THE FORTY DARES
From their hiding spot in the kitchen that allowed them to have full view of the explosive encounter, Plagg and Tikki shared a look.
"This isn't good, Tikki."
"I know, Plagg," the little kwami said, nervously looking at her charge as she marched into the guest bedroom seeing as Adrien barricaded himself in the master.
"I'm worried for them."
The little black cat rubbed his paws together.
"Do you think it's time we..."
Tikki looked at him, then nodded. "Its our only hope for them. I'm scared to say that Adrien may not be open to it."
Reluctantly, Plagg nodded. "Usually the first one fed up is the last one to come around."
"And your black cats are usually reluctant to do it."
Plagg nodded. "They're volatile. Your bugs are tamer."
"They have to be to balance out your cat," Tikki said. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try with Adrien. And I'll hope for a miracle when it comes to Marinette."
"You and me both, Tikki," Plagg said, flying over to collect Adrien's wedding band off the counter.
"You and me both."
__________
Five long days had passed since the explosion between the two of them, and they were each plenty fine with not seeing each other as they came and went. Better that than arguing half the time.
"And he always starts it!"
"And she always starts it!"
Their friends and kwamis had heard it all, but it always came down to the same issue.
"Neither can accept responsibility for any of it," Tikki said to Plagg as they were curled up together in their hiding spot.
"And the only way they'll make it work is if they stop doing that."
"They're both hurting, Tikki," Plagg pointed out. "This fallout with Hawkmoth lead to both weaknesses being exposed. Adrien needs her comfort and support because she's all the family he has left, yet he believes she is treating him similar to the way his father did, so Adrien's closing off to protect himself. Then Marinette is trying to preserve Adrien's father's legacy and trying to help everyone else because she doesn't know how to care for her own problems first. She likes fixing things, and since she can't figure out how to fix Adrien, she dove into work because that's the one thing she can control."
"And it leads to a self-perpetuating cycle," Tikki finished. "Yin and Yang."
"The negative version of it."
Tikki sighed, snuggling closer to Plagg. "We've handled this before," she whispered. "So I can only hope we can fix this now."
"The forty dares?"
"The forty dares," Tikki confirmed. "It's the only thing I see working at this point."
Plagg sighed. "Hopefully, they'll see sense, Cookie. They were always such a good team together."
"Because they were strong separately," Tikki reminded. "They aren't now."
"But that's one of the things the love dares do," Plagg said. "A partnership, whether of the superhero kind or a marriage, is not about each individual but individuals coming together. Tikki, they have to be reminded that they are part of something bigger than them and they are letting it fall apart by pointing fingers at the other."
With a sigh, Tikki put her paws over Plagg's. "Let's just hope they'll listen."
YOU ARE READING
The love dare
Random⚓After Hawkmoth was defeated, Adrien and Marinette are both hurt, leaving their marriage strained. Worried, Tikki and Plagg decided to take matters into their own hands by issuing a series of dares in an attempt to help their charges fix their marri...
