Content warning: mushy romance fluff.

Reminder 1 - there is nothing and has never been anything romantic between Marinette and Sherman or Marinette and Cassie. Any present day tension comes from their complicated history, not from attraction.

Reminder 2 - Hero names are Technomance for Cassie, Cross Heart for Sherman, and Aquarius for Marinette

Reminder 3 - Cassie's quirk: Technology interface. The user can tap into and control technology, and even enhance it beyond its normal uses and limitations. The efficiency and power are limited by proximity, type, and number of affected pieces of tech at any given time, and it cannot pass through certain substances such as lead. Overuse drains her body of its bioelectricity, leaving her numb and even temporarily paralyzed. Tragically, the user is marked for life as the eternal tech support friend.

Translations

Merveilleux - wonderful.

De rien - (informal) you're welcome.

Excusez-moi - excuse me.

J'ai compris - understood.

Ma chère - my dear. Very close term of endearment, speaking to a woman.

Ma sœurs - [my] sister. (according to my research, this is a term of woman-to-woman-endearment that implies a long, deep history, but not necessarily current closeness)

Mon amie - (impersonal) my friend. Generic term of endearment, speaking to a woman.

Que pasa? - what's up?

Present day:

Marinette knocked on the open doorframe. "Sherman? I'm here, what did you need my help with?"

"Come on in, he's just finishing his hair," Conner called to her from inside Sherman's dorm room. He lounged on Sherman's bed with his head propped against a wall, and waved to Marinette as she entered.

"Again," Kazuhiko drawled. He slouched against the dresser, which had clearly been rifled through to find the perfect shirt.

"I've gotta look perfect!" Sherman insisted. "If my hair is a mess, then everything else will - oh, Mari! Just in time. How do I look?" He beamed at her. She couldn't deny that he looked snazzy. Sherman's 'formal' clothes usually started and ended at a polo shirt - however, this evening he wore a white button-down shirt, a black belt, gray slacks, and black dress shoes. He gave his slicked back hair one final touch-up, the pink streak shining under the gel. Marinette remembered years ago when he was stringy and wiry, and smiled to herself when she saw that he was finally filling out the arms and shoulders of his shirt. He really had grown up. Merveilleux.

"Ah, shoot, I forgot my tie! Hold on!" He whirled around and frantically searched for his missing necktie. She stifled a laugh. Well, maybe not all the way grown up.

For the first two and a half years of his time at Wing Academy, Sherman's dorm rooms had been, predictably, a disaster (although surprisingly never from any leftovers or crumbs - after all, he would never waste food). Once he and Cassie became a real thing, Marinette suggested to the oblivious Sherman that maybe he would want to try and keep a bit cleaner if he wanted his newly-confirmed girlfriend over. She had never seen Sherman clean with as much fervor as that day.

But tonight it looked like he had been genuinely nervous Different attempts at outfits, accessories, products, and a cologne bottle he probably borrowed from Kazuhiko were scattered across the floor and furniture. Even months into dating, a night with his girlfriend still got his heart pounding.

"I gotcha, Rosie," Conner assured him and lifted a glowing-sky-blue hand. A pink necktie glowed and soared from the sink in front of the mirror to Conner's opposite hand. It appeared that Conner had the foresight to south-charge the necktie earlier so he could pull it to him when Sherman inevitably lost it.

"Oh, you're a lifesaver, Con! Kazu, put it on me."

"What? Why me?!" Kazuhiko complained.

"You think Conner knows how to tie one of these?" Sherman scoffed.

"I would take offense to that if it wasn't true," Conner admitted.

"I'll do it," Marinette cut in. Conner north-charged the tie and repelled it from his north hand, floating it through the air to Marinette. She stepped forward and wrapped it around Sherman's neck. "So, did you just need my help with an outfit check?"

"Or to tie this if Kazu wouldn't do it," he added. "But mostly an outfit check. Will she… will she like it?"

"That woman is head over heels for you. You could wear a band tee, a bucket hat, and jorts, and she would still think you looked better than any other man in the city," she reminded him.

"Don't knock bucket hats. They're gonna make a comeback, I'm telling you," Conner warned.

"A grim prediction," Kazuhiko snorted. "You look fine, Sherman. A veritable Prince Charming. Just try not to rip the clothes too bad."

He smiled softly. "I know, I know. I just get excited, and I want her to be as excited as me."

"Trust me, she is," Marinette promised. She finished with the tie and gave him an affectionate flick on the forehead. "And remember to eat like a normal person, instead of a snake that unhinges its jaw to swallow eggs the size of its head."

"Yeah, yeah, normal person eating. I got it." He smiled. "Thanks, Mari."

"De rien. Good luck, Sher."

She left the dorm room to the sound of the boys chanting, "Date night! Date night! Date night!" (Sherman enthusiastically, Conner playfully, and Kazuhiko probably under duress) and sighed fondly. One down, one to go. She pulled out her phone.

To Cassie, 7:43pm: On my way.

She wasn't exaggerating when she told Sherman to trust her that Cassie was just as nervous. Mutual confidante status was one of the perks of being the third wheel, a comfortable role for her. She had been helping those two fools (one bad at books, one bad at love) for years, and she had no plans to stop now - even if she maybe wasn't looking forward to this room as much as she was to Sherman's.

3 years ago, Wing Academy entrance exam:

"Woah, this place is packed!" a pre-academy, pre-hair-dye Sherman whispered to himself excitedly. The entrance to Wing Academy's urban training area was filled to the brim with hopeful hero applicants, all of them jittering with some combination of anticipation and nerves. He wasn't sure where he fell on that scale, but he did know that his heart was pounding so hard that he was already glowing pink under his shirt.

It was impossible to keep any real personal space in the crowd, so he didn't notice most of the bumps and nudges, until a jolt sparked through his body. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before - gentler than a static shock, faster than an electric fence, and stronger than any lightning he had ever known. He jumped in surprise, and spun to see a girl with dark skin and curly hair that would one day by dyed gold who looked just as (literally) shocked as him.

Cassie swallowed, still processing the strange sensation. "…Sorry. Didn't mean to run into you."

Sherman pushed an easygoing smile onto his face. "No worries! Hard not to in this crowd, am I right?" he joked to ease the tension.

"Right." She nodded slowly. "Are you… are you mechanical?"

"Uh, I'm here to punch bad guys, not work on cars," he stated simply, with a blink. "Am I at the wrong exam?"

"No, not a mechanic." She put a hand to her forehead, half embarrassed by her impulsive question and half exasperated by his misunderstanding. "Sorry, I shouldn't just ask someone if they're mechanical out of nowhere. My mistake."

"Oh, mechanical. Like a robot?" he clarified. Robots were cool.

"Close enough," she acquiesced. "What I meant was whether you had anything like prosthetics or implants, because I'm really good with machines and I've never felt one like that before, but that's personal, so I shouldn't - "

"You must mean my quirk! Here, I'll show you." He went to lift up his shirt.

"Oh, goodness, you really don't need to - " Cassie began and attempted to politely avert her eyes, but found them quickly drawn back to him (and not just because a cute boy was showing his abs). In his chest, a shining pink light glowed through his skin, pulsing slow and steady.

Quirk: Generator. The user's heart is replaced by a powerful reactor core, fueled by whatever he consumes and whatever external source of energy he absorbs (at the cost of exposing his body to the external energy). He can use the power generated to enhance his strength, speed, and more. The ravenous appetite it causes makes him the bane of the academy cafeteria.

"…Is that your heart?" She whispered, amazed. She didn't even notice the buzzer going off, warning the applicants to get to their starting spots.

"Yeah," Sherman confirmed softly.

Completely focused on the sight in front of her, she naturally reached out to touch it, and felt the that spark from before radiate through her hand as soon as she made contact, only slow and soft this time. It must have been their quirks reacting to one another. His heart was a machine, yes, but also something more. How did it work? Was it metal? Were his blood vessels mechanical as well? She had so many questions.

Then she realized what she was doing, and quickly withdrew her hand. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I didn't - I mean - "

"No, no, it's fine!" Sherman assured her, even though his face was as pink as the light in his chest. "I don't, uh, I don't mind. You can touch it if you want."

Before Cassie could decide whether it would be more awkward to offend him by refusing or make the whole situation uncomfortable by accepting, a meek, accented voice cut in.

"Excusez-moi, sorry to… um, interrupt. But I think it's time for us to move to the starting positions," a girl they would soon know as Marinette informed them, with a timid wave of her hand to try and catch their attention.

Cassie's eyes flashed with a quirk power as her brain read the time from the phone in her pocket. "Oh, shoot. You're right."

"Let's go!" Sherman exclaimed as they rushed to their positions. Unbeknownst to them, a trio was born.

End of first year, nighttime emergency scene:

Sherman rocketed down the street at inhuman speeds as pink flashes of light followed in his footsteps. His hero suit was still the standard, protective black and white jumpsuit, since first-years didn't get much customization, but his pink cape flowed and fluttered in the wake of his sprint.

"Cross Heart approaching scene!" he panted into his communicator.

"Aquarius en route, estimated arrival in two minutes," Marinette's voice came through.

"Copy Cross Heart, copy Aquarius." Cassie responded, urgent but collected. "This is Technomance on scene, south side of building. We have a three-story apartment complex with severe collateral damage from a villain attack at the northwest corner. Online records show - ma'am, away from the red lights, toward the green lights! - online records show approximately forty occupants. I've confirmed the evacuation of eighteen occupants so far. Via sensing personal cell phones and the use of my aerial camera drones, I estimate twenty-one - sir, you need to stay calm, help is on the way - twenty one remaining civilians, all on the second and third floors. The civilians have confirmed the main stairwells down to the first floor are compromised. The building is under threat of collapse due to damage to the main northwest support."

Shoot. Sherman pushed himself faster, and immediately sucked down a glucose packet from his belt. He'd need all the generator power he could get for this. He barreled around a corner and skidded to a halt fifty feet from the building.

"Cross Heart arrived on…!" he began the announcement strong and heroic, and trailed off as he saw the building in front of him. The scene was a nightmare. Sirens blared left and right, people cried out in fear, and something was creaking ominously - he didn't dare wonder what. "On scene…"

Sherman felt his breath catch in his throat. He prided himself on his ability to help once he knew what the problem was. As soon as he had a goal, he chased it down with all the power of his heart, figuratively and literally. However, so far in his life the challenge had only ever been that he couldn't find the problem. This onslaught of a million problems at once, all of which needed his immediate attention, was something he had never known.

"Aquarius to Technomance. Do the apartments have balconies?"

"The digital floor plans I have show that all second and third story apartment units should either have available balconies or access to one. I'll tap into their phone speakers and direct all remaining civilians to get to them."

"Copy. Approaching scene, estimate one minute."

There was just so much. So many problems to solve, so many people needing help, so many -

"Sherman. Stay with me." Cassie's voice cut through his communicator clear and firm. "We can't lose you here."

"Tell me what to do, Cassie," he whispered desperately. "I can't - I can't be everywhere at once. I'm not fast enough. I'm not - "

"You need to focus, Sherman. Ignore your eyes, ignore your heart."

"But people need me - !"

"Ignore it. Ignore the sentiment of being the hero. I can only send you to one place, and it needs to be the one place you can do the most good."

Sherman felt his eyes focus. "The northwest support."

"That's right. Marinette will be here soon, she and I can handle getting the civilians out. We need you to prevent collapse until then. But I need you to confirm that you can do it."

Sherman's fists flared with light. Hold up a heavy thing. Now that was something he could do.

"…Yeah. I can do it. Heart Step!"

Like lightning, Sherman hurtled towards the northwest corner. It was a grim sight - brick, plaster, and wood had been blown to pieces by whatever blast-attack was used by the villain, and the base of the main support pillar had been completely taken out, leaving the rest of the pillar dangling down over the ground. This entire corner of the building leaning down towards the asphalt must have been the source of the creaking from beforehand.

The structural supports groaned as the corner dipped closer to the ground, and he took the strongest, sturdiest stance he could beneath it. Sherman exhaled. Time to be a hero. He ducked underneath the dangling segment of pillar, and pushed.

The partial weight of a building bore down on him, but he locked in and glowed brighter. Although he preferred food to power his generator, any energy source would do - including kinetic. The pressure that wanted to crush his body into the earth would only make him mightier. As long as his body held out, so would his quirk.

"Cross Heart in position, holding strong!" Sherman's effort-filled voice crackled through Cassie's communicator. She could hardly believe her ears - he was actually doing it.

"C-copy! Let me know the instant you start buckling, understand?" All she got in response was a strained grunt of struggle. Good enough for now, but they had to do this quick. Her camera drones circled the upper floors, taking in every bit of information they could.

"Aquarius, location?" Cassie asked quickly, hoping she kept the fear from her voice.

As if on cue, Marinette swept onto the scene with the crash of a wave, landing next to Cassie as water flooded out onto the pavement from beneath her with the surfing-wave released. "Right here," she announced. Marinette's first-year suit was just as basic as the others', but highlighted with blues and a large symbol of the zodiac sign Aquarius emblazoned across her back. On her forearms, hips, and shoulders sat canisters of compressed, purified water.

"Mari, thank god you're here," Cassie exhaled and tried to ignore the numbness from her quirk overuse. "Civilians are on the balconies, and I'm marking them onto our visors' displays." A standard-issue visor extended across one eye, and with a flash of quirk power, she created a three-dimensional model showing the building in blue and the civilians in bright glowing orange. "Sending it to your visor now."

"Received. Ready to - "

She was cut off by the sound of wooded beams splintering, and the ever-so-slight lean of the apartment complex before them, accompanied by the cries and shouts of civilians on their balconies. Even a steady support pillar only held so long - the building was coming down.

"Sherman?" Cassie frantically radioed him.

"Please hurry," a struggling voice came back, almost a whimper.

"Mari!" Cassie half ordered, half begged..

As soon as she heard Sherman's voice, Marinette's eyes hardened. "J'ai compris." She raised her arms and inhaled, and the earth shook.

Water erupted from the cityscape around them. Pipes ruptured like dams, hydrants burst from the pavement in enormous geysers, and even the gallons inside her own suit swept into one enormous river, wrapping around the building in a swirling vortex that glowed a supernatural blue under Marinette's command. The water swept civilians from their balconies as Marinette counted off each of the marks Cassie had placed in her visor, and finally clapped her hands together to bring the dozen currents into a single, massive river in the air. The river dipped low to the ground and finally broke apart, crashing against the pavement and depositing every one of the civilians over fifty feet east of the building, the opposite side of the collapse. Not a gentle landing, but a safe one.

Quirk: Deep Blue. The user has absolute control of preexisting liquid water as long as she holds her breath, as though she herself was underwater. The control is enhanced by body movements and proximity, but diminished by impurities in the water. Some people just get born lucky.

However, tremendous power always came at a prince, and Marinette's vortex had damaged the building further. The splintering of beams became snapping, and as the civilians flew through Marinette's waterslide, Cassie sprinted towards the northwest corner as she mentally calculated where the collapse would hit hardest. No need for Marinette to waste air telling her to get Sherman - she wasn't as strong as her friends, but she could save at least one person.

"Cross Heart! Civilians are safe, get out of there!" Cassie exclaimed and prepared her oldest support item from her belt.

Even from his place beneath the pillar, Sherman had seen Marinette's incredible power, and smiled to himself, near-delirious. Mari arrived - that means she saved the day. She always did. His power burned as bright as ever, but the edges of his vision were going black. Then he heard Cassie's voice, and his eyes snapped back open. Time to go.

With a final battle-shout, he forced the pillar off his shoulders and a foot into the air. Heart… Step!" He cried out and rocketed with a single quirk-powered horizontal push southwards, as far from the collapse zone as he could get. As his feet gave out under him, he knew it wasn't enough.

At the last moment, he felt a familiar buzz from the day of the entrance exam. Sparks, some part of his mind recognized. Cassie's mechanical cable wrapped around his waist and pulled. Contracting electrical wires, micro-coding, and raw technomancy sang across the fibers, and Sherman was yanked safely out of the collapse zone as the building finally crashed down, for good. He skidded along the cement, exhausted but unharmed.

Cassie ignored the near-paralysis of her own legs and stumbled towards him. They were safe. They had done it. Protocols and professionalism be damned - she and Marinette wrapped Sherman and each other up in the tightest hug they could.

End of second year, Wing Academy library:

A very sleepy Sherman stifled a yawn and closed his heavy textbook with a thunk. The first test of second-year finals were the next day, and he had done all the studying his brain could take. He was in the hands of the gods (and Miss Sara) now.

Marinette roused Winston from his facedown-on-table nap. Even Vitani seemed less chipper than usual, but she gave a tired, grateful smile nonetheless. "Thanks for the last-minute help, Mari and Cassie. Kazu had to cancel, so you really saved our butts."

"No problem," Marinette responded. "Teaching is a good way for us to review. Right, Cassie?"

"Right," Cassie agreed distantly, still scribbling something down. She had been simultaneously helping tutor the study group and doing her own studying. The library was technically open around the clock, but even the stressed second years knew what was good for them, and were filtering out to get some sleep before the brutal written exam ahead. Except for one, it seemed. The classmates had never seen Cassie with such prominent shadows under her eyes.

As Vitani helped (floated) the still-groggy Winston from their study table back to his dorm, Marinette's mouth pursed into a concerned thin line. She wanted to say something, then she hesitated. Maybe it would be better coming from a certain someone else.

"Good luck tomorrow, guys!" Sherman called encouragingly to his classmates. He finished packing his backpack with a yawn and turned to walk away from the library, only for Marinette to quickly fall into step with him. Sherman was surprised - he knew Marinette was just as tired as him, and assumed she would want to head to bed ASAP.

"Oh, uh - hey, Mar. What's up?"

"Could you possibly go talk to her?" Marinette requested.

Sherman was unobservant on the best of days, and more so when he was this tired. "Huh? Talk to who?"

"Our best friend who is staying up late to study instead of sleep the night before a test?" Marinette pointed out in a friendly, droll tease.

"Hm? Cassie is staying - ?" He turned around to see that she was indeed still studying and had no plans to stop. "Aw, not again," he groaned under his breath, then looked back to his other best friend. "Are you also gonna come, or…?"

"I think it would be best if she heard it from you," Marinette politely refused with a mysterious smile.

Sherman didn't have the bandwidth to wonder about Marinette's machinations, and he was worried about Cassie. "Sure," he confirmed. "G'night, Mari."

Marinette waved her goodbye and head off to bed, while Sherman doubled back to their study table. Cassie's lips silently mouthed the words she read as she stared at the textbook in front of her, and Sherman felt her quirk power zap through the air in small bursts, like she was reading and mentally typing digital notes at the same time.

"You, uh, doing alright there, Sparks?" he tested the waters.

"Huh?"

"It's getting kinda late."

"Right, right. I'll head to sleep soon."

"You've studied just as much as any of us, Cassie. More, if right now is any indication."

"And?" she deadpanned.

"And that means you've studied enough. You need to go to bed, or you're gonna be a mess for the exam."

"I'm fine, Rosie," she grit her teeth.

"You're fine right now, but you won't be tomorrow morning," Sherman countered. "You're overdoing it. An extra hour of sleep is gonna be WAY more useful than another hour of study."

He could tell he was making progress with how conflicted she started to look, but she still snorted. "You're one to talk. You overdo it constantly."

"Yeah, I do," he admitted. "And it always works out for me, because I always have you watching my back. So now, give me a chance to watch yours, okay?"

Finally, Cassie slumped down in some fusion of defeat and relief. "…Alright. I'll get some sleep."

"There's my girl." Sherman grinned. Satisfied with his work, he picked up his backpack and turned to head for his dorm room. "See you tomorrow, Sparks. I'd say good luck, but you won't need it."

Despite herself, she returned the smile. "Thanks, Sher. Good night."

Third year, before midterms:

A finally-part-blonde Cassie squeezed Marinette's hand for support. "I'm gonna throw up."

"No, you're not." Marinette, also newly-colored with streaks of blue in her dark hair, told her. It was equal parts comfort, support, encouragement, and command.

"Shouldn't it wait until after midterms?" Cassie insisted, trying any angle she could to get out of her own commitment. "We shouldn't be distracted or anything."

"You're going to be more distracted if you keep dancing around this."

"Maybe he'll be insulted! Maybe he's the kind of guy who thinks the man should be the one to initiate!"

"You are really scraping the bottom of the barrel for excuses, ma chère."

"He's… he's our best friend! I don't want to ruin that."

"Exactly. He's our best friend. Nothing can ruin that."

Cassie's words dropped to a whisper. "…I'm really scared, Mari."

"I know you're scared. But I also know you're brave. You can do this," Marinette stated firmly. Cassie hesitantly nodded, and took a deep breath to calm her fears. "Now, you should go. You asked to meet him outside the cafeteria at six, and you only have a couple of minutes."

"Right." Cassie forced her voice to stay strong. She could do this. She gave Marinette's hand one final squeeze and walked towards the cafeteria, feeling like she was walking to her own execution.

Her brain flung at her every possible reason to back out, but Cassie heard echoes of Marinette's soothing voice surgically pick apart each of them. There was no logical reason to not do this. There was just fear, and fear had never stopped her before.

They arrived in front of the cafeteria at the same time, with Cassie shuffling her way through the hall and Shrman bounding down the stairwell. He broke into a big, casual smile when he saw her. She didn't think it was possible for her stomach to twist any further, but he managed to make it do a complete backflip.

"Hey, Cassie! Thanks for the invite to food - I had to miss Snacktime today so I was starving."

"N-no problem. I actually, uh, wanted to talk to you about something first." She couldn't believe she was doing this. She spent her whole life making plans, schedules, and railroads for everything from hero missions to everyday life. She expected this to feel like a railway station, with a terrifying number of possibilities that she wouldn't be able to account for. The reality was worse - she had run out of rail to follow at all.

For once in his life, Sherman picked up the cues that this was serious, and slowed his roll. "Oh. Uh, sure! What's up?"

Now or never.

"We've been friends since the start of our academy lives. Even before that, kinda," she began as she fought down the shake in her voice. "And I… I really, really care about you, a lot. You're one of the dearest people in the world to me. But I think i-it's in a more-than-friends way."

He blinked, unable to believe his ears. "…Cassie?"

"And I know this is a lot to put on you. After all, we're heroes-in-training, and we're best friends, and it's almost midterms, and you might not feel the same. But I felt like it was something you should know - "

"Cass."

" - because it wouldn't feel right for me to keep being so close with you when you don't know how I feel, because I would feel like I'd be taking advantage of you when we hug and stuff, because I really like when we hug, but I would understand if knowing this new stuff changed how you feel about it - "

"Cassandra."

" - and I don't want you to feel obligated to say that you reciprocate or anything so if you don't feel the same that's totally fine and I totally get it and I promise that's fine with me and if you never want to speak to me again then - "

"Sparks."

"…Yeah?"

"I'd really like to kiss you," he told her with barely-contained exhilaration.

Her ears rung, and her cheeks burned. Without any direction from her brain, her head nodded. Sherman took her hand and leaned in, and their lips met.

After nearly two and a half years of proximity, contact, and friendship, Cassie and Sherman thought they were used to that surge of feeling from their quirks meeting that they first felt so long ago during the entrance exam. It had become a part of their life, and they hardly even noticed it anymore. But kissing was different. Velvet-soft lightning flooded their bodies, and if either of their eyes had been open, they would have been blinded by how bright Sherman glowed.

Eventually, they broke apart. No one spoke - they just took in the moment. Their eyes were locked, neither one moving or even blinking. Finally, Sherman giggled, and Cassie couldn't quite stifle her own laugh.

The dam broke, and an immediate, mutual understanding of just how dumb they had been been turned their fairytale kiss into a mess of raucous, tearful laughter. And they wouldn't have had it any other way.

Present day:

Cassandra sat in front of her mirror, letting herself get dolled up. She wasn't usually one for beautification, but she wanted to make an effort for Sherman. If he could suffer through a necktie, she could handle some makeup.

Morty and Tish flanked her on either side, each working on one side of her face. Cassie had been somewhat surprised that Morticia was so skilled at makeup even on skin as dark as her own, which she thought would be unfamiliar to the pale Tish, but she supposed when you can put makeup on a crimson-red ghost and a gaunt zombie, you can do it on anyone. Turned out that it was pretty handy to have a mind-linked pair of bodies for makeup - twice the speed and perfect symmetry. Morty babbled on about the upcoming date, asking questions and only sometimes waiting for answers before she moved to the next.

Cassie was jittery enough that small shades of her quirk bounced through her brain, and she felt the phone approaching before Marinette even knocked.

"Come in!" Cassie called, and Marinette stepped in with a surprised but not-gonna-question-it expression.

Behind her, floating off the ground to get a better angle on the sitting Cassie, Vitiani worked on the double braid buns of black-and-dyed-gold hair. "Heya, Mari. Qué pasa? Can you come check my work?"

"Of course," Marinette agreed and walked in. Cassie's room was mostly the same as ever - simple and organized (nearly spartan, in her opinion), with the only clutter kept to her desk full of papers and graduation work strewn across it. However, tonight she saw an ironically similar sight to Sherman's room: cosmetics and clothing left and right, like they had spent the evening preparing and experimenting with different looks and outfits. How much was Morticia and Vitani's enthusiasm versus Cassie neurotic perfectionism, she couldn't say.

"Did you hear where they're going, Mari?" Morty asked excitedly. "Blue Moon, that fancy new restaurant uptown! I bet it's gonna be so good."

"I didn't know! That sounds wonderful," she agreed. Not technically a lie, since she didn't know for absolute certain, even if she was the one who mentioned it to Sherman over a week ago and planted the idea's seed. But again, they didn't need to know that.

"It's not fancy-fancy. We're still students, no high-end stuff for us," Cassie corrected Morty, careful not to move her face too much while Morticia worked. "But it's very nice for sure. And Sherman suggested we walk through the Harrison Garden on the way. He says the pink roses are in bloom."

"Of course, the pink roses," Marinette chuckled. Sherman was nothing if not on-brand. The garden idea was news to her though - good for Sherman for taking some extra initiative. Cassie would have to work hard to one-up tonight when it was her turn to plan next month.

The conversation died, and a pregnant pause fell over the room. Tish was no stranger to silence, and Vitani was distracted by her (difficult) hair task, but Morty noticed. People tended to forget, especially compared to the erudite, stoic Tish, but she wasn't just the vibrant half of Morticia. She was the heart, and a good deal more perceptive than people realized.

Cassie opened her mouth to say something, then closed it in a split second. Anxious. Marinette shifted in the second chair by the mirror, and clasped her hands in front of her. Guarded. Neither met each others' eyes, even through the mirror. Tense.

Morty stifled a disappointed sigh. This again. Every time she saw them together, she hoped it would be better, and it never was. She wished she could just call it out and bring it to the floor to deal with once and for all, but she held back. It was Cassie's date night, and she was occupied enough already. Besides, shades of rationality from Tish crept in, this is their problem to sort out, not ours. Not our responsibility, not our business, not our place. Morty pursed her lips. She hated when she was right. But she had to at least give them a chance to fix it.

"Aaaand done," Vitani claimed confidently.

Morty jumped on the opportunity. "Great! I need you to do ours next."

Vitani looked baffled at the sudden request. "Huh?!"

"Wait, but I - " Cassie began.

"Y'know, while Vivi's fingers are still warm! That's how it works, right?" Morty guessed and tugged Vitani away.

"I suppose that's my cue as well." Tish shrugged as she stood up, as if she and Morty didn't share thoughts. "Good luck, Cassie. You look lovely."

"Thanks, but I still - !"

Just like that, the two (three counting Morty) of them were gone. Marinette and Cassie were dreadfully alone. The pregnant pause became an oppressive tension. Neither woman said anything for three seconds. Five seconds. Seven seconds - not like Cassie was counting or anything.

Cassie cleared her throat. "Well. Guess Morty really wanted their hair braided, huh?" She attempted a laugh, but it came out forced and desperate for any way to break the silence.

"I guess so." Marinette agreed. "Well, your hair and makeup are finished. Is there any way I can help?"

"Not… not really." Cassie said quietly. "I just wanted your opinion." She wore a white dress with black at the hem, sleeves, collar, and waist, over black leggings and silver flats (a dress and makeup was one thing, but Cassie would die before she wore high heels).

Marinette exhaled. "You look beautiful, ma sœurs. You'll knock his socks off." It wasn't a lie - Vitani, Morticia, and the outfit had done remarkable work, and Cassie had been made stunning.

Sherman as well, of course, but there was a key difference in what they needed to hear. Marinette told Sherman that Cassie would find him handsome no matter what - this was because Sherman needed reassurance. He needed to know that if he messed up, it would still be okay. Cassie, on the other hand, needed validation. Marinette knew Cassie couldn't bear hearing that a mistake was acceptable, and instead needed to hear that a mistake would not be made at all.

Sherman knew he looked good in a suit, he just needed to hear he looked good beyond the suit. Cassie knew Sherman would think she was beautiful no matter what she wore, but she needed to hear that she would live up to his expectations in this form. A delicate tightrope that Marinette had years of experience with.

"Will you zip me up?" Cassie stood from her chair in front of the mirror.

"…I can do that," Marinette answered and stood as well - too fast, her body decided. A twinge of pain and weakness jolted down her calf. She stumbled for only a moment, then returned to her task. They both knew Cassie noticed, but Cassie's mouth was glued shut. Once again, they didn't meet eyes despite the mirror.

Cassie's hand twitched. This was the chance. Her moment to say something. To apologize for what happened. For what Cassie did, and for what Cassie didn't do.

Memories from only a few months ago forced their way into her thoughts. The hospital. Sterile sheets. Vending-machine food, brought by rotating classmates. A single bedside chair she waited in, slept in, prayed in, as days and nights blurred together. Crushing, all-consuming guilt.

Say something, Cassie's conscience growled - no, begged. Say you miss being best friends. Real best friends, not this.

Marinette's unsteady hands drew the zipper up Cassie's spine.

Say you're sorry. Or say you'll do anything to make right. Or say you did the best you could. It doesn't matter. Just something.

Marinette tightened the bow on the back of Cassie's dress, fastening the belt.

Say something. Say something. Say something.

Marinette handed Cassie the matching handbag on her bed.

Say SOMETHING -

"Well." Marinette's voice cut off the pounding silence. "I'll leave you to your date. I hope it's a night to remember, mon amie."

Cassie exhaled, giving up. "Thank you, Mari. I appreciate it."

"You're very welcome," Marinette answered with a kind smile and distant eyes as she turned to leave. "Let me know how it goes."

"I will," Cassie whispered. Is this all we've become? Empty promises of 'keeping in touch?' The door closed, and Cassie was alone.

Before the regret crushed her, she grit her metaphorical teeth and shoved it aside - all of it. If there was one thing Cassie could do, it was compartmentalize, for better and for worse. Media Day, graduation planning, band practice, switchboard maintenance, fixing her relationship with her best friend, all problems for tomorrow.

Cassie gave Marinette her space to leave, then grabbed her phone and texted Sherman to tell him she was coming. She had a date to keep.

Fluffy friendship and couple-y stuff, and some lore for the primary-color-hair-dye trio. This chapter will lead into the second, where the proper date will happen.

Unlike the Chapter 6 flashbacks, these ones were not italicized, because there wasn't any present day stuff in between them, and I didn't want so much of the chapter to be italicized if it didn't need to differentiate between past and present. Let me know if it would be easier to understand with all flashbacks italicized though.

For anyone wondering why the trio was on an emergency scene alone at the end of their first year, it was during internships and their mentor was fighting the actual villain who caused the damage before they could damage anything else, sending the trio to deal with evacuation.

Seems like whatever tension cropped up between Cassie and Marinette happened in the third year, post Cassie and Sherman getting together. Curious.

Note that Marinette's assumptions of what Cassie and Sherman 'need to hear' is a flawed guess based in her own perspective - after all, she's a person in the story, not a reader from the outside like us. In reality, Sherman would probably benefit from someone he holds dear telling him they believe in him to be correct instead of just that it's okay to be wrong, and Cassie would DEFINITELY benefit from someone telling her that it's okay to be wrong and that a mistake isn't the end of the world. But Marinette is someone who has been trained by the hero system to believe that she always embodies the right choice because of her natural-born power, so she of course thinks she knows what's best for everyone. Sounds a little bit like well-meaning control freak Cassie? Very intentional.

As always, I welcome constructive criticism and advice. Date night next time, thanks for reading!