Tikki pressed her phone closer to her ear, tucking the device between her cheek and her shoulder as she stared at herself in the mirror, trying to brush her hair.
"Your flight got in okay?"
"On my way to the hotel right now."
"That's good. You rest up, get rid of the jet lag and we'll come over and see you either later tonight or tomorrow."
An odd sense of dread settled into Tikki's gut as she turned the next question over in her head.
"And how's your injury?"
Silence. So complete that she could hear him breathing on the other end of the phone.
There was no way she was going to back down and say she was sorry for it though.
"N?"
"I'm fine, it's fine."
"Maybe we could go and just... do it for fun, like when we were kids?"
More silence.
"I'll... think about it."
That would be a 'no'. Tikki's heart sunk down into her feet and she picked up the curling iron, taking the phone away from her shoulder and putting it on the counter, pressing the speaker button so she could still hear him.
"Well... okay, think about it okay... and N..."
"Yeah?"
"I missed you."
"Missed you too Tikki."
"I'm glad you're back."
"Good to be back. I'll see you soon."
He hung up first.
Tikki turned her attention back to the mirror and twisted a chunk of her hair around the iron. Held still for a moment and mentally counted before moving on to the next strand of hair.
She tugged on a newly curled strand and examined it in the mirror. Her natural color was starting to show again. She'd have to go in and get it re-dyed soon; either that or let it be and have her natural color come back... the red had kind of grown on her though.
She picked up her phone, putting it in her purse, trading it for her keys so she could lock the apartment door on her way out.
"What's on the schedule today?" Tikki asked as she walked into the clinic.
"Shouldn't have anything too stressful just go and check on Aspen for now and we'll take it from there."
"Have you heard anything from the shelter about those kittens from a few weeks ago? I promised I'd keep a friend informed about their progress."
"Haven't heard anything about them aside for what I've already told you so far."
"Oh, okay."
Mister Fu fixed her with a look. "Why that tone?"
"It wasn't a tone."
"What is wrong?"
Tikki walked over to open the door that led into the room where they kept the kennels for animals that had to stay over night.
She knelt down and popped open the latch on one of the black wire cages that held Aspen- a female golden retriever who had experienced an unfortunate run in with a barbed wire fence after she had managed to run away from her home.
"Nothing is wrong per se, it's just... my cousin is back from his... trip to America and well... we could both do with some good news right about now." Tikki spoke loudly enough to have her voice carry into the other room.
"I see." came Mister Fu's reply.
Tikki stood back up and went to the sink, metal dish in hand. She walked back to the cage putting the water bowl back where it belonged and examined Aspen's scars for a moment before closing the cage door again.
"The stitches seem to be just fine, none of the wounds have reopened she should be okay to go back home in a day or two, I assume you already talked with the owners about getting their fence repaired so she doesn't slip out again?"
"Very good, yes I did call and have that conversation with them. And don't think that you can so easily change the subject."
"I wasn't trying to."
Mister Fu just smiled and continued.
"About your cousin, tell him to come and help us out around here for a day or two, either that or I'll go down to the hotel myself and see him there."
The conviction in the older man's voice didn't surprise Tikki at all but it did cause her heart to tighten in her chest unexpectedly.
"I guess you missed him too, huh?"
"Everyone missed him, dear." the old man replied with a bittersweet smile.
"And his flight got in okay?"
"Yeah."
Marinette hummed softly.
"Good... and how's-"
"He won't talk about it. So don't bring it up okay... unless you want things to get really uncomfortable and awkward."
Mari sighed. "Okay. So... I guess our plans to go ice skating are out of the question."
"He said he'd think about it but... that's pretty much code for 'no'."
"We could always kidnap him and take him there anyway it could be good for him, good for you too."
"I can't believe I'm actually going along with this."
"Great! I'll call and invite Alya and Adrien, I'm sure they'd love to come along."
"Ice skating?" Plagg raised an eyebrow, skeptical of the idea.
"Yeah, have you ever done it before?"
"No."
"Oh, well Marinette said it's fun."
"Marinette?" Plagg asked, now even more skeptical. "I'm sorry... are we talking about the same person? The Marinette who trips down stairs?"
"She's only ever done that four times, everyone does that."
"I've counted thirteen, just making sure we're talking about the same person. You're going to let her tie sharp blades on her feet and push her onto ice?"
"She says she's done it before. So are you coming or not?"
Plagg thought for a moment about his self-imposed house arrest and against all his better judgement agreed to tag along.
Marinette pulled her car into the hotel parking lot and Tikki practically flung herself out of the passenger side toward the figure walking to them across the asphalt.
"Hey, Red." the voice that reached her ears was so familiar- despite the fact that he now bore a slight American accent- and it took almost all of her willpower to not cry. She pulled out of their embrace and tugged on a strand of curled hair.
"I'll remind you that this is your fault."
"I dared you to do that two months ago, over the phone. You could have lied to me and said you did it and I wouldn't have been any wiser about it. Seeing as how permanent hair dye really only lasts four to six weeks then you've probably had to re-dye it at least once-"
"Ok so what, it works for me. Is that so bad?"
"No, you pull it off quite well."
"You're not the first person to pay me that compliment."
"And I won't be the last- that is if you re-dye it." he tugged on a strand of hair that was starting to show her natural black.
"We'll see," She replied. "I guess it runs in the family or something." She tugged lightly on a strand of his pale blond hair, the tips of which were a lilac purple shade.
Marinette honked the car horn at them and Tikki couldn't help jumping.
"Let's go you two we're supposed to be meeting Adrien, Alya and Plagg in ten minutes."
"You're still not going to tell me where we're going are you?"
"Nope, it's a surprise, N."
"And what if I don't like this surprise?"
Tikki hoped that the laugh that bubbled out of her throat didn't sound too nervous.
"My fingers are crossed that you will."
"No." Tikki's heart sunk at the single word objection.
"Oh come on N, please?"
Silence.
"No one is going to be watching, this isn't going to be like four years ago. No stakes, just fun."
"Tikki. I'm not going to do it."
"Just this once, for old times sake and then you can hate me for the rest of eternity for dragging you back into it. Unless you stop being stubborn and realize that you missed it, then you owe me."
No reply.
Oh for the love of-
"Nooroo! The doctor said that you would be fine as long as you were careful."
He turned to her and blinked with his violet eyes.
He looked about as shocked as she felt, she hadn't used his full name snice they were kids, except when she screamed it four years ago when... when the incident had happened.
And judging by the pained look that was flashing through his eyes right now he was remembering that event too.
And maybe the use of his full name had snapped something inside him because in the next second that painful look had hardened into something determined and he had opened his door, and marched out into the parking lot.
Not exactly the excitement she had been hoping for but it was at least progress.
God, she hadn't done this for- far too long. Not like this, they had stopped skating together when he had started training to do it professionally. She'd been pushed to the sidelines to support him from the other side of the ice, behind a wall- and then after the accident had happened he'd put another wall up to keep her away from him so that she wouldn't have to see his pain.
She saw it anyway and it hurt her hundreds of times worse than it would have if he'd talk to her about it but he insisted on suffering alone.
The butterfly with broken wings.
There were no walls between them now. Literal or otherwise.
He inched onto the ice tentative and slightly unsteady, face expressionless as he circled around the ice rink, staying close to the wall out of fear of falling.
He didn't fall through and his circles grew steadily wider and his pace grew faster as his confidence built.
He was back in his element and it took a physical effort for Tikki not to laugh and cry and scream all at once.
She kept pace with him, their fingers interlocked in the space between them half pushing and half pulling each other as they both kept upright on the ice.
He let go of her and she glided over to the wall using the rest of her momentum to push herself into a turn so she could watch the moment that he gathered enough courage to finally guide himself into the very center of the ice.
Marinette was holding her own pretty well, making casual zigzags from one side of the rink to the other. Marinette's eyes lit up as Tikki watched; She followed her friend's gaze and caught sight of Adrien and Plagg.
In the next instant she and Marinette were in a race for the opposite wall.
"Who's that?" Plagg and Adrien asked almost in unison.
"Tikki's cousin." Marinette explained, trying to catch her breath as she grabbed Tikki's shoulder to keep her balance.
Adrien cast a glance at Nooroo then at Tikki. "Wait... is this the same cousin who suffered an ice-skating injury-" he broke off as the realization dawned. "Are we accomplices to a scheme?"
"May-be." Tikki and Marinette chanted slowly in unison.
Adrien threw his hands up in a show of exasperation. "You guys! If you're going to keep dragging me into stuff I'd at least like to know what I'm getting into first!"
Tikki rested her elbows on the ledge of the wall looking through the glass that separated her and Marinette from their friends.
"This "scheme" as you call it seems to be going rather well. Oh ye of little faith." She informed Adrien; cupping her chin in both her hands.
"I'm fine with being an accomplice" Plagg broke into the conversation, Tikki turned her attention to him when he spoke mouth twitching into a half smile as she turned back to Adrien, a victorious gleam in her eyes. "See. The only one who's being so negative about this is you. Get with the program."
Adrien rolled his eyes, sitting down in a chair to tie up his skates and stood up again to step onto the ice.
Marinette broke away from Tikki's shoulder to go and join him.
Tikki stayed by the wall, watching Plagg expectantly.
He sat in a chair, leaning back, arms stretched out across the back of the chair, feet stretched out in front of him. She expected him to stand up but he didn't move.
"What?"
"You're not coming?"
"I'll be an accomplice from over here."
"You don't want to skate?"
"Never done it before." he admitted causally, not at all self-conscious.
She looked at him, eyes gleaming as a slight smirk tugged at the corner of her lips.
"If you fall on your face I promise I won't laugh."
His smirked mirrored her own. "You're horrible at lying."
She put her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Okay.. I'll laugh a little." She admitted.
It was his turn to look victorious. He turned his head to look slightly past her.
"He's pretty good." Plagg commented and Tikki turned her head to follow Plagg's gaze even though she knew that the comment had been directed at Nooroo.
She replied without taking her eyes off of her cousin. "Yeah, he used to do this professionally until... well... you heard what Adrien said about the injury, just don't mention that in front of him unless you want the cold shoulder," Tikki turned to look at Plagg again, attempting to change the subject before her good mood took a nosedive.
"Quit being a buzz kill and get out here."
"Nope." He leaned further back in his chair to emphasize his point. Tikki rolled her eyes, taking her elbows off the wall ledge and gripping onto it with her fingers instead. "Fine, suit yourself." She pushed herself away from the wall, skating backwards for five or six paces before she used the rest of her momentum to go into a turn and skate back to Nooroo.
"She said you were being a buzz kill."
Plagg looked up to see Tikki and her cousin looking at him from the other side of the glass.
"You ratted me out." Plagg shot an accusing look at Tikki who returned his hostility with a shrug, an amused smile tugging at her lips.
"I have more than one accomplice."
"So it's either you come out here or we drag you out here." Nooroo concluded with a grin to match Tikki's.
Oh, they are definitely related. Same stubbornness.
"I'd like to see you try." He challenged, folding his arms with a grin on his face.
Nooroo walked behind Plagg's chair and pushed oon his shoulders as Tikki took both his arms and pulled.
He didn't put up much of a fight.
Tikki hadn't been expecting him to stand up that fast and she already had to balance differently to keep her footing on her skates- trying to walk backwards clearly didn't help the whole balancing situation- She slipped- felt herself falling and then felt herself being pulled.
She blinked.
When had Plagg's face gotten that close?
Close enough to feel his breath on her face as he laughed... He tucked a curled strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Cool earrings."
He let go of her hands and sidestepped to walk around her.
…
He'd just... and the only thing he had to say about it was a stupid compliment about her earrings?!
She reached up and touched her left ear, twisting the little ruby stud that was set into her earlobe. They'd been a Christmas gift from Nooroo, sent over from America the first year he'd been gone-
She dropped her hand away from her ear and looked over at her cousin who was watching her silently. Violet eyes considering as he shifted his eyes past her, no doubt looking at Plagg who was somewhere behind her on the ice rink.
His eyes flicked back to Tikki. There was nothing on his face that would give away what he was thinking but she knew that her cousin was extremely perceptive so she could make a lucky guess.
"You didn't see anything, nothing happened."
His expression didn't shift. No smile, no frown the rest of his face was practically as mask; just that look in his eyes that he always got when he was analyzing a situation and had come to his own silent conclusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't see anything." He replied, voice perfectly even.
He placed his hand on the back of the chair in front of him and jumped over it.
Walking past her and back onto the ice without another word.
