"Who are you patrolling with tonight?"

Ivan glanced up from his book, his brows furrowed in confusion, to find Mylène staring at him with a curious expression on her face. He paused, looking away from her for a long moment before his eyes widened. "Right… I think it's… Juleka tonight?"

Mylène quirked an eyebrow at him in amusement. "You completely forgot that was tonight, didn't you?"

He grimaced sheepishly, glancing down at his watch and sighing. "I may have. And I think it's time to leave, too."

She smiled. "Well, say hi to Juleka for me!" she told him, as he stood up from the couch and stretched his arms to either side, twisting his head to pop his neck. "We'll be here waiting for you when you get back."

"I'll hold you to that," he replied, leaning over and pressing a kiss to her lips, placing his hand on her stomach and giving a warm smile. Mylène covered his hand with her own, holding it in place for a moment longer. With her other hand, she pulled him down to her, extending the kiss. He let out a breath, finally ending the kiss and pulling up her blouse just far enough to kiss her stomach.

Mylène giggled, sighing fondly. "Stay safe," she warned him.

"I'll do my best," he assured her. "Although…"

She nodded, letting out a breath. "I know." She raised an eyebrow at him pointedly. "Just remember: this little one will need its daddy."

"Understood."

Ten minutes later, Taureau Dechaine barreled down the street, away from their apartment building, in the direction of the riverfront. The lights of the city twinkled around him – Paris never truly got dark. As he jogged, he paused for a moment at a street corner, looking up at one of the newer apartment buildings. He and Prequinateur had helped to rebuild this one – he could still remember the time he'd had welding sparks fall on his hand; though they had not burned through his miraculous suit, the heat of it had still passed through, leaving red welts behind after he had detransformed. That had not been a fun experience. Still, it had felt good to work construction alongside Prequinateur, even when the Bearator and the Loader had showed up – he had used his miraculous strength to help rebuild after he had previously been responsible for so much destruction while the Heroes of Paris fought against the Tarasque. It had been a reminder that the miraculous were for more than just violence and destruction. He could punch through a wall; he could erect a wall. Prequinateur could rip through solid steel with his teeth to get to a criminal; he could also break debris into smaller pieces for them to remove.

Still, there was nothing like going out on patrol to remind him of why he had become a hero in the first place. During the days of Hawk Moth, he had felt powerless to stop the danger and violence around him; once he had received his miraculous, he had been able to stand up and fight, to protect those in danger and stop those who would hurt the people he loved. Even if Mylène was also one of those putting herself in danger to protect the city.

Silent as a shadow, a dark shape dropped off a rooftop just in front of him, into the shadows around the front of a large store. Giving the shadow a careful look, Taureau Dechaine could only barely make out the figure's outline as he approached. Slowing to a walk, he glanced over at her when he was opposite the store and folded his arms. "And how are you tonight?"

Stepping into the light of the streetlamp, Bengalia grinned. "I guess that was a little too obvious," she allowed. "Then again, it's not like I was trying to sneak up on you…" He raised an eyebrow. Her grin widened, her small pointed fangs showing. "If that were the case, you wouldn't've seen me until I pounced!"

He shook his head in amusement. "And I thought you were stealthy in collège…"

She quirked her lips and shrugged. "That was… different."

He grimaced, looking down away from her. "Sorry."

She waved her hand dismissively. "It's fine. I've… changed. We all have, really."

"True." They jogged in silence for several blocks, until finally Taureau Dechaine cleared his throat. "So… do we have any plans yet for the concert?" he asked. "It's, what, the end of this month?"

Her eyes widened anxiously. "Don't remind me," she groaned. "Luka and Kagami have been working on that almost nonstop for the last three weeks, trying to get everything nailed down for it. The problem is that the performing arts center we'd arranged with last year got damaged by the Tarasque – structural damage; it shook the ground as it walked past, even a dozen kilometers away. So we can't use it."

Taureau Dechaine nodded his understanding. "Right – and of course, Miraculous Ladybug didn't actually fix it."

Bengalia sighed. "Nope. Luka's thinking that we just rent the park across from there, considering that we've got all that publicity sunk into the location already. But of course, that means we need to get noise permits and rent a stage, chairs, everything. And that means more setup – either with us doing it or we pay people to do it for us…"

Taureau Dechaine hummed. "We can handle setting up chairs and the stage, though it probably would be better to hire roadies for that."

"Right. And if we do that, then we need to figure out all the logistics of that…" Bengalia shook her head. "Kagami spent half of last week checking on all the regulations for that: we don't exactly want to get in trouble for doing it the wrong way."

"Definitely not," he agreed.

She frowned. "It's too bad this will have to be our last concert until at least December…"

"Yeah." He shrugged one shoulder. "But still, it's probably a good idea to focus on university, at least for now. Plus, a December concert lets us pull out all that Christmas music we've been playing around with!"

She smiled. "Your version of 'Silver Bells' might be my favorite," she mused. "Although Rose's cover of 'All I Want for Christmas is You'…" Her cheeks turned pink. Taureau Dechaine quirked an eyebrow at her, and she coughed. "Next year we can plan to do more in the fall."

He frowned. "Maybe…"

"I mean, once we have a handle on school work, it won't be so hard to balance things," she continued, not really looking at him. "Maybe we won't schedule concerts every weekend, but we can at least have them monthly."

"You can…" he agreed, nodding.

Bengalia cocked her head, staring at him in confusion. "What do you mean? Worried you won't be able to handle the band on top of university?"

He winced. "Not quite that," he began. "But I know I'm going to be busier next year."

Her brows furrowed, giving him a worried look. "You're not leaving Kitty Section, are you?"

"Definitely not." He shook his head firmly. "But I might not be able to do quite as much traveling. Or have quite as much time to devote to it. Or be able to get nearly as much sleep…" He muttered under his breath.

"What's going on?" Bengalia pursed her lips. "What's wrong? Does this have something to do with Mylène?"

Taureau Dechaine raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Come on," she retorted. "I have eyes. I've seen that something's different with her lately. She's been acting strange. And I noticed she was going to the bathroom a lot more often at our last rehearsal."

Taureau Dechaine grimaced. "She has been drinking more water lately," he allowed.

Bengalia hummed. "Kagami's been doing the same, actually," she mused.

Taureau Dechaine cocked his head to one side. "Really? Why?"

She shrugged. "She and Luka visited a doctor a couple weeks ago…"

Taureau Dechaine blinked. "Wait – are you telling me that Kagami is pregnant, also?"

"I don't–" Bengalia froze, blinked several times rapidly, and furrowed her eyebrows, a look of dawning comprehension crossing her face. "Wait… what do you mean also?" Taureau Dechaine grinned. Bengalia's eyes bulged out and she tackled him in a big hug. "No way! That's awesome! Congratulations!"

Returning her hug, Taureau Dechaine let out a breath. "Thanks! It's… well, it's something we've both really wanted for as long as we've been together – to have a family. But now that it's happening…"

"You'll make great parents," she assured him immediately. "So, what? Is that the reason you aren't going to be available as much for the band next year?"

He nodded.

She let out a breath. "I understand. But of course, you and Mylène could just bring the baby with – nothing says babies aren't allowed, you know. Plus," she added, "I'm sure Mom would be thrilled to have a baby to watch."

"Another one?" Taureau Dechaine raised an eyebrow.

Bengalia's jaw dropped, her eyes widening. "If that's true…" she muttered to herself, looking down at the claws protruding from the back of her miraculous. "If they found out and didn't tell us…"

Taureau Dechaine stifled a laugh. "Don't hurt Luka too badly; we'll need him for the concert."

Bengalia's eyes narrowed. "That's what Mira's for: healing the damage…" She let out a breath, quirking her lips slightly. "But maybe I'll go easy on him…"

"You don't know that that's what it is," Taureau Dechaine pointed out. "There could be another explanation."

She stifled a laugh. "To be honest, I almost hope there isn't," she admitted. "I don't know if Rose and I will ever have a child of our own; I wouldn't mind having a little niece or nephew around."

He smiled. "Well, you'll always have our baby around – we'll keep you in mind to babysit!"

"Definitely!" she agreed instantly. She furrowed her brows. "How many people know?"

He pursed his lips in thought. "We've been keeping it pretty quiet," he began. "So far, Mylène's dad knows and my parents know, but that's it – well, you know now. But it's still so early – so much could happen; we're going to wait another month or two before telling everyone else."

"Oh. Then is–is it okay for me to tell Rose? I don't like keeping things from her. Even though this is your secret to keep or tell."

He frowned. "You can tell her… but that's it." His eyes narrowed. "And make sure she knows not to tell anyone else, either!"

She nodded. "Okay…" She smiled. "It really is amazing," she told him. "I'm really happy for you."

"Thanks."

The two of them continued down the streets of the city in companionable silence for another several minutes, until they reached a part of the city that had only just been repaired after the destruction by the Tarasque. As they were turning onto the next street, Taureau Dechaine heard a plaintive bleating. He cocked his head in confusion. Beside him, Bengalia's eyes narrowed. Jerking her head forward, she pointed toward the roof of the building they had just passed, slipping into the shadows and crawling up the side. Taureau Dechaine lumbered forward, his arms folded, studying the street intently for the source of the noise. Partway down the street, just in front of a large department store, stood an animal, though from this distance he couldn't quite tell what kind of animal it was. It let out another pained cry, and he quickly started down the street toward it.

"Hang on," Bengalia warned him, her voice loud over the communicator in his ear.

He cocked his head to one side. "What do you see?"

"I… don't know," she admitted. "But something about this doesn't feel right."

"You think?" He raised an eyebrow but continued forward, more slowly and cautiously this time. "But if it's in pain, we've got to do something about it…"

"Okay… but be careful."

Letting out a breath, Taureau Dechaine approached the animal, his eyes narrowed intently, scanning the area around it for anything or anyone nearby. As he reached it, he recognized it: a goat. He cocked his head. "What's a goat doing in the middle of the street in Paris?"

Bengalia hummed. "Maybe a petting zoo is missing it?" Suddenly, she gasped. "Wait! Get away from–!"

Taureau Dechaine's eyes widened, but before he could react, something struck him from behind, and he fell forward onto his face, through the goat, which vanished as he touched it. Every nerve ending seemed to be on fire – he gritted his teeth and clamped his mouth shut against the pain.

Moments later, his eyes opened, and he looked up into Bengalia's concerned face. She immediately sighed, her shoulders sagging in relief. "Thank goodness."

"What happened?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. But someone was in that area over there," she told him, pointing toward the storefront. "I didn't spot them until too late."

"What–what happened to me?" he asked next, clearing his throat.

She shook her head. "I have no idea. One minute, you were fine; the next, the animal disappeared and you collapsed. I raced down here as fast as I could, but they were gone." She furrowed her brows. "Are you okay?"

"I… don't know."

Her mouth set in a thin line. "Let's get you home."