Carter thinks of himself as a reasonable person. He's the kind of guy that thinks before he leaps. The grounded, stable type that people feel comfortable talking to. Reserved, maybe, but friendly and level-headed. He's certainly not the type of guy who would invite himself and his boyfriend along onto said boyfriend's ex's honeymoon.

That's why that's absolutely not what's happening here.

"That is absolutely what's happening here!"

Carter groans and cover his face. "Avery, come on. You saw those videos. We have to do something!"

Avery snickers. "Of course. But hitching a ride with the lovebirds is not your best plan. The last thing Rhys needs on his honeymoon is Morgan trying to get you to join in."

"First of all, he'd try to get you to join, not me."

Avery is quick to correct him. "He'd ask both of us."

Carter has to fight off the flushing of his cheeks as he charges forward with his lecture. "Second, Morgan wouldn't do that – Rhys already said the honeymoon is just for them, so he won't ask at least until they get back. And third, he asked us once, okay? It's not a thing."

"He asked you once. But he did ask you."

"That's not the point! Anyway, we wouldn't be 'tagging along' on their honeymoon. They're only staying in Paris for a few days – we're not stopping them from the rest of their trip – and we don't even have to hang out while we're all in Paris, anyway. We're just mooching off all the work already done to organize the thing. We can't just ignore everything happening because it'd be awkward to go to Paris while they are there on their honeymoon."

"Of course, not." Avery rolls his eyes. "Have you tried calling the kids there, though? We should start by reaching out to them, not just showing up in their city to mother them."

Carter grumbles a little as he rifles through his drawers for an extra pair of pants. "I can't. I can't get connected to the kids and the guardian keeps blocking me."

Avery frowns at that and moves to hand Carter another shirt. Carter eyes it curiously for a moment – he has enough shirts already packed – and realizes it's Avery's favorite. Oh, right. City of love. Good call. "Arrel can't contact their kwami? I thought you'd figured that out ages ago."

"Not exactly." Carter admits. "We can call the guardian because Arrel is related to his kwami, but the kwami of creation and destruction are too unrelated." After a moment of thought, Carter snickers. "You might be able to call Hawk Moth. Not that that'd actually help us."

Avery hums. "I'll keep it in mind. No connection to the kids, though?"

"Nope. I guess you could ask Iinar. Its powers are stupid, so who knows if it could or not?"

"I will. But why would the guardian block you?"

"Too scared to face the consequences of using the Miraculous to make child soldiers, maybe? He's right to be afraid of me."

Avery chuckles. "You're cute when you're mad. I still think we should try to contact the kids first, though."

"You're literally helping me pack."

"Still."

Carter sighs, shuts his suitcase, and cups Avery's face in his hands. "Compromise?" He asks softly, touching their heads together. "Ladybug favors that one blog – The Ladyblog – I think it's our best chance to contact them if our Miraculous can't reach them, so we can send a message there on our way."

"That blogger is a kid, too, you know. She can't be our contact in the city."

"We've got Dakota's cousin. And we don't want to bother them, but Morgan and Rhys will be there."

"Morgan and Rhys don't know the city. Julian is good, but we're going to have to find the guardian eventually."

Carter hums softly. "I can try to track him once we're closer. Keep in mind you have the same connection with Hawk Moth that I have with the guardian. If I can find him, then Hawk Moth can find you."

"Hawk Moth is a coward. He'll undoubtedly try to akumatize me, but I doubt I have any more to fear from him. Still, Mia's charm should give us the advantage if he tries. That'll work on Hawk Moth's powers, right?"

"Should work." Carter says. "So, we'll message the Ladyblog and call Julian. Then we get ready to go?"

Carter can feel the movement of Avery's head, gently shaking but still pressed against his own. "Alright. You call Julian; I'll message the Ladyblog after I double-check with Iinar that we can't contact the kids directly. Do you have a plan for what we'll do when we get there?"

Carter grins and kisses Avery quickly before finally releasing him and returning to his bags. "Find the guardian, rip him a new one, then offer our help to the kids. Maybe you can track down Hawk Moth and we'll get the whole thing solved. Then we'll have to teach those kids what being a keeper really means."

"In and out." Avery says drily. "Hotel?"

"That apartment Rhys was looking at before. Got connections to the Hales, so Mia might be able to pull some strings for us."

"If not?"

"Still better to support the community. We know the landlady there is one of us, and it's a good location."

"Point taken. Mia know you're using her connections?"

"I may have been organizing things a bit." Carter snickers. "I'll call her and finalize everything now. With Julian and Dakota, too."

"And you haven't been slacking on French lessons?"

"As soon as I found out there were French keepers, I doubled them." Carter chuckles. "I doubt we'll have much trouble, and Arrel and Iinar both know French, too."

"Good." Avery sighs and rolls his eyes. "You know, I always thought Morgan would crash our honeymoon. Not the other way around."

"Oh, he's definitely going to crash our honeymoon. Especially after this." Carter laughs. "Maybe Shiloh, too. You decided yet whether you're okay with that or not?"

"Uh, no. Seems a little inappropriate, but I suppose we need to know what we're doing before we know whether he's allowed along or not."

"Point taken. You think Annie would trap him here for us if we ask nicely?"

Avery scoffs. "You think we need to ask?"

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Durain." Carter says as Avery slips by him into the apartment that has just been opened for them. "I know this was a little late notice."

"Oh, don't you worry about a thing." Mrs. Durain chuckles. "I heard from my son that some friends of the twins were thinking of coming soon. I had everything ready before you even called. And if you can do anything to help bring down Hawk Moth, it's my honor to help you out."

"We will certainly do our best." Carter answers, smiling. "I just hope Ladybug and Chat Noir got the message that we were coming."

"I'm sure they did. But go on in! Make yourself comfortable. And if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Carter grins at her. "Yes, Ma'am. Thanks again for this."

Mrs. Durain leaves them alone to get settled in, and Carter and Avery take their time doing so. Ideally, they shouldn't be here long, but they both doubt finding Hawk Moth will be so easy as that. Besides, even if they do get things sorted quickly, they're in Paris! They're going to stay for at least a couple weeks. As a vacation, if not a mission.

"It's getting late." Avery says, glancing out the large window. "First contact?"

"Naw." Carter joins him, looking out at the city. "They don't patrol, so unless we want to grab everyone's attention, going out is pointless."

"Do we not want to grab everyone's attention?"

"Not right away. Until we know what Ladybug wants us doing in this fight and we have a better idea of how much you can feel about what Hawk Moth is doing, it's best not to draw too much attention."

Avery worries his lip and hums. "So, how are we going to contact them, then? Through the Ladyblog girl?"

"I was going to say catch them after an akuma, but that's a good idea. Don't have to wait for an attack that way. In the meantime, we should talk to Julian and get oriented here, and then find the guardian."

"Cool. Iinar?"

The little brown kwami yawns exaggeratedly as it floats up to eye level. "What's up?"

"How dangerous would it be for you to go looking for Hawk Moth?"

"Depends how good Hawk Moth is." Iinar says, grinning. "I'm in. You go find the turtle. I'll be back in a couple hours, probably."

"Hey, wait, are you sure that's a goo- and it's gone." Carter sighs. "Arrel, is it going to get itself in trouble?"

The white kwami appears, giggling. "Oh, most assuredly. But I seriously doubt it's in any danger. Remember, its powers make it uniquely resistant to capture and control, and Hawk Moth doesn't have it's Miraculous, either way. The worst that can happen is Iinar clues Hawk Moth off to us being here, but we should probably assume that, anyway, given their connection. I wouldn't worry about it. It's actually a good plan. Troublesome as it is, Iinar will stay hidden at least, so it should be fine."

"Iinar can handle itself." Avery assures him. "It knows more about how Hawk Moth's powers work than any of us. And it's not stupid. It wouldn't go if it wasn't confident it won't get hurt." Carter frowns, searching the skyline in the direction Iinar left. "Hey." He feels Avery's hand on his shoulder, and then arms wrap around him. "You should trust in it by now. How long have we been doing this? You don't need to worry so much."

Carter sighs, letting himself melt into the touch. "You're right. It just… seems like yesterday, you know?" He tilts his head to mostly face Avery despite their position. "We just woke it up, you didn't know anything about the Miraculous or magic, we found out Arrel and Iinar hate each other."

"We get along, now!" Arrel protests.

Avery snickers. "Hardly. But, yeah, I get it. Iinar and I are still the babies to you, huh?"

"Hm, well, I wouldn't say that." Carter grins reaching up to cup Avery's cheek and steal a kiss. "But I was effectively your teacher for a long time there. I'm always going to feel a little responsible for you."

"Our mentor would be offended." Avery murmurs, nuzzling back into him.

Carter rolls his eyes. "Okay, yeah, not your teacher, but like… an upperclassman, I guess. Making sure the little freshie doesn't get lost and hurt himself, you know? Our mentor trusted me to look after you. I still take that seriously, even though I know you can handle yourself now. Iinar, too."

Avery chuckles. "I appreciate that. I just wish you didn't feel the need to worry all the time. I know it's dangerous in Paris, especially for me. But I know better than to underestimate Hawk Moth. And I know what I'm capable of. You know I'm not going to overextend if it might put me in danger."

"Aha. Yeah. I know. You always were the more careful one."

"Says the keeper of patience."

"Patience, Bärchen, not carefulness." Carter says. "But speaking of. We shouldn't keep the guardian waiting. I'm sure he knows we're in town. With how I've been reaching out to sense him, there's no way he's missed it. Arrel?"

As Avery releases Carter from his hug, Arrel titters nervously in the air. "Not the guardian, but his kwami is responding to me. I can lead you to him, but if it's Wayzz instead of him, it's up in the air whether he'll be expecting us."

"If he isn't expecting us," Avery says, "then he's an idiot. Or overconfident. Not that that's any better."

Carter clicks his tongue. "There is the chance that Mia's charms are hiding me as well. I've been actively reaching out, so he should know we're here, but it's possible that's been blocked."

"We both know that's not how they work." Avery says. "Arrel, lead the way. We should get this over with."

"Of course." Arrel says happily. "Perhaps we should look at a map first. I can probably estimate a location so that we at least have some idea of what we're walking through."

"Good idea." Avery takes out his phone and shows it to Arrel as the three of them make their way back to the door.

Carter decides that those two are more than capable of handling the directions. Evening is just setting in, but the city is beautiful even in the twilight. He takes advantage of it to hold Avery's hand and examine their surroundings while Avery himself mutters with Arrel in his shirt and his phone in his free hand. Carter hardly bothers paying attention to the exact direction, instead just trusting Avery's pull on his hand to lead him the right way.

Soon enough, Arrel and Avery have them at their destination. A small massage parlor. Nothing extraordinary. "Ready?" Avery asks.

"Whenever you are." Carter says.

"I'll unlock it." Arrel says. He quickly slips through the door, and then Carter hears a satisfying click.

Carter takes the lead, opening the door and stepping through first. It's hardly either of their first time breaking into a home, nor a business, but though they aren't expecting trouble it's never a good idea to let their guards down when they're in the middle of breaking the law.

They enter a larger room, off the entranceway, that looks like it's probably used for clients. Two cushions around a short tea table sit in the center, slightly askew as if it's not a permanent position for the furniture. Arrel immediately takes interest in the old gramophone near the wall. Avery likewise zeroes in on the thing. Carter wouldn't ordinarily give it a second glance, but Avery can see the world much differently than Carter does, and Arrel is much more attuned to magic. Carter knows better than to dismiss something that catches their attention. Especially if it's both of them.

"Bärchen?" Carter whispers.

Avery squints a little at the gramophone, and then turns to Arrel, hissing, "Is that the box?"

"No doubt." Arrel replies, voice tinged with wonder.

That explains it. The gramophone hides the Miracle Box that the guardian here is in charge of. The only box remaining – or the only formal one, anyway. Carter's collection and the one in Brazil are just gatherings of the Miraculous they've managed to find or recover since the temple burned. They aren't put together in any meaningful way like the records say the Miracle Boxes are supposed to be.

Carter admittedly doesn't know enough about what way the collections in each box were meaningful, or even if it was at all beyond pseudo-religious spiritual nonsense, so the idea of being in the presence of the box isn't exactly world-making for him. A glance at Avery's expression tells him he's of a similar mind. Still, this moment clearly means something to Arrel, so Carter decides to stay quiet.

"I'm going inside." Arrel announces suddenly. "You two go on and find the guardian."

"You sure about that?" Carter asks softly. "Do you know what going in there will be like?"

Arrel hesitates. "No. I've never been in a Miracle Box before. But I should announce myself to the kwami resting here. It's just… manners." His gaze shifts nervously for a moment between Carter and the gramophone. "I'll ask what they know, too, so I might be in there a while. Don't wait for me, alright?"

"Sure thing. Be careful."

"You too."

Arrel exchanges a look with Avery, and then zips into the horn of the gramophone, leaving Carter and Avery alone.

Together, the two silently pad through the place, exploring each room until they hear clinking and muttering. Carter meets Avery's eyes and nods, and they turn towards the source of the noise.

"-ning out of possibilities. What else could it mean?"

The voice carries through the door. Carter has his hand on the handle and looks to Avery to double-check that he's ready. Once he gets a nod, he opens the door.

The shocked cry that the little old man on the other side of the door lets out doesn't exactly take Carter by surprise. The vial that he unceremoniously chucks into the air does, though. Just a bit. Avery manages to catch it just in time – lucky that the man accidentally threw it in their direction – and miraculously, very little of the liquid contents inside spilled out in the endeavor.

"Who are you?" The old man gasps. "We are closed. Please leave my home."

Carter exchanges another look with Avery and steps forward. With a polite bow and a pleasant smile, Carter says, "Guardian of the Miracle box, our meeting is long overdue. I am the keeper of patience, whose kwami is progeny of the turtle kwami of the Miracle box. With me is the keeper of liminality. Please accept my apologies that our kwami are currently indisposed. And for our dropping in unannounced. I did try to contact you."

"Ah." The old man sighs wearily. "So, you came after all."

"With all due respect, sir, did you really expect us to ignore what you're doing here?"

"I had hoped… come, please. And, you, young man, could you please place that on the counter there?" Carter and Avery join the man deeper into the room, the kitchen, where Avery puts the vial he caught on a stand. "Thank you."

Carter narrows his eyes at the items out on the counter. The guardian isn't cooking dinner, that's for sure. This is alchemy. If Carter didn't know any better, he might even think it a spell. Unfortunately, the only clue as to what exactly the goal of this concoction is, is the tablet laid out nearby, but the writing in the picture on it is in the old guardian language used at the temple. It'd take much more careful examination for Carter to translate that. He can't help but wonder what on earth a guardian would need alchemy for.

"You two should not have come here." The guardian says. "Especially you." He glances at Avery. "We do not need to give Hawk Moth more opportunity than he already has."

"We're well aware of the situation here." Carter says. "Ordinarily, we would stay out of it, but you decided to make two children keepers and send them off to fight to recover your missing Miraculous." There's a definite bite in his voice, but Carter knows that getting truly angry while here is dangerous. He takes just a moment to school himself and ensure he can say what he needs to without risk of drawing Hawk Moth's attention. "How old are they?" Carter asks.

The guardian ducks his head. Shame is tangible, yet still he seems to feel the need not to admit his wrongdoing, but to defend himself. "They were the only options. No one else could wield the Miraculous like they do."

"I don't care about affinity." Carter hisses. "You dragged two kids into battle! An unattuned keeper is a vastly better option!"

"The ladybug and the black cat must be in balance." The guardian counters. "They were the only choice for this fight."

"There's never only one choice."

"I am aware that they are suffering for my mistakes." The guardian sighs. "I wish I could fight myself, but I am just too old."

"And senile. Tell me how old they are."

"I cannot. Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities must remain secret."

Carter lets out a frustrated growl before Avery's hand on his arm still him. "Fine." Carter huffs. "Then I'll tell you. They're fourteen. Were thirteen, when this started." The guardian recoils in shock. "You, realizing that you're too old to fight, decided your next best option was to enlist two thirteen-year-old soldiers to fight your battle for you. Do they even know the keeper's traditional role? Do they even know about the magical community at all?"

"They cannot afford to be distracted. The fight with Hawk Mo-"

"Your fight, that you dragged them into! You call yourself guardian after the order was destroyed, you use the Miraculous to create child soldiers to get you more Miraculous, and you deprive those same kids of the community that might actually be able to support them? Do you have any idea how this looks? I should take the box from you right now! You're clearly either too irresponsible for it or an active threat to us."

"You do not understand. Hawk Moth wants the ladybug and black cat Miraculous to make a wish. The consequences of any wish would be catastrophic."

"And your solution is to give the exact Miraculous being targeted to thirteen-year-old kids and sending them to directly confront this guy?!" Carter groans. "So, fine, you're not irresponsible. Just stupid."

"It was to minimize damage." The guardian explains. "Ladybug can repair all the damage done by Hawk Moth's powers. To protect the city, it was necessary to give her the Miraculous. To maintain balance, the black cat also had to find a user."

"And is that supposed to excuse this?"

"No… not excuse. Just explain." He sighs. "The ladybug and black cat are exceptionally powerful. Fewer mistakes can be made with their users than with other Miraculous. Ladybug and Chat Noir are the best matches I could find."

"Hm." Carter shakes his head. "No matter your reasoning, what you did was evil. You do understand that, right?"

The guardian does not answer. He just stays quiet, head bowed, until, after a long while, Avery asks, "What are you making?"

Like he just hit a reset switch, the guardian perks up again. Probably just using the distraction to ignore his mistakes. Still, it's a good question, and Carter is eager to hear the answer. "When fed with a specific blend of ingredients, the kwami can grant special power. The recipes are written in the grimoire there, but it is encoded. I am trying to decipher the ingredients."

"Alchemy can grant powers to the kwami?" Carter murmurs. "Interesting. And you found a surviving book, too? May I see that?" The guardian seems surprised, but hands Carter the tablet. Carter frowns at the pictures as he scans through them. "Grimoire." He mutters. "These are combat enhancements." It takes him a while to truly translate the thing, since the grammar is a bit strange, but Carter gleans enough from the pictures and nouns alone to recognize what's going on.

The part of him that loves history is ecstatic to have found this, but the other part, the part more rooted in the now, wishes this particular book had burned with the temple. As he keeps scrolling through the images, it becomes increasingly clear that warfare is largely what this whole grimoire is dedicated to. That's… disappointing. Deeply, painfully so.

Combat magic can be useful. Carter himself has taken advantage of many spells and enchantments throughout his time as keeper that were originally designed for war. And, though not a spellcaster himself, Carter has done his fair share of fighting, too. But this grimoire is an instruction manual on the Miraculous' capabilities in war. As far as Carter is concerned, there should be nothing written in it at all.

Still, this grimoire is a fascinating piece of Miraculous history, and it's Carter's responsibility as a keeper to learn all that he can and preserve all knowledge, even the distasteful parts. It would be a tyrannical overreach of his position to censor this. But left in the hands of this guardian? Someone who has already abused the power of the Miraculous in such a heinous way? That's not just disquieting. That's dangerous.

Carter looks over to Avery, knowing that Avery can read the situation well enough to give informed feedback, and gets a subtle shake of his head. Carter sighs. As much as he hates to admit it, Avery is right. Heinous or not, the guardian is at least well-intentioned. And, the fact of the matter is that these spells and recipes can help Ladybug and Chat Noir in the fight.

One way or another, Ladybug and Chat Noir are already involved. Even coming to Paris, Carter never had any intention of removing them from the fight entirely. Truthfully, he doesn't believe either of those kids will step down when he gives them the option, and he's not about to disrespect them and all that they've already done by forcing them out of the fight. He's here to offer his help, and this grimoire can help even more.

He might have something to say about what happens to it once this is all over, though. But that's a bridge to cross when he gets to it.

Begrudgingly, Carter returns the tablet to the guardian, only requesting those photos be sent to him. It takes some convincing, and the guardian is insistent that the kwami themselves never learn the contents of the grimoire (a stipulation that Carter is already aware of. Carter is far less stingy with information he finds than the guardian order of old was, but he and Arrel agreed a long time ago that magic of this nature, combat enhancements and battle magic, will be safer without Arrel clued into the details), but Carter does manage to negotiate himself a copy of the book.

Good thing, too, since considering the circumstances Carter isn't sure he's above just taking the thing. Maybe the guardian is picking up on that sentiment.

Eventually, though, Carter announces his intentions to the guardian. "I'm going to offer Ladybug and Chat Noir my support." He says firmly. "I will give them the option to stop fighting, and I will ensure that they have someplace to turn when they get overwhelmed. They will remain keepers, unless they choose to reject that responsibility, regardless of whether they fight or not, and I will teach them everything I know about the Miraculous, as is my duty as senior keeper." The guardian tries to protest, but Carter cuts him off. "I'm not asking your permission. I am stating my intentions out of respect for your order, but I do not adhere to your rules or your teachings. This is also your only warning. If you continue in this reckless, idiotic direction, I will confiscate the Miracle Box. This is your last chance. Do be careful with it."

"You do not understand the consequences of misusing the Miraculous." The guardian pleads. "There was no other choice."

"Yes." Carter growls. "There was. And this isn't an argument. This is an ultimatum. One more mistake and we will take action against you. You should know better, so be glad you're getting even this."

With little else to say, Carter and Avery leave the guardian alone.