'Relax young master, it will be great. She'll be waiting for you at this rate.'

"Yup," Jade Turtle muttered aloud, nervously shifting his shield on his arm as he looked over the edge of his apartment building into the night life of Paris. "Here I go..."

The hero continued to stare into the steadily streaming lights of the streets far below him, fidgeting with his shield again. "Any second now..."

'Tell me what you're afraid of,' Wayzz asked quietly, his voice low and... soothing. Now that he had experienced it the calmness of it now always reminded him of what it felt like to be underwater, looking up. Comfortable and enveloping.

"How much time have you got?"

'As I see it Nino,' he said with a quiet chuckle, the sound echoing in Jade's mind as he nervously stepped towards the edge. 'You doubted yourself every waking moment with things of much greater consequence. If you falter in a step or flounder a word, you know what she'll do. She'll smile, she'll laugh. She'll be playful and kind, you're afraid of some horrible outcome that doesn't exist. You have such a great weight on your shoulders... you deserve this.'

The tone Wayzz ended his sentiment caught Jade off guard, the hero's gaze shifting towards his bracelet.

"Are you alright Wayzz?" he asked, noticing the friendly chuckle as it sounded in his mind.

'You always find the time to worry for others, this only furthers my point. You're so noble and kind, and I know she makes you happy. She makes you nervous, but happy. I want you to have this, I know you'll smile and laugh the whole way through. Please have confidence Nino, you will have a great time.'

Jade paused, the arm that bore his miraculous raised slightly as Wayzz finished speaking. The way Wayzz's words settled at the end of a sentence always gave away when he was finished with what he was saying, nothing more to add for probably the next while. Jade felt his kwami go quiet, settling back to be passive from then on out like he was offering privacy as best as he was capable.

Wayzz had said similar things leading all the way up to when he transformed in preparation to leave but he never got tired of doing it. He was kind and patient... quietly reminding Nino that he wanted him to be happy, no matter what the path to happiness may be. Whether it meant going through with the date or staying in Wayzz offered his support, even if he had a preference...

Jade only hesitated for a moment more as a gentle breeze ruffled the soft material of his hood, currently raised as he prepared to jump with the gentle encouragement of his friend in his mind. Even when Wayzz was quiet he knew he was there...

It made him feel better.

"Thanks buddy..." he said aloud, pulling his shield free so he could skate down, already pitching his weight forward. "You're right but... I appreciate that you keep saying it."

Jade stepped forward, his weight carrying him over the edge and the sudden sensation of falling sending a jolt of adrenaline through his chest, even as he positioned his shield so he could effortlessly coast down. Wayzz made no move to respond but Jade knew he wouldn't. This was his show now.

"Don't freak out, don't freak out," the hero whispered to himself, tensing his legs to brace for the pressure of landing and leaning forward to shoot out from the alley and into the street. He was only exposed for a few moments as he cut across the street and into another alley way, darting to and from dark thin alleys between buildings as he headed into the city. "It's just a date with a girl you really like," he muttered in an almost sing song like tone, banking hard and cutting abruptly uptown. "A girl whose probably twice as smart as you... just a patrol nothing big nothing flashy just a... oh god," he muttered, shaking his head and almost knocking his hood loose as he sped up a deserted side street.

He wasn't heading to her house, but rather their bench. It was safer for the two of them to meet up without traveling there together, so she wasn't blatantly seen spending recreational time with a superhero. At least this way they could pretend it was an interview until they could get up and out of sight on the patrol route.

Part of him wished he had insisted on something slightly more impressive, but another part of him was grateful it was something hard to mess up. It was basically a walk, hard to screw up a walk. Except walks left a lot of time for talking which he most definitely could screw up.

Ah Jesus...

"It's good," he muttered, turning down familiar side streets towards the river. "It's good I'm good, everything is alright."

He ran through his mental list of conversation topics as he closed the final gap, the river lit up by the moon coming into view before he finally decided to do away with all his premade plans completely.

Alya wasn't the sort of girl to be alright with light meaningless chitchat... talking to her before had never been this hard.

He was hoping it would be like that again.

When he exited the tight space of an alleyway into the sudden open plain of the street and the expanse of the river beyond it he felt exposed, like he was a mouse darting from one baseboard to the next. He wasn't hiding, but he sort of wanted to, it was so weird to feel like that here. He hadn't been Jade for very long at all but the river felt more like his turf than anywhere else in the city. Feeling anxious there was bizarre, and actually sort of difficult. As he coasted forward, effortlessly zipping over the gentle curve of the well-worn bridgeway, he felt just a little calmer. A little more balanced, just a bit surer of himself. Being in such a comfortable place had definitely been a good move... and he felt even more of that calm when their bench came into view.

That all went out the window when he saw her though, waiting there under the light of a street lamp, sat primly in her seat.

She was gently lit by the light of the lamp, pouring over her softly as her hands toyed idly with a few of the strands in her hair, one of the more feminine gestures of distraction he had ever seen in her he noted. Her hair was almost always worn in shining curls that complimented the sloping gradient of red and this was no exception, except the way it fell was unique. It was all pulled forward, flowing over the shoulder angled away from him and in range of her fidgeting fingers, revealing the length of her neck and a fair sight of her collarbone. The dress she wore showed it nicely, but tastefully, the flash of something gold at her ear catching his eye for a moment before he was distracted again, tracking down the sightline of her frame as she leaned back on the bench, her head slowly scanning the area for him.

The dress was striped, alternating blue and white and something he distantly remembered seeing before at one outing or another with friends. This time however she paired it with a brown belt with gold buckle pulling the fabric in at her waist and showing her figure. Black leggings covered the curve of her legs, falling into black boots with another small gold buckle at the clasp. The gold scattered through her outfit flashed as she shifted, her face tilting his direction before suddenly, she caught sight of him.

"I can't" Jade said aloud, his voice strained as his board brought him to the end of the bridge without his guidance, slowing down now. "Wayzz dude I can't."

'Stop being a baby and get out there!' Wayzz's voice suddenly scolded, and though Jade could never prove it, it almost felt like the board corrected its course on its own, forcing him to make the turn and head towards her bench. The bench.

Their bench.

Though the journey took practically no physical effort he felt a little short of breath, his dismount less than elegant and he stumbled and stopped a few feet away, bending to collect his shield but faltering again as she grinned, brightly and genuinely.

"You came!" she exclaimed as he collected his shield and himself, if only a little. "I sorta thought you'd turtled out for a second there."

"Turtled?" he asked, watching her as she stood and focusing intently on her eyes to keep from ogling.

She looked nice in dresses.

"Yeah," she answered, chuckling a little to herself as she closed the distance with a few heavy clicks of her boots. "You know like, pulled out, ran for cover." Her grin widened. "Bailed?"

"What?" he sputtered, "No way never, I was gonna be here." That was mostly true, he liked to think he wouldn't have ever actually called it off.

'Say something else!' he heard suddenly, a spark of irritation flooding through him along with his general nervousness as he noticed that Wayzz wasn't being as passive as he had implied he'd be. But it was good advice.

"You look beautiful," he blurted out, heat creeping up his neck as he watched her react. Her eyes widened, the complexion of her face darkening ever so slightly as she grinned again, giggling and dipping her face a little to look up at him over the edge of her glasses.

"Not looking bad yourself Ninja Turtle," she replied finally after a moment of silence, beaming up at him more confidently now if it was even possible. Alya was always so confident in herself.

The image of her toying with her hair flashed in his mind for a moment, compared suddenly to the wide smile she bore now as he stood in front of her and it occurred to him... Had she really been worried he wouldn't show?

"You look nice in a dress," he managed to say, surprising even himself a little. "I don't see you in them often."

The words hung in the air for a second, the quiet sounds of Paris at night swirling around them and dominated by the gentle and persistent sound of water flowing to their left. Alya smiled, an expression that looked equally as good on her as she replied with a fake pouting tone and said, "You don't see me much in general."

"I could stand for more of both," he answered easily, a grin finding its way on his face as he watched her react again. Alya snorted dismissively like the line was lame and hadn't landed but her smile remained at the corner of her lips. He bit back a chuckle.

It had a lot to do with that one nervous gesture he hadn't been meant to see, with the girl waiting nervously on a bench by the river. He wasn't the only one in unfamiliar territory right now, and that made it easier.

"So," she opened. "You promised me patrol."

"I did," he agreed, looking away and out towards the river as he contemplated before looking away again, this time towards the buildings on their side of the water. "We'll be doing B's and Scratch's route."

He turned at her huff and giggle, watching with a smirk as she eyed him incredulously.

"You call him Scratch? Seriously?"

"I call him everything," he replied with a shrug, looking back towards the buildings as he tried to plan a safe way up. "He calls me turtle son I call him something else equally as stupid. Fair is fair."

That got a pretty good laugh out of her, the sound full and echoing out over the river. He laughed with her for a moment before she forced words through her giggles, asking "Is your route different than theirs? I thought you took the river."

"I do, but I've got my board and unless you'd like me to carry you..." He let the sentence trail off, grinning at her playfully just to see her roll her eyes, but her eyes were dangerous. If only because they were equally as playful.

"I'm not against the idea," she replied, her lips quirking up at one side when he looked suddenly flustered. "But you might have to work a little harder for that one. And Michelangelo I know you'd probably throw a fit sooner or later letting me walk on rooftops, so how about a compromise." She reached out, taking his shield from him and holding it easily enough despite the weight to it as she used it to gesture to the Seine. "How about you use your magical shield here and make it big enough for two people?"

He paused, blinking slowly as his lips pursed and he hummed, looking out towards the water. "Right," he finally said, rubbing at the back of his neck as he chuckled. "I can do that."

She laughed at him, taking his shield with her and beckoning with it for him to follow her as she went.

"You could get wet," he warned her, watching her climb over the edge of the railing and look down towards the water.

She huffed, raising an eyebrow and smiling when she looked back at him. "Do I look like Elphaba to you? Water won't kill me."

"Oookay," he drew out the word, smirking at the glare she gave him next.

"That is not an invitation to soak me by the way."

"I would never!"

A short while later Jade found himself sat towards the front of his extended shield, using his situated weight to counterbalance Alya's sat across from him as well as propel their makeshift craft forward. From the outside it might look a little awkward with them both sitting there, Alya with her legs crossed as she eagerly leaned out over the edge to watch the pitch black water flow beneath them. However in reality, it was rather comfortable.

"Makes for a good speedboat," Alya commented benignly, pausing in her sightseeing to look at him. He didn't look away from her much, she noticed. He would to steer the shield occasionally, but never to take in the sights. The small fact made her smile.

He hummed in vague agreement, meeting her eyes and stunning her for a moment.

"You seem pretty contented," she noted, aiming for conversation as he briefly looked away to navigate a gently sloping curve in the waterway.

He nodded, smiling to himself before looking back to her and grinning fully. "The water makes me calmer. This is pretty cool, just boating like this. I'm sure you being here is a pretty major player though." He winked.

She giggled, feeling a little warm as she looked down at the pattern lining the inside of the shell they were sat in. He wasn't just contented he was much more confident now too. Talk about being in his natural element.

"Yo, Donatello," she said, calmly and innocently reaching for his hand in a way she knew would stump him. "Tell me something."

She snickered quietly as her assumption proved correct, Jade flushing instantly the moment her hand grabbed his but fighting to keep it cool. "Uh, yeah?"

"We talked about the 'safety card'" she started, using her free hand to half form air quotes that he was too distracted to scowl at. She focused on the feeling of his gloved hand. "And we decided that the safety card was bogus right?"

Even with the distraction he frowned a little. "I wouldn't call it bogus."

"Jade," she sighed, shaking her head a little and not reaching out to stop the curls from falling over her shoulders. "Okay, the mildly bogus safety card."

There was a small stretch of silence before he met her eyes, waiting for her to continue.

"You're still really cautious, and I understand it," she cut back in quickly when he started to look upset, gripping his hand a little tighter. "You're compromising I appreciate that. I'm just wondering if..." she trailed off. Internally she cursed, knowing she was never like this and feeling like it was a little pathetic honestly. She had always just said what she meant and what she wanted, she had never had more qualifiers in a sentence in her life. So in a way that felt much more her she said, "I'm worried your safety clause isn't going to let me see you as often as I want to."

His expression was mixed, conflicted. In the light of the moon reflecting off the water his face was softly lit, contemplation clear in the gold of his eyes. She was a little surprised when she felt him return the gentle pressure on her hand.

"Private boat ride on the Seine not enough?" he joked lightly, his heart not really in it as he watched her.

"No," she returned firmly. He smiled at that.

"Well good," he said genuinely, looking away as if holding her gaze was suddenly too much to ask of him. "I was worried I had peaked."

She laughed quietly, the subdued tone they shared making the moment that much more private. This was weird for a first date, obviously, especially within the first half hour but...

She wanted to ensure there were more.

"I like seeing you," he stated simply, his voice showing his nervousness more than his expression. "So I will, but I'll still be careful. Humor me with that alright? I promise I won't see you any less because of it."

"That's all I ask," she said with a quiet chuckle, winking at him when he met her eyes. "You still owe me seeing ALL of the patrol routes."

Jade laughed, the sound pleasant as he more bravely held her hand. He lifted it, setting their linked hands lightly on his outstretched leg, his skin warm even through the suit's material.

He hummed, looking up the walls of the river around them, thinking aloud. "For a dude so worried about safety we are pretty out in the open. I'm sure it's fine but like..." He stopped short, expression twisting slightly before he shrugged, pretending to brush it off but she could see through him. "It's fine. This is nice."

"Would you be more comfortable if we waited somewhere a bit more out of sight?" she offered, humoring him as he had asked even if she thought it was paranoid. Admittedly it was sort of cute.

"Weell uh," he stalled, looking around them, "We don't have to but like-"

He was interrupted by her giggle, the hero turning to look at her and smiling sheepishly as he realized she obviously had him pegged.

"That bridge is pretty big," she said, gesturing forward towards a fairly large bridge which provided a good deal of cover from the street side. Lights to help guide tourist boats and ferry liners dotted the underneath, casting soft blue light on the water. "Wanna just hole up there for a little? You're not really 'patrolling' much anyways."

He shrugged again, a small smile on his face as he navigated them towards the bridge. "If anything actually big happened the others would be on it."

"Yeah, are they out patrolling now too?" she asked innocently, not expecting him to look suddenly nervous again.

"Oh uh well," he stalled, slowly pulling the shield to a stop in the center of the archway. "No, nah they're home. Doing their thing. I told them I had it covered tonight."

"But you're like the only one who wouldn't be patrolling tonight?" she questioned.

"Yeah well, uh." He sighed suddenly, looking embarrassed as he used his free hand to gesture towards her loosely. "You saw the whole Turtle Son thing that happened before. They're so embarrassing, if they came across us it would be ridiculous."

She gawked at him for a moment before she burst out laughing, rocking the shell a little as she bent forward and actually snorted between bouts of laughter. She tried to speak a few times as he sputtered out a defense, his own words broken up as he started to laugh too.

"No come on you saw them!" he tried again, releasing her hand to grab her shoulders to try and get her to look at him. "Can't you see it? 'Oh Jade look at you, oh she's nice isn't she! Oh we're so proud!'"

Alya laughed harder, grabbing onto his arms for support as they both devolved into snickers.

"'You should have brought her to meet us!'" Alya pantomimed, obviously mimicking Ladybug and making Jade snort. She kept going, adding on to it and playing it up almost exclusively to watch the hero giggle manically. "'When is dinner? Oh she has our blessing Jade how nice!'"

"S-stop!" he begged, the shell rocking dangerously now and forcing them to keep holding onto each other. "Come on its fair! That's exactly how they are!"

Alya's forehead fell to lean against his chest, snickering into the green material as he bowed his own head, chuckling into her hair and pressing his masked face against the soft cotton dress as he held her. It was so they didn't tip over, they told themselves. They kept laughing, giggling to themselves and occasionally looking up to mimic one of the duo cooing over them until they both almost fell again, completely oblivious to the bright green pair of eyes peering upside down from the Bridgeway to the archway underneath.

Cat Noir gaped in absolute shock, a huge open mouth smile dominating his face as he desperately tried to keep his giggles from being heard. Maintaining his claw hold on the ridges of the bridge to keep him from falling in the water and ruining the moment was hard but there was no way he could give himself away now.

What an absolute blessing he had stumbled upon. He knew Jade wanted to be 'left alone' so he could think so he hadn't called him when he set out from Marinette's house for a small patrol of his own. To be totally honest he was worried about his friend, who seemed so heavy and distracted the past while but oooooh, OH no, this was it. Time alone his ass.

He cackled quietly as he scrambled back up, climbing onto the bridge and still grinning at the sound of laughter that had led him there in the first place as he pulled out his staff, opening the phone gadget and pointing the camera part down as he slowly extended it over the edge.

Marinette was drawing on her bed, idly passing the time until Adrien returned when her phone went off, vibrating on the sheets and demanding her attention. She quickly grabbed it so it didn't wake Tikki who was out cold on a plate of mostly devoured cookies nearby, unlocking the screen and smiling at who had messaged her. There wasn't a name, just a Cat Paw emoji that made her giggle.

She opened the message, her eyes glancing across the attached commentary before actually seeing the mostly blue lit photo beneath it, her brow furrowing in temporary confusion.

It said 'Oh you have got to come down here.'

Then below was a photo, taken sneakily and revealing the form of an archway. And sitting on the water?

Alya, smiling and blushing brightly over a very familiar green clad shoulder, both of them holding each other and perched out of sight on the water of the Seine.