Chapter Text
Thorn Princess returned home. It was past midnight and she was dirty. Seeing a small ray of light from under Anya's door, she sneaked into the bathroom and took care of everything. Looking into the mirror, she gently dragged her fingers against scars on her skin. No man could love this. Not that she was desperate for any. Men were pain. And unreliable. And this Loid guy was no different. But he might be dangerous. She needed to keep him on sight.
Camilla had called her today to tell her some blond guy in a green suit had been looking for her in the café. Loid tried to reach her away from Anya.
Yor walked out of the bathroom to see the light from Anya's room didn't shut down. She slowly opened the door without knocking, in case her daughter would be asleep. She was. With her cheek pressed against the table.
"Watch out, mama... Loid is bad..." Anya mumbled. Yor smiled gently and covered her kid with a blanket. There, there, my dear. We will find our way out.
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"Yor, he's here again," those were the first words Camilla said to her, when she arrived in the City Hall.
"Who?"
"That pretty blond guy that asked for you yesterday," she said a bit stressed. "It is suspicious. I mean, for a single woman your age..."
"I know," Yor nodded and looked in the cafè. Loid was sitting in the corner in his typical green suit. Some things don't change. "Did he ask about me today, too?"
"Not yet... be careful. He's weird."
"Don't you worry about me, can I take his order?"
And so was Yor walking toward the suspicious man, while her coworkers followed her with gazes. She could hear the whispers: "Doesn't he look like her husband?"
"But he died years ago!"
"This is creepy!"
Yor just smiled and moved on with her daily life. Last night had been difficult, and she was in no mood for unnecessary drama.
"Your coffee, sir," she placed a plate on the table.
"Yor! So nice to see you here," Loid smiled brightly.
"I work here," she said coldly. "I was told you asked for me yesterday."
"I did, indeed. Would you mind joining me for a cup?"
"I have to work, sir."
"And when do you finish? Shall we meet afterward?"
"At six. I'd be happy to, sir. Enjoy your coffee." She backed away. I will be home late, Anya-chan.
She gave a call home later to tell her daughter not to wait for her with the dinner.
"Mama, you need to stop working so hard all the time."
"I'm not working tonight, dear."
"Oh... then have fun, I guess? Should I put your dinner in the fridge?"
"Yes, please, you're a treasure. And don't stay up too late, you fell asleep over your homework again yesterday.
"Yeah, yeah, bye-bye."
Yor smiled. That girl was her everything now. And she wouldn't let any stupid man play with her.
"You seriously agreed to go out with that weirdo?" Mille was obviously worried.
"What's there to lose? In the worst scenario, I'll throw his body into tank." Anya had told her it was okay to make those jokes. And she found out, people indeed never took her seriously and sometimes even laughed.
"Right, right. Just be careful, okay?"
Loid waited for her in front of the cafè and they left. They were at a restaurant and in the park.
He said more about the chat with Anya. "She really is convinced I'm a spy... So I told her I was. Just for the start. I hope one day she'll understand I was playing her game."
"It's not a game for her. I'm worried, you know," Yor confessed. "I think losing you hurt her more than she allows herself to believe."
"It's a common thing for a close person. I must try my best to make it up to her. But she doesn't let me."
"I'm sure she will, eventually," Yor nodded, hoping she was right. "In the meantime, just keep yourself close."
"Is it a good thing to do?" Loid didn't sound convinced.
"She'll get used to you easily if you're around, don't you think?"
"I suppose yes. Thank you, Yor," he touched her hand briefly and she pulled away. "I missed you."
"What a funny thing to say," Yor didn't smile. Her hand was getting tense at the possibility of killing a man tonight. If he had really been lying the whole time and Anya hated him so much, it wouldn't be a shame, right? "For someone who has had amnesia for the last ten years."
"Uh, I mean, when I started remembering... you see, I couldn't come right away as I remembered our life... I had a job far away. I didn't even know if you'd still be in our old flat. That was the time I missed you," Loid now fully held her hand.
Yor squeezed his back with an intentional strength. "I missed you, too," she smiled kindly, feeling his hand crack. It was more satisfying than she'd expected it to be.
"Y-Yor, my hand..."
Yor let go before the bones could actually crash. It disappointed her. They both faced the sidewalk and moved forward.
They talked normally about Loid's work, Yor's life and things that changed and stayed the same during those years they were apart.
Yor couldn't believe he was so far away. How did he get there? Why, when the capital was here? There were way more chances to get a job here than so close to the borders.
Loid had ended his therapist career, since no one trusted a man with amnesia, and joined forces for a few years. Then he became a teacher. He didn't tell her where he taught. Suspicious.