"Nino honey are you still awake?"

His mother's voice came through the door, soft just in case he wasn't but drawing closer until she seemed to be stood right outside. "You have school in the morning, don't stay up too late. Are you still doing homework?"

"Kinda..." he replied slowly, head turning away from the ancient book in his lap for a moment as he said to the door, "You going to bed?"

"Yes, your father is asleep already and I have work early. Goodnight sweetheart," she said, her voice moving away now. "Get some sleep!"

"Night Mom," he answered, already distracted again and leaning his face into one hand, his elbow propped on his knee. The DJ turned to regard the turtle hovering over his shoulder once he heard the doorway to his parent's bedroom shut. "Was it too much to hope this would be written in French?"

"Would you like me to continuing reading it to you?" Wayzz said helpfully, drifting back when Nino rubbed at his eyes and closed the book.

"No I think we're good for tonight," he said, shaking his head. "Even when you translate it the words barely make sense. I started at the beginning like you said but even then it's like it expects me to know a bunch of crap I don't." He sighed, setting the book to the side and checking the time. 9:00 PM. He should be starting patrol soon.

"The history is complex, but you will recognize dates and terms the more we go on," Wayzz said, frowning slightly as Nino yawned. "Young master I don't think Paris would suffer if you were to stay in tonight."

Nino looked up, raising an eyebrow even as he smothered another yawn. "What? No man I'm cool. B and Cat are doing their thing tonight I said I'd cover."

"But you're wearing yourself thin," Wayzz said with concern, obviously displeased. "A lot has happened for you today, you shouldn't push yourself."

"Hey the book is crazy confusing but I signed up for it little dude, I'll deal," Nino stated matter-of-factly, rising to his feet and stretching a little to wake himself up. To be totally honest he had a massive headache. None of that crap was sinking in, he felt like he was missing big pieces and the start didn't make sense. Wayzz knew a lot about the book but not how it was ordered or anything, and it didn't feel like page 1 was the best place to start. He'd flip through the whole thing to pick the best starting point but he couldn't even read it, Wayzz was the only reason he even had a jist of what the illustrations meant. He had started with it almost two hours ago and he felt like he knew nothing new, except that apparently miraculous wielders were present in every major era of humanity, even the crusades. Still though, a lot of the pages were misordered or patchwork, updated through ongoing generations. It felt like the whole book was constantly being added to by Guardians as time went on, a bulk of its contents from when it was originally made but a fair bit of it being newer than he had expected. As far as he could guess the book was created in ancient China, but the information found in it was even older, like way way older, it just wasn't until then that it was noted down.

All in all it made for an incredibly confusing read through, since he wasn't even sure it was Chinese the book was written in. He didn't recognize it and Wayzz couldn't give him a straight answer about what it was. He could just read it, apparently to him he didn't really see the distinction between languages. He could switch between reading French, English, Spanish and whatever the hell the book was written in without missing a step, which sorta made sense. If there really were wielders all over the world in all different time periods speaking all different dialects like the book suggested then the Kwamis would need to adapt, or just be innately capable of reading and speaking it. Ugh.

That was so stupidly complex and he was supposed to be the guy who understood it.

Nino was stewing when Wayzz got his attention, saying something and jolting his friend out of his stupor.

"Sorry bro, what? I was zoned out," Nino admitted, rubbing at his eyes as Wayzz repeated himself.

"You got a message, I believe it is from Cat Noir."

Nino raised an eyebrow, pulling out his cellphone and looking at the blank screen before Wayzz clarified, "No, not there."

"Oh he's calling Jade?" Nino said in surprise, Wayzz nodding his head. Nino frowned. "I already told him I've got patrol covered is he checking up on me to make sure I do it?"

"I'm not sure, we should go check though he is calling again already," Wayzz informed him, shaking his head like he was a little irritated by it.

Nino chuckled, grabbing the book from the bed and walking over to stash it in the bottom most drawer of his dresser. "Alright let's go before he goes crazy. We can transform in the stairwell."

The door leading to the roof of Nino's apartment complex opened slowly, a hero clad in green walking in his distraction towards the center as he fidgeted with the display projected from his bracelet.

"What he calls like four times in three minutes and then doesn't even answer?" Jade muttered, still looking down when there was a suddenly sound right beside him.

"I thought you'd be here," the voice said, flinching when Jade shouted in fright and nearly fell over before steadying himself, heart pounding as he glared at the black cat.

"Jesus Christ Adrien don't freaking do that," he barked, relaxing from his last second defensive position and taking a deep breath with his hands at his hips. "I almost slammed you off the building, what is your-" but he stopped when he looked up, words falling short as he fully saw his friend.

Cat Noir was standing with his shoulders slightly hunched, hands clasped together and claws clicking together nervously before moving to mess with a zipper or his baton or anything else in an effort to distract himself. His green cat like eyes were... tense, his entire expression the perfect picture of anxiety.

"Sorry," he apologized in a tense voice, running his claws through his hair, ears flat against his head like a cat in a rainstorm. "Didn't mean to scare you just... you weren't answering."

"What's up?" he asked immediately, striding forward to put a hand on his shoulder. "Bro you cool?"

Cat Noir didn't answer right away, shifting his weight before saying, "I'm worried I'm going to mess this up man."

"Mess what up? Wh- wait with B?" he asked, looking around quickly to confirm that they were actually alone. "Dude you guys are like already together aren't you what's the issue?"

"We are," he said suddenly, stepping away so he could pace and forcing Jade's hand to drop. "We are and it's been so amazing and I- dude I- it's been so amazing it's been perfect but we haven't really been together we couldn't be you know?"

"Why?" he said honestly, brow furrowed in confusion and concern. When Cat didn't reply he racked his brain, stiffening slightly as something that had been a semi-frequent topic of conversation between himself and Ladybug came to mind. "Oh," he whispered, tone softer now. "Cause you don't know her identity?"

Cat kept pacing, a dark figure against the distant lights of Paris. The streets stretched like veins along the curve of the earth, lights alive and shifting like fireflies. It looked like his backdrop was breathing, alive. It was weird, and intangible but... it felt like the city was listening.

"She's gonna tell me," Cat finally said in a quiet voice, slowing to a stop in front of the blanket of lights. "Tonight."

Jade was silent, watching his friends hands shifted uneasily again before speaking.

"How do you know?"

"She told me," he answered, still not looking at him. "She messaged me a while ago... she said she didn't want to do it at my house, she wanted to meet in a middle ground. We're supposed to meet in..." he looked down at his staff, "Thirteen minutes."

"What's the problem?" Jade asked uncertainly, proceeding with caution. "I thought you'd be pumped dude."

"I am," he said, voice... strange. Conflicted. It was anxious and excited and frightened. Cat Noir turned to face him, eyes reflecting those same emotions. "I want to know, I've wanted to know for so long but what matters the most now is-... she wants me to know. That's what we agreed on, she would tell me when she was comfortable, on her own terms. She's finally going to tell me Nino." He faltered, looking away again and curling his hands into uneasy fists. "I've been trying so hard to do this all right and she makes me so nervous... but also confident. So confident I'm almost cocky but also disarmed and doubtful and-" he stopped again, reaching up to run a hand through his hair again. "This is big... it isn't even just the name it's her wanting me, w-we already... this is the last part man the last thing in our way. This means so much to her, and I'm terrified that if I even say one word wrong it will ruin this. I can't risk this, no matter who she is I love her Nino," he said genuinely, the power in the words staggering them both, but he gathered himself and said it again, quieter now. "I love her. What if I say this wrong? What if I mess this up?"

Adrien looked at his best friend through both their masks and waited, heart uneven and every part of his being aware of every second as it passed him. In every second there was every last person in Paris, every change in street lights, every turn of a key in a locked door and every softly spoken goodnights through aging doorways. Each second was full of moments of life, but he knew these seconds weighed heavier for him than anyone else. Him and a girl, getting ready to take off her mask for the first time.

How heavy were these seconds for her?

Cat was suddenly aware of the distance between him and his friend closing, the masked man across from him only waiting for a single second more before he shared the weight, reaching out and pulling Cat to him.

Cat Noir was stiff for only a moment before he leaned into it, leaning his face on Nino's shoulder as he felt his friend's arms rest on his back, holding him and speaking without hesitation.

"I know you're freaked out about this," Nino said gently, not protesting as Adrien's grip tightened, "but there is something Wayzz once said about you guys I think would be worth hearing."

Nino relaxed his hold, pulling back a step to look Adrien in the eyes and speaking clearly. "Wayzz told me once the first night I became Jade that there is push and pull and change," he repeated calmly, his voice methodical, "but some things are fact. And very very rarely, there are born two people who are each other's fact. The fact of their existence and all that happens within it. Though factors may change facts do not, and you could throw up a hundred barriers between you and her and you'd find each other every time."

He set his hands on Cat Noir's shoulders, leveling him with a strong gaze. "Adrien, think about it. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Paris, billions in the world. You're going to go and see her, and she is going to tell you because you deserve to know. And as soon as you know her name you tell me how the same two people could find each other over and over again when there are so many people it could have been. How could something like that happen if it weren't already written in stone?" Nino watched as his friend took a long, slow breath, becoming steadier as he did. Nino waited until he was calmer before continuing. "You'll be okay man. It will be fine, I promise you you'll be excited to know. She's just as amazing on the other side of the mask."

"Well I've always known that," Cat said a little defensively, clearly distracted with his own thoughts though. He stood with his friend's hands on his shoulders, back straight but head bowed.

After a while Cat spoke again, voice quiet.

"Thanks... again. For this, all of it. You were in the middle for so much and you helped her and me and... she's going to tell me. And it's finally all going to be out in the open. I only have that because of you. I owe you so much."

Nino shrugged, smiling gently. "Nah man, this is you guys. The only thing you owe me dude," he said, drawing Adrien forward in a new tight hug, "just be happy. You deserve that."

Adrien hugged him back, forehead resting on his friends shoulder as he struggled to pull it together. He felt the same as he had the last time he had confronted Nino on that same rooftop, feeling all the same potent emotions.

He owed Nino everything, and even with everything that had changed for his best friend the only thing he wanted was for Adrien to be happy.

Nino let Adrien collect himself for about another minute or so before he slowly pulled away, grinning at him. "Well you are going to be busy, and someone should be on patrol. Go get the girl dude, and if you want to talk after I'll be on the route, but for now you should go."

Cat Noir blinked away half formed tears, clearing his throat and taking a step back before shaking his head. "You're right... I should... yeah."

"Don't be nervous, it's a great thing," Nino reminded him.

Cat Noir was quiet for another moment before he breathed deeply, the sound a little shaky again but his voice still strong when he said, "Thanks for talking to me... I think I'll be alright now."

"No problem," Nino said genuinely. "See you at school man."

"See ya," Cat replied, hesitating for only another second before he was running, drawing out his baton and vaulting away before another doubt could creep in.

Jade Turtle stood alone on the rooftop watching his friend leave before sighing deeply, taking out his shield when Wayzz spoke to him.

'You handled that well,' Wayzz complimented as Jade stepped onto his shield, dropping over the edge of the building like he was walking down a flight of steps. 'It is good that they have each other. It's the way it is meant to be.'

"Yeah," Jade agreed, a smile settling into place as he wound his way through the city, leaping onto a new lower roof to navigate towards the start of the route. "I'm happy B got there. Now nothing is in their way and they can stop being dumb all together."

'I doubt that,' Wayzz said with a chuckle, 'but it might make it better.'

Jade chuckled aloud as he leapt a gap. "The shade is real."

'At least it will provide one less distraction. You needn't concern yourself with their secrets between each other now, only protecting their secrets as a whole. You can focus on your training instead.'

"Once I get a handle on the book," Jade grumbled, flying over the edge of a roof and coasting down the road again, taking to the sidewalks since there were no pedestrians. "You're right though, one less complicated thing."

Jade turned, coasting along the sidewalk as it lead across a now familiar bridge for him. Suddenly though he heard something similar to a gasp sound inside his head, and then Wayzz chuckled.

'Were one complication fades another takes its place,' Wayzz said vaguely, Jade looking towards his bracelet and about to speak before he heard someone call out.

"Hey Ninja Turtle!"

"Oh no w-" he started to say, slowing his shell to a stop so he could look over the railing of the bridge to the far side of the river. And sure enough... "Oh come on," he groaned dramatically, zeroing in on the grinning reporter standing on their bench, gesturing him over.

'She's keen,' Wayzz said in an amused tone, Jade grumbling as he got back on his shield.

"She's out on her own again is what she is," Jade sighed, turning sharply to head in her direction. "At least it's not 3 AM."

He stepped off his shield as he got close, kicking it up and holding it in one hand as he sauntered forward, Alya stepping down with a smile.

"Alya," he sighed, but she interrupted him.

"You said after midnight," she said quickly, crossing her arms and grinning, fake checking a watch she didn't have. "It's not even close to midnight, 9:30 is not that late and it's the start of patrol so I knew I'd catch you."

"Alya," he said seriously, a little exasperated. "I explained why this is risky. I think you're cool, seriously. I'd hang out with you all the time if it didn't put a target on your back."

Her eyes hardened a little, lips pursed slightly as if she had been expecting that. She leaned her weight on one hip. "I don't really think you not avoiding me whenever I wait here is going to bring butterfly butt knocking down my door."

He tensed a little, a sharp uncomfortable feeling settling in his stomach.

She didn't get it. He had been a little jokey with the heroes and he had ended up nearly killed in a cathedral. She publicly posted videos of her interviewing him almost weekly until he put a stop to it. Walking her home, meeting her on their bench, it had been fun. But he couldn't stop thinking about the storm and the Notre Dame.

"Do you even remember what happened to your friend? He could have been killed Alya and that's just cause Hawkmoth suspected he might know the heroes. If you keep doing this you could actually get hurt."

"You're so fond of telling me how strong you are," she said with a slight smile, blatantly ignoring the implied risk of the situation. "I'm not terribly worried about it."

"I am," he reminded her, tone stern but she was unfazed as always and he grit his teeth in frustration.

"So what," she shot back, "You're just never going to talk to me again now?"

Jade huffed, a bit pissed now. How could she seriously not get that this was unsafe. "What your blog is worth more than your safety, are you serious?"

"Are you that dense that you think the only reason I wait here is for an interview?" she said sharply, expression angry as she leaned towards him, fearlessly jabbing finger at his chest. "Pull your head out of you're a shell for a second and maybe consider that I just actually want to see you, and you're just going to pull the safety card and avoid me?"

Jade froze, eyes widening slowly as she forced him to take a step back. She was quoting their conversation from a few weeks before, but he still muttered out, "Wait, what?"

"I've published like four of those interviews now and I'm fine," she insisted, hands on her hips now. "So you just going to keep this up?"

He was still tense, heat spreading down his neck as he said, "This isn't about your blog?"

"What you're too good to be friends with someone without an animal motif?" she said sarcastically, but maybe it was just the lighting or just him but... she looked a little warm too.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he said after a second, stammering little. "I-I'm serious I just didn't want-"

"Me to be at risk, but news flash I run a blog dedicated to superhero info and interact with the heroes on a more regular basis than anyone else in the city. I've been a target since I started the blog and a victim in like three attacks. If Hawkmoth isn't capitalizing on me then he isn't going to do it."

She stood firm where as he fought off the urge to shrink beneath her fiery gaze, still taken off guard.

"So?" she pressed.

"What?' he asked, leaning back a little when she stepped forward again.

"Are you going to keep avoiding me or what?"

"U-uh," he stammered, feeling even warmer with her so close now. "What's the right answer?"

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and he apologized quietly as she pulled something out of her pocket.

"What's this?" he said as she handed it to him, the girl stepping back towards the bench to pick up her bag as if she was preparing to leave.

"My phone number," she said simply. "If you want me to stop running out here then use it."

He was still, incredibly warm now as she watched him, her own nervousness visible under her mask of irritation but regardless he was still pretty intimidated.

"Okay," he said in a small voice, clearing his throat and trying again as he looked away. "Uh, o-okay... I'm sorry."

"You were worried," she said with a sigh, looking a little relieved. "I get it."

There was silence for awhile before she shifted her weight, not quite looking at him as she said, "Did you want to walk me home today or should you start patrol?"

He missed a beat before saying, "Uh, yeah. I mean, yeah I'll walk you home. Yeah," he said again, the simple word almost like a crutch as she straightened her back and smiled at him, the expression mostly natural but also a little... something. Flustered?

"Okay then, let's go turtle boy," she said simply, starting to walk even as he remained in place, watching her walk.

"What?' he said to himself, Alya getting a fair few paces ahead before he snapped out of it somewhat and started following. "What the hell is today... Why does everything happen all at once all the time?" he whined, trailing after her.

Today was way too much, he was fried.

He wanted to go to bed.

"So how was your day?" Alya said, attempting to casually start conversation as she caught his overloaded expression, feeling a little smug since she knew she was responsible for a fair bit of it.

"Eh," he muttered in a dazed voice. "Same old same old..."