Looking around the brightly-decorated tent, Leïla grinned excitedly. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen a party with so many people. On the way to the Champ de Mars, she had passed at least five or six photographers, busy taking pictures of the guests, the decorations, the wedding party, and of course of Marinette's dress. Before the ceremony, she had stopped at the pavilion to check in with Guardian Claire; after the ceremony, she had followed Adrien and Marinette's limo the few blocks to the Champ de Mars. But all the stress, all the busyness getting set up for the reception, all of it was more than worth it. The music from Kitty Section, the people dancing in the cleared space between the tents, all the amazing food… "Have you been to a wedding before?" she asked.

Mira furrowed her brows in thought, looking off to the side for a long minute before finally nodding. "Not too many," she answered, giving a wry frown. "Normally, you have to be friends with the bride or groom to be invited, right?"

"Of course."

"This is the longest I've been in one place since I was six years old," explained Mira. Leïla's eyes widened. Mira raised an eyebrow at her. "Kind of hard to make a lot of friends who would invite you to their wedding when you don't stay in the same place longer than a couple months."

Leïla blinked. "That… sounds terrible." She shook her head. "I don't know if I would be able to live that way," she admitted.

Mira shrugged. "It's all I ever knew, before coming to Paris. It's what my family has had to do for the last millennium, to keep the Bat in check."

"I hope you're not planning to go back to that…"

"Not at the moment." Mira shook her head. "Until we get a hint of where he might be, there's no real point to leaving, is there?"

"I don't think so…" Sighing heavily, Leïla gave Mira a sympathetic look. "But you said there had been one wedding, didn't you?"

"Maybe two." Mira nodded slowly. "But I only remember one… six years ago? Seven? It wasn't long before Mom passed the miraculous on to me. We thought that the Bat was targeting a couple in Vienna – they had made some… questionable decisions. Very public, very scandalous, very… suspicious. Mom suspected the Bat was involved – he had done something similar during my grandmother's time – so we went to Vienna to investigate and ended up attending the wedding to check them out. Mom went undercover as a worker at the venue; I slipped inside with a family and just stuck to the wall for most of the evening, trying to stay out of the way."

"So was the Bat there?"

Mira laughed humorlessly. "Of course not; we went to all that trouble, but he wasn't anywhere close to Austria at the time – at least not that we could tell." She quirked an eyebrow at Leïla. "But what about you? Is this the first wedding you've attended?"

Leïla shook her head. "There have been a few at our mosque," she answered. "I've been to a few of the ceremonies, though my parents always said I was too young for the parties afterward. Although my aunt got married when I was really little, and I think 'umi and 'abi brought me to the reception. But this is the first… European?" she tried, pursing her lips, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "European wedding. It's fun!"

Mira smiled, glancing off toward where Adrien and Marinette were swaying with the music while staring into each other's eyes. "This one is," she agreed, nodding. "Since it's for people who care about each other and want to make it fun. But sometimes it can be a bit of a chore."

"Oh?"

Mira grimaced. "Let's just say that those warning bells that brought us to Vienna? They may not have been caused by the Bat, but the couple was still doomed. I think they lasted a year before filing for divorce."

Leïla's eyes widened. "Wow. That's… unbelievable." Mira raised her eyebrows meaningfully. Leïla shook her head. "I know it happens, but why? I don't understand why people would get married when they can't get along or aren't willing to at least try."

"There's a lot that goes into it," Mira replied, glancing out over the rest of the wedding. "Not that I have all that much experience with it…"

Leïla winced. "Sorry."

Mira cocked her head in surprise. "What? No; you're fine. I just – I haven't ever had the urge to find a boyfriend or get married." She quirked an eyebrow, shaking her head. "Our lifestyle isn't exactly conducive to long and happy marriages."

"Oh. Sorry I brought it up."

"It's okay." Mira reached out to touch her hijab, waiting for Leïla to nod before feeling the fabric. "I really like your hijab, by the way. It goes so well with your complexion."

Leïla grinned. "Thanks! I picked it to match the dress – it's one Marinette gave me a few months ago, even before the Tarasque appeared. It seemed appropriate to wear a 'Marinette original' today!"

"It's very nice. Though I hope that fabric breathes," Mira mused. "It's a little warm for long sleeves."

"Surprisingly, it's actually really comfortable, even with the heat."

Mira nodded, glancing in the direction of the head table. Following her gaze, Leïla found Adrien and Marinette talking with an older woman while the rest of the guests danced around them. "We probably should split up," Mira decided. "Blend into the crowd, check to make sure no one is acting suspicious–"

"More suspicious than we are by just standing and talking?" Leïla interjected wryly.

"–and we'll meet back up by the drink table in ten minutes," Mira finished, raising an eyebrow at Leïla.

Sighing, Leïla nodded. "See you then."

As Mira moved to the left, Leïla separated from her, working her way around to the right, skirting the edge of the dance floor. She could see Max and Sabrina, dancing calmly near their table. Not far from them, another couple was swaying with the music, though his movements seemed more mechanical than hers. Leïla shrugged; everyone had their own style of dancing, after all. Near the head table, Adrien and Marinette had stopped to talk with Claire and another couple. Close to the center of the dance floor, the Gorilla's enormous form towered over everyone else, dancing with… Mme Bustier? Leïla blinked in surprise, watching them for a long minute before turning away. Carefully, she made her way around a group that looked a little older than herself, maybe a year or two younger than Adrien and Marinette, bobbing her head in time with the music as she scanned the faces closest to her.

One of the boys in the group paused mid-conversation and looked over at Leïla, his eyes widening. "Well, hello there…" he greeted her, raising an eyebrow and grinning, sidling in her direction. "What's a beautiful girl like you doing all alone at a party like this?"

Leïla froze, grinning nervously. "I just… came to see a couple of my friends get married," she began, glancing in either direction away from him. "Beautiful service, wasn't it?"

The boy shrugged. "Sure; not really my thing, though. I mostly just came for the party. But at least the food is pretty good, right?"

"M. Dupain makes some amazing pastries!" Leïla agreed, smiling and allowing herself to relax. "I just loved stopping for éclairs after collège last year."

"Hey, would you like to dance?" the boy asked, holding out a hand. "You shouldn't have to dance alone."

Leïla glanced down at the hand nervously for a moment, wringing her hands together, and shook her head, taking the end of her hijab and running it through her fingers. "No; sorry. I'm… not really feeling like dancing right now," she finally answered him. "Sore feet. Thanks anyways."

The boy frowned, shrugged, and turned back to his friends, muttering something under his breath. Leïla furrowed her brows, eyeing him in confusion, but finally she shrugged and moved away, further into the crowd. Someone bumped into her, nearly knocking her down, and she turned an annoyed glare on them, only to find an embarrassed-looking friend of Adrien and Marinette.

"Sorry, mademoiselle," he apologized. The boy next to him elbowed him in the ribs.

"It's okay," Leïla quickly responded. "No harm done."

He cocked his head. "You're… Dr. Ouazani's daughter, aren't you?"

She nodded, surprised. "Leïla. You know my father?"

"Nath," he introduced himself, gesturing to his friend. "This is Marc. Your father treated my Opa, back in February." He sighed heavily. "Before he died."

"Oh." Leïla swallowed. "I'm… sorry. I had no idea."

Nath shook his head. "No; don't be. I'm glad your father was there – he did a lot to help make him comfortable at the end." He chuckled humorlessly. "There just… there wasn't anything he could do about it. But we appreciated what he did."

Leïla smiled sympathetically. "That's my father: he'll do whatever he can for a patient."

Nath glanced over at Marc and let out a breath. "Up for a drink? I could use something." Marc shrugged, and Nath gave Leïla a small smile. "It's nice to see you."

"Same." Leïla sighed heavily, turning away from them to continue navigating through the crowd along the periphery of the dance floor. She could see that a lot of people had stopped dancing and moved back to their seats, but it seemed as though the number of dancers hadn't dropped at all. But at least the drink table was close.

"Wait… Leïla?"

Leïla paused, cocked her head to one side, and turned to search for the familiar voice as Chloe stepped off the dance floor, leading a man in a smart business suit after her by the hand. The man, well-groomed with dark hair, gave Leïla a curious look for a moment before his mouth shifted into a welcoming smile. "Hi, Chloe!" Leïla greeted them, grinning and giving Chloe a quick hug. "You looked amazing up there – you all did. And I love that dress!"

Chloe smirked, giving a little twist so her skirt flared out. "Designed by one of the best designers in the city, of course – but, then, yours is, too!"

Leïla smiled, running one hand down her side. "I wouldn't ever have been able to afford a dress this fine without Marinette," she agreed. "I'm so glad you introduced me to her and Adrien!"

"I'm just happy I could help."

"It's nice to meet you," Chloe's date greeted Leïla, nodding. He started to hold out his hand but thought better of it and instead placed his hand on Chloe's shoulder. Looking around, he smiled appreciatively. "I must admit, it's been a while since I had an excuse to come to Paris; the city looks so much better than I expected, given recent events."

Chloe quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oh, we've had our problems," she allowed. "Not that everywhere else hasn't…"

He hummed. "True…"

"The city's actually in pretty good shape, under the circumstances," Leïla told him. "So much of the damage has almost entirely been repaired. In some cases, even better than what was there before!"

"Thanks in part to the Heroes of Paris?" he mused, raising an eyebrow at Chloe.

"You know how much we've done," Chloe answered him, turning and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Not that it's all been the Heroes of Paris; a lot of other people have done a lot to help out, too." A click came from somewhere nearby, and Chloe's eyes flashed in amusement as the photographer disappeared into the crowd.

Leïla smiled. "But heroes like Chloe have done a lot to keep the city safe." Chloe raised an eyebrow at her knowingly, and Leïla felt heat in her cheeks. "Um… it was nice to meet you," she told the other man. "But I think I'm going to go and get a drink."

"Be sure to stop back and say 'hi,' Chloe told her, giving Leïla another quick hug before moving in the direction of the head table.

Leïla let out a breath, looking around the reception, and moved in Mira's direction as quickly as she could. Making sure nothing went wrong at the reception was proving to be a lot of work. But it was all worth it.