Chapter 1 - First Times, First Impressions

.

"Marinette, you are up in ten!" came the knock to her dressing room door.

The petite blunette squeaked, worrying her lip away nervously as she straightened the lace bodice and burgundy ruffles of her dress. Glancing at her reflection she nodded to herself in satisfaction before she softly fingered the red rose adorning her hair.

"Please give me courage Chat Noir," she whispered into the shadows. As if in response to her plea, the candles in the room flickered and the shadows elongated as if battling the light and trying to engulf her in darkness. She could hear the wind whispering through the beams of the old opera house and strangely it sounded like a song…a song sang by a deep baritone voice.

"Marinette!"

The girl whipped round to face Alya standing at the door.

"We're waiting for you, hurry up!" Alya said.

Marinette hitched up her long skirts and headed towards the stage, nervously glancing back at her dressing room. For a moment she could have sworn she had felt someone in there with her.

Adrien Agreste sat in the private box overlooking the stage. He could feel the people in the galleria look up at him through their spectacles, trying to catch a glimpse of the young Marquess who rarely graced society with his presence.

"Seems like you have gathered quite a crowd, my Lord," came a jovial voice from behind Adrien.

"Sir Nino!" Adrien broke into a smile, standing up to greet his long time friend. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm quite fond of music, as you very well know," Nino responded. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that question? Ever since people caught wind that you were coming to see this particular performance I dare say tickets sold out incredibly fast."

Nino jerked his head to the seating area and Adrien glanced at the crowd, mostly consisting of high society young ladies. Noticing that his eyes had turned on them they started fluttering their fans and sending heated stares his way. Adrien winced and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He felt like he was a piece of meat on display...

"Well…I've always wanted to come to the opera and today my father consented..." he replied. He wasn't going to say why though. His eyes flicked to the box opposite his and he tried not to dwell on it.

Nino raised an eyebrow but questioned no further as the bell rang, signaling the start of the show. Adrien sat down in his seat and watched as the red satin curtains were drawn to reveal the performers on stage.

The orchestra began to play and soon after a pretty blue eyed girl dressed in a rose red dress stepped forward. She seemed nervous, gripping her fan like a lifeline. Adrien smiled as he watched her. She seemed like she might be a newbie, just like he was to the opera scene.

Then bluebell eyes set themselves determinedly on the crowd, something akin to passion swirling in their depths. Adrien sucked in his breath, enraptured.

And the young girl on stage sang.

Her voice was mesmerizing. Even the giggling girls who'd come for other distractions unrelated to music had quietened down to watch the young woman on stage as she sang sweetly.

As the music came to an end, and so did her solo, the entire auditorium stood in ovation. Cheers of "Bravo!" were directed her way.

As she took a bow she glanced up and a pair of mossy green eyes caught her attention. It was a handsome young man and his eyes seemed to be transfixed on her, green orbs swimming with a mix of open admiration and something else she couldn't quite place. As he seemed to notice her looking his way he smiled and it took her breath away.

Blushing she quickly looked down and took another bow, the man's gaze consuming her thoughts. For some reason she felt drawn to him.

Glancing up again at the young man in the private box she shyly smiled back, noticing how his eyes widened just slightly before her embarrassment overpowered her and she scurried backstage.

Unbeknownst to Marinette another set of eyes had been watching the whole exchange. And they weren't happy...

Alya and the rest of the troupe had been ecstatic. The show had been highly appraised and there had been many inquiries after the dashing young lady in red who had sung tonight. People kept pouring into the backstage quarters to give their congratulations and it was well past midnight before Marinette managed to get back to her dressing room to remove her make-up and her stage costume.

What greeted her in her little private abode was a sea of red roses. The warm glow from the candles making the room seem almost sensuous with the red silken flowers scattered around her chaise-lounge. A little white envelope addressed to her was propped up against her vanity. Ripping it open she read,

My Lady,

You were cat-ivating tonight. Well done. Here is a little token of my appreciation. I'm sure you know what they mean.

Bisous,

Chat Noir

Marinette's nose wrinkled at the cat pun but she held the letter close to her heart, her countenance brimming with joy. Chat had always been her lucky charm. Without him she wouldn't be here in the first place.

"Chat…" she breathed.

As always he left behind red roses to remind her of him. He had done so ever since that first time they "met" in the graveyard…

A sudden knock on the door interrupted her train of thought.

"Yes? Who is it?" Marinette inquired.

"Um…my name is Marquess Agreste. I…wanted to congratulate you on your performance tonight," came a man's voice.

Marinette opened the door and before her stood the young man she had spied earlier this evening. He looked even more dashing up close. Tall, broad shouldered and sharply dressed in a black tailcoat and white bowtie, his dimpled smile made her heart swoon and her stomach do giddy cartwheels.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng," the blonde gentleman bowed. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I was told that I would find you here and…"

He presented her with a small bouquet of pink roses looking abashed. "It took me a while to get these but I wanted to express my admiration for your performance. It's my first time to the opera and thanks to you I must say it certainly won't be the last. You have inspired me."

Marinette felt her face heat up in embarrassment at the praise but accepted the flowers he held out to her. Electricity ran through her hands as their fingertips brushed.

"Please, Marquess Agreste, do not flatter me so! I…I just sang as I usually do, nothing special. I do not deserve such flattery from you."

Adrien smiled at the blushing girl. She looked the picture of innocence clutching his pink flowers to her bosom, tendrils of her dark hair framing her face, pearl white teeth nibbling her bottom lip...the Marquess sucked in a sharp breath and averted his gaze momentarily.

"I believe you do, Ms. Dupain-Cheng," he insisted and glanced behind her into her room. "And I'm guessing so do your many other admirers. You have a wonderful voice. And I'm looking forward to your next performance."

Adrien smiled, holding her gaze with his green eyes as he bowed goodnight. She was left slightly floundering as he turned to leave and watched in a daze as the beautiful man walked down the hallway and out of sight.

"Smitten already, Marinette?" came Alya's chuckle as she sauntered up to her friend. She had been the one to direct the young heir of the Agreste family to Marinette's dressing room, shoo-ing the social climbers that had followed him back to the main foyer.

There had been quite a crowd tonight. Most were there to see the handsome Marquess Agreste and win his affections. So seeing him dodge the pinning young ladies and the old gentlemen that wished to coax him into marriage had piqued everyone's curiosity. After attending to those acquaintances he already knew, the Marquess had quickly excused himself from the grand foyer and disappeared, only to reappear backstage to visit the pretty new talent, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The news would surely be every gossips favorite story come morning in the city of Paris.

Marinette sighed dreamily as she looked at the pink roses in her hands.

"Alya...he liked my singing!" the petite opera singer murmured in awe.

Alya chuckled as she ruffled her oldest friend's hair. "Yeah, and so did a whole bunch of other people. You were amazing out there tonight, Marinette!"

Peeking past her friend into her dressing room Alya smirked. "And let me guess, Chat Noir was pleased?"

Marinette glanced at the red roses and her eyes sparkled with pleasure. "Yes! I think he must have been in the audience tonight. I wish I knew who he was...I can't thank him enough."

"Girl, I don't know why you two keep this charade up. He must know who YOU are by now. The rose in your hair was probably a dead giveaway to who you were. You should tell him to reveal himself next time you meet up with him."

Marinette fingered the red rose that she had placed in her hair for the performance. It had appeared on her vanity before the show with a quickly scribbled note saying "Good luck". Would he show himself? After six years of keeping his identity a secret. What if he kept it a secret for a reason? What if she it was a very valid reason…? A reason she didn't particularly want to know? She frowned as a number of negative possibilities entered her mind.

"I think I'll let him choose to reveal himself if he wants to. I don't want to pressure him into anything," Marinette finally said.

Unbeknownst to her a dark figure smirked in the shadows, a red rose held lightly to his lips as he watched Marinette chat with her friend. He had finally got to see her. His little lady luck, his Ladybug. And she was divine.

"Purrhaps I'll reveal myself sooner than you think my Lady," the figure whispered into the night.

.

.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Miraculous Ladybug & Chat Noir.

AN: Hi everyone! So lately I've been inspired by Neoclassicism, Gothic design and Phantom of the Opera. I combined that mix and voila! The Miraculous version of the classic tale of the Phantom of the Opera appeared. I might make reference to historical events, but some things might be tweaked to fit my story. Hope you enjoy!