Chapter Text
Marinette rummaged through her closet. Dresses, blouses, and skirts flew across the room like bullets on a battlefield, as her kwami Tikki dodged them best she could. The room looked as though a hurricane has blown in, as the closet's contents laid scattered on the furniture and floor. Marinette had been going through every item of clothing she owned for an hour, mixing and matching to find something to wear for the upcoming dance at Le Grand Paris; a spring formal dance that all from Collège Françoise Dupont could attend. There was no telling how they managed to convince Mayor Bourgeois to host the event, considering Chloe souls have most likely nagged him to make it "invitation only" (meaning just her and Adrien, if she'd had gotten her way). But it was a reality.
And reality dictated that Marinette only had a little under 48 hours to find the perfect outfit to wear. It just had to be perfect! It had to be the most amazing dress in the world that would make her imagining of the night a reality!
She would walk into the room. The music would stop, maybe Nino would accidentally scratch the turntable's needle out of place, as she entered onto the dance floor. Her friends would look on and admire her look. Chloe would be seething in anger at how much better Marinette looked and was getting all the attention. And most importantly, Adrien, who would be in the middle of the dance floor, would meet her eyes. He would walk up to her, bow ever so slightly, and ask her to dance. The music would play a slow waltz, he'd take her by the hand, and they would dance. The room would be as though the whole earth stopped at once except for them in that moment. It would feel like eternity in an instant. So romantic, so magical, so-
"Marinette!" the voice of Tikki broke through the day dreaming girl's break from causing distraction. "If you can't find anything in the closet, why not try making the dress?"
"...yeah. You're right, Tikki!" Marinette exclaimed. She rushed over to her desk and pulled out one of her sketch books. None of the designs she had currently were much for a jaw-dropping 'may I have this dance?' kind of look she was going for. So, she picked up a stray pencil from off her desk and began frantically drawing.
Since it was formal, she would need something elegant, but not too long so she could dance to any kind of music Nino played. She debated on short sleeves or longer more flow-y ones, shoes that might go best with it, how she should wear her hair to better show off the design. It wasn't until she heard Tikki yawn that she knew how long she had been engrossed in her designing. The sun had long since set, and getting a look at the clock, it became much too late for Ladybug's normal nightly patrol of Paris with Chat Noir...
Stretching as she stood up from her seat, she picked up Tikki and placed her gently on one of the piles of clothing. It was almost better than any of her pillows, becoming a "kwami sized" king size bed. She watched with a smile as her tiny friend nestled into the cotton and satin shirts.
A yawn overcame Marinette as well, however sleep just had to wait. She was far from finished with her work. So, to wake herself up, she stepped onto the balcony. The chilly night breeze gave her a true breath of fresh air. It slowly woke her up. As did what happened next.
"Evening, princess," an unexpected voice purred from out of sight. Marinette almost jumped out of her own skin as the familiar chuckle of Chat Noir grew louder. She turned her head to see him perched on the railing.
Of course he had to show up, Marinette thought. At least one of us is on patrol tonight.
"Didn't mean to frighten you. I tend to be light on my feet," the hero said as he made his way from the rail to the balcony.
"So I can see- er hear? Anyways, to what do I own the surprise visit? Shouldn't you be with Ladybug?" Marinette asked in somewhat faux curiosity. She already knew the answer to the latter question, but couldn't help but tease him with it.
"Sadly, m'lady is nowhere to be seen tonight." He over dramatically sighed with a big shrug of his shoulders. He smirked as he met Marinette's eyes with his own. "However, I did see you, princess, and I thought you looked a little down. So I figured I'd drop in to see how my favorite Parisian was doing? I'm pretty sure it's long past your bedtime. Wouldn't want you to turn into a pumpkin~."
Marinette couldn't help but giggle. "Am I Cinderella or the carriage in that comparison?" She didn't know why she would laugh at such a lame joke. Maybe she should go to bed after all. Clearly she was going delirious from exhaustion. "And I didn't know I was your favorite Parisian. I'm honored."
"Ah, well aren't we learning a lot tonight then. By the way, you never answered my question?" Chat reminded her as he stepped to her side.
"Oh, just up late working on a design. Tomorrow night-" She heard a loud chiming of a clock. "...oh wow... erm, tonight is a big dance at Le Grand Paris. I plan on wearing one of my own designs, well, if I can sew it in time which means going out and buying the fabric, thread, and the ribbons I need. Aaaaaand find matching shoes, and get Alya (she's my friend) to help me with my hair if she's not too busy with her sisters or if she's not with Nino (he's her boyfriend), although I could always do it myself, oh and maybe fine some jewelry to match the dress, and... I'm probably boring you." She felt herself blush slightly. It wasn't like her to complain so much, especially to Chat Noir. But maybe it was because it was him that she allowed herself to get a little carried away. She was so used to talking to him like this as Ladybug, it just came out unintentionally and almost too naturally.
The cat-crusader didn't seem to mind her ramblings at all, though. He chuckled at her flustered state and simply patted her shoulder. "That seems like quite a pickle you've gotten yourself into. Tell you what, if you're up for it, I just so happen to have the day off tomorrow. How about I heroically help you? What kind of protector of Paris would I be if I didn't aid a damsel in dis-dress?"
Marinette groaned and rolled her eyes. "Ok, kit- erm, Chat. You can help out. But won't it look strange for a superhero to be shopping out and about?" Marinette pointed out.
"Don't worry. I'll be incognito." He noticed her face twist into curiosity and slight worry. "But not unmasked," he quickly added. He was all to aware of the risk of someone discovering his true identity. He'd already had so many people he cared about be akumatized. If anyone he cared for were attacked more directly due to his secret being revealed... Well, he did not want to dwell on that thought for too long. "Look for a..." he thought for a moment, "a tan trench coat and the matching hat!"
"How... inconspicuous of you," Marinette remarked right before she let out a big yawn. "That's my cue... have a goodnight, Chat Noir. I guess I'll meet you here tomorrow, say, eight o'clock?"
"In the morning? Fine with me. Just be sure to get some beauty sleep, princess. Although you don't really need it seeing as how you're so purr-ty all on your own," Chat Noir cooed before jumping onto the railing of the balcony. "Bonne nuit, Marinette~." And with that, he was off into the Paris skyline, soaring rooftop to rooftop.
Marinette sighed as she watched him disappear into the night. She peered back into her room and the mess she had made, then over towards Tikki who was still sound asleep. She followed the kwami's lead and crashed into a pile of her own on the floor.
The mess can wait... it's going to be a long day, she thought before drifting off to sleep.