Chapter Text
Yoh was a dreamer.
It was pretty obvious to say the least.
He was not the type of guy who would aggressively charge towards his goals head-on, not without the right push nor without apparent threat.
He still surprises himself whenever his thoughts marvelled at how much he has matured over the years. Sure, he still kept his unyielding laid-back nature which dominated his personality almost 98% of the time, but he matured.
On the other hand, his wife contrasted him in all of his being.
She is the definition of ferocity, the very essence of triumph. And whenever she declared war, she will give you war.
His wife was his right push. The motivation he had all these years through hell, to the Great Spirits, and then back.
Not that he complained about it, because that was the powerful energy that drawn him to her in the first place.
Today was no exception for Yoh’s fantasist side to come into play. He had every reason to, now that he had about a gazillion things in his mind.
Afterall, tomorrow will be the start of ‘the big day’.
He realised his uneventful reverie after receiving a spiritual nudge from Faust whilst they were in the state of hyoi gattai. This partially brought him back to his senses.
“Yoh-kun, I know how much you miss Anna-san, but I need you to focus on our task at hand,” the ghost stated playfully.
“Ah, sorry, Faust,” he replied sheepishly.
They finished vaccinating the last person for the day, and possibly the last for a long time.
As he withdrew the needle from his patient’s skin and discarded it into a jar full of other sharps that they have used along the way, Yoh exhaled a significant amount of breath he did not know he was holding. He received a few words of gratitude and a firm handshake from the injured man before waving goodbye. The main language used in the country still remained foreign to him with learning only the basics for simple conversations, but he always got by with the help of the spirits around them.
He plopped himself onto a rubble of concrete arranged to create a makeshift chair as he wiped his sweat-ridden forehead using the fabric of his sleeve on his right forearm. He disintegrated from Faust as he attempted to relax, the ghost now floating beside him.
“Phew! I will start cleaning-up in a few minutes. I think I just need a breather. Thank you, Faust.”
The human spirit gave him a reassuring smile. “You’ve done a great job. Take all the time you need.”
Yoh leaned back on his elbows and surveyed his surroundings. Sunset has just begun, and it brought about a myriad shade of orange, yellow and black around the premises.
They were in an old school turned into a camp. It was one of the old establishments around the area that took a big hit during the war. Parts of the building were dilapidated from the endless bombings, but the community has united to restore some of its rooms during ceasefire. It was enough to function as a temporary clinic and shelter.
‘If only humans worked together instead of continuously seeking conflicts.’
His thoughts wandered towards his wife again as he watched her still busied with her tasks. He could not help it. She was always his refuge when his emotions were brewing a storm.
Her side of the room were just several meters away from him, only separated by piled-up wooden fences that acted as dividers to provide privacy to the patients. Not that it offered enough coverage, anyway. He was still able to savour her otherworldly beauty through those useless dividers every time.
He observed how she moved with absolute finesse and grace as she administered medications to children and their mothers. Their second child sleeping soundly, strapped in a cloth sling secured around her back. She had the choice of settling the baby into an improvised cot while she performed her duties but being the protective mother that she was, she reasoned out that the place appeared unsanitary, and she did not want to risk it. Yoh admired her great attention to detail, as always, but he was pretty sure that this demeanour was somehow a projection of her immense longing for their first born, Hana.
Anna was great with kids. Her disciplinarian character coupled with her innate maternal instincts compelled youngsters to warm-up to her in an instant. Motherhood exuded from her naturally.
Yoh drifted further back into his precious memories.
He recalled that fateful day when he was casually lounging at an elevated and secluded grassland overlooking a majestic view of the sunset by the beach. Back to that island where the Shaman Fight took place. Anna was close by his side, leaning her head on his right shoulder with her eyes closed, as she deeply inhaled the cool breeze.
He immediately sensed that there was something significant she needed to tell him. Something that burdened her for the past weeks amidst the war, the battle to be king. He turned his attention to his fiancée, “you know I am always ready to listen,” he prompted.
Anna gently shifted to face him; eyes searched for his. And after a minute, she decided to break the silence, “I’m pregnant.”
He smiled fondly. The rest was history after that.
However, it did not occur to him that he would find himself in a similar situation until after almost 12 months ago.
Again, in the middle of a raging war.
He searched for his wife across the shack where they were offered to stay for the week. He just finished his mission for the day which involved evacuating almost half of the city due to a surprise military attack. He heard someone from the toilet hurling their stomach’s contents out from their system, so he went there to investigate. Inside the tiny space, he found her leaning over the shabby sink, breathing heavily, one hand damp with water on her mouth. He couldn’t make out her expression due to her long hair concealing parts of her face.
It would have been difficult to assess the whole situation if not for the two small white objects placed atop the sink. Those were two pregnancy strips which she possibly obtained from the ruined pharmacy nearby. Both strips showed two striking red lines on each. His eyes widened in realisation.
“Anna,” he murmured.
A few seconds passed before she glanced at him. She was biting her lower lip with a small worried smile, her eyes welled in tears.
It only took one quick stride to have her in his arms, hugging her for dear life. His lips travelled from her forehead to the side of her temple as he breathed in her unique scent that he always cherished.
“Sssh, I love you. I’m happy. We got this.”
Her face remained buried at the crook of his neck. She did not need to speak as she was now completely secured in his presence. She smiled contently hearing her husband’s soothing words.
They both shed tears of mixed emotions.
Yoh blinked from his deep recollections. He was surprised to feel the warmth in his cheeks and his eyes became slightly blurry. He quickly searched for his wife’s presence again from within the room.
After finishing with one patient and waiting for the next to settle, Anna somehow sensed her husband’s intent stares and she turned to see him, their eyes locked onto each other’s. She raised a brow as if questioning about what he was up to. Her amber orbs hoped to communicate things effectively.
Her eyes caught him off-guard. Those mesmerizing set always sent him to into an unknown world that transcends from physical, emotional, and spiritual attraction. He peeped into his and her soul through her eyes.
He tried to decipher her thoughts by just staring back, but it was difficult since her entire face except for her eyes was covered by a Niqab. Not that it was fully compulsory for her to wear such, but it was Yoh who sold the idea, tracing back to a certain dark history with them having to negotiate with his twin brother to bring them and their first born back to life. Ever since that incident, Yoh has been quite paranoid with the idea of his family’s safety.
While he gained plenty of allies over the years for intervening with the war and promoting peace within Syria, he inevitably garnered secret enemies, lurking from the dark, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. It was one of the reasons why he and Anna made the most painful decision of leaving Hana in Japan in the first place— to conceal his identity, to keep him away from inevitable harm. Hiding his wife’s face from the veering eyes of the public was no different. Making her features unidentifiable, making her anonymous from the rest somehow gave him a sense of security. Plus, he enjoyed the bonus effect of preventing the lustful gawking she received from random men whenever they laid sight of her irresistible beauty. He sneered at that thought.
A moment passed and he could still see Anna’s glare towards him, now narrowing her eyes to convey her curiosity.
He chuckled nervously.
“Nothing. I love you,” he mouthed softly, carefully elaborating each syllable with his mouth to make sure she would get the message in case she did not hear it.
Yoh swore he heard her scoff before turning away and going back to finishing her tasks.
After a few more rounds, the queue for nurse Anna’s, c/o Eliza’s assistance, slowly shortened as they were nearing the end of the day. The people in the community were aware that this would be the last of their services as mercenaries fort the meantime. Tomorrow, Yoh and Anna would set foot to fulfilling another one of their missions.
A 14 year-old mission.
He finally decided to get up and start packing their equipment and discarding the medical wastes. Anna would not be happy if she finished doing her business first before he could even start cleaning-up.
At this point, the mothers gathered at the clinic with their children of all ages. “Shukran, habibti!” Yoh overheard a woman spoke as she held Anna’s hand. A few more gathered around his wife muttering praises. “Mashallah!” someone else chirped. He continued to eavesdrop while he cleaned as others continued with their musings saying things along the lines of “such a beautiful one” or something about how he and Anna must have been very busy creating something so precious. All pertaining to their new baby.
He wondered if Anna was blushing behind her face covering because he almost certainly was.
He wanted to approach her badly, but more people started to flood the room to pay their respects and bid them farewell. He could only steal side glances while both of them accommodated the surge of people coming in.
They did not notice how the events quickly glossed over in front of them, but Yoh remembered witnessing the locals (and ghosts) gather in front of him and Anna (with Faust and Eliza next to them), all bowing in respect the way how they did it in Japan. That scene melted his heart knowing that their efforts and sacrifices made such an impact in the lives of so many throughout the years.
. . . . . . . . . . .
His quick shower earned him some form of short-lived relaxation, albeit he still could not help but feel anxious for the next day. He sighed as he exited the small grubby cubicle.
After donning his sleep pants, he made his way towards their transient room small enough to fit just a single dresser and the double mattress they slept in. It only had one tiny window for the purpose of ventilation with a small light bulb at the corner serving as the only source of scarce light.
How his wife managed to have a good shower after bathing their little one, he probably would not figure out soon enough, but the sight of his Anna alone made his heart flutter. She was finally rid of all the layers of clothing she had to wear outdoors, and was now lying in bed with her usual white sleeping yukata. Her curvy back facing the door of the room and her long blonde hair, still slightly damp from showering, sprawled around her pillow. She usually hates lying down in bed with wet hair, but he supposed she was too exhausted to care tonight. He giggled at the sight of their newest bundle of joy all cuddle-up securely next to her. They both looked adorable.
Oh, how he would give up his life for them.
Yoh hanged his damp shirt on one of the protruding nails from the wall after he used it to towel-dry his long brunette locks. Then, he lied down next to her gently, careful not to wake the sleeping cherub and his goddess. His arm found its way around his wife’s tiny waist as he pulled her back towards his bare chest. How she achieved to get back into shape just after a few months from giving birth is also beyond his comprehension. His face found its way onto the back of her head, kissing the side of her now exposed neck.
“You still won’t tell me what you were on about while staring at me like an idiot back in the clinic earlier?” Anna stirred, feeling the warmth of his chest on her back.
He took a good whiff of her scent, the mixture of honey and wildflowers, while he planted another kiss on her cheek.
“I was just thinking about how amazing you are.”
“And?”
She knew there was more to the story. She always knows.
He didn’t think it was important to reveal the entirety of his trip to memory lane earlier. He just wanted to find peace in her company. To calm his inner turmoil.
Sensing this as a sign of reluctance, Anna teased, “are you having a nervous breakdown about finally seeing Hana within the next couple of days?”
Bullseye.
“…because I am.” she continued when he did not speak.
He blinked at her declaration.
“You are?”
Of course. As the mother of his children, she had every right to do so.
“But as you’ve told me before, we got this,” she shrugged.
Hearing this from her made him lose any sense of reason. Receiving his own comforting words coming from her felt so reassuring— and sensual.
His hand left her waist and reached for her chin to slightly tilt her head towards him. Their kiss was gentle and loving at first, but as she showed no signs of protests, he took the opportunity to finally swoop his tongue hungrily in her mouth.
God, she had no idea how he longed for her. To be able to just feel her warmth on his own. To ease his wandering thoughts.
Anna moaned into the kiss. She turned to face her husband, pressing half of her body weight against him. She leaned onto his chest further as she pushed him down the mattress while their mouth continued in a heated dance. Her shoulders were now exposed as she climbed onto him, the yukata’s sleeves sliding off gently from her sides. Her damp hair now enveloping them, mingling with the heat of their flesh.
Following their endless exchange of butterfly kisses onto each other, he made a swift motion to lift both of them up from the mattress without breaking contact and carried her gently against the adjacent wall.
They shared kisses one after the other only pausing for air. He took pride at the sight of her submission and she welcomed every display of his affection as they made love.
Both trembled with broken, ragged breathing, feeling their strength ebbing away as they momentarily collapsed to lean on the wall once they have found sweet release.
It took them a minute to recover their breaths. He hugged her from behind and planted a sweet kiss on her temple.
“I love you, Hayati.”
She smiled. His vocabulary suddenly improved.
“I love you, too.”
He carried her back to their bed. Both chuckled at the sight of their newborn still its serene slumber. They realised they were only a few hours away from their intended departure from the promised land, but that did not matter.
Tomorrow they will head back home.
Tomorrow is the day they almost thought would never come.
Tomorrow they will finally face another one of their biggest goals.
‘The big day’.
For now, they sleep with their hearts full of hope for tomorrow.
Everything will work out in the end.