It was getting better.
Hero was laughing again, the paused silences where they all looked up and realized that they were waiting for Tadashi to fill were getting smaller and less frequent, they had finally stopped getting his order on coffee runs out of pure habit, and slowly they had begun to stop avoiding his desk in the lab. It was still there though.
Baby steps, baby steps they remind themselves.
But still, they were healing. It was getting better. Even now they were able to sit around the Lucky Cat and make each other spit tank their hot chocolates. Then Fred says something about his new and improved turbo trampoline boots that has them all jumping up from their chairs and dashing for the door. But Honey hesitates, and she stays seated.
When Wasabi turns around she's biting her lip and staring down at her hands; long manicured figures folded neatly in her lap. All traces of her bubbliness gone so suddenly that it makes him pause. "Honey, you coming?" The blonde jumps in her chair, only just now realizing that she was alone at the table. She cast him a wibbly, wobbly smile. "No, um, that's okay. You go ahead, I'll just catch up in a bit."
Wasabi hesitates, but goes anyway with nothing but a nod. Honey Lemon watches him him go. She waits until he makes it around the corner before she fishes her pink phone out of her sweater pocket. Ignoring the way glitter sticks to her figures she holds down speed dial number two (one is her mom) and waits. It was getting better, but sometimes she still relapses.
"Hello! You've reached Tadashi Hermada's phone."
Honey Lemon's bottom lip trembles.
"I can't answer the phone right now, but call me back in a bit or,"
She reaches up to wipe away streaks of mascara before they can stain her cheeks.
"leave me a message at the tone."
His class ring catches the light on her figure as she pulls her hand back down to her lap.
"So, yeah, bye!"
Tears she missed splash against the screen. Honey Lemon laughs at herself as she goes about whipping her phone against her skirt with shaking hands. It was silly, stupid really that she held on this tight to something that causes her so much grief. Logically she knew that. But Tadashi had always told her that not everything was logical.
"Like your shoes." He'd laugh, shoving her shoulder playfully, pecking her on the lips as she stumbled.
Honey Lemon puts her phone back and leaves the dinner alone.
She won't call again for another week.