Alya showed up to the ice skating rink ten minutes later than she'd planned; apologizing profusely about how her boss had called her and sucked her into a conversation.
"That girl could talk through the apocalypse."
"Don't talk about it." Marinette assured her. "We have this place reserved for another half hour, then we were talking about going to the bakery and getting cinnamon rolls."
"Sounds good to me." Alya agreed.
Tikki skated up to them, falling into line with the three of them without saying a word.
"I see you got Plagg to come out on the ice." Marinette commented casually. When Tikki remained silent Marinette cast her a sideways glance. "Everything okay?"
"Peachy." Tikki muttered something under her breath about her earrings and her uncoordinated balance.
"I'm taking that as a no." Marinette concluded.
"Girl, what happened?" Alya questioned. Ever the reporter searching for the details.
"Nothing!" Tikki throwing her hands up in the air. Knowing she didn't sound at all convincing.
Kill me. She thought.
"Why are you all red?"
No, this is not happening!
"Just... kill me."
Marinette and Alya exchanged a confused look. Marinette looked at Adrien who shrugged.
Tikki was saved the embarrassment of trying to explain the situation when she caught sight of Nooroo exiting the ice rink again; concern flashed through her and she broke away from her friends.
"Hey, you okay?"
He looked up at her, taking his hand away from his ankle and straightening up to sit back in the chair.
Resting his hand on his knee like he could play it off... but she had seen.
"Yeah I'm fine, just haven't done this in awhile is all."
Oh no, he was not going to put that wall up again. She wasn't going to let him.
She folded her arms, standing in the threshold between the ice rink and the chairs and glared at him. "It's your injury isn't it." Not a question.
"Look it just acts up sometimes it'll be fine." He stood up to prove his point. Took a step forward and hissed through his teeth, face twisting in pain as his leg locked up, he gripped the arm of a chair so as not to lose his footing completely.
"Stop." The word was as much of a demand as it was a plead. "I'm taking you home."
He rolled his eyes but couldn't seem to come up with a verbal protest.
Marinette's phone vibrated in her pocket.
Sorry. Had to take your car keys, taking Nooroo home, be back soon if not back in time. Get ride with Adrien. Meet you guys at the bakery.
Marinette bit her lip as she typed out a reply.
…
Marinette: Hope he's ok, thanks for letting me know. :)
…
"Everything okay?" Adrien asked as Marinette clicked her phone off and put it back in her pocket.
"Should be fine. Tikki just had to leave early."
Adrien looked around the ice rink as if to confirm that the red haired girl had indeed disappeared.
"Bummer."
"Yeah... she was acting kinda weird though I don't think that whatever happened in the last ten minutes was actually nothing. I don't think I've ever seen her turn red before." Marinette commented as she sat down to take off her skates.
"You guys seen Tikki?" Marinette looked to see Plagg coming towards them.
"She had to leave early," Alya explained before Marinette could. "she was acting kind of weird. Know anything about that?" The brunette continued, folding her arms and examining Plagg's face for any sort of reaction.
He narrowed his eyes at her.
"No."
He turned and walked towards the exit. The three of them watched him go.
"I'm officially suspicious." Alya declared. "They're almost as bad as you two were."
"Excuse me." Marinette protested, feeling slightly insulted.
"I did say almost no one could be as oblivious as you two were. What are we going to do with those two?" Alya mused.
"Lock them in a closet together." Adrien suggested.
Alya snickered at the thought.
Marinette blushed even as she shook her head. "There's a high probability that they would kill each other in that situation."
"Or not." Alya said ever the optimistic one.
"She's right," Adrien said. "They wouldn't kill each other, they'd break down the door and kill us instead."
This caused Marinette to go into a fit of hysterical giggles; ahead of them Plagg looked over his shoulder, raising one eyebrow and looking at Adrien who played innocent by shrugging his shoulders and spinning his finger in front of his ear. She's crazy. He mouthed.
Plagg smirked. You're the one dating her. He mouthed back, rolling his eyes and turning back around as he scoffed.
Just keep walking you don't know them.
"The hotel is that way."
"I'm not taking you to the hotel, I'm taking you to your house. It will be easier to get you inside if you don't have to deal with an elevator or- God forbid- stairs."
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm fine?"
"I don't know, try it again, I might believe you this time."
"I'm fine."
"Nope, still don't believe you."
"I hate you."
"Love you too."
"Tikki come on."
"What? I'm just trying to help, I'm the one who wanted you to go and have fun so it's technically my fault that you're in pain right now."
"It's not your fault, Coach said I was ready for that move-"
"Well your coach was wrong! You should have sued! I should have sued! Someone should have sued!"
"What would have been the point? I didn't have to listen to him."
Her grip on the steering wheel turned white. "Of course you were supposed to listen to him, he was your coach, he was supposed to know what you could or couldn't do, he should have known you weren't ready."
"Well there's no use getting upset about it because it happened and no one can fix it, so would you calm down?" He sounded physically exhausted just talking about it.
"I am calm." Tikki insisted, trying to loosen her grip on the steering wheel.
"Right, say that one more time and I might believe you."
She pulled into the driveway and opened her door. "Stay here, I'll go unlock the door." She dug in her purse for the spare key that he'd given to her before he'd left.
He started to say something but she'd already shut the door.
The lock clicked and she pushed the door open; it squeaked on slightly rusted hinges revealing the dim entry hall the air that pushed past her in the form of a small breeze smelled of dust.
She took a step inside using the light that was coming in through the window to make her way down the hallway.
Her footsteps echoed off the walls and came back to her own ears, her head tilted to one side as her eyebrows knit together in confusion.
It felt more empty than it should have. She reached the end of the hallway and stood on the threshold of the living room- an empty room stared back at her- devoid of any furniture. She froze and blinked as if that would fix it. She opened her eyes again to meet with the sight of dust motes floating in the sunlight spilling through the open window. No pictures were hung up on the white painted walls. She pressed her hand into the door frame so hard that the wood bit into her palm, she pressed harder as if to be sure that it wouldn't disappear too.
She pushed off the doorframe in the next instant, turning slightly on her heel and marching down the hallway. The doors to all the rooms were shut, she threw one open on the left side.
The guest room: The bed had been stripped of its covers and sheets, even the mattress was gone. The only thing left in the room was the bedframe... and... boxes?
Stacks of plain brown cardboard boxes. Pushed up against the walls and reaching halfway to the ceiling.
But... this couldn't be right. Sure he'd been gone for four years but he'd been paying the mortgage they had no reason to kick him out... so if they weren't kicking him out then... why was all of his stuff in boxes?
No.
That's why he wanted to go back to the hotel. He didn't want me to see this.
She turned her back on the open door and walked further down the hallway, trying to find some shred of evidence to help her prove that what she thought was happening wasn't.
She opened another door: His bedroom. This room was in a similar state as the other had been. No visible personal items to speak of, the bed had been unmade but this one at least still had the mattress on.
And on top of the mattress was an open cardboard box.
She crossed over the threshold, gaze having narrowed in on that single box until everything else in the room had blurred and faded into the background.
She stopped and looked down into the box. Purple filled her vision and she couldn't close her eyes. Didn't dare. That would have made it worse, it was already too much.
The air rushed out of her lungs and the memories crashed back into the forefront of her mind with a terrifying clarity.
…
She saw the blinding light of the spotlight reflecting off of the ice.
Heard the scraping of his skates cutting across the ice.
Saw him jump.
Felt her breath catch in her throat as he lifted up off of the ice then felt it rush back out of her in a scream as she watched him fall.
Heard the snap of bone even though the high-pitched climax of her scream.
That god-awful scream that had echoed in her own ears, it had been something worthy of a horror movie. Expect this wasn't a horror movie. This was real.
She'd later use the excuse of her ringing ears to excuse the fact that she ignored her mother and her aunt when they warned her to stay where she was.
She'd already been running down the stairs, jumping over the last three in a single leap.
A mass of people stepped in front of her so she couldn't see what was going on but they hadn't been quite fast enough.
He hadn't gotten up yet, hadn't even tried to do such a thing, he just laid there, spread out on his back on the ice; his leg wasn't supposed to bend like that.
No one's leg was supposed to bend like that.
The spotlight was still on, that was the thing that actually infuriated her the most.
It was strange thing to be angry about but it was the final straw.
Why hadn't they turned that damn spotlight off? It was like they wanted everyone to see him suffering. "Hey look at how badly this poor soul messed up" "isn't this so entertaining?"
Turn it off you idiots!
But the spotlight stayed on.
Reflecting off of the red smear. Blood. Oh God that was blood he was bleeding. She was just glad that she was too far away to see the bone that had broken through the skin- the doctor informed them of that later-
I love the color red. She'd thought as she stared at the blood.
She turned away from the sight of it, ashamed that she had even thought such a morbid thing even if her brain had only meant to come up with something comforting to help her through the shock.
No, I hate the color red.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Snapping them open a second later, she twisted her head at the sound of a voice.
Red.
In that moment her entire world had been reduced to that single color.
The red smear of his blood flashed in her sight as her eyes narrowed in on someone else. If she couldn't get to Nooroo, she would go after him. She lunged for Nooroo's coach; a man who was almost twice her height and at least two decades her senior.
He'd crossed a line, he'd pay. She'd make sure of it- someone grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, arms wrapped around her body managing to hold her at bay even when she struggled.
"Hush, ma chérie." Her mother's voice reached through her red-tinted haze as she collapsed into the embrace.
Only to renew her struggle when she saw them pushing Nooroo out on a stretcher.
"No, ma chérie stay here."
"maman!" She'd screamed as the tears finally broke free from behind her eyes.
"I know. Hush."
…
There was a sound that snapped her out of her thoughts. Her eyes focused on the box again to realize it was closed.
She realized that Nooroo was behind her and had shut the box as if that could shut out the traumatic memories for her. For him.
She blinked, coming back into her body when she noticed that his hands were shaking as they rested on the lid of the box.
Guilt flooded her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" I shouldn't have looked at it. I shouldn't have left you- she'd left him to limp in here all by himself.
He said nothing as he wrapped his arms around her and she leaned into him. Supporting him as much as he was doing for her.
An action that spoke louder than words.
"I'm okay," he whispered into her hair. "You're okay... we're okay." She simply nodded in response.
We're not though. You're going to leave again.
"When we're you going to tell me?"
A soft sigh.
"I was planning to-"
"You said over the phone that "it was good to be back."
"It is, but-"
"You weren't planning on actually staying." She finished for him.
"My therapist in America said that coming back here would be good closure." He explained that to her gently, as if she were a child who wouldn't understand.
That was all the confirmation she needed. She let out a sigh of her own. Glaring into the box one more time, wishing she had the guts to throw it out the window.
"Let's get out of here then." She removed herself from their embrace and turned to the door.
If he thought coming back here to live was going to be too much for him then... she wouldn't stop him. She would hate for him to stay here if it was going to cause him pain. She'd support him, even if she didn't want him to leave again. It was probably for the best.
After dropping off Nooroo at the hotel, Tikki drove Marinette's car back to the apartment complex and made her way up to the apartment.
She remembered what she said about meeting everyone at the bakery but after the events of the last half hour she was emotionally and physically drained.
She wanted nothing more than to take a shower and curl up in bed with a good book.
She pulled out her phone and texted Marinette.
Tikki: Tell everyone I'm lame gotta take a raincheck. At the apartment right now. Bring me a cinnamon roll when you get here?
Mari: Sure thing see you soon. :)
She set her phone down and started at herself in the mirror, fingers reaching up to twist the little red earring set into her left ear.
She'd rarely taken them off in the four years that she'd had them; they were times when she even forgot they were there. They'd become almost as much a part of her as her arm, a way to feel connected to her cousin while he'd been overseas seeking treatment and slowly recovering from his injury and the side effects of the trauma.
Now... now she was upset with him. Not that she would actually say as much to his face. He'd been through enough already and it seemed selfish to turn on him now, and she wouldn't... still...
She pulled them out of her ears, rummaging around in the medicine cabinet until she found an old circular lip gloss container; filling it with hydrogen peroxide she placed her earrings into the cleaning solution and capped the lid.
She emerged from the bathroom dressed in her pyjamas and toweling dry her hair just as Marinette was opening the door. Alya in tow.
"Cinamon roll as requested." Marinette announced, tossing a white paper bag to Tikki and the three girls walked into the bedroom.
Alya shut the door behind them, leaning against it before she slid onto the floor.
"Alright girl, spill."
Tikki took a bite of her dessert and looked down at Alya from her vantage point on the top bunk, stalling for time as she pretended to consider what sort of news Alya could possibly be referring to.
Had that been thought-sarcasm? Okay, maybe she had been spending too much time with Plagg.
"I don't know what you mean." Tikki said, trying to keep her voice normal and failing miserably when her own vocal cords betrayed her by shooting her voice up by at least an octave and a half.
She rolled her eyes; more annoyed with herself then actually embarrassed, at least she could blame her flushed complexion on the fact that she'd just taken a warm shower.
"Look, Nothing happened. He just complimented my earrings," After I almost tripped and fell on my face which resulted in our faces being extremely close...
"Speaking of which." She jumped down without using the ladder, barefoot hitting the floor with a thud. Okay the people in the apartment below them probably hadn't appreciated that... oops...
"If you would move." Tikki said, motioning her hands at Alya; who bregrudgingly stood up and moved away from her spot at the door.
"Thank you." Tikki opened the door, stepping out into the hallway and walking back into the bathroom to retrieve her earrings.
She took them out of the lip gloss container, wiping the excess liquid off of them with a cotton ball... she squinted, tilting her hand upward... there were markings on the back. Little tiny letters in a flowing script that looked like cursive or something similar. The words were definitely French...
Half of a whole
Had Nooroo had them engraved?
She made a mental note to ask him about it later.
She picked her phone up off of the counter to check her notifications: Apps that needed updating, latest news headlines. Blah.
A text message from Plagg, received ten minutes ago.
Hey, noticed you bailed earlier today, Hope everything's okay.
Yep, all good! You?
Debatable.
?
Right now... can I hit Adrien with something? Preferably something heavy like a rock... maybe a brick.
Why?
He's driving me loco.
Sorry. I can't encourage such violent actions, nor can I actually stop you from doing anything. Seeing how I am not actually there. Might I suggest you try a pillow?
Can I smother him with it?
No.
You're no fun! :(
You wouldn't know fun if it hit you in the face.
Do I sense a challenge?
Interpret as you will, I was just calling you a stick in the mud. :P
Your words wound me.
No pain, no gain.
Plagg and Adrien walked into the apartment licking cinnamon roll frosting off of their fingers.
"My dad is going to kill me if he finds out how many cinnamon rolls I just ate."
"Oh no, you had carbs!" Plagg scoffed. "Shame on you!" he gasped, turning to Adrien with a look of mock horror.
"Exactly. Anything over fifty calories is considered a sin."
"You know what they say," Plagg licked the last bit of frosting off of his fingers. "sin with a grin." Adrien tilted his head at his roommate. "Isn't that a song title?" Plagg shrugged. "Might be, I swear it was an expression first."
"Huh, well I'm gonna go get the mail."
"Who actually sends letters to anyone anymore?"
"Banks. Gotta love bills right." They both groaned at the thought.
Plagg sat in the arm chair, dangling his head off of the armrest. "You're the one with the rich dad."
"So you admit our friendship is based off of money."
"Definitely one of the positives."
"One? What are the others?"
"You're girlfriend has cute friends."
"So you admit you like Tikki?" Adrien prodded, slightly confused by the way Plagg had worded the sentence.
"Go get the mail." Plagg answered not even tripping over the words as he changed the subject.
"That wasn't relevant to the question."
"You think I'm going to say anything that has a risk of getting pulled back out of your mouth by your girlfriend and that Alya chick when they start interrogating you? I know my rights. Anything I say can and will be used against me."
"I wouldn't say anything."
"Denial. Marinette could get you to admit anything all she has to do is bat her- what did you call them- "pretty blue-bell eyes"
Adrien blushed, then folded his arms. "I thought you said that poem was awful, if it was so awful then how come you still remember it."
"I remember it because it was awful, I was scarred by it. You wouldn't stop muttering it under your breath for a week and then she responded to it and you were pretty much a pile of goo on your bedroom floor for three hours. It was sickening." Plagg made a noise of disgust. "You're no Shakespeare kid, don't quit your day job." He pulled out his phone to responded to a text message.
"Pray tell? May that be your maiden with the cobalt-blue eyes and the rose-red hair?"
Plagg looked up from his phone screen pinning Adrien with a glare. Adrien was looking at him with a cheeky grin.
"I will hurt you." Plagg warned solemnly. "I suggest you get out of here before I do."
"Did I insult your fair Rosaline?"
"Rosaline didn't get Romeo. Juliet did and if you were comparing us to them then I'm sure Tikki would be insulted considering that Romeo kills Juliet's cousin after Juliet's cousin kills Romeo's best friend," he shot Adrien a pointed look.
"And they both end up dying in the end anyway. It wasn't romantic. It was stupid. So by that logic. Nooroo would be dead, you would be dead and both me and Tikki would be dead. So I would suggest you shut up before I save Nooroo the trouble of murdering you."
Adrien shrugged, chuckling as he walked backwards out of the still open door.
Only to march back into the room minutes later; stack of white envelopes held above his head.
"I hath returned!" He announced.
He lost his footing and stumbled sideways into the wall as a pillow smacked him in the side of the head.
"Ow." He complained, touching the side of his face as he looked at the pillow on the floow and shot a look at Plagg whom had moved from the armchair to the couch and was currently focused on his phone; the picture of innocence.
"I did warn you." Plagg remained Adrien without looking up from his phone.
"Et tu, Bruté?-" Adrien gasped expression turning from one of pain to one of mock horror that he could barely maintain as he fought to suppress an amused grin
"Oh we're doing Julius Caesar now? Well since you basically just gave me an excuse to come at you with a knife..." Plagg stood up from the couch.
"Caesar will shut up." Adrien held up his hands in surrender.
Plagg sat back down with a smirk. "That's what I thought."
"You got a letter."
Plagg saw the white envelope, he glanced at the address then back at his phone, then looked at the address a second time as a sense of disbelief crashed over him like a tidal wave.
Damnit. I jinxed myself.
So much for treading water.
Underneath the shock and the disbelief came the tiniest undercurrent of guilt.
He started to drown.
A/N: Bit of an awkward double upload; after saying I streamlined the process of recreating the original story, I accidentally skip a chapter. Fortunately Chapter 5 was quite a short chapter, so I managed to get it done by today.
Anyway, enjoy the double chapter.
