Bri woke up to a steady pressure against her chest and warmth running down her side. With the quilt covering her, she could feel sweat starting to form as the cool night air gave way to the day's heat. Her arm was wrapped around something warm; reaching up, she ran her fingers through something soft. Breath tickled against her skin, and she finally opened her eyes to find Felix, still asleep with his head pillowed on her shoulder. She rolled onto her side and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close and enjoying the sensation of waking up together.

It was only two days ago that they had returned from their trip to Hy-Brasil, and it still hadn't quite sunk in yet. She and Felix were together! After months of dancing around each other, after months of struggling to put the Ripper behind her, finally she could move on. Finally she could allow herself to be open and vulnerable and… happy. When they had first met, she had assumed he was nothing but a pompous ass; it had taken a while to get around that first impression and finally trust him. Then the Ripper had attacked her, and Felix had been there to support her through that trauma. After the Ripper fled, he had been the first person she saw, and the only one she wanted to see – above her parents, even above Anne. It had been shortly after that when she had realized that she loved Felix, and that he loved her in return, but she had been too scared to act on it. But then Hy-Brasil had happened and she had almost lost him – for the second time in a month – and that had been too much to bear. And now, to finally accept and embrace that, to give her love to him and receive his love in return… it was all she had hope it would be. And with Barkk lying on the sweatshirt she was using as a pillow, her tail twitching back and forth between Bri's and Felix's heads, Bri couldn't imagine a better way to wake up. Burying her fingers in Felix's hair and squeezing him tightly, she let out a contented sigh.

Felix hummed, his eyes slowly opening, and lifted his head up to meet her gaze. With a warm smile, he pressed a kiss to her lips. "Good morning, mon Fer," he purred.

Kissing him back, she smiled. "Good morning, Pup," she whispered. Barkk rolled over and yawned, and Bri reached up to scratch the Kwami behind the ears. Her back paws kicked, and she whined, though without opening her eyes. Lazily, Barkk rolled onto her other side, nearly falling off the small cot as she did so. Bri sighed: what she wouldn't give for a proper bed – at least with all three of them on it.

Felix propped himself up on one elbow. "I could get used to waking up next to a beautiful woman every morning," he mused, tracing a hand down Bri's side.

She hummed. "Maybe you could," she agreed, raising an eyebrow.

He pursed his lips pensively. "Is Anne still planning to stay with your other friends at night?"

Bri shrugged. "That's what she said yesterday, so…"

"If that's the case, I will happily spend my nights with my incredible partner." He wagged his eyebrows, his eyes lighting up eagerly, though only for a moment. Suddenly he stopped, swallowing nervously. "If… I mean, that's all right with you, right?"

She sighed affectionately. "Yes, Pup. It's absolutely fine with me."

He let out a relieved breath. "I'm glad to hear that; I–I don't want to overstep–"

Rolling her eyes, Bri cut him off with a kiss. "Felix?" she asked him on pulling back. He hummed, a questioning look in his eyes as he refocused his attention on her face. "I'll let you know if you overstep anything." Glancing down at her bracelet she frowned, sighing heavily. "But we'll have to save the rest of this conversation for later. I promised Anne that we would come to have breakfast with them, and it's starting to get late."

"'Late'?" Felix scoffed, checking his watch. "It's barely seven!"

"And Aisha is still a super-early riser." Bri's stomach clenched, and she looked away from Felix, her face falling.

Felix put his hand on her cheek, pulling her gaze back to him. "Hey," he whispered, giving her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

She threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly, and buried her face in his shoulder, sniffling. A moment later she felt his arms encircle her, and she melted into the embrace. While she had struggled to deal with her own assault last autumn, Aisha had had it so much worse. Bri had escaped with scars; Aisha had been beaten and abused regularly. Bri had fought back and prevented the act itself; Aisha had been raped nightly. And then, a week later, Bri had faced her attacker again and killed him; Aisha hadn't even gotten that opportunity. In some ways, Bri wondered if that wasn't her greatest take away from the therapy week: she could have suffered far more than she really had.

But Aisha had recovered from her trauma. And now, Bri could safely say that she had fully recovered from hers, too.

"Bri?"

Slowly she wiped her unshed tears on her arm and fell back away from Felix, letting out a heavy breath as her back hit the cot. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just–it's a lot."

His eyes widened slightly. "No; I'm sorry." He started pushing the blanket off of himself and sat up. "I–I shouldn't push you so much."

She cocked her head in confusion, grabbing his arm. He froze, his eyes fixed on her. "Don't–don't go." She swallowed anxiously. "I'm–I'm not." She coughed. "It's not about you; I was just thinking about Aisha. Everything she went through. How glad I am that I didn't get hurt worse. And how glad I am to have Anne… and the others." She paused, taking his hand in her own. "And how I don't know where I would be now if I didn't have you."

Felix squeezed her hand, lay back down next to her, and pulled the blanket back over them both. "I'll always be here to support you," he promised, his lips brushing hers.

"I know," she whispered, sighing in contentment.

Felix hummed. "Do we have to get up right away?"

She leaned into him, sliding her hands up and down his back. A part of her did want to get up and see her friends… but there was still time for that, right? But for right now, all she wanted was right in front of her. After everything they had been through – after they had nearly both been killed by the Tarasque… after she had almost lost him on Hy-Brasil… Her eyes drifted up to Barkk, still lying on the pillow with her eyes closed, and she smiled at Felix. "I suppose we can wait a few minutes…"

It was almost 7:30 when Bri and Felix made their way hand-in-hand into the dining tent in the hero section of the camp, Barkk perched on Felix's shoulder. A few people that Bri only vaguely recognized were seated at tables along the walls, most in the middle of conversation. One or two glanced up at them, their eyes widening in recognition before they resumed their quiet whispering. A dark-skinned boy and girl gave Felix a wave which he returned, though they stayed seated where they were. Shrugging, Bri practically dragged Felix past all of them, straight over to the table on the far side of the pavilion where she could see a large Shunjar and four human girls. The small puppy sitting between two of them looked up at Bri and yipped as she reached the table. Claiming an empty seat next to Aisha for herself, Bri sat down, followed by Felix, and helped herself to the eggs and bacon along with a slice of toast from the dish in the center of the table before pouring herself a cup of hot tea.

"You're late," Anne observed wryly.

Felix grinned as Bee-atrice trotted over to them and licked his hand. "I didn't realize you cared."

She smirked. "Only for my sister."

Hoda stifled a laugh. "I take it that's what you meant by a 'burn'?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "I've gotten worse – from her!"

Aisha gasped excitedly. "Bri! I was worried you weren't going to make it!" she squealed, throwing her arms around Bri in a tight hug. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Smiling at Aisha's infectious enthusiasm, Bri returned the hug with one arm, careful not to drop any crumbs into Aisha's hair from her toast. "As if I would miss out on breakfast with five of my best friends!"

"Well, you did miss out on the extended sleepover last night," Anne pointed out arching an eyebrow at her before giving Felix a meaningful look. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you preferred him over the rest of us!"

Felix wagged his eyebrows. "What can I say? There are a few things I bring to the table that you don't!"

Chloe scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself, Graham de Vanily," she retorted, smirking. "We all know the only reason Bri even tolerates you is because of Barkk!"

Bri snorted, almost spilling her tea on the two Kwamis in the middle of the table.

"I would hang out with you just for Barkk." Aisha leaned across Bri and swiped Barkk off of Felix's shoulder, running a finger down her back and cuddling the Kwami to her cheek. "You are really cute," she cooed. "Almost cuter than Growll!"

"I'm so much cuter than Sad Sack!" Barkk huffed, folding her paws. Nevertheless her tail wagged, and she looked up at Aisha with a wide-eyed smile. "I am glad I know where he is now. And that he has nice people, too."

Bri took Felix's hand, and he intertwined their fingers, holding her hand up to his mouth. "Oh, it's more than just Barkk," she told Chloe, smiling at him. Her lips curled up into a smirk. "There's Amelie, too!" He frowned, and she squeezed his fingers, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. "But especially you," she murmured, soft enough for only Felix to hear, eliciting a small smile from him. On the other side of the table, Sabrina's lips turned down, and her shoulders slumped. Seeing it, Chloe wrapped an arm around Sabrina's shoulders consolingly. Bri's stomach clenched. "I'm sorry," she apologized to Sabrina, giving Felix a look and squeezing his hand.

Felix started to stand up, but Sabrina shook her head firmly, waving for him to sit down. "No; it's alright," she assured them, though her voice lacked conviction. "I just–it's still pretty raw." She let out a breath. "But feeling your emotions actually helps. You–the two of you being together and happy has helped a lot with it. And you've helped in other ways…"

Bri hummed in a question.

"It's the rumors," explained Hoda. "Word got out while you were gone that your mission was supposed to help us beat the Tarasque. And ever since you returned, rumors have been flying around that you succeeded."

Sabrina nodded, letting out a slow breath. "There's been so much more hope around the camp lately. It started with M–ahem–with Ladybug and Cat Noir's wedding, but it's been increasing steadily ever since then. But now that you're back, it's like people are starting to see the possibility of victory again. Before it was a hope, but now it's tangible. The refugees and the heroes… everyone's emotions are starting to turn around."

"And that's all thanks to the three of you!" Aisha chimed in, beaming brightly. "I knew you would do it!"

Bri smiled. "I'm glad someone did! But is there any idea what the plan is with the Jellyfish?" she asked Chloe. "I assume they've talked about it."

Chloe groaned. "The Jellyfish, the Stingray… the, um, what did you call him again?

"'Tuatha Dé'," Anne supplied, stifling a laugh. "His name is Dhuan, by the way."

"Right. Him." Chloe shook her head ruefully. "They weren't talking about anything else yesterday. Honestly, Hoda regaling us with stories of fighting snarglepusses–"

"–Sungaflouts," Hoda corrected her, her mouth turning up into an amused grin.

"–those things, last night," Chloe continued, unperturbed, "was a good change of pace."

"What, do they not like Dhuan?" wondered Anne, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't think it's that, per se," Chloe began slowly, frowning. "I think it's more like they are nervous since he's being very… protective of the Jellyfish."

"I mean, it makes sense," Bri replied with a shrug. "From what I can tell, he's been protecting it for millennia, so…"

"As long as he's going to allow us to use it on the Tarasque," Felix observed, "it's fine by me what they all decide to do after that."

Chloe hummed. "The trouble is finding someone we trust to hold it." She eyed Bri carefully. "Are you interested? You were there to retrieve it…"

Bri furrowed her brows in thought. It was a tempting possibility. And before they went to Hy-Brasil, she probably would have jumped at the opportunity. But now… She shook her head. "I'm content with being who I am," she answered firmly. "Besides, if I use a miraculous, who uses my suit? It's designed specifically to fit me."

Anne hummed. "Have you thought about what you might do if it ever… 'doesn't fit right'?" she asked, arching an eyebrow and glancing at Felix before giving Bri a meaningful look.

Bri pushed back a flush and cleared her throat, studiously avoiding meeting Felix's eye. "Two words: 'remote control'."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Well, you'd better give it some thought and see if you can come up with a suggestion or three. The three of you are invited to meet with all of the group leaders later this morning," she announced, nodding to Bri, Anne, and Felix. "You found them, so Ladybug thinks it right to give you some say in who uses them."