Alya placed the macaroons on the table, just like Sabine asked her to do, then looked at the fruits of her efforts: A banquet fit for a party, which this little reunion was shaping up to be anyways. She smiled, feeling truly happy with the knowledge that in a few minutes her best friend and her boyfriend would come back home.

The bakery had been closed that day, as the weather was just too bad to make a profit. Not a lot of people were going out, and if they were, it was to buy essential things, not pastries, which was what the Dupain-Chengs were known for more than for their bread these days. Alya looked out the window and stared at the darkness for a while, the only source of light being the barely functioning streetlamps and the dimmed shine of the surrounding homes. The blizzard that raged all day long had calmed down a bit, she noticed, but if the frost on the window and the lack of people outside were any clue, the cold was still too much to make waiting outside worth it. It was almost april and winter should be making its way out, but she knew better than to trust that will happen at that point. She shook her head, thinking of all the problems her and her friends still had to deal with was a sure fire way of ruining her mood, and this was not the occasion for that.

''Alya dear, are there enough glasses on the table you think?'' Asked Sabine as she joined Alya near the window.

''I think it's fine, it's a very private reunion after all'' She winked at the woman, who just smiled at her in return. They had been keeping each other company for the whole evening now, and Alya took it as her duty to keep her from stressing too much over Marinette's trip on the way back.

''Honey, they're here!'' Called Tom's voice from the entrance of the bakery.

Alya and Sabine smiled again and went together to greet the newcomers. The group that was making its way into the cozy home was larger than what Alya anticipated. She knew that Marinette had picked one of the agents in Saint-Malo as a 'hostage, for now' (Her words), and she also knew that Adrien's bodyguard would be with them. What she hadn't realized is that they would be joined by Luka's little group too. They must have met on the way there, for she expected them to come later, not at the same time. All in all, it was a group of eight people uncomfortably trying to fit inside the small bakery, one of them in a wheelchair.

''Oh Adrien!'' Exclaimed Sabine, tears no longer contained, as she lowered herself to hug the boy.

Alya studied him while Marinette's parents pampered him with hugs and kisses. The ex-model's increasingly red face was thinner than what she remembered, and his hair was black, but if she didn't know the ordeal he had been through she would have thought he was completely ok, save for the wheelchair of course. That worried her for a good moment until he tried to get up to properly hug Tom, which everyone stopped him from doing. It was clear he could stand up, but that Marinette (And now everyone else, to the boy's further embarassment) decided to make him rest as much as possible until he was fully recovered. That included not letting him grab his own pastries, as Marinette prepared a plate just for him to pick from once the group finally moved on to the living room, where the space felt a lot less cramped.

The fox heroine grabbed her boyfriend and guided him to a little corner of the room for a second, making sure everyone knew they wanted to say proper greetings before joining them, so no one would interrupt. It was not a complete ploy to just interrogate him, of course, as Alya kissed him properly until neither of them could breathe. Then she attacked him with a rapid fire succession of questions.

''What happened, I want your point of view of things, who is that man?, How is Adrien, really?, How did Marinette handle everything?, What happened to the other agent?, Is this one trustworthy?, Why he knows who everyone is?, What will happen to balance?, Did Mari say anything about that?'' She would have continued, but Nino looked dazed enough already, and she truly wanted him to answer at least some of her questions right in that moment.

''Babe, chill'' He raised his hands in front of him defensively, but his smile betrayed his barely concealed amusement. ''All you need to know right now is that Antoine is alright, he won't attack us or betray us, at least I don't think he will...And Adrien is ok...well, Marinette still has to heal him some more, if he tries to act tough don't let him, ok?''

Alya nodded, nothing unexpected came from her boyfriends mouth yet. She wouldnt trust that man just because he said so, but she would let him be, for now. She looked over Nino's shoulder, at the increasingly comfortable group that was eating and talking like there was no tomorrow at the center of the room. Adrien was all smiles and he was eating a lot, but Alya recognized some of what the turtle hero just said about him. His hand trembled a bit every time he grabbed something, though he tried to control it, he had eyebags under his eyes and he was thinner, which was not a good thing to say about someone who used to be a model. And then there was Marinette, who, just like the cat, was playing the game of pretending everything was fine. Who was that act for, Alya wasn't sure. Maybe it was for themselves. She shook her head, then gestured for her boyfriend to follow her back into the party.

''I'll be right back'' Was Luka saying when Alya and Nino joined. The guardian didn't let anyone else talk him out of leaving and disappeared into the night again.

Alya went to Marinette's side and put one of her arms around the girls neck, pulling her close enough that their cheeks touched.

''You are skipping steps, girl. You are supposed to go to college THEN become roommates'' The reporters teasing was responded with a heavy blush, making almost everyone in the room laugh.

''Alya! This is not for fun and you know it'' Said Marinette, her eyes dancing between Adrien and everyone else in the room, even the very amused agent.

''You wound me, my lady, I'm not fun to have as a roommate?'' Said Adrien from his chair right besides the designer. He had one hand on his chest and the other dramatically covering his forehead, but Alya knew him enough to know that the blush on his face was not just because of the hot chocolate.

''Shut up you stray cat, don't give her fuel''

The teasing and joking continued, and Alya did her best to make sure the fun was lighthearted and the topics stayed away from the harsh reality that surrounded them. Even the agent -Antoine- was laughing and joining in on the fun occasionally, which magically, instead of making everyone wary of him and reminding them of his nature, did just the opposite. He seemed to know exactly what to say to make people laugh (Mostly making fun of Simon, something about cheating at cards) and keep everyone's attention on the subject of his joke, not himself.

Alya glanced over to the only person who didn't seem to be having any fun. Juleka was in a corner, eating quietly and staring at Marinette and Adrien as if they were aliens. The only other person who seemed to notice that was Chloe, who before the fox heroine could do anything, grabbed the goth girl by an arm and much like Alya did with Nino before, dragged her away from the party. The fox couldn't repress her curiosity and followed them to the kitchen.

''Just talk to her, she's right there and she knows you know'' Chloe was saying to Juleka in an exasperated way, much like she always did when someone disobeyed her more than three times in a row.

''What's up?'' Alya didn't want to just spy on them without them knowing, so she very subtly pretended to be there for a glass of water, which took her a suspiciously long time to get while she awaited for the answer.

''Juleka here has some things to say to Marinette, but she's letting her irrational fear of rejection get in the way'' Said Chloe, pretending to be bored with all of it, though if she really was uninterested she wouldn't be there in the first place.

''Chloe we talked about pressuring people to do things for you'' Alya half-seriously scolded the blonde.

''No! It's … for me, Chloe is just helping...I guess, but...There's too many people! And she's with Adrien… And Luka is not here'' Juleka was staring at the floor tiles as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.

''What does Luka have to do with anything?'' Said the Queen Bee, rolling her eyes. She was being uncharacteristically mean with Juleka, considering how careful she was with her most days. Alya worried that Chloe was taking the goth's acceptance for granted, but then looked at the girl in question.

Juleka didn't look mad, in fact she wasn't looking at any of them. She replaced the floor tiles with the doorway, and the people out there in the living room. She was staring intently at Marinette just like she did the whole evening. As if the designer was some kind of…idol, as if she was a huge celebrity or something. Then it hit her. That stare was entirely justified in Juleka's mind. Ladybug was a celebrity. And not just any heroine, like Rena Rouge or the barely even seen in public Viperion. She was, along with Chat Noir (Who was right besides her, too) the start of everything, the biggest mystery in Paris. She was also Marinette, Juleka's classmate, who she stopped talking to because she was too ashamed of her support for a certain liar when she should have supported her, a dear friend who helped her multiple times both in their day to day lives and from monsters. If Alya wasn't a superhero herself at the moment of discovering her best friend's secret, she probably would have been just as starstruck as Juleka was at that moment. Not to mention if she never picked on the whole Lila thing on time like she did…

''You want Luka to bail you out of here if Marinette doesn't accept your apology, is that it?'' Asked Alya, her voice tender and warm. Juleka nodded, surprised, locking her eyes with the reporter's for the first time since she entered the kitchen.

''Pff, you don't need him for that, I'll call a limo for you if that happens, which it wont, by the way'' Said Chloe, dismissing the whole thing with her hand but not making any attempt at leaving.

''We both know my girl can be difficult sometimes Chloe, Juleka is more than justified in her worry. But Juleka'' She grabbed the goth girls shoulders, which were a lot higher up than she was used for her friend's shoulders to be at. ''It will be alright. Marinette probably doesn't even think you owe her any kind of apology. She would have said something by now anyways, and she hasn't. You know she wouldn't stay quiet if she didn't want you here''

The goth took Alya's words in for a good moment, then nodded.

''Alright, but there's still so many people... ''

''That's no problem, I can just call her here for a moment and you can have your talk'' Said Alya.

And that was it, the evening continued with an increasingly more pleasant and comfortable mood, Marinette's parents were really happy to have so many people eating their food, and they had a lot of things they wanted to get rid of apparently since the bakery had closed for the day, and the weeks sales were not good. Alya called Marinette for Juleka like she said she would, and their talk was held in private up in the girls rooms. Minutes later they both came down with smiles and, Alya wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but her best friend had probably cried a little. A bit later, Luka came back, transformed into Viperion and carrying a tiny man in his arms like it was a baby.

''Master Fu!'' Exclaimed pretty much everyone in the room that knew the elder man's name.

...

When the former guardian was carried inside by Viperion, Adrien felt like crying. He had not been told that the man was awake and well, and he had certainly not expected to see him that soon, either. The former model gathered all his strength, fought out his body protesting, and pushed himself up from the wheelchair. The room went quiet for a moment, the only movement coming from Adrien slow's steps towards the man the snake hero slowly sat on one of the chairs in the room. By the time the boy reached the older guardian, he was covered in sweat and many of what were only aches minutes ago transformed into real pain again, but he didn't care. He hugged the smiling Fu, who had tears on his eyes even before the mutual contact.

''I'm so proud of you'' Whispered Master Fu as they hugged, Adrien kneeling on the floor to be in the correct height for them to do it. The teen sniffed as his answer, his arms tightened around the man.

...

Marinette watched with a tearful smile as Adrien and Master Fu hugged, finally reunited after Lila damaged them both so badly almost a year ago. She cursed mentally for not telling her boyfriend about the man's condition improving, but in between all the other things that worried her mind, even Ladybug could forgive herself for the little slip up. The hug went on for a lot longer than anyone in the room anticipated, and as Master Fu softly caressed Adrien's back, the heroine noticed that the teen's hands were both on his sides, limp, as he kneeled over the elder guardian. Luka's alarmed face was the last clue she needed to get up and quickly approach them. The room was filled with murmurs as she pressed a hand on Adrien's back, looking at Master Fu in the eyes.

''He passed out'' He informed, containing his worry as much as she was. Marinette nodded.

Luka, who transformed back while everyone's attention was on Adrien and Master Fu, was the first one to react after Marinette did, helping her turn the passed out teen over so she could inspect the damage. He had probably opened one of the milliard of wounds he still had, or maybe it was just tiredness over the day's trip and following celebration, to the designer it was all the same.

''I'll take him to his room'' That was her father's voice behind her, his shadow looming over them.

Marinette accepted the help, placing a hand on Adrien's forehead as her father lifted him. The gesture confirmed what she already suspected from earlier in the night: Adrien was not well enough yet to be celebrating for so long. She knew he was enduring his wounds during the party, hiding his little winces as laughter and his fever as embarrassment whenever possible, but he didn't fool her. She frowned as she silently followed Tom towards the guest room. Behind them, the guests started talking again, if awkwardly at first, and before closing the door that muffled most of the sounds coming from the living room, Marinette heard Alya's voice doing her best to un-worry everyone.

Adrien groaned softly when her father accomodated him on the bed, but his eyes opened a few seconds after, just in time to see Marinette's face looming over his with a tiny smile.

''You idiot'' She said softly, prompting a snort from her father at her side.

''True that!, you shouldn't be walking yet, Adrien'' Tom remained as cheerful as he was when the party started, which Marinette found kind of odd, but welcome.

''I'll take care now dad, you can go back''

''Alright sweetie, just let us know if you need anything else'' And just like that, Marinette and Adrien were alone once more.

''Sorry'' Mumbled her partner, his glowing green eyes closing slowly.

''Shh'' Marinette brushed his hair from his forehead, still pearled by sweat, then placed a kiss on it.

Once Adrien's breathing was slow and steady and Marinette was sure he was asleep, the girl moved to the other side of the bed and laid on it, doing her best to not move him while also accommodating herself well enough to make sure she would wake up on it and not in the floor, for the bed was not a queen sized like the hotel ones. She wondered if she should use her powers to heal him, but then she heard the muffled voices of everyone still in the living room. All of them, not just Tikki, would need her to be awake and useful tomorrow and the days to come. She had so many problems to fix yet, but most of the dread and insecurity that plagued her the last year were gone, replaced by the bubbling sensation that she recognized now as the pure happiness that being next to her love gave her. He would heal, sooner or later, and they would restore balance, even if she didn't know how yet.

Before joining Adrien on the land of dreams, though, the heroine of Paris remembered the words that stuck with her from her conversation with Juleka that same evening:

''Why do you need to keep so many secrets?''