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“I believe I am…aromantic,” Aeon tells her, and Jess tilts their head.
“Okay?” they respond. “But I thought you enjoyed romance.”
Aeon wrinkles her nose. “In other people, sure. Adrien and Marinette both displayed clear signs of romantic attraction towards each other.”
Jess rolls their eyes. Though maybe they are just the slightest bit jealous (of their relationship, and of…well, Adrien). After all, it was…it would be so much easier if they were straight.
But they could never be straight. They’re not a boy or girl, therefore there is no opposite gender to be attracted to.
(Not that they’ve…told anyone about that. But they enjoyed being Sparrow, sometimes, because it meant that they weren’t treated as a girl. And maybe being Eagle meant that they needed to be more…more honest.)
(Because being a girl was supposed to be honest.)
(And maybe it was, then. But it isn’t now; they’re well past that form of denial. They like both. Some days they can absolutely never be referred to as a girl without feeling awful and some days pronouns that aren’t neutral can still feel okay but still not quite right.)
“...but just because I like seeing romance in others does not mean that I want it for myself,” Aeon explains. “It’s not because I’m a robot. I suppose that if I wanted to I could be capable. But I just…I very much do not understand romantic attraction, nor do I understand wanting to experience it.”
Jess shrugs. “Congrats on the identity.”
If Aeon can have the courage to tell Jess that she’s aromantic, then maybe Jess can have the courage to tell someone that they’re not a girl.
It doesn’t have to be Aeon. It could be either of their mothers. But it’ll probably be Aeon, because there aren’t a lot of people that Jess trusts more.
Everyone is still reeling from the aftermath of the Parisians coming through with their chaos. Jess remembers how their heart stopped when they saw Aeon’s body fade to gray, how Ladybug and Chat Noir leapt off the edge of the building together, and then the person who took the Eagle Miraculous back from them.
Jess doesn’t want to investigate what happened.
Everyone is talking about how Sparrow is actually a ~girl~ and they try not to pull their hair out; their sense of fashion has nothing to do with their gender. They’re proud of their heritage, and that’s good because it takes a lot of work to not lose that part of themself.
But Mother assigns Aeon to investigate the person who took the Miraculous back from them because if there are more superheroes in New York, Majestia needs to know about it so they can get in contact.
Jess sighs. “I don’t think we should be poking the bear too much.”
“What do you mean, Sparrow?”
“There’s…there are more forces at hand than we know about,” they say. “The Miraculous are new to us. Before we go after that person, we should know more about them.”
“You’re right,” their mother says. “You should join the investigation.”
And that’s…something new. Jess always feels like they’re in the wrong, but…
“So I assume you’re going to talk to Ladybug and Chat Noir?” Aeon asks. “Because they have Miraculouses, even if they’re from a different…area?”
Jess nods. “Okay.”
Now they have to figure out how to do that.
As it turns out, Aeon brings Jess over the ocean. They both have a couple bags with clothes and some essentials, but overall not much.
“Great. Thanks. Are we going to be going back soon?”
The timezone thing is weird. It was sunrise in New York — it’s somewhere approaching midday here. They’ve…time traveled, technically speaking.
“Depends. I mean, it is the weekend, so we have plenty of time,” she answers. The two of them land in some street on the outskirts of the city, where no one will see them.
The damage suffered during Ladybug and Chat Noir’s New York visit is still being repaired. Jess can spot the construction crews when they look.
“So. Let’s catch us a couple superheroes, and go back to New York. This place smells like bad news. I’m not a fan.” Jess looks around and unties the sweatshirt from their waist. They don’t want to stand out too much among the crowd — the two of them are here on a recon mission, and they don’t want to be overly recognizable.
“Do you speak French?” Aeon asks.
“A little,” Jess responds, “but you’re gonna have to handle most of the talking. We know Ladybug and Chat Noir speak pretty good English, at least, so there’s that.”
Aeon, being a robot, was programmed to be fluent in English, Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian. She also picks up languages more easily, thanks to her enthusiasm for learning. Jess remembers when she was being built.
Which is weird, because Jess has always considered Aeon a person, and the dissonance is enough to make Aeon tilt her head and ask them a question without saying any words.
“I’m fine,” Jess insists, and puts up their hood.
They hate covering up who they are when they’re not Sparrow. They understand the appeal, and for a moment there’s a glimpse of happiness because nobody knows (until they speak, until they do something to break the illusion that they’re unknowable). But if that’s at the cost of covering up what’s at the core of who they are, then they don’t want it.
Even if it tears them apart, the fight between the expression of their race versus the expression of their gender.
Jess and Aeon walk into the city, blending in with the crowd.
An akuma attack is the perfect opportunity to at the very least find the two superheroes, even if they can’t stick around long.
Jess transforms, and it feels good, even if it’s going from one form of concealment to another.
A few people gawk at them, which isn’t surprising, and they manage to persuade Aeon to stay on the sidelines and let them handle this.
Jess lands, and waits for Ladybug and Chat Noir.
“Sparrow? What are you doing here?” Ladybug asks.
“I came to ask a few questions of you,” they say, clipped. “But you two should focus on ending this.”
She nods. “Right. Kitty, you ready?”
Chat Noir nods, and Jess sighs. They’re definitely not prepared to third-wheel — normally around their parents at least Aeon is there in silent solidarity.
The battle passes quickly. Chat Noir doesn’t even use his special power, though Jess for a moment suspects that he avoided it because of their presence.
“We can talk after I recharge,” Ladybug says. “You two can start, I don’t know.”
“She’s normally a little friendlier than that,” Chat Noir quips. “I’m sorry.”
Jess shrugs. “No need to apologize for someone else.”
“So, why did you come here? New York is pretty far.”
“They have questions.”
“As in, the other superheroes?”
They cross their arms. “Yeah. They wanted to send me to ask about that necklace.” They roll their eyes, though it probably isn’t visible under their costume. “I don’t really want to know, but they want to track down the person who took it from me.”
He frowns. “Ladybug will probably be more helpful with that than I will be. She knows more about them than I do.”
“About who?”
Something’s fishy here.
Ladybug comes back out. “What’s up?”
“She has questions about the Guardians.”
Jess does not like the feeling of being referred to like that. Even after the reveal that Sparrow, all along, was a “girl” outside the costume — it was supposed to be something else, and all it’s done is made Jess feel worse.
But French only has he and she, so they don’t have another option. Not like English, and Jess thinks they’ve heard something about how language affects thinking.
“The others back home want to know.” They shift their weight to lean towards Ladybug a bit. “I wouldn’t be here if I wanted to be.”
Ladybug looks around a little. “You really want to know, Sparrow? Come with me.”
Jess swallows, and follows Ladybug.
“Each Box has a Guardian. I’m currently the Guardian of the box mine and Chat Noir’s Miraculous belong to. And they’re in charge of retrieving rogue Miraculous and making sure nothing goes wrong. I presume that person has been looking to retrieve that necklace for a while and it wasn’t until Hawk Moth stole it that they could get it back.”
Jess nods. “Alright, so…how am I supposed to find them?”
“The Guardians are all part of a Temple. I helped the former Guardian of this box bring back that Temple, and I presume now they’re busy grabbing loose Miraculous that are probably out there.” Ladybug looks around. “In fact, they’ll probably be coming for me soon. But I’m to some extent actually a Guardian, so it’s not…it won’t be as bad for me, I hope.”
“I should say that the others want to find the Guardian.” Jess sighs. “I think we shouldn’t poke at forces we don’t understand.”
“Right. You all aren’t Miraculous users.” Ladybug is shifting her weight consistently; she seems nervous, and if what she’s said is to be trusted then there’s good reason for her to be nervous. And Jess does trust her.
“Right. So what can we do?”
“I…I mean, I’m all for transparency. But at the same rate, you’re right. You might be superheroes over there, but there’s a difference between your sort of powers and the powers the Miraculous have.”
Jess nods. “You still haven’t answered my questions.”
“Here. I’ll…someone from the Temple will be coming eventually. And I’ll be prepared for that, and to forward any questions you might have.”
“What’s the number on your yo-yo?” Jess asks.
“I think it’ll be better if I give you my civilian phone number.” Ladybug sighs. “I don’t think…I can’t always access my yo-yo.”
“I have a burner.” Jess turns around to see Chat Noir.
“Why do you have a burner phone?” Ladybug asks.
“A cat has to keep his secrets, milady,” he responds. “But I’d be happy to share it with you temporarily. And if they seize your Miraculous you can get back-up.”
She nods. “Alright, then…”
Chat Noir rattles off the number, and Jess commits it to memory. Aeon will help with that, too.
“Where is this Temple, in case they ask?” Jess says, turning back before they leave the alley.
“Tibet.” Ladybug’s tone is clipped, and she doesn’t sound very…happy about it. “That’s why it’s taken so long. With the combination of having to adjust to modern society and the distance, well…”
“Then why is one in America?” Jess questions. “And how did they get here so quickly?”
“I don’t have the answers,” Ladybug confesses. “The best I can do is give you that contact and hope for the best. I don’t think you all should get involved, though. Not unless they choose to make it so.”
Jess nods. “I’ll be sure to call.” She takes the fire escape ladder up and travels across the roofs, dropping down where she last saw Aeon.
“Did you get what we need?”
“Not enough,” Jess answers. “Can you save this number?” Aeon takes out her phone.
“Go.”
Jess recites the phone number.
“It has been saved!” Aeon smiles.
“Alright.” Jess sighs and taps their bracelet before they could be recognized and redraws their hood up. It is starting to get cold. “So are we going home now, or…?”
“I do not have enough fuel to return home,” Aeon responds. “We must purchase sustenance before we can return.”
“Food?” Jess asks. “Sure, we can do that. Where to?”
“I dunno, I guess we’ll just see where the roads take us,” Jess says.
They sit on a park bench, both holding coffees and a couple sandwiches. They’re nice, filling sandwiches.
“I’m not a girl,” Jess says, and Aeon coughs a couple times.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’m…non-binary.” The word still feels strange in a way where it also feels good.
“So, um, he? She? They?”
“They. And I like Jess, but not my full name.”
“What do you think about Jay?” Aeon asks.
“That’s…that doesn’t sound too bad, either.” Jess shrugs. “I haven’t really decided what I like yet. If I end up going with something different…you’ll be the first to know.”
“Okay.” Aeon smiles, and Jess feels a lot better than before. That was a lot easier than they thought it would be, to be honest.
But they know that it won’t be so easy with everyone else.