"Alright, so what did you want to talk about, Steven?" 

"Well," Steven exhaled a bit as he leaned on the railing of the Lookout. "I want to get to know you better. You know, I haven't spent a lot of time around fellow humans. Been dealing with aliens and the sorts. It would be nice to spend time with guys my age who aren't horrible." 

"You have those kind of people too?" Ryder blinked. 

"I guess so," he shrugged. "There's Kevin, who is a total jerk, and Lars, who used to be one, but in general I don't have many male friends. Gems identify as female, so I guess that makes them demigirls?" 

"Demigirls? What are those?" 

"Oh, they basically identify as neither male or female, but they still feel feminine at some point," he explained. "I learnt that when visiting some towns in Texas." 

"That's kinda cool," Ryder smiled. "Fellow member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I guess?" 

"Proud bisexual and biromantic," Steven puffed up his chest slightly. "What about you Ryder?" 

"I'm a bit of a grey asexual and a pan romantic?" He shrugged. "Not sure, to be honest." 

"If you think it fits, it's what you are," he smiled. 

"Oh, erm, thanks," he flushed. "You're really a nice guy." 

"I get that a lot," he admitted. "My family raised me to always be kind. Even if my mom was.... Less than perfect, and unknowingly put me under pressure I never wanted, during my travels I've learnt to forgive her." 

"Huh," Ryder leaned forward, a bit curious about this. "How?" 

"Well, I met a lot of people who changed my perspective of things. Many of the friends I've met have had worse environments, which really helped me find peace in myself. I had just finished my rehab work too when I had gotten the invitation from Mayor Goodway to make some money here," he explained. "I do need to get some souvenirs for my friends, and it's always good to gain more experience." 

"Huh... That's nice," Ryder smiled, even though it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm glad you're happy." 

"Yeah... What about you, though?" 

"What about me?" He blinked. 

"I saw the look you had in your eyes," Steven said. "And I once saw those eyes in myself. Fractured, unable to speak up against the people you care for." 

"Is it really that obvious?" 

"Not really," he shook his head. "I only noticed because I've nearly died a good amount of times, and I've sustained trauma like no other." 

"Yeouch," Ryder winced. "Sorry for bringing that up." 

"It's fine, I'm used to it," he waved it off. "But I won't push you to tell me. I'll let you be because I want you to tell me willingly." 

"Thanks," he smiled gently, sincerity clear in his tone. "I'll keep that in mind." 

"No worries Ry," he then coughed, went red and said, "W-well, if you'll let me call you that, of course." 

"I-I don't see why not," Ryder flushed as well. "C-Can I call you Steve?" 

"S-Sure!" He smiled. 

From below, the pups were laughing. They were clearly enjoying this. 

"Oh hey there guys! What's so funny?" A familiar voice had them turning over. 

"Wild Cat! It's so great to see you!" Marshall greeted. 

"Yeah! Achoo! Need to get my helmet first!" Chase immediately sprinted away. 

The others could only laugh before continuing their chat.

"How has it been at Cap'n Turbot's place dude?" Zuma asked him. 

The feline motorcyclist shrugged, "It's been clawsome, but I wouldn't mind staying here. Shame you guys have no space." 

"If we did, we would have given those to Everest, Tracker, Ella, Tuck, Rex and you, of course," Rocky said. "So don't worry, you're not alone in this." 

"I can't wait to meet the others, though," Wild Cat smiled. "You said that you guys are holding an anniversary party soon right?" 

"Next week at Barkingburg, not only to celebrate it, but also to welcome a new member. He's over there!" Skye gestured to Steven. "If he likes it here, he said he might stay!" 

"Woah, meowsome! I thought that Ryder would have to bear the burden all by himself again!" Wild Cat said, a grin on his face, before he seemed to remember something and mentioned it. "By the way, I met Mayor Humdinger again and ran off again. That dude gives me the creeps. I wonder why..." 

Upon hearing that, the six pups looked at each other. Uneasiness was visible in their eyes. They knew why that was the case, but it was wrong to tell others about his connection to Ryder. It was just a breach of privacy and trust. 

"Well, don't worry," Marshall smiled tightly. "He's quite harmless." 

A lie. They all knew the truth. 

"Okay then...?" 

Back up with the two humans, Ryder then got a phone call from Cap'n Turbot, who said that the Ruff-Ruff Pack was back in town, having taken his boat towards sea. 

"It's horrible! Horrible I tell you! Please get it back!" He begged Ryder. 

"Don't worry about it! We're on our way! No boat is too gone, no pup is too small!" Ryder swiftly answered. 

Steven's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't like how memorized the line was. Also, as much as he understood why they kept on calling for him, it felt like they were relying on the Paw Patrol too much. "What's going on? Who's the Ruff-Ruff Pack and why can't you get it back?" 

"Steven!" Ryder hissed slightly, but Cap'n Turbot didn't pick up on the slightly salty tone.

Instead he wailed, "They're a trio of ruffian pups who cause trouble in Adventure Bay! Steven! Please help!" 

Of course Steven had to help. He had met the kind-hearted but scatterbrained captain, and while he seemed a bit cowardly, he could tell that Cap'n Turbot cared for the Paw Patrol too. "Alright then. We'll be right there." 

"Oh thank you Steven!" 

The phone call ended, and Ryder gave him a frown, "That was a bit overkill." 

"Sorry," he rose his hands in surrender. "I've heard stories about heroes forcing themselves to help others when they just want to relax and be themselves, so I was concerned you were doing that. Plus, I can tell it's tiring."

"I'm perfectly fine," he shrugged off the concern. "But... thanks," his face went red slightly. 

"N-No worries," he flushed. It was very embarrassing for him. "J-Just make sure you don't do it."  

Unable to handle the awkwardness, Ryder quickly pressed the button and said, "Pups, to Moto HQ!" 

"Ryder needs us!" They chorused, and headed off. 

"Let's go then!" Steven cheered. 

Ryder grinned, "Yeah!" 

They then rushed down and Ryder took the lead as he guided him to the HQ, which made Steven gape. What was this? 

"How many of these things do you have?!" He asked. 

"Oh we have the Lookout, the Paw Patroller, the Sea Patroller, Mission Paw HQ, Moto HQ, Mighty HQ, and Dino HQ, so a good amount?" He sounded so nonchalant saying that! 

Steven rubbed his temple, saying, "Do I even want to know?" 

"Well, we'll need to do joint missions in order to get Cap'n Turbot's boat back using the Sea Patroller, so you'll be introduced to it either way?" He shrugged. 

"I guess," he hesitantly agreed. 

They soon got in, and heard a muffled bump, making him look at Ryder with a confused look. 

Ryder chuckled, "Marshall has a tendency to bump into people." 

"Oh," he scratched the back of his head. "That's kinda sad." 

"You get used to it, but yeah, I do worry," Ryder agreed. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find ways to combat this?" 

"Maybe make the floor less slippery and putting anti-slip socks on Marshall?" He offered. "I can knit some socks for him." 

"Knitted socks? Neat!" Ryder smiled. "I'm sure Marshall will love it!" 

"You should use a glue gun on the bottom part, so it won't slip," he added. 

"Another neat idea! Wow, Steve, you're good!" He praised.   

"T-Thanks Ry," he blushed. He didn't want compliments from a guy who just made his heart race whenever he so much looked at him. It made him feel weird. Is this what Sapphire and Ruby feel like? It sure seemed that way. He was still confused about a lot of things, love included. After all, his mom... 

His footsteps slowed. His mom had been many things, but loving was definitely not one of them. Selfish, arrogant, and... traumatised. That was probably what he could use to describe his birth mom. As horrible as her actions were, he could understand the reasoning behind them. Not that he cared, anyway. He had long left it behind him. 

"Steven, come on!" Ryder waved to him.   

He snapped out of his trance, and yelled that he was coming before jogging over.   

Upon arriving at the top, he noticed how Ryder was now decked in a leather jacket, and the pups were wearing motorcycling outfits with a cat (?) standing to the edge.   

"Moto Pups, ready for action Ryder Sir!" Chase declared. 

"Thanks for hurrying pups," Ryder clicked his pad. "The Ruff-Ruff Pack has taken Cap'n Turbot's boat out to sea! We'll be using the Sea Patroller to catch up with them. For this mission,I'll need Wild Cat! I need you to use your vehicle to fly over to the boat and stop them! And Steven! I'll need your skills to help steer the boat back to port."   

"I'm surprised you know I can drive a boat, but I'm not questioning it," Steven chuckled quietly.   

Ryder's smile was enigmatic before he said, "Alright, Moto Pups are on a roll!"