ease her worries and calm her right down.’ Yor’s words echoed in his head. He crossed his arms as he looked down at the little girl in front of him. If they were to go out right now, she’d end up sleeping afterwards and every little minute dedicated to studying was important to passing her exam.
Nightfall cleared her throat, getting the attention of her fake husband. “Darling, perhaps I can help her while you prepare dinner.” Twilight didn’t understand Nightfall’s use of calling him darling when it was just the three of them. In public, sure, but behind closed doors, it was not necessary.
‘Maybe she’s just trying to get some practice in for when we’re in public.’ He thought as he looked over at the kitchen. “I forgot to get groceries.” He sighed. “I’ll go shopping and prepare dinner once I’m back.” He looked down at Anya, who finally picked up a pencil only to play around with it. “I expect you to be done with at least one study assignment while I’m out.” He watched her slouch against the table, kicking her feet back and forth.
He looked over at Nightfall as he separated his mouth movements from his words and spoke, “I’ll see you later then. (I’ll be picking up the forms from my informant.)
Nightfall simply nodded at him as she took a seat on the couch across from Anya and began looking over the questions with her. Twilight walked towards the door and grabbed his coat and left.
Twilight made his way to a tobacco shop on a small corner of a street. He spied a man with curly hair and red glasses resting his chin against the palm of his hand. The man looked over at him, a bored expression on his face, as he took out an envelope and slid it across the counter. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Twilight said as he put the entrance exam forms away into his coat pocket. “And her background. Did you find anything?”
The man slid out a file to him as Twilight opened it up. “Nothing much about her background other than the fact she’s been returned four times.” He told him.
Anya Levski, Anya Roche, Anya Williams… Twilight read through the list of names as he handed the folder back to his informant. He didn't think it necessary to keep it.
“So, how’s the pretend family coming along?” His informant, whose name was Franky, asked.
“It would’ve been easier if this kid were to just study but she refuses to do anything.” He sighed. “Perhaps I’ll return her for another kid willing to do the work.”
Franky raised a brow at him. “That’s kinda harsh.” Twilight simply shrugged at him. There was no need involving a kid who was uncooperative.
“How about your pretend wife? Getting along well?”
“She’s a colleague, makes it a bit easier I guess.” He told him as he adjusted his coat. “Anyway, I should be shopping for dinner.” He began walking away, hearing the informant shouting after him for his payment.
He made his way into the grocery store and began looking at ingredients for dinner. He also grabbed a few bags of peanuts for Anya.
“Mr. Forger!”
He looked behind him to see Yor waving at him. “Ah, Miss Briar. Are you shopping for dinner as well?”
Yor nodded her head at him. “My brother is coming over tonight. I haven’t seen him in months so I thought I’d make dinner for him.” She smiled.
“That’s wonderful.” Twilight smiled as he took a look at her shopping cart. There was a whole mess of ingredients. Items you wouldn’t necessarily put together to make even a decent dinner. “Uh, Miss Briar, I’m kinda curious but, what are you planning on having for dinner?” He asked.
Yor beamed at him as she explained the few ingredients in her cart. From fish, to a chocolate bar, pancake mix, as well as a few spices. This was not a feast to die for, it’s a feast you’d die from.
“I’m not exactly the best at cooking but I am gonna keep on trying.” She said proudly.
Twilight nodded his head at her, “that’s great, Miss Briar. Your partner is very lucky to have you.” He noticed the way her smile slowly formed into a frown as she furrowed her brows and averted her gaze. “Oh! I- I’m so sorry. I didn’t…”
She simply chuckled at him, “it’s fine, really. Is Miss Anya settling in okay?”
“Ah, yes, she should be. My wife is helping her prepare for Eden’s entrance exam.”
Yor smiled, “wow. So you’ll be enrolling Miss Anya into Eden Academy.”
“It’s our dream to make sure she has the best education possible.” He lied behind a smile.
“Yes, but it’s also best to remember that she’s also just a kid.”
He raised a brow at her. “What do you mean by that?” He asked her questionably. Was she really questioning the way they parent? Was it that obvious they weren’t acting like a normal family? Was this it? Was Operation Strix over?
“I don’t mean to overstep, Mr. Forger, but while I do think it’s sweet that you want the best education for Miss Anya, you have to take into account that she’s also just a child. She deserves to be happy and feel loved. She should not be subjected to just her studies.” She explained to him. “I may not be a parent, but I did raise my brother when he was just a child. While his education was important, I’ve always made sure he was happy and loved.”
Twilight furrowed his brows at her. His grip tightening on the handles of the shopping cart. He stared at the bags of peanuts in his shopping cart remembering the day Anya told him and Nightfall it was her favorite snack.
“I’m sure Miss Anya will do great, Mr. Forger. I hope you have a great rest of your evening.” Yor smiled as she bid him goodbye and made her way towards another aisle of the store leaving Twilight to his own thoughts surrounded by bags of peanuts.
He came home to see Nightfall sitting on the couch sipping on tea. Study books and a few broken pencils lay on the table in front of her.
“Welcome home.” She greeted him as she got up from the couch and made her way over to the kitchen with her now empty teacup.
“Where’s Anya?” He asked her as he set down the bag of groceries.
“She would not listen to a word I say so I thought it best to send her to bed early. She will not be having dinner tonight.”
“Uh, no. That’s just harsh and we could get reported for that.” He told her as he went over to Anya’s room and knocked on her door. He could hear sniffling from behind the door. He opened it up to see her crying into her pillow hugging her Mr. Chimera.
‘She deserves to be happy and feel loved.’
He sighed as he let out a small smile and walked up to Anya’s bed. He patted her back, causing her to look at him. “I’m making dinner tonight. Your favorite.”
He saw the way she smiled as her cheeks turned into a happy shade of red. “Hamburger!” She jumped up on her bed, her face beamed with happiness as she danced around with Mr. Chimera.
‘I’m sure Miss Anya will do great.’
Twilight thought back to why he underwent this operation in the first place. It wasn’t just for peace between two rival countries. It’s so he could create a world where children like Anya would never cry again.