It was supposed to be practical. That's what you and Loid agreed upon when the "Forger family" began. Names signed in marriage records, rings slipped on fingers, and getting used to each other. Spies and assassins need covers. Yours was polished and respectable, unsuspectable. Just a young married couple.

A picture-perfect spose for westails' most capable agent. A neat little arrangement with strict lines which meant public affection for appearances, privacy respected in the walls of your shared home which you thought was unnecessary since you were told this was "just for a mission." But those strict lines began to blur with time.

You learned how Loid takes his coffe. Black, two sugars. How he reads war novels late at night when he can't sleep. How he absentmindedly rests a hand on your back in public when weaving through large crowds. He, in return, learned how you hum under your breath when you cook and how you gold laundry in exact halves.

The mission was different. Intelligence suggested that building the family's credibility would require one more step: a child. An heir. A small detail in the grand scheme, but in this case, it was deemed "essential." And what a waste if a young couple didn't have a child, right?

The order arrived at a random time of day. Curt and clinical, "the family line must be secured." No further instructions as if it were the simples thing ever. As if it didn't stir a thousand unspoken things between you and the blonde man who still had a good foot between you two in bed.

The rest of that day passed in loaded silences. Measured looks exchanged over meals. And when you two went out in the city? Both you and Loid couldn't help but look a little extra long at a pregnant woman or a family of three.

Loid had been uncharacteristically quiet, as if being married for the mission didn't have enough awkwardness settle in. But surely he wasn't intending to do that. He was just being contemplative. After all, you weren't acting much better. Because despite the arrangement, despite the missions and the "fake" yet expensive rings, there was always something about him that made your heart thump harder than any operation could.

And now here you are. Another thing you both learned about each other was that time is not wasted. That order you got earlier that day? Right to work. Late at night, the city hushes behind drawn curtains. Lights off in your shared bedroom as Loid spooned you from behind. He has this look on his face, the look he wears when facing down impossible odds. Only this time, the odds are you. And making a baby.

You glance at him over your shoulder and a warmth pools in your stomach. Half out of nervousness and the other half being something else. He exhales, almost a rough and shaky sound, and finally a dry chuckle as his hand on your hip flexes slightly.

"We're gonna take this like any other assignment, alright?" He leans in closer to your ear. "Just in case you didn't hear him," but it's just you two in the room. But it's not like you mind it anyway. "For the family."