Quick kwami interlude while I work on the next chapter :)
She shouldn't be this reckless.
Sidled against the cover of midnight, twin wisps of ruby-hued gossamer sway in the breeze. The owner of the delicate antennae nearly hums with impatience, her energy grasping blindly like an appendage of its own.
The balcony is as still as the girl slumbering somewhere beneath it.
Lately it's been a fitful sleep, Tikki reflects silently. Marinette tosses and turns, trapped in visions of turmoil. She's cried once so far. Enough times to pierce both the kwami's heart and resolve.
An imminent crackle of negative static sets Tikki's wings aflutter. Something like a void crawls along her supple, otherworldly skin, the familiar thrill of it nearly enough to cut through the worry.
"Plagg."
It's the softest of whispers- dandelion fluff in the wind- as slits of jade flash in the moonlight. His feline form is barely visible against a backdrop of shadows, crooked grin accented by the curve of tiny white fangs.
"It's been a while, bugaboo." The kwami scoffs at the borrowed endearment. "But what's a couple hundred years, right?"
Sapphire eyes narrow. "You never change. Incorrigible as the day we came to be. And you smell like… cheese?"
"The fanciest camembert money can buy, little red. I got unusually lucky this cycle."
Thick lashes cast the slightest of shadows against a smooth, spotted cheek. Tikki floats gracefully, a crimson perimeter around the whole of Plagg's body; the closeness of her causes his tail to twitch restlessly. When she opens her eyes they are ancient and endless and sad.
"Hey. Don't start. You know how they are, these humans. No better over time either." The black kwami retires to the edge of a wicker chair to lounge casually.
"I knew from the moment I felt you in Marinette's classroom that this would be anything but easy."
Plagg chuckles and stretches in a manner suited to his cat-like form. "I didn't think the old man would choose two of 'em situated so closely together. It's been a fun mess though, hasn't it… I mean, how have they not worked it out? I'm itching to let the cat outta the bag."
"You know we can't. We can't-"
"Tell them anything." Plagg finishes the thought. "I know. I'm annoying, not foolish."
"She's not well." Tikki wilts in the night as she confesses her sorrow. "The confusion is draining her. It's making me less effective in battle."
"Oh, I know what you mean. Adrien is strung tighter than a harp right now. But I can't coddle him now. This is that age when humans start to shape who they're meant to become. To find their own strength. You know that as well as I do, Tikki."
The sudden wisdom of his words reminds the little insect god that Plagg is every bit as immortal as she.
"Besides. It never turns out well when we interfere. Do you want another 'Romeo and Juliette' on your hands? Wrong names, but who'd have thought that'd go down in history." Plagg laughs bitterly.
"That wasn't your fault."
"Yes it was."
"It wasn't. I don't care if I have to remind you for all eternity." Tikki settles herself down across from the glowing stare of the male kwami. The stars twinkle overhead, deceptive pinpoints of light that reflect a past no human could hope to imagine. "It's impossible not to love them, isn't it." She sighs.
There is no answer other than a flattening of ears.
"Remember England?"
Tikki gazes at him fondly. "Yes. How they found out on that castle tower the eve of the coronation ceremony."
"And then went at it right then and there. Humans. I still don't get the mating bit."
"It's not that hard to understand."
"They want to avoid children but pursue the act nonstop. Enlighten me."
A tiny ruby body is wracked by giggles. "It's a pleasure. A wholeness. Like-"
She touches a tiny hand to one of his own and the nameless completion of two ethereal halves clashes-
Luck and Misfortune.
Creation and Ruin.
The beginning and end of all things.
Plagg rubs a velveteen cheek to every curve of her. It isn't fair, this state of being. This closeness that can't be fulfilled; they're meant to be a single entity. Instead they tease at what could be had their power never been split out of fear and selfish necessity. Humans crave a closeness of flesh that pales in comparison, he bristles… then sighs.
"It's going to be fine, Freyya."
Blue eyes shimmer. "I haven't been called that-"
"In over five thousand years. I know."
"I believe in her." Tikki declares, perhaps more to herself. "Marinette is unlike anyone I've had before."
"Adrien is special, too."
"Do you think they find each other because they're meant to? Or because of us?"
"Who knows. Maybe they force us to find each other. Maybe it doesn't matter."
The sky begins to glow with the golden promise of morning.
It won't be long.
Tikki smiles.
I have some kwami headcannons that include the pair of them being involved in well known stories and bits of history (Romeo and Juliette angst AU anyone?). FYI, Freya is a goddess associated with ladybugs. Do with that what you will. As usual, thanks so much for all of your reviews! I'll do my best!