Evillustrator is just putting the finishing touches on the boat he drew - lights, a miniature Eiffel Tower, everything he can think of - when suddenly he feels Hawk Moth push his way into the younger's mind.

That is a lovely little scene you're setting, but I don't want you getting distracted, boy.

"But," he answers, "I just want Bloom to love me." And Bloom Peters, gorgeous, incredible, confident Bloom Peters who can and will distract an Akuma to give everyone else a chance to escape, wouldn't look twice at him otherwise.

A sharp, near-blinding pain suddenly throbs in his head, as Hawk Moth snarls And I want the Miraculous, so get it…or else. That pain suddenly moves into his hand, cramping it up and making it impossible for him to use his stylus to draw anything.

"Ok!" Evillustrator gasps in panic, "I will, I will!"

Thankfully, the pain leaves his hand when he hears a familiar - beautiful - voice ask "Nathan? Something wrong?"

Evillustrator turns around to see Bloom standing on the edge of the bank, staring up at him in concern. He gives her a smile, and says "I'm fine, Bloom."

Bloom glances at his hand after a moment, like she knows what was just happening, then says "Alright, then." She doesn't sound like she believes him, but at least she's dropping the subject for now.

He draws a plank for her to walk on board with, and says "Thank you for accepting my invitation."

Bloom nods, and says "Of course. It's beautiful, did you make all this?"

Evillustrator nods, and says "I'm almost finished, actually." He's about to draw again, but clouds suddenly cover the moon. "Oh, come on, you've gotta be kidding!"

"Something wrong?" Bloom sounds half-concerned, half-wary. Not that he can blame her, given how most Akumas usually behave. He's yet to go on a real rampage, for one.

Angry expression dropping at once, Evillustrator turns towards Bloom and says "It's not a big deal, I just can't draw properly in the dark is all." He quickly crouches down to one of the lanterns, and draws a circle - a large orb, resembling the moon, appears above the mini-Tower. "Perfect!"

Two minutes later, the boat is floating down the river while Evillustrator plays some music from his pad for them. When Bloom sees Ladybug and Cat Noir jumping from roof to roof following them, she quietly gets out the picture Chloe had and says "Since its your birthday, I didn't want to come with nothing for you…but I wasn't sure what to get the guy who can create anything he wants in the space of a minute. So…I got you something I thought you'd miss instead."

There's a soft gasp beside her as Evillustrator takes the sketch, and he says "My drawing…I didn't even realize it was missing." He gazes at her in awe, asking "How'd you get it?!"

"Chloe kept it after you left class, I got it back for you. But, by then, you'd been Akumatized."

"Thank you, that…that means the world to me, Bloom." Bloom glances away, her blush inexplicably darkening under his gaze. After a moment, Evillustrator asks "Are you alright, Bloom? You were so tense on the Trocadero earlier, I could tell. And you keep glancing that way every once in a while."

Bloom runs a hand through her ponytail, careful to avoid dislodging Longg as she says "It's not you, Nathan. I just…have some bad memories of there, is all."

Evillustrator inclines his head, asking "Do you want to talk about it? If you don't, I understand, but…it might help."

Bloom shrugs, saying "Guess I'd better tell someone eventually, right?" She can't believe she's doing this, but…too late to stop it now. She'll give the sanitized version, no magic involved. "My parents and I, we were on vacation. I'd always dreamed of being an artist, you see, so my parents surprised me with a trip to Paris. One night, we went to the Trocadero so I could draw the Eiffel Tower all lit up…"

Evillustrator takes her hand and squeezes it gently, asking "Was it an Akuma?"

Bloom shakes her head, and says "No, this was four years ago. Hawk Moth wasn't even around back then. These four men, they appeared out of nowhere. Dad told Mom and I to run, and we did…I didn't see what happened to him, but I remember his screams. And Mom, another of them snapped her neck like a twig right in front of me…" Gods, this hurts. It hurts every bit as bad as it did when it first happened right in front of her.

Why she's even telling him is another matter entirely, as is why she's acting so weird around him - not crushing his feelings cruelly like Chloe would is one thing, but…this, whatever this is, isn't an act. Spilling out the story of how she got stranded in Paris is no act.

Lithe arms pull her closer, one hand cupping her face to wipe at her cheeks, and Nathan says "I'm so sorry, that must've been terrible."

Its like she's just ripped a hole open in her chest all over again, actually. It hurt like nothing else she'd ever known when it first happened, and it hurts all over again now. And she can't even completely blame Hawk Moth for this, she's the one that told him what happened despite knowing it'd bring her to the point of breaking down again about it.

Seeing her expression, he asks "You want to talk about something else?"

Bloom nods, wipes at her face, then asks "Why'd you let Chloe get to you so much? You know she's a brat, I know she's a brat, and I'm vocal enough about me dislike of her that you know I'm not going to act anything like her. Or tease you, for that matter." This has got to be the single weirdest Akuma she's ever encountered...because he's so normal. So...non-hostile. Most Akumas go tearing up the city, or whatever equivalent their abilities give them - Nathan make a giant hair dryer and a few hats, then set up a date. How destructive.

Evillustrator blushes, and says "Bloom, your…amazing, incredible, you can distract an Akuma or hold your own against one. Me, without all this, I'm…"

Bloom shakes her head, saying "Nathan, look around. This, all this, is you. You made this, not Hawk Moth. Who cares what someone like Chloe Bourgeois says?"

Evillustrator's blush deepens, right up until a familiar purple Akuma symbol lights up his face and he gasps in pain. "They're not here!" He doubles over, clutching at his throbbing head even as the rest of his body lights up in agony, as he says "I can't defeat them when they haven't even shown up! I'll think of something, Hawk Moth, I swear!"

You'd better, or this will be just the beg-

A wonderful, amazing warmth suddenly floods him, cutting off Hawk Moth and making him feel like he's floating as the pain suddenly ends. He just keeps his eyes closed, trying to catch his breath from the sheer agony that was filling his body, and barely registers the bump of the boat hitting shore. Or the voices he can distantly hear, one of which he recognizes as Bloom's even as he goes in and out.

"-ppened, Bloom?" A male voice, Cat Noir maybe? Did the two superheroes follow them?

"-know, he just collapsed! He was talking to Hawk Moth!" Bloom's voice, filled with worry and anger.

"-Akuma, where is it?" Undoubtedly Ladybug's voice. Too bad for Hawk Moth he's not very inclined for - or physically capable of - fighting the superheroes after that wonderful torture session he was just given.

And then suddenly he feels the stylus slip from his fingers, and panic explodes in his head through the wonderful warmth - he needs that! If only to defend himself against Hawk Moth, should the cruel man decide to come after him in person!

And then he blacks out, hearing a snapping sound as he does.

When Nathan comes to, he can't remember much - how he ended up on the bank of the River Seine, for instance. Or why Ladybug and Cat Noir are there - beyond the obvious, that is. He got Akumatized, so here they are - the details, though, are just not there.

Bloom Peters, though, he vaguely remembers asking her to his birthday party… And he's really sure he remembers her basically ripping open an old wound for him. And he definitely remembers the pain Hawk Moth inflicted on him.

Ladybug helps him up, asking "You alright, Nathaniel? You were Akumatized by Hawk Moth."

Nathan nods, saying "I'm alright, I think. I don't remember much, though."

Ladybug says "I'll get you home, Nathan. Cat, you want to take-"

Bloom suddenly says "No! No thanks!" At the two superheroes' looks, she says "I've got to head back to the Library anyway, I've got a Particle Physics project to finish researching." She pushes herself to her feet, shrugging her shoulders to adjust her shirt, then says "See you in class, Nathan." And then she's off, heading towards the city even as she gets out her phone.

Cat Noir leaps over, saying "Its late, I'm sure a school project can-"

Bloom shakes her head, saying "I'm not getting to sleep tonight anyway, might as well be productive." She pushes a button on her phone, saying "Hey, Sabrina, its me. So, I'm heading back to the Library now to finish up the research for the project. I thought we could work on the outline together tomorrow after school. Sound good? What, seriously? Sabrina, it's a nice gesture, really, but you didn't have to do all my homework for me…"

Nathan bites the inside of his cheek nervously as he sits down, at least nobody's mentioning him getting Akumatized. And then he notices Bloom, paler than usual and looking like she really didn't sleep at all last night. She goes to stand in front of Sabrina, saying "Got all the research done, you should have access to the Doc, lets hit the library after school and bang out an outline."

Sabrina nods, then asks "Do we tell Mrs. Mendeleiev about Chloe now? Or after the presentation is finished?"

Bloom shrugs, and says "Depends. Do we want to deal with her incessant whining throughout the project or get her a zero and deal with her incessant whining to her father?"

Sabrina hums, then says "Good point. You alright?"

Bloom nods, then says "Didn't sleep well last night is all. Decided I'd finish the research. I'm good."

Nathan screws up every bit of confidence he has - significantly less, without that Akuma, since his memories of the boat ride with Bloom came back clearer last night after everything was all over - when they head to their lockers, and waits for her to close her locker door. "Um, Bloom? Can we…talk?"

Bloom's expression flickers for a moment, but she nods and says "Yeah. Want to talk along the way? I'm heading to the library to meet with Sabrina to work on the Physics project."

Nathan nods, and says "Done." He's not going to ask her to the Trocadero again, he remembers their talk on the boat. He doesn't remember much, but he remembers bits and pieces. The comfortable silence, the warmth she gave off…the story she told him, the secret she shared.

When he gets out of school, she's waiting for him there, a blank look on her face. Nathan scratches the back of his head, saying "Um, I'm not really sure how to start this…" What do you say when you can inexplicably remember some of what you did as an Akuma? Aren't they supposed to forget everything they did?

At least, he figures, he wasn't particularly violent and doesn't have to process all the guilt that would undoubtedly come with, say, Stormy Weather's rampage.

Bloom shrugs, and says "If you wanted to apologize for anything that might've happened to me, relax. You were a perfect gentleman."

Nathan blushes brightly, saying "Thanks, Bloom. Um, so…a few memories came back last night. Bits and pieces, mostly. I'm not sure why, though." Mostly the truth, just a little white lie about the timing, more or less. They did get clearer after a bit.

"Oh…" Bloom blushes, glancing away, asking "What do you remember?"

"We were…we were on the boat, you gave me back the drawing Chloe kept…"

He trails off, and Bloom cautiously asks "Anything else?"

Nathan nods silently, remembering how he looked up the cold case last night after getting home - he'd seen it on the news four years ago, but hadn't remembered how…horrific it was. And Bloom had to go through it herself…

"You can't tell anyone, Nathan. Please." Nathan glances at Bloom, who's looking at him with wide eyes. "I'm not even supposed to be in Paris, but I'm stuck. I couldn't exactly go to the nearest Police station, which I didn't know the location of anyway, and explain what all happened. I can't go back, the most I could do was go into hiding. I can't get citizenship until I'm eighteen, and I certainly couldn't make my way to an airport and try to sneak on board a flight. Assuming I could even pick out the right plane."

Nathan nods, for a foreigner to be granted citizenry in France, they have to live in the country five years. Its been four, now, and Bloom would have to be eighteen to apply. "I won't, I promise. You…er, you want to draw something together after the project is done?"

Bloom blushes, then nods and says "That would be nice, thanks."

They split up at the library, Bloom heading inside while Nathan heads to the park to sketch. And leaving Nathan with a warm glow in his chest that rivals the near-magical warmth he remembers last night.

AN: Hey, everyone! Next chapter is up, sorry about the wait! It was chore-day today, so I was busy - cleaning, grocery-shopping, the whole nine yards.

As for why Nathan has some of his memories...in the episode, it looked like he remembered a bit of what had happened while he was Akumatized. At the very least, he wasn't crushing on Marinette anymore, as the drawing had been crossed out with a sketch of Ladybug on the next page. So...yeah, I think he remembered a few things. And that was without Bloom and her magic. As for Bloom...she's giving him a shot, seeing how things work out. You won't know if you don't try, and all that.

And OHMIGOSH, I just can't stand Chloe's character right now. Why they gave her a redemption arc only to absolutely kill it is completely beyond me, but I genuinely despise her character at this point in the show. I HATE bullies, people who make others miserable just for kicks, and right now that's all she is! This mean-spirited brat who lives and even LOVES to make everyone else around her miserable! I'm SO keeping her firmly on that redemption arc, I've decided, else I might just have her move out of Paris altogether to save my sanity! I mean, c'mon, a bad guy is one thing - that's their whole role, after all - but Chloe's just a special kind of awful topped only be a certain girl I won't name just yet - though, I'm really certain it's extremely obvious.

Also, I need suggestions for a new Bee-themed name. Not Vesperia, though I might just end up using it. Eagle, to. I've got plans, and they definitely include taking the Eagle Miraculous back to Paris since they don't know where another Guardian would be.

Lastly, a poll: Who do you guys think would be a better Guardian for the Box after Fu? Bloom or Marinette? I know Marinette's supposed to be the 'greatest Miraculous user of all time' - and, to an extent, I agree, Mari's awesome but I don't see how she wouldn't have been physically overwhelmed by the energy of all the Miraculous' before activating the Mouse - but Bloom's got magic and would be able to protect the Box better than Marinette could because of that.

Anyway, enjoy! Sorry about the rant, but Chloe drives me crazy - I fully blame it on her absentee mother she copied her entire personality from and her spineless father that folds like a wet noodle to her every whim and clearly never taught her anything like humility or the concept of 'consequences.'