Operation 007 (SpyxFamily)

Chapter Seventeen

Yuri couldn't decide what to bring.

He brought roses, that one time, but it didn't seem right for this occasion. What kind of occasion was it? A serious occasion? What did one bring for a serious occasion? Wine didn't seem right. Flowers didn't seem right. Food? People liked to have food during awkward moments. Was there going to be awkward moments? He hoped not. This was his sister after all. They were so close. Of course there wouldn't be any awkward moments.

Chocolate.

Chocolate was good. Yor would like chocolates, he thought. Chocolates in the heart shaped box he held in his hands as his knuckles rapped on the door.

The light steps of his sister approached, twisted the doorknob, and revealed her face.

"Sis!" Yuri exclaimed. He didn't care he was here for serious reasons, he'd always be happy to see her.

Yor greeted him with a smile, and thanked him for the chocolate. Her visage was outwardly happy to see him, but Yuri picked up on the uneasiness that came with it. He followed her as she gestured for him to sit.

"I'll make us some tea." She said and left her brother with her husband as she entered the kitchen.

"Loid." Yuri said flatly, as he stepped further inside, disposition changing in an instant as he spotted him rising from the couch.

"Yuri, welcome." Loid responded, smiling as if to challenge him. The smile he knew had to be hiding secrets and lies.

He moved to a chair as Yuri found his seat at the couch. Loid talked about something trivial, Yuri ignored him, his attention on Yor as the sounds of teacups clanked on the counter and the kettle heated up.

He nodded like he was listening until Yor returned, a tray of tea in her hands and placed it on the table. She sat down beside her brother.

He noticed her tensing up as the three of them drank in apprehensive anticipation. Loid held the smile of a host, not tense, but he knew what was coming.

Yuri started to worry. 'Why is Yor nervous? It can't possibly be that bad. Was it Loid's fault she was at the lab, after all?! He immediately assumed. 'Is she going to ask me to get rid of him?!' His heart soared at the thought. A momentary shining beam of hope that faded instantly.

No.

It wasn't that, Yuri thought dejectedly. They wouldn't be sitting here like this if that was the case.

No matter. He'd get rid of him soon. He just needed proof.

"Yuri." Yor placed her cup down, angling herself to face him. Her nerves ran down her arms to settle in her fingers that she clutched in her lap. She had no idea how he was going to take this. She'd rehearsed what she might say to him, but nothing sounded right. A pre-written script she couldn't compose.

There were so many ways this could turn badly.

The possibility he'd be fine with it, smaller than she wanted. A secret she'd kept from him for eighteen years. Killing people without his knowledge. An SSS agent she now knew.

Was that going to complicate things further?

It didn't matter. She'd promised to tell him the truth in that hangar, she couldn't back out now.

"Yuri." She said again, her nerves passing to her little brother that took hold in the shape of paranoia. He was unable to release the idea she was going to give Loid up. Right in front of him and ask Yuri to arrest him.

Yuri became very serious, ready to jump into action as soon as the words left her lips.

But her words were not what he expected.

She had planned to lead into the topic smoothly. Ease Yuri into it. Lessen the shock and maybe he'd accept it more readily. A nicely laid explanation that slowly soaked him in the idea so when she told him, he could think reasonably and calmly about it. Much like a frog in a pot of water, heating little by little, that it didn't notice the temperature change.

That is not what happened.

Much like with Loid, the air was heavy and tense, Yor feeling it press in on her. The possible outcomes she created in her head lent to her anxiety. The carefully planned reveal, lit on fire, her last effort of improvisation escaping her. So once more, her mouth spoke as if on it's own, Yor bending under the weight of it. "I'm an assassin." Her eyes widening slightly, surprised at herself. It just came out. It felt unreal as she finally told him.

A response of stunned silence followed her confession. No sign of comprehension came from Yuri. Dead eyes stared back at her. He blinked, once. Twice. Three times.

"What?"