To Lyger 0: True! Astronauts start preparing for reentry beforehand, but they typically need a while to readjust to life on earth (gravity, eating, atmospheric pressure…). The figures I've found are between one and six weeks to recover. Claudie was in space a little more than a year, so she needed a little longer to readjust – some of that will be ongoing, particularly with the more long-term effects. At this point, she has been on Earth for two months: long enough to get used to gravity, but not quite long enough to recover her previous physical conditioning, bone density, etc.
Anxiously, Bri shifted her weight from one foot to the other, standing in the Hero Study and facing the secondary portal set against the wall. Glancing down her front, she quickly tried to smooth out the creases in her blouse and skirt. She had spent most of the day in her workshop, testing the updated drone guidance system for her suit and pairing it with the surveillance drones she had designed. Still, she had returned to the Manor over an hour ago to shower and change before tonight's dinner – and she had even gotten out the new outfit that Marinette had given her! How could she have gotten wrinkles already, when she had never even worn this blouse before!?
Her heart thudded in her chest, and she pushed herself to stop, to relax. She didn't have to be so frightened of this dinner, did she? Yet at the same, it felt like everything depended on what happened tonight. Would they be impressed and pleased? Or would they be upset? And what would happen if they were upset with the way she was living her life, not that she was living in England for university? The portal beeped, syncing up with the other portal, and Bri suppressed the urge to flinch.
After the bombing that had destroyed her apartment, after the criminals had been driven off and arrested, when she had approached Max with her request, he had questioned whether it was a good idea. Her parents were not part of the Heroes of Paris; a portal would potentially give them access to locations that the Heroes would just as soon keep secret. They were supposed to be under government protection; would it be wise for them to have a portal that enabled them to travel like this? At the time, Bri had been adamant: she wanted this opportunity to see her parents whenever she liked. And after looking at the sales records, calculating how many euros she had made for the Heroes of Paris with her emergency watches alone, it wasn't an unreasonable expense. The portals already had security systems built in – palm readers to identify the one using them, scanners to ensure that they didn't open when the wrong people were around… Setting it up so her parents could travel to the Manor and their own apartment but nowhere else was a simple matter of programming – something that both Bri and Max could do in their sleep. And considering that her father was now working with the French government, he was hardly a security risk – at least in that way. On top of that, her father and his partner Gaston had been so helpful in Paris during the fight against Killer Bee's minions…
But that had been two weeks ago, before the portal was installed. Now everything was set up. And tonight, her parents were coming to the Mansion for dinner…
Next to Bri, Felix fidgeted, playing with the collar of his shirt and looking around nervously. Bri raised an eyebrow at him, and he grimaced, forcing himself to breathe slowly. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's just – I know I met your parents already. I know that your father at least seemed to approve of our relationship. But there's just… there's something about introducing them to Mother…"
She shook her head. "No, it's okay; I'm a little nervous, too…" she admitted. "This is something I've never done before."
"Introducing the parents?"
"All of it." She felt heat in her cheeks.
He found her hand and squeezed. "For what it's worth, this is a first for me, too." She looked up at him in surprise, and he swallowed. "None of my… previous relationships ever made it this far."
Barkk let out a high-pitched yip and lifted off of Felix's shoulder, into the air. "You don't have anything to worry about!" she squeaked happily. "No one could dislike my people! Not after everything you've been through together! They'll all be happy tonight, I'm just sure of it!"
Bri allowed herself a small smile, reaching out with her free hand to scratch the Kwami behind her ears. "I hope so," she mused, as the portal whooshed open in front of them.
"Bri! Honey! It's so wonderful to see you!" Her mother was the first one through the portal, barreling through so fast she almost tripped on the bottom frame and immediately rushing up to Bri, pulling her into a crushing hug. Her father followed a little more slowly, pausing partway through to examine the frame. Catching sight of Felix, however, he stepped fully into the Hero Study and allowed the portal to close behind him, greeting Felix with a firm handshake. Bri tried to follow their conversation, only for her mother to hold her out at arm's length for a moment before hugging her again, even more tightly. "Thank you so much for setting this up – you have no idea how hard the last year has been, never getting to see you. But now that we have this–" she nodded toward the now-closed portal "–you can pop over to see us any time you want!"
Bri smiled, returning the embrace. "We'll have to thank the Heroes of Paris for setting it up," she replied. "I tried to 'fix' a portal while we were in Angola; it did not go well. Pegasus is the one who designed them."
"Do thank him for me, will you?" her mother instructed her, smiling and releasing her from the hug. "After everything… I don't know what I would have done, if I could only see you when Agent Cocteau said it was okay…" She made a disgusted face.
I'm sorry for not coming home at all last year," Bri apologized, her shoulders slumping. "I thought about you a lot – and Papa. But I was still a little too hurt to–"
"You don't need to say anymore, sweetheart" her mother interrupted her, glancing behind her to where her father and Felix were speaking near the map of London. "It… it took me a while to accept it, too. Finding out what your father had done? Having to leave our home, our friends, our whole life because of it?" She frowned, shaking her head. "But I think I've finally come to terms with what he did. And with what our life has become now."
"I was glad when he decided to stop working with the Lynchpin," Bri told her, smiling. "Considering what Felix's cousin had to go through…"
Her mother hummed sourly as the four of them made their way out of the Hero Study and toward the stairs leading down to the main dining room. "I am, too," she acknowledged. "But I do wish it hadn't been necessary." As they reached the top of the steps, her mother looked down into the atrium and glanced either direction at the second-floor hallways with wide eyes before she asked, "You've been living here? It's enormous!"
Bri shrugged. "This is where Felix grew up," she explained. "He and Amelie had been living here, just the two of them, ever since Felix's father passed when he was young. It had belonged to Felix's grandparents. They have tons of rooms, so once Felix and I started dating, it just seemed natural to spend more time here with him. Anne and I had already moved most of our stuff out of the apartment, even before the bombing, and we had started sleeping here practically every night after we all returned from Angola. Since the bombing…" She shrugged. "Why should we rent another apartment in London when we have the portal set up in my workshop? We can get to anywhere in London just as fast, and we don't even need to pay London rent prices!"
Her mother nodded in understanding as they climbed down the stairs, pausing to admire a couple of portraits showing Amelie's grandparents. "I take it that Amelie is Felix's mother?" Bri nodded. "I'm sorry I haven't met her yet; I look forward to the opportunity!"
"Likewise!" Amelie called up from the bottom of the stairs, standing side-by-side with Anne. As they reached her, Amelie clasped Bri's mother's hand warmly, giving her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "It's wonderful to meet you, finally. Bri has told me so much about you."
"Same," her mother agreed, returning Amelie's smile. "I have not learned too much about you, but I hope to rectify that in the future. But while I've only met him once, your Felix is a wonderful young man."
Amelie quirked an eyebrow up the stairs at Felix. "I'm glad to hear he can behave himself when he needs to."
"He was a perfect gentleman when he came to visit," Bri's mother assured Amelie. "I'm happy to see that she found someone good."
"Oh yes," Anne deadpanned. "'Good'." She hid a smile behind her hand. "That… definitely describes Felix."
Bri rolled her eyes. "Mama, this is my flatmate, Anne."
"It's wonderful to meet you!" her mother greeted Anne, smiling. "Bridgette has told us quite a bit about you – you can control plants? Did I understand that correctly?"
Anne nodded. "Sometimes I wish I'd found, or gained, or unlocked this power a little sooner," she confided. "It would have made life so much easier growing up, being able to control the weeds with my mind instead of having to pull them!"
"If you ever find yourself in need of a job, I'm sure you could find someone in need of help with their weeding," Bri's mother mused, smiling in amusement.
"I've thought about it," Anne admitted, raising an eyebrow. "Mostly when some flutered melters come round and start harassing the staff."
Clearing her throat, Amelie waved for everyone's attention. "Please, come into the dining room! The chef just finished laying dinner out, so we should eat while it is still fresh."
Bri suppressed the nervous fluttering in her stomach and followed the group into the dining room, listening as Felix and her father continued to talk while Amelie made conversation with her mother. Anne glanced over at her and smiled encouragingly, and Bri forced herself to breath, slowly and deeply. Rounding the table, Bri found her accustomed place next to Felix and flopped into the chair. Anne sat on the other side of the table, closer to Amelie.
"So what are you studying?" Bri's father asked Felix curiously, serving himself a helping of potatoes.
"I decided on business," Felix answered. "I've been working for my cousin lately, working out of his London office, and I seem to have a bit of an eye for it."
Her father hummed. "Are you thinking about starting a business of your own?"
Felix shook his head. "Not for myself. But I have thought that I might be able to handle those kinds of business decisions for Bri – marketing and selling her inventions and the like." He smirked. "Brilliant as she is with the mechanical side of her inventing, contracts are something else, entirely."
Finding his hand on the table, Bri smiled, squeezing it gently. "I wouldn't mind having someone who knew those things around to make sure that the contracts they give me are fair," she allowed.
Felix scoffed, rubbing the back of her hand. "No one is going to take advantage of my girl."
"No one, huh?" Anne stifled a laugh. "I'm sure."
Amelie arched an eyebrow at Felix in amusement, and Felix grimaced. Bri flushed, glancing back and forth between her mother and Amelie.
"I'm sure Felix doesn't 'take advantage' of you, does he?" her mother asked Bri, giving her a kind, albeit impish, smile. Her father tensed, turning all his attention to cutting up his beef.
"Absolutely not," Bri assured her mother, giving Felix a fond smile. "I know I'm safe with him – at least now," she added under her breath.
"So how did the two of you meet?" her mother asked them curiously.
"Yes," Anne echoed, amused. "How did you meet?"
Giving Anne a look, Bri shrugged. "We kind of… bumped into each other," she finally explained, glancing toward her father. "When Papa was in London last fall." Her father blinked, cocking his head to one side. "I was trying to stop Mecha-Man from robbing a bank, and Felix happened to show up."
Her father choked. "That was how you met!?"
Felix snorted. "I suppose I should be thanking you for introducing us!"
Her father shook his head ruefully. "If I had known then what I know now…" He sighed heavily. "I do regret my actions from last year. But at least now I know that something positive came out of it."
