The idea for this fic came about when my sister and I were talking about ML scenarios. x3

Techno music blasted from the speakers as Nino scratched the records, amping up the crowd. Cameras flashed brilliantly, dancing around the room in steady bursts, in rhythm with the multicolored show lights. People clapped and whistled, some were out of their seats, jumping up and down to the beat.

The atmosphere was unlike anything Marinette had ever experienced before. She would've compared it to one of Jagged Stone's concerts and the first fashion show of Gabriel Agreste she had attended, but there was just something about tonight that made it feel vastly different, but she couldn't place what it was exactly.

There was a thrill in the air, some sort of electricity that coursed through it. It was almost palpable, even.

Models began walking out onto the catwalk, wearing the newest autumn designs from Gabriel's. But Gabriel Agreste wasn't the only one to design these outfits. Mr. Agreste had reached out to Marinette to work on his new fashion line with him. He wanted a fresh and talented mind to work alongside him and make this his best line yet, and knew Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the only choice to be his new protege.

Even though she already had a taste of one of her creations being modeled because of Gabriel Agreste, this was something else entirely. She couldn't stop the grin that now felt like a fixture on her face as she watched the models come and go wearing her innovated designs. Marinette even had to pinch herself when she started to feel like she was in a dream.

"This is all real, girl!" Alya reminded her with a light laugh and a one-armed hug when she saw what her best friend was doing. "I'm so proud of you!"

Marinette laughed. "Working with Gabriel Agreste was honestly one of the best experiences of my life, I learned so much! Do you think he's here? I want to thank him," Marinette began looking around the room, but the only faces she recognized were those of her friends and family.

"I don't know, maybe he'll make a surprise appearance tonight?"

Marinette glanced around the room once more, with no luck. She felt Alya's elbow in her ribs and turned her attention back to her friend.

"It's Adrien's turn!" squealed Alya, shooting her friend a sly look.

Adrien walked down the catwalk in the most gorgeous black poplin trench coat. It was unbuttoned, but the position of the buttons easily told that when shut, it was an asymmetrical coat. Its length reached about mid-thigh. His sleeves were pushed up, nearly reaching his elbows. Underneath, Adrien sported a dark grey vest, a black tie, and a white collared shirt. He had one hand stuffed in his pocket as he strut down the runway. When he spotted Marinette towards the end of the catwalk, he beamed and reached out his hand for her.

She blinked in shock, her mind gone blank as she realized what he was asking.
"Go on, Marinette! He wants you to join him on stage!" Alya encouraged, getting her out of her seat and nudging her towards Adrien.

Marinette hesitantly got up on stage, taking his hand. The crowd cheered and whistled, causing her eyes to go wide. Then she felt Adrien squeeze her hand. The gesture brought her focus back to him, and he gave her an encouraging nod and smile. Marinette let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she was holding and her shoulders relaxed. She waved to the crowd as Adrien clapped for her, along with everyone else in the room.

Then he lead her backstage as the show continued on.

"Thank you," she sighed with relief. "I totally froze up there."

"It's okay, it's a bit nerve-wracking the first time," he said with a half-shrug of his shoulder. "Anyway, my father said it's okay that I celebrate with you, Alya, and Nino tonight!"

"Really? That's awesome! It wouldn't feel right without you there, you know."

Adrien grinned just a bit wider at her words. Coming from her, it really meant a lot. "Alya said we're going to a party with everyone from school."

"Yeah, it'll be a lot of fun. My parents baked pretty much everything you can possibly think of for it," she laughed, and his smile broadened at the sound. "By the way, is your father here?" Marinette glanced around backstage. "I want to thank him again for the opportunity and for all of this."

"Miss Dupain-Cheng," she heard a cool, yet still somewhat friendly voice greet from behind her.

She spun around on the balls of her feet. "Ah, Mr. Agreste! I just wanted to thank you for everything. It was an absolute dream to work with you, you have no idea just what it means to me that you took a chance on me."

"I should be the one thanking you. You saved me from having to go an entire season without releasing a new line. In this business, that's considered a catastrophe. You have a bright future ahead of you, young lady," Gabriel praised, giving her a half-smile and a nod.

Marinette brushed her hair behind her ear, unintentionally exposing her earrings, as she looked down at the ground with slight embarrassment. Gabriel's eyes went wide, then narrowed momentarily as he briefly focused on them.

"Thank you," she beamed.

"And thank you for letting me celebrate with Marinette and my friends tonight, Father," Adrien made sure to squeeze in.

"Oh, uh," Gabriel cleared his throat. "Well just make sure you have your bodyguard pick you up by 9," Gabriel's voice suddenly became cooler, but neither Adrien nor Marinette noticed. He turned away without another word.

Adrien turned back to Marinette with a grin. "Want to watch the rest of the show backstage?"

Marinette giggled. "Sure, it'll be interesting to watch from this point of view."

Gabriel stormed into his dressing room and slammed the door behind him.

"Master?" Nooroo's meek voice asked as he appeared.

"Those earrings… First my son and his ring, now Marinette and the earrings? Could it be a coincidence, too?" Gabriel pondered aloud, tapping his index finger to his mouth.

Nooroo floated next to his master, not saying a word.

"There's something about Miss Dupain-Cheng that feels so familiar… could she really be her?" he took out his tablet from a bag on the table and pulled up a video of Ladybug doing a recent interview.

"Of course fighting akumas can get a bit draining at times, but we'd never let that stop us from saving Paris," she laughed, the sound sweet and very familiar.

Gabriel heard this laugh often in his home, particularly lately. Not only did she come over to work on their fashion line, but she spent a lot of time with his son, too. This girl was brilliant, talented, skillful, and she treated Adrien with the utmost kindness. She was certainly very likable, and one of the very few people in the world that could make him genuinely smile. It was also very clear how important this girl was to his son.

"No…" he groaned, tossing the tablet to the side before he leaned his hands on the desk. He hung his head, shaking it back and forth as he fumed.

Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino left the show together, a bit later than their classmates had. Given Nino was the DJ, Alya the vlogger and reporter, Adrien the head model in the show, and Marinette the main reason for it all, they were nearly the last to leave the building.

Once they got close to the venue the party was being held at, Adrien grabbed Marinette's arm gently to stop her.

She stopped walking and glanced back at him curiously. "Is something wrong?"

"Do you trust me?" he asked seriously, looking deep into her eyes.

"Uhh…" she suddenly spaced out, caught off-guard by his question, tone, and the intenseness of his gaze. "Yes, of course," she blinked, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Good!" he grinned, pulling a black handkerchief from his pocket and tying it around her eyes.

"Adrien? What -"

"Trust me. I'm not going to let you crash into anything, I promise."

Marinette took a couple of steps with her arms held out in front of her. Adrien took one of them in his, bringing it back down to her side. He didn't let her go from his grasp.

"Can I ask you something?" he suddenly sounded very deflated. Marinette turned her head to face him instinctively.

"Of course, what's wrong, Adrien?"

Adrien looked up ahead and saw Alya and Nino going into the party, probably warning the guests they were coming. "Do you think you'll still come over sometimes? Now that you're no longer working with my father, I.…" he trailed off from his thought, and the fact that she couldn't see his face as he said those words made her feel really anxious.

Marinette stopped walking again. "As long as you want me there, and I'm allowed at your house, I'll be there. I'll swing by so much, I bet you'll get sick of me," she elbowed playfully with a laugh.

Adrien couldn't help but grin in response. "Really?"

"Really," she assured him.

"That's not true, you know. I'd never get sick of you."

"We'll see," she shrugged, though her broad smile an indicator that she was teasing.

The two chatted happily as they closed the gap between them and the party.

Adrien guided her into the room and whispered, "Everyone has a surprise for you," before removing her blindfold. She was greeted by her parents surrounding a massive cake of an exquisite dress, and her friends with colorfully wrapped gifts in their hands.

"Wow, you guys!" she cried, her eyes starting to water. "You really shouldn't have gone to all this trouble," she said with her hand covering her mouth.

"Of course we did!" Nino exclaimed, his arm around Alya's shoulders.

"You do so much for everyone else," Alix added in.

"So it's time we all did something special for you," finished Max.

Marinette ran to her friends, her arms reaching out for hugs. Then she turned back towards her cake, a complete marvel worthy of a celebration of its own in her eyes.

"This cake is absolutely stunning," she told her parents, her eyes continuing to go over it in complete awe.

"A beautiful cake for our beautiful daughter," Tom chuckled. "We're so proud of you, honey."

"Thanks Dad, thanks Mom," she gave them both a long hug. "It's because of you two that I was able to get this far, you know."

"You should go celebrate with your friends, sweetie," Sabine encouraged. "We'll see you at home. And I think Adrien's waiting for you," she gestured towards the door behind her daughter.

Marinette looked over her shoulder to see Adrien watching patiently from a distance. He never had changed out of his clothes from the show, she noticed.

"I'll see you at home," she agreed.

Adrien started walking towards her when her parents left.

"Waiting for me?"

Adrien started to dig around in his coat pocket. "I wanted to congratulate you before everyone else started swarming you with theirs. I'm so happy for you, Marinette. This is just the start for you." Then he dug out a thin box, fairly long in length and not particularly wide. He handed it to her, then put his hands back into his pockets.

Marinette looked at the box, then glanced up at Adrien, then back down at the box again. She opened it slowly and gasped at what was inside.

A pair of shiny silver scissors, uniquely designed sat perfectly inside. The blades had such a delicate design, she had never seen a pair like it. Then she noticed something was engraved among the pattern. The letter 'M' was stood out in very elegant font.

"I know it's probably not much, but I wanted to give you something practical, something that you would use often in your designing, so I decided on this."

"It's wonderful, thank you," she wrapped her arms around his neck without thinking, pulling him into a hug. Adrien was caught off guard, but quickly smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'll use it everyday," she assured him as she let him go.

"Marinette!" they heard Luka calling her from the other side of the room. Nino and Alya were right behind him.

Marinette turned back to Adrien.

"Go," he encouraged, his smile remaining. Adrien watched her go to Luka and wrap her arms around him. Adrien turned away, feeling both quite happy, and also a bit strange, like something was wrong. He just wasn't sure what it was.

He went to the dessert table and ate more sweets than he knew he should, but he found that doing so made that weird feeling dull.

Adrien came home later that night, on time just like his father had asked. Gabriel waited for him.

"Did you have a good time?" Gabriel asked the second Adrien had shut the front door.

"I did, thank you for letting me go."

Gabriel nodded. "Go to bed early tonight," he said as his parting line and went up the stairs and out of sight.

Adrien grinned to himself as he happily made his way up the stairs, to his bedroom.

"I have to find out, Nooroo. I'm running out of opportunities and this is the best lead I've gotten at finding her," Gabriel stood in his lair glumly. "I just hope I'm wrong about her, too."

Nooroo floated wordlessly, his face scrunched up with worry.

"Dark wings, rise!" he shouted, letting the butterflies engulf him. He sent one out to find his latest victim. After a few minutes, he felt his victim was now under his control.

"Night Shade, I'm Hawk Moth," he introduced himself coolly. "I know you want to get revenge on the one who wronged you, but first I must ask you to do a favor for me and bring someone to me…."

Follow me on tumblr toujoursmiraculous

Please favorite/follow and/or leave a review! Your comments make my day, and motivate me to write more. Even a short and simple comment is greatly appreciated. c: