Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was mornings like these where Marinette found herself really missing Master Fu, as she often did in the weeks after becoming the guardian of the Miraculous Box. Well, egg, now she supposed.

It hadn't even been all that long since... since Hawk Moth had gotten so close to winning, just a little over a week. Seven days since the fight against Miracle Queen, six after helping Fu board the train, and just five after having read his letter over nearly a hundred times.

Everything had changed so fast, and yet, not at all.

There were only five people in the entirety of Paris who knew exactly the extent of harm that Chloé had inflicted: the girl in question, herself, Chat Noir, Hawk Moth, and Mayura. That's it. Everyone else had been under Chloé's control during the whole thing as drones.

Things that had changed: Hawk Moth now knew the identities of every support hero they had. Now Marinette couldn't trust any of them with a miraculous again.

Another thing that had changed: the Miraculous Box was now an egg. She had no idea why or even how, all she knew was that she was able to peel it open and place the miraculous' that Chloé had discarded and thrown to the ground in her tantrum back.

And the last thing to change was the loss of her one confidante, all his memories of her gone with nothing she could have done to stop it.

All of this was a lot on her shoulders, weighing her down until she felt like she couldn't keep her head afloat.

And the most frustrating part of it all was that nothing had changed from a civilian perspective. Marinette was forced to sit in class knowing that one of her classmates was conspiring with Hawk Moth.

She couldn't say anything- what proof did she possibly have? There was no live coverage, and if she spoke up there was the possibility that Chloé could figure out that she was Ladybug.

What she wouldn't give for Hawk Moth to show his ugly head so that she could release her pent up frustrations on him, but even he's been quiet. And that only made her more paranoid, tension building up in her as she waited for him to retaliate after Miracle Queen.

Master Fu's tablet was missing. That only made her further distressed, knowing that it was likely in the hands of Hawk Moth. If there was a backup of the decoded grimoire, she didn't know where to find it, and that just meant that they weren't on equal playing ground with the villain anymore.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stared dejectedly at the egg just as she had for every day since she'd taken the responsibility for it.

This whole thing was a mess. All these changes- it was too much for her to bear on her own.

Well, at least one thing would never change, she still had Chat Noir on her side. If only they could stay together all the time, then maybe she wouldn't feel as lonely as she did now.

The sensation of something nuzzling her cheek brought her attention away from the egg towards Tikki, who was looking up at her with worry.

"Marinette?" the kwami asked. "Are you going to be ok?"

Reaching up to cradle the tiny god, Marinette tried to muster some optimism, "I hope so, Tikki."

Taking a moment to steady her breathing- she had to be in control of her emotions, she had to be steadfast and strong, she was Ladybug, protector of Paris- she leaned back in her chair.

Everything was going to be ok, she could make it through this.

"Come on, Tikki, I'm going to see if Maman and Papa could use some help in the bakery," Marinette said, removing her hand and pushing away from her desk. Getting up from her chair, she gingerly picked up the egg and moved it to the basket she made, covering it with a baby blue blanket. It wasn't the best set up, but for now, it would do.

Having hidden the egg, she opened her purse for Tikki to hide in and exited the loft slowly climbing down the ladder. She was glad that she didn't have to go to collège today, she just wasn't sure that she had the strength to handle Chloé or Lila or-

Well, she was just glad to not face the chaos waiting to unfold in that classroom.

Reaching the bakery, her mom brightened up at the sight of her, coming over to give her a brief kiss on the temple, "Someone woke up later than usual today. No plans with your friends?"

Laughing nervously, Marinette looked to the side, not really sure how to explain to her mom that she actually had woken up early, but had spent the entire time lamenting over things she couldn't change at all.

Giving her mom the most convincing smile she could offer, Marinette shook her head, "No, everyone's busy today. I was hoping to help you and Papa out with the bakery?"

"You're just in time then," Sabine gave her a knowing smile, nodding towards the front of the bakery where a young teen was holding his phone and his wallet, occasionally pausing to look at the banknotes again. "He's been standing there for a bit, I'm pretty sure he's a tourist and I think he's having trouble with our currency, could you help him out, darling?"

Nodding, Marinette gave her a brief style, "Of course, Maman."

Walking towards the door, she ran over in her mind where the teen could be from, what to say to help- if she should greet him in French first or try an English phrase first? She wasn't the best at speaking it, but she could manage if she had to- and opened the door to the warm outdoors.

The teen wasn't roused from his intense focus by the chime of the door, mumbling under his breath as he pulled out a five-hundred banknote.

Eyes widening, Marinette approached, standing in front of the teen. Now that she was in front of him, the teen looked away from both objects and blinked at the sight of her.

"Hi!" she greeted with a small wave, she decided to go with a French first approach.

"Oh, hello," the teen greeted her back in very accented French, but French nonetheless. He pocketed both his phone and wallet into the pockets of his pink varsity jacket. "Sorry, am I in the way?"

"Not at all," Marinette waved off his worry. "I'm actually the daughter of the owners, it looked like you could use a little help from inside."

The teen looked back and saw Sabine staring, who gave him a wave and a kind smile from behind the counter, and he blushed before waving back hesitantly.

"I guess I didn't realize you could see me from inside," he said sheepishly. "I'm just having trouble with the money pieces, I'm not really good with understanding currency."

Her brows furrowed at the weird phrasing, but passed it off as a translation mistake not worth harping on, and instead offered her assistance, "Well, I could help you if you'd like?"

Mulling it over in his head, the teen eventually nodded with a relieved smile, "That... would actually help a lot, thank you."

Lips quirking up in a smile, she opened the door for him and he hesitantly walked in.

"Do you know what you want?" Marinette asked. "I can help you sort your euros to the right amount when you order."

"Um, I was trying to figure that out too," the teen blushed a little. "You're the daughter of the owner's right? What would you recommend?"

Bringing her hand up to her chin in thought, her mind drifted to her friends, so she recommended, "Well, I have it in good opinion that our macarons are the best in all of Paris."

The teen did give a little smile at that before pulling out his phone again, "I figured considering I searched up the top bakeries in Paris and this was the first location that popped up."

Straightening in pride, Marinette reached out to pull him along to the counter where her mom had been patiently waiting, "That’s because we are!"

Now at the counter, Sabine greeted him properly, "Welcome, I see you've already become acquainted with my daughter, Marinette. I'm Sabine, what can I help you with today?"

And it was at that moment that Marinette realized that she had not introduced herself at all and that the teen probably thought she was some weirdo who didn't give their names-

"Marinette?" the teen repeated, looking to the side at her. "That's such a pretty name, so is Sabine! Oh, my name's Steven, it's nice to meet you."

The teen- Steven- flexed his hand as though he were going to offer her a handshake before stopping.

"Is this your first time in Paris? Your French is excellent," Sabine complimented the young man.

"Is it that obvious," Steven gave a shaky smile, rubbing his hand against his neck. "It's my first time visiting France, I just flew in a few hours ago, it's so beautiful so far. And different too."

"Oh, Maman, Steven was hoping to buy a couple of macarons," Marinette said before she could forget. Turning towards Steven she said, "We have a lot of different flavors to choose from, is there a particular flavor you wanted?"

"Flavor? Uh, chocolate? I guess, if that's a thing," Steven awkwardly answered. "Sorry, I've only really visited one high-end bakery before and that was mostly just for cake orders. I'm a bit out of my element here."

"Don't worry at all, dear, we have plenty of chocolate macarons. Would you like a box? That contains about six," Sabine explained.

With a glance at Marinette, probably for confirmation that she would help him with the banknotes, he nodded, he said, "Sure, that sounds great, thank you."

Sabine went about filling the box, and Marinette made simple conversation by asking, "So, how long are you planning to stay in Paris?"

"Oh, I'm actually planning to stay about, maybe a month and a half? I've been wanting to explore as many places as I can and whenever I set my stay to about two weeks I always end up staying longer," Steven chuckled. "So this time, I'm planning on taking my time exploring the city. I don't feel any need to rush since I'm setting up my own pace."

Marinette tilted her head to the side at the way he described his trip, before pointing out what struck her as odd, "Are you here by yourself? What about your parents?"

"I call my dad often, he really approves of me going out to see the world on my own," Steven gestured with his phone. "It's really liberating getting a chance to be out on my own."

Marinette was almost jealous of the amount of freedom the teen had, she would just love to explore the world all by herself. All the inspiration she could get for designs would be unimaginable!

Well, maybe one day her Nonna would make true on her promise and whisk her away to have adventures. When she's older of course, and hopefully out of collège. 

"There we go, one box of chocolate macarons," Sabine settled the box on the counter. "That'll be fifteen euros, dear."

This was where Marinette stepped in, helping Steven pull out the appropriate banknote- and after catching a glance at how many euros he had exactly in just his wallet, Marinette was sure that he must've been very well off- to give to her mom for the box.

"Marinette, sweetie, if you want, why don't you show Steven the park nearby?" Sabine said after handing him back his change. "We really don't need the extra help today, and besides, I'm sure Steven would appreciate having someone to help him around."

Marinette was surprised but considered it in her head. Steven seemed nice so far, plus, it really wasn't like she had anything better to do. Beyond fretting about all the uncertainties of the future, which wasn't something she wanted to be doing anyway.

"You really don't have to," Steven said to her, with a kind smile on his face. "I wouldn't want to take you away from your plans."

Resolved, Marinette shook off his concerns, "It's ok! I didn't really have too much to do today anyhow, I'd love to show you the park. Plus, I can answer any of your questions about Paris!"

Steven glanced between her and Sabine, before acquiescing, "Only if you're sure. It's always nice to make new friends."

With a quick kiss goodbye to her mom, Marinette led Steven to the Place des Vosges and chatted with him along the way as he shared some of the macarons with her- and even though he really didn't have to, she was grateful because in her daze she had forgotten to eat something before coming down to the bakery.

"So, you're from America, right?" she asked as they walked towards the fountain. "What's it like over there? I've never been!"

"It's pretty great, the sights are at the very least," Steven pulled out his phone to show her some photos. Swiping to show her all the different landscapes and monuments he had visited, "Before coming here, I decided to go on a road trip to visit all the states last year, trying to figure out where to settle down. But I found that I really liked traveling, and decided to turn my attention abroad."

"Woah, that's amazing," she said, eagerly taking in all the photos. "You're so young, you have to be around my age, right?"

Truthfully, Steven was only a little bit taller than her, but his face was rounded just like all of her classmates. She'd be surprised if he was any older than fifteen.

"Well, I'm turning eighteen soon," he revealed. "So maybe?"

"Gah, you're so old!" she blurted out before her hands slapped against her mouth. Backtracking, she fumbled, "No, not like that, I mean- you don't look like you're that much older than me, and I'm fourteen!"

The seventeen-year-old thankfully wasn't offended- although he did laugh, which made her face warm up in embarrassment- saying, "I'll take that as a compliment."

They continued their chat, with Marinette asking all kinds of questions about the States- she was very curious because she's worked at the bakery when there were tourists, sure, but she never really had a chance to actually talk to them, always being too busy working.

And she learned a lot of little things about Steven too- that he lived on the beach for most of his life, that he was a musician similar to her friends in Kitty Section, and that he had a girlfriend, Connie, who had graduated early to attend university. Nothing about his education however.

In return she told him about her passion for fashion and art, and after showing him her designs he was amazed at her skill, to which she modestly accepted his compliments. It always surprised her when people who weren't her close friends recognized the dedication she put into her work, it always felt more genuine that way.

Marinette was having such a fun and relaxing time talking to the older teen, that she had started to forget- momentarily- about all of her worries from before. She could do this, one day at a time, not everything had to be terrible after the last battle.

It almost made everything fade away to the very back of her mind.

But an infuriatingly familiar and snobby voice broke through her brief moment of happiness to crush it under the proclamation of, "Ugh, Dupain-Cheng, don't you have somewhere else to be infuriatingly annoying."

Steeling herself, burying her emotions deep in her chest, she turned to face Chloé with a glare and a brisk, "What could you possibly want from me, Chloé."

Marinette was in no mood at all to have to lay her eyes on the blonde outside of class. At Françoise Dupont she had to tolerate her, had to sit quiet and stew while the girl got away with siding with Hawk Moth.

But here on her personal time? No. She wouldn't stand for it.

Steven eyed the two of them, sensing the tension between the younger girls, but not stepping in. Which Marinette appreciated because she did not want him to get in the middle of this schoolyard spat.

"Here I was trying to enjoy my time at this silly park when I had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing you here as well," Chloé scowled. "If you ask me, peasants like you shouldn't have the chance to be in the presence of someone like me."

"This is a public space, Chloé, you can't dictate who's allowed here," Marinette rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure I could get Daddy to change that," Chloé smirked, cocking her hip and she settled her palm against it. 

"Then why don't you go call him," she raised her eyebrow at her, rising to the challenge by crossing her arms. "It'll work out just like all the other times that threat's blown up in your face."

Chloé's face scrunched up in anger, as she huffed and turned away from Marinette, "I don't have to take this from a lowlife like you, Dupain-Cheng."

She turned and walked away from the duo, with Steven turning to likely ask her what that was about but-

Before she could stop herself, her thoughts overflowing with no way to bottle them back up, the words were spilling from Marinette's lips, "That's rich, coming from you, Miracle Queen."

Chloé stopped right in her tracks, freezing at the utterance of the name before her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"And how would you know about that," she hissed, turning around and stalking back towards Marinette, pointing her finger against her chest.

Marinette's throat closed up as she tried to swallow, heart pounding against her chest as she tried to think of what possible excuse she could have to know that particular akuma. She felt Tikki push against her leg from inside her purse, and she let out a shaky breath, saying, "Not everyone was stung and turned into one of your drones, Chloé. Some of us had the sense to hide away from your wasps."

"Clearly not enough, otherwise you would have shut your trap and learned your place," Chloé snapped. "You have some nerve saying that to me!"

"Ok, that's enough," Steven stepped in between the two, scolding, "Marinette was having a nice time before you stepped in, so if you can't play nice you really should remove yourself from the situation."

"Excuse me," Chloé gasped out, offended. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"I don't need too to know that you insulted Marinette first," Steven crossed his arms. "I don't know what about you makes you think you can just push people around like that, but I don't care. Marinette didn't do anything to deserve your ridicule."

Marinette looked up at the other teen with shock. There were so few times where anyone had stood up for her against Chloé in her life, and even fewer where it was someone who didn't really know her too well- the other person coming to mind being Alya. 

But by stepping in for her, Steven had just crossed paths with an angry wasp, and invoking her ire Chloé squinted her eyes at him as she said, "You might not know me, but I recognize you-"

This caused Marinette to blink in shock, not knowing how Chloé could possibly recognize this rather typical teen. Chloé only ever remembered models or celebrities and very rarely people who-

Oh no.

"You're that rich weirdo who just booked in at Le Grand Paris," Chloé had a decisive smirk on her face at the realization. "I saw you at the receptionist's desk in the lobby, well, if you must know my Daddy owns that hotel and is the Mayor of Paris."

Some of the color flooded off of Steven's face at the reveal, but Chloé continued, "And, you can kiss your stay in Paris goodbye because I'm going to get you personally banned from every hotel, motel, and hostel possible!"

She turned around swiftly and flipped her hair over her shoulder in a huff, "You have until tonight to get your bags out of the hotel before I personally throw them to the curb myself."

Clenching her fists, Marinette yelled, "You can't do that! That's not fair!"

Glancing over her shoulder, bearing a scowl, Chloé told her, "Want to bet, Dupain-Cheng? That’ll teach nobodies not to side with the likes of you."

Marinette floundered at the cold look on the blonde's face, giving the mayor's daughter enough time to stalk away.

"She... she can't actually do that can she?" Steven sounded dazed, watching after the blonde as she stormed out of the park.

"I-" Marinette wanted to reassure him that most of the time Chloé was all bark and no bite, but even that was a lie. When truly provoked, Chloé would absolutely abuse her father's power as Mayor, like she did with Clara Nightingale, causing her to get akumatized not long after. 

Sighing dejectedly, she gripped her left arm as she said, "I wouldn't put it past her, she's done similar things before. I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."

Something about her words spurred Steven from his mood as he looked at her and said, "No, you don't have to apologize you didn't do anything wrong!"

"But because you defended me you're getting kicked out of Le Grand Paris, and everywhere else, and you'll have to leave Paris and probably France if Chloé's mad enough-" she yanked down on her pigtails as her mind whirled in guilt.

She was brought out of her guilt when Steven gently grabbed her shoulders and reassured her, "Hey, hey, it's ok Marinette, seriously it's fine."

Releasing her hands from her pigtails, she took in a deep breath and nodded, eyes looking out for any stray akumas. Thankfully she didn't see any, and she turned her attention towards Steven who was running a hand through his curls anxiously.

"Obviously this is a bummer, but before we freak out let's actually make sure she was being serious," he explained. "And get my luggage first. Thankfully I hadn't actually unpacked anything yet."

Steven looked seriously upset about having to leave so soon, which only went to make Marinette feel even worse for having inadvertently caused this. So she offered, "I can go with you if you'd like. It's the least I can do after you defended me."

He looked like he might have objected, but at seeing her dejected expression he nodded and agreed, "Thanks, Marinette. Do you want to let your mom know where you'll be? I don't think she'd expect you to take so long just showing a foreigner around a park."

"Yeah, wait right here, I'll go let her know," she said, before rushing back towards the bakery, groaning and whispering to Tikki, "Gah, this is such a disaster! I feel so bad!"

Peering up at her from her purse, Tikki reassured, "It really isn't your fault, Marinette. Chloé's the one who's spiteful enough to do something like that, and her actions are her own not yours."

Frowning slightly, Marinette shook her head, saying, "But if I hadn't brought him to the park or been with him then there wouldn't have been any reason for Chloé to do that!"

Tikki opened her mouth to respond but ducked back down in the purse as Marinette approached the bakery.

Poking her head through the opened door, Marinette called out to her mom, "Maman, I'm gonna be back soon, I have to help Steven with his pack things at Le Grand Paris."

Sabine gave her a confused look, asking, "Why, did something happen?"

Looking to the side, Marinette told her, "Chloé happened. Now she kicked him out of the hotel and she's going to ban him from everywhere else- all because he defended me from her bullying!"

Her dad looked up from where he was preparing another cake, sharing a look with Sabine.

"Come back here with Steven after you help him with his things," Sabine told her daughter. "We'll help him figure this out."

Nodding in affirmation, Marinette left the bakery and returned to Steven.

The walk to the hotel was silent, as neither of the two could think of anything to talk about in the wake of Chloé's wrath. And entering the hotel was another thing entirely because despite how many times Marinette had visited, none had her as nervous about a security team kicking her out.

But they managed to get to Steven's floor and room without so much as a glare from the staff, which gave Marinette some hope that Chloé might have been bluffing like normal, but she didn't say anything so as to not risk it.

The room was fancy as all things were in Le Grand Paris, but it was one of the smaller suites. Still, it was weird to consider how her new friend was probably rich enough to rub elbows with the likes of Jagged Stone or Gabriel Agreste.

And true to what Steven had said, he really didn't have anything unpacked. Or even a lot of luggage to deal with, just two suitcases, a backpack, and a black guitar case.

He pulled one of the straps of the backpack over the pink suitcase with a bright yellow star on it, settling it down for convenience and so he wouldn't have to carry it. He slipped the guitar case over his back securely, and Marinette offered to take the second suitcase that was a bright blue with a similar yellow star.

It wasn't too heavy as she rolled it down the hallways as they made their way out of the hotel.

Aiming to break the melancholy silence, Marinette asked, "If you can't find somewhere else to stay, where will you go next?"

Steven looked up in thought, bringing his free hand up to his chin to scratch it, "Well, I had plans to go to Germany next, but my reservation there isn't really ready yet. I'd have to call my dad if it turns out I'm really banned from staying in Paris."

Squashing down the guilt that threatened to rear it's ugly end again, Marinette continued to prod asking, "Was France your first country to visit in Europe?"

"No, actually I stayed in the UK for a few months!" Steven grinned at her brightly. "Let me tell you, I don't think anything can beat how beautiful Scotland was, it was just, wow."

"Oh! One time my class went on a field trip to visit England," Marinette remembered that trip fondly because of how she had fallen asleep on Adrien's-

Actually perhaps she wouldn't think about that trip at the moment. Too many conflicting emotions to touch upon it.

"England was great, although, something weird did happen while I was visiting," Steven began to laugh a little at the memory. "I thought I must have been seeing things because for a moment it looked like a train had actually crashed into Big Ben, but then it was gone in a flash of red light."

Marinette stopped walking at that, blinking as she took in the information.

It... honestly hadn't occurred to her that people would have noticed Startrain crashing into Big Ben. Or that people wouldn't have known what was going on. Akumas where such a natural sight in Paris, that no matter how many times things got destroyed or chaotic, people at least knew what was happening.

Now, this brought upon anxiety that she hadn't considered before- what did people think about Ladybug and Chat Noir outside of Paris. Did- did people outside of the city even know what was going on? Surely other places must be able to view Nadja Chamack's TVi news reports, right?

"Marinette, is everything ok?" Steven turned back towards her after noticing her pause. "Are you worried about the train thing? As I said, I'm pretty sure I was just seeing things!"

Oh no. How to explain that Steven hadn't been seeing things and rather, it was actually the result of an akuma?

On that thought, did Steven even know what an akuma was? If he didn't know what an akuma was, it should be up to her to inform him right? But why worry him about that if he probably wasn't gonna stay long or at all?

Maybe that could be the bright side of this whole thing? Steven wouldn't have to know what living in a Paris plagued with the chance of akumas would be like.

"Yeah, of course," she responded, walking to catch back up to where he had stopped for her. "It was just strange to hear."

"Oh, I guess, it sure was strange to see. Although all things considering, I've seen weirder things in this world," Steven chuckled at what she guessed was an inside joke, although she was willing to bet that he hadn't seen anything as strange as an akuma attack.

Although the walk from Le Grand Paris to the bakery was moderate, to Marinette it felt like she had simply blinked and there they were in front of the shop.

Steven looked like he was going to reach for the second suitcase, probably thinking he was just there to drop Marinette off, but she rolled it closer to her side with a shake of her head saying, "Maman and Papa were actually hoping to help you figure this whole thing out.

The older teen blinked, but said nonetheless, "That's really kind of them, but they don't need to go out of their way for me."

"They're doing it because they want to help, plus I guess my telling them that I feel guilty rubbed off on them a little," Marinette gave him a nervous grin.

His face softened as he reminded her, "You really don't have to feel guilty, Marinette. You didn't ask that other girl to harass you like that, I just stepped in as anyone should."

But not anyone would, which is why Marinette found herself drawn to the other teen, wanting to make amends if she could.

Walking back into the bakery with Steven in tow was a little more somber, considering between the two of them they currently carried his only belongings, and Sabine stepped from around the counter to stand next to Steven with a notepad.

"I wrote down a list of phone numbers of nearby hotels that you could try checking in with," Sabine said. "Marinette already informed us of what happened, and I just want to say thank you for standing up for our little girl."

"It was nothing, really, I was just trying to help out, she's been so kind so far so I couldn't just be a bystander," Steven waved off the thanks. "It should really be me thanking you guys, I'm not your kid to worry over."

"True, but you are someone's child, and since they're not here, it might as well fall to the shoulders of kind citizens," Sabine grabbed at his hand in an act of comfort. "Now, let's start from the top and work our way down, surely they'll be someplace to take you in."

Steven pulled the notepad closer to himself so he could see the numbers, and started to dial them into his phone, placing the device against his ear as he heard the ringing.

Marinette had planned to stay and help out- if she could- but her mom looked at her and said, "Marinette, Tom's in the back he has something to discuss with you."

Furrowing her brows, she reluctantly walked towards the back of the bakery entering the foyer to the apartment back of the complex. In the distance she could hear the beginnings of an already disappointing set of phone calls, "Yes, I'd like to make a reservation. For today if possible. My name's Steven- huh? Oh, yes that's me... I understand, thank you."

Her dad was waiting for her there by the staircase, and before he could get a word in edgewise she asked, "Papa, is something going on?"

"Well, you see after you came in to tell us where you were going, your mother and I started talking," Tom said in a hushed whisper, keeping his voice down. "You and Steven seem to get along well enough, right?"

Confused on what that had to do with the current situation, "I suppose so, he's been really nice to me so far!"

"Well, it doesn't really sound as though things are looking too good in terms of finding a place for him to stay," Tom winced, and Marinette heard the second hotel rejection. "And we got to talking..."

"Yes, Papa, you said that already. But what did you two talk about?" Marinette really wanted to know.

"It really doesn't seem fair that his trip is going to be cut short just because of Chloé, and we have an extra room in the apartment for guests," Tom said, and now Marinette knew where he was going with this. "He seems like he's your age! That's much too young to just be thrown to the curb like that, and besides, Sabine and I have always talked about the possibility of becoming a host family when you got older, we could think of this as a test run. But only if you're comfortable with the idea."

"Me?" and Marinette was shocked, that the decision would come down to her. She hadn't even known that her parents were fond of the idea of being a host family, although, it didn't really surprise her considering how much love they had to share in their family and to all of her friends.

And she had to think about whether she was comfortable with it. Steven was kind and really interesting for such a young world traveler! But did that mean she wanted to share a living space with him, they had only met just today after all? 

Yet, despite only knowing her for a few hours at most he had stood up for her. He didn't have to but he did. Her instincts told her that he was someone she could trust, and possibly become great friends with given a little more time, and she trusted her instincts after how far they've brought her.

But, with another addition to the home, she'd have another person to worry about figuring out her identity. It was hard enough to have to lie to her parents, having to add Steven to the mix would complicate things.

Looking down towards her purse, she caught sight of Tikki looking at her. Really, the decision would have to come down to the both of them, if her kwami thought it was possibly a good idea, then it was worth taking the chance.

Tikki gave her a small smile and nodded at her.

Well, if Tikki had good faith for the other teen, then so could she. After all, she's kept her identity safe this long, everything would turn out fine.

"I'm ok with it, Papa," she told Tom. "It'll be fun getting to know him more, and this way he'll actually get to stay in Paris after all!"

Tom smiled at her and brought her in for a big hug.

"Right, let's get back to the both of them," Tom gestured for Marinette to enter the bakery first. "I don't think they've had much luck on their end."

Returning to the front of the bakery greeted her with the sight of a dejected Steven staring at his phone as he hit the end call button.

Sabine pats his shoulder, and threw a look behind her to catch the attention of Tom who nodded at her. At seeing the confirmation, a hopeful smile slid onto her face as she looked back at Steven to say, "It'll be alright, Steven, and perhaps there is a chance for you to stay in Paris after all."

Steven looked up with confused clouded eyes, asking, "What do you mean?"

"Well, while you and Marinette were out, we discussed the possibility of you staying with us for your stay here in Paris," she offered. "It'd be like a host family set up, only if you'd like. If you wanted to move on with your trip we'd completely understand."

"Host family?" Steven asked in confusion. "Sorry, I don't really know what that means."

"It's usually when a foreign exchange student lives with a family in a different country," Marinette supplied helpfully. "A host family opens their home up to help the student feel more comfortable being by themselves in the country of their study."

"Oh," Steven said in understanding before it dawned on him that that was what they were offering him. "Oh, I don't want to force you to take me in, it's really alright!"

"You're not forcing us to do anything, we're simply willing to lend out a helping hand," Sabine reassured him with a sincere smile. "We have a guest room open and ready for anyone to use."

"This... this is really a lot," Steven still looked unsure. "Maybe, we could discuss this more? And I could call my father so he can be involved in the discussion too?"

"Of course, how about we talk it out over dinner! We were just about ready to close up shop anyway," Tom pat Marinette on the back. "Sweetie, why don't you help him place his luggage in the guest room so it's out of the way for the moment, whether or not he decides to stay."

"Sure, Papa," she walked over to grab the same suitcase she had been pushing earlier, picking it up to carry it up the staircase. "This way Steven! I'll show you where our guest room is!"

Steven followed after her hesitantly, sending nervous looks back at Sabine and Tom as they went about closing up the bakery.

"You know, I don't think we've had a chance to properly introduce ourselves one-to-one," Marinette stated as the reached the second door across from her parent's own door, settling down the suitcase to reach out a hand, she continued, "My name's Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and if you chose so, I'll be your host sister."

Steven gladly let go of the handle to his own suitcase and reached over to clasp their hands together, giving it a hearty shake, telling her, "My name's Steven, Steven Universe. I've never really had a sibling before, and I gotta admit, I'm a bit curious to know what that's like."

Chapter Text

After having brought his luggage into the guest room, Marinette showed him up to the living room part of the apartment.

Steven had looked around the apartment with wide eyes, telling her, "Your house is really nice! And you've always lived above the bakery?"

Nodding her head, she showed him to the couch, flicking the TV on and lowering the volume as she answered, "Yep! I was practically born with flour dusted on my cheeks, it's been such a big part of my life growing up."

"That's so neat," Steven told her, folding his hands politely in his lap. There was nervous energy around him, as his eyes darted around the apartment. "I have a friend who used to own a bakery- he didn't live above it though."

"Oh, really?" Marinette tried to alleviate his nervousness with a kind smile. "Not to be competitive, but how does our bakery hold up to his?"

Talking about his friend instantly let some of the tension leave his shoulders, as Steven gladly told her, "Well that's hard to say, like I said I really only used to go to him for cakes. I will admit though that your place is much classier. His was homey- which I liked- but walking into your bakery is a treat for the eyes as well."

Well, that wasn't a compliment that Marinette heard often about the bakery, though she had to admit that she felt pride in it. While it was true that their pastries were excellent, it was also the way that they presented themselves that gained the bakery its prestige.

"What did he sell in his bakery? I'm assuming you don't often find macarons in American bakeries," Marinette commented. While she was more interested in fashion as a career, that didn't mean she couldn't be interested in learning new recipes too.

"Well, his bakery was more theme-centric, Spacetries," he spread his hand apart as though the logo would appear between them.

It took Marinette a minute to process the name- he had said it in English so the first step was to figure out in her mind what he was trying to say- and the second she realized it was a pun of all things, she couldn't help but groan into her hands.

Steven was confused by her reaction, cocking his head to the side, and it wasn't until she said, "Please say that's the only pun," that he realized what had caused it.

"Oh, you don't mean to tell me that Mme. Dupain-Cheng doesn't like puns," he had an evil grin on his face- well, evil to her since she knew exactly what was on his mind. "I just loaf them, don't you?"

"Yes, I loath them," she dragged her hands down her face. "What is with all the guys in my life being obsessed with puns!"

Steven opened his mouth- likely to pun some more- but was silenced when another voice joined the conversation, "What's this about puns?"

Turning around on the coach to see her parents enter the den, Steven's hands returned to their nervous clasped position.

"Oh, Papa, Steven was just telling me about his friend who owns a bakery in America!" Marinette explained, glancing between the two. Then with a pout, she adds, "Apparently it's pun-based."

Tom's eyes lit up at the mention, and Steven rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly saying, "Well, it's more space-themed. The puns are just a bonus."

"What type of puns?" Tom walked towards the kitchen and started to pull out some food in preparation for dinner. Marinette tried sitting up to peek to try and guess what he was making but Sabine stepped in the way with a cheeky smile, likely knowing what she was trying to do, so with a huff, she crumpled against the couch.

"Oh, um, sorry give me a sec," Steven fumbled, fingers to his lips in thought. "I might mess these up, but they served things like Galileo Gallette, Black Donut Holes, and, uh, Chocolate Ship Cookies."

Tom let out a boisterous laugh, exclaiming, "Those are fantastic! If possible I would love to meet your friend for inspiration, we always love to try out new recipes!"

"It's true!" Sabine commented. "Do you have any experience baking yourself?"

"Well, my friend- Lars- he taught me how to make an Ube roll! I haven't made one in a while, I'd have to ask him how to make it again," Steven got a semi-distant look on his face, but given the small smile on his face, Marinette would wager that he was thinking of a fond memory.

"Ube roll?" Sabine repeated. "I don't think we've ever heard of a pastry like that, have we Tom?"

Turning towards his wife, Tom put his hand on his chin in thought, before shaking his head saying, "Not that I recall dear."

"Ube is a purple yam," Steven explained. "Lars' family is Filipino, so it's a dish that really meant a lot to him when he taught me how to bake it."

"As baking should be! The best type of dish comes from the heart- heart and fond memories!" Tom stated. "That's why you'll find that the pastries we make all come out excellent, because with everything we make we add heart to it."

Steven seemed to relax in the presence of her parents at that, and whatever remnants of his nervousness had fled from his body.

Marinette was glad for it because if there was any family that Steven could be comfortable with in Paris, it would be the Dupain-Cheng's.

"Just as Marinette adds plenty of heart to those passion fruit macarons that she makes for Adrien!" Tom continued, oblivious to the mortification that flooded onto Marinette's face.

"Papa!" she admonished, twisting in her seat to look at him. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, for a multitude of reasons.

For one, Steven didn't need to know that! They had still just met, he didn't need to be dragged into the train wreck that had been her love life for the past year!

But mainly because she realized that she still hadn't told her parents about her decision to let Adrien go. He was better off with Kagami- happier.

No matter how much it hurt.

"Sorry, darling," Tom chuckled.

Pursing her lips, she crossed her arms with a harrumph.

"Well, as much as I would love to continue talking about pastries, we should get back to the matter at hand," Sabine said, settling down on the opposite side of the couch next to Steven. "Marinette showed you the room that you would be staying in if you'd like, right?"

Nodding, Steven said, "Yes, my luggage is in there right now."

"So, I know you're apprehensive about it, and I completely understand, so how about you lead the discussion about how we can accommodate you," Sabine said.

That was a good move on her mom's part, and as much as Marinette was starting to really like the idea of being a host sister she knew that ultimately it wasn't their decision but Steven's to make.

"Well, it's really kind of you to do, I just want to make sure I'm not imposing on you guys," Steven said. "But... I will admit, I never really heard about host families, but I can't lie it sounds really tempting."

"We offer because we want to help you out, not because we feel that we must take you upon ourselves," Sabine reassured, resting her hand against his. "I assure you of this."

"Well, in that case," Steven bit his lip, before nodding at her. "So long as you'll have me, I wouldn't mind staying here with you guys. How much should I pay for rent?"

"Think nothing of that sort," Sabine immediately waved off. "We're choosing to host you, not be landlords."

Here Steven frowned, eyebrows furrowing as he insisted, "I would feel really bad if I didn't pay anything, are you sure?"

Marinette wasn't sure why the other teen would insist to pay money, but she could see newfound hesitance on Sabine's face as she relented, "We won't accept rent, but, perhaps you could assist monetarily when we go food shopping."

Steven didn't seem satisfied with just that, but he did nod his head in understanding, saying, "I can do that no problem. I really have more money than I spend honestly."

Considering that Marinette saw his wallet, she didn't doubt that. She did wonder how such an unassuming teen had so much money- maybe his father was famous in America? Businessman? Marinette really didn't keep up with celebrities unless they were involved with fashion or music, so he could come from any other family and she would be none the wiser.

"First, can I call my dad?" Steven asked, pulling out his phone. "I haven't had a chance to tell him about getting kicked out of pretty much everywhere."

"Of course, would you like to step out of the room?" Sabine asked. "Or would you like us here so that he can meet the people that you'll be staying with."

"It doesn't have to be private! Let me just check in the time in the East Coast really quick," Steven opened an app with a clock set in the EST time zone. 

Nodding to himself, he pulled open his contacts, and Marinette wouldn't say that she was purposefully looking to see who was on it- ok, so she was a moderately curious person by nature, sue her- but she did get a glimpse of the long line of contacts. A lot of weird names that must have been popular in America.

Eventually, he landed on his father’s contact, and clicked call, propping up the phone on the table by the socket on the back, which Marinette pulled a little closer to the coach so that it wasn't so far away.

The phone rang for a few seconds before the video started and a man who looked very similar to Steven, answered in English, "Steven, I didn't expect you to call so soon!"

“Hey, dad!" Steven greeted back in English, and Marinette really put her mind to what the two were saying. This could be like extra listening practice, which she was much better at than speaking or writing the language. Reading was tough and go.

Marinette wasn't someone who judged by appearance, but the person that she pictured in her head of Steven's father was far tamer than the man on the screen. A balding man with short choppy hair did paint a funny picture in her mind, however.

Steven's father was sitting on a bed with a white comforter, his phone must have been propped up on a nightstand some sort, and in his arms, he cradled a guitar. So it must have been a family trait to be into music, like the Couffaine's. 

Somehow- by no fault of her own, absolutely not- Marinette started to tilt further into the frame, wanting to get a better look at the man. The man did notice her, eyes making contact with her, and she couldn't help but let out an 'eep!' when he gave her a small wave.

"Is this one of your friends?" M. Universe asked good-naturedly.

"Actually, dad, that's why I called," Steven turned to look at Sabine, who scooted further into the frame. "There's... been a bit of a complication with the hotel reservation."

M. Universe's eyes darted between his son and Sabine, and eventually, he put his guitar to the side and said, "Ok kiddo. Lay it on me. What happened?"

"This is Mme. Sabine, and this is her daughter, Marinette," Steven gestured to the two of them. "There was this other girl, just harassing her! So I stepped in, and well, she turned out to be the daughter of the owner of the hotel... and the daughter of the mayor. So, I'm sorta blacklisted from... staying anywhere right now."

"Oh, buddy," M. Universe sighed, and ran a hand through his choppy hair. "You did the right thing, but it sucks that your trip is getting cut short."

"Actually, Mme. Sabine has offered to let me stay with them, as a host family type of deal," Steven looked at Sabine as she geared up to speak to the other man.

Marinette knew that her mom could speak some English since she usually worked the register of the bakery, but it wasn't her first or even second language, and so she wasn't surprised to hear how accented her English sounded as she said, "M. Universe, we are very grateful to your son for helping our daughter."

M. Universe blinked but didn't let her heavy accent phase him as he said, "I wouldn't expect any less from my son, he's the sweetest kid you'll ever meet. I should be the one thanking you, really, for offering to take him in."

"Oh, yes," Sabine waved off his gratitude. "It is our pleasure. But, there is something I tell you about Paris, you and Steven. It is very important to know for him to stay here."

Both Steven and M. Universe gave her curious looks, but Marinette knew exactly what her mother was about to tell the two Americans, and she pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on top of them.

Akumas.

"We in Paris are having a problem, a man who calls himself Hawk Moth has been turning people into-" she paused, mulling over in her head what words to describe an akuma with, before figuring out what she wanted to say, "-villains, monsters. We call them akuma."

Whereas Steven just tilted his head at the new information, M. Universe looked panicked, hand clutching his chest as he yelped, "Steven! Did you know this?!"

Blinking at being called, Steven shook his head at his dad and said, "No! Honest!"

Wanting to jump in and help, Marinette ran over in her head what little she knew of English to string together, "We have heroes! Ladybug, Chat Noir. They save and help akuma victims!"

M. Universe still seemed unsure, looking at Sabine to ask, "How does this, uh, Hawk Moth? You said? That guy, how does he make people an ack-uma?"

"Akuma," Sabine corrected gently. "He preys upon negative emotion and sends a butterfly-" Steven gained a familiar glint in his eyes at the mention of the insect, but Marinette wasn't sure why "-to make them into a villain. Marinette is correct when she says we have heroes who always save the day. But I did not want to lie to either of you two by keeping this hidden."

Biting his inner cheek, M. Universe turned to his son and asked, "Are you sure you want to stay there Steven? I can book you a flight like that-" the man snapped his fingers, "-if you think this isn't something that's gonna help you out emotionally in the long run."

Steven opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it as he thought about it. Marinette wondered why M. Universe would make a point to mention the teen's emotional state, but then again, that didn't seem like something she should pry into.

"I'm sure," Steven said confidently. "A year ago? I would have said no, but, I've been keeping up with Dr. Bentley and I think I'm in a good place to not be affected by this."

M. Universe still looked apprehensive, but he respected his son's decision and nodded, saying, "Well, you know I support you one hundred percent, Schtu-ball. You gonna call the Gems to tell them about this whole akuma thing?"

The... Gems? What a weird name to call a group of people. Maybe that was a band that Steven was close to? Something similar?

Nodding, Steven told him, "Yeah, after I get everything settled in. I think that's everything I wanted to tell you," and Steven looked at Sabine who nodded, confirming that she had nothing to add either, so Steven turned back to the phone, "I'll talk to you again soon, ok? Love you."

Smiling at his son, M. Universe nodded, and said, "Talk to you soon, kiddo. Take care, love you, bye."

In the wake of the call, Marinette could say that so far she liked M. Universe. He seemed like a really caring father, and she could totally see how someone like him ended up raising somebody like Steven.

Steven reached over and closed out of the call, picking his phone up to place back in his pocket.

And Marinette was practically brimming with energy as she blurted out, "Are you really not bothered by akuma's?"

Scratching the nape of his neck, Steven gave her a sheepish smile, "Well, I still really don't know what they are, but I've dealt with a lot of weird stuff growing up, so I'm going to assume it's probably not all that bad."

"It can get a bit scary sometimes," Sabine stated. "While I have the utmost faith in Ladybug and Chat Noir, I can't help but worry if one day Hawk Moth will win."

Steven still didn't seem swayed, saying, "Well, if you guys have faith in these heroes, then I should too, right? The good guys will triumph in the end, because good will always outweigh evil."

Knowing that Steven, without having even seen Ladybug yet, had faith in her- Marinette- was reassuring. And if it wasn't suspicious she would have preened under the compliment.

"Steven's right," Marinette said. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing, and the people of Paris aren't ready to do that yet, or ever!"

Sabine looked at her proudly, before clapping her hands and saying, "Well, I think congratulations are in order. Welcome to the Dupain-Cheng family!"

Blushing, Steven ducked his head, and chuckled, "Glad to be a part of it."

Fist pumping the air, Marinette cheered, "Looks like I'm your host sister after all!"

"And I your host brother? I still really don't know how this will all work," Steven's confusion didn't lessen his excitement.

"Well, we can discuss that all over dinner, now why don't you both help me set the table?" Sabine got off of the couch. "Having an extra pair of hands will be... very useful."

Marinette had a feeling there was a hidden comment somewhere in there about how with the addition of Steven there wouldn't be as many plate casualties due to her clumsiness but decided not to focus on it in favor of focusing on how cool being a host sister would be.

She couldn't wait to tell Alya at school tomorrow!

Oh no, she had forgotten completely that she had collège the next day in all the fuss about Steven and Chloé-

Chloé.

So maybe school tomorrow wouldn't be as fun as she thought it would be. If she got lucky then she would escape the war zone without dying.

With the extra set of hands, the table was set with four plates instead of the usual three.

As they set out the utensils, there was a serene look on Steven's face. He must have caught her staring because he asked, "Sorry! Am I doing it wrong?"

"Huh?" she asked confused, before waving her hands- which still held the cutlery but thankful she didn't accidentally drop them- "No, not at all! It's just... you looked really happy doing this."

Steven's cheeks flushed a rosy pink, and he fumbled, "Oh, really? I didn't even realize- sorry, it just took me out of the moment, I've never actually done this before."

"Setting the table?" which was weird, but who was Marinette to judge.

"Yeah, that, but also just family dinners like this," Steven shrugged. "Growing up, it was usually just me eating a meal all by myself."

Marinette only just barely caught the concerned glance shared between her parents, but only focused on how that was points less in favor regarding M. Universe.

And maybe it was because she was so used to that sentence being said from the mouth of Adrien, and crush or no, it was such a saddening concept. But meals were meant to be shared, not eaten all alone.

"Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes," Tom announced, then he directed towards Steven, "I thought to play it safe with a vegetable quiche and a tossed salad. We weren't sure if you had any dietary restrictions."

"Oh!" Steven looked surprised. "Well, I try to be a vegetarian, but sometimes I dip into pescetarianism. Just not any other meats, however."

"We'll make sure to keep that in mind," Tom said, completely understanding. "Any allergies?"

"None beyond pollen, although that's mostly faded over the years," Steven said contemplatively. "I have a... very healthy immune system. You won't have to worry about my health at all."

Marinette felt Tikki press against her leg from in the purse, but when she looked down to catch a glimpse of the kwami, the small god only had eyes for the other teen, a pensive look on her face.

But Marinette couldn't figure out what about what Steven had said would catch the attention of Tikki. It seemed normal to her!

She didn't have a moment to pull away and ask Tikki what was up because her parents had already brought out the quiche and the salad, so she let the matter go.

Dinner with Steven was interesting, her parents mostly asking questions about him, and him occasionally relaying things that Marinette had already known. The conversation, however, had turned towards Steven's education.

"So, are you taking a gap year in your education," Sabine asked. "It seems strange for a teen as young as you to be focusing more on traveling than schooling."

"Oh, I never actually went to a school," Steven said, none the wiser of the collective shocked looks from the Dupain-Cheng's. "Wait, no I went to school for a few days when I was fourteen before I had to drop back out. I was mostly homeschooled by one of my guardians."

What he was saying was just so, so reminiscent of what Adrien had to deal with before finally being allowed to go to Françoise Dupont that Marinette curled her fingers tightly around her fork.

"What could have happened for you to drop out," Sabine looked concerned.

Steven must have wisened up to their shock, as he backtracked, and explained, "It wasn't because of anything that I did! It was just... well it was safer if I just stayed home and learned things like I normally did."

Safer. Always about supposed safety. 

What was it about rich parents that made them pull their kids out of school or not even let them go at all? Adrien... Kagami... it wasn't fair to either of them, but it was insisted that it was for their own good.

The only rich parent who didn't keep their child locked up at home was Mayor Bourgeois, and for the sake of all of Paris he really, really should.

Somehow sensing the tension from Marinette, Steven steered the conversation towards a positive light, "But I put a little work into it while I was out on the road and I got my GED! I'm planning on going to a university for a music therapy degree, just after I travel some more."

"Music therapy, you say?" Tom asked. "What inspired you to choose that career?"

"Well, I used to be in charge of this school that focused on helping people transition to living on Earth," Steven said before he paused and thought over his words. "I mean- it focused a lot on different types of meditative practices and teachings; yoga, horticulture, drawing. Things of that nature."

"A whole school?" Marinette was amazed, and just trying to imagine someone close to her own age sitting behind M. Damocles seemed impossible.

"Not like a school that a normal teenager might go to," Steven amended. "There's a word that fits better, but I can't think of it at the moment."

"That's very admirable, how come you didn't stick with the school?" Sabine asked, and Marinette was curious about that as well.

A somber look crossed his face, and he admitted, "It wasn't really my thing, I realized. Graduations were much too sad, and I wasn't exactly in a good headspace to continue. But I like helping people when I don't feel obligated to do it, and music is such a fundamental part of my life that when I figured out I could combine the two it just felt right."

Marinette had to admit, part of her agreed with Steven. About helping people.

There was nothing she loved more than being Ladybug. To save her people, it was a great honor, and it made her feel useful to put on the mask and be seen as a symbol of safety. 

She just wished it hadn't gotten as crushing as it has been recently. She could only spread herself so thin before she expended all her energy- both as Ladybug and Marinette. She only had two hands, but so many people lend one too.

The conversation had moved on, now on Steven's travels, and where he's been and what country he was looking forward to seeing most.

"There are so many places that I want to visit," Steven gushed. "I think I'm looking forward to going back to Korea! I went there once with my dad, but I didn't get to stay long. We had a lot of fun that day, and I always wanted to see more of it."

"Do you have any plans to visit China?" Sabine asked, interested to know about Steven's plans regarding the Asian continent.

"Yes! That part of my trip I've portioned out for the longest amount of time," the teen admitted.

"If you plan to visit Wenzhou, I know all the best places," she said with a knowing smile.

Steven perked up in interest, asking, "Oh, are you from there?"

Nodding, the two continued the conversation, with Steven pulling out his phone to take note of places to visit, and soon before she knew it, all the plates were cleared and Marinette was starting to get a tad drowsy.

Noticing his daughter's exhaustion, Tom concluded the dinner with, "There are a few things about a host family that we can go over tomorrow. Things like chores and schedules, now that we're responsible for you, we'd like to know where you are and how to contact you."

"That's reasonable," Steven agreed. "For chores, does that include helping out in the bakery?"

"Of course! We can teach you all about how to be an expert baker!" Tom brightened up at the thought of being able to teach another on the wonders of baking. "We can start in the morning tomorrow as a breakfast! What do you usually eat in the morning?"

"I just usually make a protein shake," Steven said, and out of all of the comments he had made that day, that was the one the broke the bakers back.

Placing a hand firmly on Steven's shoulder, causing the young teen to jump slightly, Tom told him in a completely serious voice, "Son, we're gonna put some meat on your bones if it's the last thing that we do. A protein shake, to think that you've gone so long without a proper morning meal."

Blushing furiously now, Steven stammered, "I- I do have meat on my bones already, M. Dupain-"

"None of that now! Now that you're living under our roof you can just call me Tom," her dad went and picked Steven up, shocking the poor teen further who's feet kicked in the air a little. "And anyone living under my roof will also have a filling breakfast!"

"Papa!" Marinette scolded, although she couldn't help but giggle given the dazed look on Steven's face at the fact that he was lifted completely off the ground.

"Look at how easy it is to pick you up, you're light as a feather," Tom tsked, then he placed Steven back on the ground, who stumbled slightly from shock.

Marinette, hiding any more laughter behind her hand, had to admit that the look on the other teen's face was absolutely hilarious. To be fair, her father was a little much and far too exuberant for his own good.

"Tom," Sabine scolded, although she was just as amused as Marinette. "You can't just pick the poor boy up like that."

Steven sighed in relief, assuming that Sabine was looking out for him.

"Although you're absolutely right, a protein shake is no breakfast," and Steven deflated like a balloon at seeing the motherly look on Sabine's face. "It's hard enough to get Marinette to eat a proper breakfast, always racing out of the door to get to school barely on time."

"Maman!" now it was Marinette who was put under the spotlight.

"Just stating facts, sweetheart," her mom said, a completely innocent look on her face as she smiled at her daughter.

Tom and Sabine shooed the two teens away, stating that they would handle the dishes tonight.

Walking down the staircase, Marinette asked Steven, "Do you need any help unpacking?"

Shaking his head, he said, "Thank you, but it's mostly just clothes. Plus, I have to call my guardians and that might take a while."

"Ok, well, in that case, goodnight!" Marinette waved, but then felt silly having done that since it wasn't like they were going separate ways. "I hope you sleep well!"

"Thanks, and you too, Marinette," Steven gave her a very sweet smile, and then opened the door to the guest room, closing it quietly after himself.

Marinette waited until she was back in her loft before opening her purse and letting Tikki out.

"What a day!" she collapsed against her chaise, hardly moving to change into her pajamas. "It's hard to believe that this morning I started out with mopiness and now I'm a host sister?"

"It is very exciting isn't it," Tikki grinned at her floating towards her holder. "Perhaps this could be just the change you were in need of!"

"You think?" Marinette turned towards her kwami. "At the very least it'll be a fun experience."

Getting up with a grunt, Marinette pulled out her pajamas and pulled out the paper screen so she could change behind it.

"Of course," Tikki sounded distant, enough so that Marinette peered around the screen to look at her.

"Is something wrong, Tikki?" she frowned.

"Oh, nothing that you need to be concerned about, Marinette," the kwami reassured. "Steven is just a very interesting individual. There's something about him that I just can't put my paw on."

Stepping from behind the screen in her signature white tank top and pajama pants, Marinette gave her a quizzical look, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Tikki paused, as though contemplating whether or not to divulge with Marinette her thoughts. "There are many types of magic in this world, beyond the miraculous."

Marinette nodded, remembering that from her lessons with... well, from a few occasional lessons from Master Fu.

"Do you think he has some sort of magic?" Marinette doesn't know if that would change her opinion on the other teen. She doesn't think that it would, but she was apprehensive about unknown magic getting involved with anything relating to the current akuma situation.

"No, it's probably nothing!" Tikki shook her head. "After all, he seems like a very normal human!"

"Yeah, just one with the same restrictions as Adrien has," Marinette climbed up to her bed with a huff, flopping down on the mattress as she mumbled, "Am I just a magnet for rich kids in need of counseling?"

Giggling at her holder’s dramatics, Tikki settled down on the pillow, and said, "Perhaps, they're just in need of a little luck to turn their situation around."

"Ugh, tell me about it," Marinette turned around properly. She closed her eyes and thought about everything that she had bottled up this morning. She didn't want to open them at the moment, not needing the thoughts to flood her nightmares at all.

A white and blue colored akuma already did that.

"I'm just about to pass out," Marinette yawned, snuggling deeper into her pillow. "Goodn'igh, Tikki..."

She just barely heard Tikki's response before she slipped into peaceful unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Waking up for Marinette is simply bliss. For the first night in such a long while she had no dreams- none whatsoever. No nightmares, no flashes of white and blue lunging at her, no Hawk Moth to leer over her defeated body as he reaches to steal her miraculous.

Just nothing. She had closed her eyes, and submerged herself in pink clouds and distant music, fading out as she woke up slowly, eyes fluttering open and close. Sunlight streamed in from her window, and she nuzzled her face into her pillow, wanting to hold on to the last vestiges of sleep while she still could.

"Marinette..." a faint voice said, but she didn't pay it any mind.

"Marinette!" a little louder now, coming from right next to her ear.

Groaning, she opened her eyes propping herself up on her pillow and reaching up to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"Tikki?" she slurred, before letting out a big yawn, seeing the kwami hovering in front of her.

"Marinette, you need to hurry, you slept through your alarms," Tikki told her, and whereas in the beginning, she had been frantic with worry that her holder would be late for collège, now it was simply the expectation.

And just as always, Marinette's eyes flashed open as she scrambled out of her bed, almost tumbling down the ladder, "Gah!"

Of course, the one time that she actually got decent sleep would be counteracted by her infamous Marinette bad-luck! Why couldn't she just be lucky all the time, in and out of costume?

She shuffled on her pink jeans, hopping around looking for her slippers as she slipped on socks and just threw on the same shirt from yesterday since she was in such a tizzy. 

Remembering to grab her jacket and backpack at the last minute, she threw open the trapdoor as Tikki flew into her purse.

Barreling down the staircase with loud thuds, she only barely glanced at her parents who were in the kitchen with Steven, breakfast hot and waiting and so appetizing but there wasn't time to stop and grab some!

"Marinette, why don't you take some breakfast with you!" Sabine called out to her, but she was already opening the door and running out, just catching her amused tsk and only part of, "That girl always running lat..."

Rushing out the bakery door, she stopped for just a second to catch her breath, before steeling herself for the sprint towards Françoise Dupont. Marinette's stamina had greatly increased due to her time as Ladybug in part, but mostly from having to run to school on time on a near-daily basis.

Thankfully, she couldn't hear the warning bell so she probably had some time. Unless she had slept through that as well, and everyone was already well into their homeroom class, and she would walk in just as everyone was leaving and-

"Marinette, wait up!" a voice called out to her, just as she stumbled up the last few steps to the collège entrance.

Turning behind her, she saw Steven on the other side of the crosswalk waving at her and holding a paper bag, and he hurried across the street to the side as her.

And the strangest thing happened because all Marinette did was blink and there he was already bounding up the steps, not even breaking a sweat. Steven must've been as fast as Kim, or at least, as fast as Kim embellishes that he is.

Reaching Marinette hardly a moment later, Steven holds out the paper bag towards her, and Marinette reached out surprised. 

She didn't notice the doors behind her open as Steven said, "You almost left the bakery without breakfast, and if I need to have something more than a protein shake then you definitely need something more than nothing at all."

"Oh, thank you," opening it she saw two neatly wrapped croissants, only slightly misshapen.

"M. Tom helped me make them this morning, so sorry if it isn't up to your normal bakery standards," Steven explained, eyes darting behind her. "I'm probably holding you up from your friends, so have a good day at school!"

Turning behind her just as the bell rang- so she hadn't slept through it, what a relief- she saw Alya looking at the two of them with shock in her eyes.

Looking back towards Steven, he was already making his way leisurely down the steps back towards the bakery, whistling with his hands in his jacket pockets.

Then, Marinette was yanked back, yelping as she turning towards Alya who was dragging her inside the courtyard exclaiming, "Girl, who the heck was that!"

Alya let her go, and Marinette offered her a hesitant smile, telling her, "Oh, that? That's Steven he's sort of my host brother?"

"Host brother? Get out," Alya looked fascinated as the two of them went up the staircase in the direction of Mme. Bustier's classroom. "When did that happen?"

"Would you believe me if I told you just yesterday?" she giggled, the two of them walking in and sliding into their seats. Not everyone had arrived yet, so they had some time to talk just them.

"No way," Alya pulled out her phone. "Give me the deets- starting with his full name! I wanna look this kid up."

"Oh, um, Steven Universe," Marinette supplied, looking over to see Alya type the name into her phone, not many pages popping up, and two of them were musicians, one related by stage name from decades ago. "There's not much to say beyond the fact that it's sorta my fault that he got banned from hotels in Paris, so Maman and Papa thought it would only be right if we opened up our home up to him."

"I don't believe it, what could you have possibly done to cause that," Alya opened up one of the links, scrolling before becoming dissatisfied with the page and exiting out of it.

"Well..." and Marinette trailed off as Chloé walked into the classroom with Sabrina tailing behind her. They made eye contact and promptly glared at each other for a few frosty seconds before she turned back to Alya and hotly said, "He stood up for me against Chloé's usual bullying."

Alya looked up from her phone and saw the unusually wired tension between the two and nodded her head, "Now that makes more sense. Oh- I think this is our guy."

Sliding her phone over towards Marinette, she displayed a bright-eyed and smiley young Steven in a video preview.

"Looks like Steven used to be a vlogger when he was younger," Alya cooed. "This must've been when he was eight, how adorable- let's watch!"

Alya clicked the video, and it started with Steven speaking fast English, and Marinette could tell Alya was only slightly surprised by the language before tapping on the closed captioning options- of which there were a lot of different languages available weirdly enough- and choosing French.

While Alya's eyes went back and forth reading the subtitles, Marinette focused on translating the English in her head, and so far as she could tell, the younger Steven was excitedly going on about some sort of novelty backpack he had gotten in the mail? 

Her eyes did drift down, and she caught sight of the date the video was published and wait-

That couldn't be right, Steven looked eight, everything pointed towards him being a young kid- the rounded cheeks, the energy, his size- but the video was clearly from three years ago.

Steven was her age in the video. She knew that he looked really young right now at seventeen, but not every teen ended up looking like a complete adult by the time they reached that age, so it was reasonable!

Perhaps he just hadn't hit his growth spurt yet in the video, after all, he was pretty small now compared to other adults, and she was sure that he had stopped growing, whereas Marinette herself had quite a way to go before she finished growing. Yeah, that was probably it! 

And just as the younger Steven was about to take the bag out, a familiar voice spoke to them, unknowingly causing her heart to clench painfully, "What are you guys watching?"

Alya paused the video, the screen blurry and mid-motion, and the two of them looked up at Adrien who had spoken and Nino who was sitting down and turning around towards them.

"H-haydrien! I mean, hey, Adrien," Marinette fumbled, eyes darting to the side as her palms got sweaty. Why was she still reacting this way, she thought she was over this- "We were just-

"Marinette has a new roommate, and we're scoping him out," Alya cut her off. "Turns out he used to make vlogs when he was younger."

"Not my roommate," Marinette corrected with a slight frown. "We're just hosting him for his stay in Paris, he's taking up the guest room right now."

Alya clicked the pause button again and the video started back up, but none of them were paying attention as the conversation took a turn towards Marinette with Nino saying, "Dude, that's awesome! Is he from America?"

"Yes! He was telling me about his travels across the states yesterday," she answered. "He hasn't mentioned which state he grew up in yet, but I know it was on the East Coast of America."

"Don't hold out girl," Alya nudged her. "Tell them about how he rescued you from the terror in yellow and how he raced from the bakery just to make sure you had breakfast."

Flushing, Marinette crossed her arms and said, "He's just being nice like a good host brother should."

"He sounds really great, Marinette, do you think we could meet him?" Adrien asked with a smile on his face.

Twisting and playing with her fingers, she struggled to say clearly, "I'd have to check in first with him... I wouldn't want to barge into his life more than I've already had."

Swallowing in relief, glad that the words came out properly, she noticed out of the corner of her eye the semi-disappointed look on Adrien's face.

And before she could stop herself she blurted out, "But I'll see if he's up to! I think you two would get along, you have a lot in common!"

Adrien looked surprised, but a smile had returned to his face as he asked, "Really?"

Not wanting to tell him to his face that the reason why she thought so was because they were both rich and were homeschooled due to, probably on Steven's front and definitely for Adrien, over-controlling fathers and had guardians to keep them safe-

So instead she nodded her head and said softly, "Really."

That's when they all turned back towards the video, likely having missed a majority of it, they watched as Steven gestured towards the unboxed hotdog bag.

She thought she caught him mention something about international viewers- he must have been thinking about going abroad from such a young age!- and the metric system but that part was mostly unclear to her. In any case, she shouldn't be focusing on the video when Mme. Bustier was walking in.

Mme. Bustier's attention was caught on the video's audio, and she told them with a smile, "While I appreciate the enthusiasm for practicing English by watching videos, class is about to start, could you put your phone away, please?"

"Yes, Mme. Bustier," they told her, and Marinette turned her attention away from the video as the two boys faced forwards.

Pulling out her tablet, she missed Alya's quiet gasp, slipping her phone onto her lap with the audio on mute.

And the lesson wasn't nearly as interesting as watching Alya's face twisting in surprise at various moments, clicking on each and every one of Steven's videos, and Marinette couldn't see the screen given that her friend was trying to hide it from the gaze of the teacher.

But she couldn't really imagine what could be so interesting about a fourteen-year-old’s channel. Steven was just a regular teen like the rest of them, only older.

The very second that class had concluded, Alya gripped her arm and shook her saying, "Marinette, you have got to introduce me to Steven as soon as possible!"

"What? Why?" Marinette asked, beyond confused. Alya had a fire behind her eyes that she usually only got when she went full investigative journalist mode.

Alya smirked at her, and said, "Your friend there is a master of special effects, just check out his videos! I wanna ask him for tips on the programs he uses."

A part of her brain didn't take that statement at full truth, there was no way that Alya wanted to just ask about editing programs.

"We can go over to the bakery for lunch," she relented as the two made their way towards the library for the hour study period. "But I don't have any guarantee that he'll be there, this is his vacation after all."

"Yes!" Alya cheered, giving her a side hug. "You're the best, girl!"

"You're awfully happy for someone who just wants to talk about programs," Marinette pointed out.

Waving her off, Alya laughed, "Don't be so suspicious, besides after talking to him I'm sure my next scoop will be something really extraordinary."

Somehow, she wasn't comforted by that at all. But Marinette really didn't have a reason to trust that Alya truly did want blogging tips, so she went along with it setting out to get ahead of her workload for the week. She even pulled out the croissants to nibble on while she worked, working her way through them- and they were pretty good for a first try! The presentation could use a little work, but that took practice, she would know. The study period was already off to a good start.

Except she could hardly focus, catching out of the corner of her eye as Alya scribbled away in a notebook, phone furthest away from her as she watched video after video only pausing to write a note.

Clearly Alya was being secretive about something, she just didn't know what. This was like when Alya had promised that she wouldn't research into Ladybug anymore but then did it behind her back with researching into the miraculous.

And sure, her reasoning wasn't malicious towards Ladybug and Chat Noir, rather it was for all intents and purposes an effort to help them take down Hawk Moth. But all that led to was Hawk Moth watching the video, and sending out Mayura to reactivate the sentimonster created by Master Fu which...

Which led to Hawk Moth knowing what Master Fu looked like and then she didn't transform back when she went to get the dragon miraculous which Hawk Moth knew would happen if she wasn't careful which just led him straight to the Miraculous Box and then the Battle of the Miraculous and then-!

She forgot to check up on the egg this morning, Marinette noted as she scribbled out a particularly bad design that was going nowhere. If she got a moment to sneak away from Alya during lunch she would check to see if it was alright. Maybe even peel it back briefly to say a quick hello to the various kwami nestled inside.

A pit began to form in her stomach, and she just didn't know why Alya was researching into Steven. Sure! Maybe Tikki said that she sensed something magical, but maybe he had been dipped into a magic stream as a baby? Who knows! Certainly not her.

Steven was completely normal, and maybe after collège was done for the day she would see if he was interested in playing Twenty-Questions so that they could get to know each other better. Or see if he was up to play Ultimate Mecha Strike III with her. Did Steven like to play video games? She hoped so.

She almost wished that lunch wouldn't have come at all, but time seemed to be against her because before she knew it, Alya was pushing against her back to hurry her along towards the bakery.

"Oh, hello Marinette, and hello to you to Alya," Sabine greeted them as they entered the bakery. "Did Steven manage to catch up to you before class started to give you your breakfast?"

"Yes, Maman, he did a really good job with the croissants!" Marinette could feel Alya's eyes on her, so she took a deep breath and asked, "Is Steven here right now? Alya really wanted to meet him."

"No, he stepped out to do a little exploring a few hours ago," Sabine said. "He should be back soon, maybe you'll be able to catch him before your break is over?"

Letting out a sigh of relief, Marinette smiled and led Alya toward's the apartment, saying, "Thanks, Maman! We're gonna have lunch now, see you in a bit."

"Bummer," Alya said as they entered the living room. "So, how long is Steven staying in Paris?"

"I think he mentioned a month and a half," Marinette opened the fridge to see if there was something quick to grab. Not seeing anything immediately, she pulled out ingredients to make some sandwiches with. "Well, that's how long his reservation at Le Grand Paris was for."

Alya let out a loud whistle, commenting, "So he's rich then?"

"Very," Marinette nodded. Then she sighed and paused from her sandwich making and rested her head against her palm.

"Oh, I know that look," Alya said as she hopped up to the stool by the table. "Let me guess, parental issues?"

"Huh?" she lifted her head. "How did you guess that from me putting my head in my hand?"

"Girl, please, that's the same look you get on your face if you think too long about Adrien or Kagami," and at the mention of the other girl’s name, Alya's face softened as she asked, "You doing ok about the two of them being... you know, together?"

Closing her eyes, and ignoring the pressure behind her eyes, she said, "Yeah. I'm gonna be ok."

"Well, how are things between you and Luka doing?" Alya shifted the subject away.

"Good, I guess, gah, complicated!" she answered. "I like Luka a lot, he's really sweet and so kind and he just says the nicest things..."

"But...?" Alya prodded.

"I don't know, I just don't want to use him as a rebound," she explained with a shrug. "And... I have a lot of things on my mind recently. I don't really have time for silly things like a crush."

"You put too much on your shoulders," Alya clasped her hand and gave her a comforting squeeze. "We're only fourteen, we shouldn't have to worry about anything. We're just kids!"

It was hard to be just a kid when the fate of Paris, and quite possibly the world if Hawk Moth got both of the miraculous, was resting on her shoulders.

But not wanting to focus in on any of those thoughts, Marinette gave Alya a gentle squeeze back and a smile, saying, "You're right."

"Of course I am, wouldn't be much of a reporter if I wasn't all the time," Alya boasted.

Just as Marinette was about to finish the two sandwiches for the both of them to share, Alya blurted out, "We should check out Steven's room!"

Dropping the bread slice onto the sandwich, making it lopsided for now, Marinette was shocked- ok perhaps not that shocked- that her friend would ask that, retorting, "Alya, we can't just do that, that's an invasion of privacy!"

"Come on, aren't you a little curious about what he could have just waiting to be found in his luggage?" Alya leaned forward across the countertop towards her.

"No!" maybe a little, not that she would say that out loud. "Alya, you're being really weird today and it's worrying me."

"Right, right, sorry," Alya raised her hands in a placating manner. "Maybe I'm being a little insensitive, he did just get here after all, right?"

"Yeah, he did," Marinette looked down at the two finished sandwiches and pushed the nicer looking one towards Alya. 

She didn't really have much of an appetite, but she forced herself to swallow a few bites before leaving it on her plate. 

From the staircase, she could hear the sound of someone climbing up the steps, and Alya must have too given the way she dropped her sandwich on the plate and raced towards the living room door, swinging it up and staring down the stairwell.

Steven looked up at the noise, staring at Alya with curious eyes before landing his gaze on Marinette, waving to her and asking, "You finished school, Marinette?"

"No, just home for the lunch break," she explained, and Steven looked excited.

"You guys are allowed to go home for lunch, that's awesome!" Steven exclaimed.

Alya shot her a look with a raised eyebrow, but Marinette hoped she would pass it off as a cultural difference between American schools and French.

"So, you're the Steven I've been hearing about all day," Alya said, crossing her arms behind her back as she peered down at him.

Steven chuckled nervously, hand coming to rub against the back of his neck as his other hand rested against the guest room door handle, "Oh, uh, I suppose so. I recognize you from this morning. You already know my name, so..."

"Alya, Alya Césaire," she walked down the steps and reached out a hand in greeting. "I'm the person behind the Ladyblog."

Steven reached out and gave her a single, hearty shake before retracting his hand, asking, "The Ladyblog? Is it that a blog for fashion wear or- I actually have a friend with a blog, it's uh, I haven't talked to him in a while but he has one... a blog that is."

"Right," Alya said slowly, before correcting him, "The Ladyblog is a website for all things superhero here in Paris! With live coverage of akuma fights and occasional interviews with the heroes themselves."

"Oh, hey, that's pretty neat!" Steven told her, but then a concerned look got on his face, "I haven't seen an akuma yet, but I heard they're pretty dangerous are you sure that it's a good idea for you to do, uh live coverage you said?"

"Don't worry, I'm very careful," Alya assured him, even though Marinette could point at all the instances where she wasn't mindful of her surroundings in the slightest.

Steven brightened up after she said that, however, and told her, "Oh, that's alright then!"

Perhaps Marinette would pull him aside and mention that what Alya was doing was actually pretty dangerous and that while she had experience doing it no sane person should head towards an akuma.

"Speaking of blogs," Alya got a crafty smirk on her face. "I think we stumbled upon one of yours earlier today."

Steven looked confused before recognition dawned on his face and he whispered, "TubeTube."

Was that the platform he used? Marinette hadn't recognized it at first glance, maybe it was an American localized site.

"Stumbled across that old thing did you?" Steven grinned nervously, eyes closing as he clammed up. "Really, I was so embarrassing back then, all of those videos are really silly, you didn't really watch those, did you?"

"I mostly watched them, Marinette was being a good student and actually taking notes," Alya nodded at her, and continued, "I was just wondering if I could ask you some questions regarding-"

Alya was cut off by the building shaking, and Marinette stumbled to grab onto the railing while Alya did the same. Steven held onto the doorknob, managing to stay firm during the rumblings, his eyes wide and cheeks flushing pink.

"What was that?" Steven asked warily, before jumping back against the wall as Alya dashed down the stairs and pushed past him with her phone whipped out. 

"Alya!" Marinette called after her, racing to make sure she wasn't running headfirst into trouble. Her mind should have jumped towards getting away to transform, but there wasn't a guarantee that this was an akuma yet! Hawk Moth has been quiet for so long, there's no way he picked today of all days to-

Alya ran out of the bakery, looking around to try and spot the direction that the rumbling was coming from.

Stumbling after her, Marinette saw her head towards Place des Vosges and she followed right after her.

"Alya, you need to be more careful, what if it was just an earthquake," Marinette called out after her, the shaking having stopped.

"I don't get it, where's the akuma," Alya pouted, her phone held tightly in her hands as she turned. "There's no way that was just a regular earthquake."

"Not everything has to be akuma based, Alya," Marinette chided, somewhat thankful that an akuma hadn't reared its head just yet. See, everything was fine. Just a normal Earth occurrence, things could be normal after all. "Come on, let's just get back to the bakery-"

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Two new subjects?" an unfamiliar voice spoke down to them, and turning around they became face to pedestal with Hawk Moth's first akuma since Miracle Queen.

She just knew that she should've taken the time to transform, what was she thinking! All the stress must have gotten to her head, that's why she kept slipping up like this-

This particular akuma had light grey skin, cracked along the rigid robes they wore, chisel held tightly in their hands as marble wings hovered behind them. The golden laurel wreath stood out from their sculpted hair.

They appraised the pair, and Marinette didn't want to make a run for it knowing that it could provoke the akuma, so she just waited for them to speak as they usually gave an indication of what their powers were if given the opportunity.

Alya was beside her avidly streaming the encounter.

The akuma tapped their chisel against their chin, humming in consideration, "No. You two are not nearly dynamic enough."

Perhaps, if they stood really, really still the akuma would just leave them alone in disinterest. 

But then Alya had to go and ask, "Who are you?"

The akuma smirked, announcing to them, "I am Nike, and I'll show the world just how beautiful my sculptures can be!"

Aiming their chisel directly at them, the akuma grinned maniacally, and exclaimed, "I suppose the two of you can make great practice!"

Rearing back their hand, they threw the chisel directly at the two of them, and Marinette only had half a mind to push Alya out of the way, bringing up her arms to brace against the impact.

"Marinette!"

Not having felt anything hit her, Marinette opened her eyes slowly, a shadowed figure in front of her caught her attention, and as her eyes focused she realized who it was-

Falling backward, back against a wall, Marinette called out, "Steven!"

The older teen having taken the shot for her, had one arm out to the side to shield her, the other was brought up as a brace, and surrounding them were rounded structures protruding from the ground, reminding her of flower petals.

But all of it- the petals and more importantly Steven- were turned into a marble sculpture.

Chapter Text

If Marinette were any other Parisian, the shock of seeing her friend turned into a marble sculpture would probably have her screaming and frozen in fright.

But she was no ordinary Parisian, and after getting over her initial shock, she took the moment for what it was and climbed over the stone petal to race for some cover.

And she was lucky that the akuma- Nike- was one of the more easily distracted akumas. Rather than notice her getaway the akuma focused on their victim.

"Now this is art," the akuma clapped, hopping from pillars that formed beneath them to get a better scope of the sculpture. "Dynamic pose, smooth sculpture in the round, even hints of a contrapposto pose! And these petals-"

While the akuma continued to gush, Marinette darted behind one of the many trees, as far as she managed to get from them. She couldn't see Alya anywhere, but between shoving her out of the way and Steven jumping in front of Marinette, she must have gotten away then.

"This is terrible, Tikki," she whispered to her kwami. "But we can't waste any more time- Tikki, spots on!"

Tikki nodded at her before getting pulled into her earrings, and Marinette made quick work of her transformation, going from Marinette to Ladybug in nothing more than a few seconds.

Taking a deep breath, Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo and arched it towards one of the buildings nearby. Letting it pull her towards the roof, she swung around midair so that she could face the park- and the akuma.

"Rose petals for hair..." Nike muttered under their breath, marbled hand on their chin.

"You know, we have our own perfectly available art exhibits to visit in the Louvre if you're so desperate to appreciate sculptures," Ladybug called out from her safe distance on the roof, getting the attention of Nike.

The akuma turned towards her, a butterfly sign popping up on their face before they jumped closer to the building she was stationed at, exclaiming, "Ladybug, just the muse I was looking for! If you hand over your miraculous you can become my greatest piece yet!"

"Thanks, but no thanks, the statues M. Barbot made are more than enough for me," and she leapt to the next building, narrowly dodged the throw of another chisel.

Turning back mid-sprint, she witnessed Nike plucking out one of their feathers to mold into their chisel weapons. And as far as she could see, there were far too many feathers to keep up dodging forever.

The ground shook with each leap the akuma took, ionic pillars rising from the earth to support the steps of Nike as they chased after Ladybug.

It didn't take long before she was joined by Chat Noir, who swiftly fell into place beside her in her run.

"While I'd normally love to see you out and about, this akuma sure picked a rotten time to show up," Chat commented, leaping to the side to dodge a thrown chisel.

"You're telling me," she huffed, glancing behind her and sensing the strike in time to pull Chat back and closer to her side. "Better not get hit by one of those, kitty, otherwise I'd be down a partner in exchange for a tacky statue."

"Monumental in size I'm sure," Chat gave her a cheeky grin before leveling her a serious look. "So, do you have a plan so far, my Lady? Beyond playing cat and mouse with them."

"We need to lead them away from closed in areas," she told him, her mind whirling about where they could possibly go. "Somewhere with the higher ground for sure."

As they passed the streets, an occasional bystander, unfortunately, fell victim to a stray chisel. And while Ladybug felt a flash of guilt, she knew that as soon as they caught they akuma she would be able to cast the Miraculous Cure and return everyone back to normal.

Which just meant that soon Steven would no longer be a statue. She would have to race back to the park so that he didn't worry about where she was or if she was safe certainly. In terms of first-time akuma's, Nike was fairly tame, the ones who didn't cause mass destruction or property damage were typically that way. At least he wouldn't remember much of the incident beyond seeing a strangely dressed person facing down Marinette and then rushing in front of her.

Without even knowing it, Steven had already greatly helped out Paris, by taking a shot for Ladybug something only Chat has ever done for her.

But enough of that, she could focus on the aftermath as soon as the battle was well and over with. Looking behind her to see that Nike had gotten distracted by a few of the Parisian-turned-sculptures, Ladybug ducked off of the roof down into a semi-secluded alleyway, Chat Noir following close behind.

Waiting in a pause, she made sure that Nike hadn't followed them down, before turning towards Chat to say, "We should head towards the Champ de Mars, if we can ambush them we can knock the akuma off of their head- I have no doubt that it's in the laurel wreath."

"Sounds like a plan," Chat nodded in confirmation. "Now sure would be a great time for a lucky charm, wouldn't you say?"

"Right," she agreed, gripping her yo-yo tightly as she prepared to summon her lucky charm, but before she could they heard footsteps hurry into the alleyway.

Tensed to fight, Ladybug whirled around only come face to screen with Alya.

"Ladybug!" Alya closed out of the stream and pocketed her phone, gesturing towards the entrance to the alleyway. "I saw you two head here, I just had to ask if you were going to call upon m-" she stopped with a hesitant glance at Chat, before continuing, "-any other support heroes this time?"

This- this was a topic she was hoping to avoid. 

She shared a brief glance towards Chat, and his expression was pinched, likely thinking the same thing she was.

Taking in a deep breath, she tried to keep her voice leveled as she said, "We have yet to make an official announcement, but as of the moment all additional miraculous heroes can no longer be considered an option in our fight against Hawk Moth."

Alya's eyes snapped wide open, and in her shock, she took a hesitant step back, devastation woven into her voice as she asks, "Why- what happened- did we- did they do something wrong?"

This pained Ladybug as much as it must have hurt Alya to hear, but she reached out to her friend to gently grip her shoulder, telling her, "You all did nothing wrong, unfortunately, due to an event none of you remember, both Hawk Moth and Mayura, along with Chat and Chloé Bourgeois, have been made aware of all of your identities. It simply isn't safe for you or your families to be involved anymore."

Eyes darting in shock at the information revealed, Alya was crestfallen, but then quickly became infuriated, exclaiming, "Chloé did something, didn't she?!"

Shaking her head, she removed her hand and told Alya, "I'm afraid we don't have the time to explain further, but I promise you, both Chat and I will give all of the support heroes a proper explanation as soon as we can. We... we are still recuperating from that particular battle."

Chat shot her a worried look, and while Alya was clearly tied for being heartbroken and spiteful, she nodded telling her, "I understand, Ladybug."

Smiling in thanks, she turned towards Chat and exclaimed, "Lucky Charm!"

Throwing her yo-yo up into the air, the magic of the miraculous dropped down to her a fishing rod.

Pursing her lips, she pondered how this particular charm would work, she faintly registered the way that Alya stepped back, holding herself tightly as her eyes gazed down. Ladybug allowed her to be present for this, it was the least that she could do.

"Looks like we have to go fishing, Bugaboo," Chat faked a grin for her expense, and she appreciated it for what it was.

Looking around, in her mind, she highlighted Chat, the fishing rod, and after peeking around the corner of the alley, in the distance the Eiffel Tower.

"I have a plan," she announced. "I'm going to head towards the Eiffel Tower, but I'm going to make sure I have their full attention whereas you're going to creep around the bottom. Then, when they raise their pillar, you cataclysm it and I'll reel them in."

"Don't you mean eel them in," Chat joked, then pulled a face, "Not my best pun yet, I will admit, I could produce more sofishticated ones if I had the right lure."

"Oh please, you don't need me around to school the akuma with those," and she cast her yo-yo to pull her away from the overjoyed look Chat gave her, and the melancholy Alya had on too.

She swung right past the contemplative Nike, getting their attention, before calling out, "Is capturing my essence mid-motion dynamic enough for you?"

Nike immediately abandoned the civilian sculpture in favor of following after Ladybug, launching a few projectiles at her.

Dodging them, Ladybug made quick work of reaching the Eiffel Tower and launching herself up from platform to platform, her yo-yo making her much faster than the flightless Nike.

Out of the corner of eyes, she saw Chat around the base of the monument, hidden from sight and the approaching Nike.

Just as expected, Nike started to raise the pillar up to meet the same level as Ladybug, and while a smirk grew on their face, Ladybug simply readied her fishing rod as she exclaimed, "Now Chat!"

Nike turned around in shock when really they should have been looking down, for if they had they would have seen Chat strike the base of the column as he announced, "Cataclysm!"

Instantly, the pillar cracked and crumbled beneath Nike who wobbled on the uneven surface, before it completely gave away under their weight, disappearing into dust.

With a scream, the akuma began to fall, but Ladybug yanked back and cast out with the fishing rod, hooking onto the laurel wreath and pulling it towards her quickly.

As she gripped onto the wreath, Chat had extended his baton so that he could catch the victim safely, and once secured in his arms, she snapped the headpiece in half, releasing the akuma. Discarding the two pieces for the moment, she grabbed her yo-yo with a, "Oh, no you don't!"

Catching the akuma, she purified it and released it from her hold, waving it off with a signature, "Bye, bye little butterfly."

With the akuma safely resolved, she picked up the fishing rod to throw it up into the air to finish the battle with her cure, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A wave of small ladybug's rushed around Paris to restore all of the civilians back to normal, and as she stared at the city from her position, she was hit with a very deep and heavy sadness.

She should be happy. But brave Ladybug was starting to slip back into clumsy Marinette, and that part of her couldn't deny what had happened much longer. Running into Alya had only brought that to the forefront of her thoughts.

Jumping back down so that she could reach the victim and return their wreath- now returned to its original form of a flower headband- she could catch the tail end of the victim exclaiming, "-I was supposed to be in the sculpture studio and now, I'm here? I became an akuma didn't I?"

Chat, who had been talking to the victim while she looked over the city, told them, "You should ask your professor for another chance, I'm sure he'll be more understanding if you explain why you had to rush your project."

A collective series of beeps signaled that the two of them didn't have much time left- especially not Ladybug- and after returning the headband, Ladybug told the victim, "Chat's exactly right, I'm sorry I wish I could stay longer but duty calls. Bug out!"

And just before she could leap away, Chat reached out to her and said, "Ladybug, wait! Can we meet up back here in a few minutes?"

"Chat, I-" and she wanted to deny him, she had to get back to the Place des Vosges, but the look on his face implored her to say, "Sure thing, see you in a few."

Promise secured, she launched away just in time to duck behind a building as her transformation released.

Instinctively, her hand reached into her purse to pull out a cookie for Tikki to recharge on, as she questioned, "While this isn't exactly unlike Chat, what do you think he wants to talk about?"

Tikki swallowed the bite in her mouth before venturing with, "Perhaps he wants to plan what to say to the other heroes? He's just as much involved in their identities now as you are."

"Possibly," Marinette mumbled. "It would make sense if we coordinated what we had to say, I just-"

Tikki waited for her to gather her thoughts before she finished with, "I just wish I didn't have to."

Rising up to hug her holder's cheek, the kwami said, "It's not very fair, is it?"

"No," Marinette agreed. "No, it isn't."

It didn't take much longer for Tikki to finish what was left of the cookie, and once again Marinette transformed into Ladybug to meet up with Chat. While they occasionally patrolled at night, they didn't usually meet up again right after an akuma attack.

She only hoped it wouldn't take too long, she truly did want to hurry back to Steven. Who knew what he must be thinking now that he was back to normal!

Spotting him quickly, Ladybug jumped to the platform Chat was standing aloofly on, announcing her presence, "Is everything alright, Chat?"

Chat blinked at her in surprise, before his expression softened as he said, "It should be me asking you that, Ladybug."

"Me?" Ladybug was slightly confused. "I don't understand."

Shifting his weight, Chat gestured vaguely as he explained, "When you were telling Alya about how she couldn't be a hero anymore, you looked pained. And... this is the first time we've seen each other since Miracle Queen."

She was sure her expression soured at the mention of the akuma, and that only caused Chat to move closer to her saying, "That's exactly what I'm talking about! I know- I know you were closer to Master Fu than I and... I'm sure that his loss of memories hurt you deeply."

"I'm-" and she blew out air in a huff. "I'm fine, Chat. It- it did hurt, but we can't let that stop us we-"

"We lost all of our allies in one day," he told her softly. "It's just the two of us now."

Closing her eyes, Ladybug said, "Just like in the beginning, we've been through this once, we can do it again."

Chat moved closer to her until he was just a foot away and he opened his arms in invitation. Normally, she didn't indulge him like this, but she desperately needed a hug.

Leaning into the embrace, she settled her chin against his shoulder as she poured all of her human weight- and didn't let the weight of all the responsibility slip from her back, that wouldn't be fair to him- against Chat's chest.

"We need to tell the heroes everything that happened," she reminded him, as the inevitability hung in front of her and taunted her.

"Yes," Chat agreed. "But not right now."

Nodding against his shoulder, she repeated, "Not right now."

They stayed like that for a few seconds, in a comfortable silence that only existed from the bond the two of them had, of having to face monsters and super-powered villains on a near-weekly basis with only the knowledge that if the two of them weren't there to save the day each time, Paris was doomed.

"I just want you to know, that no matter what happens, you can always count on me to have your back," Chat murmured into her hair.

"I know," and she did. She really did.

They separated, and Chat still looked concerned for her, and if there was ever a moment to prove that Chat was her best friend above all else. This would be it.

"I have to go," she told him. "But, this really means a lot to me, Chat. That you would check up on me like this and... yeah."

She winced at how lamely she ended the sentiment, but Chat gave a smile as he said, "I should probably head back home too. See you soon?"

Returning the smile, she confirmed, "See you soon."

The two departed, and Ladybug figured it was best to land on her balcony to detransform and pretend as though she had run right home and hidden in her room after Steven had jumped in front of her.

"Tikki, spots off," she said and was once again Marinette, accompanied by her kwami.

"That was very kind of Chat to do," Tikki told her, floating into her purse as Marinette made her way down the hatch to her loft.

"Chat has his moments," Marinette remembered all of the times he dropped the bravado and showed a much softer side to her. "This was definitely one of them."

Pulling out her phone, she saw that she had two missed calls from Alya and a worried message from her mother wondering where she was in all the chaos.

But she didn't hear any loud and worried voices coming from downstairs and climbing down the staircase to the living room only confirmed as such.

Frowning, she headed towards the door to the staircase that led down to the bakery, not hearing any voices drift up from the storefront. Climbing down cautiously, she peeked her head in towards the bakery and saw Sabine and Tom talking gently to Steven who was pacing and chewing on his nails nervously.

"We're sure she's fine, Steven," Sabine told him. "Our Marinette is a very smart girl, she would have run for safety as soon as she could have."

"But- that akuma thing it was targeting her!" Steven exclaimed, not taking notice of Marinette who was creeping further into the room. "It might have gone after her after it-" and he struggled for a word before settling on one, "-harvested me!"

But the word choice was so bizarre to her that she blurted out in confusion, "Harvested?"

All three occupants turned towards her, and whereas relief flooded onto the faces of Tom and Sabine, Steven rushed over to her, hand up to his mouth as his lips parted slightly, frantically asking, "Marinette, thank the stars, are you ok? Are you hurt?"

His hand was so close to his mouth that she was sure that his tongue must have darted against his fingers, but she shook her head and said, "No, no, I'm fine! After you took the attack for me I rushed somewhere safe. I just got back, I used the back entrance to get in."

Her parents nodded as what she said seemed reasonable, even though it was a lie and she hated how much deceit she had to resort to in order to protect her identity. Steven however was not mollified by her response, and while his hand had dropped, she could see his eyes roaming her body to check for injuries.

"See, dear, everything's fine. Ladybug and Chat Noir were able to contain the akuma, and fixed all the damage they caused," but Sabine's expression turned to concern as she asked, "Steven, what does Marinette mean that you took the attack for her?"

Steven's cheeks flushed pink, and curled in on himself as he explained, "I wasn't sure what the akuma was going to do to her, so I jumped in front, I thought my- it doesn't matter what I thought. It was stupid of me to do, but I'm not sorry that I did so, I'd probably do it again if it came down to it."

"It wasn't stupid, it was very kind of you to do, son," Tom told him. "That's twice now that you've defended our daughter, you don't make it easy to try and repay the debt we owe you."

"You don't owe me anything, especially not for something like making sure your daughter is safe!" Steven exclaimed, looking pained.

"But what about your own safety?" Marinette was concerned now. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful for his actions- she really was!- but his insistence started to worry her. "You could've gotten hurt too!"

"That's different!" Steven whirled around to tell her. "I don't- I-" and where his accent hadn't been perfect before, it was certainly starting to crumble the more upset he got. "You- my bones are not like your bones. And you-"

He took a pause to gather his emotions, and possibly get his thoughts in order so that he could deliver a shaky, but full of conviction statement of, "You are fourteen."

An indescribable energy filled the bakery after he said that, and it only deepened when he repeated, "You are just fourteen."

Steven covered his face with his hands, and her parents shared looks of uncertainty, and Marinette was semi glad for it because she didn't understand either why her age mattered so much.

Seventeen wasn't that far off from fourteen. Sure, he was older, but he was still a teen just like her.

What made fourteen so special?

"I'm sorry," was the next thing out of Steven's mouth after he dropped his hands. "I didn't mean to upset anyone."

"Oh, don't apologize when you did nothing wrong," Sabine moved close to him to rest a gentle hand against his back. "First-time akuma attacks are very scary, as I mentioned yesterday. Perhaps, we are simply desensitized to it by now, for us, this is simply daily life."

"That's not right," Steven mumbled, but he cast a grateful look towards Sabine. "Is it ok if I go to the guest room? I am... very tired."

"Of course, you don't even have to ask," Sabine said, and after getting permission Steven slowly walked forward and Marinette moved out of the way for him.

Hearing him walk up the stairs and gently open and close the guest room door, Marinette moved closer to her parents who wrapped her up in a hug.

"Are we desensitized?" she asked, trying to wrap her head around the distraught of the older teen.

"Quite possibly," Sabine sighed, before gracing her daughter with a proud smile. "But at least you seem to be holding up well, you've always been our strong little girl."

Marinette smiled back but felt that it was an empty gesture. Her mind kept going back towards the other teen.

Part of her felt guilty, maybe if she had immediately returned she could have alleviated him of most of his concerns about her well being. But that meant sacrificing that moment of comfort with Chat Noir, and she doesn't think she could have done that.

But that didn't stop her from stopping by Steven's door later that night, a plate of dinner in her hands as she knocked softly on his door. She heard the sound of someone shifting off a bed and feet padding towards the door before it opened up to reveal the slightly disheveled Steven.

"I brought you some dinner," she said, holding out the plate. "And I was hoping we could talk?"

Steven accepted the plate and moved aside so that she could enter the guest room for the first time since he moved into it.

He left the guest room door open, which perplexed her, but she didn't comment on it, instead, she opted for looking around the room.

As she suspected, he didn't really have a lot of personal items- his two suitcases were lined up neatly against the wall, and she figured he had put away his clothing in the wardrobe in the room. On top of the wardrobe were three glass bottles, intricately engraved and designed, going from blue to yellow to white. She wasn't sure what they were, but if she had to make a guess, they might have been expensive perfume bottles.

There was a small desk fitted on the opposite side of the bed, and on top of it was a compact laptop.

Overall, it was a very normal room. She didn't really expect any less.

Steven settled on the side of the bed and gestured for Marinette to sit at the desk chair, in doing so she turned it more towards him.

"Thank you," Steven said as he gestured towards the plate. "I really didn't mean to get so worked up. I guess I really didn't understand what an akuma would actually be like. I suppose in my mind, I just imagine a weird man in the shadows urging people to be violent."

While it was funny to imagine Hawk Moth doing something like that, Marinette didn't let that sway her from her reason of coming here, "I guess it never really occurred to me how someone from outside of Paris might react to an akuma attack. We're all used to it here."

"Yeah, that's what's scariest about it," Steven looked to the side. "I called up my therapist, Dr. Bentley, just to work out the influx of thoughts, it was hard to be coherent for a while."

Marinette was confused by the phrasing and managed a guess, "After turning back to normal?"

"Yeah," Steven nodded. "Going from stone to flesh was jarring. It's like I knew time had passed, but I wasn't there for it. So when I was back to normal, you and your friend, and the akuma, were gone."

"That happens often," Marinette commented. "Sometimes an akuma's powers are destructive, sometimes they can do mind control, and sometimes they can do things like turn people into mindless suits of armor."

Steven was silent, pushing the food around on his plate, as he asked, "And you deal with things like this all the time?"

"Yes, but Ladybug and Chat Noir always save the day," she reaffirmed. "They haven't failed us yet."

Finally, Steven nodded his head and accepted that. "That's good, that you have professionals to help out."

Marinette cringed inwardly because while she would say that, yes, she and Chat Noir were the leading professionals on fighting akuma's, they were still pretty young- at least, she definitely was. Jury's still out on Chat Noir's age, although she suspects there's a good chance that they're the same age.

"But, I didn't come here to talk about the akuma- well, perhaps only partially," she said sheepishly. "I thought, since you're so determined to defend me, we could get to know each other a lot better than we do now."

That seemed to interest Steven, and he asked, "How so?"

"Twenty-Questions?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

Steven relaxed at that, and he set aside his plate for right now as he said, "Twenty-Questions, that's definitely something I could do. Do you want to go first?"

"Sure," and Marinette herself felt the tension of the earlier concern fade away for something more light-hearted. "Let's start with the basics! What's your favorite animal?"

And they went at the game long enough for the food to get cold, and for the akuma to be long forgotten from their minds.

Chapter Text

Alya's upset. Clear as a bell to anyone who looks at her, and nothing Marinette does can cheer her up. And it doesn't make Marinette feel guilty, but rather, it makes her feel as though she failed her friend by not stopping Hawk Moth quick enough.

But Marinette's not supposed to know why Alya's upset, so she has to pretend she doesn't understand why Alya looks so crushed, barely paying attention to her lessons, hardly looking at her phone. She still tries to offer her as much comfort and sympathy as she can, but Marinette knows it's not really helping.

She's just relieved that Alya hasn't retaliated against Chloé, barely even glancing in the blond's direction. Even if she deserved it, and more, for siding with Hawk Moth.

Marinette still can't help but feel as though that Alya would be akumatized by the end of the day. And now that she knows that Hawk Moth is active again, she's slightly more on edge because of this, looking around for stray butterflies when she can.

Hawk Moth doesn't deserve to prey on Alya after stripping her of her one dream in life- the one thing that made her happy beyond all else.

When their lunch period rolls around, Nino has one arm wrapped around Alya's shoulders, and he tells her and Adrien, "We're gonna head to her favorite cafe. Some... stuff came up, and she's really having a hard time right now."

And that's when Marinette figures that Alya must have told Nino about what happened. She can't find it in her to be upset that Alya revealed their loss of hero status to him, he was bound to learn soon enough.

At least Alya had someone who could openly be empathetic with her, someone who could freely understand her struggle.

That, at the very least, was fair.

"It's ok, we understand," Adrien gives them a sad smile, and now that Marinette's focusing on him, he looks downtrodden as well. On why, she doesn't quite know, but it could be possibly anything. Probably something came up at home.

Nino nodded in acknowledgment before carting Alya away from Françoise Dupont, leaving just Marinette and Adrien alone.

Weeks ago, this would have left her flustered and a nervous, stuttering mess.

Now it's just awkward.

Not wanting to show her discomfort, she turns to Adrien to say, "Would you like to have lunch with me at the bakery? You can have some of those croissants you like so much."

The previous sadness disappeared from Adrien's face, and he shook his head at her as he explained, "I'd love to, but I actually have a lunch date with Kagami right now. Thank you for the offer though, it really means a lot to me, Marinette."

Her throat felt like it was tightening, but she gave him a strained smile in understanding, telling him, "That's fine! I figured you probably had something on your schedule, like always!"

She chuckled nervously, but it petered off until she just stared at him in embarrassment.

Adrien's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't comment on her reaction, eyes drifting towards the street with his driver was waiting for him.

"Well, I gotta go now. I'll see you later?" he sounded so hopeful.

"Yes," she nodded her head, closing her eyes in a tight, toothy grin when really she was trying to keep her voice steady and eyes dry. "Goodbye, Adrien."

Great, maybe she'd end up akumatized if she carried on like this.

Marinette watches and waits for him to enter the car and drive off before she drags her feet all the way to the bakery.

Her eyes are faced towards the ground, and she only weakly greets her mother in return when she enters, and it's only as she starts to climb the spiral staircase that she hears a soft melody playing within the building.

Immediately, her mind jumps to Luka, and part of her mind hopes that maybe he had stopped by to surprise her. And wouldn't that be neat? Everyone else had paired up with their partners.

But when she gets to the first landing, she sees that Steven's door is wide open, and he's sitting on the guest bed with his guitar in hand, idly playing a song from memory, no music sheet required at all.

Marinette knew that he could play the guitar- and many more instruments from what she learned during their game of Twenty Questions last night- but seeing and hearing him play it is another thing altogether.

She felt a bit bad for just standing and watching him play, but the music was so beautiful- much softer than the type of music she liked to listen to or that Kitty Section made- and the change of pace was nice.

Then Steven hit a sour note, face scrunching up in displeasure before he sighed and opened his eyes. His eyes darted over to Marinette, and she ducked her head down at having been caught staring.

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you," she explained sheepishly. "What you were playing was really good! What song was it?"

Steven waved off her apology, saying, "No need to apologize, I kind of figured someone would pop in after hearing the sound. And it's a song that I wrote, well, more like am trying to write."

"You make your own music too?" she moved closer to the doorway, not quite entering his room yet- she wanted to get his permission first. "I have friends who are in a band, I might've mentioned them before! Rose, she's the lead singer of Kitty Section and she's also the one who writes the lyrics."

Steven's fingers clenched tightly against the neck of the guitar, before relaxing a smidgen, but it was a jarring reaction that had caught Marinette's attention.

But whatever had caused that response, Steven didn't comment on it directly, instead saying, "Well, I'm not in a band or anything. But sometimes I write my own music. I haven't been able to in over a year, however."

"Really?" her eyes widened. "That's a really long time to have writer's block."

Steven gave out a little laugh, and then he noticed her hanging on the outside of the room before waving her permission to enter, to which she did, and he told her as she moved further into the room, "I know, it's such a bummer. I've been working really hard at it but I just can't get the words or notes to form."

"Have you run out of inspiration?" Marinette settled down at the desk chair once again. "I've had that happen to me at the worst moments when trying to get a design down."

"That's not it," Steven shook his head. "At least, I don't think it is. I've never really had trouble making songs with or without inspiration. I just guess there's a mental block in place, preventing me from putting myself out there again."

He sounded so sad as he said that, and Marinette rested her head onto her crossed arms on top of the back of the chair.

She was aware that Steven had some sort of psychologist- he's mentioned the name Dr. Bentley a few times so far- but she still didn't know what he was seeing them for.

Not that she would attempt to pry into his past, although she was curious, because the least she could do was respect his boundaries.

"Thankfully, I can still play all of the old songs that I made," and he played a few chords to prove as much. "That way I can have a portfolio when I start the process of a music therapy degree."

"Can you play me a song?" she noticed the way that his eyes brightened at playing a part of a song he already made.

"Sure!" Steven agreed readily. "Although, I don't think I'm at the proficiency to translate any of my songs into French yet. Would you still want me to sing, even if it is in English?"

Shaking her head, she tells him, "I don't mind at all!"

Listening to music in another language is something she's used to, considering that Jagged Stone was British and wrote a good chunk of his songs in English, even if he did end up translating a lot of them into French in the end. She was sure that Steven would agree that music can break through any language barrier, being the universal language that near anyone could understand.

And he plays for her, and she tries to not get lost in his guitar playing, trying her best to focus in on the lyrics- 'Lapis Lazuli, you fled into the bottom of the sea'- and it was over before she knew it.

Clapping her hands, she gave him applause as he gave a lopsided smile, asking, "It's not very long, but I was never really into making three-minute-long songs or anything."

"That was amazing," Marinette may not have understood what the song meant, but something about the way Steven sang just gave her inspiration for a new design. "Oh, do you mind if I design something based on it? Only with your permission of course!"

Steven seemed surprised before a faint blush appeared on his face as he said, "Really? I'd love to see any designs you make from it. I've never had someone make something after one of my songs before."

"I could work on it right now!" before it slipped her mind entirely.

She jumped out of her seat, racing towards the hallway as she glanced behind her to say, "Do you want to watch?"

"Oh, sure," Steven placed the guitar gently down on his bed, following after her as she sped up the stairs.

While Steven had been in the living room before, this would be the first time he actually entered Marinette's room, and he seemed somewhat nervous as he climbed up the stairs to the loft.

Upon entering, he peered around her room, absorbing in everything with his eyes pausing on the mannequin that she had in one corner, and as she pulled out her sketchbook- side glancing to make sure the egg was still hidden, which it was- she told him, "You can sit down on the chaise, I should be able to whip up a design in just a matter of seconds."

Steven looked confused at the word 'chaise' but he eventually settled down slowly on it, hands in his lap as he stared out her window.

Scribbling down quickly, her mind whirled with messy designs, trying to compact into one simple dress. 

Marinette often worked to make practical and chic designs, something she could see herself wearing outside on the street. And while she often experimented with more freestyle outfits, she only really started to commit herself to make more unconventional designs when making costumes for Kitty Section.

And, of course, now. Pulling back from her sketchbook, she stared proudly at the design she had conjured up, a dress more fitting a narrative movie or music video perhaps.

Desperation, melancholy, a longing for understanding. That's what she took from the song Steven took, and in her mind, she imagines ruffles upon ruffles billowing down past the knees of the model. Blues and lavenders mixing with the white underskirt, flowing sleeves, and a deep neckline that would meet a lapis dyed corset.

"Tada!" she whirled around to show him the design. "When you were singing, I imagined someone escaping to the sea, and I couldn't help but picture this."

Steven's eyes lit up, stars practically bursting from his pupils, as he clasped his hands together exuberantly.

"That's so pretty, she would love something like that," he proclaimed, eyes taking in all the details.

"She?" Marinette questioned, flustered that he was so ecstatic about the design.

"Lapis!" he told her. "The person I was singing about in the song? This is totally up her alley, I can picture her wearing this if she ever changed her form again."

Marinette blinked at the reveal that this 'Lapis' was a real person, but who knew what type of naming conventions they had in America. For all she knew, it might be a very popular name.

"I'm glad you like it," Marinette held out the book to him. "You can look at my other designs too if you want."

He delicately took the book from her, fingers lightly leafing through the past pages, eyes roaming as he looked at all the designs.

"You're so incredibly talented, Marinette," Steven told her, sincerity in his voice as his finger hovered and traced over a Chat Noir dress she played around with once. "I can't even imagine how much creativity you must have to be able to produce things like this."

She ducked her head again, and said, "Well, I can hardly imagine writing songs or making music at all. That must take a lot of creativity too."

Chuckling, Steven nodded, agreeing, "I guess it does, doesn't it?"

While Steven looked at her designs, she glanced at the open trap door that he didn't close on his way into her room.

Walking over to it, she closed it and turned around to see Steven watching her, eyes looking down at the door with apprehension.

"Won't your parents feel more comfortable with it open?" he asked.

Tilting her head, she was confused about what he meant. Eventually, she appeased him by saying, "No, it's fine! My parents aren't overprotective like that. Is that why you keep your door open all the time?"

"Partly," Steven revealed. "But mostly it's because I'm not used to having a door at all, I sorta forget that it's there."

What.

"Huh?" she couldn't even begin to describe her confusion. "I don't think I understand what you mean."

"Am I phrasing it wrong?" Steven questioned genuinely. "What I mean is, my room has never had a door before. So I'm used to everyone being able to see me."

If Marinette could drop her jaw all the way down to the floor, she was sure that it would have happened.

Not having a door... she knew there was protective but- that's on an entirely different level.

Even Adrien had a door! That he was allowed to close too!

"It's not that big of a deal," Steven waves off. "It's not like I do anything bad that I'd need to hide behind closed doors! Plus, it was really convenient since Connie's parents have an open door policy when there are boys over."

That's... not entirely what she's worried about.

But she wasn't sure if she could speak out about that quite yet. Maybe in a week or two, then she could shake Steven by his shoulders and proclaim to him that teens needed their privacy from their parents and if his dad was anything like M. Agreste just blink twice-

Thankfully, before the conversation could take another bizarre turn, her phone buzzed, warning her that she only had a few minutes before she had to head back to Françoise Dupont.

"You should probably head back to school now, right?" Steven handed her back her sketchbook. "You didn't even get time to eat, I'm sorry."

"I'll just grab something quick before I head out," she shrugged, accepting the book and putting it back on her desk. "Do you have anything planned later or will you be at the bakery?"

"I was planning on having today be a chill today, just to make sure I'm still ok and all after the akuma attack yesterday," Steven said.

Wincing, Marinette definitely knew the feeling of having to have a day to decompress from everything.

She started to head down from her loft, Steven right behind her only remembering a second after to close the trap door for her.

"Hopefully there won't be another one today," and mentally she crossed her fingers as though that would affect fate.

"Do they... usually happen on a daily basis?" Steven sounded nervous.

"Depends on Hawk Moth's mood I guess," she scowled. "There's never been a real pattern to the attacks. Plus, there's no way to stop people from feeling upset or angry."

"It sucks that you guys can't be free to express your emotions," Steven lamented. "Crying is a healthy way to release pent up feelings or thoughts."

That actually surprised her, and she couldn't help but ask, "You really think so?"

"Yeah! I cry all the time," and the fact that that sentence was followed by a sincere and open smile made Marinette feel like she got whiplash.

She... wasn't so sure about that one.

"Right, well, I have to head back to school now, bye Steven!" Marinette waved, as she hurried down the staircase, cringing at her awkward exit, but she caught a glimpse of him waving goodbye back, not looking offended at her sudden departure.

On her way back to Françoise Dupont, Marinette couldn't help but tell Tikki, "Is it wrong that I feel really bad for him? First I find out he didn't have a door to his room in the past, then he says he cries a lot!"

"While it is concerning, perhaps wait a bit more before jumping to conclusions," Tikki advised. "I will admit that he did make a good point about crying being good for you, emotionally speaking."

"Really? I guess I just never thought of it that way, it's been so long since crying has been an option," after all, crying nowadays just led to more and more akumas.

"In moderation, of course, crying all the time... that is a tad concerning," Tikki put a paw to her chin in thought. "But I'm sure he's fine, he wouldn't have brought it up casually otherwise."

Climbing up the stairs to the collège, Marinette said, "I hope so. And I guess, when we get the butterfly miraculous back, I think Paris deserves a good cry." 

Tikki didn't respond to her, ducking back into her purse as Marinette pushed open the doors and entered the courtyard. She had some time to mill about before class, and looking around to find a group of her peers, she saw Nino and Alya hanging out by the bench.

Walking over to them, Alya looked up to her and gave her a weak grin.

Hoping that Alya was feeling better- and out of danger of becoming akumatized again- she settled down on the bench next to her friend and asked, "How was your guys' lunch date?"

"It was good," Alya said, voice still tinged with dejection. "What about you? Anything exciting happen?"

Happy that Alya was more open to conversing now, she told her, "Steven played me a song on his guitar! He's really good too, he's got this story-telling theme- the song he played me was about a woman running off into the ocean."

"Woah, that sounds awesome, I'd love to hear this dude's EP if he has one," Nino nodded his head in respect. "Do you think he'd be up for collaborating?"

Putting a finger to her chin in thought, she said, "I don't see why he wouldn't. You'd have to ask him though."

"Maybe he'd be better off collaborating with Kitty Section," Alya elbows Nino softly. "He and Luka would get along great, wouldn't you say, Marinette?"

Now Alya was looking back at her with a slightly cheeky grin, and Marinette couldn't find it in her to be annoyed considering that her friend was finally brightening up.

"I think he and Luka would get on like a house on fire if you must know," she sniffed and turned her head indignantly. "Just as soon as I actually introduce them to each other."

Alya let out a brief laugh, and the corner of Marinette's lips quirked up, glad that she managed to make that happen.

The warning bell rang, letting them know that they should head to class soon.

"We can talk more later," Alya promises, hand reaching for Nino's. "Would it be ok if we came over for a little bit? I know yesterday, I didn't really get a chance to properly meet Steven what with the akuma and all."

The three of them began to walk to class, and Marinette said, "Sure, you guys can stay for dinner if you want, you know you're always welcome too."

"I'll have to ask my parents but I'm sure they'll be ok with it," Nino said. "What about you, babe?"

"I might have to leave early, but I can probably stay for dinner," Alya grasped at her phone. "I'll text them right now."

The rest of the school day was thankfully much more relaxing. Now that Alya was in brighter spirits, Marinette wasn't so tense that an akuma would flutter by and could focus more on the lessons. And when the school day came to a close, she mingled with some of her other peers.

She was somewhat surprised that the news that she had a host brother didn't spread to her classmates, and it made him think about how to bring up the topic later. Of course she would want to introduce Steven to all of her classmates. Well, maybe not all of them- Chloé and Lila coming to mind immediately.

Just thinking about the two girls interacting with Steven had her blood boiling, especially since he had already met and faced the brunt of Chloé's... Chloéness. And heaven forbid if Lila got her hands on him. Marinette hopes that Steven would be able to see through her lies, but there was no guarantee.

Speaking of the Italian girl, Marinette could see her talking to a group of students from a different class, probably spewing out more and more lies to whoever would listen. She's well past the point of trying to confront Lila, but it still made her scowl and look away.

"Is everything all right, Marinette?" a voice to her left surprised her, and she turned around to see Kagami starring at her with slight concern.

"Oh, Kagami! What a surprise to see you here," Marinette gave the other girl a kind smile. Because Kagami was her friend, even if it pained her to think about her and Adrien together.

Kagami nodded her head in greeting, telling her, "I'm simply here to return Adrien's physics book. He left it behind during lunch." She produced said book as though to prove what she said as the truth.

Looking around, Marinette couldn't spot the blond model, so she told Kagami, "I'm not sure where he is right now, I didn't really see much of him after leaving class."

"I see, thank you anyhow, Marinette," Kagami tucked the book back into her bag.

Marinette expected Kagami to then go looking for Adrien, but she stayed by Marinette's side as she said, "I see you do not like Mme. Rossi either."

"Huh?" Marinette let out panicked. "What- I mean, why would you think that?"

Kagami's eyes narrowed slightly, side-glancing the Italian as the group of students stood in awe of her fake accomplishments.

"You look at her with contempt," the other girl told her plainly. "Although I do not blame you. She is responsible for my second akumatization, and she brings Adrien much discomfort."

"Thank you! She's always hanging off of him," Marinette was so glad that someone else pointed it out. "She has no sense of boundaries, or, more like she doesn't care."

Kagami looked relieved at what she said, "It is good to know that Adrien has friends who can recognize when his privacy is being infringed upon."

"I wish I could stand up for him more," Marinette huffed. "But he doesn't want me to expose Lila as a liar, and I should respect his wishes."

"He knows that Mme. Rossi is a liar?" Kagami seemed surprised. "I assumed he wasn't aware of her deceit."

While she felt bad for revealing that Adrien knew about the lies the same as her, Marinette nodded as she said, "He was there when Ladybug first called out her lying."

Kagami looked thoughtful as she ruminated, "I will attempt to sway his mind on the matter- liars shouldn't be allowed to run amok like Mme. Rossi has been. Thank you for telling me about this."

"There's no need to thank me, really," Marinette waved her off. "If it helps Adrien get away from Lila, I'd do just about anything to help."

Giving her one of her rare smiles, Kagami told her, "I admire that quality in you, Marinette. I suppose that is why I consider you just as much of a good friend as Adrien does."

Floundering- stuck between appreciating that Kagami considers her such a good friend and the brutal reminder that Adrien has only ever considered her that- Marinette isn't able to respond before Kagami says, "I am going to continue my search for Adrien now, goodbye Marinette."

Turning, the other girl left without another word, and Marinette watched her off, not having to wait long at all before Alya and Nino came barreling over.

"Were you just talking to Kagami?" Alya questioned, having seen the latter half of the conversation.

"Hm? Oh, she just wanted to know where Adrien was," Marinette kept the part where they talked about Lila out, knowing that Alya would try to dissuade her opinion on the Italian once again.

"I see," Alya pursed her lips before shaking her head. "Sorry about making you wait, I was going over my stream from the battle yesterday when I noticed something strange. I asked Max to check it out for me just to make sure that the footage wasn't corrupted somehow."

"Corrupted?" Marinette's interest was piqued. She didn't often watch the videos, experiencing all the akuma fights live was more than enough for her, but for Alya to check over the footage something must have happened.

"Just watch this," Alya turned her phone around and clicked play, showing her pushing Alya out of the way- which caused the camera to become unfocused and shaky- but by the time it was in focus it just caught Nike turning Steven into a sculpture.

Wincing, she watched as the chisel hit him dead on, and his skin turns into marble in just a matter of seconds. Nothing really stood out to her, well except for the sudden appearance of those weird petal-shaped walls.

"Did you catch that?" Alya asked, and she shook her head, causing Alya to replay the footage, changing the speed so that it was slower. "Watch carefully."

Alya's finger hovered over the area that she wanted Marinette to pay attention to, and as the footage crawled on, Marinette saw what Alya was talking about- a weird glow of pink light stemming from the ground beneath her and Steven, spreading out and curving upwards before it froze.

Her eyes widened upon seeing the pink light turn into the petals, and she blurted out, "What is that?"

Pulling back her phone, Alya looked at it with a renewed fervor that Marinette was scared she might have lost earlier today, saying, "I don't know, but I intend to find out."

"It is a bit freaky," Nino admitted, adjusting his cap. "She showed me just before you, and I still don't have a single clue as to what it is."

Eyes drifting down to her purse, Tikki- while still hidden- had also been watching to video with a curious look to her eyes.

Could it be... magic?

Marinette would need a second to talk to her kwami alone before she could confirm whether or not the pink light is magical in origin.

Nonetheless, now she was beginning to think that what Tikki had said about Steven being magic had more merit. Not that she was going to treat him any differently if he did have some sort of magical abilities! 

"Maybe we could ask Steven what he thinks," Alya pointed out. "Even if he doesn't know about what it could be, it's only right that he knows weird is going on."

That could either go well or horribly, but Marinette didn't have a good reason to refute the statement and seeing as Alya was semi-back to her normal self she knew that there was no stopping her.

"We should head over to the bakery now then, everyone's already left," Marinette made a show of looking around at the few remaining students who were loitering around the front of the collège.

"Sure thing, dudette," Nino agreed. 

The three of them headed over to the bakery, a far cry from the solitary walk there Marinette had during the lunch break. The conversation had turned from the video to discussing the homework that would be due the next day, alongside making guesses at what upcoming projects they might have for Mme. Bustier's class.

Entering the bakery, Marinette knew to look for the sounds of a guitar playing, and she was able to hear soft playing.

"Steven's in his room," she told her friends. "If you listen you can hear him playing his guitar from down here."

Nino and Alya took a second to listen, and an impressed look grew on Nino's face as he said, "You weren't lying when you said he was good Marinette."

"Why would I lie about that," she asked, affronted. "All of my friends are very talented and I'll gush about them as I please, thank you very much."

On their way up the stairs, she made sure to pause at Steven's door, which was still left open, but she supposes old habits died hard, and called out to him, "Steven! Sorry to interrupt again, but I know your meeting with Alya got cut off yesterday and she still really wants to meet you. And this is her boyfriend, Nino!"

"Sup, dude," Nino raised a hand in greeting. "Marinette keeps telling us a lot about you, plus we watched one of your vlogs the other day."

Steven laughed nervously, his voice tight, "Oh, really? How many of you guys watched them? Honestly, I should probably archive the account they’re so bad."

"Aw, come on, don't do that, they're cute!" Alya protested. "Plus, it's like a little time capsule for you to look back on. You were an adorable eight-year-old."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but he didn't address the comment further, instead reaching one hand out to Nino saying, "Well it's nice to meet you, Nino. I'm Steven."

"Likewise," Nino readily shook his hand. "I don't know if Marinette's brought this up yet, but I like music a lot too."

"Really? Oh, are you one of those Kitten Section members?" Steven asked, releasing his hand.

"Kitty Section? Nah, I'm more of a DJ," Nino explained. "I like to make mixes, host parties, ya know. Normal DJ'ing."

"A DJ? I actually have a friend who's a DJ," Steven stood up straighter. "I went to a few of his raves before, they're so much fun. His name is Sour Cream."

Silence. All three of them blinking in sync at the name.

Man, America was weird.

"Man, I should totally throw a rave," Nino remarked, choosing to ignore the sudden pause they all had. "I once threw a party for my bro, Adrien, and man it was so sick. And before that, I had been akumatized over trying to throw one for Adrien's birthday because his old man is such a stick in the mud."

"You've been akumatized before?" the older teen was genuinely shocked. "It's good that you're ok now! I wasn't sure if there were any lingering effects from akumatization, never really got a chance to ask Marinette about that..."

"Sure have, so has Alya," Nino gestured to his girlfriend. "The only ones here who haven't is Marinette and her mom- oh, and you too."

"Although it was a close call once for Marinette and her mom," Alya frowned at the memory. Marinette shivered, recalling how close she could have been turned into Princess Justice.

Steven looked deeply saddened by this reveal of information, as he said, "That's horrible, I'm sorry that happened to you guys."

"What are you apologizing for, you just got here, it's not like you're Hawk Moth," Nino shrugged.

"Still though," Steven set aside his guitar to reach for his case so that he could put it away. "It's not right that this happening to you guys at such a young age."

"Until Hawk Moth is stopped there's not much that we can do about it," Alya muttered. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to talk about akuma's much more except for-"

Whipping out her phone and turning it towards Steven, Alya said, "This."

Steven looked unsure as he watched the video, grimacing at seeing himself turned into marble, murmuring, "Is that what happened?"

"Did you notice anything pink?" Alya asked.

The older teen looked worried, somewhat horrified, as watched the video again, eyes searching for anything pink. But once his eyes settled on the lower half of the screen, he became much less tense, letting out a slight breath of relief, before shaking his head.

"Besides that weird bubble thing?" strange that he called it a bubble. "Not really. Not too sure what that is though, could it be part of the akuma's power?"

Alya seemed disappointed, pulling her phone back so that she could pocket it. But while she physically seemed dejected, Marinette saw that her eyes were suspicious.

"Darn, well it was worth a shot," she shrugged.

"Steven, would you like to join us upstairs? Alya and Nino are going to be staying for dinner, and I was thinking that we could play some Ultimate Mecha Strike III."

"Ultimate Mecha Strike III? What's that?" Steven at the very least seemed open to the idea.

"It's this really cool fighting game, I think you'll like it!" she reached over so that she could grab his arm and pull him off of the bed, dragging him up the stairs with her friends following behind. "Since you're new I'll go easy on you, but after a trial run it's game on."

Patting Steven's shoulder, Nino shook his head as he said, "Good luck, dude. Marinette's super competitive."

"Resigned to loosing so soon," Alya smirked at him. "With that attitude maybe we should do girls versus guys, how does that sound?"

"And leave me to fend for myself against Marinette? No way, dudette," Nino exclaimed. "If anything, I should be on Marinette's team! Old friends versus new friends."

The pair began to squabble over teams some more, as Steven looked at her and asked, "Are all your friends as lively as them?"

Giggling, Marinette said, "We try to keep things unique, why? Is it... too much?"

Steven glanced back at the two, but got a fond smile on his face as he shook his head and told her, "No, in fact, it sorta reminds me about some of my friends back home."

Marinette was glad for that because she doesn't know what she would have done had Steven not liked her friends too much.

And the rest of the evening went off without any problems or wayward akumas, Steven adjusted to the controls of the game fairly quickly and while he wasn't nearly as competitive as Marinette was, it was still a ball to play with him- Marinette decided that Steven would be on her team since he had the least amount of experience with the game.

Not too long after they started playing a few rounds, did Sabine and Tom join them, having closed up the bakery for the day. Now that was an experience to see, Steven having absolutely no clue how video game crazy all the members of the Dupain-Cheng's were. And it was great to see Steven warm up to all of them, even if he stayed to the side watching them play a lot.

Dinner was great too, even if not too long after they had finished their plates did Nino and Alya have to leave.

Alya was definitely happier now, a good day of being with her boyfriend and friend was exactly what she needed to forget about no longer being Rena Rouge.

Marinette just hoped that it would be able to persist even when she and Chat had to bring up the topic soon. The next time she got to see Chat she would suggest doing it in a few days, just to get it over with- like ripping a band off.

And while Alya was able to forget most of her worries, Marinette still had some pressing things to talk to Tikki about in the privacy of her room.

"Tikki, be honest with me, what do you think that weird pink light was in that video?" Marinette sat down at her desk chair, swiveling it to face her kwami.

"Well, it's hard to say," Tikki floated hesitantly. "I can sense that it is magic, but I have no clue what kind!"

"So, do you think that Steven's magical somehow?" Marinette wanted a clear answer from her kwami. "Is it possible that he could possibly have some sort of miraculous?"

Tikki shook her head, reassuring her, "It's definitely not miraculous magic, that would at least feel familiar. This is something different."

Her kwami seemed tentative, as though she had more to say, so Marinette waited patiently for the little god to find her words.

"There's something in his room I do want to investigate, however," Tikki said. "Those ornate bottles- they're filled with magic, clear as a bell."

The things that Marinette had passed off as weird perfume bottles? "What type of magic could they have?"

"I can't tell without getting closer," her kwami looked unsure. "But I don't approve of snooping through his room when he's not looking, that would be wrong to do."

"Maybe we could ask to see them? If he wanted to keep them secret, he wouldn't have put them out in the open right?" Marinette pointed out.

Tikki considered it, "Perhaps, we could certainly try-"

An explosion rang in the distance, causing Marinette to jump to her feet, just as her phone chimed with an akuma alert.

She knew today had been too good to be true, and Marinette was beyond miffed that Hawk Moth would send an akuma at night.

There was no way that Marinette was going to get enough sleep tonight.

Looking at her kwami, Marinette exclaimed, "Tikki, spots on!"

Well, at least now she could discuss with Chat when to gather the former secondary heroes.

But two akuma's in a row... she just hoped that Hawk Moth wouldn't make a habit of it.

Chapter Text

Not only did Hawk Moth make it a habit to akumatize someone every day of the week, but he also switched it up so that sometimes the akuma would be early in the morning, or in the afternoon, or even at night. Making Marinette very, very tired and so exhausted she felt as though every one of her limbs would just fall off from how sore from getting thrown around she was.

The one good thing about having an akuma every day? That meant she and Chat had enough time to discuss, in full, how they would go about revealing the events of Miracle Queen.

"I'm still unsure about the decision to tell them all at the same time," Ladybug confided in Chat after the last akuma attack- this one in the afternoon. They had separated only to recharge their kwamis, but after they returned to each other at once.

"It makes the most sense," Chat shrugged. "We won't have to tell the story more than once, and, well- a lot of them know each other, right? Maybe knowing how heroic their friends are could inspire them to fight for justice as civilians too. I know if I found out all my friends were superheroes, I'd admire them so much."

Worrying her lip, Ladybug thought it over but sighed knowing that Chat had a point, "You're right. I just hope they can understand our decision."

Giving her a sweet and reassuring smile, Chat told her, "Of course they'll understand, Bug. They're good people, I know you wouldn't have chosen them otherwise."

"Thanks, Chat," she returned his smile. "So, we're on for tomorrow at nine. I'll tell Alya to pass on the message to the rest since she knows them all, but someone would need to tell and get Kagami directly. Would you rather I do it?"

"I can do that, Ladybug," Chat said, and there was a fond look on his face as he thought of her, but Ladybug wasn't sure if she was interrupting it right.

Nodding, she told him, "Good, then we're all prepared for tomorrow. Hopefully, an akuma won't interrupt us, but I'd like to think that Hawk Moth has to rest eventually."

"With your luck, I'm sure we'll be fine," Chat said.

And for the moment, it seemed as though Chat was right. No akuma had run about rampantly yet, and she watched as the sun started to dip below the horizon from her spot on her balcony.

"You take really good care of your garden, Marinette," Steven commented, fingers gently hovering over one of her flowers.

"Do you like to garden?" she asked, bringing her knees up to her chest as she sat in the chair she had placed up there for when she liked to sketch.

Considering that Steven already had music as a hobby, she didn't really expect him to be the type of guy to like gardening.

"I had one once, it was so lovely before it got destroyed," he backed away from the lavender, as though he were afraid of it coming alive. "I have a bit of a... dangerous green thumb."

"A dangerous green thumb? I didn't know there was such a thing," it was a bit of an oxymoron if she thought about it. Unless he meant to indicate that the plants would become so overgrown so as to cause problems?

Marinette didn't ask who had destroyed his garden.

Chuckling awkwardly- something he did often- Steven said, "You wouldn't think so, but it's a real thing for me at least. In any case, you've got some really pretty flowers here. Which one is your favorite?"

Humming, she looked around her garden, before her eyes settled on her choice.

"My roses, definitely," she answered, looking at the pink flowers she completely missed how Steven's face soured. "What about you?"

Turning back to him, she saw the slight discomfort on his face before it changed to adoration, "My bluebell! I named it after Connie when I still had my garden, and I made sure to take extra care of it."

"Aww," she cupped her face as she cooed. "That's so romantic!"

Last month, her mind have immediately jumped to the idea of Adrien taking care of a planet named after her and would have gotten so wrapped up in the fantasy. But now it's just a passing thought before she wipes it from her mind. Maybe one day someone would do something like that for her, that had to be the height of love.

"You think so?" he scratched the back of his head with a goofy grin. "I never told her about it, I- uh- I don't think she would have approved so much at the time, but maybe now she'd find it romantic."

"Do you talk to her often?" Marinette asked.

"She's pretty busy with college, but she always makes time for me. It's a bit harder now, the further I travel away from her time zone," Steven told her. "I should call her soon though."

"She sounds really nice," Marinette commented, wanting to add about how she would like to meet her too on call, but holding back. She was sure that Steven would want to keep that part of his personal life private. 

"Connie really is, she's just so amazing," Steven was truly starstruck for her.

It made Marinette a bit envious, but her romantic life was nonexistent anyhow so what did it matter really?

Looking out towards the sky, seeing that it was dusk and just about time for her to go tell Alya about the meetup.

"I think I'm going to head to bed now," she stood up from her chair. "You can stay on the balcony still if you want to."

Steven looked up at her and asked, "Are you sure? Won't I have to pass over your bed to leave- I couldn't do that in good conscience with you asleep."

"Knock on the hatch," she mimicked the action. "I'm a really light sleeper! I'll open the hatch so you can pass by."

She was more hoping that by the time he came down, he would see her missing and figure that she went to the bathroom or something like that. In any case, there's no way he would stay up on the balcony for too long, and then she could use that way to get back into the house after it was all done and over with.

Steven still looked hesitant, but a quick glance at the skyline had him agreeing with it, "Ok, I can do that. Or I'll just scale down the side of the building if I have to. Goodnight, Marinette, I hope you have nice dreams."

"Goodnight, Steven," she waved him off and went down the hatch, only realizing that he said he would climb down the building after she was going down the stairs that led to her bed. 

No matter the conversation, Steven always managed to get her caught off guard by some weird statement.

Wasting no more time, she transformed and opened her window enough to slip out, making sure to keep out of sight of Steven who was still on the balcony. Once she was in the clear and away from the bakery, she swung her yo-yo to propel her forward, making her way to Alya's house.

Ladybug wished that it had taken longer to arrive, but against her will, she was staring into the Césaire household through a window.

Alya was in her room at her computer, and as Ladybug reached out to knock on the window, she looked up and saw her. Surprise bleed onto her face, followed by only the briefest sense of hope before it was crushed under realization.

The other girl got up from her seat and opened the window so that Ladybug could enter her room.

"Is..." Alya took a shaky breath. "Is tonight the night that you...?"

"Yes," she nodded. "But I'll need your help, this one last time."

"Anything, Ladybug," Alya said without hesitation. "Anything I can do to help, I promise I will."

Raising up her hands, she said, "Easy now, thank you for your assistance. Now, I need you to send out a message to Lê Chiến Kim, Max Kanté, Luka Couffaine, and Nino Lahiffe urging them to meet at the Jardins du Trocadéro now."

Alya's eyes darted around Ladybug's face as if trying to figure out what she meant, before it finally hit her, "So you mean-"

"Everything will be explained soon, I promise," Ladybug cut her off. "Just a little while more."

"Ok, ok, yeah," Alya nodded. "I'll send them all the message in just a sec."

Ladybug watched as Alya gained her composure again, enough to pull out her phone and text all of the individuals.

As soon as she did so, and waited for the confused confirmations, Alya turned back to Ladybug to say, "They're all on their way now."

"Good," Ladybug said. Then, she held out her hand for Alya to take.

Hesitantly reaching out to grab it, Alya let Ladybug hoist her up, exiting out the window and closing it before swinging off to the Trocadéro.

Chat was already there with Kagami waiting patiently, and she let Alya down who moved to stand next to the other girl.

Kagami glanced at the girl with masked curiosity but didn't say anything in greeting. Chat must have had to explain the situation to get her to come to the meeting in the first place.

Soon, slowly the last remaining heroes arrived, Nino arriving in a hurry before seeing Alya and going to her side, Max and Kim coming over together looking nervous followed by lastly Luka.

Now that all the players had arrived, Ladybug looked over to Chat who gave her a supportive squeeze on her shoulder, and she gathered all of her thoughts together.

"Thank you all for meeting here unexpectedly," she started. "I know you must all be confused, but please, I just ask that you wait until Chat and I have explained everything before you ask questions."

"Of course, Ladybug," Luka said with a look of concern. "Is everything ok? Did something happen?"

Closing her eyes briefly she tried to shove away the memories of the fight as she said, "Yes. Something did happen. All of you, until now, had something in common, and due to recent events Chat and I have had to face a very serious problem involving you all."

To those who weren't already aware of what she meant, they looked confused and worried, while those that were already in the know grimaced.

Wanting to rip it off like a band-aid, she said plainly, "You were all heroes chosen by myself, or by the former Guardian of the Miraculous." 

Exclamations came from just near about everyone, Kagami seeming interested in the ensemble and looking at them with new eyes whereas Max and Kim expressed surprise that the two friends were both heroes and had no idea.

Luka, instead, was looking right at her, saying, "If you're telling us this, it's probably because we can't be them anymore, right?"

"That is correct," she glanced to the side to avoid their faces. "Recently, there was a battle where Chat and I had to face all of you with your miraculous on. Hawk Moth has disposed of the prior guardian and used his akuma, Miracle Queen, to figure out all of your identities. Because of this, he knows who all of you are."

"We don't mean to punish you," Chat stepped up, imputing for the first time so far. "You have all been amazing heroes. But it's too dangerous to involve any of you again."

"But how do we not remember any of this?" Kim asked, and Ladybug would have reprimanded him for asking a question before she was finished, but she didn't have the heart to when seeing his crestfallen face.

"You were all under mind control, it was part of the akuma's power," she explained. "But don't worry, only we, and Hawk Moth and Mayura, along with one other, know your identities. Everyone in Paris was under Miracle Queen's control."

"You forgot about the part where it was Chloé who was akumatized," Alya snarled, her anger directed at the blond and not them. "It's her fault that we can't be heroes anymore."

Ladybug wanted to step in and say, as she would in any normal akuma situation, that it was Hawk Moth's fault for the actions of the akuma. But not this time.

As expected, the group broke out in anger, and she had to raise their hands and say, "Please, I know you are upset, but we can't afford to attract an akuma."

That managed to calm them down, but given the various looks of loathing on their face, she knows it was only a surface-level pacification.

"That is the gist of what occurred," she continued, looking at Chat to see if he had anything to add, but at his silence, she continued. "And I just want to say thank you."

Walking up to Kagami, she told her, "Thank you, Kagami, for being Paris' steadfast Ryuko."

Moving down the line, she stood in front of Max and said, "And thank you, Max, for saving Startrain as Pegasus."

And then, to Kim, "And to you, Kim, the former guardian saw the exact hero you could be, and you have performed wonderfully as Roi Singe."

Looking at the two who hurt the most to say goodbye to, she walked over to the huddled Alya and Nino to say, "Alya. Nino. The two of you have helped Chat and me out through many battles, and you were two of the original choices I had for secondary heroes. I will miss both of you, and I'm sure Paris will miss Rena Rouge and Carapace as well, if not more."

The couple held on tighter to each other, and even though she wasn't Marinette right now, she wanted to just lunge and embrace them so much. She could imagine them being full-time heroes, but now that could never happen.

There was only one last hero left, and as she stood awkwardly in front of Luka, she dimly realizes that this is the first time she's managed to see him in about a week or so. 

And instead of being Marinette, eagerly learning how to play the guitar, she's Ladybug telling him, "And thank you, Luka, for enduring Second Chance for the safety of Paris as Viperion."

Stepping back, she returned to Chat's side, and finally said, "You can ask us any questions that you might have going forward. But I will also implore you to not share anything that you have learned today online, it will only put all of us in more danger."

No one seemed as though they protested keeping their secrecy, but Kagami did talk a step forward to ask, "Ladybug, during Ikari Gozen, you told me that I couldn't be Ryuko again due to Hawk Moth knowing my identity, but you requested my help again after that. As such, why can't we still assist despite Hawk Moth knowing all of our identities?"

Kagami's question was a fair one, Ladybug had done the opposite of what she had prior told the girl, but that was an extenuating circumstance.

"It's true that I did ask for your help again during Heart Hunter, and if I had any other option I would have taken it, but I knew you were in the area and you were the most available hero to request help from," Ladybug said. "Had I more time, I would have searched for a hero with a more secure identity, but it wasn't an option."

"I see," Kagami closed her eyes. "I thank you for your honesty, Ladybug."

It didn't look as though anyone had any other question- and she suspects, that they all had the same one as Kagami- but then Luka spoke up softly to ask, "Would it be possible to be gifted a different miraculous?"

Everyone turned to look at him with confusion, but he didn't shift at the attention.

"Before I was given the Snake Miraculous, another person had used it before me," Luka explained. "I won't reveal who they are, in case Ladybug plans to return to them now that I've been revealed, but that means that the miraculous can be interchanged, right?"

She shared a look with Chat. Ladybug had honestly... not thought about that. It was so easy to forget that she had given Adrien the Snake Miraculous before gifting it to Luka, but he had a point.

Ladybug settled on answering with, "That's something that Chat and I will have to discuss more, but it would be very risky. Hawk Moth could suspect your identities easier if he figures out we're still keeping you on the team."

It wasn't a yes, but it certainly wasn't a no either. Renewed hope blossomed on their faces, and she couldn't find it in her to squash it. 

One last question was asked by Nino, "Ladybug, if I can ask, now that we've all been revealed, are there any heroes you dudes can rely on for help?"

She didn't get a chance to answer that one before Chat swiftly came in and said, "Yes, there are two other heroes that haven't been revealed to Hawk Moth- one is a hero who hasn't been gifted their miraculous yet, and the other is Multimouse, who I'm sure we can bring back now that the guardian situation has been changed."

Ladybug's eyes widened in shock, and she wanted to refute the statement- considering that she was Multimouse- but she couldn't question Chat in front of everyone, so she would just pull him aside the first chance she got.

"Multimouse?" Alya perked up at the unknown name. "When were they active?"

"Ah, it's best if I don't say," Chat looked abashed now that he saw the look Ladybug was sending him. "But trust me when I say she is a beyond capable hero."

Ready to end this miserable night, Ladybug started to say, "Yes, well, if that's all for now-" 

"You know, it's weird that we all know each other," Kim spoke up as he scratched his chin. "Like- what's the chances of that, huh!"

Fear laced her heart and snuck up her spine, but- thankfully- before she had to divert attention away from the statement, Max spoke up beside his taller friend, "While it's unlikely, it's not that surprising. While we aren't exactly famous, most of us have some relation to the majority of akumas that arise, making it often for us to show up on the news."

"And I run the Ladyblog," Alya pointed out. "And I make it pretty apparent that Nino is my boyfriend on social media, so that's how Ladybug knows him."

"I was the target of my akumatized mother when I was approached with the Dragon Miraculous," Kagami stated. "And my prowess with a sword is well known within the fencing community, along with my family name. It isn't unusual that Ladybug would have remembered me from that or from Riposte."

"And I was in the sewers at the same time that the original Snake wielder gave up the miraculous for me instead," Luka shrugged.

"As for you Kim, you were chosen by the previous guardian. Not Ladybug," Max adjusted his glasses. "As such, the chances of us knowing each other are much higher than you think."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Kim bobbed his head up and down. "We've all got our own things that make us stand out for superhero-ing. Not all of us can be rich like Chloé or a model like Adrien."

"Or a charitable diplomat like Lila," Alya tacked on, gaining the nods from her peers, but narrowed eyes from Kagami and no recognition from Luka. "Although it's strange that she hasn't been given a miraculous yet given that she's Ladybug's best friend."

Ladybug was so tempted to correct her right then and there but she was tired. Very tired. She could correct Alya on a day when she wasn't so drained.

"I have to go," she announced, stopping any conversation about the liar. "And I cannot express this enough- I'm so sorry."

Without waiting another second she pulled out her yo-yo and sped away from the group. Chat didn't follow after her, which she was glad for, and she hoped he had stayed with all of the other former-heroes to give them a proper send-off than what she did.

Stumbling onto the roof of a house nearby the bakery, she shuddered with barely contained tears before taking a breath and counting to ten. She stayed there until she had buried and hide away the nasty feelings that wanted to consume her.

Composed, she continued on to the bakery but skidded to a stop a few buildings over at the sight of Steven still on the balcony, leaning against the rails as he spoke softly in the direction of her roses.

Well, there goes her plans to transform on her balcony. And she didn't want to get caught climbing in through her window as Ladybug.

Which left coming in through the backdoor to the bakery.

Leaping off of the building she was on, she whispered, "Tikki, spots off."

Her kwami appeared before her to silently nuzzle against her cheek in an embrace.

"You are one of the strongest Ladybug's I've ever had," Tikki told her, looking up at her with sincere eyes.

"Thanks, Tikki," Marinette leaned her head into the embrace. "I'm trying my best."

"Your best is more than good enough," her kwami said it with such conviction that Marinette had no place to disagree.

As much as Marinette would like to revel in the comfort her kwami was offering, she would feel much better if it was done safely inside of the bakery.

Opening the backdoor as silently as she could manage, she slipped inside and locked it behind her. Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned towards the staircase and made her steps light so as to not make the boards creak.

She thought she was in the clear given that her parents hadn't woken up yet, but just as she got to the first landing she heard, "Marinette?"

Looking up at the top of the stairs, Steven looked down at her with slight confusion, saying, "I didn't know you had gone out. Did you tell your parents that you did?"

"Ah, well you see, I-" she fumbled around for what to say, twisting around her fingers as she tried to conjure up a reasonable excuse as to why she was sneaking back into the bakery.

But then Steven's face softened, and he asked her, "Have you been crying? Your eyes are red..."

"They are?" she asked in surprise, one hand reaching up to hover over her right eye. "I wasn't-"

Marinette cut herself off, not even sure what she could say at that moment.

Apparently, she didn't need to, as Steven gestured towards the living room door saying, "Come here, you look like you've had a rough night."

Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, she finished her trek up the staircase and followed Steven as he entered the living room and headed towards the kitchen.

Turning towards her, Steven extended both of his hands, curled up into fists, as he told her, "Pick one."

"Huh?" she was confused about what he meant.

"Choose one of my hands," he explained. "This would work better if I had little slips of paper, but I didn't expect to be doing this today, so I have to make do."

Hesitantly, she reached out and tapped his right hand. In response, he unfurled it- and as he stated- there was nothing there, but he grinned at her and said, "Awesome, I hope you’re in the mood to eat something sugary."

"Eat something?" she questioned, but her stomach did rumble slightly at the idea of having something to eat. Coming from a family of bakers, Marinette knew exactly how much comfort food worked wonders. "Are you going to be making me something? What are you making- is it an American dish?"

"That's a surprise, but you can watch and make a guess," he stuck his tongue out at her. "I can guarantee that you'll never be able to get it right."

A challenge and a dessert? Count Marinette in.

Even though Steven was keeping the actual result a surprise, she watched as he pulled out pancake mix, just as she was about to say, 'pancakes', Steven said, "It's not pancakes if that's what you're thinking. Normally, for this recipe, I would just use frozen pre-made ingredients."

Now, growing up in a bakery with fresh everything made Marinette cringe at the statement.

Steven laughed at her face and said, "Don't worry, I leaned away from that habit years ago. Not really healthy to have microwavable things all the time, you know?"

"So if it's not pancakes, is it waffles?" Marinette guessed.

"Part of it is," Steven set out a waffle iron. "But it would have been hard to hide that from you."

And she watched silently as he went about making the mix and cooking four waffles, setting them aside on a plate he had pulled out, stacking them up.

Sometime before cooking the second waffle he pulled out a strange packet from one of the cupboards. At seeing her confusion he explained, "I was advised ahead of time that it'd probably be best to carry my own packets of popcorn while in France. I take it that it's not really a thing here?"

"We have it here, but I've heard that it's different than American popcorn," she leaned forward against the counter-top. "This is definitely an American recipe then."

Taking out a pan to put on the stovetop, Steven remarked, "I hope your parents don't wake up from the noise, it gets kinda loud cooking it."

"They can sleep through anything, I'm pretty sure you're fine," Marinette told him. Plus, the smell wouldn't wake them up either, considering the bakery and all.

"Oh, that's good," Steven looked relieved. And from there he balanced between making the waffles and cooking the popcorn on the stovetop, and Steven was right it was pretty loud. But not enough to wake up her parents who've slept through akumas countless of times when Hawk Moth struck at night.

His timing was perfect enough that both the waffles and popcorn finished at the same time, and by then Marinette was very intrigued- and hungry- to see what the finished result would be.

Considering what he already had, Steven searched around before he pulled out their small bottle of maple syrup that they owned. He drizzled it semi-generously over the waffles- probably more than what she would have done, but probably less than what he would have done considering the size of the bottle.

Then he pulled out a can of whipped cream.

"Where did you buy that?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I found a store with an American section and bought it on an impulse, your mother looked so surprised but was ultimately ok with it," Steven popped off the cap, aiming the nozzle towards the top waffle.

Pressing his finger down, the whipped cream spewed out of the pressurized can and he made sure to spiral it to a point before he was satisfied.

Capping it, he placed it back in the fridge before pulling out a container of strawberries and pulled out two. Putting the box back in the fridge, he got a bowl to properly clean them before he placed them on top of the whipped cream.

Then he took a handful of popcorn and sprinkled it on top, pushing the plate forward with a "Ta-da!"

Looking down at his creation, Marinette could safely say she had not a single clue as to what it was.

But she knew one thing- it was without a doubt extremely American.

"What is it?" she asked, making up names in her head. Obviously something involving waffles, and cream, perhaps?

Steven was pouring the remaining popcorn in a bowl, as he revealed the name of the mystery dessert, "It's something I invented myself! Although, I'm sure I'm not the first person to have the idea. In any case, I call it Together Breakfast."

"Together Breakfast?" she blinked.

Pulling up to the seat across from her, Steven started to cut into his creation, elaborating for her, "When I was younger, I didn't get to have meals with my guardians, and at that point, I hardly saw my dad- let alone eat with him!- so I made this in an attempt to share it with them."

As he cut her a piece, she frowned as she mentally put that new piece of information into the list of similarities he had with Adrien. At this point, she was starting to suspect that M. Universe was related to M. Agreste, maybe even his clone. Or brother- a brother would make more sense than a clone, especially since they didn't look alike.

"Well, go on and try it," Steven smiled at her, as he brought up his own forkful of the dessert. 

Cutting into the waffle stack, she made sure to get a good piece that had whipped cream, syrup, and popcorn on it, just so she could make sure that it was the full experience of the dish.

Bringing her fork up to her mouth she swallowed the piece.

Surprised, she looked up and said, "This didn't taste at all what I expected! It's super sugary but really good too!"

"Well I'm glad," Steven smiled at her, seemingly enjoying the dish even more now. "I think this is the second time I've actually shared the dish with someone."

"But I'm curious, what was the other option," Marinette asked, continuing to eat.

Raising a finger to his lips, Steven said, "That's a surprise for some time in the future. Maybe that one you can help me out with instead of me doing all of the legwork."

"Hey! You're the one who decided to make the dessert not me," she huffed, but let it dissolve into a pleased smile. "Thank you, by the way. I was having a pretty rough night and this helped."

"Of course," Steven said with no hesitation. "I may not know exactly what you're going through, but I was fourteen once too. And I had to deal with some pretty messed up things, not exactly like akuma's but... still bad."

Settling down her fork, she recognized that Steven was going to confide in her.

"I didn't really have a stable family growing up, not a lot of people to turn to and learn how to be human," Steven said, a distant look in his eyes. "At fourteen, you're in the process of growing up and puberty- which is yuck all around- and it's hard without people there to support you. Which is why I'm really happy that you've got your mom and dad here ready and willing to help you. You're really lucky, you know?"

She did, her parents were always so supportive and understanding, which is why it hurt every time that she had to lie about her activities as Ladybug.

Steven has mentioned his guardians and M. Universe in the past but never-

"You haven't talked about your mom," Marinette said, eyes pointed down towards the counter. "Is she...?"

A stricken look flashed onto the older teens face, but while it didn't so much as disappear it became more controlled, "My mother... Rose died when I was born."

Rose, that one name set off an epiphany in her head, the combination of the few odd reactions that he had made sense now.

And she added 'absent mother' to the list in her head.

"Rose-" Steven sighed. "She wasn't a good person. She hurt me in ways I can't even confront her about."

Now that shocked Marinette, up until this point not really having had to deal with a topic of that particular nature. But her mind would run rampant if she didn't ask, "How so?"

Playing with a few of his curls, Steven sighed into one of his hands, telling her, "I don't want to unload this on to you- trust me, I've learned the punishment for unwanted venting- since it's really doesn't concern you, but in short, she was a liar. Like the queen of all liars."

Scowling, mimicking his pose, Marinette remarked, "If she's the queen of liars then I'm pretty sure I met the princess of them."

"You have to deal with a liar too?" Steven rose up straight, a hint of protectiveness in his voice.

Drawing shapes with her finger onto the table, Marinette told him, "There's this girl in my class- Lila. She's such a lair, the only time she ever told the truth was when she was threatening me in the bathroom. But nobody believes me and- at this point I've just about given up trying to deal with her."

The older teens twisted up at the information, but he offered her the advice to, "I know it's hard, but be patient. Her lies will come crumbling down and everyone will know who she truly is."

Making eye contact with him, she just needs to know if, "Did that work with your mom?"

"Eventually," Steven nodded. "The entirety of my people know her actions, and the lies that she told. Living a double life... all the people that she hurt because of that- it's just so much to deal with."

Marinette's heart dropped at double life.

Steven's mother... lived a double life too? And people got hurt because of it? Does that mean that she could hurt people too, by lying like this-

No, the circumstances had to be different. If Hawk Moth knew who she was he would send people after her to get her miraculous, it was imperative that he not find out-

There was more than one miraculous box. What if there was an active one in America? And what if-

"Could she have been trying to protect the people that she cared about? By having a double life?" Marinette practically begged.

Steven looked reflective, but his shoulders dropped, as he said, "Maybe. I hope so at least. The more I learn about her, the more bad things I find out she's done. But, she's a part of me-"

The older teen clenched protectively around the middle of his stomach.

He didn't continue the sentence, but he did look marginally better as he said, "I have an idea. Why don't I teach you a meditative technique that my friend Garnet taught me?"

Perplexed by the change in topic, Marinette nodded slowly, saying, "Mme. Bustier makes us meditate in the courtyard sometimes. It helps but there's not a lot of time to fit it into a lesson."

"Well this doesn't require a full-on yoga mat or anything like that, it's something that you can do right at your desk," Steven brought up his hands and cupped them with his palms facing up. "It's a lot better to introduce the technique when singing the song, but that would really wake your parents up."

Marinette mimicked the position, her thoughts successfully distracted from the previous conversation. After tonight, she probably could benefit from having a way to meditate anywhere. The other's too, considering how their hero dreams were crushed without even doing anything wrong.

Maybe she could teach it to Mme. Bustier and then she could teach it to the class or-

"Steven! I have an idea!" she chirped. Steven blinked in surprise but didn't stop her. "I'm the class representative, and my teacher lets me handle guest presentations sometimes- you should come in and teach me and all of my friends how to do this, with the song! And you could talk more about music therapy, and then you'd get a chance to meet all of my friends, and-"

But of course, she was getting ahead of herself, and she stopped before she could go on further.

Lamely, she concluded, "If you want to though."

Steven laughed- muted with respect to her sleeping parents- as he exclaimed, "I could do that, yeah. Been a while since I performed in front of anyone! But it is a good technique to teach you and your friends, who knows? Maybe it'll help prevent future akumas."

"I'll talk to Mme. Bustier as soon as I get to class," Marinette promised. "She should say yes, she's so caring that she does anything to make sure we're safe- even taking an akuma for me once?"

"I'd like to meet her," Steven said. Then he gathered up the empty plates and placed them in the sink, alongside the pan he had used to cook the popcorn. "You should probably get some sleep, Marinette. It is pretty late, and growing kids need their sleep."

"I can help with the dishes," she offered, feeling bad that she had enjoyed the treat he made but he was forced to do all the clean up too.

"Nah, I can handle it myself," Steven waved her off. "Goodnight for real this time, Marinette."

Getting off her chair, she bid him goodnight genuinely this time. Her mind was completely running wild with ideas and fake-scenarios about what could happen. Marinette was sure that this would be a good idea, a way to make her friends less of a risk of akumatization and finally introduce them all to her host brother.

She was still worried about the ideas that had festered in her head due to the small connection with Steven's mother, but she didn't want to think about that right now.

Chapter Text

Walking up to Mme. Bustier after class is a challenge. Not because of anything bad happening, but because Marinette is brimming with excitement, and when she gets happy she tends to get clumsier. She even trips on the last step in her excitement, wobbling before skipping towards her teacher's desk.

Mme. Bustier stared up at her warmly, greeting her, "Marinette, you seem particularly excited today. Is there anything that you need from me?"

"Yes, actually," clasping her hands she tried to hide her enthusiasm into something more professional as the class representative. "Mme. Bustier, would it be possible to arrange for a guest speaker to give a presentation sometime this week?"

Adjusting in her seat so that she could check on her monitor if her lesson plan could allow such an unexpected event, Mme. Bustier told her, "I suppose I could push back our lesson on Wednesday, but who exactly would you like to bring in as a guest?"

Not being able to contain her joy anymore, Marinette blurted out, "My family has been hosting a soon to be American university student for the past week or so now, and he's planning to go into a study to become a music therapist- and he used to run a school that focused on different meditative teachings! I told him about our struggles with akuma's, and I think we could really benefit from what he could teach us."

Leaning back in her seat a little, Mme. Bustier looked contemplative as she digested to information that Marinette had just dumped onto her. 

But it didn't take long before a kind smile graced her teacher's face as she said, "I think it's a splendid idea Marinette, and it's very thoughtful of him to offer a lesson for our class. I'll clear it up with M. Damocles, in fact, I think he'd enjoy sitting in on the lesson as well."

Jumping for joy, Marinette cheered, "Thank you so much Mme. Bustier! I just know that this is exactly what the class needs!"

"Any chance I can give my students more ways to center themselves and keep a positive mindset I'll take it heartily," Mme. Bustier told her. "Now hurry along to Mme. Mendeleiev, I wouldn't want you to be late."

Elated at how easily her idea of having Steven give a presentation went, Marinette didn't sprint out of the classroom to the next, and instead had a bounce in her step that Tikki noted that she hadn't seen in her holder in a long while.

And as she plopped down next to Alya at their shared desk, her good mood led to her cheerfully asking her friend, "Alya, what's with the notebooks? Working on your next scoop?"

Alya had been staring down at two different closed notebooks, hand hovering hesitantly over one before switching to the other.

Nino, turning around to face them, answered Marinette's question with, "More like she can't figure out which one to focus more on."

That surprised Marinette, enough to shock her out of her own happy world that she had just been residing in, and she focused more on the two notebooks themselves, "Oh? What are the two scoops?"

Her hand reached out towards the one closest to her, but Alya pulled it out of her grasp with a slightly nervous look.

"Girl, you know I just can't reveal confidential information that easily," Alya said, despite the fact that prior to now she would have told Marinette whatever new theory or information that she had researched the very second she had the chance to.

"Ok," Marinette said slowly. "Well, is there at least anything I can do to help you choose between the two?"

Alya and Nino shared a look, which made for an easy guess on what the two scoops might be about.

"I suppose so," Alya shifted, her eyes focusing on the notebooks again. "One of the scoops I already have a lot of headway for and the other... sorta popped up recently. I can't really say much beyond that."

Marinette wasn't sure what the first could be about, but the second was definitely about something from the meeting between Chat, her, and the former secondary heroes.

And with that in mind, Marinette advised, "You should go for the scoop that you already have information on. That way you can get the story out quicker and then go back to the other one."

Alya nodded at her reasoning, and she slid one of the notebooks into her bag saying, "Thanks girl, you always know how to help a friend out."

Marinette nodded unsurely, but she couldn't say anything more before Mme. Mendeleiev entered the classroom, and since she wasn't in the mood to get scolded at- especially since the start of her day was pretty great- she opted to focus more on her lesson than on whatever Alya was scheming at.

But halfway through the lesson, Marinette's brain wandered back to remind her that she could finally introduce Steven to all of her friends, and her giddiness snapped right back into place, so much so that the rest of the day seemed like a blur.

And she nearly skipped down the steps to the collège, just thinking about how she could tell Steven the good news as soon as she got to the bakery but was interrupted mid-leap by Kim calling out to her. Which then prompted her to balance on one of the steps, arms waving wildly in order to keep balance.

"Kim," she exclaimed a hand to her heart as soon as her feet were planted firmly against the ground. "You nearly killed me!"

Marinette didn't know what she was expecting when Kim called out to her unexpectedly, but it definitely wasn't the sight of him catching up to her with Max held firmly against his shoulder as the other boy pounded his fists against the jock's back hissing at him to stop.

"Sorry about that," Kim waved off, ignoring how Max was fighting against his hold. "But I had to catch up to you to tell you about a commission idea I had for you!"

"Kim, seriously, stop," Max snapped, the usually mild-temper boy was particularly riled up about whatever Kim was going to ask of her. 

"Ok so, picture this," Kim spread one hand out to the side, the other still holding out max firmly. "I buy these nice jackets, so you don't have to worry about making those, and all you have to do is-"

A slap. "Kim!"

"Relax," Kim didn't even flinch, bulldozing ahead with his request. "As I was saying, all you gotta do is add a bunch of cute animal designs. So like, the one for me is gonna have a monkey, then I'll need one of a horse for my buddy, Max, here-" he pat Max firmly against the back. "-and then a snake- oh maybe a double-headed snake, yeah that sounds about right. And a dragon-"

"You are not even attempting to be inconspicuous, Kim," Max sighed, promptly giving up whatever fight he had left in him.

"Chill," Kim responded to the other boy. "If it'll make you whine less, we can add in the word zodiac above the animals. Foxes and turtles are apart of the zodiac right? Yeah, that sounds right."

If Marinette were not Ladybug, perhaps she would be effectively confused by this request. But since she is Ladybug, she knows exactly what Kim is asking of her to do, and why Max was putting up such a fight.

But she isn't Ladybug right now, instead, she is Marinette, and she is attempting to hide her giggles behind her hand at the display.

"Well, this all sounds very weird," she told her classmate. "But I suppose that's just to be expected from anything to do with you, Kim."

Kim blinked, and then asked, "So does that mean you'll do it?"

Logically, she should just really, really say no. "I'll need quite a bit of time, but I'm sure I can fit it in my schedule." But what's the harm in doing so? Hawk Moth already knows who they are.

Kim fist-pumped, cheering as he dropped Max down from his shoulder. The other man huffed, adjusting his wrinkled clothes, and told Marinette exasperatedly, "I apologize for him, he is just... Kim."

Laughing freely now, she agreed with Max, "True, but he wouldn't be himself if he didn't act so Kim-like."

"I concur," Max looked to the side, and Marinette wasn't sure why until he timidly asked, "If it's not too much trouble, could my horse design be grey and primarily white?"

And her heart just melted at that, and even though Marinette shouldn't know what the kwami's looked like, she couldn't help but nod her head and say, "It wouldn't be any trouble at all, Max."

Her peer composed himself and nodded at her, but Marinette saw the small smile that he had.

"I'll let you know when I have all the jackets," Kim popped back into the conversation. "You're the best, Marinette!"

Feeling somewhat guilty at the praise, Marinette just shrugged and said, "Don't be thanking me too soon, Kim. I still haven't told you my rates yet."

Blowing a raspberry, Kim said, "Cost doesn't matter to me, just having something too, uh, remember being... a part of a super-secret and selective club is what's important to me."

Max couldn't possibly get any more exasperated and Marinette was struggling to not follow in his lead.

If any of the others fared as badly as Kim did with keeping their identities a secret still Marinette might just slip into a coma from the stress of it all.

"Sorry that you can't be apart of the club too, Marinette," Kim continued. "But, ya know. Selective and all."

It took everything in her willpower to not retort that she was actually a part of the club, the leader of it even, but that would back her into a corner of revealing that she was, at least, Multimouse and then that would be a whole thing. Because she wouldn't reveal herself as Ladybug nearly as easily. Maybe Multimouse would be a good cover for any suspicions about her identity, now that other people- mainly Alya- knew the hero existed.

"Yes, well, I have to go now," Marinette said, saving Kim from sticking his foot into his mouth any further. "Have a nice day guys!"

She raced off towards the bakery, directing all of her attention towards the good news and what would happen come Wednesday.

Marinette just knew that everything would go swimmingly.

And just as though to prove her point, she was able to not only get a full, uninterrupted eight hours of sleep, but she also woke up early on Wednesday. Extra early. 

In fact, she was so early that she didn't rush to put on her clothes or race down and skip breakfast entirely. Marinette even had time to help with it! 

Being able to sit down and chat with her parents at the table was so worth it, as she always cherished time spent with her family. And somehow, she actually beat Steven at waking up as he joined not too long after Sabine prepared a pot of ginseng tea.

Steven blinked at the sight of an already awake Marinette, but he greeted her warmly nonetheless, "Good morning, Marinette. You're up earlier than usual."

"Just excited for today," she said, eyeing him up and down. "I like your outfit!"

The older teen had forgone his usual pink varsity jacket for a thin black one, and instead of his usual star sign shirt, he was wearing a pink button-down. He still wore a pair of jeans and his pink strapped sandals that wrapped around the heels of his feet, which she always found peculiar but tried not to judge.

"Thanks! Wanted to give off a semi-professional vibe," he grabbed a single slice of brioche.

Sabine brought over a cup of tea, asking, "Would you like some tea, dear?"

Steven accepted it with a, "Yes, please. This is just what I'll need for this morning."

Marinette noticed his hands shaking somewhat as they steadied the cup, and she asked, "Nervous? You can back out now if you'd like, only we and Mme. Bustier and M. Damocles know about the presentation."

He waved one of his hands and said, "Not so much nervous as socially inept. I've come to terms with the fact that I tend to make a fool of myself in front of big crowds."

"All of my friends are really nice- well, except for Lila and Chloé," then Marinette winced. "I should probably warn you in advance that they're both going to be there today. Chloé might try to say something, but if you just ignore her then you'll be fine."

A pensive look grew on Steven's face before he shook it off, "I've got thick skin. And what's the worst that she can do? She already kicked me out of her hotel."

"Someone should really teach that girl better manners," Sabine sighed into her cup.

Marinette huffed in agreement, angrily biting into her own slice of brioche. Chloé had better not stir up any trouble, the whole point of this arrangement was that Steven was going to help them repel more akuma's- not cause one. 

After finishing breakfast, and after Steven downed another cup of tea just to be sure, the two walked down the stairs of the bakery, only stopping for Steven to enter his room and get his guitar case to which he left the door open on his way out which led to Marinette closing it for him.

Together, the two of them walked towards Françoise Dupont, with this being the second time Steven stood on the steps to the collège. Entering the courtyard, they were early enough that not many students had arrived yet.

"Wow," Steven remarked in a hush, staring at the different levels of the building. "Are all schools like this?"

Marinette shrugged, telling him, "It's a pretty standard layout."

Steven flushed in embarrassment, as he exclaimed, "Oh, yeah, probably."

"Before I show you to Mme. Bustier's class, I just need to put some stuff in my locker," Marinette explained, gesturing for him to follow her to the locker rooms.

As they entered the room, Steven said, "I was wondering where your lockers were. The school I went to for a day had lockers in the hallways themselves, I always thought it was bit clustered that way."

"Really? Having them in the hallways would be so much better," Marinette lamented. "It'd be way harder to steal something out of them if they were."

Glancing at her, Steven asked, "Have you ever had your locker broken into?"

"Er, yes," Marinette ducked her head down. "A few times. But nothing got stolen, just... defaced and fake evidence planted to get me expelled."

"Expelled?!" Steven blurted out, eyes wide. "Why would someone want to do that to you?"

With a scowl, Marinette grumbled, "Lila that's who."

Understanding blossomed onto Steven's face, and he remarked gently, "Yeah, well, for her sake she better not try anything funny with me here."

Flattered and touched that Steven believed her automatically about Lila, Marinette let the subtle threat slide.

Marinette swapped out her books for Mme. Mendeleiev's, knowing that likely Steven would take up the majority of class time. 

With that done, she finally was able to bring Steven up to the second level of the collège heading straight towards Mme. Bustier's classroom.

The door was closed, so Marinette knocked on it- just to see if Mme. Bustier was in there- and after hearing verbal confirmation, she peeked her head inside, seeing that nobody else was inside yet.

She opened the door fully and walked inside with Steven following after her.

Mme. Bustier got up and a brief look of surprise colored her face before it was replaced with a smile and an outstretched hand, "You must be M. Steven, it's so very good to meet you. I'm Marinette's teacher, Mme. Bustier."

The older teen reached out and accepted her hand with a shake, saying, "It's my pleasure to be here today, anything to help Marinette and her friends out."

"That seems to be something we can both agree on," Mme. Bustier said fondly. "Although, if you may permit me saying, I was expecting someone a bit older looking. You look just like one of my very own students!"

Retracting his hand, Steven chuckled awkwardly and fumbled, "I've been told that before, I guess those, uh, skin doctors? Those guys must hate me."

"Dermatologists," Marinette supplied, recognizing the translation mishap.

Steven sent her a thankful smile, "Yeah, dermatologists."

Mme. Bustier looked at Marinette with pride, before addressing Steven, "If you need any help at all today with words you may be unfamiliar with, do not hesitate to ask either me or Marinette."

"I might just have to take you up on that," he scratched at the back of his nape, admitting, "Actually, there was one word I just can't seem to remember. It's to help better describe the school that I ran since I was planning on discussing it briefly today."

"Of course," Mme. Bustier nodded. "I am very interested in learning more about it, I will admit, but that's for later. Could you describe as best you could what it is, that will help either of us to provide the appropriate word."

Squinting in thought, Steven supplied, "It's like a place to get better? I know how to say it in English, but all my brain's supplying me with is reconstruction? A reconstruction community?"

"A rehabilitation center?" Marinette pipped up.

Steven snapped his fingers at the word, and nodded at her vigorously, "Yes! Rehabilitation. Stars, that was bothering me for so long, it was just at the tip of my tongue."

Not that Marinette wanted to leave Steven immediately, but she could hear a few of her peer's voices down in the courtyard below and instinctively turned her head towards the open door.

Noticing her momentary distraction, Mme. Bustier told her, "You can spend some time with your classmates while we discuss more in-depth M. Steven's presentation."

Biting her lip, Marinette threw a glance at Steven asking, "Are you sure?"

"Go hang out with your friends Marinette," Steven reassured.

Nodding her head, a grin grew on her face as she raced out the door and practically launched herself down the stairs to meet up with Nino, Alya, and Adrien who had mixed looks of surprise and amusement.

"Girl, what are you doing here so early?" Alya asked, glancing her up and down, taking note of how she was brimming with excitement. "Ok, something's going on, spill."

Dancing in place, Marinette said, "I managed to get Steven to come visit the class! He's up there right now talking with Mme. Bustier. Everyone's going to meet him today!"

Adrien beamed as he asked, "Really?"

"How'd you manage that, girl," Alya cocked her hips, crossing her arms, although the posture was contrasted heavily with the pleased look on her face.

"A class representative never tells," Marinette joked, bringing a finger to her lips.

"Is he doing some sort of presentation?" Nino asked curiously before he turned towards Adrien. "Dude's wicked cool man, I can just tell you're going to like him."

Leaning her weight onto her heels, Marinette said, "Well, he is doing a presentation, but I don't want to spoil the whole surprise, so you won't get anything out of me beyond that."

The three of them nodded at her explanation, and Adrien added on, "I'm excited at getting a chance to meet him, him coming to class is way easier than trying to find an opening in my schedule."

"Be prepared for an onslaught of questions," Alya warned Marinette. "I'm sure everyone's gonna be shocked that you had a whole brand new brother and didn't say anything immediately."

Bouncing her head to the side, Marinette sighed, "Yeah, but at least this way he can meet everyone at once."

The conversation after that turned towards discussing a few upcoming assignments, and when the bell rang, Marinette gave her friends a cheeky grin as they all bounded up the stairs, ready for the 'surprise' guest speaker. 

Everyone else, besides Chloé and Sabrina, was already inside of the classroom, gossiping amongst themselves in a huddle as they stared down at Steven, who was propped up on a stool next to Mme. Bustier's desk, tuning his guitar whilst humming.

"Psst, Marinette," Alix waved them over. "Did you know that we were getting a new student?"

"And what's with the guitar and stool," Kim added as he narrowed his eyes down at Steven. "Suspicious."

Looking at each other, Marinette, Alya, and Nino suppressed their cackles as best they could whereas Adrien looked on amused.

"Care to share with the rest of us what the joke is?" Alix furrowed her brows at their unusual reaction.

"Nothing, it's just," Marinette giggled. "Well, you'll see."

The rest of their classmates shared a collective perplexed look as the four of them sat at their seats, and seeing as they weren't making a fuss about the 'new' student, everyone ended up back at their desks.

Steven had finished tuning his guitar and gave it an experimental strum, which caused the present Kitty Section members to share a curious look.

Then, Mme. Bustier returned to the classroom accompanied by M. Damocles, smiling at her students.

M. Damocles went up to Steven and they shared a hush conversation, ending with a firm handshake between the two before M. Damocles headed towards the opposite side of Mme. Bustier's desk.

"Good morning, everyone," Mme. Bustier greeted them warmly.

Before she could say anything else, Lila raised her hand up and questioned, much to Marinette's chagrin, "Mme. Bustier, do we have a new student in the class? I can show him around since I was the new student before him."

"That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid that won't be necessary as M. Steven isn't here as a student, but rather, as a guest speaker," Mme. Bustier gestured towards Steven, who gave the class a hearty wave.

"How you doing everyone?" his voice was charming, and Marinette couldn't believe this was the same host brother who had needed two cups of tea to calm his nerves this morning. "My name's Steven Universe, and I'm here to help you guys out!"

A charming voice indeed, but still heavily accented. Thus, various desk mates turning towards each other and whispering about who and where he came from to be featured as a guest speaker.

And Steven's eyes darted between the various students, and Marinette could see the apprehension a bit more clearly.

"M. Steven is staying here in Paris with Marinette as her host brother," Mme. Bustier spoke up to quell the whispers. "He's had experience running a school of his own that focuses on meditation and therapeutic practices, and has been so kind as to offer to speak with you all today."

That caught the interest of everyone currently in the classroom, with a few exclamations towards Marinette about how she hadn't told them about this development to her home life.

Before either Mme. Bustier or Steven could continue with the introduction, a scoff rang throughout the classroom, and Chloé herself appeared at the doorway with Sabrina behind her.

"What is he doing here," she scowled, moving further into the classroom to reach her desk. "I didn't know they let homeless people do guest presentations."

Steven didn't look pleased to see the blond, but he didn't rise to the bait completely, simply remarking, "You're a face I didn't think I'd have to see again, but actually Mme. Chloé I should be thanking you. If you hadn't kicked me out of your dad's hotel I never would have gotten a chance to become closer friends with Marinette and her family."

"Kicked out for defending me from your bullying, I might add," Marinette tacked on after seeing the looks her friends were shooting each other.

"Regardless," Mme. Bustier stepped in, diverting the negative attention away from the trio, unaware of whatever tension that lay between them. "Chloé, is there any reason why you and Sabrina are late?"

"Chloé had to finish a last-minute pedicure," Sabrina supplied. "Part of her nail polish chipped away so she had it all redone."

Mme. Bustier sighed at the excuse but didn't go through with any punishment, which got Marinette a weird look from Steven.

Clearing her throat, Mme. Bustier turned towards Steven and said, "Now, M. Steven I like to start class with having the students compliment each other to foster a positive and nurturing environment, but for today it will be just between you and me in order to save time."

"That's adorable," Steven remarked, a hand on his cheek. "Should I go first or...?"

"If you would like too," the woman said to him.

"Oh, well, in that case, I think your voice is really pretty," Steven told her in earnest. "It has a light song to it, I have no doubt your students could listen to you for hours."

Mme. Bustier seemed slightly flustered at the unusual comment, but said, "That's very kind of you to say, M. Steven. As for you, I must say that your eyes are quite beautiful, they sparkle just like diamonds."

"Ah- well, thank you," Steven seemed uncomfortable at the comment, but Marinette had no clue as to why. It seemed pretty run of the mill to her? Steven must have recognized the slight lull his reaction caused as he turned towards M. Damocles and said, "It isn't fair to leave you out, I like your beard!"

That got a few laughs from the students, but Steven didn't seem as though he was actively making fun of M. Damocles, so looked unsure about the outbursts.

Shocked at the compliment, M. Damocles stroked his beard, and said, "Yes, well, thank you, young man. I suppose I like your sandals."

"With that done, it's time that I give M. Steven the stage," Mme. Bustier clapped her hands together and settled down in her chair behind her desk.

Looking back at her for the moment, Steven confirmed that she was really giving him the reins to the class before turning towards them all and saying, "So I recognize quite a few of you, courtesy of Marinette, but I hope to get to know you all more during my stay here in Paris!"

Taking a breath to center himself, he got to the real reason for his visit, "From what I understand, you've guys have been dealing with a lot of really troubling and hard events recently, right?"

The class murmured in acknowledgment, knowing what exactly he was referring to.

"I haven't been here too long, but I did get caught up in an akuma attack my second day here, and that itself was pretty scary. I can't imagine what you guys have to deal with fully," he said, his voice downcast. "But, perhaps I have a way to help you guys sort through whatever may be troubling you now or even in the future."

Adjusting in his seat, Steven continued, "Back in the States, I helped to run a rehabilitation-" and the word came out weird, but Marinette was sure she only noticed due to helping him out with it earlier "-community that focused on all sorts of classes to help my people deal with daily life here on Earth. And I've found that the classes I would help run worked best for myself even, but my students most importantly."

He strummed the guitar idly, looking out towards her and her friends, "Music therapy is something that was introduced to me recently but is something I have been unknowingly employed for practically my entire life. I've been studying to get a degree in it, and have taught a few classes already in receptive and active music therapy. But for today, I'll guide you along with a receptive lesson taught to me by one of my guardians."

Letting go of the guitar, balancing it against his chest, Steven cupped his hands together much like how he had shown Marinette a few days ago.

"Can you guys all do this for me?" Steven asked, and he waited until all of Marinette's classmates mimicked him. "Awesome, you guys have been doing great so far. I know I've been speaking a lot, but this will get a lot more interesting, I promise."

Then, Steven lifted his legs up onto the stool, maneuvering his position so that his legs were crossed, and he said, "Now if you guys can just do the same then you'll be all ready to go."

Marinette felt a bit silly sitting like that at her desk but diligently sat in that position, sharing a small look with Alya.

"Now, just close your eyes," Steven instructed. He began to play the beginnings of a song, speaking softly over it as he closed his own eyes, "Steady your breathing and clear your mind. I want you to think about anything that's been troubling you recently. It could range from a fight with your friends to an akuma that you had to face. None of it is too trivial, if it bothers you then I want you to imagine it as a small, white butterfly."

Butterflies. Huh, Marinette wasn't sure if Steven was aware of how accurately he framed their troubles as butterflies.

Marinette closed her eyes and thought of everything that was troubling her recently. Chloé, Lila, Master Fu leaving, being the guardian, losing all of her allies, Adrien-

"I apologize in advance, for probably not singing it that well in French," Steven gave a fair warning, a stiff smile on his face. "But I've been working at translating the song as best I can so that you guys can get the full experience."

Marinette could clearly see all of her problems as white butterflies. Not purple- she had to focus really hard not to see them as purple and black.

And even though she knew she was supposed to be focusing on the mental images in her head, she couldn't help but hone in on the lyrics Steven was singing.

"Take a moment to think of just," Steven began, his voice soft as it filled the classroom. "Flexibility, love, and trust."

And slowly but surely, Marinette could feel her shoulders relaxing, and her breathing becoming more stable as she held the position, and mentally let go of her worries. Maybe it was just her, but the butterflies she imagined were attached by strings, and as she let go of each worry- so that it couldn't consume her anymore- she had her sewing scissors in her hand to snip away at them.

It was really working, she could feel the pressure leave her chest, and her heart felt lighter!

But then she felt Tikki press against her leg, and she heard a second, slightly monotone voice join Steven's.

Opening her eyes languidly, she wasn't expecting to see an actual white butterfly hover close in front of her face.

Thoroughly shaken, her eyes opened wide as she stared at it, legs jolting out of their crossed position, her feet thumping against the ground. Her hands gripped the desk for stability as she tried to control her breathing.

It looked exactly like the purified akuma's, that she couldn't help but worry if somehow, her thoughts had attracted an akuma that Tikki had to purify herself.

But then she noticed all of the butterflies.

Tens of hundreds of them swarmed around her, spiraling up into the sky- which then brought attention to the fact that she was no longer in Mme. Bustier's classroom, and instead some sort of blue endless space where there was only her, Tikki, and her desk-

"All these little things seem to matter so much."

And Steven.

One of the butterflies fluttered a little too close to her hand for her liking that she shooed it away, glancing around for Steven in the endless blue.

There. Steven was seated on the ground, which was a darker blue than the sky of the unknown area.

Her mind jumped to the possibility of Steven having been akumatized if it weren't for how he continued to sing unaware of the changes in the environment. A regular akuma would have gloated by now.

Plus there were butterflies hovering around him as well, of course, they were few compared to all of hers, but it was still an unusual sight. And it almost looked as though they were blocking something...

"Take a moment and find yourself," Steven continued to sing, and there it was again! That strange and confusing echo that followed Steven's voice. "Take a moment to ask yourself if this is how we fall apart?"

Marinette heard her butterflies converge behind her, and she glanced behind to see that now there was only one huge butterfly behind her. A butterfly that started to show the recent events that had been bothering her on its blank form like a canvas.

Shaking her head, she elected to ignore it for now, in favor of focusing on where the second voice was coming from.

Looking around the space further, she saw a spiral of white butterflies blocking off what looked like another desk from the distance. But the voice wasn't coming from there, it was coming from behind Steven.

Then, the butterflies started to separate slightly, hovering above Steven's head instead.

Revealing, to her utter confusion, a second Steven. A pink, slightly glowing Steven, that was sitting back to back with the flesh-toned one, singing monotonously in sync with his double.

The second Steven seemed so sad, eyes lidded as he sang, "I'm here, I'm here, I'm here."

Leaning against what Marinette was dubbing as her Steven, the double curled in on himself when Steven leaned away and curled closer to his guitar, face still at peace as he sang.

Marinette wanted to call out to whoever that mysterious pink Steven was- an akuma perhaps? She had no clue what he could possibly be- but the angry flapping of butterfly wings called her attention back to the screen of all her recent failures.

Seeing a montage of Lila's harassment, all of the small affections shared between Adrien and Kagami, Miracle Queen, Hawk Moth- had tears rolling down her cheeks, with Tikki trying to console her without floating up into the open space.

Hearing something settle down on top of her desk, she turned and became face to face with the pink Steven.

Shocked, she leaned against the back of the seat but watched as the double cupped his hands, and stared at her until- after a few seconds of silence- she copied him.

Then, the double started to sing along with the distant Steven, "I'm losing sight, I'm losing touch. All these little things seem to matter so much. That they confuse me... that I might lose me."

Marinette's gaze turned back towards the huge, looming butterfly.

A hand touched her shoulder gently, helping her focus on this Steven, "Take a moment remind yourself to, take a moment and find yourself, take a moment and ask yourself if, this is how we fall apart?"

The pink Steven raised a hand to his chest and mimicked breathing, which Marinette copied, as he sang, "But it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not, but it's not."

The spiral of butterflies to the distance disappeared, but she wasn't focusing on the figures inside of it, instead, she closed her eyes and focused on herself. Getting back into the groove that she had started before she opened her eyes the first time.

The giant butterfly was being held down by threads, and she had a scissor in her hands...

The flapping of wings disappeared and faded away, but so did the second Steven's voice, and before she could even recognize what had happened, the classroom was back to normal, and all of her classmates had different looks of relief on their faces, happy grins breaking out between them as Steven ended the song.

A quick and discrete look towards Tikki confirmed that yes whatever the heck all of that was had actually happened.

This... was not how she was expecting Steven's visit going.

Mme. Bustier lay one of her hands on Steven's shoulder, telling him, "That was very beautiful M. Steven. I haven't felt this light and free in months. What about the rest of you?"

"That was amazing!" Rose exclaimed, looking at Juleka.

Tucking some hair behind her ear, Juleka mumbled, "Yeah, it was nice."

"And you plan to do this as a career?" Rose turned back towards Steven, who was settling his guitar to the side of the stool.

"More or less," he confirmed, seeming pleased that the students looked happy. His eyes meet hers, but she darted them to the side, still a mixture of conflicting and confusing emotions after having witnessed whatever had happened, and Steven's previous joy dimmed somewhat. "I like to do active music therapy a bit more than receptive since it helps the other person express exactly what's troubling them, but this was one of the first meditations I learned. You can do this anywhere, so, yeah!"

Mme. Bustier looked up at the clock, and saw that there was at least a good portion of the class left to continue with the lesson a bit more, "Now, to make this a little more academic, why don't we analyze the lyrics to the song that Steven wrote? Do you happen to have a copy that we could project onto the screen?"

Steven nodded and got up to the other side of the desk to start to log in to his email, "Sure, I have music sheets to all of the songs I've written or heard from family members in my life, let me just open it and- here we are! This is the translated version."

Marinette could hardly focus on the lesson, debating whether or not to ask to go to the bathroom just to freak out in private with Tikki, but everyone seemed to be having a good time- except for Adrien who was slightly tense, but when wasn't he? He was a very busy person after all- that it had Marinette convinced that she was the only one who was affected by the song.

As soon as class was over she rushed to her next class, couldn't focus on that either before she found herself cupping her hands over each other and closing her eyes to take a deep breath. When she opened them, the world was still normal, but she was much calmer. That must have been the experience that all of her classmates had...

Now much calmer, but her mind still whirling, Marinette waited for her study period to sequester herself in the library far away from everyone else, just so she could open her purse, stare Tikki down, and whisper-demand-freak-out, "Tikki, what was that?!"

Tikki looked so unsure, "I'm not sure Marinette, but, at least we can now say without a doubt that Steven has some sort of magic beyond whatever is in those bottles."

"But how come I was the only one affected by it?" Marinette questioned, pushing aside a few books to gaze at her classmates that weren't freaked out in the slightest like she was.

"It likely wasn't a conscious power," Tikki noted. "When you meditated, your mind became open and unguarded."

Panicked, Marinette asked the kwami, "Do you think Hawk Moth noticed?! Does he know that I'm-"

"No, Marinette," Tikki rose up to place her paws on Marinette's hands. "By unguarded, I don't mean anyone could have accessed your mind, just that you were more open to face thoughts and feelings you would normally suppress. In any case, it's most likely because you were wearing the earrings that you were drawn into that mindscape at all."

Tikki settled back down into the purse, not satisfied with the conversation as she added, "I just wish I could remember what type of magic this all is. There have been thousands of different types that come and pass throughout history. It's hard to place it without a clear identifier."

"I wish we could consult the grimoire," Marinette mumbled. "Maybe there might have been something in it to clue us in on it."

Marinette's phone buzzed, and she pulled it out to see a message from Steven, wondering if she was ok.

Conflicted, she wanted to just up and ask if he was some sort of mage or something, but if he was keeping things private she should respect that.

And... she hadn't been hurt or akumatized. And that weird pink Steven had helped her calm down when the butterflies had gotten to her.

So... she would act normally towards him. Just until they could at least figure out what was up.

She texted him back to let him know that she was fine, just a bit shocked about how well the technique had made all of her stress just disappear.

Putting away her phone, she looked back at Tikki who was in deep thought.

"Tikki, am I being foolish for trusting Steven so easily?" her question shocked the kwami out of her thoughts.

Tikki's gaze softened, and she sighed, saying, "No. There's nothing wrong with making friends. Even if said friends have, as of right now, unexplained powers."

"Ok, that's good," Marinette nodded slowly.

A knock on the bookcase she was leaning against had Marinette whirling around, closing her purse to keep Tikki hidden, staring at Alya's unimpressed face.

"Alya! What are you doing here?" Marinette smiled and hoped her friend hadn't heard any of that.

"Just coming to get you, girl," Alya said with a shrug. "Everyone in the class was thinking about meeting up with Steven after school, so long as that's ok with you."

"Of course it'd be ok with me, why wouldn't it be?" Marinette walked forwards to meet Alya.

"I dunno, you're the one who's weird," Alya laughed. "But seriously, your host brother packs some vocals. All our Kitty Section friends were beyond impressed."

"He was really good wasn't he..." her mind wandered at remembering the song.

"Mylène's trying to convince Ivan to approach Steven about music therapy so me-thinks we'll have a future music therapist of our own in our group," Alya elbowed Marinette.

"Really?" she blinked, although on second thought, it could be a good career for him.

"Really," Alya confirmed. "Now come on, we just got to finish the rest of the school day and then Steven can meet the rest of the class."

Chapter Text

On their way out of the library, Marinette and Alya were practically steamrolled by Adrien who had been rushing towards the boy’s bathroom. 

"Adrien! Is something wrong?" Alya asked, her eyes wide as she surveyed the hurried blond.

Adrien looked shocked to see them, and as if just noticing how he practically stumbled into them, he awkwardly apologized by saying, "Oh, no everything's fine! I just, you know, need to use the bathroom."

Raising an eyebrow at him, and sharing a side glance with Marinette, Alya said, "Right. Well, you better hurry up before you're late to class."

Adrien fussed with his white button-down, before giving them a reassuring smile, "Oh, I'm sure what I'm doing won't take long."

Then, he turned and entered the bathroom with a slam of its doors.

"That boy sometimes, I swear," Alya mumbled as she shook her head.

The two of them started walking to their next class, with Marinette looking back worriedly, "I don't know Alya, he seemed kind of stressed out."

Sparing a glance backward, Alya shrugged, "Girl, I don't really think that type of business is the kind you want to know about."

Marinette was confused for all of a second before she grimaced and made a disgusted sound, exclaiming, "Alya, ugh, the bathroom isn't just for, you know!"

"Oh, really then," Alya said, looking amused at her reactions. "If not for 'you knowing' then what is the bathroom used for?"

Talking to her kwami, getting cornered by bullies, a place to freak out about akumas? But none of those answers would make sense without the full context so Marinette blurted out, "An existential crisis?"

Alya just stared at her in silence, all the way up to when they finally took their seats, until she gathered her thoughts enough to say, "I don't know why I'm surprised, but both you and Adrien say the weirdest stuff. About bathrooms of all things."

Groaning, Marinette slammed her head down against the table, willing to go back to before her mouth had run its course.

"There, there," Alya comforted her insincerely by patting her back. "You can be social weirdos together."

Her phone buzzed, and she looked down at it to see that it was another text from Steven.

Steven U.

How much longer is your school?

Looking up to see if the teacher was in yet, she reasoned that she had a few minutes to text if she was conscientious of her time.

Marinette D.C.

Not much longer. I will let you know when I'm out.

It didn't take long before she got a response back.

Steven U.

Your friends seemed nice. I couldn't tell which one was Liela.

Marinette D.C

Lila* and she spoke in the beginning. Hopefully, I won't have to point her out to you.

Steven U.

Oh, it's spelled Lila? Sorry.

"Who you texting?" Alya tried to lean over and see her screen, but Marinette tilted it away from her.

"Steven," she answered truthfully. "Do you want me to ask him if he's ok with meeting everyone after school's done?"

"That would make sense, wouldn't it?" Alya joked. "Let me know what he says, I'll let the class group chat know."

Marinette D.C

Oh, also. My friends would like to talk to u more after school if you want to that is.

A little bubble popped up to let her know that Steven was typing.

Steven U.

All of them? That's fine. Do you want me to meet you guys in front of the school?

Marinette D.C

That works! I'll let them know.

"He said sure," Marinette told Alya, turning off her phone and slipping it back into her pocket. "We'll meet him in front of the building after classes are over."

"Awesome," Alya opened the group chat on her phone and relayed the information to everyone else discreetly, to which a quick look at her classmates showed that they all received the text. "Hopefully he doesn't mind hanging out with a bunch of younger kids."

"I don't think he would," Marinette noted. "From what I gather about his friends, it doesn't sound like he hangs out with people his own age exclusively."

"Why do you say that?" Alya looked curiously at Marinette, hand inching towards a notebook in her bag.

"Because he was homeschooled," she decided to leave it plainly at that, wanting to respect the things that Steven had told her in confidence.

"Oh," Alya's hand returned to her desk. "That makes sense."

Suspiciously looking at her friend, Marinette asked, "What did you think I meant?"

"Nothing!" Alya quipped. Nodding towards the front of the room, Alya continued, "Looks like Adrien didn't make it in time."

"Yeah," Marinette worried her lip, staring at the classroom door.

He was probably fine. After all, what could have possibly happened from this morning to cause him to not be fine?

Adrien reappeared a few minutes into the class, telling Mme. Bustier that he had to take an urgent call from his father regarding one of the fashion shows coming up.

Alya squinted her eyes at his lie, but Marinette tried her best to not say anything. Adrien's business was his own.

Maybe he really did have some sort of existential crisis in the boy’s bathroom.

The buzz of the classroom only grew more intense the more the clock ticked away towards the end of the school day. Having stayed in for lunch today, Marinette hadn't seen Steven since the morning presentation, and despite texting him relatively fine, her stomach still bunched up in memory of the butterflies.

She wanted nothing more than to just up and ask what it was about, but something regarding magic required far more subtly than that. Maybe she could go about asking him about the bottles sometime soon? That would be a good segue into inquiring about any magical happenings regarding the older teen.

Her fellow classmates, thankfully, didn't have to mull over anything of the sort, and as such, as soon as the school day was officially over with, they all practically flew through the collège to get their belongings sorted so that they could go and meet her host brother.

True to form, Steven was waiting outside the building- his guitar not with him as he had returned to the bakery after the initial class period was over- his hands firmly in his jean pockets.

"Steven!" she called out, waving to him just to show that nothing was wrong at all. Leading the group, she walked down the steps of the school and stood by his side, "I never got a chance to tell you in person but your performance was amazing! How long did you spend translating the lyrics?"

Her classmates started to form a small group around the older teen, who addressed Marinette's question, "A while. It was way harder than I thought it would be, I had to call Garnet just to make sure the meanings stayed the same."

Rose approached Steven, her hands clasped as she exclaimed, "I know I already said this but it really was amazing! Have you ever been in a band before?"

Steven only seemed semi-taken aback by her enthusiasm, "Well, once! But I didn't really have time to do it in between my, uh, homeschooling."

"Just like Adrien," Rose chirped, gesturing towards the model who was regarding Steven strangely. "Sometimes he can join us for a Kitty Section practice session, but he's got such a busy schedule."

"Oh! Marinette told me about you guys," Steven remarked. "I know one of you is... is Rose?"

Rose practically preened at having her name already be known, but Marinette watched the wary expression Steven regarded the different girls in the group, unsure which one was named the same as his mother.

"That's me!" Rose beamed. "And the other members of the band are Juleka-" she excitedly grabbed at the taller girl's arm, causing Juleka to faintly smile, "-and Ivan over there. And Luka! He's Juleka's older brother."

Steven blinked in surprise at the small girl in front of him, saying, "You're Rose?"

She nodded her head at him, and Marinette could practically see all of the tension melt off of Steven's shoulders. If she had to wager a bet, because Steven didn't know what Marinette's classmate looked like, he must have been imagining a younger version of his mother, but now that he saw Rose in person whatever stress that came along with his mom must have melted away.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet all of you," Steven smiled warmly at all of them. "Marinette's told me about a few of you, but I don't really know most of your names."

"I'm Kim," her classmate introduced himself, puffing out his chest to seem stronger. "What part of the United States are you from?"

"I'm from Beach City in Delmarva," Steven said.

Delmarva? Marinette wasn't sure if she had ever heard of that state before, but then again, her geographical knowledge of America was flimsy at best.

"That's on the East Coast, right?" Marinette asked, looking at her host brother. "Is it near New York?"

"New York?" Steven repeated in confusion before understanding dawned on his face. "Oh! You mean Empire City! The States went through a lot of changes not too long ago so I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't common knowledge abroad."

The class shared a moment of bewilderment.

Tugging on Steven's sleeve, Marinette leaned up to whisper, "Is this one of those jokes Americans like to play on people in other countries?"

Eyebrows furrowed in consternation, Steven whispered back, "Not that I know of?"

A gasp broke out from the students and everyone turned to Kim who was nodding his head confidently as he said, "It must be like how some textbooks still say that Pluto is a planet."

"Pluto isn't a planet?" Steven seemed horrified. "Since when?!"

"Since scientists figured it had it too good for too long," Nino shook his head. "Pluto was a real one, and they did it so dirty by demoting it to dwarf planet status."

While Steven mulled over the knowledge that Pluto was not considered a planet, Lila played with her hair from where she stood next to Max, and asked, "So, if you were staying at Le Grand Paris, does this mean that you're rich? What do your parents do for a living?"

Modestly, the older teen explained, "I don't really like to brag about being rich or anything, it's my dad's money, and to be honest we don't really know what to do with it all. My dad used to be a musician, but his career never really took off beyond one song."

Just at that moment, Chloé and Sabrina walked past the group and scoffed at the display. Steven passively watched as the walked away, the only sign of his displeasure being a small frown that marred his face.

"What Chloé said this morning was so not cool," Nino spoke up, shaking his head. "Calling you homeless and all that."

"I don't see anything wrong with being called homeless," Steven shrugged. "Technically she'd be right considering that I spent a good chunk of my early childhood living out of a van."

Everyone stilled at that.

Alya turned to her and mouthed, 'Didn't he just say he was rich?'

Marinette gave her a distressed look and tried to convey that she hadn't known about that at all.

Seeing that he made the group pause, Steven held up his hands and sheepishly said, "It wasn't as bad as it sounds promise!"

Stepping forward, and Marinette had to hold back with all the strength that she could to not scowl, Lila placed a hand against her chest and proclaimed, "I for one don't see you any differently for having been homeless, there's such a stigma against the disenfranchised that's why I do my best to support charities here in France to provide resources and shelter for them."

Her classmates murmured to themselves, talking about how Lila had a point and how it was so altruistic of her to dedicate her time to making a difference and blah blah more pandering for the liar.

"Really?" surprise flourished on Steven's face, and Marinette had to resist the urge to grab his arm and give a pointed look towards Lila to convey that this was the girl. "Not many would do that, especially at such a young age. I don't think I know your name, which one of Marinette's friends are you?"

"Lila Rossi," the Italian girl smiled brightly at him, clasping her arms behind her back as she leaned forward. "It's so wonderful to see Marinette having a positive role model now."

But that was Lila's first mistake because immediately all traces of admiration fled from Steven's face- and Marinette nearly cried at how quickly he switched because she thought for sure he would have pulled her aside to ask if she was sure that Lila was a liar because after all, she seemed so nice! But no, he didn't because he genuinely believed what she said- and he stiffly said, "Yes, well. Having a younger sibling around will do me some good too I'm sure."

Lila seemed displeased by his response, and given the scathing look she shot Marinette's way that no one else could see, Marinette knew that Lila suspected she had already warned Steven about her deceitful nature.

But the liar didn't have a second to sob about how Marinette 'needed' good role model because of how much she was 'bullying' poor Lila because Alix pushed to the front of the crowd to ask, "What exactly is a fourteen-year-old doing studying abroad in Paris?"

"I'm actually seventeen," Steven answered, relieved to be talking to someone different.

That got gasps of shock from everyone who had not already been in the know.

But now it seemed as though her classmates really wanted to impress the older teen because Kim pushed Alix out of the way to boast, "You look pretty athletic, I'm a bit of a jock myself. What sports do you play?"

Steven seemed to wilt at the increase of attention, but tried his best to answer anyhow, "Professionally? Well, uh, I don't actually play anything. Sometimes I play volleyball? Or tennis."

Kim seemed put out that Steven wasn't too interested in sports, but then Max saddled up beside him with Markov floating beside him.

Sticking out his hand firmly, Max said, "Greetings, my name is Max Kanté and this is my robot companion Markov. Your performance in class today was exemplary."

"Oh, wow, you have a robot of your own?" Steven looked at Markov with wonder, shaking the outstretched hand.

"Indeed," Max played with his suspenders in pride. "Do you by chance have an interest in electronics as well?"

Steven shook his head, "Myself? No. But I have a friend back in the States who makes her own robonoids. They're a bit different from your robot, however."

Flying closer to Steven, Markov spoke up, "How so?"

The only outward sign that Steven was surprised at Markov's ability to speak was the little blink he had before he started to gush, "And he has his own AI! I've only met one other speaking AI before, you're so adorable!"

He extended a few fingers out for Markov to clutch in his claw, and the robot accepted it with a gleeful, "I haven't met another robot before like me- I would love to meet the one you know!"

"Ah, she's a bit unavailable," Steven gave the robot a rueful smile. "And I don't think she'd be a good conversation partner. From what I can tell you're definitely leagues above her AI."

Marinette hadn't ever seen Markov flustered before, but she could tell that if he were human he'd be blushing.

"May I take a scan of you so that I can keep a file of you in my memory banks?" Markov asked.

Wincing, Steven braced himself and said, "Oh, sure thing."

Marinette wasn't sure why he held himself so firmly as if expecting something to physically appear with the scan, but it wasn't necessary as Markov swiftly took the scan and processed the results.

However, unexpectedly, Markov's eyes emoted confusion, but the robot didn't have a chance before Alix popped in with, "Well, you said you're not athletic, but do you know how to skate?"

Steven took a slight step back at the change in conversation partner, but responded, "Uh, I actually only learned how to roller skate last year when I was on a well- not a date but a hang out with my not-yet girlfriend Connie. I'm... not really good at it."

Alix joined Kim in being disappointed by not having something in common with the teen. In a moment of courage, Nathaniel spoke up to ask, "Do you have an interest in art?"

Looking around to see who asked, Steven made eye contact with Nathaniel and said, "I do! I'm not nearly as good as my friends Lapis and Peridot, however."

Nathaniel seemed satisfied with that answer and nodded to himself as he clutched his sketchbook closer to his chest.

Stepping forward, an unrecognizable look in his eyes, Adrien asked, "You're really talented with a guitar, by any chance do you also play the piano?"

The older teen looked far more comfortable indulging in that question as he answered, "I do! I play a lot of instruments, actually, although my favorite is definitely the ukulele."

"Do you think it would be possible for you to give me a lesson or two?" Adrien asked, pulling out his phone. "I'm sure my father wouldn't mind."

Nino quirked an eyebrow at Adrien, and Marinette herself sent him a confused look as well, because when has M. Agreste ever not minded something regarding involving Adrien?

Steven looked hesitant, scratching his cheek as he said, "Oh, I'm not too sure, I'm pretty busy helping out the Dupain-Cheng's in the bakery..."

"Please, it would only be for a lesson or two," Adrien pleaded. "There's a friend of mine who's interested in you- hearing you play!"

"Dude, what friend," Nino elbowed Adrien. "Practically everyone you're friends with is right here."

"They're an online friend, you wouldn't know him," Adrien explained, but Marinette wasn't too sure about his answer. Turning back towards Steven, Adrien continued, "Please, it really would mean the world to me."

Sending her a look, Steven relented and said, "Well, so long as Marinette doesn't mind?"

Satisfied in getting an agreement, Adrien said, "I'm sure she won't, right Marinette?"

Squeaking under his attention, Marinette waved her hands rapidly and said, "What? No! Of course not! Steven should be allowed to do hatever- whatever! Whatever he wants."

"Great! I'll let Nathalie know so that she can update my schedule," Adrien opened his phone to text her.

And it seemed, at the opening that Steven would be hanging out with one of them outside of collège, the rest of her friends geared up to convince him to do the same.

"You should come with us to the pool! I can show you how good at swimming I am-"

"No way! He should join in on one of our dares-"

Trying to speak over the cacophony of voices, Steven said, "Guys I-"

"Didn't you hear him? He was in a band once! Oh, he should come over to see one of our practices!"

"He should come visit the art room..."

"If he has an interest, perhaps he could assist with some of my many youth assistance programs."

Steven's hands started to snake over his ears as he winced at all of the different suggestions.

Concerned, Marinette watched him do this, tentatively saying, "Steven...?"

Thankfully, a loud ringtone interrupted all of her friends, and Steven pulled out his phone with a relieved sigh.

"Sorry guys, I lost track of time and I have to take this call," Steven said, showing them the caller ID, to which only Marinette recognized the name of his therapist, Dr. Bentley. "I'll see you at the bakery, Marinette."

And she didn't want to say that he was running away from them all, but Marinette knew that he had started to become overwhelmed and was probably appreciating the disruption.

As they watched his retreating form, the class had calmed down enough to realize that perhaps they had gone overboard.

"Well, I think that went well," Kim announced, placing his hands on his hips. Alix punched his arm, and he cradled it close to his chest with an affronted, "Ow! What was that for?"

"I think that we're all a little bit at fault here for that," Nino admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "We totally made him uncomfortable."

"We did?" Kim questioned, flinching when Alix pulled back her fist. "Ok, ok I get it!"

"Oh no, what should we do to apologize?" Rose cupped one of her hands against her cheek.

"Maybe leave that to me," Marinette advised. Frowning, and still concerned for her host brother, Marinette took one step towards the bakery but was yanked back by a strong grip.

"Marinette! Can I ask for your advice on something?" Lila asked innocently, pulling her towards the collège stairs and lightly shoving her out of view, right at the same time that Max and Markov approached Alya from where the group was still gathered.

Narrowing her eyes at the other girl, Marinette asked, "What do you want, Lila?"

"Nothing much," the Italian girl dropped her sweet facade and examined her nails. "Just checking in one could say."

"Look, I get that we have this whole war thing going on, but I've been leaving you alone so can you at least do the same with me," Marinette sighed, wanting to get the interaction over with.

"I've been laying off of you because you've backed off of Adrien," Lila informed her. "I just want to know what you told your host brother about me."

Feeling a surge of protectiveness wash over her, Marinette demanded, "What are you planning to do?"

"Nothing!" Lila gave her a saccharine smile. "I wouldn't dream of doing anything to ruin your relationship with him."

Opening her mouth to retort, Marinette was cut off by Lila saying, "Besides, he's not very interesting. I mean, of course, he's rich and all, but considering that he's not very conventionally attractive, wealth doesn't mean much."

Seeing red, Marinette said, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You live with him, don't tell me you haven't picked up on the fact that he's short," Lila snorted. "Short and overweight. Not a good combo if you ask me."

"Good thing I'm not asking then," Marinette hissed. How dare Lila say something so- so unnecessarily rude! Marinette knew she was shallow but this was an entirely new level.

"Not that you would," Lila said derisively. "In any case, I just want to know what you told him about me."

"The truth!" Marinette snapped. "So you can try and lie to him but it won't work."

Sighing dramatically, Lila said, "Well then, I guess I should just leave the two of you alone then. No use climbing an uphill battle."

The Italian girl turned away from Marinette and started to walk away, but just before she rejoined their other classmates, she threw over her shoulder, "Besides, not like he's staying long enough to be on your side all the time."

Stomping her foot, Marinette looked down at her purse towards Tikki to vent, "Did you hear all of that? Ugh, the nerve!"

"Don't get too worked up over what she said Marinette, she was probably trying to rile you up on purpose," Tikki said, although she looked just as upset as Marinette was. "That still doesn't excuse her comments, however."

Marinette was content to stew in her boiling anger at Lila, but that wouldn't be very productive nor would it be healthy to do, especially since an akuma might be attracted to the emotion.

"You're right, Tikki, if I lose my temper I'll just be playing into her wants," Marinette took a few seconds to center herself before she rejoined the group.

By that point, most of her other classmates had disbanded, Adrien had already gone home too which meant she wouldn't get a chance to ask him if everything was ok.

The only ones that were left were Kim, Max and Markov, Nino, and Alya. 

And they were all huddled together. Whispering about something.

Marinette could feel herself getting a headache.

She started to walk by them, planning on just heading to the bakery now, but at hearing "-why don't we just ask Marinette?" she paused.

"Ask me what?" she asked curiously, watching as her friends jolted out of their huddle and tried their best to look inconspicuous.

Now Marinette was confused. She had assumed they were talking about something involving the miraculous, but considering that they brought her into the conversation, she had a feeling that that wasn't it.

So what-

Markov, having no reservations, flew close to Marinette as he asked, "Do you by any chance know why a significant portion of Steven is composed of concentrated carbon?"

Blinking, Marinette sputtered out, "W-what?!"

"Indeed," Max said nervously, most likely internally debating whether or not to tell Marinette. "Markov's scan indicates there is a concentration of carbon at the navel, and while the human body is comprised of carbon, amongst other elements, this is nothing remotely like it."

"Well, I don't know," Marinette shrugged. "Maybe he's wearing something made out of carbon fiber?"

"Unlikely," Max concluded. "However, neither Markov nor I am quite sure about what it could be, which is why Markov was hoping you could illuminate us on it, but it seems you are just as out of the loop as we are."

Fiddling with her fingers, Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. What things were made out of carbon? She knew of the development of carbon fiber, but there were a few perfumes made from carbon and diamonds too.

Diamonds were gems. Gems made up jewelry. The miraculous took the form of jewelry.

Could it be possible? No that would be silly, Tikki had even confirmed that she would have recognized his magic if it were a miraculous.

But Tikki was old, and surely she didn't have contact with all of the miraculous, or even then maybe she just wasn't familiar with this particular one-

As if reading her mind, Kim spoke up, "Alya thinks that it might be an American mi- mph!"

Alya and Nino had jumped to cover Kim's mouth with their hands, sweating slightly as Alya corrected, "An American trend! That's what Kim was gonna say."

Max muttered into his hand, "Kim, could you be any more obvious."

Looking at the group, Marinette's mind whirled around as she said, "Is this that secret and exclusive group you were talking about Kim?"

Sharing a look with Alya and Nino, they released their hands from his mouth as he firmly told her, "Yes."

Nodding her head distantly, Marinette said, "Well... I'll leave you to it."

Speeding off to the bakery, she greeted her mother on her way in and passed by Steven's door- which was closed, and she could hear him distantly talking with Dr. Bentley- making her way to her loft.

Once the trap door was firmly closed, she pulled down her planning board and got a bunch of post-it notes.

"Ok," she started. "Let's compile all of the things that we know about Steven, and start making some headway to figuring out the mystery of Steven's magic."

It took about thirty minutes to do- as Marinette had to remember everything from when she had met Steven a week or so ago- and all Marinette had was a list of things that he liked to do, a section for what he revealed about his family, and the three mysteries that surrounded him.

What type of magic did he have and what was in the bottles? Who was that pink copy of him and the area she was dragged into? And what was Markov referring to about the concentrated carbon in Steven's scan?

"Any ideas, Tikki?" she asked her kwami.

Tikki hovered in front of the board, reviewing all of the information.

"Well," her kwami started as she looked at the post-it that contained all of Steven's known family and friends- M. Universe, Mme. Rose Universe, Lapis Lazuli, Garnet, and Peridot. "These last three reminded me of beings that used to inhabit the Earth a very long time ago, but they can't possibly be them."

"Huh?" Marinette asked in shock. "Beings that used to... do you mean an extinct species?"

Shaking her head, Tikki corrected herself, "They were more of an invasive species, attempting to colonize the planet."

"Wait, wait," Marinette shook her hands. "Are you telling me that aliens are real- and used to be here?"

Tikki giggled, "It's true! You humans are always so sure that you're the only sentient beings to exist in the universe."

Mulling over this new information, Marinette said, "Well, what if some of the aliens stayed on the Earth?"

Having to take in the idea that aliens were something she was probably going to grapple with for a while. It shouldn't be strange to her, considering that people could turn into giant hulking villains, but still- extraterrestrial lifeforms being proven real by a tiny floating god was unbelievable to most.

"As I said, that wouldn't be possible," Tikki dismissed. "They were all wiped out a long time ago."

Wiped out, as in gone.

"By who?" Marinette asked. Could it be possible that primitive humans fought back against them?

"Their own leaders," Tikki revealed, causing Marinette to gasp. Their own leaders? Why would they do such a thing? "By the time that the mages started to create the miraculous to tether us kwami to use our powers, the species had been going through a civil war. Very few humans participated, and especially not any of the mages. Besides myself, Plagg would be the most knowledgeable about these events."

"Ok, so not aliens," Marinette mumbled, pulling off a sticky note to place it on the board, to keep track of the things that it's not. "How many other variants of magic does that leave?"

"Over a thousand still," Tikki gave her a reassuring smile.

Groaning into her hands, Marinette's voice came out muffled as she said, "Are you sure that it isn't an American miraculous?"

"I'm positive," Tikki confirmed. "Although, it was a good guess on Alya's part."

"Right," Marinette picked up her head. "Ok, this shouldn't be too hard right? A little research, maybe consulting the other kwami's could help out too."

She could do this. Plus it would be a good distraction from the state of the miraculous egg. 

But first, she had to apologize to Steven.

She truly didn't think that her classmates would be that exuberant to make friends with him. It had clearly stressed him out, and that was on her.

The first moment that she got to apologize to him came after dinner. Steven tended to stay in the living room for a while, watching the international segment of TVi- something that Marinette hadn't particularly paid attention to before. He tended to multitask as he listened, practicing German on an app on his phone, one that Marinette didn't recognize.

"I'm sorry about today," Marinette said, from where she was watching him at the counter, her arms folded against the top.

Steven stopped the lesson that he was in progress on, giving her a thoughtful look as he asked, "Why should you be sorry about it? It wasn't your fault."

"But I'm the one who wanted you to meet my friends," she sunk her head against her braced arms. "You probably wouldn't have done it if I hadn't asked."

Shifting so that he was turned towards her, Steven softly said, "You didn't make me do anything, Marinette. I promise."

She didn't quite believe, and so focused her eyes on the TV screen instead.

"You know, I used to apologize for a lot of things that weren't my fault," Steven admitted, dragging her attention back onto him. "It wasn't healthy, and still isn't. So, can you do me a favor? Kick the habit now, I promise you it will be rewarding if you do."

Marinette was silent for all of a moment before she nodded her head and said, "Ok."

It would take some getting used to, but she thinks that she could do that. Stop taking the blame for things out of her control that is.

"Good," Steven nodded back. "Anyway, what happened today was more of my fault. I should have set some boundaries sooner, I know I'm not particularly good with other humans- I'm still working on it."

"My friends like you, at least, I think they do," Marinette said. "I know Ivan wants to ask more about music therapy, but he didn't speak up earlier. Probably for the same reasons why you started to get stressed."

"He's one of the Kitty Section members right?" Steven inquired.

"You remember what Rose said?" Marinette was surprised. Not that she didn't expect Steven to be good with names or anything, but considering that Ivan didn't say anything she was sure that Steven hadn't remembered.

"Mhm," Steven hummed and paused. "She's not what I was expecting."

Marinette had figured as much, and she's glad that her friend sharing a name with Mme. Universe wouldn't impede her chances at befriending Steven.

"Neither was Lila," Steven continued, and just the mention of her name had Marinette's stomach rolling in disgust. "I don't like how she lied about helping out with homeless shelters."

"She does that a lot," Marinette informed him. "She likes to turn the conversation subject onto her, and because her mom's a diplomat that's the easiest way to do it. After you left, she pulled me aside to say some... awful things about you. About your weight and height."

Shaking his head, Steven said, "Things like that have never bothered me because I love me. I'm more upset that she pulled you aside to harass you over it."

Tapping her fingers against the countertop, Marinette meekly asked, "Were you really homeless as a child?"

"Technically, yes, it's like I said I grew up in a van," Steven told her. "It wasn't bad, I was a happy kid. I had my dad and, that was enough for me at the time."

"If you could go back in time, with the money you have now, would you have bought yourself a house?" she was worried that the question was insensitive, but Steven was perhaps one of the only wealthy people she knew who wasn't born into said wealth.

Steven thought about it, his fingers coming to his lips in thought. He eventually settled on, "No, although if you had asked me a year ago I would have screamed yes. I wouldn't be who I am now if I didn't go through everything I did- which isn't to say that I should have gone through the things I did at such a young age, no kid should have to. But I don't think I'd be the same Steven without it."

"Oh," she wasn't expecting a response like that. It was a level of maturity that she hadn't really experienced before. The more she thought about it, the more her mind strayed to how, while initially she wanted to say that she would go back in time and stop Chloé from ever bullying her, what would that change in her life? She probably wouldn't have been so close to Alya, and probably would have just seen her as a new transfer student instead of the girl who stood up for her against Chloé. 

And she probably would have stayed shy and meek, not stepping up into a leadership position because there would be no reason to oppose Chloé. Marinette would have stayed in the background, not bullied true, but also not class representative who her friends could rely on. She would still have been Ladybug, but what type of Ladybug would she be if as a civilian she hadn't learned to stand up for herself? "I guess, if I could change things from this past year, I probably wouldn't do it either."

The two of them stayed in the same room, watching the TV until Marinette spoke up to ask, "Do you think that you would be ok with meeting with Kitty Section outside of school? Just them, not the whole class."

Steven took some time to consider it, before giving her his answer of, "I think I would be ok with that. Maybe I could show them some songs from my friend’s band, and they could do a cover of it. That would probably be adorable."

"What's the name of your friend’s band?" Marinette perked up.

"Sadie Killer and the Suspects," Steven told her, and Marinette was already putting a mental reminder to search them up because just from the name alone she could tell that she already liked them and their aesthetic. "Sadie went on to make a duo with her partner Shep. They have a much different sound together, but I still listen to any new releases they make."

"I know Ivan would appreciate a chance to talk to you more," Marinette said. "I'll let them know independently, so only they know. Plus you'll get a chance to meet Luka!"

"Juleka's brother, right?" Steven clarified.

"Yep! He's really," a blush dusted her cheeks, "-nice. And he's not nearly as energetic as my classmates, so it'll be completely chill for you to meet him."

Steven exaggerated his sigh of relief, "A chill meeting with one of your friends? Be still, my heart."

Sticking her tongue out at him, she felt much lighter knowing that Steven was still willing to be friends with her own. She didn't know why it was important to her, but maybe this was how all siblings felt when their older siblings melt their friends.

Looking down at his phone, he turned it on again to resume his lesson before he paused and said, "Marinette, your mother mentioned you wanting to learn Mandarin, right?"

Looking at him in interest, and her eyes darting to his phone screen in excitement, she said, "Yeah, why?"

"My friend Peridot developed this app to help me learn languages during my travels," he showed her the screen. "I'm pretty sure if I called her up now, she could assist me in downloading the app to your phone too. It's way more interactive than most language apps- or so she's boasted to me- so maybe it will assist you in your own learning."

Nearly jumping up in glee, Marinette joined Steven on the couch with her phone extended, and watched along as he called up his friend and went about downloading the app to her own phone.

Despite how weird and all over the place the day had been, Marinette still found herself enjoying it in the end. And that was far more than she could have asked for.

But still, she felt bad and she wanted to do something to make it up to him, but she didn't know how. Maybe she could make something for him? That could work! She could pass it off as her wanting to work more at making plus-sized designs. And she could let him pick out which one he liked the best, then she could make it for him, and boom! Apology gift craftily done!

Marinette aimed to make as many designs as possible before she slipped off to bed for the night.

Chapter Text

The rest of the week passes as normally as it could with the impending Saturday almost looming over Marinette's head- because after having already one not so great meet up between Steven and her friends, she's now very stressed out about making sure the next one goes better. And even though Steven agreed to meet with Kitty Section on Saturday, Marinette casually reminds him that he can back out if he really doesn't want to, and really Steven it's totally fine with her, just say the word and then they can go back to the bakery.

Which is to say, Marinette's almost grateful when an akuma attack happens the night before, except she's not because she wouldn't give Hawk Moth the satisfaction of having her thanks.

The akuma, much like the others post-Battle of the Miraculous, goes by much quicker than it feels like it should. And whether that's because Marinette's paranoid over whatever knowledge Hawk Moth is gaining from Master Fu's translations or because she's tightly wound up due to this particular week, she isn't sure.

But it at the very least grants her a small moment to bring up some concerns to Chat.

"Chat, if you have a moment, could we talk?" Ladybug asks, before gesturing to the empty rooftop that they're standing on. "Recharge and meet back here?"

Chat Noir almost looks relieved, and gives her a wide grin, "I always have time for you, my Lady!"

At his affirmative, she ducks off of the roof into the alleyway on the side of it. Her transformation slips off like normal, only there aren't words exchanged between her and Tikki as she hands over a strawberry macaron. Tikki gives her a reassuring nod, and Marinette knows she's making the right decision.

With Tikki recharged, she jumps back up, right at the same time that Chat does.

"I'm kinda glad you found the time to pull me aside, Ladybug, I have something I need to bring to your attention," Chat said, running a hand through his hair, before giving her a sheepish smile. "But ladies first after all!"

Ladybug blinked in surprise, and curiosity settled within the back of her mind at what Chat needed to tell her, but not wanting to keep out so late in the night, she pushed forward, "Well, I just wanted to address something that you brought up at the meeting with the support holders."

"Oh?" Chat moved to lean against the railing of the roof. "What in particular?"

Stealing herself for his indignation at her next words, she cut to the chase, "I know you were fond of her, but Multimouse will not be making a return as a hero."

Just as Ladybug expected, Chat immediately jumped up at squawked, "What!? Why?"

Raising one hand she started to say, "For the same reasons as before-"

"Really?" Chat huffed. "But you're the guardian now, right? Is it really so bad that I know who she is?"

Shaking her head, she rebuffs with, "It just isn't safe- for her, for us, and for Paris. It's a risk I'm not willing to take."

"That's not fair to her though, she was an almost perfect hero!" Chat continues to defend, and some part of her is confused about why he's fighting so hard for, well, her. Marinette-her that is.

"Why does this bother you so much?" she just ups and asks. "I didn't think that you knew Marinette well enough to want her to stick around so much."

A part of her wanted to ask, do you know her outside of your costume? but knew it wouldn't be wise. It could give her a hint- or an answer- about his civilian identity. 

"I-" Chat started but then closed his mouth with a sharp snap. His cheeks dusted pink for a second as he mulled over his words. "I just think she's worthy of being a hero more than anyone else. She's brave and selfless, and she can always make things better."

Great. Now it was her turn to blush.

"You got all that from just a few scant meetings?" she murmured, hiding her blush by turning her head towards the skyline.

Chuckling, Chat gave her a strained look, "What can I say? I have a purrty good read on people."

Deciding not to admonish him for the moment, she sighed and said, "Still..."

His face collapsed in resignation, before telling her, "It's ok, Ladybug, I understand."

"Thanks, Chat," a smile graced her lips now that she knew the topic was finally finished. While being Multimouse had been a fun- if exhausting- change, she knew it was the right choice to shelve her indefinitely.

Chat seemed more withdrawn now, so she took it upon herself to ask, "What was it that you needed to talk to me about?"

"Oh, well, Plagg told me to give you a heads up about a magical entity in Paris," Chat shrugged, playing idly with his belt tail. "He was being very cryptic about it, but he said that you and Tikki should know in case you didn't already."

A shock of lightning ran down her spine at his words, and she tried her best to maintain a poker face as her mind whirled around how Plagg could possibly know about Steven. Well, not Steven, but him in way of a magical entity. 

Were kwami's powerful enough to just know these things? Had Marinette not immediately met Steven that first day, would Tikki have sensed something later on, and just not know what it was?

And if not, had she and Steven walked past Chat Noir on the streets, completely unaware that the two miraculous holders were so near each other and yet still far apart?

She couldn't just ask Tikki. This could lead her down a rabbit hole that she couldn't- wouldn't- shouldn't- go down. So Ladybug would simply take the information at face value.

"Tikki has said the same," Ladybug said, not revealing the full truth, but wanting Chat Noir to not worry about it. "We're already on top of investigating it." That was simple enough, right?

"I'll do my best to investigate too," Chat offered.

Worried that that would mean a greater chance of running into Chat in public, she waved her hands to placate him, "Don't worry about it, Chat. We have everything covered."

He didn't say anything, but given the way he worried his jaw, she could see that he was conflicted. She hoped that he would leave the matter alone, and trust her enough to handle it.

Chat inevitably let up, and rolled his shoulders, saying, "Well, with you on his case, I'm sure everything will be just fine. And with that, I think it's about time to say goodnight to the most lovely of partners, no?"

Hiding a small smile behind her lips, she played along, "You're absolutely right about that, Chat, so I suppose I must say goodnight to you."

Without another word, and leaving him slightly flustered and tripping over himself, she darted off in the direction of the bakery.

From a distance she can see the lights in the guest room still on, but pays it no mind as she leaps onto the balcony and whispers, "Tikki, spots off."

When Tikki appeared in front of her, the kwami seemed troubled, so Marinette asked, "Is something the matter, Tikki?"

"Hm?" the kwami said absentmindedly, before shaking her head. "Oh, I'm simply thinking about Plagg's message."

"Since it was so vague, I'm guessing Plagg doesn't remember either," Marinette noted as she climbed down onto her loft.

"Perhaps," Tikki mulled it over. "I suppose we won't really know unless getting a chance to talk to him."

"And that's definitely not gonna happen any time soon," to which Marinette was only slightly disappointed about that. Plagg was adorable, she remembers from the few times that she had talked with him, and he absolutely meant well even if he was a bit of a disaster- sorta like her in a way. She still remembers the shock that she felt when Master Fu had listed out all of the infamous disasters that he had apparently caused.

At least when she was klutz the worst that she could do was knock stuff over and fall flat on her butt in front of the people she was trying to impress.

Thankfully, the akuma alert had come in just as she was getting ready for bed, which meant that she was already in her pajamas and didn't need to go through the laborious process of switching out her clothes. Instead, she could collapse face-first onto her mattress and drift right away to dreamland, confident that she could sleep in since tomorrow wasn't a school day.

And sleep she did, having once again been miraculously blessed with pleasant dreams. This streak of no-nightmares was doing wonders for her, when she woke up she didn't need to add as much concealer underneath her eyes as she had to before. 

She decided to forgo her usual outfit for today, instead, she slipped on a white and pink peter pan styled collar shirt and black shorts. Deciding that she would wear her black platform sandals to complete the outfit, she hummed to herself as she went down the steps towards the living room.

Steven was already awake and helping set the table, to which she slid over and took some of the plates from him to lend a helping hand. 

He gave her a grateful smile, and with the two of them working together they were able to set the table in no time.

Today's breakfast consisted of a fresh baguette, with an assortment of jams and the option of butter to slather onto the slices. Marinette poured herself a glass of orange juice whereas her mother and Steven shared a pot of black tea, with Steven adding on the smallest amount of milk and sugar to his cup.

"So," Sabine started casually, smiling into her cup. "What are your plans for today?"

Steven's eyes darted over to Marinette, which led her to take the initiative, "I was planning on taking Steven over to the Liberty to hang out with Kitty Section!"

"Is that so?" Sabine said. "Well, I hope you have a wonderful time, your father and I will be plenty busy in the bakery working on a custom order. Why don't you bring over something for your friends to snack on?"

Applying a smattering of apricot jam onto her baguette slice, she chirped, "Of course!"

Turning her attention to the older teen, Sabine asked, "And dear, do you have plans outside of what Marinette and her friends are doing? I know it can be hard to say no, but try not to let her and her friends monopolize your time, you should do something for yourself as well."

Pausing with his cup touching his lips, Steven contemplated her words before settling on a small smile as he said, "I really don't mind hanging out with Marinette's friends. Plus, I'm still trying to get a feel for the nearby area, don't want to get lost on the metro so soon."

Pursing her lips, Sabine didn't interject and merely accepted his words.

"Although, I have been thinking about heading into some shopping districts," Steven revealed. "I'd like to get my girlfriend something nice, maybe some jewelry? She normally prefers more practical things, but, well, this is Paris. I'd feel bad if I didn't splurge and get her something really nice, to make it special, you know?"

Jumping into the conversation, Marinette supplied, "Well, you can either go to the Champs-Élysées, which I recommend you do either way since it's pretty famous worldwide, or you can go to the Rue de la Paix. Whichever you prefer."

Steven nodded as she spoke, pulling out his phone and marking down the suggestions in his notes. 

"Maybe I'll check out both," Steven decided. "Walk around until something catches my eye."

The conversation meandered after that, and soon it was time for Marinette and Steven to head over to the Liberty.

As they walked side by side, Marinette appraised Steven's outfit- a light blue polo shirt with three stars below the right collar, khaki slacks, alongside his usual pink strapped sandals- and noted the continued usage of star symbols. He was carrying his satchel over his shoulder, and he had told her earlier that he was bringing his laptop in case Kitten Section wanted access to music sheets or some of his notes and texts about music therapy.

Carried within her cream-colored tote bag was her sketchbook. She planned to sketch out some starter designs for his apology present while he was occupied by Kitty Section. Marinette would definitely need to do some space-themed designs, but beyond that general idea, she struggled with figuring out what exactly to make him. 

Steven didn't look like a hat kind of guy so that was out, and while she figured that jackets should be the obvious answer, he had opted not to wear his pink varsity jacket today, so maybe it would be an assumption to assume he'd like another one. Maybe she could do some sort of space like pin? No, that would be too small of a gift...

"So what exactly is the Liberty?" Steven asked, observing their surroundings as she led him towards the Seine where the Couffaine's houseboat was located. "Is it like a tourist spot?"

"Oh! Did I not explain?" Marinette honestly didn't realize that she hadn't said where they were going. "Juleka and her family live on a houseboat docked on the Seine! That's where Kitty Section practices since Mme. Couffaine used to work with Jagged Stone."

"A houseboat? I've never been on one of those before!" Steven lit up. "My dad bought a yacht once- well, rented at first but then... things happened at sea so he ended up having to buy it- but I don't think that quite counts."

Marinette had to resist the thought about rich people, reminding herself that Steven didn't flaunt his money like Chloé purposefully or Adrien accidentally did.

But still. A yacht.

"Well, it's really nice! The Couffaine's are really free-spirited and you can tell right off the bat when you step onto the ship," she explained. "Ah- because of that it's a bit messy, sorry about that!"

He waved her off exclaiming, "I've most definitely seen worse. Like- junkyard messy worse."

Making idle conversation, they continued all the way to where the houseboat was docked, and given Steven's gasp and glint of excitement, Marinette crossed her fingers and hoped that today would be a good day. 

Luka and Juleka were already above deck, with Luka tuning his guitar, and at seeing the two of them approach gave a distant wave.

"Hey, guys!" Marinette called out, walking towards the gangplank, Steven right behind her. "Are the others here yet?"

Juleka shook her head, and looked down at her phone, "Rose is on her way. Ivan said he'd be around in half an hour."

Taking in the information, Marinette nods and moves over to Luka, "Steven, this is Juleka's older brother, Luka! Luka, this is my host brother Steven. He's from America and is staying in Paris with us at the bakery."

"It's nice to meet you," Steven's smile wobbled a little at noticing that Luka was older than Marinette and Juleka, but he offered a friendly wave nonetheless.

Luka merely blinked at him, stunned and completely ignorant at how his hands seemed to move on their own, playing out a tune as he stared at his fellow teen.

Steven perked up at hearing it, and a slightly frazzled look blossomed onto his face as he asked, "That's- have we met before?"

Shaking his head, Luka remarked, "I've never met someone with as loud and clear of a song as you."

After having said that, he seemed to come back to himself, and he gave an apologetic look as he said, "Ah, I completely skipped over greeting you back. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Steven was staring at the guitar with wonder. "Um, what did you mean by song?"

Idly strumming the guitar, Luka hummed before answering, "I've found that people connect much easier through music, I can hear the songs of their hearts and play them aloud. Like Marinette here."

Luka's lips quirked up, and he played a quick verse on his guitar and upbeat sound that had Marinette staring after him fondly.

Having found a common interest with the teen, Steven's smile became more natural and giddy, "I feel the same way about music! Well, I don't quite have the skill that you do, but I'm with you a hundred percent about people connecting through music."

"What instruments do you like to play?" Luka asked, before looking around. "We have a lot, so if you want to jam out while we wait for the others you're more than welcome to."

"I can play just about anything, whatever you're ok with me using is fine by me," Steven replied, moving further onboard and looking around at the assortment of musical instruments laying about in their cases.

Luka got up, settling down his guitar, and went about showing Steven everything they had, leaving Marinette to sit next to Juleka and discuss some of their upcoming assignments, projects that she would need to get started on, and asking her friend if she'd be available to model for some new designs for her website.

Rose quickly joined them not long after, launching herself at Juleka to cuddle up against her, greeting Marinette brightly, and exchanging an energetic wave with Steven, who met the greeting with half the energy.

He and Luka were absorbed in a conversation, and at one point Luka even handed over his guitar for Steven to demonstrate the chords to the song Luka had unknowingly played earlier.

By the time that Ivan had shuffled onto the boat, Marinette was pleased to note that all nerves had left Steven, and he was much more open to talking with the others. She would definitely have to thank Luka for that later.

"Hey, you're Ivan, right?" Steven greeted, looking up at the larger teen. "Marinette mentioned that you were interested in music therapy, I brought some of my notes if you wanted to look them over. Maybe get a feel for if that'd be a career you'd be interested in."

Ivan gave him an appreciative look and gladly looked over the older teen’s shoulder as he pulled up some of his notes, with Steven making a quick apology at them being non-translated.

"Would metal and hard rock work well with active music therapy?" Ivan questioned.

"Sure, I don't see why it wouldn't! I know for myself when I was just starting my own therapy I definitely vented by performing death metal," Steven laughed. "If it helps release whatever's holding you back, I say you should go for it. The more truthful you are to your emotions, and the more you're letting out, the easier it'll be to process what's bothering you."

Ivan looked pleased with his response and quietly mumbled that he'd like to do more research into the subject.

Squealing, Rose couldn't contain her excitement any longer, "Oh, I can't wait to see your reaction to our playing!"

Turning his attention towards her, Steven chuckled, "I'm pretty interested in what your guy's sound is. I've been pretty curious, I won't lie."

Jumping up, Rose became a whirlwind as she navigated all of the instruments to start setting things up properly, "Then what are we waiting for! We can't leave our talent scout waiting!"

"Talent scout?" Steven mumbled in confusion, before jumping out of the way before Rose could barrel into him in her rush to set up her mic stand.

"Yeah!" she said. "You've been in a band previously, plus you said that your dad was a rock star- that means you should be able to gauge our talent levels."

"Well, I don't know about that," Steven rubbed his neck. "I'm sure you guys are plenty talented without me having to tell you that."

"It still would be nice to have some notes given to us," Juleka murmured, cradling her guitar.

"In that case, sure," Steven relented.

He helped out in getting things set up before Marinette led him to a lounge chair to sit on. Giving a thumbs up to Rose, she fully intended on watching Steven's reactions to their song.

Taking a deep breath, and glancing at all of her bandmates, Rose dove straight into performing 'I Love Unicorns.'

If it were possible, Marinette's sure Steven's eyes would have fallen right out of their sockets given the way his eyes went wide.

She's pretty sure his reaction is mostly due to the juxtaposition of sweet doe-eyed Rose singing a rock song, her sweet and high pitch voice going deeper as she sang about a subject matter that matched her appearance much more than the sound would suggest.

"Wow," was the first thing that tumbled out of his mouth as soon as Kitty Section had completed playing, Rose breathing a little louder than normal after the exertion of performing. "You guys were fantastic!"

"Really?!" Rose clasped her hands together and pressed them against her chin as her eyes dazzled.

"Yeah!" Steven nods enthusiastically. "Man, I wish I was filming you guys so I could show my dad, he would love you guys."

"So long as he's nothing like Bob Roth we can send you a copy of us performing the song," Luka remarks, a dark look flashing on his face briefly.

Tilting his head, Steven's eyes darted towards Marinette as he questioned, "Bob Roth?"

"He's the manager for the crummy pop singer XY," Marinette huffed. "Not too long ago he held a contest for the sole purpose of stealing the winner's song! And when we confronted him about stealing Kitty Section's song and my designs, he threatened us!"

A similar dark look that had passed on Luka's face now made its return but on Steven's face instead.

"There's always one manager like that," Steven grumbled. "Marty's everywhere you go."

Marinette had no idea who that was, but if she had to guess, it might have been his dad’s manager when he was in the music industry. Just a guess, however.

Shaking away his previous expression, Steven reassured them by saying, "Don't worry about that, my dad is actually a really caring manager-" his expression brightened, "-Hey, why don't I call him now and you guys could talk to him! He's really experienced and could probably give you guys tips on how to avoid getting managers like that Roth guy."

Kitty Section looked interested enough, although with a slight bit of apprehension that came from wariness of having been bitten once.

Steven took out his phone and pulled out a pair of headphones to plug into it. Marinette wandered over to glance at his screen, watching as he pulled up a clock app to check the time on the East Coast once again, before nodding to himself and selecting M. Universe's contact.

Pulling the phone up to his face, he watched as it rang twice before it picked up, the video call going through as M. Universe smiled brightly at his son, eyes darting over and glancing at Marinette. She gave him a small wave, to which he returned, before addressing his son. 

Given that Steven had headphones in, Marinette couldn't hear what he was saying, but she heard Steven's English response of, "Dad, some of Marinette's friends have formed a band, and I figured you could probably give them some useful advice."

Watching as M. Universe's eyes lit up, much in the same way that Steven's would Marinette knew that the man must have been enthusiastic about talking to them.

Addressing Kitty Section Steven said, "I can translate for my dad, and I can translate your questions too. I figured that that would be the easiest way to do this unless you guys have any objections?"

Nobody did, so Steven addressed his dad to say, "Ok, so! This is Kitty Section, the blond is Rose-" Marinette watched with interest as M. Universe flinched in the same manner that Steven usually did. "And beside her is Juleka. The boy with dyed blue hair is Juleka’s brother, Luka. And the last member is Ivan. You already know Marinette."

Perking up at hearing her name, Marinette preened with a wide grin.

Steven flips his phone around so that the Kitty Section members could see M. Universe, and through Steven translating, M. Universe says, "It's nice to meet you guys! I'm always happy to meet more of Steven's friends."

"It's nice to meet you too," Rose gushed. "Steven says that you used to be a rock star. What's touring like?"

After translating, M. Universe looked exasperated, but Steven grinned as he said, "Expensive. Very expensive and time-consuming. Both as a manager and as the performer."

Tapping her chin as she absorbed the information, Rose hummed, before continuing to ask, "Which do you think you preferred?"

It took a bit before M. Universe answered, but he eventually settled on saying, "If you had asked me a few years ago, I might have said performing. There's nothing quite like getting up on the stage and staring out at a sea of people who want to hear you sing. But I never really got that big of a crowd. Now though, getting to see kids like you guys do the same thing but better and grander, it makes me immensely proud."

"Who do you manage for now?" Luka asked.

This time, it was Steven who answered, not translating his father's words as he said, "My friend sings with her partner Shep, right now you can find them under the name Sadie and Shep. Before that Sadie was in a band called Sadie Killer and the Suspects."

After Steven explained, M. Universe added on, "A few of the songs Sadie performed with the Suspects were actually covers of my original songs. Their cover was far more popular, however."

"Oh, are those the songs that you had on your computer, Steven?" Rose asked. "We could try and do a cover too!"

Steven quickly translated and M. Universe face turned bright red as he blushed, and said, "If you guys do end up doing a cover make sure that Steven films it! A French cover of one of my songs is something I have to hear."

"Did you translate other songs into French?" Marinette asked looking at her host brother.

Shifting slightly, Steven grinned and said, "A few, yeah! I've found that it's good practice to improve my French. I've mostly worked on the Suspects songs actually, it's free real estate if you guys want to have at it."

"This is going to be so much fun," Rose cheered as she clapped her hands.

Steven updated his father on what transpired, and M. Universe said something to Steven that must have been for him only as he didn't translate it. But M. Universe had a proud look on his face, so perhaps it was about Steven's dedication to learning another language, that's Marinette's guess anyhow.

The group had a few more questions for M. Universe- discussing what good qualities to look for in a manager, how to avoid badly written contracts, tips for stage makeup, advice on taking care of their vocals, and similar topics.

After saying their goodbyes to the man overseas, Marinette pulled out a container of cookies that she had prepared to share with them all and Luka went to grab a few bottles of water for them all.

While they had the time, Steven pulled out his laptop once more to access his music sheets, and turning around the device to the group, he pointed out which folders had translated lyrics and which didn't.

Now that she was paying more attention, she noticed that he had multiple color-coded files named after she first thought were precious gems before she remembered that he had a guardian named Garnet and a friend named Lapis.

One isolated folder was titled Steven and it looked locked.

The titles of the folder must indicate the artist behind the songs, and she watched as Steven double-clicked on a folder titled Suspects.

"Here we go," he announced. "The songs that are fully translated have the title in French, but feel free to browse this folder and find one that you'd like to make a cover of."

Juleka moved her finger across the mouse pad, scrolling down as she discussed the different song titles with the others.

Now that she had the chance to, Marinette pulled out her sketchbook and started to get preliminary sketches down. Small warm-ups to get her brain in the right headspace- hah! Head space, Chat would be proud of her for that even if it was accidental- for a designing spree.

Instead of focusing on men’s options she also branched out and thought up some women astronomy designs. She always had a bit of an easier time designing something with herself in mind, and then she could translate the concept into something more fitting of the male figure if needed.

So lost in sketching out romper folds, she almost missed it when Rose spoke, "'Disobedient'? Oh, that would be perfect if Adrien were here."

Glancing at the blonde, Steven said, "Disobedient is meant to be a duet, but you don't have to if you're set on singing that one."

"A duet? Oh, that makes it even more fitting," Rose sighed. "I sent him an invite since he is a member of Kitty Section but-"

A new voice joined the group, declaring, "You know, I was wondering why my ears were burning just a minute ago."

Whirling around, Marinette and her friends exclaimed in unison, sans Steven who probably didn't understand how unusual this was, "Adrien?!"

Lo and behold, the very boy in question was walking up the gangplank, looking happy as he gazed at his friends.

"Glad you could make it," Luka said to the approaching boy.

Looking back, and with Marinette following his line of sight to see the familiar limo and driver staring back at them, Adrien said, "I'm glad too! I can't stay for very long, but one of the photographers had to cancel last minute, so I have about an hour of free time to hang out."

"Adrien, come over here," Rose waved him over. "What do you think about us singing this duet?"

As soon as he was within grabbing distance, Rose hurled him down so that he could see the screen.

Adrien squinted at the screen, reading the lyrics, and he let out a confused, "Is this about working in retail?"

Not having expected someone to ask, Steven let out a small nod, "Yeah, my friend Sadie- the one who wrote the song- used to work in a donut shop. So a lot of her Suspects songs are her venting about the frustrations that came with it."

"But cashiers always look and sound so happy," Adrien questioned.

"Yeah I didn't get it either, I spent like, a day or so working at the Big Donut and I enjoyed it!" Steven exclaimed. "I was more a people person back then than I am now, but I guess I never really experienced the full brunt of the job as she did."

As both Steven and Adrien nodded in agreement, the rest of the group gave brief glances at each other.

At this point, Marinette genuinely couldn't tell if it was because of their lack of social interactions or, once again, rich kids.

The group came to the conclusion that now wasn't the time- considering they didn't know how long Adrien could actually stay- nor was this the place. An intervention would be required later.

"Well I think this is the song we should do," Rose got both of them back on track. "Steven, would it be possible to share the document with us so that we could each have our own copies?"

"Sure thing," he pulled the laptop closer to himself, adjusting the sharing settings and getting an accessible link. "Marinette I'm gonna text you the link and then you can share it with the others?"

"Got it!" she waited for the message to come through and swiftly went about distributing it.

While the teens studied the various music sheets, Adrien settled down next to Steven, and started a conversation by saying, "So, Marinette says that we have a lot in common!"

"So I've heard!" Steven said, glancing her way.

"You're still ok to helping out with my piano lessons, right? I realized I may have come off as a little forceful the other day," Adrien looked down in shame. "You totally don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable. I just wanted to get to know you a little better, since you've become pretty important to Marinette, you know?"

Steven softened at the admission, and he said, "Don't worry about the other day, I was more overwhelmed at everyone trying to speak to me at once. I really don't mind helping you out with the piano, it's been a while since I had the chance to sit down in front of one, it'd be fun to brush up on my skills."

Brightening, Adrien gave him a grateful look, "Thanks! It's just always been easier to work with my schedule than around it. Getting to know you by way of tutoring seemed like the smartest way to go about it."

"Man, after having to go through my best friend attending cram school and running a school myself, do I know what that feels like," Steven laughs.

Adrien laughed with him, and as soon as the chuckles died down, he immediately asked, "Are you into the occult?"

"I- what?" the older teen looked bewildered at the abrupt change of subject. "Um, no?"

Nodding, Adrien looked like he was crossing off a mental checklist, before asking, "Geology?"

"Not... particularity?" Steven was still recovering from the subject whiplash, and given the look on his face, Marinette just knew he was probably going over everything about himself that would give Marinette the slightest inclination that they were similar.

Thankfully, before Adrien could continue, Rose pulled him into a brief discussion with Ivan about the chemistry homework.

They continued like that, just talking and enjoying each other's company, with Steven occasionally answering and demonstrating certain sections of the music sheets, that it seemed like only seconds had passed before Adrien had to unfortunately leave.

She waves him off, and she supposes that the pang in her heart doesn't hurt nearly as much as it used to. And now that her thoughts were leading back in that direction...

Marinette was so lost in hanging out with all of Kitty Section and Steven, that she almost forgot about what she had talked about with Alya. And all it takes is one glance towards Luka, and seeing the adoring look on his face as he stares at her, and it all comes crashing down.

Her feelings, they're so complicated and adding in her duties as Ladybug and Guardian of the Miraculous, she doesn't want to feel like she's drowning anymore.

Even if it's just for now- even if it's just to gather some semblance of a vest to buoy her-

Even then she can't find a moment to talk to Luka so that she can try and stumble through excuses and apologies.

She gets her moment when the other members of Kitty Section pull Steven beneath the deck, and at the sight, she lets out a happy giggle, that slowly dies out.

Because then it's just her and Luka now, and she leans against his shoulder, letting the words that she wants to speak simmer in her mouth as she begs for her brain and tongue to work together for once.

"You know, I'm totally ok with you taking as much time as you need before you decide who you want to be with," Luka tells her, shocking her into looking up at him. 

As always, Luka just seems to read her mind and address her worries before she can spiral.

Swallowing harshly, she says, "But- that isn't fair to you. I was- I made you think that I was ready to be with you."

"You didn't make me think anything Marinette," he reassures. "I knew that you wouldn't get over your feelings for the other guy so quickly, and I'd never pressure you to move on from him to me. You figuring out who you want to be is more important to me than my own feelings."

"But what if-" she pauses to swallow sharply. "What if who I want to be is someone not involved with anyone. At least not at the moment."

"Then that's the Marinette I'm willing to follow after and be friends with," he tells her, sending a comforting smile down at her. "Being your friend matters just as much to me- I don't care what kind of relationship we have, all I know is that so long as you're in my life be it as a friend or something more, nothing can possibly go wrong."

Tears welling up in her eyes, she crushes him in a hug, as she says, "Thank you. Thank you, Luka."

"Always, my Melody," Luka rests his chin on top of her head as he leans into the hug.

Chapter Text

Groaning into her hands, Marinette pushes away from her desk and idly spins her chair in frustration. She'd been working on the sketches for a gift for Steven for the last three days and she still hasn't chosen one that just stood out to her as the best one. Sure, there were tons of ideas that would be great for her to put on her website, but those didn't feel gift-worthy.

And she didn't have all the time in the world to work on this- which isn't to say that she plans on rushing the final product, which is something that she tends to avoid as often as possible. Does she work on crunch time? Occasionally, well, more often than she would like yes. But considering how much of a head start she got on this project she would prefer to not procrastinate on it. Steven would only be staying in France for a month and a half. And two weeks had already passed, that meant she only had four more weeks left and that was hardly any time at all between school, akuma attacks, commissions-

She was getting ahead of herself, like always. She just had to take this nice and slow, but, not slow enough that she ends up missing the window of opportunity to present the gift as an apology, and who knows? By then Steven might have forgotten about the overwhelming first impression her friends gave and then Marinette would just end up reminding him about it and then-!

Removing her hands from her face and guiding them into the meditation position she did her best to swiftly knock away all those thoughts. Marinette didn't have to worry, she always managed to keep her commitments. With new determination, she returned to her sketchbook and looked over all the different designs again, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she looked at all of them with a new eye.

Yeah, nope. None stood out to her still.

Huffing, and resting her head into her hand as her elbow dug harshly into her desk, she looked over at her kwami and bemoaned, "I'm fresh out of ideas, Tikki."

Hovering over the sketchbook, Tikki looked over all of the designs, "I think these look fine, Marinette."

"Sure, they're fine but it's supposed to be a gift for Steven, and for that, I need to choose the one that he will like best," she fiddled with a corner to one of the pages.

"Why not just ask him what he thinks looks the best and make that one?" Tikki suggested.

"But then it wouldn't be as much of a surprise!" Marinette explained, but just as she finished speaking a knock on her trapdoor had Tikki fleeing to a hidden corner of her room.

"Marinette? Can I come up for a second?" Steven's voice filtered through and Marinette panic-glanced at her sketchbook.

"Sure thing!" she flipped the sketchbook closed and picked it up, floundering on whether she should hide it or if she should do as Tikki suggested and just get the answer to what Steven's gift should be from the older teen himself.

She was unable to make her decision before Steven opened the trapdoor and poked his head up.

"I just wanted to let you know that I was going to check out those districts you mentioned on Saturday, in case you needed anything while I'm out," the older teen smiled at her before his eyes settled on the sketchbook she clutched to her chest. "Oh hey, were you designing some stuff?"

Well, when life gave you lemons, you might as well make some lemonade.

Scrambling over to Steven she opened her sketchbook up to where she had started doing the gift sketches exclaiming, "Yes! Actually, and would you look at that, I was actually just gonna ask you about which of these ideas were your favorite. How convenient!"

Steven leaned back as she sort of shoved the sketchbook into his face, but at her explanation, a dazzled look crossed his face, "Sure thing!"

Whether or not Steven felt awkward standing on the stairs that led up to her loft, he didn't say, merely grasping the sketchbook so that he could flip through the designs. Marinette kept careful note of his expressions, paid attention to tracking his eyes and what they lingered on. She sort of expected him to pay the most attention to the male designs, but he fingered with the page that held a few galaxy designed pleated skirts.

Eventually, he settled on one of the high-waist designs and pointed at it with a wide grin, "You should make this one! I think you'd look great in it."

It took everything in her will power to not slump at that. The idea was that he would choose something that he would like to wear, not her.

"You think so? I like to make gender-neutral designs occasionally, do any of these stand out as something you could see yourself wearing too?" was that fishing for more information a little too obvious? No likely not.

Again, she watched as he lingered on the pages with skirts and dresses before he flipped to the few knitted caps that she had played around with, "These?"

That was definitely more phrased as a question than anything else. Well, this plan clearly wasn't working as intended.

Marinette nodded her thanks and took back her sketchbook, saying, "Awesome!"

"Happy to help!" Steven turned to head back down the steps before remembering why he had come up, turning to ask her, "Right, is there anything you need?"

"No, it's fine," she did a mental stock of all of her fashion supplies and found that she wasn't really lacking in anything in particular.

"Just thought to ask- and hey, maybe I can even pick out something nice for you in one of the boutiques as well!" Steven offered.

"What?! That's really not necessary!" she tried to wave off his generosity but it was to no avail as Steven got a brightened and resolute look on his face.

"Don't worry I won't go overboard in price or anything like that!" which really wasn't why she was declining, because it was supposed to be Marinette who was working on a gift for him- not that other way around. "I'll see you in a bit!"

Before she could sway him otherwise, Steven retreated down the steps after having closed the trapdoor behind him. Of course. The one time he remembers that he's allowed to close doors is when she was trying to convince him not to splurge his money on getting her something expensive.

Tikki reemerged from her hiding spot and looked at Marinette to say, "Well, that didn't go as planned."

Blowing air out of her mouth, she exclaimed, "You're telling me! Not only did I not get a conclusive answer on what to gift him, but now I'm the one probably going to wind up with a gift in the end!"

She wandered over to her desk so that she could put her sketchbook back down, mindlessly flipping back to the pages of designs.

"Why not just go with the hats?" Tikki questioned, settling down on the desk as well.

"I mean, I could," she held the page between her thumb and index before flipping back to the skirts. "But I think these were what caught his eye the most."

Looking up at her, her kwami pointed out, "Then why not make one of those?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "I just- he gave them a look of longing, right? But if he liked it he would have just said so. Do you think that he was scared that I'd judge him if he did pick a skirt?"

"I really can't say," Tikki gave her an apologetic look. "I hope he wouldn't think that poorly of you if so."

Sighing, Marinette dismissed the thought, "No, it's probably not that. Maybe something else." As to what specifically it could be, she just didn't know.

Ugh, this would be so much better if the two of them had an extensive chat history like her and Alya did. Whenever Marinette wanted to make something for her friend, all she would have to do is scroll through all of the pictures that they had sent back and forth to each other, and sure enough, she'd find screenshots of something off of a fashion website for inspiration.

Sure, they didn't have that kind of chat history, but...

Sitting up in her chair, Marinette declared, "I have a solution."

Her kwami gave her a wary- and uncalled for- look, eyeing her up as Marinette got out of her seat to head towards her trapdoor, saying, "And what would that be?"

Opening up the hatch and sneaking down the stairs, looking into the living room to see if Steven was around, and after confirming that no one was around, she slunk further into the apartment.

"Marinette..." Tikki spoke her name with a mixture of warning and disappointment.

Which Marinette really didn't get why! Sure, she may or may not be currently in the progress of going into the guest room to snoop through either Steven's laptop or his phone- if she got lucky- but that didn't mean she was doing something bad! It was for the sake of making a worthy apology gift. And if that gift just so happened to double as both an apology for the aforementioned reason and for snooping through his things then nobody could blame her.

She cautiously walked down the spiral staircase, listening to see if Steven was still in the apartment. If so, if questioned she would just say that she was on her way down to see if any of her help was needed in the bakery!

But Steven wasn't in his room, at least from what she could tell from outside the ajar door. Peering between the slight crack, it seemed as though the coast was clear, and she pushed the door open further, but not so much that she would bring attention to herself from her mom or dad.

"I thought you said that you weren't going to snoop through his things," Tikki crossed her paws as she reprimanded Marinette.

"I'm not snooping through his things!" she rebuked. "I'm just... borrowing his laptop and or phone for just a minute. Or two. Or three."

Glancing around the room, and she resolutely ignored the three glass bottles for the moment as they weren't a part of her primary mission. And it turned out that her luck was working for her today instead of against because Steven had left his phone on top of the desk.

She refrained from doing something silly like fist-pumping the air and hissing out a congratulatory, 'yes!' at her luck, but only just so.

Picking up the phone and settling down softly on the desk chair, she pressed the home button and was fully prepared to make guesswork at what his password was, but to her surprise, there wasn't one. Which was starting to make her suspicious. Two lucky things in a row? That hardly ever happened to her.

But not wanting to jinx it, she went straight towards his contacts list and scrolled through to see just who was on his phone. Marinette didn't want to look at all of his open contacts on the messaging app, that would be a little too far for her. She just needed to find someone who he'd probably be inclined to talk fashion too.

And sue her for immediately skipping to the 'M' section to see her contact name there. She couldn't hide her pleasure at seeing her contact photo as a picture Steven had taken of her when they were hanging out on the Liberty.

Scrolling back up, but taking her time this go around, she was thankful that at least it seemed like Steven had a bunch of contacts on his phone. Nothing like the barren list that Adrien and Kagami had. She didn't really pass by any names that she recognized, although she did briefly pause when she reached M. Universes' contact under 'G.' She debated whether or not that chat history would hold the answers she needed, before figuring probably not. Plus, she didn't want to see how depressing the text between the two probably was if she was judging by how little Adrien's dad actually texted him.

Then, finally, she reached the contact that would absolutely hold what she was looking for.

Under 'C' there was the name Connie M. followed by a sword emoji and a blue heart.

Perfect! Connie was Steven's girlfriend, and Marinette would be willing to bet that out of everyone in his contacts list, she was the one he would likely talk fashion with! Most likely at any rate.

She did wonder about the choice of the sword emoji but figured that maybe Connie was into something like fencing or sword fighting. Which would make another similarity between Steven and Adrien...

Switching over to the messenger app, she clicked the search bar and started to type in 'Connie' with it taking no more than the first two letters before the history popped up. Clicking onto it, she ignored the English texts and went straight for the details icon. From there, she scrolled through the pictures, pausing only when it contained something clothing related. Although, she did occasionally stop and stare at some animal pics that were there. Along with a few memes. It was exactly what she would expect anyone to find in her and Alya's history. 

But it was also getting her nowhere, and the longer she scrolled the more guilty she felt for looking through his private messages. She gave it another thirty seconds before she paused and slouched down. 

"Nothing still," she frowned. "This gift is giving me more trouble than I expected."

"If you're not going to get your answers from here then we should probably go," Tikki advised.

Nodding her head, Marinette's fingers started to shut the phone off when it vibrated and let off a chime, causing Marinette to squeak in shock and fumble with the phone, throwing it up in the air before catching it again.

But by catching it, she also accidentally clicked 'accept' on the face call.

Dropping the phone onto the desk, her hands slammed to cover her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at Tikki, who was giving her an equally shocked look.

"Surprise, Steven!" a feminine voice called out in English. "I finally found a moment of peace to call you- take that college-level physics!"

Mouthing to her kwami, 'what should I do?!' Marinette let the speaker talk uninterrupted, soft music playing in the background of the call.

Tikki gave her a strange look that either meant 'own up to your actions' or 'this is your chance to ask someone who knows Steven intimately what article of clothing he would personally wear and love as a gift.'

Marinette, in all her infinite wisdom, figured that Tikki probably meant the first, but she was going to interpret it as the second anyway.

The speaker still hadn't noticed that not only was the camera facing the ceiling of the room but also that nobody- especially not Steven- had responded back to her.

Inching towards the camera, and seeing her face appear from the bottom corner of the screen that showed her, Marinette noted that the person who had called was actually Connie. And that Connie was wearing what looked like a cozy hoodie with some American college logo on it. Her hair was chopped to her shoulders and was held back by some sort of clip.

Connie was also very pretty. She looked much like what Marinette assumed she and the rest of her friends would look like when they got into their older teen years. 

The older girl finally noticed that nobody was responding, and she turned away from where she was organizing books in what Marinette was willing to bet was a dorm room. She was a little ways from where she had propped up her phone, so it wasn't surprising that she still hadn't noticed who had actually answered the call.

Connie walked over to her phone, sitting down with a huff in her own desk chair, and gave out a questioning, "Steven?"

Well, she reasonably couldn't keep quiet at this point. So she adjusted the phone so that it was propped up on her end, and gave an awkward wave towards the camera as she said, "Hello. Steven is not here. Sorry."

Marinette could see the confusion on Connie's face at the sight of an unknown younger girl with her boyfriend's phone, so Marinette swiftly explained, "My name is Marinette. I am the one who is hosting Steven in Paris. Maybe he told you about me?"

Recognition flashed onto Connie's face, and she became much more relaxed, even fixing an easy-going smile onto her face as she said, "Right! He mentioned you and your parents over text. I didn't think that we would get a chance to talk so soon, my scheduled talk with Steven wasn't for a while, but I managed to nab a few hours of free time today and I thought I'd surprise him."

Wincing, since she was sure that Connie had probably been looking forward to talking to Steven today, Marinette said, "Steven is out shopping right now." She left out the part where he was looking for a gift to give to Connie, Marinette was sure that that would be a nice surprise for the older teen.

"Oh," and yep, Connie visibly upset by that, but she perked right back up, saying, "Well, that's ok, we can talk instead! What were you doing with his phone by the way?"

Immediately flustered at the question, Marinette stammered, "Well, I was just curious and then you called, and by accident I dropped the phone and clicked accept."

Her face burned, and she worried that she had spoken a little too quickly for Connie to understand what she was saying, but the older teen laughed good-naturedly and reassured her, "Happens to the best of us. Besides, this just means that we get to talk a little earlier than intended."

Perking up, Marinette was grateful that what she had assumed was bad luck rearing its head actually led to something nice. Taking the initiative, she said, "What do you like to do? I make clothes. And art."

"Let's see," Connie rested her head on the back of her hand as she flicked up fingers on her other hand as she started to list, "I like to read, play the violin, sword fight, hm, I guess I really got into roller-skating not too long ago, but I don't get to do it as often as I'd like. Steven mentioned you wanted to be a fashion designer, do you have any designs on hand that I could see?"

Yes! This was her chance, nodding her head, and trying to not look like this was exactly what she was hoping for, Marinette said, "Sure! One second."

Pausing the call, she raced up to her loft, grabbing her sketchbook and doing a small twirl as she laughed victoriously.

"Well you certainly got lucky," Tikki commented, no longer looking stern. "The call really was unexpected."

"This is definitely more than what I was expecting, so I can't really complain," Marinette made her way back down to Steven's room, with Tikki trailing behind her. Because kwami's couldn't show up on technology, Tikki didn't need to hide and was able to oversee the conversation between her and Connie.

Unpausing the call, she announced, "I'm back!" and then turned towards the pages that Steven had been looking at earlier.

Connie was turned away for just a second before turning back and lighting up at her sketches, exclaiming, "Wow! Those are amazing. You're really talented, Marinette."

"Thank you! Actually, I made these sketches because I wanted to make a gift for Steven," she left out the part where it was intentioned as an apology. That would probably require the full story, and Marinette didn't want to waste Connie's time like that. "I wasn't sure what he would like though..."

Connie hummed, looking at the sketches before gesturing for Marinette to turn the page to some of the other ones. The older teen leaned back into her plush chair, thinking on the page in front of her. Eyes darting down, Marinette noted that it was the skirt page once more.

"Steven also looked at this page for a while," she revealed, watching shock bloom on Connie's face, before she looked to the side, sheepish that she had been caught doing the same. "Would Steven like a skirt?"

"Well..." Connie trailed off, curling a lock of hair around her finger as she contemplated what to say. "Not at the moment, probably not. I won't get too much into it, as that's really Steven's story to tell, but even though he does enjoy skirts and dresses, he probably won't be comfortable wearing any anytime soon. Nothing to do with you, just- stuff."

Oh. She slightly lowered her sketchbook as she stared down in thought. Obviously, it was none of her business as to the why, she just wished that he could enjoy himself. And it wouldn't be with his best interests in mind if she gave him a skirt anyway, even if she had the best intentions.

"But hey, do you know what he really would enjoy?" Connie leaned forward so that she was closer to the camera. "A graphic t-shirt that you designed and printed yourself! He did that once for his city mayor's campaign, made a bunch of t-shirts. Do you know how to do that, since you said that you like art too?"

Marinette blinked at the new information. It wasn't her niche, but now that she thought more on it, she could see Steven enjoying that much more than anything else she could make. Yeah, that was a great idea! Let's see, she might need to pick up a few things related to printmaking, but this type of challenge would put her creativity to the test.

"That is perfect, thanks!" this would mean that she would need to whip out some new sketches, but she'd do that first on her tablet since it was more graphic than anything else.

"Glad to have helped!" Connie smiled at her. "Totally send me the finished designs! Or just reach out to me if you need any more help."

"I will do that, thank you!" Marinette flipped to some other pages, asking, "Would you like to see more?"

"Sure!" and so Marinette showed Connie some more choice selections from her sketchbook. She even showed her the page where she doodled something based on Steven's friend, and Connie even recognized what the inspiration was, which made Marinette pleased since it meant that she channeled the song properly.

They ended up talking for about an hour, with Marinette asking plenty of questions about what college was like, more questions about what it was like living in America, with Connie asking the same about France. By the end of it, Marinette can safely say that she has at least two American friends by now. Reluctantly, Connie had to leave to return to her studies, so Marinette bid her goodbye and ended the call. Steven's battery had gone down significantly, so Marinette put it on the charger.

Marinette would probably have to explain that she picked up the video call by accident to Steven later, but that was a future Marinette problem.

She was well and ready to leave the room, but she paused when her eyes made contact with the glass bottles again. Chewing on her lip, and looking at the door, she figured that it couldn't hurt to check them out, right?

"Marinette, we shouldn't sneak around here any longer," Tikki chided but followed after her anyhow.

"I know you're curious too," Marinette accused, stopping just before the neatly lined up containers. "Is this close enough to know what kind of magic they are?"

Tikki got closer to the yellow one, humming in thought before shaking her head, saying, "I still can't tell. And I'm not inclined to phrase threw it without knowing what it is."

Well, Marinette could solve that. She picked up the blue one shaped like a tear and pulled off the cap, holding the bottle away from her body in case it exploded in a fit of magic or something. When no adverse reaction happened, she cautiously brought it closer and took a quick glance down the neck of the container.

It didn't look like anything magical was inside, but then again, things always look different inside of something else. Marinette wasn't quite inclined to just pour some out without something to properly store it in.

Gesturing the bottle towards her kwami, she asked, "What about now?"

Getting closer and doing just what Marinette had, the kwami said, "It's familiar, but not recognizable. This is very frustrating."

Right, she shouldn't have expected much else. "It's kind of weird, isn't it? Is this like the potions that we would make with Master Fu?"

"Not quite, although..." Tikki trailed off before shaking her head. "Without knowing what it is exactly, I can't quite discount whether or not we could use them in the same way. I would advise against it, different types of magic don't always mesh well together."

"How so?" Marinette plugged the bottle again and set it back in its row.

"Magic is often volatile and just like a chemical reaction sometimes the smallest things can set it off. Most often, two different types mesh like oil and water- one will top the other, but they don't mix," Tikki explained.

That made sense, at least, it did to Marinette. Still, it might be something to look into once they identified what type of magic it was, right?

For now, she would leave it be.

She returned to her room and got straight into working on her thumbnails. Now that she was working in the mindset of a graphic tee, she could do just about anything so long as she transferred it over for printmaking. Marinette would keep it simple, keeping a limit of three different colors, excluding black and white for lining purposes.

As to what she should make a graphic of, well, the first thing that came to mind was Steven's celestial aesthetic still. But maybe she would branch out with a few others too. In his photo history, he took tons of pictures of flowers. Maybe she could do a mixture of that? Planets as flowers would be cool! Or maybe she could do constellations like flowers in bloom!

A wealth of ideas flooded into her brain and she got straight to work making as many quick thumbnails as she could, and if she particularly liked the idea, she would make a much rougher sketch of it so that she could remember exactly what she was aiming to do.

By the time that her mother knocked on her trapdoor to call her down for dinner, she had settled between three different ideas that she really liked. Saving the file onto her tablet as 'Universe Insp.' she powered down her tablet and joined her family at the table. Steven wasn't joining them tonight, which was fine since this was his trip, and if he wanted to spend it at a restaurant then he was more than welcome to.

He came back around the time that Marinette was catching up on some assignments that weren't due for a while. He carried two different bags with him, and Marinette recognized the brand name instantly.

Thankfully, he hadn't bought anything for her, because if he had she would have felt even more guilty than normal.

"Hey, Steven?" she called out from where she was seated on the steps to her loft. "Well, I was passing by your room earlier, and you see, your phone rang! And I accidentally clicked accept on a call from your girlfriend."

White lies were ok in the name of giving some a gift, she reasoned.

"Connie called?" Steven looked surprised but also disappointed.

"Yeah, we talked for a bit- I hope that was ok!" Marinette fiddled with her fingers nervously.

"Don't worry about it, it's totally fine," Steven waved off her anxiousness. "We were talking about introducing you to her when we did our scheduled call. Can't let my host sister not meet my girlfriend, after all."

It was nice to hear from Steven himself that he had planned on introducing Marinette to his girlfriend, rather than Connie just being nice to her because of a coincidence.

"Did you guys have a nice talk?" Steven asked as he settled down at the table.

"Yep! We talked about some of the same things that I had asked you when we first met," Marinette revealed. "So I suppose, it was a typical international-friends conversation."

Steven laughed at that, and said, "Oh definitely. You have to cover the bases before anything else."

"So what did you buy for Connie," Marinette tried not to pry too intensely.

"Well, I was just wandering around from store to store when I found this adorable necklace with her birthstone in the shape of a strawberry, so I just had to get that for her," Steven ruffled around the bag to pull out a small box, opening it to show her the rose gold necklace. He closed the box and put it bag in the bigger bag. "From there I just kind of got things that I thought looked cool, from vendors and booths. Not big names or anything like that. Like this!" he pulled out a small ceramic frog.

"You must have done a lot of walking around today, you were out later than usual," Marinette noted.

Shrugging, he settled his bags on the ground gently, "Eh, you kind of get used to walking around with the life I've had. Plus, not all of it was me shopping around. I was asking around about where I should visit next- not bothering anybody or something like that, just bringing it up when I was having conversations."

"Did you get any good recommendations?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah!" Steven gave her a big smile. "I'm actually planning to take a day or two visiting Normandy, I heard that there's a lot to do there, so I figured I should get on to doing that soon."

She's not sure why, but hearing that left a weird feeling to settle within her, but she pushed past it to say, "Oh?"

"Specifically they recommended some art places, but also some battlements," a strange expression grew on his face as he said, "I was always curious about human battlefields after the war is done and all, I never really got to talk about those growing up, so I figured well, knowing human history is important too, right?"

Ignoring the strange way that he phrased the sentiment, and blaming it on a mistranslation slip-up, Marinette asked, "Will you be getting a rental for this?"

Steven shook his head, "Nah, I figured I should just take a bus. It's about a two hour and a half trip, which isn't all that bad on public transportation."

"When do you plan to go?" Marinette looked away.

"Maybe on the weekend, but I'm going to have to double-check the bus schedule before I commit to anything," Steven said before yawning, raising a hand over his mouth. "Well, I'm beat. I think I'm going to head to bed now. Goodnight, Marinette."

"Night," she waved him off, watching as he disappeared from the living room aspect of the apartment. When he was out of sight, she folded her hands together and leaned into them.

Really, she doesn't know why she thought Steven would spend his entire trip in just Paris alone. He should get to enjoy other cities and the countryside too, France was a beautiful country with a rich history and culture.

And with him being outside of Paris, she wouldn't have to worry about him getting hurt in an akuma attack. There were only positives to him leaving for a few days.

But that would be two days less out of the limited time that she could spend with him. So maybe that was why she was somewhat upset. For two days it would be like she didn't have a host brother at all, her life would return to what it had been before Steven had stepped into her life. 

At least it would prepare her for a few weeks into the future for when she would have to say goodbye to Steven when he leaves France.

She went to bed that night pensive and trying to stave off bad dreams by dreaming of nothing at all.

Chapter Text

When Steven leaves that weekend to travel to Normandy, Marinette woke up too late to bid him goodbye as he had to leave early to catch his bus. So when she walked into the kitchen and took her seat at the table, it was to three plates set on the table, not four.

There really wasn't any need to comment on it, beyond her initial questioning of if Steven had already left, and she sits there eating a completely normal breakfast with her mother and father. But perhaps that was what unnerved her the most, as she took a glance at the fourth seat, that nothing had changed now that Steven wasn't there.

And Marinette didn't know why this bothered her. After all, this is what the table would look like in a few weeks, when Steven left for Germany, right? Just her and her parents, eating, as if no one was missing. Or as if no one had entered their life and stayed there for a while at all. 

Her toast turns to mush in her mouth, unappetizing, and she has to wash it down with juice that is much too sweet.

Really, she's making a big deal- internally at least- of nothing. Steven would come back on Monday of course, and even then, she knew from the start that he was a temporary stay in her life. She could enjoy his presence while he was here, but he was on a vacation around the world, where he would probably meet many people just as he had met Marinette.

There was nothing strange about having a light breakfast without Steven here. Nor was there anything strange about passing the guest room and seeing that the door was actually closed all the way for once, but even then she wouldn't have to open it to know that he wasn't there.

Nope, nothing off in the slightest.

She hadn't made any plans with her friends for the weekend in advance, and unless someone texted her, that wouldn't change and Marinette didn't have things of immediate importance to catch up on. So today would be a lazy day for her by herself in her room. Sketching things, working ahead on projects. Things that she does all the time.

Tikki must have sensed the imbalance swirling emotions inside of her, because the kwami appears in her field of vision as soon as she sets down on her desk chair, leaning her arms against the back of it so that she could rest her cheek on them.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" her kwami bobbed down so that she could make eye contact with her.

"Yeah," Marinette started before sighing. "Well, I guess I just feel... off, knowing that Steven's gone."

A look of understanding crossed Tikki's face, and she offered, "It's ok, Marinette, you'll get to see him again in two days."

"I know that! I do!" Marinette sat up, rubbing her hands down her face in exasperation. "I just- gah! There's nothing wrong with him waiting to explore France more, I understand that and I know he's going to be back soon, and it sucks that I didn't get to say goodbye but-"

She cuts herself off as she crumbles back down.

Maybe not getting to see him before he left really messed with her. Reminded her of how- well.

Idly looking away for a moment, her eyes strayed towards where she was hiding the Miracle Box at the moment.

Getting off her chair, she approached it and slid the blanket off of it, staring at the bright and polished red and black of the egg. The black spots had over time transformed to having symbols of the Miraculous they housed underneath, and her finger hovered over the one that would summon Wayzz to her. It wouldn't hurt to just-

No, she shook her head to dismiss the idea. She couldn't just abuse her power as a Guardian to summon the kwami to talk to her. Master Fu didn't just bring out kwami's because he was lonely so she wouldn't either.

"Marinette?" Tikki had a look of concern plastered all over her face, as she hovered over Marinette's shoulder.

"Nothing, nothing," Marinette stepped away from the egg, leaving it half-uncovered for the moment. She'd fix it before she left her room, but it could stay that way for now. "I just need to distract myself, maybe listen to one of my playlists and get in the zone. Anything to keep my thoughts out of my head."

"You know you can always talk to me if you need to," the kwami offered, not moving from where she hovered near the Miracle Box. "And if you wanted to talk to one of the others I wouldn't blame you either."

Dismissing Tikki with a wave of her hand, she shakes her mouse to wake up her desktop. She pulled up her music program, selected a playlist at random, and set the volume down to a comfortable low volume.

At seeing that Tikki was still troubled, she said, "It's fine, really, Tikki. Guess I'm just not having a good start to my day. But I can fix that with a little creative inspiration!"

"If you say so Marinette," Tikki still looked worried, but settled down at the desk next to Marinette and watched her get to work, finishing up the designs that Kim had requested. Keeping them far off from what the actual kwami looked like was a fun challenge, and she was quickly absorbed into her work, humming along to the songs from her computer, before stopping- confident that the designs were roughed out.

Pulling out her phone, she took quick snapshots of each design and sent them to Kim for approval. Marinette would have to hand stitch these, so it would be a good idea to check that she had all of the thread that she needed for the project.

It's as she's cataloging which colors that she'll need to stock up on, making a note to head to the store later that day, that she gets a message back from Kim.

Le Chien K.

YOO! Those look so good!!!

Perfect timing too because guess what?

Her phone buzzed as she received a photo of six denim jackets all stacked on top of each other.

Le Chien K.

The jackets finally came in

Can you meet up tomorrow to get them?

Marinette D.C

Sure thing!

"Well, at least I know I'll have something to occupy my time tomorrow," she sent a smile down at her phone, before setting it aside.

Working all day definitely took her mind off of Steven leaving, and all her muddled thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind. And she was able to rationalize that she was just being a little too emotional earlier, everything was fine, there was no need to freak out that morning. 

Yes, Steven wasn't a fixed person in her life, but so what? That didn't mean that she couldn't enjoy his presence when she had it. And on Monday, when he returned, she could enjoy sitting down with him at meals, and simply bask in the time while she had it. She wasn't forgettable just because he wasn't around.

Marinette had really wound herself up for no reason at all. But she was always a worrier, finding catastrophes where there weren't any.

The day passes, and before she knows it she's waking up on a pleasant Sunday morning, joining her mother for a quick bite to eat before getting ready to meet up with Kim. And she didn't feel her gut twist itself into knots, because everything was fine.

Humming, she went about getting ready for the day, twisting her hair together to make a fishtail plait and trying it together with a green ribbon. Slipping on a black apron dress on top of her white blouse, she completed the look with a pair of Mary Jane's.

Looking over her assemble in the mirror, Marinette smiles in satisfaction.

Slipping her purse strap over her shoulder, she makes her way out of the bakery, giving a cheerful wave to Sabine and Tom as she passes them, with a call of when she expects to return.

It's been a while since she's hung out with Kim alone. Not that she doesn't love to hang out with the class as a group, but it's harder to catch up with someone when you're contesting for their attention amongst multiple others.

Kim said that he would meet her at the Place des Vosges, and as she approached the entrance, she saw him waiting by the fountain. Hurrying to reach him, she called out, "Kim!"

The taller teen perked up at the sight of her, and gave out a whoop as she approached, "Marinette! There's my favorite fashion designer!"

Giving him a smile in return, she eyes the shipping box on the edge of the fountain, "So, these are the jackets?"

"Yeah! I got a good deal on all of them," Kim said, watching as she opened the box and pulled out one of them. "I was going to get leather originally, but then Max convinced me to get denim instead. And boy did he save my wallet a big expense."

Giggling she rubbed the material between her hands, getting a feel for it, saying, "I thought you got a good deal on them?"

"I did! Doesn't mean it didn't drain me of cash though," Kim ran a hand through his hair as he gave her an impish grin. "Totally worth it though! Those designs you sent were so rad!"

Growing only slightly nervous at the mention of the designs, she set down the jacket and responded, "Yeah?"

"It's like you pulled my vision straight from my head," he jabbed a finger against his temple before tapping her on the nose, "and plopped it onto your sketchbook."

"Haha, yeah, well you know- just the power of a good prompt!" perhaps she hadn't distanced the designs too far from their kwami counterparts enough.

"I just know the others are going to love them!" Kim plowed on, unknowingly causing Marinette's smile to slip off of her face, as her heart tightened just a bit.

Despite knowing that it wasn't wise for her to ask, Marinette prodded, "This... club of yours, you... you really care about it, don't you?"

Without hesitation, Kim responded, "Of course! I mean, it's a super exclusive club- like I've told you before- but, well, it really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'm grateful to even be a part of it while it lasted."

Oh.

"Not that the club's dissolved or anything! The club is still around, otherwise, why would I be commissioning jackets," Kim tried to save face, but Marinette's thoughts were already starting to drift, because-

She was grateful to have Kim, and everyone else, on her side while it lasted too.

Not that she's struggled with just Chat, but there was something exhilarating about fighting alongside her classmates. Just- knowing that they would have her back both as Marinette and Ladybug. That she had collected people that she could trust.

And Chloé and Hawk Moth had ruined that for her.

"-and really, when you think about it, what's stopping the club from being a real club? Do you get what I'm saying, Marinette?" the other teen shocked her out of melancholy. "Hello? Did you hear any of that?"

"Hm? Oh, I mean, yes! Yes, to what you asked me," heat flushed over her cheeks, hoping that she didn't just make a fool of herself.

Kim hummed, and then got really close to her face, but just before he could say anything screaming from afar drew both of their attention towards the park’s entrance.

Knowing that an akuma was likely to blame, Marinette got prepared to make an excuse so that she could go transform but was stopped when a blast of hazy yellow hit Kim from behind. The taller teen's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed against the side of the fountain, skin turning deathly pale and small colorful mushrooms sprouted from all over his body.

Holding in a gasp, she ran for cover- ducking behind a bench for cover, not the best hiding spot but it was what she had on hand. Nobody else was in the vicinity so she called out, "Tikki, spots on!"

As her transformation covered her, she launched over the bench, yo-yo out and ready to intercept any sort of akuma attack, but she couldn't find any sight of it.

Ladybug did, however, hear sounds of screaming off into the distance. Before swinging away, she ran over to make sure that Kim was alright.

Despite how he looked, the boy was fine- chest moving up and down as he breathed- so while he looked like a cadaver he was still very much alive, to her relief. Having cleared that up, she threw her yo-yo forward and lept into the air, heading in the direction of people in panic.

Running across the rooftops, she saw how many had been affected by the mysterious akuma so far.

"My Lady!" sounded across the street, and she paused her race to let Chat Noir catch up to her before the two of them continued together. "What're we dealing with?"

"Not sure, but I have a feeling it has something to do with mushrooms," Ladybug told him, as she dropped down from the roof to pause beside a downed Parisian, afflicted by the colorful mushrooms the same as Kim.

"Well that's certainly not Enok-ay," Chat quipped, a look of seriousness on his face as he stared down the street. "But no sight of our- look out!"

Chat knocked her out of the way, just as a cloud of yellow exploded where she had just been.

"That was close," he breathed out, glancing behind himself.

Looking over, Ladybug saw the form of their wayward akuma, a stone-faced and lithe figure, wearing a toxic purple and black suit, a yellow mushroom cap with green spots on it. She held a thick mushroom in her hand, probably taken from the belt loaded with them around her waist. With greying skin, her akuma mask stood out as pure white.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir," the words passed her blackened lips, "I am the Sporetician, I hereby request that you hand over your Miraculous."

Turning a bewildered glance at her, Chat remarked, "Well, she's got to be one of the more polite akuma's that we've had to face."

"Sorry to break it to you, but we don't hand out our Miraculous to just anyone," Ladybug responded, yo-yo primed for either defense or a quick get-away.

Sporetician grimaced before her gaze hardened as she said, "Very well, just know that it is you who insisted on ending up under my scrutiny."

In a flash, she pulled off the caps of three of the mushrooms before launching them in a sweep. Leaping onto the nearest room, Ladybug watched as the mushrooms expanded and burst upon impact, sending out that yellow gas.

"Those must be her spores," she told Chat who had landed beside her.

"Right, that makes sense," they started to run away as Sporetician lept onto the roof after them. "But where's her akuma?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I'm prepared to find out," Ladybug swung out her yo-yo to trip up the approaching akuma, causing her to stop her pursuit. Chat used his baton to force the akuma even further back, extending it so that he wouldn't be caught in any spore clouds.

Glancing around the environment quickly, she spotted an open storefront and reached out to grab Chat's tail to drag him inside. Sporetician wasn't too far behind them, but the two heroes slunk towards the back doors of the store.

As the akuma, knocked over clothing racks in her attempt to find them, Chat whispered to her, "Is now a good time for a lucky charm?"

Nodding, she called out softly, "Lucky Charm!"

She threw her yo-yo into the air, waiting with bated breath for the item that the charm would give her. As soon as the magic was finished, a tape dispenser landed in her hands.

"I can think of a few ideas that we can stick together with that," Chat glanced back at the akuma. "And with her all wrapped up like a present, we can just pluck off akumatized object no problem."

"It's just a matter of figuring out what that is now," she murmured. Taking a glance around her surroundings, she took careful note of all of the clothing racks, Chat Noir, and the akuma herself. Studying the akuma even further something caught her eye.

"I've got an idea," Ladybug exclaimed. "I'm going to need you to get close enough to Cataclysm her belt, and then run towards my position. My lucky charm will take it from there."

"And the akuma isn't in the belt itself?" her partner questioned.

Shaking her head, she tentatively pointed out a glinting object on Sporetician's lapel. "See that? It's the only thing that stands out, but it's too small to chance to try to grab it without her all tied up."

Chat nodded in understanding, "Don't worry, my Lady! You can count on me. Cataclysm!"

Hand safely outstretched and slinking away from where they had taken cover, Chat started to approach a frustrated Sporetician, fingers reaching out for the belt. Meanwhile, Ladybug quickly got to work on her part of the plan. As Chat neared the akuma perked, ears straining to listen as her eyes darted around the store, but just as she gasped and whirled around, Chat had his hand wrapped around her belt which turned brown and crumpled into pieces.

"Why you-" the akuma hissed, but Chat moved out of range with a brief laughing, calling out, "She's all yours Ladybug!"

Sporetician whipped her head in the direction Chat ran off to, but was blindsided by two careening clothing racks, layers of tape creating a sticky barrier that she was quickly caught in. Appearing in front of the akuma, Ladybug plucked the pin off of her body, taking a second to notice the portabello mushroom design on it before settling it on the ground to stomp on.

As the pin broke, an akuma fluttered out of the object, and Ladybug swung out her yo-yo calling out, "Time to de-evilize!"

Catching the akuma, she swiftly purified it and released it, watching it flutter away as she called out, "Bye, bye, little butterfly."

Without a moment to waste, she grabbed the emptied tape dispenser and threw it into the air with the call of, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Her cure spread out all over Paris due to her ladybugs, and the victim in front of them transformed back into a civilian, a mousy-looking girl in a ratty sweater, fingers grabbing the pin in front of her. Looking up at the two of them from her bangs, horror swept over her features as she whimpered, "Oh my God, was I an akuma?"

Giving the girl a comforting smile, Ladybug said, "Yes, but don't worry, we fixed everything."

Groaning in pain, the girl hid her face beneath a curtain of hair, holding the pin above her head as if that could protect her from the truth of being taken advantage of by Hawk Moth, "I- I'm sorry, today we were working on cadavers in class and- they were making fun of me again, and I just got so upset-!"

"Hey, it's ok now," Ladybug gave her a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "If your classmates are bullying you then you should report it to someone."

"They never believe me," the girl said in response, a dismayed look souring her face. "I'm so tired of nobody believing in me."

Those words struck a chord in Ladybug, and for a minute she felt like she was having an out-of-body experience as if the person in front of her was Marinette.

"Well, if they don't believe you again, just send a message to the Ladyblog and I will talk to your teachers to set things straight," she promised with a fervor behind her words.

The girl looked up at her in awe, hands lowering the pin and bringing it close to her chest.

Before she could say anything else, her earrings beeped in reminder, and she gave a small smile in apology, "I'm sorry, but I really have to go. Remember, even if it doesn't seem like anyone is in your corner, Ladybug always will be."

The student nodded her head rapidly, and Ladybug gave a final look at Chat, but he was miles away in his own thoughts, ignoring the warning beeping of his own miraculous. He was staring down at the girl, skin slightly pale, as if he was seeing someone else entirely too.

But even if Ladybug wanted to stay and chat to find out what was plaguing his mind, they simply didn't have the time, so she prodded him and said, "Chat, we gotta go."

Abruptly brought out of his thoughts, Chat's eyes darted to the side and he quickly replied, "Right. I'll see you around, my Lady!"

They parted ways, and Ladybug found a secluded alleyway just in time for her detransformation. She pulled a cookie out of her purse for Tikki to recharge with.

"Almost done, Tikki?" she looked down at her kwami just as she finished the last bite.

"Yep!" Tikki chirped, before returning to her spot in Marinette's purse.

"Good, I'm gonna rush over to Place des Vosges to make sure that Kim is ok," Marinette told her before she closed the clasps of her purse.

Rushing out of the alleyway, she picked up her haste to get back to the park, and she was nearly out of breath by the time that she got there. But just as she was rounding the gate, she heard a voice that she despised above all else.

"And Marinette just left you here?" Lila gasped with fake sympathy, surrounded by all the other girls in their class, and Marinette slowed down in the shock of finding her here that she strayed towards one of the trees to observe.

"Well, I mean, there was an akuma," Kim held his head as he looked around the park, trying to see past the gaggle of girls. "I'm kinda worried for her, actually, because she might have gotten caught in the attack trying to run away."

"I can't believe I missed an akuma attack," Alya bemoaned, glancing down at her phone as she refreshed her news feed. "Not that I don't like hanging out with you girl."

Lila waved her off, focusing more on the box beside Kim, stating, "She probably ran since she didn't want to take on your commission, I bet."

Glancing at the box, an uncomfortable look grew on Kim's face, "I don't know about that..."

"Well, I can take on the commission for you if you'd like! I studied at an embroidery atelier back in Italy," the liar tried inching the box closer to her.

"Thanks, but I think I'd rather keep this as a Marinette Original," Kim told her firmly, picking up the box and pulling out his phone. "I'm gonna call her, I'm really worried."

Marinette was already rushing away and back to the bakery that she completely missed the last part of the conversation. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she ignored it firmly in favor of rushing up the stairs and chucking off her shoes so that she could collapse on her bed.

She thought that she could have fooled herself into thinking that this weekend could have been good in any sort of capacity, but she was wrong.

There she stayed, only dragging herself out to eat dinner with her parents, doing her best to avoid their concern, and excusing herself early on the account that she just wasn't that hungry. By the time that she finally looked at her phone and saw all of the missed calls and worried texts from Kim, she only had the strength to tell him that she was ok and fine, and had just run off during the attack.

The clock surges forward and it's well past dark by the time that she finds the energy to get out of bed.

She doesn't know why she goes up to her balcony, it's an exceptionally cold night and she's only wearing her pajamas, but she goes up there and walks all the way to the end railing and collapses down onto the ground. Burying her head into the crevice between her knees, her arms snake around to compact her form together.

Biting her lip, Marinette tries really, really hard to not cry. She doesn't know why she's even this upset. Sure, today was stressful because of the interrupted meeting between her and Kim, and sure, maybe she had to literally stumble upon the rest of her friends hanging out with Lila without her- which was whatever really, and besides the point- confronting Kim, and Steven wasn't even back yet and he was the only one who ever seemed to believe her which meant that this really sucked.

"Everything will be alright, Marinette," Tikki placed a comforting paw on her right arm. When Marinette didn't respond, she hovered just above her forehead, leaning against it in a comforting manner. "You're going to be ok."

"It's just a lot right now," she mumbled into her knees. "It feels like everything is coming at me all at once, and I don't like it. It makes me feel... it makes me feel so bad. I'm so tired of lying."

"You weren't lying," Tikki tried to console, but stopped when Marinette finally lifted her head.

"Wasn't I? You saw how happy Kim was just talking about his 'club'," she wiped at her eyes, trying to catch the tears before they fell. "And I had to smile and pretend that I'm not the reason why he can't be a Miraculous holder anymore. Then I see Lila with everyone, twisting the situation again, and- she's a liar! But so am I, and it never bothered me until now."

Tikki didn't have a response to that.

"Why can't I just be Marinette?" she sobs, head collapsing back down and knocking against her knees. "Why does everything have to change and yet not change at all? I don't like it."

"It'll get better with time," the kwami said, nuzzling closer to her holder.

"But I want it to be better now," distantly Marinette wondered if she sounded like a petulant child. But she couldn't help it.

She's been keeping everything back behind the dam in her mind, but there were cracks and everything threatened to spill out that even the smallest things could get to her when they shouldn't. Marinette is a hate sink of her own emotions, and there's a pressure from behind her eyes, probably from keeping her tears in, but what else is she supposed to do- what else can she do to avoid attracting a-

"MARINETTE!"

Tikki let out a quiet yelp in shock, quickly phasing into Marinette's head for lack of a better place to hide and Marinette looked up in shock at the voice because she wasn't expecting him to be back yet.

But there he was, just as she lifted her heads and blinked away a slight pink flash of light, Steven at her side, hands outstretched in front of him, hovering over her.

"Marinette, are you ok?!" he was looking her over- probably for an injury of some sort- looking flustered and with slightly wind-swept hair. "I rushed over as fast as I could when I saw you crying."

She doesn't question how she didn't hear the sound of the trap door opening, or how he could have gotten to her so quickly.

Marinette simply thrusts herself forward and wraps her arms tightly around Steven.

Instantly, he envelops her in his form, cradling one hand behind her head and the other around the curve of her back as she nuzzles her head into his neck. He smells faintly of vanilla and it's enough to distract her from her thoughts because she-

She just really needs a hug right now.

He starts rocking her slightly, humming under his breath and whispering, "It's ok, I've got you. Just let it all out."

Suddenly the tears start and they don't stop falling down her face like a river running wild, and she's getting the crook of his neck wet with tears but she just can't stop.

But Steven doesn't seem to mind, and he just chuckles and runs his hand through her hair saying, "Have yourself a cry fest I don't mind at all."

And they stay there for however long it takes for Marinette to rid herself of all of her tears, which is to say that they are there for a while. She's slightly surprised that Hawk Moth didn't send an akuma after her, but she figures that supervillains had to sleep sometime and with the akuma from earlier he was probably defeated for the day.

Which is good, because she's really not up to the task of taking on another akuma any time soon.

"Feel better?" Steven asks as she pulls away from his neck.

Sniffling, Marinette wipes at her face with the back of her hand, slightly grossed out at the mess of tears and some snot. "A little. Sorry."

Nodding, Steven looks out to the side, a reminiscent look on his face as he says, "I don't blame you for crying at all. You're at that age where either everything is great or everything sucks, and of course, your body just so happens to be pumping you full of hormones too, which is oh so helpful."

That manages to get a small chuckle out of her, and Steven's lips quirk up into a smile at that.

"Still, I should have everything together by now," Marinette sighs, leaning her head against Steven's chest, too tired to hold it up herself.

"No offense, but you're just fourteen," Steven reminds her. "The world isn't on your shoulders, and even if it was, well, you can share the world with the rest of us. We're here to bear its weight with you."

If only it were that simple. But she's too tired to argue, and it's a school night so she really shouldn't be staying up so late.

"Come on, let's get you to bed," he urges her up and lets Marinette lean all her weight against him.

He helps her down the trap door and leaves the room so that she can get herself ready for bed since she was in her day outfit still. When he leaves, Tikki phases out of her and comfortingly nuzzles against her cheek as she collapses in bed.

This really wasn't a good weekend.

As she drifts off to sleep, she dreams of nothing until she starts to smell the lingering scent of vanilla, and then she's gone.

Pacing in his room, Steven mulls over many things, mainly his worry for Marinette.

But mostly he mulls over his most recent addition to his room.

Looking up at the pink bubble that trapped the magic empowered butterfly that radiated corruption, Steven wondered what exactly he was going to do with it.

Chapter Text

To say that Steven was in a bit of a conundrum was a bit of an understatement. Did he regret bubbling the akuma-thingy? Of course not! Was it the smartest move he's made over these long years? Probably not, no.

But he couldn't have just done nothing. When he had seen that menacing butterfly flutter closer and closer to Marinette, fear had laced his heart and he jumped up onto the balcony without thinking, hands spread out to catch the creature in a bubble and whisk it away to his guest room.

Before that moment, he hadn't even known what an akuma looked like- the amount of information that he knew regarding them was very limited, and with how quickly people turned it wasn't abnormal that there weren't any photos available online, or so he reasoned. All that he knew was that his gut was telling him something was wrong and he didn't hesitate to act.

So now he had a trapped butterfly, filled with corrupted energy, trapped in his room.

Thinking it over, perhaps this was why he had gotten a few cringes when he gave his meditation lesson to Marinette's class not too long ago. White butterfly meets purple butterfly.

He continued to pace, debating what his next move was. Clearly, Steven couldn't keep the akuma in his room- who knew how long the bubble could keep it contained?

But he couldn't exactly just let it go either. What if it went after Marinette? How exactly did akuma's go away? He knows that the superheroes Ladybug and Chat Noir do something to turn people back to normal, but they weren't here right now.

Did they have some sort of signal that he could send up to summon them? Or maybe some sort of headquarters that he could just drop by and go, 'hey, don't mean to bother you guys, but I found this butterfly and thought I'd leave it up to you guys, ok bye!'

Pulling out his phone, a quick google search would answer a firm no to both of those questions.

Which is fine. Great even! He could... probably fix the problem on his own. Totally, what's one butterfly compared to reforming an imperialistic regime? He's handled more dangerous problems before, this could be a breeze for all he knew.

First things first, work with what he had. And what Steven had on hand at the moment was, well, not a lot.

Well, he's really glad that Marinette imparted the lesson of getting comfortable with having his door closed. He could just imagine it now- M. Tom or Mme. Sabine walking by and seeing him pace in a circle around a pink bubble with an akuma in it. That would be the worst possible way to drop the fact that he's half-alien on them.

Yep, so glad that his door was currently very much closed at the moment. Confirmed only a moment later by Steven who made sure that it was closed, and locked it just as a security measure.

Ok, so, back to the akuma. Even though it wasn't exactly of gem-related origins, he could still feel the deep heaviness that it carried. In fact, the negative aura that permeated from the butterfly felt almost similar to that of corruption.

And if two plus two equals four, then maybe the Diamond Essence could work on the butterfly? It would be worth a shot in any case.

Nodding his head, and resolute in his decision, Steven went to his closet and pulled a bathrobe out of it. Slipping it on, he waited until he pocketed all three bottles before carefully grabbing the bubble and pressing it lightly against his chest.

Right, this was totally inconspicuous. Hopefully, nobody stopped him on his way to the second-floor bathroom.

Unlocking his door and opening it quietly, Steven hoped it wasn't too late in the night that turning on the sink would disturb anyone. He grabbed the handle of the door and turned it slowly, and waited a second before pushing the door in to make as little noise as possible. He opted for leaving the lights off, and once he got in he locked the door behind him.

Letting out a small sigh, he released the bubble up into the air and went straight for the sink. It would have been better had there been a bathtub, but the Dupain-Cheng's only had a shower so he would make do with what he had. 

Pulling out the bottles he rested them against the porcelain counter and reached for the stopper, pushing it down. Then he reached for both knobs and turned them towards the middle to start filling the basin with water. As he waited he watched the butterfly flutter in its pink cage, unable to get out of it. Once the basin was filled to an acceptable height, he stopped the flow of water from coming out of the faucet and tested the temperature to make sure it was lukewarm before grabbing Blue's bottle, and pouring in a small amount of her essence, and repeating the same for Yellow and White's bottles. Finally, it came to him, and he stuck his pointer finger in his mouth to wet it with his salvia and dipped it back down into the mixture. As expected, the colors began to mix, and to give it an extra push his finger trailed just below the surface of the water to make sure it all combined exactly how it was meant to.

Originally, he hadn't brought the Diamond Essence with him on his cross-country trip around the States. He wanted to dedicate that vacation to himself and himself alone. But, once he made his way back to Delmarva, struck by wanderlust and wanting to see the rest of the world too, he reasoned that he was both well and willing to bring the bottles with him in case he ran into any lingering corrupted gems. Thankfully, he hadn't encountered any yet, but well, it was good on him for being prepared since he could use them at this moment.

He wasn't too sure that this would work, but anything is worth a shot at least once, right?

Grabbing the bubble, he brought it underneath the water as far as he could manage before releasing both it and the akuma.

Unfortunately, the akuma had risen to the top of the bubble and once released hovered just above the purifying mixture, fluttering in place before making a beeline straight for the bathroom door causing Steven to lurch forward and bubble it in fear that it was trying to head back towards Marinette. 

Great, that meant that akuma's were flight risks then. No biggie! Just means that he would have to get a little more creative on getting the akuma in the water. He was pretty sure that it wouldn't be such a great idea to just touch the thing, bright colors like purple were indicators of poison in nature of course, and he didn't doubt that the same logic applied to this butterfly that radiated negative energy.

Right, so on to his second attempt. This time he made a bubble around the water and connected a bridge between it and the bubble that held the akuma, dragging down the first bubble into the second. Steven was so sure that this was going to work!

Until he noticed that the akuma once again flew to the very top of the bubble to avoid the water.

Feeling his eyelid twitch in annoyance, he furrowed his brow and tried again repeating the steps as many times as it took for the bubble to completely fill with water.

Even then, it was all for nothing, as no changes occurred with the butterfly. Instead, its wings were curled up as it sunk to the bottom of the bubble. Which made Steven feel bad for the poor little thing, and now he was sure that his actions bordered on cruelty.

The essence wasn't working anyway, so with that he popped the bubble and winced as the water splashed back into the basin, spilling out onto the countertop and getting on his shirt too from the backsplash. Before the akuma could get the chance to recover and fly away again, Steven bubbled it.

Bringing it closer so that he could stare at the strange pattern on its wings, and wince at how bright the energy was in the otherwise dark bathroom, he kept his voice low as he said, "I should probably call Garnet or maybe even Pearl to see if they have any idea on what to do with-"

A soft knocking sounded interrupted him, and the drowsy voice of Mme. Sabine called out, "Steven, is that you?"

Rushing to hide the bubble behind the shower stall, Steven reached towards the door and unlocked it, opening it up to greet his host mother, "Hi, yeah! Sorry, I just got back not too long ago and wanted to wash up before bed."

He really hoped that she wouldn't notice that he was wearing a bathrobe on top of his regular clothes, or even look in the bathroom to see the mess that he's made of their sink.

But thankfully, Mme. Sabine was much too tired for that as one hand reached up to rub her eyes and the other covered a yawn, "That's good. Strange that we didn't hear the door open but we're glad to have you back. Have you seen Marinette yet?"

At the thought of his host sister, a somber look bloomed on his face, "I did a little while ago. She was really upset, is she ok? Did something happen this weekend?"

Mme. Sabine looked at a loss for an answer, "She missed you terribly, but the weekend had started off fine, but after an akuma attack earlier she came home miserable. But she won't tell us what happened no matter how much we pry." 

Considering the state that he had found her in, Steven was almost positive that it was a build-up of bad things after bad things that caused her to collapse in tears.

"It feels like she relies on us less and less, I just wish she would open up again," Mme. Sabine continued.

"Just you being there can feel like more than enough, and I'm sure she appreciates it," he reassured her. "She'll come around soon, there's nothing quite as comforting as the love from a guardian."

"I can only hope so. Oh, before I forget, you don't have to help out with anything in the bakery tomorrow. Tom and I finished a big order today, so we expect to have a normal business day tomorrow," Mme. Sabine yawned again, and it was clear the older woman wouldn't stay awake for much longer. "I'm afraid I can't stay up for much longer, dear. Have a good night, Steven."

"You as well, night," he nodded his head and waved her off, closing the door behind him in an action that he hoped wasn't rude.

He waited for her footsteps to disappear behind a closed door before he turned back towards the interior of the bathroom.

So that was a bust. While not exactly how he was hoping to resolve the situation, it didn't mean he had to stop there. Just meant that he would have to take a more direct approach for getting rid of the akuma.

Reaching for the stopper he pulled it up and watched as all the water drained out of the basin.

Pocketing all of the bottles again, he reaches up for the bubble and shuffles off towards his room, confident that Mme. Sabine wouldn't come out into the hallway again.

Once in his room, he had to consciously make sure to lock the door.

He only had the energy to let the bubble rest in the air and to pull off his bathrobe before he collapsed on his bed and drifted right off to sleep. As he slept, he felt a tether connect from his mind elsewhere. In fact, this was something that had been happening his entire stay at the Dupain-Cheng's but he didn't know exactly what was causing it. It was sort of like when he entered Kiki's dreams, but not quite.

If he had to describe it, it was as though he was standing in the middle of a bridge between his mind and someone else's. Not inherently malicious, but a bit strange. He noticed that the connection had disappeared during his stay in Normandy, so it must have something to do with someone or something in Paris. But so long as he didn't suddenly end up in somebody else's body, he didn't mind it so much.

Plus, it wasn't like he had been having any bad dreams recently that might leak over into someone else. If anything his dreams had all been pleasant, like the ones you woke up feeling refreshed from but inevitably forgot after a while.

As was the case when he woke up this morning. And he had completely forgotten that he fell asleep in the same clothes as yesterday. Great.

Well, if he wanted to look for Paris' darling superheroes, he might as well get a head start on his day.

Absentmindedly he checked his phone messages to see what had happened during his period of sleep. Some of the friends that he had made on his trip abroad had been arguing about what kind of toppings could justifiably go on a pizza, which was a ridiculous argument since pizza was pizza so long as it was square. It did get a chuckle out of him and reminded Steven that he would have to invite Marinette into the group chat the next chance that he got before he forgot. Just because Steven was going to leave soon didn't mean that he would forget about her!

Just as he was an honorary Dupain-Cheng, she was an honorary Universe in his book.

And since he was on his phone, he would move on to research for attempt number three of dealing with the akuma. This was promptly done by going into a new search and looking up one word: Ladyblog.

That was the blog that Marinette's friend, Alya, dedicated to the two heroes, right? Surely there must be some sort of information about how to locate or contact them on there. As soon as the blog loaded, he could instantly tell that it was rather professional-looking, which was great considering how young Alya was. Steven could definitely see her hosting her own news channel sometime in the future if that was what she wanted to go into in the future.

Scrolling through the blog, Steven was on the search for any sort of information about patrol routes that the two heroes might go on. In all of the comics and movies he had seen regarding superheroes, they always had some sort of patrol to be on the lookout for villains and crooks. Of course, all of those had been at night, and judging by all of the live footage that Alya had caught on camera, most akuma fights took place during the middle of the day.

By ten pages deep into her blog, Steven gave up on scrolling through and instead went straight for the FAQ section. Of which he still didn't find a concrete answer. He debated sending a message through the blog, but decided against it when he figured that there was probably already a queue of questions and who knew how long the akuma would stay in the bubble? No, it seems as though he would simply have to search for Ladybug and Chat Noir himself.

He figured that the two of them must be some sort of adults, maybe with a cushy enough job that they could afford leaving in the middle of to go fight akumas. So he would simply have to wander around the city and hope to catch sight of them!

After getting dressed in newer clothes, and ones that would be adept for a long day of searching the streets of Paris, Steven made sure to share breakfast with Mme. Sabine and Marinette. He was glad to see that Marinette looked moderately better than when he had found her last night, but there was still a dullness in her eyes that he would like to see gone. Hopefully, her friends at school would be more than up to the task of cheering her up.

Nonetheless, Steven wanted to be there for her when he could. He would try to keep an eye on the time while he was out searching for Ladybug and Chat Noir so that he could meet up with Marinette after her school let out, if she wasn't busy that is.

Not too soon after Marinette had raced out of the bakery, Steven left it too, phone in hand and GPS at the ready to search for all the spots that akumas seemed to reappear at the most. The first stop was the easiest since it was the park that was right next to the bakery. Other than Collège Françoise Dupont, Marinette's school, that seemed as though one of the most frequented spots for akumas. And also the easiest to search since it was an open space, not many places to hide brightly colored spandex in.

Most of the other spots required him to rely on his GPS app, and he was sure that to the Parisians going about his day he looked every bit as blatant of a tourist- phone in hand and constantly looking both up and around.

He was halfway into his search when he realized that he wasn't quite sure who he was looking for. Sure, he knew that Ladybug wore a red spandex suit with black spots and that Chat Noir wore black leather, but other than that he couldn't recall any of their features even if he tried. Every time he tried to bring up memories of the footage that he had watched, all he can see is blurry faces.

Definitely strange, but not as much of a priority as dealing with the akuma was.

At the corner of his eye, he spotted something bright red, and he leaped up to the rooftop in hopes that he had finally managed to spot Ladybug. Only to find out that it was just a red shirt on a clothesline. Embarrassed, and hoping nobody had noticed his unprompted leaping onto a random roof, he floated back down to the street.

Taking out his phone to check the time, he said, "Guess they only come out to deal with the akuma then."

Which just might be the case, and the more he thought on it, it was probably a strategic choice to not have any set-out patrol route. Who knows if Hawk Moth was looking into something like that. With that reasoning, Steven wasn't nearly as put out as he had begun to feel during the search and instead started to head back towards the bakery. He had about an hour or so before school let out for Marinette, so he could still meet up with her at the collège entrance.

Just as he was typing in the address of the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, a text message notification popped up on his screen. Switching apps he read the message.

Maybe: Adrien

Hello M. Universe, this is Marinette's friend Adrien.

I was wondering if it was still ok to have a piano lesson from you?

Quickly making a contact for the younger teen, Steven is reminded of his past meetings with Adrien. He was nice, although rather socially awkward- not that Steven could say much about that since he had been the same. And Steven did recall saying that he wouldn't mind giving the younger a piano lesson.

Steven U.

Hey, yeah, of course, it's no problem.

When would you want to do it?

Adrien A.

I know it's short notice, but would today be ok?

My father's assistance, Nathalie, said that in an hour

I could have you over.

I don't know when my schedule might open up in the future.

Oh, well then that put a stop to his plans of checking up on Marinette. He almost wanted to decline for that reason but if what Adrien said was true then it was either today or not at all. Steven would just have to check up with her after the lesson.

Steven U.

Sure thing, I'm available today.

What's your address?

Adrien A.

Thank you so much! My address is:

Place du Châtelet, 75001 Paris, France

Nathalie is already expecting you so I'll see you then.

Steven U.

Great! See you then.

Well, it would be best for him to head over to the bakery to take a shower and change his clothes. It wouldn't be a good first impression on Adrien's family if he showed up as is.

After hurrying back towards the bakery, he made sure to freshen up and put on a white dress shirt and a pair of slacks. He didn't often wear this outfit, since it wasn't exactly a comfortable one for exploring, but it would make him look presentable and that's what mattered most. Slipping on a pair of nice shoes and his satchel, he made his way over to Adrien's house, giving Marinette a quick greeting as he passed her on his way down the stairs. 

She seemed curious as to where he was going but otherwise didn't say much. Yeah, she definitely needed some cheering up when he got back. Maybe he could treat her to ice cream? He would have to see.

Arriving at the Agreste Estate he was almost in awe over how big the mansion was. Steven certainly never lived in anything as fancy as that. But, his eyes strayed towards the high gates, and he couldn't help but get the feeling that for as big as the house was it was more empty than anything else. 

Yeah, now he definitely didn't regret saying yes to giving the lesson.

He looked around for some sort of doorbell when he noticed the panel on the right side. Walking up to it, he pressed the buzzer and waited for a response. To his shock, a panel slid up and some sort of camera came forward, with a feminine voice emitting from the speaker, "Yes, what is your business here?"

"Oh, my name is Steven Universe, I'm here to give Adrien a piano lesson," there wasn't an immediate response, and he started to get nervous. "He told me that you were expecting me?"

"Yes, I have you down on his schedule," the voice responded. "Please enter, I will meet you at the entrance."

With that, the camera disappeared back into the wall and the gate opened. Certainly not the friendliest interaction that he's had, but Steven can understand the need to make sure that he wasn't some creeper or something. He's seen advertisements featuring Adrien on them all around Paris, so he must be pretty famous.

Walking up to the large house, Steven looked around to get a better view of the house and let out a small whistle at what he saw. He was sure that it looked even grander inside, but just the outside impressive.

Reaching the steps, a tall woman in a neat suit opened the door and gestured him inside. Her face was impassive, but Steven could see that she had a sickly pallor to her face. 

Having a tablet in hand, she looked down at it instead of at him, as she informed him, "The block for Adrien's piano lessons lasts for about an hour and a half, you are expected to help him with his current piece. He told both I and his father that you have performed professionally before so we expect immense progress from him. However, M. Agreste is busy today so do not expect to meet him."

As soon as she was done talking, she leaned away from him and coughed into the crook of her elbow, face pinched as she wheezed. The cough sounded wet and she cleared her throat, waiting for it to pass before lowering her arms. Steven almost went to help steady the woman, but she was already returning to her firm stance.

"This way," she ignored the fit of coughing as though it never happened, but Steven could see that she was nearly dead on her feet.

In a lapse of judgment, he almost brought his hand to his mouth so that he could heal her but he had to stop himself before he did anything hasty. It didn't feel right to heal her without consent, and he couldn't very well ask to kiss her hand when they've just met.

And with a glance up at her face where a pair of glasses sat perched on the bridge of her nose, he's well aware that he couldn't even get away with sneakily healing her if he disregarded consent. It would be practically impossible for her to explain her fixed sight without him having to come forward and admitting that he healed her.

Still, it didn't sit right with him to ignore her suffering. She really didn't look well.

Well, he didn't have time to weigh more on the decision as they arrived in front of a door to one of the many rooms in the mansion.

The woman knocked on the door, "Adrien? Your piano instructor is here."

Steven could hear footsteps scrambling behind the door and only a second later the door was opening and Adrien was grinning brightly at him.

"Thanks, Nathalie!" Adrien addressed the ill woman, who nodded her head at him and turned around to go back to the foyer where Steven noted there was a receptionist’s desk of some sort. "Come in! I'm really excited for today!"

Adrien stepped back so that Steven could enter the room, and upon getting a glimpse inside he couldn't help but let out a small, "Wow!"

And really, Adrien's room looked like every young boy's dream, there was so much to take in, it was so big! Almost as big as his own house practically back in Beach City. His eyes darted from the ramps to the basketball hoop to the rock climbing wall on the second floor of the room.

Quickly Steven was able to spot the grand piano, and made his way towards it, "So, what are you working on currently?"

"Right, the piano," Adrien stated and reached for the sheet music as he took a seat. "My father wants me to perfect his piece before I move to anything else, but it's giving me some trouble."

The younger teen offered him the sheets, and Steven took them to glance at the notes and the name of the composition. It looked like a rather difficult piece, and it didn't shock him that Adrien might be having some trouble with it. Honestly, this sort of piece was the kind of thing you got better at with time, but Steven would give it his all to help him!

"Do you mind if I try it out for a bit? Just gotta brush up on my skills," Steven placed down the music sheets on the piano.

"Go right ahead," Adrien got up and offered him the seat instead. "I tuned it earlier so it's ready to go."

Steven slipped off his satchel and rest it on the ground beside the piano. Adrien was glancing off to the side, probably checking up on his computer for notifications maybe, and Steven could glance at a smiling woman who greatly resembled Adrien as the wallpaper.

Not wanting to waste any time, Steven got to set about playing the piece. It had been a while since he had a chance to play the piano, and while the first few notes were unsteady, he quickly got back into the flow of performing. Really, music was as easy to him as breathing- it always had been. There was just something about how notes would come together to create a sound that enraptured those that heard it that resonated with him. It probably had something to do with the gem part of him, but he liked to think that it was all him. That it was all Steven.

Performing this composition was no different, and very soon he was putting both his all into the piece, and tapering out as it came to an end. His fingers rest upon the keys after playing the last few notes, and sometime in the middle of the piece his eyes had drifted closed, and he was sure he must have deviated from the actual notes towards the end, but he got the general gist of it!

Turning back to look at Adrien, the fourteen-year-old’s eyes were wide in awe, and seeing that Steven was done he said, "That was amazing! If I could perform half as well as that my father would probably crack a smile at me."

While concerned about the last half of that statement, Steven waved off the compliment, "It just comes with practice! I've had more years to learn than you, I'm positive you'll be even better than me by the time you’re my age."

Getting up from the seat, Steven clapped his hands, "So! Let's see where you're at with the piece, and hopefully, I can help you out where you're struggling!"

Adrien seemed a little more put out now that it was his turn, but he still sat down and flipped the sheet music all the way towards the beginning. He started playing and Steven immediately noticed that he lacked passion for the piece. He expected perhaps, frustration if he had been trying to master this piece for a while. But Adrien wasn't bad at playing, he didn't miss any notes, but it felt like he was just going through the motions of playing the piano than anything else.

And that's what was missing from the piece. And that's what caused Steven to place his hand on Adrien's shoulder, stopping him in the middle of playing.

Adrien certainly wasn't expecting it and looked down in confusion.

"Adrien, do you like playing the piano?" Steven questioned.

"Well, sure I do! I..." Adrien started to say but Steven shook his head and Adrien stopped speaking at the action.

"You don't have to lie to me, if you don't like something then you don't like it, plain and simple," he really hoped that Adrien would be honest with him.

Adrien looked down, staring at the keys of the piano, before admitting, "I don't dislike playing the piano, it's just- my father wants me to play it more than I want to myself."

"Have you told him?" Steven asked.

Adrien shook his head and a frown marred his features, "It's not like it would change anything. I'm supposed to be the perfect son who knows how to fence, and plays the piano, and models, and- well, sorry, you probably don't want to hear about my problems."

"Hey don't apologize for that," he immediately said, and geeze, he could understand the pressure that Adrien was under. Of having to live up to the expectations of others. Steven gestured for Adrien to shift over on the seat so that he could sit next to the teen. "So there's really no way to reason with your father about this?"

"No, not really," Adrien mumbled. He took a glance at the door before looking down at his piano. "I should get back to practicing, Nathalie might come back if she doesn't hear me at least playing the piano."

Adrien continued to practice the piece, with Steven occasionally pointing out tips on how to adjust his playing a bit, but he felt rather useless at the moment. He was racking his brain on what he could do to help Adrien out, but really other than confronting his father- which certainly wouldn't go well since Steven was just some guy in this scenario- the situation seemed like a matter of parenting than anything else.

Papers slipping against the floor brought his attention down to the floor where his satchel had fallen over and Steven reached over to pick up the wayward sheets, missing Adrien turning his head to look at something again before his head whipped back to Steven.

Just as he placed everything back in his satchel, he heard a small and almost nasally gasp, but his attention was drawn away from that by the way one of the buttons on his dress shirt had opened up and revealed the soft flesh beneath it. Immediately his face was flushed with embarrassment, and before he turned around he rebuttoned his shirt, fingers trailing against his gem through his shirt.

"Sorry about that," he said hoping behind his smile that his button hadn't popped open earlier and he just hadn't noticed. Adrien gave him a tense but wide smile, so Steven's cheeks burned for just a bit longer.

They quickly got back into the lesson this time, thankfully, without his satchel falling over, when Steven was hit with inspiration.

"Say, Adrien," said teen looked over at him, fingers stalling on the keys. "Have you ever tried writing your own song?"

"Writing my own song?" Adrien parroted back. "Not particularly. Why?"

"Well, that's how I got into music in the first place," Steven gestured at the sheet music. "Playing other compositions is great and all, but it's not what you're really passionate about. If you write a song about something that you really care about, playing music will come after naturally!"

"Something that I really care about," Adrien first glanced over at the wallpaper on his computer, but then his attention was drawn toward something in his pocket that his hand was idly playing with. Pulling it out, he revealed a beaded charm. "I could try that, there's a lot of people that I really care about. A lot of people actually..."

"Great! Start there with them! You could even start with yourself if you wanted," Steven laughed. "Self-love is important too!"

"Wouldn't that be selfish?" Adrien questioned.

"I don't think so," he said. "It took me a long time to love myself, and I still struggling with loving... parts of myself-" his stomach twisted painfully but he ignored it- "But that's why it's even more important that you do practice it."

"I'll have to think about it," Adrien looked back at his computer. "Maybe I'll write a song about my mom."

Steven too glanced over and noted that he was correct in recognizing the similarities between the woman and Adrien. "That's as great a place to start as any."

"I'm just worried that the song will be too sad," the blond had a vulnerable look on his face. "She's been missing for over a year now, and I really miss her. Writing a song... I don't know. What if it's taken as me saying goodbye to her?"

Oh, now Steven really felt for the younger teen. "Hey, it's ok, I understand. I never got a chance to meet my mother, but I've written plenty of songs about her. Doesn't mean I give up my feelings regarding her." However complicated those feelings might be.

"Father doesn't really like it when I bring her up," Adrien said. "He wouldn't even let me watch the movie she starred in. A song would probably make him mad too."

"Well hey, maybe that will get him to stop with the piano lessons," Steven tried to joke in an attempt to bring levity to the conversation. But after a second he internally cringed at the decision. Man, his people skills were as bad as ever.

It took a moment, but Adrien did give out a little laugh, and then he said, "Maybe!" with a smile, so Steven counted it as a win in his book.

Now that the conversation, Steven opted to stop practicing the piece with Adrien and show him some of his own songs that he composed, hoping to give the younger teen some inspiration for his own song. Adrien even tried to mimic what Steven was showing him but started to deviate with his own chords.

He seemed apprehensive at first, but after Steven said, "Now you're getting it!" he brightened considerably.

The lesson started drawing to a close when Steven realized that he actually could ask Adrien about something.

"Can I ask you a question?" Steven asked. "Was Marinette today at school? I was really worried about her yesterday, she was having a really bad day."

A look of concern appeared on Adrien's face, and he said, "She seemed kind of down at school today, do you know what happened? I was really worried for her."

Shaking his head, he said, "I don't know what happened yet. I'm worried that maybe she got harassed by one of her bullies over the weekend. She told me that she was dealing with a liar in her class, and I already got into an altercation with Chloé so it could have been her too."

Adrien got a strange look on his face as he said, "She told you about Lila?"

Now that surprised Steven since he was under the impression that all of Marinette's classmates were unaware of the liar, "You know she's a liar too?"

The younger teen shifted awkwardly, and said, "Yeah, she made a really obvious lie in front of me and got called out for it by Ladybug. But- you said that Marinette might have gotten harassed by her? I thought that..."

Steven waited for him to continue, but when he didn't he prodded, "Thought what?"

Adrien bit his lip a little bit before saying, "I thought that if we left her alone then she would eventually stop. She seemed like she was just trying to make friends..."

Oh no. He can tell that Adrien meant it in good faith but still, "Ah no, Adrien, that's not really how liars work. If you let them go on lying they'll just pile on top more and more until someone really gets hurt."

"But if we confront her won't that hurt more people? Won't that just make another akuma?" Adrien pointed out, a distressed look on his face.

"People are already getting hurt by being strung along by her lies," Steven contradicted. "Marinette's getting hurt by being all alone with no one believing her."

It was almost as though Steven had struck Adrien across the face with that statement, and the blond looked down in a mixture of worry and shame.

Reaching out to comfort him, he said, "Hey, it's ok. I can tell that you only wanted to have everyone's best interests at heart."

"I just didn't want any of my friends to get hurt," Adrien looked up at him.

"You're a good friend for that," and really, he was. Steven personally has never had to deal with this kind of schoolyard gossip- warfare more like it- but he doesn't doubt that at Adrien's age he probably would have done the same thing.

Before they could continue the conversation, a timer went off on Adrien's phone, and with a sigh, the teen picked it up and said, "My lesson is over now. Nathalie is probably going to come get you now."

"Well, hopefully, I was at least a little bit helpful," and really, Steven would feel bad if he got the teen in trouble somehow since the lesson wasn't completely dedicated to the composition in question.

"No, you definitely were!" Adrien looked back at the piece. "I think I'm going to give this one more attempt before the day is over."

"Great! Well, maybe I'll see you around," he got off the bench and picked up his satchel to sling it over his shoulders.

As he started to head towards the door, Adrien called out, "Wait! Before you go, what's your gemstone?"

Steven froze, hand on the doorknob, with his eyes blown wide. What- how-

"Mine is a sapphire!" Adrien gave him a goofy smile.

"Oh, you mean birthstones," what a relief, he must have mistranslated mentally what Adrien said the first time. "I was born in August so I'm a peridot!" Although usually wasn't it a matter of western zodiac signs instead of birthstones? He didn’t really know all that much about astrology so he wouldn’t be the expert on anything.

"Interesting! Sorry if it was a weird question, I'm just really interested in rocks and gems, you know?" Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Since Marinette said we're similar it must be the same for you, right?"

"Kinda," and here Steven thought he would have one conversation with this kid that wasn't weird as all can be.

Thankfully he was saved by the bell, or in this case, Mme. Nathalie knocking on the door.

Saying a final goodbye to Adrien, he let Mme. Nathalie walk him out. The first time walking through the hallways, he hadn't paid nearly as much attention to the portraits on the walls, but now he noticed the large portrait of Adrien and his father by the staircase. Neither really looked happy in it...

"That was you playing at the beginning of the lesson?" Nathalie asked, which shocked Steven out of his musings. "It wasn't entirely accurate but it was quite pleasant. You're a very talented young man."

Music started to fill the house, this time with a little more fervor behind the notes, and Nathalie looked back towards where Adrien's room was, a fond look on her face. "It already sounds like he's made some kind of improvement, M. Agreste will be pleased with the results."

"Oh, I'm glad!" and now he really felt bad that he couldn't heal her at the moment. He hoped that she’ll get better on her own soon...

Leaving the Agreste Estate, it wasn't until hours later that he was in his room that the full brunt of what he had said came back and hit Steven. He was in his room, thankfully, when he curled up and groaned. Digging his fingers in his hair, he tried to ignore the way his words came back and banged against his head.

It was fine, he didn't say anything too weird but- he definitely gave too much information! Like when he talked about loving himself, he should have just stopped it at that! Not talk about how there were still parts of himself that he was trying to love.

His stomach started to hurt again. Steven ignored it.

He should just focus on calming down. This was exactly the kind of thing that Dr. Bentley wanted him to work on. Finally getting therapy was great, fantastic even, but it wasn't an easy fix. He still had a long way to go. While Steven has certainly addressed all of the main things, it would take a long time before he got to everything that happened to him.

Cringing at things that were already in the past wasn't going to help anything, even if the late hand embarrassment was starting to catch up with him.

Head still buried behind his knees something bumped up against his head and he swatted it away, feeling like his ears were popping from a build of pressure in his head. His stomach really hurt at this point, all tied up in knots.

Right, he should check his phone to see if Dr. Bentley was available for an impromptu session. It would be good to talk this out with someone.

He got out of his curled position and rolled off the bed planning to get his phone from his satchel when-

He lurched up, eyes wide as a pressure slammed itself into his psyche.

"Well now, this certainly is a surprise, hello Gemini, I am Hawk Moth.”

Chapter Text

Waking up the next morning after crying out a river of tears left Marinette with a lingering headache and puffy eyes. She wakes up sniffling but devoid of the surge of feelings that had made her cry in the first place. So while it wasn't exactly a win-win, it was certainly better than she could have asked for considering not many Parisians got to cry so freely anymore.

And as much as she would like to spend all day in bed, watching funny hamster videos on her phone, it's a school day as she has no other choice than to haul herself up and get ready. Plus she has to take a little more time hiding away the bags under her eyes with a little bit of concealer before she's ready to join her family at the breakfast table. For what it's worth, Marinette's glad that her dreams were pleasant and unobtrusive since she got to sleep the night away.

Her mother and Steven threw her a few concerned looks while they ate, but didn't have much time to question her before she darted out of the bakery to get to school somewhat on time for once. If Marinette's going to make it through the day then she needed no surprises in the form of Chloé or Lila. Hopefully, Alya could cheer her up somehow too. But absolutely no more drama, that was the last thing she needed otherwise she would start crying all over again.

Maybe that was too much to ask because as soon as Alya came into the classroom she was bounding over to Marinette exclaiming, "Girl! I'm so glad to see that you're ok!"

The first reaction that came to mind to her was that, no she really wasn't ok- emotionally that is- but then she remembered just in time that she had, at least to her friend's knowledge, just up and disappeared in the middle of an akuma attack. So instead, she rubs the back of her neck and offers up a sheepish, "I'm fine, I ran away as soon as I saw the akuma and waited for Ladybug and Chat Noir to handle it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you guys worry about me."

And just because Marinette was never allowed to have anything nice ever, one of her least favorite voices sounded up, "It's not us that you should be apologizing to Marinette, you really made Kim worry about you, you know?"

Turning to look at Lila, Marinette couldn't even muster up the energy to rise to what was clearly and obviously bait, so instead she let the Italian girl have this one win, "You're right, Lila. I'll make sure to apologize to him as soon as I can."

The other girl clearly wasn't expecting her to not fall for her trap, but the fact that Marinette proclaimed that she was in the right was more than enough for her. Having won the exchange, and so early in the school day too, satisfied Lila and she walked towards her seat with an air of regality that made Marinette gag under her breath. For as much as she would like to have stood up for herself, she knew when to pick her battles. And perhaps this would get Lila to leave her alone for the rest of the day too. So it was fine, for now at least.

It isn't too long before Kim and Max are entering the classroom, and a rise of guilt floods Marinette's heart. Standing up from her seat, she meets Kim at the front of the classroom, looking down as she apologizes, "Kim! I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry for having left you after that akuma attacked. I should have stayed with you, or left you a message sooner saying that I was fine."

"Hey Marinette, it's all good, I'm just glad that you're ok," he told her, but that did little to assuage her guilt. "Actually, I was wondering if we could talk later? Just the two of us."

Something nasty struck her heart as he said that, Lila's saccharine words about taking on the commission project came back to her in an instant. He was probably going to inform her that he was actually going to let Lila take on the project. This crushed her because even if she wasn't in the 'club' she had a connection to these same kwami's as the former holders did. And for Lila, someone who had never been- and never will be- a miraculous wielder... it hurt.

But in the end, it was Kim's decision, so she stomped down her feelings and refused to let her eyes water as she said, "Sure, of course."

Kim sent her a concerned look, so maybe she wasn't hiding how upset she was well enough, but she turned her back on him and took her seat next to Alya. She was saved from Alya's prying by Mme. Bustier walked in and officially their day started.

Marinette aimed all her focus on paying attention to her lessons, and not getting distracted by very much unwanted thoughts, but it was hard to do so when every so often her classmates would give her side looks and questioning eyes. Really, it wasn't that big of a deal anyway, and seeing Adrien glance over his shoulder multiple times throughout the day to check up on her did make her feel slightly better, but only in the way that it was nice to see his concern for her as his friend.

Their lunch period came far too soon and Marinette dreaded the moment when Kim would pull her aside. But he never approached her and she sat apprehensively for the moment he would only for the period to have gone to waste. As it turns out, Lila had enraptured Kim in an enthralling conversation the whole period, probably buttering him up with how 'good' her embroidery skills or some other extravagant lie that she made up on the spot.

Knowing that it's even harder for her to focus on the rest of her lessons. All she ended up doing was doodling the modified kwami designs on the borders of her notebook, thinking about them and thinking about how she hadn't been giving too much care to the Miraculous Egg itself. All she did was cover it up in the basket, maybe she should invest in making a safer and more secure place to hide it. Maybe even say hi to the kwami's-

No, nope. Definitely not that last idea. It would be an abuse of her role as Guardian. But the idea of making something else to hide it in did appeal to her. She spent the rest of the day coming up with something that wouldn't be out of place in her room, so as to not draw suspicion from her parents or Alya, or any other one of her friends.

She got so wrapped up in her conceptualizing that she didn't notice when the dismissal bell had sounded and all of her classmates started to pack up. Marinette only noticed when a shadow fell over her desk and notebook and she looked up to see Kim staring down at her.

"Can we talk now?" he asked her.

The pit in her stomach that had disappeared momentarily returned with a vicious thud. Swallowing what little salvia remained in her desert-dry throat, Marinette responded, "Sure, just give me one second."

The other teen nodded his head at her and watched as she packed up, sliding out of her seat to follow Kim's lead. They trickled out of the classroom with the rest of their peers, and while Alya, and Nino, and Adrien too, looked at them as they passed nobody stopped the two of them from heading towards the locker rooms for a little privacy.

Marinette tried her best to not look Kim in the eyes, looking over his shoulder instead. She had to steady herself, and take the rejection with as much-

"You're always talking about how Lila is a liar... do you still believe that?"

-grace as possible. Wait, what? This wasn't what she was expecting him to confront her about, and her heart which she had been trying to calm down started to speed up. What could have brought on this line of questioning? She hadn't even done anything to Lila today for her to send her classmates after her again for calling out her lying!

"I-" she stumbled over what she wanted to say. This should be where Marinette reaffirms her stance but hadn't Adrien said that that would only cause more problems in the future? But she couldn't just stay quiet!

Kim took her response as an incentive to continue his own, and she nearly collapsed when he said, "Because, well, I don't know how much of what she said are lies but- I think I believe you now."

Her knees shook, and Marinette almost folded in on herself. This wasn't what she thought would happen, not in her wildest of dreams. In a voice that was meek and unlike herself, she asked, "You do?" if only to make sure that she wasn't having auditory hallucinations.

"Yesterday, after the akuma attack, she tried to take on your commission but I told her no," Kim explained, and this was news to Marinette who had left before she could hear him say as much with her own ears. "And today, she just kept talking and talking about this place where she studied fashion during lunch. Because she really wanted to do the designs on the jackets even though I told her no!"

So that was what Lila was doing during her lunch conversation with Kim.

"So I decided to look up this place she was talking about- not that I was going to abandon you, my bro, so easily- but it was like it just didn't exist," he continued. "And I thought that was strange, so I asked her again just to make sure that I was getting the name right and she insisted on it. So I looked up this fashion designed that she named as a reference, but the dude was terminally ill and still is, and that's when I realized..."

Kim trailed off, looking at Marinette with a sorrowful look. He leaned forward and wrapped her up in a hug.

She was so shocked that she just stood there before wrapping her arms around him and holding on tightly. This... this was...

"I'm sorry for not believing you at first," Kim said, his voice muffled from the way his head was in the crook of her neck as he leaned down to match her height. "But now that I know, I just want you to know, I've got your back from now on."

This... this was...

"Thank you," she whispered into his hoodie. "I tried so hard to tell you guys because I couldn't stand to see you lied to and I just-!"

"Don't worry, I'm listening going forward," he pulled away from her and their hug ended. Flexing his right arm, he slapped his hand on his bicep and exclaimed, "So what's our game plan Commander Marinette?"

A game plan. A plan to stop Lila once and for all. This was everything she could have possibly hoped for, and for the first time in a while, a weight that had settled between her shoulder blades and called itself home there was sliding off to disappear forever!

It was finally happening. But now wasn't the time to get lost in her relief, now was the time to strategize.

"Well, I got lucky with you finding out the truth really," she admitted, bringing a hand to her chin in thought. "But, it's hard to prove her lies as false, especially since she made up that whole lying disease. Adrien told me that it's best not to confront her, but I never really agreed with that idea at all."

"Wait, Adrien knew too?" Kim looked at her in shock.

Marinette nodded and got ready to defend Adrien when Kim rationalized it in his head and said, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that that was his go-to idea for dealing with the problem. He doesn't really have much experience with school social battlegrounds."

She was glad that he understood where Adrien had been coming from. "I agree, but maybe now with your help, we can show him that it's time to act."

"Of course, don't worry a little bro-to-bro talk should set him straight," Kim promised. "We got this in the bag!"

He held out his fist, and Marinette gladly returned it, knocking her knuckles against his own.

She thought back to what Steven had said to her last night, about sharing the world with others. Now that she had someone else to share the weight of Lila's lies with, she felt her spirit become so much freer. 

"Now, enough talk about Lila, let's talk about someone who actually matters," Kim pointed a finger at Marinette. "You! I still gotta hand over those jackets so you can work on making my club it's sick and awesome designs!"

"Right!" and she followed Kim over to his locker where he handed over to her the box of jackets. In her elation, it hardly weighed anything to her, and she had a surge of energy rush through her making her more determined to get working on these as soon as she got home.

The two didn't talk much after that, but Kim said that he planned on talking to Adrien the next day to get him on board and they departed after that.

Returning home, Marinette is in much higher spirits than when she had first left. In fact, she's so giddy that she skips up the steps as she makes her way up to the third floor of the bakery. She would have never suspected to gain another ally on her side for her fight against Lila's lies! Now that Kim knew the truth surely that meant that the rest of the class was soon to follow!

She could even admit that there was some benefit to Adrien's plan, as waiting around this long did lead Kim to find out the truth on his own. Every time she tried to confront Lila directly by herself it just caused a scene, one that Lila easily took control over and changed the narrative to fit her agenda. But now? All of Lila's lies were coming crashing down on each other, setting the stage for the true confrontation of not just Marinette but of her other classmates as well. 

It's when she's at the top of the stairs, hand on the doorknob that she hears Steven's door open and she naturally turned around to greet him. Only, she just barely catches a glimpse of him as he speeds down the staircase going so fast that it registers as just a pink blur in her mind at first before she realizes he must have been wearing his signature pink jacket.

"Wonder why he's in such a rush," she mused to Tikki, as her kwami peaked her head out of Marinette's purse.

While concerned, she figured that she could just send him a text as soon as she dropped off the box in her loft. She struggled for a bit to balance herself on the staircase and open the trap door but managed to heave up the box of jackets and slide it onto the floor of her room. From there, it was simply a matter of unboxing the jackets and setting them out so that they were ready for her to add the designs.

It was smart of her to stock up on thread colors on Saturday because now she could get straight to work.

And for a very brief moment, everything was peaceful in Paris.

Until it wasn't.

Before she could even pick up her phone to send that text to Steven, a gasp of shock sounded from the floor below her, and Marinette's attention was brought away.

Concerned for her mother, Marinette dropped her phone on her desk and raced down from her loft to the living room where she saw Sabine staring in shock at the TV screen.

"Good afternoon, I'm Nadja Chamack coming to you live regarding Paris' newest akuma," the normally well-composed news reporter looked somewhat nervous and there was a soft thumping sound pounding in the background getting louder and louder. "Citizens are turning-"

"No broadcasting."

Mme. Chamack was interrupted and looked up in shock at something off-screen before being followed by a loud humming sound before the screen turned white and was reduced to static.

"Oh no," Sabine let out, her hand coming up to cover her mouth, but Marinette was more preoccupied with the voice that interrupted Mme. Chamack.

It was undeniably similar but different at the same time. Even if only two words were said, the voices French was confident and clear, with a natural accent and not the American one she had grown used to.

Not waiting another minute, Marinette rushed down to the guest room and opened the doors in a hurry despite knowing that Steven wouldn't be there. She wasn't sure what state she was expecting the room to be in, but nothing was out of place. There were no hints as to what had made Steven so upset as to-

She noticed his phone on his bed, and lunged for it, hoping that there would be some sort of text message or a missed call or something that could have upset him but the lock screen was clear.

Did something happen during the day? Maybe someone had said something to him or- maybe he had gotten bad news and internalized it? Or maybe it was because of her-

No, she couldn't think like that, and she also couldn't continue waiting around like this. Marinette had to do her job as Ladybug and save not only Paris but her host brother from Hawk Moth's clutches.

It would be suspicious if she rushed back up to her room, or at the very least would cause Sabine to question her actions, so Marinette backed out of the guest room and hurried down the second exit to the bakery, sneaking off into the alleyway for a chance of transforming. In the distance, she could hear a rumbling sound and noticed how small pebbles on the ground shifted ever so slightly.

This new akuma, whatever their name was, must be huge. And hopefully, it would be an obvious enough design for her to figure out what had upset Steven so. Then, when she had purified the akuma and saved Steven, she could help him resolve his problems, just like how he helped resolve her own! It was Marinette's turn to help out her host sibling, and with a call of her transformation, Ladybug was off to do exactly that.

Unsure of the exact location of this newest akuma, as Mme. Chamack had been interrupted during her broadcast, Ladybug pulled out her communicator and went to access the Ladyblog live feed from it, hoping that perhaps Alya might already be on the move to document the akuma.

Unfortunately, the live stream was nothing but static and garbled out sounds that could have been Alya and maybe Nino speaking, but it was a bust so she closed her communicator and relied on just her hearing to figure out where to go. And thankfully, Steven was one of the louder akumas, so she headed in the direction of where the thumping sounds were loudest and helped direct any terrified Parisians to akuma certified safe houses. As awful as it might be to say, seeing fleeing citizens was a sign that she was heading in the right direction.

An even bigger sign that she was approaching the akuma was... well.. the akuma himself.

Flickering her yo-yo to lift her onto the rooftops, she had a running start before practically tripping over herself as soon as she actually saw him.

Or well, more accurately, them.

"You're overreacting," the akuma spoke aloud, a monotonous tone to their voice, one that Ladybug felt was familiar all the same.

"Overreacting?! I think I'm reacting just fine thank you," responded the second head in a more lively voice that she had heard in her home for the past few weeks.

This new akuma could only be described as otherworldly, and not because of their form, but rather due to the aura that they carried with them. It felt heavy, not in the way that her responsibilities often did, but in the way that one might get sucked into an orchestra performance, pulled along by the music alone and enraptured with it alone until the last note played. Even as they moved, and the ground trembled with each step, Ladybug's head followed them as if she could do nothing else.

Only after shaking herself out of this could she take time to observe their form. The first thing that she noticed, beyond the two separate heads was that they had their own set of shoulders and were separate bodies until their lower chest, conjoined at the stomach. But even then, there was still only one pair of arms and one pair of legs.

They wore a long black garment that was reminiscent of the kinds of togas worn by the Ancient Greeks, and as they moved it glimmered and shone like stars in the deepest parts of the night sky. As they moved past her and she got a glimpse of a constellation of their back. A quick glance down at the akuma revealed no shoes, and a glance back up had her focusing on their heads more.

One head had bright curling pink hair, and even their skin on that side of the akuma shone pink in the light, whereas the second head had a more natural coloration to their skin and familiar dark curls for hair. As with most akumas, the two heads had signature masks on them but in their case a set of four diamonds that were on a diagonal so as to resemble a geometric butterfly. The pink head's diamonds were bright yellow and blue alternating patterns that matched their nearly electric eyes with white diamonds for pupils. The other head had the same exact design but in white and pink, the same eyes too.

Their faces, however, were undeniably Steven underneath all the eye adorning.

So shocked was she in observing the akuma, Ladybug simply watched as the two bickered.

Now, Ladybug wasn't unfamiliar with double akumas, and especially not ones that couldn't agree with each other like Heart Hunter. No, that wasn't what was tripping her up.

What was the cause of her confusion was the question of if this akuma was Steven, who was the other half?

"Now we can talk," the pink twin spoke, voice not changing in tone or inflection.

"Why do we need to talk," the second twin rolled his eyes. "No, please, tell me why?"

"You have been ignoring my efforts to speak-"

"I haven't been ignoring anything!"

"You have."

"Have not."

"Have too."

They were moving too far away from her! The only way to keep up was to fling herself after them, and hopefully get their attention so that she could figure out where the akuma was hidden. After she saved the day then she could figure out what was going on with this akuma.

"And so you resorted to getting help from the resident supervillain?" the natural-toned head said, before throwing up his hand and slapping it against his own forehead. "I was doing just fine in therapy thanks!"

"You weren't talking about me," and Ladybug really needed to know the name of this akuma fast otherwise she would get mixed up figuring out who was talking.

Which was the perfect time for her to land in front of them and loudly proclaim, "So you two are the ones responsible for all the noise complaints! Well unfortunately for you I-"

Even though the pink head did not change their expression, their voice turned sharp and waspish, "No eavesdropping."

Quickly they rose their hand and a loud humming assaulted her ears before a burst of white light bloomed from their hand aimed right at her. Ladybug launched herself out of the way just in time and looked back to see what sort of effect it had on the lamp post that it hit only to find no change.

The second head snapped, "Why would you do that?!"

"She was listening in on a private conversation," the pink head said matter of factly.

"That's Ladybug you idiot," he growled his own hand raising. "Why would you try to corrupt her? The Miraculous would corrupt with her."

"Oh," they blinked. "Hawk Moth wouldn't be happy with that."

And two sets of electric purple butterfly symbols spawned in front of their faces, letting Ladybug know that Hawk Moth was communicating to them, likely scolding them for their haste.

But the pink twin's mistake was useful to her, as Ladybug learned at least something regarding their akuma powers.

As they were distracted, Ladybug readied her yo-yo in case she needed another quick escape when a voice that she was grateful to hear called out to her, "My Lady!"

Glancing back, she watched as Chat Noir propelled himself to her location using his baton and was relieved that she didn't have to deal with this akuma alone.

Evidently, this was Chat's first glimpse at the akuma, and his eyes widened in shock and horror as he stammered out, "Wait- is that-?!"

The humming sound was back and Ladybug called out, "Run!" as she grabbed Chat and moved them away from their spot as another beam of white light shot after them.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir, we are Gemini," the twins spoke in tandem, in agreement for the first time since Ladybug had found them. "Hawk Moth demands your miraculous' in return for our forming."

"And please understand," Pink Geminus spoke, voice carrying across the open and abandoned street. "This is a very important talk we are trying to have."

"Is it?" Peach Geminus responded, a sneer on his face.

"Yes," Pink Geminus turned towards his twin. "Would you rather we have this conversation in the fusionscape? Or will you just ignore me again?"

"We can discuss this after we defeat the two of them," he turned back towards the two heroes. "We should just transform them and be done with it. We're a Diamond we can poof them easily."

The first head nodded in agreement, "Their miraculous will surely turn into their gem. I agree."

So one twin could, in their own words, 'corrupt' and the other one transforms. It was strange that their powers weren't more specific as most akumas were, but the base of it was as simple as the rest of them- don't get hit.

Perfect, that was something Chat and she had more than enough experience with.

"You'll have to catch us first!" she called out to them to regain their attention and dodged out of the way as Peach Geminus readied his hand against them.

Turning to Chat he looked around and pointed in the direction of the TVi news station, and they hurried to make their way there, avoiding beams of light as they went. Unfortunately, they started heading towards a more populated area and as such, some civilians started to get caught in the beams.

Ladybug attempted to look back and see what it was turning people into, but she needed to keep her focus on her path ahead of her, or she would run into a building. Either way, beyond the initial scream of shock that came with an akuma, it didn't sound as if much else was happening after getting caught in the beam of light. So what was the transformation then?

She kept her eyes out for Mme. Chamack, since her broadcast, had been not too far from the station, but she couldn't catch a glimpse at her.

Without even saying anything to her, Ladybug already knew what Chat's plan was in heading towards the news station. Gemini was simply too big to fit inside, and if they went towards the staging area of the station then they wouldn't have to worry about any windows being broken and the two of them getting grabbed by them. It was the perfect place to plan how to defeat them without leaving themselves out in the open.

The only problem was to get to the doors was a clear shot. They would have to run inside fast to avoid Peach Geminus’ beam of light.

Chat, having led in their flight to the station, naturally reached the doors first but held them open for her to get inside. She slipped inside but grabbed and dragged him in too, letting the doors slam shut and block the last beam sent out.

"We should be safe here, but it's best to get further inside the building," Chat exclaimed.

"Right," Ladybug nodded and the two of them set straight for the recording stage.

She was prepared to start the conversation, but Chat beat her to the punch by telling her, "My Lady, I believe I know who this akuma is."

That shocked her since Marinette had a perfectly plausible reason for knowing Steven, and no matter how hard Ladybug tried to think, she couldn't find a moment where Steven could have possibly met Chat.

"How?" she asked, but then regretted it when she realized that it could possibly reveal Chat Noir's identity to her. Before she could take it back Chat shocked her again.

"Remember how I mentioned I was investigating an unidentified source of magic here in Paris?" and the memory of their conversation came back to her, and she relaxed in knowing that his identity was most likely not compromised by this information.

"I do," she said.

"Well, I made contact with him today to confirm my kwami's suspicions on what he is," Chat revealed, and Ladybug's jaw dropped, but she leaned forward knowing that soon both her and Tikki would get the answer to all of their questions. "But now I fear that perhaps I've done something that may have caused his akumatization."

At first, his conclusion had made perfect sense as she didn't know what had happened when they talked, but... then she thought on it more.

Gemini formed because they needed to have a talk. If it was Chat who had upset him, then he would have been gunning for the cat himself and not just wander around while arguing.

No, something else must have happened after Chat talked to him. Steven must have met with someone else and they must have argued. Over what, that was something Ladybug still wasn't clear on. When eavesdropping on their conversation it kept going on and on in circles.

'We need to talk' but not actually talking. Could it be that Gemini didn't know what the issue was either? Or did they bicker too much to get to the point?

If they could find a way for them to continue their conversation perhaps the akumatized object would reveal itself to them? But how to get to that point without being hit with those beams?

"No, I don't think it had to do with you," she assured him. "This is another case of two people akumatized by the same object, right? So that means that there are two people we need to understand and not just the one we were investigating."

She could tell saying that calmed down Chat's guilt over their interaction, and Chat nodded his head, "That's a relief. Even if he's magic, I still wouldn't want to hurt him."

Getting back on track, she prompted, "So did you end up confirming Plagg's suspicions?"

"Yes! Plagg was right in that-" Chat was suddenly cut off as the hallway that they were in began to tremble.

"What's happening now?" Ladybug asked, looking around expecting a hole to burst through the walls.

But that didn't happen, no giant hands broke through to grab at them. Rather, moss began to grow rapidly against the walls causing Ladybug to jump back, bumping into Chat.

"Moss?!" she exclaimed, still feeling the ground shake beneath her feet. "What-"

"Miraculousss..." multiple voices spoke at once, garbled and distinctly not human-like as the lights flickered. From the end of the hallway, bright glowing white eyes blinked into existence.

The trembling stopped, only for a moment, before the creatures surged forward, and Ladybug saw that they were humanoid-like tree creatures, branches twisting to reach out and trap them. Chat jumped in front of her a batted away the branches with his baton, and Ladybug swung her yo-yo in an arc to cut off ones that swerved to avoid Chat.

This- this didn't make any sense! Perhaps this could have been the transformation Peach Geminus was talking about, but- it didn't fit!

For as garish as most akuma came out looking, they all fit a specific theme or aesthetic that tied down to their object or reason for becoming an akuma, which then influenced their powers as well. Gemini was clearly celestial-themed given their state of dress, but the moss and the tree creatures directly contradicted that! Could it be that each twin had their own aesthetic? One for the sky and one for the Earth?

No that couldn't be it either, as they were already cut down in half given their different color palette. If that was their akuma form’s intention, the toga would be a different color on Peach Geminus' side. So then how was this possible?

Was Hawk Moth growing so powerful so as to grant akuma's multiple powers?

"My Lady, we need to move now!" Chat called out to her, dragging her out of her thoughts and prompting her to race down the hallway, cutting away the twisting branches that tried to stop them.

They were almost at the recording stage, but Ladybug watched in dismay as the moss continued to grow and coat the walls. She almost diverted towards the stairs to reach the roof instead, but suddenly the doors to the room swung open and Alya's distinct voice called out to them, "Ladybug and Chat Noir! Quick!"

Speeding up, the two of them slid into the room, and the doors swung shut behind them, Alya grabbing a chain to keep the doors shut.

Catching her breath quickly, she turned around to thank her friend when her throat closed suddenly as she choked on her words.

"Don't freak out, Ladybug!" the person in front of her exclaimed, but that was hard to do-

The person in front of her may have sounded like Alya, but last time she checked, Alya was not bright orange with red strips going across her face. And her hair certainly wasn't cream-colored.

Nor was there a circular orange gemstone right above her eyebrow where her friend's mole was.

She nearly jumped when she noticed a green-colored person who slightly resembled Nino beside the orange-Alya lookalike. There was a green gem on the side of his neck.

Even Chat beside her looked flabbergasted.

The green one rubbed his forehead as he exclaimed, "Oh, they're definitely freaking out."

"Listen, what we look like doesn't matter," the orange one exclaimed getting closer to Ladybug who took a step back.

Was- was this what Peach Geminus could transform people into? But- what did gems have to do with-

"What does matter, is that we know exactly what the akuma is!" she exclaimed, holding out what was clearly Alya's phone which was opened to Steven's TubeTube channel.

"The akuma is an American named Steven," the person who was most definitely Alya exclaimed, "And he's an alien!"