Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I do not own the Spy x Family characters or world—that they belong to Tatsuya Endo, Shueisha, and associated studios. This story is a work of fan fiction created for entertainment purposes only.
The Line We Don’t Cross
By Misty30
Chapter 1
“Anya, we’re leaving—get a move on, please.”
Loid adjusted his hat by the front door, glancing briefly at his watch.
“Yes, Papa, I’m coming! I’m talking to Agent Penguinman!”
“Fine, fine…”
He still couldn’t get used to how much time children made you lose. He couldn’t remember what he himself had been like in his younger years, back when his life had still been normal.
Once the war had started, he’d had no free time at all—he’d just had to survive, searching for food and shelter all day long, fighting against older kids… Becoming a soldier—especially during training—had almost felt like a dream. The army fed him every day, and he had a soft bed to sleep in. That was until he was sent to the front and had to start killing people.
But he got used to it. He was part of something greater. He thought he had a mission, even if deep down he knew he was just being used—nothing more than a tool, like the gun in his hand.
Lately, he had begun to wonder if that had ever really changed after he had joined Wise. He was still being used, even if his mission now was certainly more meaningful—not just killing soldiers day after day.
“Loid, I’m done cleaning the house. I’d come with you, if you don’t mind,” Yor said, wiping her hands on a dishcloth as she stepped closer, interrupting his thoughts.
He looked at her: her usual red dress, her shy expression. She often looked like a little girl about to be scolded for something she hadn’t even done. I must be terrible to make her act like this when I’m around. “Of course, Yor. I’d be glad if you came with us. I thought you were busy and didn’t want to put more on your plate.” For once, that was the truth.
“Anya’s readyyyy!” Anya cried, running toward them with the huge soft toy in her arms. “Let’s go!”
“We’re not bringing him with us,” said Loid, glaring at the toy.
It was a sunny day. The weather was getting warmer, even though spring had just begun.
Loid felt uneasy. “Have you seen Melinda lately?” he asked Yor, adjusting his gloves as they walked.
“No, I haven’t. Actually, I was going to ask her if something was wrong. The last time we met, she kind of avoided me…” Yor looked down briefly. “I wonder if I did something wrong… or maybe she just got bored of me… I guess it was bound to happen someday.” Yor’s voice grew sadder with every word.
“Why do you keep saying things like that, Yor? You’re a nice and interesting person. If she hasn’t been in touch with you, she must have her reasons—reasons that have nothing to do with who you are…” I certainly hope so… he thought.
That last piece of information didn’t help calm him down. The recent news about Desmond had been worrying: his activities were picking up, as if he were preparing something big, but the target was still unclear.
And it had been two weeks since Melinda Desmond hadn’t shown up at his clinic—she had told the secretary she was ill—but taken together, these details were troubling.
The only one making any progress with the Desmonds was Anya, surprisingly enough. She kept bickering with Damian, but also playing and talking with him—or so it seemed when Loid had gone to check on them at school under various disguises.
His real concern—one he didn’t even have the courage to admit—was focused on a single possibility: that Donovan Desmond could really read minds.
As they walked, he noticed Anya looking at him, her steps slowing slightly.
There’s another one who might be able to read minds, he thought.
“Why are you staring at me, Anya?” he asked sternly. “Watch where you’re going, or you’ll fall.”
“Yes, Papa.” Anya turned her head, quickly looking back at the path ahead.
Papa is working, as usual, Anya thought. But something she had just picked up in his mind made her stomach twist—it was something new. Was Donovan Desmond supposed to be like her?
She turned to Mama, hoping for reassurance, gripping the edge of her sleeve for a moment.
Yor’s thoughts were completely focused on Loid: how kind and gentle he was when he spoke to her, how he tried to boost her low self-esteem, how handsome he looked when he smiled at her.
Yes—her mother had definitely fallen in love with her father. And Anya liked that.
“Bond, why are you tugging? We’re almost at the dog area—be patient.” Loid’s voice interrupted Anya’s train of thought as the leash tightened in his hand.
“Maybe he smells something, Loid,” Yor said tentatively.
By then, they had reached the park. It was still early in the morning, and only a few people were around—mostly joggers.
Bond kept pulling, his claws scraping lightly against the ground.
Anya focused on Bond. He was suddenly extremely agitated. She stepped in front of him, trying to calm him down. “What is it, Bond? What’s wrong? Let me see.” She concentrated. But the moment she looked into Bond’s eyes, the dog howled as if in pain and pulled so hard on the leash that Loid lost his grip, the strap slipping from his fingers.
She caught just a glimpse of a dark red rag on the floor of a blindingly bright room—
then Bond was gone.
“What the hell, Bond!” Loid shouted, already stepping forward. “Sorry, Yor—I was careless. Stay with Anya, I’ll go after—”
He never finished the sentence.
Around sixty police officers emerged from the trees and surrounded them in near-total silence. The letters SSS gleamed on the uniforms of the nearest ones. Guns were pointed at each member of the family—even Anya.
Twilight’s shock lasted a second. His eyes flicked quickly from one direction to another. How had he not noticed them? And how many were there? In another situation, he might have even felt flattered—it took this many people to corner him. He gripped his gun but didn’t draw it. There were too many officers, and worse—Yor and Anya were with him.
Even alone, escaping alive would have been difficult. Still, he would have tried… or gone down fighting. That would have been his choice. Because being captured alive meant suffering—and then the same end.
For a split second, Twilight considered what he would have to do—as a spy.
The people with him—his fake family—had been carefully built for the mission. They were meant to be useful… but expendable. Not being captured could save countless lives—not just his companions’, but perhaps people in both Ostania and Westalis. The war might still be avoided if he made it back to WISE. Operation Strix—damn it, there were contingency plans.
But that thought never fully reached his conscious mind. It was wrong. No matter how noble his ideals, he could not sacrifice a woman and a child to save himself. Not them.
Anya.
Her name pierced his thoughts more sharply than any fear. In that moment, his only goal became clear: to get Anya and Yor out of there as quickly as possible.
He glanced at Yor. She stood in a strange stance, like a predator ready to strike, her fingers flexed. He had seen that before—when she felt threatened. Her weight shifted forward slightly, as if testing the distance.
He knew how strong she was. But what was she thinking? He had to act fast.
“Good morning, officers,” he said casually, raising his free hand slightly as if to ease the tension. “Would you mind lowering your guns? Or at least not pointing them at my wife and daughter. How can I help you?”
Yor looked at Loid, confused. For some reason, she felt that all those officers were there for him. Maybe he had done something wrong at work. Perhaps his methods hadn’t been appreciated by some important patient. Still, sending all those officers seemed excessive. A simple reprimand would have been enough. But she didn’t care about that. The guns were pointed at Anya—and that was unacceptable. She quickly counted the men in front of her. Sixty trained officers… not easy, even for her. Her gaze flicked from one gun to another, tracing lines of fire—Anya was in all of them.
“Nice try, Twilight. But the game is over. Hands up. Yuri—go. Don’t move a muscle, Twilight. Not for your own sake—I’m sure you’d rather die here—but for your family’s. I don’t think the child would survive more than one bullet.”
Loid let go of the gun in his pocket—it might have been the hardest decision of his life—and raised his hands slowly.
Anya’s face turned pale.
She could hear all those people thinking in silence. She couldn’t catch everything, but it was clear—they were in serious trouble. They were going to shoot. She felt her mother ready to attack, but still unsure whether it was truly necessary—thinking this was some kind of excessive punishment from Berlint Hospital. Her father worried her far more. At first his mind had been racing, and she couldn’t keep up. But now it had suddenly frozen.
Her father had discarded every attack strategy—they were too dangerous for her and Yor—and was now focused on a single move: something to retrieve from inside his sleeve without being noticed.
“You said Yuri?” Yor asked, taking a small step forward before stopping herself. Her fingers tightened, nails pressing into her palm.
Among the officers, her brother stepped forward, his expression earnest.
“Don’t worry, sister. I’ll handle this quickly. And all of you—don’t even think about shooting my sister, or you’re dead!”
“Yuri, shut up or I’ll report you,” someone snapped.
“Who cares…” Yuri spat, stepping closer. “I’m sorry, sister. It’s all because of this bastard. I know you trusted him, even I fell for it—but he’s nothing but lies. Roll up your right sleeve, Twilight.”
“Yuri, what are you saying? Why aren’t you at work?” Yor asked, concerned. She looked completely clueless.
Yuri couldn’t ignore her. He turned to answer.
Twilight seized the moment. He sneezed, bringing his hands to his mouth while twisting his left wrist.
“Don’t even think about it.” Yuri pointed his gun straight at his face.
Loid smiled faintly. He had managed to release the pouch. He was almost there. “Sorry, Yuri,” he said with a guilty smile. “Calm down—I’m allergic to some plants. It’s spring.”
He just hoped he could swallow the poison pill hidden in his cuff. Every WISE agent carried one for situations like this. He would never gamble his comrades’ lives on the hope of enduring and waiting for rescue—if that was even possible inside an SSS prison.
No.
This time, he was the expendable one.
“What exactly do you want to check? I don’t understand any of this,” Loid said in his usual agreeable manner.
“I expected something more original than denial,” Yuri said dryly. His eyes met Loid’s, and through his hatred, the spy could see his fear of being wrong.
Holding the gun in his right hand, Yuri grabbed Twilight’s right arm. In one smooth motion, he tore the sleeve. Then he reached for the skin on Loid’s right bicep—and pulled. The fake skin came off. A fresh, pinkish gunshot scar was revealed.
“There’s your proof. I can’t believe it… Loid Forger—alias Twilight,” Yuri said.
“Uncle, please…”
Anya’s small voice reached Yuri from below, her fingers clutching at his coat. Her face was a mask of fear, and he looked away—he couldn’t stand her sorrowful eyes.
“What’s wrong with you, Chihuahua girl? He’s not even your real father.”
Anya flinched.
“Yuri!”
Once again, Yuri turned his eyes toward his sister. She looked angry—he couldn’t remember ever seeing her angry at him in his entire life. Her amaranth eyes were so wide they almost distorted her expression, but her anger softened the moment Yuri faced her.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Yor continued. “If Loid did something wrong at the hospital, fine—but this is going too far. Anya’s scared, and this is obviously a mistake. Please, lower your guns and let’s sort this out.” Before I start my own work, she thought.
“Yor.” Loid’s voice was calm and gentle, as always when he spoke to her—but there was urgency beneath it, as if he knew she was about to act. “Please, stand back. Everything will be fine. I’ll go with them and settle this.”
As he spoke, he slowly lowered his hands, palm still visible. His fingers shifted almost imperceptibly. The pill slipped into his left hand—too small for the other officers to notice. He turned to Yuri, trying to keep him distracted.
“I’m surprised you allowed all this to happen in front of Yor. I thought you wanted to protect her. She has nothing to do with this.”
He knew it had worked the moment Yuri’s face turned red.
“You son of a—of course she’s innocent! And this wasn’t my idea—but you forced us to—what the hell are you trying to do?”
With a swift movement, Yuri shoved Anya aside.
The girl didn’t even touch the ground—Yor had already dived to catch her, her body moving before the thought had even formed. She landed on the gravel, turning her back to the officers to shield the child. A gunshot rang out—but it didn’t hit her. Anya startled in her arms and let out a little scream. Yor looked up at Loid and her brother, terrified—but they both seemed unharmed.
Noise exploded behind her as the chief ordered everyone to remain calm and reprimanded the shooter.
But Yor’s attention snapped back to Loid and Yuri’s fight.
Her brother had struck Loid’s left hand with his gun, and something had fallen to the ground. Loid seemed ready to fight back now that she and Anya were farther away—but another shot rang out before his first blow could land.
Yor’s body jerked slightly. A burning sensation spread across her left shoulder. She turned her head and saw a bleeding graze beneath her coat. That bullet had been close.
“The next one won’t miss, Twilight!” someone shouted.
Loid froze, his gaze snapping toward Yor and Anya, while Yuri began shouting at the officer who had wounded his sister. In the chaos, Yor looked up at him. Their gazes locked. Loid’s eyes were so narrow she could barely see the blue in them—sharp, cold, almost unrecognizable. She had never seen him like that—his entire being radiated rage. And yet, beneath his unusually angry expression, she saw something else. Helplessness.
“Fine… fine.” Loid raised his hands again. “I give up. Let’s go.”
He couldn’t take it. He felt something collapse inside him—and couldn’t even understand why. He had messed everything up—that was the only thing he knew for sure. He had to leave them for good. He had considered another plan, maybe a half-truth—implying he was a spy, but not Twilight—but it would be useless. And he had lost the poison pill. Damn Yuri.
“Look at this, everyone!” Yuri cried triumphantly, bending down and picking up the pill from the ground before raising it for all to see. “Poison—no doubt! You should’ve taken it the moment you saw us. You’ve lost your touch, Twilight.”
“How can you be so sure I’m Twilight?” Loid asked calmly. “Any spy would carry something like that.” When he mentioned being a spy, he noticed Yor shift uncomfortably out of the corner of his eye. His stomach twisted.
“We know you were the main agent operating in Shellbury,” Yuri replied. “Your mole talked in the end. Poor man.” He didn’t even try to hide the malice in his eyes.
“I’m the one who fought and wounded Twilight in the sewers,” he added, pointing at Loid’s exposed arm. “And you… are him.”
It felt like a death sentence.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Twilight said calmly. He wouldn’t give them certainty—not if he could help it. “But if you won’t change your mind, let’s continue this somewhere else.” For a brief moment, his gaze shifted toward Yor and Anya—then away. He should have said goodbye, but… I’m terrified, he realized, surprised at himself—though his face betrayed nothing.
“Turn around,” Yuri ordered.
Twilight looked up, trying to steady himself. His chest rose slowly as he forced himself to breathe.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves above, almost blinding him. The sky was impossibly blue, not a single cloud in sight, the air warm.
Yuri grabbed his arms and locked them in handcuffs.
No. There was something he had to do. He turned back toward Yor and Anya. “Yor, please take care of Anya until I come back, and—”
“Papaaaa!” Anya’s scream shattered the silence. In an instant, she broke free from Yor and threw herself against him, clutching tightly at his legs. “Papa, please don’t go! Please! Uncle Yuri, don’t take him!” Her sobs soon drowned out her words.
Twilight cursed himself. How could he have been so selfish? He had been afraid of his own reaction—and forgotten the child’s. You’re a coward… Father was right. I’m of no use to anyone.
“Anya, don’t cry. I’ll be back, I promise,” he said, forcing his voice to remain steady.
“You’re lying, Papa!”
Yuri snorted. “See? Even the child knows. You can’t lie forever, can you? Let’s go.” He then turned to Yor. “I’ll meet you at your place, sister. I’m sorry about your wound—I’ll take care of it later and explain everything.”
Yor had stood up by then. She didn’t answer. She moved toward Anya—but her eyes were fixed on Loid. Doubt crept in. Had she been wrong all along? Why had Loid said he might be a spy? The Shopkeeper would have known… The Shopkeeper would have told her, wouldn’t he? And Yuri… his job was just a desk job, like hers at City Hall… wasn’t it? Like hers…
She kept looking at Loid. She would have believed anything he told her. He had always supported her. He had chosen her. Stayed by her side. Said she was a good wife, a good mother. Had he been lying? Anya… she was his daughter… She had never even seen a picture of his first wife, or of the three of them together. Perhaps it had simply been too painful for him to remember those happy moments.
Twilight saw the doubt cloud Yor’s eyes—and it hurt as much as Anya’s crying. That was why he hadn’t wanted to face them.
“Yor…”
“Yes, Loid?” she said, hope flooding her voice.
He didn’t answer. He just looked at her.
“Loid?”
He blinked, as if coming back to life. “I… I’m sorry, Yor.” His voice was barely audible beneath Anya’s sobbing. “Believe me if you can… I’m so sorry. Take care of Anya… until I come back.” He held her gaze for a moment longer. Then he looked down at Anya again and forced a smile. “Be a good girl, Anya. You’re such a special child.” He hesitated “I… love you. I’ll be back soon. So… keep studying, alright?.”
Anya couldn’t even speak anymore. It was painful to watch.
Yor pulled her away as she struggled, kicking and scratching—but Yor barely noticed.
Loid looked at them one last time. Then he turned away.
Yor remained there, half-kneeling in the dust, as Yuri searched him, pulling the gun from his pocket, and led him away. The other officers followed. Twilight blond hair stood out, surrounded by helmets. Within seconds, he was gone.
After a while, Anya went still in her arms.