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To say that this was an annoyance would be putting it lightly. After the incident at the castle, Loid has promised himself that he would never again be dragged into a child's dress up game. He was a master of disguise sure, able to blend into any crowd, change his age at whim, his hair, his eyes, his walk, everything. This however? He was putting his foot down.
“No.”
“But PAPPAAAAA.” Anya was tugging on his leg, leaning back and he knew if he moved she would likely topple over. While that thought was perhaps a bit tempting as she again tugged on him and continued her childish rant, he knew he had to stay firm.
"Anya, stop it right now. You can calm down and then we'll talk, but I am not going to a dance.”
Notwithstanding the whole spy issue, and not wanting to stick out, he also knew for a fact that he had no reason to go, as it was confirmed that his target wouldn’t be caught dead at a children's Halloween ball. Even if it was being held at Eden college. He would have thought that the upper echelons wouldn’t fall into this sort of thing, but then again children were children, and he supposed having a “ball” was a bit more upper crust than dressing up and asking for treats at random houses.
Still, the thought made him wince, the idea of a ton of running children in costumes all around him. Possibly contrary to those in WISE who knew him, he didn’t hate children. Before he knew Anya they annoyed him, sure, but he knew why now, and why he was now apprehensive about entering into a building full of them. If WISE sent him an extra mission, as they always seemed to do these days, then there was no way he could enact that plan in a place made predominantly of children. It wasn’t safe, and he already felt bad enough about having Anya near any of that, much less anyone elses child.
Anya broke him out of his rumination by the lack of tugging, and in general she had calmed down, finally realizing that he wasn’t going to bend to her just because she had latched herself onto him like a leech.
“Sorry.” Her voice came out meek, and he placed a hand on her head, ruffling her hair. His frustration washed away then, and he found it easy to remember that she was still a child, still learning how to behave.
“Anya, why are you so intent on going to this ball with me?”
She was quiet then, and went to her backpack, holding up a sheet for him to examine. In cartoonish orange print it showed some of the details of the ball, cartoon bats with smiles staring up at him from the paper. He looked down at the list, it seemed pretty typical for a children's Halloween party. Candy, costumes, music, games. The thought of Henderson bobbing for apples quickly flashed across his mind but was quickly squashed down. He very much doubted that Eden would be doing anything of that sort, most likely this would be more of an upper class ball, with perhaps some games for the children so they wouldn’t get too restless.
Anya, apparently impatient with his reading speed, meekly tapped on the bottom paragraph, which boldly proclaimed
“ Parents welcome, the ball will be a chance to teach your young ones to dance! Parents are encouraged to dance with their children.”
Ah, there it was. Loid glanced down at the paper one more time, and then back at Anya.
“...You want me to dance with you Anya?” He bit his tongue to hold out the “in public” part of that statement. He couldn’t do it. Okay well, he could dance, he knew enough to blend into polite society for sure, but this was an entirely new thing.
“Mhm. Please papa? I really want to go with you.”
Anya looked up at him with bright eyes, and he found his further arguments leaving his mind. Well, he did have to keep up the appearance of a good father and if it made Anya so happy, then perhaps, for just a little while…
Loid sighed, and as he suspected, Anya began to hop up and down with joy, knowing that she had won. A terrorist interrogation hadn’t made him crack but somehow a tiny girls smile made him agree to the dance, but only if she promised to work extra hard on her homework from now until the ball on Halloween night in two weeks time. Also under the condition that he would choose his own costume, there would be no more Bond Man for him, and that was non-negotiable. He would have to finish his other assignments, make sure that WISE didn’t send him anything new on the night of the dance, and of course, get their costumes in order.
This was shaping up to be a very long two weeks.
*******
As he suspected, sitting there with Anya sat in his lap, and bobby pins in his mouth with Yor assisting, he was exhausted. He did overtime to try and finish all of his assignments, and then Yor wasn’t even going to be at the dance to tap him out, so he would have to be socially present for the entire thing. Still, as Anya sat on his lap while he put her hair in an elaborate braided bun, humming the Monster Mash, a part of him was at least a little content. She was obviously so excited, and he felt that energy rubbing off on him, despite his exhaustion.
Anya had insisted that he be the one to help her with all of the preparations, from choosing the costume (an obscenely fluffy pink princess gown held up by a stiff petticoat which he suspected would be abandoned within an hour of the main event), tiara, wand (he had put his foot down on “princess Anya” being able to carry a pistol as her prop), and now hair and makeup. Thankfully Yor had enough time before her meeting to help with the hair.
“I’m sorry I can’t go with you Anya.”
The little girl stopped her humming, turning her head to grin at Yor but dislodging the bobby pin Loid had just put into a particularly stubborn cowlick. He groaned, and began again.
“It’s okay momma! We can go together tomorrow!”
“Halloween is only for tonight Anya.” Loid managed to state between bobby pins, if she would just keep still he would have the braid in the perfect-
“Huh?” A stunned gasp came from Anya as she jerked her head back to him. He resisted the urge to shout in frustration, keeping his voice even.
“It’s only one night a year, now keep still or else this braid bun will never be done and Princess Anya is going to be late for the ball, and no fairy godmother is going to come and turn back time for her.”
“Sorry papa….Well, momma we can have our own Halloween later!”
Yor chuckled as Loid finally placed the last bobby pin in place. It was fairly good if he had to say so himself. He wished that he didn’t have to also do “makeup” but Anya had threatened that she would just do it herself, and no child of his was going to Eden looking like a miniature Frankie.
“That sounds like a good plan Anya.” Yor smiled sweetly across the room, doing her own hair in the mirror on the wall. Lightly curled strands was the only thing indicating that her updo was for a special event rather than a normal day at the office.
“This weekend you and me can get dressed up and we will have the Anya Halloween party!”
“You and I, Anya, remember your grammar” Loid gently reminded, Yor chuckling a bit behind her hand. Good, she had remembered to wear her wedding band Loid noted with an odd joy. “That sounds like a plan Anya, I’ll see you when you get back.”
With that, the last adult that could save him kissed Anya on the forehead and slipped out the door into the hallway, and Loid was left with Anya.
“Anya do you really want me to do your ma-”
“Yup! Princess Anya is from a long line of roy-royalty!”
Stifling a groan, Loid gathered the child friendly makeup kit. It was really nothing more than vaguely pink lip balm, barely pigmented blush, and face glitter, but Anya had picked it out for herself. At least there wouldn’t be too much to do, he didn’t dare do anything more than the bare minimum.
At least for the makeup Anya sat still, after he informed her that princesses who didn’t stay still when their father was holding an eyeshadow brush turned into one eyed princesses. Once her face was properly glittered he showed her the full effect in the mirror, and she seemed pleased so he must have done a decent job. Overall she looked the part of a typical Halloween princess.
Now, time for his own costume. At least this one held some dignity. A black tuxedo, red broach, slicked back hair and a cape made him the stereotypical Dracula. A costume elegant enough to fit in with the other families, but common enough as to not make him stand out. It was perfect.
“Alright Anya, time for us to get going, unless we want to be late.”
Anya stood with what he assumed was supposed to be a royal flair, curtseyed to him, and began to walk out the door, with him in tow behind her, he honestly hadn’t seen her move this quickly in a long time.
“Come onnnnnn papa, we have to get there early!”
“Why do we have to get there early?” He resisted the urge to mention that his own costume only took five minutes to put on versus the hour it took to get her into the full ensemble. She was quiet for a second, walking with her head bent to the ground.
“I want to get there before Damian, Becky said we could show off our costumes together and we would make him jealous.”
How the young boy would be jealous of her store bought costume he wasn’t sure, but regardless if it brought him closer to his target then perhaps this night wasn’t a loss after all. Still, WISE hadn’t sent him any sort of extra mission, and this had him on edge for some reason. Was he just so used to multi-tasking that he needed to work on several missions at once? Perhaps he needed this night after all, to just focus on one mission for tonight, arguably the most important one.
He would give this mission all that he had, and make sure that Anya had a good time. For Operation Strix, and for Anya to have a fond memory of her time at Eden.
They took a bus to Eden college, the bus filled with kids in costumes and their parents, getting off at other stops to go to parties or to ask for candies. He got poked by a fake sword at least twice, and almost stepped on a couple of “ghost” costumes. Some older kids in clown costumes tried to scare Anya and another small child beside her, but they swiftly changed their mind when meeting his gaze. He couldn’t stand clowns, much less ones that tried to scare the younger kids. If they wanted to scare people they should go work in a haunted house, not pick on six year old's.
Other than the cramped bus and some older kids, they made it to the halls of Eden without another incident. He was relieved to see that he wasn’t the only adult in costumes, and that as he predicted his costume did nothing to stand out. Other adults were in masquerade gowns, elaborate witch costumes, he even saw a couple of men dressed as “the Phantom of the Opera.” His elegant vampire outfit fit right in, and faded to obscurity, just how he had planned.
They followed the stream of people towards the main hall, a light breeze chilling the air. He picked up the pace with Anya in tow, he had tried to get her to add a coat to her costume but she insisted that “princesses don’t wear coats to balls.” Well, they would see how long that lasted. Still, the inside was heated, so they could save that particular issue for later in the night.
For now, he could begin his mission. Together with Anya inside the hall they went to get her an apple cider drink, and then he began to mill around with some of the adults as they all waited for the opening remarks. Loids eyes scanned the crowd, Anya tugging on his coat tail and then abruptly shoving her cider into his hands for him to hold.
“Papa, I’m gonna find Becky! She wanted me to be the first one to get to see her witch costume, her maid made it for her!”
Typical of a rich family, but he admired the maids dedication. Just buying the costume for Anya was a headache, as she had switched ideas every few days. He couldn't imagine having that problem but you're the one trying to sew the costume.
“Alright, you may go just-” His voice trailed off as Anya ran into the thick of the crowd.
“Just stay in this room…..” Loid sighed, slicked back his hair, and returned to his other job. Maybe he could multitask after all. As expected the true upper crust families, those of the highest standing weren’t present, it goes without saying that Desmond wasn’t present. Still, he could gather some insights from the people present. At the very least as he went around, joking and smiling at the adults, he appeared as the perfectly normal father. He praised Anya’s achievements, bemoaned the cost of school supplies, and other shallow conversations.
It had barely been ten minutes when he heard a commotion from behind him.
“Please don’t be Anya, please don’t be- ”
“UGH SHRIMP!”
Loid winced, turned, and quickly saw what the fuss was all about. Becky and Anya were standing across from Damian and his friends, and seemed to be locked in a quickly escalating argument. Loid excused himself from the now judgmental gaze of the other parents and hastily went to the site of the problem, placing a hand on Anya’s shoulder. The kids grew hushed as now a source of authority was among them.
“Come now, what’s all this about, hmm? What are you all arguing about?”
Loid Forger, the perfect psychologist, smiled down at the children as they began to clamor among themselves, talking over each other. He raised a hand and they hushed.
“One at a time. We don’t solve problems by yelling at each other, now do we?”
Some begrudging nods, and Loid gestured to Anya and Becky.
“Now, ladies first, one of you calmly tell me what happened.”
Anya was quiet, apparently unable to fulfill the “calmly” criteria, so Becky spoke up on her behalf.
“It’s not our fault Mr. Forger! These meanies saw Anya’s costume and said that she needed to change!”
Loid glanced over to the boys, and soon saw the issue. Damian was dressed up as a knight, complete with sword and shield, and Anya was a princess. Together they looked like a perfect pair, something the boys were obviously displeased to happen.
“I see, okay, now one of you boys tell me why this makes you so upset? Anya worked hard on her costume, as I’m sure you boys worked hard on yours”
The boys were quiet, Damian turning red under his helmet.
“People are going to think that we planned this, which I didn’t! I would ne-”
He was clearly going to say more, but seemed to remember that he was Anya’s father and quickly stopped.
“I see, well let's think about this logically. It’s not fair to make Anya change when she was so excited for this costume, not to mention it’s impossible at this point. If this upsets you boys so much then I suggest you move to the other side of the hall so that people don’t see you together, and then they won’t think you’re a pair.”
Perhaps his voice was a bit too harsh, his gaze a bit too protective. Anya had indeed worked hard on this costume, she loved it, and no one was going to tell his daughter that she needed to change or leave.
The boys paled a bit, mumbled some apologies, and swiftly moved across the throng of people talking in huddled groups. Loid sighed, looking down at the girls.
“I understand that they made you upset when they said hurtful things to you two, but next time get an adult instead of making such a commotion, alright? Shouting and violence never solves anything, you must negotiate to find peace.”
The girls nodded, their moods obviously soured by the event. There wasn’t much chance of him integrating smoothly back into the adult groups after this, and so Loid decided to do some damage control.
“It appears that the snack table is open. I think I saw some caramel apples and maybe even some peanut brittle. You two should get-”
Anya’s mood was so quick to change, grabbing Becky's hand and almost running to the snack table leaving Loid to call after them.
“Calmly! Walk calmly to get some snacks!”
He groaned as he lost sight of the two, took a moment to collect himself, and then turned his attention to the headmaster now standing on the stage and preparing to give the welcoming speech. It was expected that a prestigious place like Eden would have such an opening, and it went about as he expected. Thanking them all for joining them, trying to explain the history of Halloween and why they had decided to host a ball for the children, et cetera. Polite applause after he finished, and the party began in earnest.
Loid took a moment to gather his bearings, Eden had pulled out all the stops for this event and the choices were a bit overwhelming. The snack bar that he had sent the girls to was overflowing with seasonal goodies, warm drinks, and even mulled wine for the adults. His hands were still warmed by the cider Anya had left behind, and the thick smell of cinnamon and apple was making him wish for his own cup. Still, depending on how this night went, he might dip into the mulled wine as well.
Musicians were getting set up for the dance, and there were some games in another corner of the room. He thought he spotted Damian and his buddies next to a table of board games and chess sets. There was a scavenger hunt near him, scattering the more excitable children around looking for hidden pumpkins, witches hats, and other sort of Halloween memorabilia. Pumpkin carving hung around the wall furthest from him. Lastly he spotted a “haunted maze” that led out into the courtyard, seemingly for the older students if the teens walking in was a judge of that, and he made a mental note to direct Anya far away. She didn’t do well with jump scares as the clowns on the bus showed, and he certainly didn’t want to have to leave the party early.
He saw the girls coming back his way, loaded down with treats, and decided to go ahead and grab them a table to act as a base camp of sorts, after making a quick detour at the beverage table. The girls joined him, the music began, and he sipped on his own cider while the girls chattered beside him. Their moods seemed to have improved significantly with a few sugary treats and the night appeared to be back on track.
“Well ladies, what would you like to do first?”
They giggled at him, Anya kicking her legs excitedly, tulle crinkling with every kick.
“Let's go and carve a pumpkin Becky! I’m going to make mine look like Bond Man!”
How she expected to pull that off he had no idea, but if it involved knives or other sharp objects he would certainly need to be present to supervise.
“Alright, just finish your snacks and clear off the table first.” He reminded, eyeing around the pumpkin carving tables for the perfect spot. He noticed a child and parent already getting started, and recognized the parent as a low ranking official in the government. Low ranking or not, it could be worth it to snag that spot next to them.
The girls polished off their plates, set aside the dishes in a neat stack for the wait staff to collect, and together they made their way to the directed carving station. Loid’s eyes scanned around, eyeing every person present, searching through his mental files for their occupations, family relations, everything he knew about the people present.
Small talk, reminders to be careful with the knives. Loid was in charge of the large one that would start the process of emptying out the pumpkin, while the children had smaller, less sharp knives. That didn’t erase all worry as he watched the girls begin to carve. Becky was actually fairly decent; he noticed in between making small talk with his current targets, hoping to progress the conversation to their work. Anya on the other hand, well, he had long since given up any hope of her having any latent artistic ability. Still as she scooped up “pumpkin guts” and scared Becky he had to chuckle. They were having fun, so that was enough for now. “Give Anya fond memories” at least seemed to be an attainable goal.
“Ta-da!” Anya beamed with pride as she spun her pumpkin around to show the completed jack-o-lantern. It looked less like Bond Man the person but perhaps a little like Bond the dog? If he was being generous. Yor’s words about how encouragement was a good motivator rang in his ears and he managed a smile.
“Good job Anya, I know you worked hard on that.” It wasn’t a lie, she did work hard on it, so at least he didn’t have to lie about that much.
“Look at mine Mr. Forger!” Becky spun her pumpkin around, showing off a classic jack-o-lantern smile and triangle eyes.
“Mhm, that looks good Becky. You both did a good job.” Seemingly pleased, Anya asked for permission for them to leave and play some other games, which Loid granted on the condition that they leave Damian alone for the night. Hesitant promises, and then he sent them on their way, rejoining the adult conversation.
*********
The party was in full swing now, parents and their children, groups of children with their friends, and parents with each other now scattered across the dance floor. The music was haunting violins, some of the more somber classical pieces. Danse Macabre, Faust az elkarhozott, St. Johns night on Bald Mountain, and Prelude in E Minor. Elegant but very atmospheric, he had to hand it to Eden, they somehow made a children's Halloween party elegant. Just as he was excusing himself from one group of intel to join another it came to him that the girls hadn’t checked in for a while, at least an hour to be exact. They weren’t in the game corner as far as he could tell, nor were they among the group of children hovering around the snack station. A quick glance in the other direction and they weren’t close to the pumpkin carving either. He sighed, resolving himself to the fact that he would either have to ease up and understand that they were in a safe place and were probably just running around out of sight, or go look for them. In the end, his nervous stomach picked the latter for him.
A quick glance was all he needed, just to make sure that they were having fun, and then he could go back to gathering intel from the other parents. He made his way around the hall once, and was about halfway through it again before he saw a familiar witch hat standing tall from behind a wall of children. It was moving rapidly, and he sighed in relief as he saw Becky making her way across the hall to him. That relief only lasted for a second as he realized that she wasn’t accompanied by Anya.
“Mr. Forger! Anya’s stuck!”
Eyebrows raised, he kept his voice calm and even. “What do you mean Becky, where is she?” Here the child paused, leaning on her broomstick for support as she puffed, apparently having run straight across the hall to him.
“It’s the stupid boys! They dared her!”
He could never just have a simple night.
“Dared her to do what Becky?” She must have noted the hint of parental disappointment edging into voice and she straightened up, pointing towards the haunted maze entrance.
“Damian’s friends said she would be too scared to go in there, she said she wasn’t, they called her a scared little peasant, she said that she was-”
Loid held up a hand, halting her rambling. “She went inside the maze I presume?”
Becky nodded sheepishly, glancing down at her feet, managing to mumble “I told her it was a bad idea, I promise.”
He nodded, a flicker of annoyance and frustration rising in his stomach.
“Didn’t I tell you two to avoid the boys?” Here Becky nodded, her face growing red.
“We did! But then Anya started to go over there, saying that she had to make friends or something! Then they started to antagonize her as always!”
“I see…Alright well, you stay here Becky. I’ll go fetch Anya and we will have a nice long talk with the boys.” She seemed pleased with this answer, and Loid made his way to the haunted maze, groaning a bit as he passed through the entrance and saw the steam of fake smoke rising up from the ground. The air out here was certainly brisk, the cool fall air whipping his cloak around as he made his way through the maze.
The maze lived up to its name, being generally scary for the teenagers that were walking through it around him. It was nothing for him of course, being able to detect the scare actors as they moved ever so slightly around their fake walls, the jump scares did nothing to startle him. He was on a direct path through the maze, and perhaps the scare actors could see his determination and unshakable nature because after the obligatory scare they didn’t pursue him any further. About what he assumed was halfway towards the center of the maze he heard a soft shout, ringing from around the walls.
“Hey shrimp! I’m sorry, just come on out! I…Anya come on, stop hiding!”
Loid turned the corner to see a now helmetless Damian peeking around corners, still shouting.
“Damian.”
The boy started, whirling around to see Loid, Loids eyes narrowed and gaze hard set.
“Mr. Forger! I didn’t do it, I swear! I mean-”
“Did you stop them? Did you stand up for Anya, or tell her that she shouldn’t come in if she was scared?”
The boy's face fell, and something like shame came across his features.
“I didn’t think so.” Loid sighed, deciding to soften his next words.
“You're doing good by coming in here to look for her, but next time you should think about the company you keep and if you wish to continue to stand by as someone is bullied.”
“Yes sir…..I really am sorry, I didn’t think she would actually do this.”
Loid shook his head, gesturing to the path in front of them.
“Apologize to Anya, not me. Come on, let's find her so you two can get out of the cold.”
Together they made their way through the maze, Damian hanging behind Loid as they walked through the maze. If that was from shame or fear he couldn’t be sure, but either way it made him change his tone to one that was softer.
“You know, all Anya wants is to be your friend.”
Damian jumped at a mechanical werewolves hand, which Loid easily sidestepped and led him around. “I mean it, she tells me all the time that she wants to be your friend.”
The voice that came from the boy was so soft he almost didn’t catch it.
“She should hate me.” Loid glanced back, managing a gentle smile as they moved past a series of fake cobwebs.
“Well, she doesn’t. If you want her to like you more then try acting kindly to her. I think you would like to have her as a friend.” Perhaps he was exaggerating a bit, and a part of him whispered that this was just for the mission, but the bigger part saw a lonely child before him, one that perhaps, with luck and good influence, they could change from being a bully.
Before Damian had a chance to respond, they heard a small sniffle from around the corner, and Loid could finally breathe with relief. At least she had made it most of the way through the maze before holding up behind a fake wall of moss.
“Anya, come on out now.”
Another sniffle, and a strained voice.
“No, I have to make it through the whole thing! I’m not a chicken!”
He sighed, glancing down at Damian expectantly. The boy caught his meaning and stepped forwards towards the source of the sniffling, behind the fake moss wall.
“Shr- I mean Anya. We-.” He sighed, scratching behind his head, obviously apologies was not something he was used to making.
“I’m sorry….We shouldn’t have dared you to come in here, and I should have stopped them from….From bullying you.” He huffed, rubbing his arms.
“Now please get out so we can go inside!”
A small tuft of pink tulle began to slowly emerge, and Anya’s splotchy face emerged from behind the moss.
“You came out here to look for me sy-on boy?”
Loid held out his hand, Anya finally emerging fully from behind the wall. She took it, staring down at the boy.
“Of course I did stu-....I mean yeah, it’s the right thing to do, or…something like that.”
Anya stared at him in silence, the two of them looking at each other like a strange animal exhibit. The awkwardness became almost unbearable and so Loid cleared his throat, gesturing towards the end of the maze.
“Well, we might as well finish this thing, yes? If you get too scared Anya let me know.”
She shook her head, grinning with something like mirth, no, teasing, at Damian.
“It’s okay papa, we have a knight to protect us now.”
“Ugh! Stop saying that!” Damian began to charge forwards, hands at his sides, face red. Anya hung by his side, happily kicking her tulle dress out of her way as she sang.
“I have a knight , I have a knight , princess Anya has a kni- ” Singing turned to a shriek as a scare actor in poor blue makeup that he supposed was meant to be alien skin popped out from behind an obvious curtain.
This was going to be the longest walk in his life.
*******
Warm air hit him with blessed relief, and finally he could take a break. In all the pair hadn’t been out there for too terribly long, and so some warm cider was all that was needed to warm them up. Becky of course clamored over, obviously proud of her friend that had “made it all the way through the maze.” He noticed that Anya conveniently left out the part of her hiding behind a moss wall as she told Becky about the maze. Now perhaps he knew why they served wine at these functions.
Just as he was contemplating how much he could get away with without looking suspicious, he felt a tugging on his sleeve. Anya was there, beaming brightly at him as she tried to tug him over to the middle of the room, acting like she hadn’t just been sobbing her eyes out behind a moss wall.
“It’s time to dance papa!”
Ah, right, the dance. He was honestly hoping that she would forget about that. Still, he had made a promise, and this was something she had been looking forward to for days. It still didn’t make that nervousness that flared up in the pit of his stomach any easier. Why was he nervous? He had danced before, been at plenty of parties with plenty of people. Yet, he realized that not only was this his first dance with Anya, but it was also the first one where he genuinely cared for the person he was dancing with, he wanted her to have the perfect memory.
Still, he didn’t have time to be getting too sentimental as his daughter dragged him out to the closest open spot and reached up for his hands. He laughed then, a genuinely bemused laughter. It was clear she had no idea how one was supposed to dance, and was just copying what she saw in her cartoons, like most children did. Loid picked her up and placed her on his feet, slowly starting to guide her placements through the song's beats and rhythm. This seemed to amuse Anya to no end, if her giggling was any indication. She was almost in danger of falling off, she was so lost in her amusement, but he kept them on a steady course.
For the strangest minute he suddenly felt overwhelmed looking at her cheerful face as she managed to get a move right, or when he twirled her around so that her skirt flared out around her. What was this feeling? He tried to figure it out as they began a new song, this one a bit more lively than the last.
Something burned and tugged at his chest, and finally he began to pick apart what it was that was making him act like this. He was proud, happy, and yet also sad. Sad because she was already a half inch taller than when he adopted her, sad because she was growing up, and he knew that he would have to leave her one day. Leave both of them. His girls.
Still, that didn’t matter right then. Right then what mattered was keeping Anya laughing, keeping her happy, and making sure they didn’t run into anyone else out there on the dance floor.
******
The moon was full, the air crisp and cool, leaves scattered around his feet as Loid shifted a sleeping Anya to one side, pulling on the door to their apartment complex. The party had gone on till dark, and Anya had tired herself out dancing, playing with Becky, and eating far too much peanut brittle than should have been possible for one of her short stature. When it was finally time to leave he had found her with Becky under a table, sleeping propped up against the middle of the table, candy wrappers around them. It was easy enough to wrap Anya up in his coat, assist Becky to her waiting maid, and then make the long trek home. She hadn’t stirred once, which he was secretly glad for, he felt as tired as she had been, and only wanted to follow suit in sleep.
The apartment door creaked open and he winced, glancing down quickly, but Anya was still out cold. He shut the door quietly behind them, shushed Bond as he came over to greet them by the door, and made his way to Anya’s room. One hand pulled down the cover, the other set Anya down, taking care to slide off her shoes and accessories. He cringed to think about the mess the glitter was sure to leave on the sheets and pillowcase, but even worse to wake her up when she was sleeping so soundly. He turned to leave, paused, slid Chimera under Anya’s arm, and finally exited the room.
“I take it you two had fun?” Loid started at the sudden voice, but quickly relaxed as he saw the kitchen light was on and Yor was there with a mug of something warm. She was covered in a red substance, which he took to be fake blood. Seemed like civil servants were more serious about holidays than he expected.
“Ah, we did, thank you.” He thanked her again as she handed him the mug which he saw to be herbal tea, and sat down on the couch with her. He felt a little silly sitting there in his Dracula costume, but he also couldn’t care enough to change and come back for the warm and spicy tea. Cinnamon, rooibos, vanilla, ginger. The perfect fall tea.
“How did everyone like her costume? Oh she was so cute in that little dress and tiara, I wish I could have gone with you two!” Loid glanced at her over his mug, and found nothing but sincerity in her expression. Honesty rolled off his tongue.
“Yeah, I wish you were able to come as well, you would have had a good time.” It was easy enough then to ignore his exhaustion as he relayed the night's events to her. When he was done Yor looked a mixture of pleased and a bit irritated.
“Well I’m glad Anya had fun but that school really needs to do something about those boys always teasing her!” Loid nodded, sighing as he set down the empty cup.
“I had a talk with Damian in the maze, and I'm hopeful that he could change for the better.” He shrugged.
“Or maybe he will at least think twice about his actions. He seemed genuinely sorry when we found Anya hidden behind the wall. She made it the rest of the way through the maze though.”
Yor sighed, gathering their mugs and placing them in the sink.
“Still, it’s not really fair to Anya.”
Loid hummed in agreement, then paused. He wasn’t sure what was making his lips so loose, perhaps the leftover emotions from the night, or even the way Yor was looking at him now. Regardless, he surprised even himself with his honesty.
“You know, it was strange dancing with Anya. I had the strangest, ah, bittersweet feeling. I was proud, happy, but then. I don’t know.” He paused, running a hand through his hair, dislodging some of the hair gel.
“I was just reminded how much she’s grown. Even just these past few months, she has grown. It just…Surprised me I suppose.”
To his surprise, Yor laughed, sitting down once again on the couch next to him.
“I don’t find that strange at all, I think most parents have that feeling one way or another. It just means that you’re a good dad.”
Loid ran over the night's events, mind flashing and settling on the look on Anya’s face as he placed her on his feet and began to dance.
“I think am starting to be a good dad, and I'm grateful that you are here to help me be a better man."
Yor seemed surprised, her face red, she seemed about to say something but then the clock chimed midnight.
"Ah! Well then Loid, good night! Ahem, don't forget we have the makeup Halloween party tomorrow night so we can all be together...Good night again!" Yor exited the room then, soft padded feet leading to the bathroom where he soon heard the sounds of the shower turning on. His head turned to the window outside, seeing the full moon from their window. Loid took off his cloak and set it on the coat rack, stretching his back out. the new cracks he heard were fairly new, but had become increasingly more common ever since he picked up Anya from the orphanage. Loid took a second to examine his face in the mirror, fangs still in, hair gelled up in classic vampire style.
He smiled at himself, fangs peeping out a bit, chuckled, and began to walk to his room. He had to get to bed early if he wanted to be able to make pancakes for breakfast.
Halloween may be over, but his role of father was nowhere near done.