Days had passed after the encounter with Blueblood, and Shuffle's mind couldn't fathom what was said that night. Not only was he targeting his family for possible attacks, but the man had something to do with his dad as well.
Shuffle kept all of this information to himself, mostly because he didn't want Trixie knowing that Blueblood had targeted him and because her show had attracted a talent scout from a performance school in Las Pegasus, and she needed to focus on that.
The biggest thing he had a problem with was with what was said at the end. The threat towards his mother was already enough to put him on edge already, but with how Blueblood spoke about it, it was like he knew something, and it felt wrong, very wrong.
"Shuffle, you okay?" Trixie asked as she nudged him from the side.
"Yeah, it's fine… just distracted."
Trixie chuckled as she flicked his head.
"Well get your head out of the clouds, or does Trixie have to guide you back down herself? ‘Cuz she has her ways~…" She replied, accentuating her point by rubbing his cheek.
"No Trix, I'm fine, promise," Shuffle said quickly.
"Really then? If nothing is wrong, then why does Trixie catch you looking around more often than usual, hmm?"
Shuffle tried to respond, but Trixie already had another question at the ready.
"And where are you going at three in the morning, coming back covered in sweat?"
"See, that’s because… I'm trying to..."
Trixie put her hands on hips, waiting for an answer. Shuffle sighed as he sat down.
"I've just been trying to get back into free running again. Between going to school, afternoons with you, the shows… it's the most opportune time to do it, it seems."
Trixie sat next to shuffle as he looked away from her.
"Why didn't you tell me about this? Trixie does love performing magic, but if you want, we could do something you'll enjoy. Though, on two conditions."
Trixie held up her index finger.
"One, no more secrets, no matter how little and insignificant. Deal?"
Shuffle nodded.
"Two, you show me how to do it too."
Trixie and Shuffle stood at the edge of Everfree Forest.
"Trix, I don’t think you're ready for where I practice yet…" Shuffle said, trying to deter his girlfriend.
"Pshaw! I'm The Great and Powerful Trixie! Anything you can do she can do better, now let's get started already!"
Shuffle chuckled. "Okay then, let's start off with something basic. Try to climb that tree there," Shuffle pointed at one of the thick trees.
Trixie gave him a cocky smirk as she tried to take hold of any loose areas of the tree. When her grip was secure she started to climb.
A few minutes of silence passed as she grunted and finally reached the first and lowest branches.
"Haha! Beat that...Shuffle?" Trixie turned on the branch to look for her boyfriend, who seemingly vanished.
"Shuffle?!" Trixie called out, trying to spot him.
There was a snap as Shuffle stood a few feet from her on a branch above her.
"How did you even?" Trixie asked, obviously confused.
Shuffle chuckled as he hopped down onto Trixie's branch, making it shake.
"Simple: I ran up the opposite tree and crossed to your tree."
"But in what time frame though?"
"Trix, I've been doing this for quite a while, just watch this."
Shuffle turned towards another branch, leaping onto it and pulling himself up and holding himself completely vertical for a few seconds, before swinging back and forth, releasing and gliding towards another branch, then another, and another, before tagging the fourth with his hands, pulling his top half forwards in a flip, directly into a roll onto the ground.
Trixie watched on as Shuffle got back to his feet, wiping off any debris on himself before jogging back to the tree she was perched in, scaling back up to her like it was nothing.
"...Showoff."
Shuffle booped Trixie's nose as he sat down.
"Wouldn't be your boyfriend if I couldn't flex my skills as you do. Besides, it takes one to know one."
Trixie sat against the tree's trunk.
"What made you pick this up?" She asked.
Shuffle shrugged. "After dad passed on, I looked for other hobbies. This wasn't my first choice, but there's something about being in the air almost akin to flight. It just feels right. Like how your magic and the roaring crowds are for you."
The two sat in silence as the early summer breeze washed over them.
Shuffle took a deep breath as he stretched and fell back, hanging himself with his legs.
"Love, if you really want to learn, I would much rather have you be in a parkour gym before we do something like this."
Trixie stood up as she replicated hang like Shuffle.
"No, anything you can do, I can do better. Now then, get to teach."
Shuffle smiled as he let himself go into freefall since the distance between the branch and the ground wasn't far. His experienced legs absorbed the shock with minimal resistance.
"Another thing!" Trixie called out as Shuffle looked up at her still hanging.
"Help me!"
Shuffle burst out into laughter as Trixie started fuming.
"Alright chill, I'm coming.”
After that day, Shuffle and Trixie headed out towards Everfree almost every afternoon so Shuffle could teach Trixie.
Two weeks passed and Trixie was making marginal progress. Shuffle tried every day to get her to go to a gym first, which she denied. This carried on for a full month, but through Trixie's stubborn nature, she started matching Shuffle point for point.
During each practice session, Shuffle watched as Trixie adapted to moving in the trees, but even with all the progress she made, he would think about Blueblood. He would on occasion watch his back even during the school day, thinking someone had been watching him. But it seemed like when he would catch who was doing it, the feeling would disappear.
"Yo Shuffle, you in there?" Artemis asked, snapping his fingers in Shuffles face.
"Oh Sorry dude, just thinking about something."
"Yeah, I noticed. Wanna talk about it?" Artemis asked, putting down the cards in his hand.
"Yes… No… Yes… I mean... ARGH!" Shuffle grunted out, setting his cards down.
"If you don't want to buddy, that's fine," He replied coolly
Shuffle sighed, weeks of stress finally getting to him.
"Yeah… I can't bring this to Trixie, and my mom is already paranoid enough. But it's something that's driving me nuts. It started back in January after Trixie's first show…"
As Shuffle retold the events in extreme detail to Artemis, they continued their card game.
"Why haven't you went to the police yet about this?"
"That's the problem; I did research on Blueblood. He's 19 and already in charge of his own company, and a successful one at that. Who would believe this random tycoon would threaten some random teenager?"
"Makes sense, plus you wouldn't know if he had someone on the force under his payroll. But it's not smart to keep this from her forever, you know. Women have a tendency to sense when their significant other is hiding something," Artemis followed.
Shuffle nodded in understanding as he picked his hand back up.
The two went back to silence as they continued their game.
"I will admit two things though. Blueblood might be an issue. I'm ready if he dares to try something against Trixie. And secondly, I do think I claim victory," Shuffle set down five cards in a sequence, two arms, legs, and head.
"Dang it, another Exodia pull! How do you do that so consistently?!"
Shuffle smiled as he shuffled his deck.
"It's all in misdirection. A couple plays here, couple reshuffles there, and a pinch of luck," Shuffle responded as he put his deck away.
"One more thing before you go, you did say you would explain this pendulum mechanic," Shuffle held out the copy of Odd-Eyes.
"I'm pretty sure Discord has a few specials going on, let's ask him about it," Artemis got up. Shuffle followed and the duo went up to the main counter.
Trixie came by near dusk to pick Shuffle up from the front of Discords.
When Shuffle arrived, he gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"Hey love, how was your day?" Shuffle asked.
"Trixie had been busy all day reworking her act. It's starting to get a bit stale for her tastes, and Trixie did find a few new tricks to add to her trade."
The two rode home in comfortable silence. Unbeknownst to Trixie, Shuffle had snuck his hand into hers which was sitting on the gear shift.
"Hey, I want to do something," Shuffle said.
Trixie hummed in wonder as they came to a red light.
"What do you want to do? Trixie is listening."
"Since tomorrow is Saturday and we don't have to get up at any particular time, why don't we make it a lazy day? Just watch crappy movies or find something new to watch."
Trixie smirked as her hand tightened on his. "Are you trying to fatten up Trixie?" She asked.
Shuffled chuckled as he squeezed her palm. "No, but there's nothing wrong with being EXTRA THICC!" Shuffle shot back making Trixie giggle.
"Sounds like a plan, but we are gonna see that new Prince Ali movie later that night for that ‘insult’.''
"Oh dear, I have to sit through a movie with my hot girlfriend. When will the torture end!" Shuffle put a hand up to his forehead.
The two burst out into fits of laughter as the light turned green and continued their journey home.
Shuffle stared at Trixie as she focused driving, he made a note on every inch of her, from the swirl in her hair all the way down to her relaxed posture, everything he bore witness to added another trait to the girl sitting next to him from an outside look one could swear they could see a shimmer of light in Shuffles' eyes.
Zing
"Get a camera if you want, but I doubt that photo will compare to the real thing."
"What can I say? I like what I see," Shuffle responded.
"Well, if you’re good, I'll make sure you can see later on tonight~..."
Shuffle smirked playfully as he sat back in his seat.
"Yes ma'am, I'll be a good boy."
The two finally reached home. Shuffle got out first and slid across the front of the car opening the door for Trixie.
"M'lady…" Shuffle bowed and tipped an invisible hat.
"Wow, could you get any cheesier?" Trixie asked as she got out of the car.
"I don't think that would be a Gouda idea," Shuffle remarked as he shut the door.
Trixie groaned as the two entered Shuffle’s home.
"What? I thought it was a good pun. Hey, maybe I can be a comedian, I might even be able to make that good Chedda too!"
Trixie covered her ears, laughing nonetheless.
"Stop it! God, any more cheese puns I'm going to become lactose intolerant."
"Wouldn't that be a gas!" Shuffle responded.
"I hate you sometimes, you know that right?"
Shuffle smirked as he quickly pulled out his phone and responded.
Trixie's phone beeped, opening it to see a single text.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"Yep, it's a burning hatred now!" Trixie reported as she opened and quickly shut Shuffle’s door, locking him out.
"You can come in after you get the puns out of your system!"
Shuffle just laughed as he started back downstairs.
"That's fine I'll just eat some of those peanut butter crackers of yours!"
Trixie shot out the door to chase down the cracker thief.
"TOUCH MY STASH OF CRACKERS AND I WILL DESTROY YOU!"
Trixie rounded the corner to see Shuffle holding a small box of her favorite snack.
"Um. Meow?" Shuffle said with a wild smirk on his face, Trixie screamed, while Shuffle replied in kind and ran off with the box.
"SHUFFLE SUITE YOU GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"
"Viva la revolución!" Shuffled hollered back.