Archive of Our Own

Mme. Bustier stood up at the front of her beloved class. After a year of crazy hecticness, she thought they deserved some fun. 

     "That was a lovely round of compliments this morning." Mme. Bustier said happily, looking around. By now the class had settled and most eyes were on her. "Today I have a fun event for us to participate in. Halloween is coming up in a couple of weeks as you all know. I thought given everything that's happened in the last year that it may be fun to have a class Halloween party on Halloween. Halloween is on Monday this year so you have about three and a half weeks to prepare." This gained all their attention by now. 

     "I've placed everyone's names in a hat and different costumes that are classically Halloween in the other. The concept is that whoever names you draw," she explained, meeting her students’ gazes, "will be the person you make a costume for. The costume will come from the other hat. Now, they need to be specific for the person you draw. If they have glasses, keep that in mind. Work with your creativity and their personality." She smiled as the students glanced amongst each other. Rose raised her hand. "Yes, Rose?"

      "How will we know their sizes?" She tilted her head, finger pressed on a glossy lip. 

      "You can come to me, that way the surprise remains intact. And privacy reasons." She smiled gently. 

      "Ok! Thank you." She nodded.

      "Are there any other questions?"

      "Do we have to?" Chloe called out.

     "Yes, Chloé. You have to. Don't ruin the fun for everyone else." Mme. Bustier chides the blonde gently. 

     "Ugh, this is ridiculous. Utterly, ridiculous.” She tilts her head up but glanced in the direction of Adrien. With a sigh, she looked down. “Fine." The blonde pouted, slouching in her seat. No-one else had any questions. 

     "Alright. I'll start with Sabrina." Mme. Bustier smiled as Sabrina drew her two slips of paper. "Please keep these a surprise, especially from the person you draw, for the fun of it." Marinette watched as her beloved teacher made her way around the room. She hoped that Chloé didn't get her. Otherwise, she was excited to see what her classmate that would draw her name out would create for her costume! Mme. Bustier went from Nino to Alya; Marinette watched curiously as Alya drew out her two. The teacher moved on up the aisle so no one would have to pass in between. 

     "Are you happy with yours?" Marinette questioned her best friend.

     "Mmmm." She read over it. "Who it is, yeah. What I'm going to do costume wise, I have no idea." 

     "Good luck."  Marinette wondered what the options were and what would be left by the time it was her turn. Glancing at the blond in front of her, she couldn't help but hope she got him. Marinette turned and watched as Mme. Bustier headed down the stairs to where she was next. Finally, it was her turn! 

     Reaching in the first hat, she pulled out a neatly folded slip of paper before doing the same for the other. Once Mme. Bustier went across the way, Marinette finally took a peek. The paper said ‘witch’ so that was the costume she was going to make. Ok, she could already imagine a pretty wicked looking witch hat. Opening the one that contained the name, her heart paused in her chest before jumping. 

     She got Adrien!! 

     Her gaze flew to him. At least she had most of his measurements. With already getting a decent idea for what she wanted to make, she mentally checked her schedule to see if she had time to run to the fabric store after school. Nodding when she decided she did, she became excited at the prospect of making something for Adrien and him actually knowing about it this time. 

     Marinette walked into her favorite fabric store. It held items of  amazing quality but kept the prices decent, which was the main reason why she liked the store so much. Another one, she loved the shopkeepers and the employees; they recognized her since they first visited the bakery before enlightening her on the amazingness that was their little shop. The atmosphere was amazing, cozy and inviting. She headed down one of the darker colored aisles, with a rough sketch in hand of the shirt she had in mind. And a cape. She knew that capes weren't the best for super heros, but they were very aesthetically pleasing and convenient for witches. So, she figured, why not? She could include pockets inside to help hide things, if he wanted to be in character which is very likely. Adrien was really a dork and she loved him for it. 

     "Good afternoon, Marinette! What a lovely visit as always. Anything I can help you find?" Mr. Clairence said as he approached her, extending a basket for her to carry whatever she chose.

     "I've got a specific idea for a costume I'm making for a friend. I know the main fabric." She showed him the sketch for the shirt. "I want the shirt to be kinda based off Chat Noir's space suit, with the star aspect of it. It just seems very fitting for a witch." Mr. Clairence nodded as he rubbed his chin, thinking about what she said.

     "A witch costume you say? Well, I know we just got in some galaxy prints for Halloween, would you like me to fetch them?" Marinette’s eyes brightened as she looked up at the man.

     "Yes please!"

     "Do you know any other accents for it?" he called over his shoulder as he began to walk away. 

     "I'll have to see it." She laughed as he threw up thumbs up, turning to go to the inventory section. Marinette hummed, running her fingers over some of the materials gently. A solid black with a slight shimmer for the outer cape? Or should it just be solid black, keeping the accents on the outside as minimal since the inside she planned on using the same material as the shirt, so it could be cohesive. 

     She figured that she would use black thread, that way it would be hidden. For the specific shade, she would have to wait until Mr. Clairence came back with the said fabric samples for her to examine. She should also look for stuff to create the hat as well, while she was here. Yet, she always was happy to visit the store again, so even if she didn’t get everything today, it wouldn’t have been a problem. She was going down another aisle to look at some fabric for pants part of the costume. Her top idea was a jogger type of bottoms, with pockets similar to cargo style. 

     "Here we go my dear!" Mr. Clairence smiled, coming around the corner with the small bundles of fabric for her to test and see. "These are brand new, so no one else will have them just yet." He winked at her causing a chuckle to escape her.

      "Thank you, Mr. Clairence." She smiled. One had a blue sheen to it while the other was a deep black, almost purple shine. One had galaxy swirls and the other was just clusters of stars. That one spoke to her more. "I think this one." She held up the cluster of stars. She could maybe use black and purple accents to highlight the colors. 

     "Wonderful. Your usual amount?" She shook her head; since she was making a cape out of it as well, it needed to be at least the double amount she would normally use.

      "No. I was thinking either double the usual amount and then one usual cut." He nodded.

      "It'll be waiting for you up at the register." He smiled as he went to cut the fabric; Marinette continued deciding on her selection, holding the sample so that she could compare the thread for perfect matches and accents. She had thought about having a lace front to go along with his billowy sleeves and a cuff at the bottom, kinda like the joggers. Sure, it could give off a pirate look but she thought the magical look would be there as well.

     Thinking about the string that would lace up the front, she headed towards the respective aisle of where it would be. She wanted black; she didn't really want it to be an accent there. Sometimes letting the fabric speak for itself was the better option instead of attempting to add to it with too much extra stuff. She could maybe do it subtle on the cuffs around his wrists. That was a detail she could add later, if anything. She still had a couple weeks before Halloween. 

     Finding the area she needed, she compared the different black strings to see which met better with the fabric in her hand. There were two that came close; one had leather tips for the aglets whereas the other was just stopped by a seam. Well, if the inspiration is from Chat Noir, why not add the leather accents? Oh, that could be a nice hint elsewhere as well. She grabbed the one she was thinking of and a second for backup. 

     Adrien was worth this perfect costume. She didn't really think of the costume her classmate was making for her, whoever that was. She was just excited for Adrien to know it was from her, and the effort she had put in it just for him. 

     Reaching into her purse, she checked her phone while glancing at Tikki. No messages or alerts, but it was getting late. She should head home soon. She did one more walk throughout the store, trying to figure out anything she would need right away, before heading to the checkout counter. 

     As Mr. Clairence had said, her chosen fabric was cut and neatly folded on the counter ready to be rung up. She sat her basket on the counter and waited for whomever was checking her out to arrive. She had already decided the clasp for the cape wasn't going to be a string. That could cause issues. She needed to figure out the best way for the cape to be used. Should she attach it to the shirt? Or make its own clasp? Decisions, decisions. Adrien deserved nothing but the best.

     "Well hiya, Marinette!" The cheerful voice of the employee, Mackinzie, caused her to look up. The brunette with blue tips waved at her as she got the sale ready. "Making a Halloween costume?" She arched an eyebrow.

     "Yeah, my class is doing a fun thing by drawing random people and costume themes. The costume I drew was a witch," she explained, setting her purse on the counter so she could pay for it. 

     "Gotcha. Have you got any ideas for the hat?"

     "A few. I'm still debating on some aspects of it, so depending on what inventory I have at home, I may be back soon." She giggled, warmth spreading over her cheeks as she thought about it. 

     "If it's anything like what you made last year, I think it'll be amazing." Mackinzie rang up the items in the basket. "Do you have that reward card with you?" 

      Marinette nodded, grabbing it out of her small wallet and passing it over. "Oh, awesome! You get the discount today." She pulled out a piece of cardstock and a coin, passing it to Marinette. "I hope you get a good one this time."

      "Even a 5% off would be good." Yet, Marinette hoped for a good one, because she knew the star fabric wasn't cheap. Taking a deep breath, she wished for some of Tikki's luck before she began to scrape off the stuff that covered the reward. Once it was fully off, she gasped.  "No way!" She handed it over to Mackinzie. "Am I reading this right?!"

     "Yes!! It's 70% off today!" Mackinzie smiled widely as she punched in the code on the register. "So, your total today will be 90 euros even." 

"Holy crap." Marinette's eyes widened, pulling out 50 in cash. "Can I pay 40 on a card?" 

     "Of course!" Mackinzie extended her hand for the payments. Marinette passed the bills over, mentally doing math. If what she got was 70% off, and it was 90, then that means her total was at least 300! Her heart squeezed and jumped at that price. At least she knew the quality of the material was high. Eyeballing it she thought of how both her and the fabric were lucky. 

      "That 70% off really did help," she breathed as Mackinzie handed back her card and the receipt. "Thank you."

     "It's insane! I'm glad it did drop it down for you. You are one of our favorite customers." She winked as she bagged up her supplies and passed it over to her.

     "Thank you, it's always a blast coming here." Marinette picked up the things, waving at her. "Tell Mr. Clairence thanks again for everything."

     "Will do." Mackinzie nodded, waving as she went back to what she was doing as Marinette exited the shop, holding her precious supplies close to her as she began the walk home.

     Adrien was stumped. He was thrilled to have drawn Marinette’s name for the costume project. He wanted to give her the best costume he could. On the downside, you can only get so original with a vampire costume. Rubbing his jaw, he looked through the webpage he was on, trying to think of a good outfit. Plagg wasn't going to be any help so he just kept his problems to himself. He didn't really want to ask anyone either, wanting to keep it a surprise. Groaning, he leaned back, spinning in the chair as he placed his hands in his hair.

       "Plagg… do you think Father would help me?"

      "What? With his candy cane aesthetic and whip cream hair?" He snorted. "I seriously don't understand why your father has a fashion company if he wears the most…. candy themed colors out there. I bet it even makes Tikki irritated!" Adrien rolled his eyes.

       "Well, I don't really want to bother Nathalie, nor do I think my bodyguard would be able to help me either." 

      "I mean, you can try, kid. I just don't think it'll be worth your time." Plagg finished munching on the cheese he was eating and flew in front of Adrien's face. "Well, what are you thinking so far?"

      "I don't really want it to be primarily black," the boy explained. "I know pink is her favorite color, but I don't wanna do pink either." Plagg nodded, rubbing his chin seemingly in thought. 

      "Have you thought about looking at movies and taking inspiration from there?" Plagg's head whiskers twitched. 

      "Possibly, but as I said, I don't want it to be mainly black. Nor cliche. Marinette deserves more than that." Plagg snorted, shaking his head.

       "You two are really the right pair of shoes," he mumbled, shaking his head.

      "What do you mean?" Adrien looked at Plagg very confused. "Pair of shoes?" 

     Plagg refused to entertain Adrien with an explanation and zipped off. Rolling his eyes, Adrien pulled up a tab on google and searched Vampire movies. Belatedly, he added in family-friendly. He didn't need to go down that rabbit hole again. 

      Scrolling through the different suggestions, he pulled up another tab on his other monitor. Finding one he was gonna check out, he pulled up the streaming service it was on before searching for the film. He pulled up his homework on a tab on the search tab. He could multitask, get some homework done and try to figure out costume ideas. He was curious as to who got him. He really hoped it was Marinette. To have an original design by her would be amazing! In all honesty, he definitely preferred her style of clothing over his father’s. Maybe it was the age thing, or maybe it was ‘cause he was always stuck in his fathers  designs with little to no input.

      The day continued, he was a couple hours into his vampire movie marathon, including different languages. He had gathered a couple of different ideas, writing them on a notepad to see what he could put together to make for the perfect costume. He was greatly leaning towards lace as an aspect of the costume. Maybe a lace overlay to a cocktail length dress? With tights beneath. Curiously, he began looking up color combinations. If he could figure out the right shades to make his everyday Ladybug's eyes pop even more, it would just show how stunning she was. 

      As a plan began to form in his mind, he figured he needed to figure out where to get this done. He couldn't commission her to do her own costume! That would go against the rules. He wasn't as skilled to do it himself, since she deserved the best. Sure, he may be able to make some of it, but definitely not the entire costume. Oh! He would also need to figure out the best for fake teeth, for the vampire fangs. Darn, that was gonna be the difficult part. Do vampire fangs come in a 'mold your own'? He pulled yet another tab up, making it number 15 (Plagg was counting) and typed it in. He found a promising website that specialized in costume designs for haunted houses. Purrfect. 

       Browsing the website, he was able to figure out some more decent ideas for a costume, basically some jewelry and ears to go along with her fangs. Yes, it was starting to come together nicely. Smiling proudly to himself, he checked out and requested expedited shipping. That way, if something was wrong with it, he could easily get a replacement before the day came. So, that left the actual clothes aspect of it. 

      "Do you think Nathalie would help with figuring out how to make it?" Adrien asked, raising an eyebrow at Plagg.

      "Dunno." The kwami shrugged his tiny shoulders. "I guess it's worth asking, but don't be let down if she says no."

       "If she can't, maybe she could point me in the right direction" he thought as he stood up, sliding his phone in the pocket of his lounge shorts before grabbing his notepad and heading towards his door. "If not, I could see if she knows a intern or something with fathers company that could help." 

      Plagg hummed in acknowledgement before flying into his other pocket as Adrien headed to Nathalie's room. Sure, it was almost time for dinner to be served, so she may be finalizing business for the day. It was still worth checking out. She had moved her office into her bedroom. Honestly, the Egyptian theme often caught him off guard but to each their own. He paused in front of the door and took a deep breath, not as nervous as attempting to speak with his father, but still. This was important to him and he didn't want to waste this opportunity. He knocked lightly before hearing her voice calling for him to enter.

     "Nathalie, I have a question…" He trailed off once he entered and saw his father sitting on the bed with her, obviously just had put some food in his mouth. Oh. 

     "What is it, Adrien?" She asked gently, tired eyes gazing at him. Is this why his father never eats with him?

     "I uh… was wondering if I could have some suggestions." He waved the notebook in the air. A gruff noise was heard from his father causing Adrien to dart his eyes towards him. "It's something for school," he quickly supplied, which technically wasn't a lie.

     "Get it out then." His father gestured for him to continue. "I was having an important conversation with Nathalie."

     "Sorry to be a bother," Adrien supplied, sinking in on himself a bit. "We have to create costumes for one of our classmates. I got Marinette and the prompt for the costume is vampire. I have a few ideas but I cannot sew to the level that she deserves. I was hoping that you could send me in the right direction? Maybe an intern? I can't commision Marinette to design her own costume." 

     "I can pull up the list and see. I'm assuming it's for halloween so you'll need it by then?" He nodded, she clicked some things around on the tablet. 

     "Father." He looked over at him. "Have you been eating Nathalie's food?" 

     "She offered it to me. I haven't eaten today." He stated it like a fact.

     "Have you considered that SHE may not have eaten either?" Adrien raised an eyebrow, gesturing with his notepad towards Nathalie. "She's sick, father. Why do you eat a sick person's food? She needs all the strength she can have. Especially if she had whatever Mother had." He knew he made a mistake as soon as he mentioned his mother. Well, he came this far, he may as well dig his grave a little deeper. 

      "I'm only saying, consider others before your own needs. Nathalie does so much even with how ill she's become. The last thing I want is for her to end up like Mother. How would you feel?" He looked at his father’s steely gaze, ignoring the anger rising within him. 

      "How would you feel if she got worse because of you? Because she’s nice enough to offer you food while she’s ill."  He noticed a subtle change in his father. "Nathalie may not be a mother, but she has the heart of one. Everyone can see she stepped up and has acted as a mother to me when I needed it. Mothers take care of others before themselves. This is common knowledge. Back when we were in Mother’s garden and you sat with me, I mentioned how close you and Nathalie have become, and you got so mad." Adrien shook his head, looking at his father. Was that pity he was feeling? Did Adrien pity his father for not seeing how he was acting? Or how Nathalie felt towards him? 

     "You know of nothing,” Gabriel fumed. “Don't you dare have this-"

     "Gabriel." Nathalie's voice spoke, causing the Agrestes to look over at her. "Adrien may be speaking from a place you do not like, but he’s not necessarily wrong," she said diplomatically. She looked over at Adrien next. 

     "Adrien, what is between your parents and me is complicated. I appreciate your concern. It means a lot." He nodded, feeling like she was going to say something more. "I will send you information regarding the costume. Please excuse us as I need to have a word with your father." 

     He nodded and backed peddled out of her room faster than Plagg flying towards his cheese stash after school.

     "That was bizarre," Adrien mumbled as he made his way back to his room.

     "Yeah… that was. Even for them," Plagg agreed, peeking out to look up at Adrien. "You alright, kid?" Adrien shrugged.

     "I don't quite know what to do with this new information." He entered his room, shutting the door behind him. "At least Nathalie is going to help me." 

     Plagg nodded as he flew out, watching Adrien go back to his computer and pull up his email. Clicking on the most recent one from Nathalie, he pulled up the contact information. Checking the time, he figured it wasn't too late for a call. However, it was almost dinner time, so he figured he'd make it quick. Dialing the number, he waited with baited breath.

     "Hello?" A feminine voice answered. 

     "Hi, I was wondering if a Mackinzie was available?" Adrien asked, rereading the name on the email.

     "Who is this?"

     "Adrien Agreste. I was given this information to talk to someone about a costume?"

     "Gabriel Agreste’s son?" 

     "Yes." Unfortunately.

     "Ah, yes. I'm Mackinzie. What can I help you with?" He heard rustling in the background and pictured her getting paper.

     "Well, I'd like to commission a costume. My father’s assistant, Nathalie, recommended you. It's for a Halloween thing my class is doing."

     "Excellent! Well, give me some ideas and maybe you and I can meet up at my work for us to go over fabrics?" It sounded like she was smiling.

     "Yes! That would be fantastic!" He pulled up his schedule for the rest of the week.

     "Would Thursday afternoon around 3 work?"

     "Perfect. Now, tell me some of the ideas."

     Adrien's costume was coming together nicely, Marinette thought as she twisted it on the mannequin before her. She had gotten the right amount of fabric for the shirt, she had found a solid black that went well with it in her stash at home. She ran her finger along an area that was giving her trouble, trying to figure out what it was. 

      "It looks amazing, Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed as she flew about some. 

     "Thank you, Tikki. But something doesn't feel quite right about this sleeve." She toyed with the fabric in her hands. "Do you have any idea?" She looked at her companion.

     "Hmmm, let's see." Tikki flew back to examine the shirt from a distance before flying from one sleeve to the other. "I think it's the cuff. It isn't sitting quite the same," Tikki explained, holding up the one they both noticed something on. Nodding, Marinette stripped the mannequin before putting the shirt back on inside out so the seams were exposed.

     "Hmmm, yeah, it looks like the seam didn't quite go in the correct place for this one," Marinette said, pulling out her seam ripper to begin undoing the work. 

     "I think after you fix this cuff, you should probably either head to bed or think about the hat a little more," Tikki suggested, flying over to the sketch of the hat.

     "Alright," she mumbled around her tongue as she narrowed her eyes in concentration. 

     Tikki giggled at her concentration, going and eating a cookie. She watched as Marinette worked diligently on the cuff, going as far as to sew it with her hand. After turning the shirt right side out once again, Marinette examined it once more. "That looks so much better." 

      "Yep!" Tikki nodded, flying up to examine the work. "It definitely hangs better." Marinette looked over at her clock. It was nearly 11 at night and she had school the next day. 

     "Alright, I think I’ll look over the hat design before I go to bed. I'm struggling with it more than I thought." She bit her lip as she sat down in her desk chair. She had an idea in the beginning when she first drew the costume, but now it didn't seem to match the overall vibe she was going with.

     "What if you make the hat green? Or purple?"

     "Dark green background with dark purple lace?" Marinette suggested, tilting her head to look at a different angle. "Or would that clash too much? Plus, what if he doesn't like wearing lace since he's a boy?? But he's a model so he wouldn't mind, right?" Marinette looked at Tikki for advice.

     "I don't understand the customs between the humans as much anymore, Marinette. You have changed a lot over the centuries. So, I don't quite know. It's probably an individual thing." 

     Marinette pouted but nodded, looking back at the design. 

     "Ok… Well… Since I got the spacey vibe going on with the shirt and underside of the cape, maybe have a few stars around the brim at the bottom?" She did a sample sketch of the brim. "Maybe have three being the main on the front with the middle being larger and two smaller ones on either side." She drew as she explained aloud to Tikki. 

     "I mean, adding that as a feature while the rest of the brim is kinda glittery like stars. Basically something similar to the shirt fabric but smaller stars." Marinette looked at a piece of the sample. "Mmmm, maybe not. That may still be too much going on." She drew another brim, thinking about how to decorate it.

     "What about adding the pop on the underside of the brim? Going along with the underside of the cape?" Tikki suggested.

     "Yeah, that can work. I'll probably do that. But I do want something on the top side of the brim as well. I just don't know if I want the cone top of the hat to be a different material or keep the top side of the brim and the cone part the same material." 

     "Well, you did draw original inspiration from Astrocat, why don't you look back at his suit to see if any more inspiration strikes?" Tikki suggested. 

      Nodding, Marinette turned towards her computer, going to the Ladyblog and heading to the section Alya had created dedicated to the level ups. She clicked on the space section and scrolled past the pictures of herself and landed on pictures and even some gifs of her partner. Rubbing her chin, she squinted at the suit when his wings were extended.

     "How bad do you think gold would look with it?"

      "Well, typically witches go for silver. But some may do gold. I think it depends on their aesthetic and practice," Tikki explained seriously, causing Marinette to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "What? There are humans that practice witchcraft as a religion. Which also branches off into other ways like paganism and wicca." Marinette blinked for a moment. Multiple moments actually.

      "Thank you for the lesson on religion. But no, I meant with Adrien's witch costume." Marinette gave her a deadpan expression. Tikki had the audacity to actually snicker.

      "I know, Marinette." She tapped her nub against her chin. "I think the gold could work, but doesn't he usually go for silver accessories?"

      "Oh, you're right. Maybe I'll do gold and silver! Yes! Keeping with the space theme. The colors represent the sun and moon and stars." Marinette quickly scribbled down ideas as she thought them through. "Oh! I can include this on the cape! Where it connects to the shirt. One side can have a sun on it while the other side has a moon." She drew up a rough sketch, nodding when she saw what her ideas were. "Yes, this. I like this." 

      Tikki flew over to look at it. It was a different concept than what she had originally expected, but it did look nice.

     "Ooooh!" Marinette flipped to a clean page quickly. "What if the brim on the other side had constellations or the galaxy on it, kinda like a map of the sky! I could embroider it with stars. And then at the bottom of the cape I can embroider different constellations on the hem as well." 

     Tikki smiled as she watched her holder get struck with inspiration, sketching out ideas after ideas, writing lists of things she needed to pick up after checking her inventory. 

      "Maybe we should consider going to bed soon now?" Tikki prompted her, in a soft tone.

     "Mmmm yes." Marinette yawned as she pulled up her schedule. "Tomorrow's Thursday." She clicked on the day and scrolled to the bottom to see if she had anything to do after class. "I can go after class tomorrow to the shop," she decided, taking the list off of her notepad and putting it in the purse. "That way I'll already have the list." 

     Stretching, she got up and looked at her clock. "Hey, for once I didn’t finish too late." She snickered.

     "It's almost 1 am. You should already have gone to bed hours ago." Tikki snorted as Marinette rolled her eyes at her.

      "Yeah, yeah. I'm going." She gave Tikki a kiss on her head as she went to brush her teeth in her vanity so she could go to sleep. 

   Thursday afternoon came quickly. Marinette had stopped by the bakery to grab a few things for the shop workers and herself. Adrien had ended his short fencing meeting about an upcoming tournament and had already made decent time in heading towards the store. The first to arrive was Adrien.

~

      Adrien was surprised just how much stuff was cramped into this small location. Or, the shop front of it anyways. It was a lot to take in, with asiles upon aisles that went far back in the store. One could easily get lost in them if they weren’t familiar with the store. 

     “Hello!” A cheerful voice called from back behind some racks.

      “Hi! I have a meeting with Mackinzie?” He called back, wondering if this was the Mackinzie or someone else that worked here. 

     “Oh! Adrien, right?” A head popped around the corner of a rack that did not sound like the voice had previously came from. She moved quick.

     “Yes, ma’am.” He nodded with a quick little wave.

     “Alright, follow me. I’ll lead you to the room and then I’ll grab some stuff and we can go over the design.” Adrien nodded and followed Mackinzie to a room that was a little ways behind the cash register. “Take a seat and I’ll be right with you. Do you want a drink of anything?” He tilted his head in thought.

     “If you are getting you a drink, I’ll have whatever you are having. I don’t want to be a bother.” She laughed at him.

     “You’re not a bother. I promise. I want my client to be as comfortable as possible!” She said cheerfully before making her way out of the small room. It was a decent office space, now that he thought about it. It wasn’t too small to be uncomfortable with a medium size table and a desk with a computer on it. There were a couple of different sized mannequins in another corner. The possibilities of what could go on them fascinated him. He briefly wondered if he could order custom sized ones and give them to Marinette as gifts. She’d like that. 

     “You should’ve asked for cheese.” Plagg’s nasally voice came from his pocket where he stuck his head out. This reminded Adrien of his notes he had in his backpack.

     “Oh shush.” He rolled his eyes as he removed the notepad from the backpack. “Now, go nap in my bag during this.” He gestured for Plagg to go. Groaning, Plagg lived up to his nature of being a cat kwami, using his namesake to slip out of his pocket and tumble down into his backpack. “You are good practice for a real cat.” The tiny kwami stuck his tongue out between his fangs before burying into his backpack. 

     Plagg was a handful, but Adrien was glad to have him in his life. He wasn’t sure where he’d be without him. All the things that had happened since becoming Chat Noir and being Plagg’s kitten ran through his head. The bond between them was special and Adrien couldn’t imagine the time of not having him in his life anymore. Hopefully once they defeat Hawkmoth, they could keep their miraculous’.

     “Alright, I brought you a water bottle and a lidded mug of hot water so you can make yourself whatever flavor of hot tea you’d like.” Mackinzie sat down the items before turning and dragging in a small cart with sample stuff on it, his eyes danced over the contents excitedly, hoping that he found something that would be the perfect choice for Marinette.

     “Thank you again for agreeing to this!” He smiled at her, going and looking at the hot tea selections. Citrus Mint was sounding good, so he grabbed a tea bag and got his tea ready. “It really means a lot. I got these notes I made before I called you.” He flipped the notepad to the part where the information for the costume was, sliding it across the table for her to see.

     “Cool, let me look over it and I’ll ask some questions to fill in any gaps.” He nodded and sat contently, making his tea to his liking. As she made her own notes, he looked through the contents of the cart, without touching. He didn’t want to mess up whatever organization they had going on. 

      "Alright." Mackinzie said happily, looking up at him. "Lets see, you have all the measurements I need. Now, is there a budget we need to stick to?"

      "Nope. I want the best that she can have. She's an amazing seamstress and designer, so I would love it if it was the best. She always does so much for others so I figured why not reciprocate it?" Adrien explained with a smile, the same one that settled easily on his face whenever he thought about Marinette. 

     "Alrighty," she made some notes. "You mentioned green?"

     "Yes, I think dark green would be good. Actually, have you seen The Little Vampire?"

     "The animated one?"

     "No, the original live action one." She furrowed her eyebrows and thought for a moment.

      "Yes! Actually, I have."

      "The mom is kinda the inspiration color wise, with the darker green of her dress-coat." He explained. "I'm even debating about styling her hair in space buns." A little nod to the sweet little mouse that he knew she was.

     "Mhmmm. Alright. So, let's talk about the design of the outfit. Is it going to be a dress or?" She pulled out a costume book and flipped to a page with a bunch of different silhouettes. Adrien rubbed his chin, thinking about it and flipping through the different options.

     Marinette hummed happily in the crisp autumn air, enjoying the sound of crunching leaves beneath her feet. Upon arriving at the shop, she smiled at Mr. Clairence.

     "Ah! Marinette! Lovely to see you back so soon." He chuckled. "How's that project coming along?"

      "Really great! Had a few issues with the sleeves but I resolved it last night. I'm actually here to try and find some stuff for the hat."

      "Ah, do you need any suggestions?" She shook her head politely.

      "No thank you. But I'll let you know if I get stumped. Also, here. I brought you guys some stuff from the bakery. No charge." She winked with a wide smile. 

     "Oh you shouldn't have, my dear! But thank you. Mackinzie is with a client right now and Jeffan is working on the new arrivals. I'll take these to the breakroom and let them know." He took the package from her and smelled it happily. "Ah, it smells delicious!" She giggled.

      "I hope you guys enjoy them." She grabbed one of the baskets and headed towards one of the embellishment aisles. She looked at the different options before her, narrowing it down to three different types of stars. She sat them in the basket to figure out later. Sometimes, she just needed to decide on something else before coming back to it. She headed to the embroidery section, trying to figure out the best items to make constellations on the underside of the brim. 

     She heard a door open and shut, knowing that it was most likely the one behind the counter where Mackinzie was working with her client. She finally found all the supplies that she was needing for the embroidery, so she headed to the fabric section. She needed to find the fabric before she could figure out which lace to use for the overlay. She made a mental note of the Halloween lace section was in a display towards the front. That would probably be the better bet. Maybe she could find some that worked with the theme she was going with. A celestial witch. Right? That's totally a thing. She wanted a deep green color that would set well with the space theme and the star fabric that she already had, that had the purple tint to it. It was more about trying to find the right shades that went well together. Thankfully, she brought her sample swatch to be able to match the colors better. 

     "Oh, Marinette!" Mackinzie's cheerful voice brought her out of her thoughts. She turned with a smile.

     "Oh hey! Mr. Clairence said you were with a client. I brought some bakery goods for you guys." She smiled. 

     "Including my client?" She arched an eyebrow, cocking out a hip to rest a couple bolts of fabric on it.

      "I mean, more the merrier. There should be enough." She laughed with a shrug. "I didn't know who all was going to be here so I made sure to bring a good amount." 

     "I'm just messing with you. Is there anything I can help with?" She asked, eyes gazing over the fabrics before her.

     "I'm just trying to find the right shade of green that'll match this." She held up the swatch to some of the greens, none really satisfying her. "I want to match it with a lace also. Preferably deep purple that'll blend in the purple hues from this."

     "Wait, is that the celestial print you bought last time?" She asked, taking a hold of her hand to look closer at the fabric.

     "Yeah."

     "Oh! Hang on." She shifted the supplies she was carrying around, grabbing a deep luscious green. "What do you think?"

     "Oh that's perfect!" Marinette said excitedly as the colors complimented each other just right. "Will there be enough to share?"

     "There should be. What is this for?"

     "The hat." 

     "Oh yeah, there's enough for you to get the hat." Mackinzie smiled happily. "I'll cut and leave it folded up at the counter for you." She smiled. "Was that it?"

     "Fabric wise, I think so. I just got to decide on the star embellishments now." She pulled the basket up to show her.

     "Alright, I don't know if I'll be able to check you out or not, but I'll leave a note for whoever rings you up." She turned and headed out of the aisle.

     "Thank you!” Marinette called after her, smiling as she turned the corner. The green had looked amazing with the fabric, it was Tikki's luck that she had ran into her. She had gone just a couple of feet before coming upon the green fabric. She grabbed one of the sample swatches so that she could figure out the lace. Heading back to the aisle where she got the stars, she contemplated which will be best for the hat. 

     Finally deciding on three main ones, she grabbed a package of tiny starts before heading to the display of Halloween lace. There was a certain one she had in mind from when she glanced at them when she entered. Hopefully, the color would look right with the green. That would be the key. 

     Holding up the swatch to the different laces, her eyes scanned and finally landed on the one she originally thought about. Picking up the sample, she laid it over the green, the colors weren’t lining up just as she wanted. Frowning, she put that sample back and scanned some of the others. There was a deep purple hue, thinking about it, she pulled out the sample of the one that was for the shirt. It matched almost perfectly!! She tilted it one way and the next, watching the light as it caught on certain parts of it, lighting it up in different ways than what she thought in the first place. 

     “This is it.” She nodded, going and placing the lace back. These were only in bundles premade, she really liked this lace, maybe she’ll make a bow out of the extra. With this in mind, she grabbed the smaller of the two larger options. 5 meters was the one she went with. 

     Adrien rested his head on his hand, propped up to look at the stunning women in front of him. His heart squeezed in happiness as a sigh escaped his lips. He was content, sitting up here on one of the higher beams of the Eiffel Tower, talking with His Lady, the absolute love of his life, in and out of the mask. Speaking of mask, he didn’t feel his claws on his face. Nope, looking down it confirmed that he was not transformed. Floating just above His Lady’s head was Plagg. They were bickering about something, but chuckles escaped him nonetheless. Two of the most important beings to him, getting along swimmingly. Sure, Nino and Alya were just as important. But Ladybug, his lady, and Plagg held special places above the rest. They were more his family than he ever knew after his mother disappeared. 

     “Adrien, my love.” Ladybug turned to face him, smiling at him gently as she walked over, crouching in front of him and cupping his cheeks with her hands. “Thank you for the gifts.”

     “Anything for you, Bugginette.” A smirk spread across his lips as he looked into her crystal clear eyes. 

     “Good, cause happy anniversary.” She smiled, somehow detransforming and landing in front of him on one knee, extending a box with a ring inside. “Adrien, my kitty, my love. Will you do me the honor and become my husband? You are already my partner in crime, now, can you finish the deal and become my husband? All I’ve ever wanted, was for you to be happy. I promise, as your wife, I’ll make sure not a day goes by without a smile.” He blinked happy tears away as he looked up to see his Ladybug, His Marinette, kneeling before him.

     “Of course, silly bug.” He cradled her face between his hands and leaned forward, pecking her nose lightly. “I hope you know, I’m proposing next.” He chuckled, going down and pecking her lips happily. Thumbs automatically wiping the happy tears from her face as her hand reached up to cup his cheek again.

      “I don’t doubt you will, silly kitty.” She snickered, bending forward to kiss his lips happily. As she backed away, they were in the school, time definitely traveled fast. Alya and Nino were smiling happily at them, congratulating them as Ivan and Mylene shared a knowing look. Chloe was wiping away a tear, clapping her hands as she nodded.

      “Good job, Adrikins.” She sniffled. Sabrina passed her the stuffed bear she’s had since a child. Looking around, he chuckled as he saw all his classmates congratulating them. Taking the hand of his beloved, he looked down into Marinette’s pure blue gaze.

      “I love you. For better or for worse.”

     “I love you. Now till the end of time. Then, beyond.” He turned his body towards her a little more, reaching his free hand up to cup her cheek, tilting it ever so slightly as he leaned down and pressed his lips lovingly against hers. Cheers were heard throughout the locker room as they backed away from the kiss, turning it into an embrace.

     “Congratulations!” Tikki flew in a circle above them. 

      “Yeah, yeah, congrats and all that good stuff, kid.” Plagg waved at them but there was a glint of happiness and something more in his eye.

     “In honor of your recent marriage,” Mme. Bustier’s voice called out to them as they turned and looked at her in the doorway. “You and Marinette can now sit together.” His heart swelled at the thought of it. He was going to be able to sit next to his lady! 

     “Come on, Casanova.” Marinette smirked, tugging his hand as she led them out of the locker room and down the hallway towards the classroom. Along the way, he was met by the familiar faces of those he’s helped as Chat Noir, and those that were friends of Marinette and him. People that he’s been happy to know their aquaintness. He saw Jagged, Clara Nightingale, Chloe’s father and mother. He saw Alya’s father and his animals that he takes care of at the zoo. As they approached the class, flower petals began to rain above their heads as a floral archway was the doorway to the class. On one side, Marinette’s family, with Tom and Sabine next to the door. The opposite side, his bodyguard, was closest to the door, wiping a tear from his eyes and giving Adrien a proud look. What really put Adrien through a loop though, making him pause in their journey to the classroom, was his Father, standing between two women. Holding them both around the waist. One was Nathalie and the other, his mother, Emilie, smiling proudly at him.

     “You chose a good one, my love.” His mothers voice floated to his ears. “The ceremony was beautiful.” His eyes drifted away from hers to look at his father. As stern as usual, he gave a slight nod to Adrien. 

     “Adrien.” Nathalie’s voice called out to him, causing him to sit up completely, blinking sleep out of his eyes. “It’s time to get ready for the day.” 

     “Thank you, Nathalie.” He watched as she exited the room, running a hand through his hair. He looked around and saw Plagg emerge from behind a pillow.

     “Kid?”

      “Plagg…” He looked towards the flying cat. “What chances a dream could be true?” He raised an eyebrow.

      “Depends. If it’s about how delicious cheese is, then it’s true.” 

      “Nah, not cheese..” He looked out the window before gazing at his ‘Ladybug Shrine’- Plagg’s words, not his. “But about Ladybug’s identity, father in a polyamorous relationship with Mother and Nathalie, my feelings for Marinette, you and Tikki officiating our wedding, and Marinette being in love with me?” He looked over towards Plagg in time to see one of Plagg’s eyes twitch before he busted out laughing.

      “Me??? Officiating your wedding? That’s hilarious, kid.” He held his stomach as he floated backwards. “Tikki officiating it is more likely.” He snorts. 

      “Is that all you have to comment about it?” Adrien arched an eyebrow, wondering about everything else. 

      “Well, I mean, your dad is coo-coo. Nathalie is obviously in love with him. Pigtails obviously loves you. You know I can’t say anything about LB’s identity. And getting married at school? That’s not going to happen.” He raised an eyebrow thing, looking at Adrien with narrowed eyes. “And what were the feelings you had for Marinette?”

     “That I love her.” Adrien mumbled, looking down at his hands, not wanting to think about it. Not wanting to cheat on his Lady. 

     “And how does that make you feel?”

      “Aggghhh! I don’t know.” Adrien slaps his eyes, falling back against the bed and covering his face with his arms. “Marinette is amazing. She’s so talented and beautiful. Such a kind and caring friend. Really is our everyday Ladybug.” He finishes and grumbles some to himself. Flailing his arms against his bed he frowns. “I have a crush on Marinette, don’t I?”

       “Why don’t you ask Nino? He knows more about human feelings than I do.”

      “You got a point, Plagg.” He nodded, hauling himself out of bed to head towards his closet, thinking about things he wants to get ready for. As he gets ready, he gets lost in thought. Would it be so bad if he loved Marinette how he loved Ladybug? Plagg did say it was obvious that she was in love with him.

     Marinette headed into class happily, a garment bag draped over her arm and the hat box in hand. She was nervous but excited. Adrien finally would get something made by her AND he knew it was from her! Excitement about overwhelmed the girl as she made it up to her seat, looking around at the few early birds in class. Nathaniel and Ivan’s desk looked like a artists office. Art supplies were thrown around everywhere, books opened to tabb pages, the sketchbook Nathaniel was sketching in as he briefly glanced at Ivan. Who, to anyone else, wasn’t dressed that differently. But to those in his class, they would notice his shirt was pure black along with his shorts. His head appeared to be shaved, which was odd. Maybe it was just a bald cap? 

      Looking across the way, she saw Julika and Alix talking at Alix’s desk. Upon it, there were several bags and boxes. Marinette wondered if they had gotten each other or if they were chatting. Loud clanking came down the hallway before an exasperated looking Sabrina entered followed by shiny metal suit of armor. Marinette’s eyebrows rose on her head as she heard the very familiar whining coming out of the suit.

     “This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!” Chloe’s voice called out with a slight echo. She threw her hands in the air as she headed toward her seat. “Freaking Max Kante, he’s going to get it for this.” She tried to cross her arms, there was only so much she could do. A snicker escaped from Alix and Marinette as Sabrina went to her seat, starting to get stuff out for her person's costume. Mylene entered the class next, heading to her seat quickly to drop off her backpack before shooting a loving glance at Ivan before running out of the class room again. 

       The classroom itself was slightly decorated. The decorations were handmade, looking a lot like the Halloween decorations in Animal Crossing New Horizons with a touch of different Miraculous heroes. She saw one of Ladybug with fangs and another one with green face paint. She saw some of Rena Rouge, Carapace, Viperion, and Chat. What also shocked her were some of the akumatized victims. Reflectadoll, Queen Wasp, and Horrificator were just a few. 

     “Alright. Has anyone seen Alya?” Sabrina called out, looking at Marinette.

      “I haven’t seen her today.” She shook her head, pulling out her phone to see a message from said girl. “It looks like she had to do a last minute thing for the costume.

     “Ok. Don’t tell her I asked for her!” Sabrina called out.

      “Gotcha!” Marinette threw thumbs up, sitting down at her desk and nervously messing with the garment bag. She wished either her person arrived so she could get in costume or for Adrien so she can put the costume on him. Bitting her lip, Marinette scrolled through her phone, thinking about who could’ve gotten her. It would be sweet if Adrien got her, but she knew it was unrealistic. “Hey, Chloe, have you already put the costume on your person?”

     “Yes, Dupain-Cheng. I did. What’s it to you?” 

     “I just didn’t know if it was me or not.”

      “Thank god it wasn’t you.” Came her snort as she attempted to push up the visor of her helmet. “No, I got Lahiff, and I’ve already put his costume on him.” Marinette’s eyebrows rose once again.

     “Really? What is it?”

     “You’ll have to wait and see.” Chloe smirked and faced forward. The next to enter the classroom was Max and Mylene. 

      “Alright, go sit in your seat, and I’ll apply the make up on you.” Max nodded, going to his seat as Mylene went to get her supplies. Markov flew around the classroom, looking at everyone’s costumes that had already been dressed. Chatter began to happen as slowly, more people entered. People began meeting up with who they had drawn from the hat. 

     “Alya!” Sabrina called when she entered, waving her over. “I got you. Once you are ready, let me know so I can get started.”

      “Ok, girl. Sounds good. Give me a moment.” Sabrina gave a thumbs up and began setting up her area. Alya smiled as she set her stuff down at the desk. “Your person not here yet?” 

     “Nope. Neither the one giving me the costume or the one I’m giving.” Alya nodded. 

     “Yeah, I don’t see my person.” Alya snorts, rubbing her hands together. “This is going to be good.” She cackled as she looked at Sabrina. “I’m going to go on for my costume.” Marinette threw her a thumbs up as she chewed on her lip. 

     “Oh, Julika, you’re person asked for you to to head to the locker room.” Julika looked at Alya at the sound of her name.

     “Ok.” She mumbled before looking at Alix. “Will you come with me? I can also work on your costume.” Alix briefly looked down at her costume in boxes, back up towards where Ivan and Nathaniel were.

     “Yeah, that’ll work. Looks like Nath is taking forever.”

     “Beauty takes time, Alix.” Ivan and Nathaniel called out at the same time causing everyone to laugh as the two girls headed out. Maybe she needed to go look for Adrien. But, if her person was going to come here looking for her, she needed to stay. Rose entered the classroom in a long white dress, her arms covered in white and her hair looked partially done. 

     “Oh, Marinette! I can’t wait to see what you made.” She smiled, peering at the package. “I would ask to look, but I don’t want to get any of the white dust on it.” 

     “I appreciate that Rose.” She smiled as she took in Roses’ costume. “Are you supposed to be a ghost?” She asked.

     “Yep! Ivan started but I had to run a errand real quick, then I looked for Sabrina and when I didn’t see her, I came back to class.” She looked over. “Oh goody! Once she’s done with Alya, I’ll start her costume. By then, hopefully Nathaniel will be done painting Ivan.”

     “Hopefully.” Marinette looked back to see Nathaniel had started on one of his arms. “Well, he’s farther along than when I came in.” 

     “Who got you?” Marinette shrugged.

      “I’m not sure yet.” Her eyes danced around the room. “It could be Kim, Nino, Adrien, or… Alya. But, Als said she didn’t see her person, so it couldn’t be me then.”

      “Hmmm. I think Nino had called for Jules.” Rose tapped her chin.

     “So that leaves Kim or Adrien.” Marinette’s heart sped up and she wished the butterflies away in her stomach. Could she really have been lucky enough to get Adrien?

      “If it’s Adrien, that would be so romantic!” Rose jumped a little, clapping her hands happily.

      “Alright, so, Julika is getting ready, I’ll finish her costume up in here. Chloe is done with my costume.” Nino’s voice sounded as he and Adrien entered the room. Nino was covered head to toes in wrapping, his headphones laying on him unwrapped, although his hat was. Chloe had obviously gotten mummy for Nino.

     “Oh, Marinette!” Adrien’s voice elated her as his eyes landed on hers. “I got you!” He smiled happily. The world around her seemed to slow at his megawatt smile.

     “Me? I also got me. I mean, you. I got you, Adrien.” Marinette fumbled with her words but it never deterred Adrien’s smile.

     “Whoa! That’s awesome. I’ll get a Marinette Original!” His smile somehow got wider.

     “Yeah, hat is made hand also. I- i mean. The hat, is also made by hand.” She smiled, holding up the hatbox. His eyes darted from the box to her.

     “Whoa. Well, uh. We might need to go to the locker room because you’ll need to change into the costume.” He held up his own garment bag that caused Marinette’s eyes to widen.

      “Oh, ok! You change too, I mean. You will need to change also.”

     “Shall we?” He smiled, gesturing with his head to the door.

      “Yes.” Marinette smiled, standing up and picking up the costume for him. Together they headed to the locker room, not quite talking as they did.

       “So… what is my costume?” Adrien asked, arching an eyebrow and looking down at Marinette as they turned the corner.

       “A witch.” She smiled, eyes traveling along the floor to his hands. “What’s mine?”

      “A vampire.” He said happily. “I actually got you some fake fangs!” 

      “Really?” Her gaze darted to his, shocked.

      “Yep. And they are custom. They will mold to your own for the best fit.” He explained proudly. “I’m excited. I tested them out yesterday, and they seemed to work well. OH! I had gotten myself a pair also to test.” He began to blush, red morphing along his face. “N-not that I would expect you to wear the ones I did.”

     “It’s awesome we got each other.” Marinette smiled, proud of herself not stumbling over her words this time.

      “Yeah! I’m glad. I also hope you like the costume.” He glanced shyly at him. “I uh helped make it.” 

       “So I’ll get a Adrien original?” She dared to smirk up at him causing his face to flush and eyes to flutter away. Huh.

      “In a way.” He bit his lip, arms moving around the stuff he carried as they arrived to the locker room. “Alright, let's leave the extra stuff here, and get changed into the outfits. How does that sound?”

      “Ok. Here, I’ll get out the parts that you need to change into privately. The other stuff you won’t have to undress.” She blushed, busying herself with extracting the pants and shirts from the bag, turning and passing them to him as he passed her a neatly hanging dress. 

      “Alright, meet back here?” He asked.

      “Yep!” She nodded and quickly dashed to the bathroom.

      “Wait!” She heard him call out as she arrived at the door. She turned around and arched a eyebrow. “Let's get the teeth started.” 

      “Oh right!” She headed over, hanging her dress up as Adrien prepared the fangs.

      “Alright. At first it’s going to feel weird and maybe even taste a little funny.” He explained as she watched him. “They should be fine. It’ll take it no time to set.” He explained, turning towards her with a tooth looking cup. “Uh, open up, please?” He blushed. Closing her eyes, she opened her mouth, holding her breath. She felt gentle pressure on her head as his hand held it in place, placing the tooth mold on the desired tooth. “Now we hold for 15 seconds.” He began counting. Thankfully, she had no problem holding her breath for that long. Slowly, he removed the casing and turned towards the kit.

       “Sorry if my breath smells.” Marinette flushed, covering her mouth with a hand.

       “No worries. I didn’t notice anything.” He smiled over his shoulder as he finished that tooth and prepped for another. Turning he smiled gently. “Plus, I wouldn’t be bothered.” He chuckled, gesturing for her to open her mouth. Taking a breath, she opened once more, holding her breath. This time, she kept her eyes open, looking into Adrien’s intense green gaze. “You know, Marinette,” He spoke softly, almost like he just breathed her name. “You’re eyes are stunning.” He smiled gently, eyes searching her face. “You have the cutest freckles, also.” His eyes danced over the bridge of her nose, along her hot cheeks. “I never noticed how many you have.” He backed away, slowly removing the tooth capsule. “Al-alright.” He glanced away shyly. “These will set while we get changed.” This time, he didn’t stop her as she ran to the bathroom to change. She gave a hasty wave to Alix as she was standing in front of the mirror, applying a thick layer of black eyeliner around her eyes. The large stall was occupied by what looked like Julika by the shoes. She entered a stall she deemed worthy, pausing to take a couple of deep breaths. 

     After composing herself a bit, Adrien had complimented her!!, she looked at the dress in her hands. The quality was amazing. The hints of the green fabric underneath the black overlay on the bodice looked familiar. Shrugging off her blazer, she hung the dress on the door, placing her clothes carefully on the door. After she undid the back of the dress and went to step into it, she discovered it wasn’t a dress at all! It was a jumpsuit! Excitement thrilled her already fast beating heart as she pulled it up the rest of the way, gently sliding the button through the loop to lock the outfit in place. Hanging her clothes on the hanger, she stepped out of the stall and looked in the mirror across from her. 

      “Wow.” She breathed. Looking at her reflection, she saw how the piece had fit her exquisitely, as if she had designed to fit her body herself. Given Adrien and his connections, she was sure that someone amazingly talented created this. The top half was slightly different than the lower half, but only in minute details. The straps were wide, resting comfortably on her shoulders. The neckline was a gentle scoop, letting a black overlay cascade gently over deep green fabric that she was sure was the same she used for his hat. It was sewn in along the waistline, the bottoms beginning with a deep black color, with slight shimmers of green that complimented the bodice. It was comfortable, beyond imaginable. The fabric moved and laid lovely against her skin. 

      “Whoa, Marinette. That looks great!” Alix whistled, looking at her with a shake of her head. “Who gave that to you?”

     “Adrien.” She smiled as she gathered her clothes. “It is so comfortable!” She smiled happily.

     “At least there is a chance you would wear that again.” Julika’s voice came from a stall, sticking her head out. “I don’t think I’ll ever wear this again.”

     “Oh? What’s yours?” Marinette asked, curious as to why Julika was hiding. It may very well be pink. Even though she loved Rose, Julika could only handle so much pink. Plus, her enjoyment of the color dwindled more after her second akumatization. 

     “A princess.” She mumbled before sighing, opening the door and stepping out, lifting her skirt, shuffling out. In all honesty, Nino didn’t do a bad job. The dress was most definitely not pink. The colors were deep maroons with hints of purple and reds as accents where the layers were. The dress was a typical princess ball gown from the 1860’s, so it wasn’t as big as it could be for a ‘princess’ style. Nino had not gone and went for big and poofy, which honestly was a blessing for Julika, whether or not she’ll admit it. 

     The different tiers of the dress were in different shades of red, complimenting the primary dress color of being maroon. It was raised around the hips and waist, allowing for a cascading effect with the front tiers. The back looked similar to a bustle, but much less prominent. It makes sense, especially, for the era before the bustle era. 

     “I think it looks amazing, Julika.” She smiled at her. “I think Nino made a good choice. There are layers of ruffle like fabric but definitely not the poofy princess style that is in Disney movies.” 

     “You think so?” Alix looked the dress up and down. “Yeah, I can totally see that. He went a more historical route, didn’t he?”

     “Yes. I wonder where he got it.” Marinette rubbed her chin, thinking about it.

      “Maybe his mom. Isn’t one of her siblings in theater?” 

      “Still, he chose well. It isn’t pink, the colors compliment you very well.” Marinette smiled, thinking about how the colors compliment her hero costume. 

      “Yeah.. I uh don’t know erm what I would’ve done with poofy ruffles.” Julika said, looking down and straightening her dress. “How in the world am I supposed to sit in this?” She twisted and moved around the crinkling as she looked at her backside. 

     “I’m going to finish getting ready, I’ll see you guys in class.” They waved as Alix headed over to Julika, looking at her outfit and moving things around as they started to try and devise a plan. Marinette looked at her outfit once more as she headed to the meeting place hoping the costume worked on Adrien. 

     “Wow, Marinette.” Adrien’s voice caused her to look up, almost too quickly as she stumbled and started falling. Closing her eyes, she braced for impact against the lockers. Instead of the cold metal she was expecting, warmth and a delicious smell caught her. “Whoa there. Seems like I’ve got you under my spell.” He smiled gently at her as she blinked owlishly up at him as he rights her. “You alright?”

     “You make me batty.” She blurted out. Why on earth did she just pun? She was spending so much time with that cat that it’s rubbed off on her. Although, seeing Adrien’s smile wide and a spark in his eyes made it worth it. “It’s in my blood, to be clumsy, you know.” She stood up normally, noticing his hands were still holding onto her. 

     “I know some vampire puns, but they all suck.” He smirks, eyes twinkling as he watches her. “Yet, I think you’ve got me under your spell.” He said softly, slowly running his hands down her arms before squeezing her wrists before letting go, a blush steady on his face. He stepped back and she instantly missed the connection between them. “Alright, your fangs should be set by now.”

     “Alright.” She said softly, following him over to the stuff. “Also, I got a cape for you.” She quickly headed to her stuff, opening the garment bag and taking out the cape from the hanger that he did not get to change into. She hummed happily as she gently took it off and held it to him. “Tada!”

     “Whoa. It just keeps getting better and better!” His eyes welled up with tears “Thank you, Marinette. You have no idea what this means to me.” He takes the cape from her gently so he can inspect it. 

     “It’s nothing, Adrien.” She blushed, looking over his outfit to make sure everything was still in place correctly. “I really love the pantsuit that you gave me!” She ran her hands along the fabric, feeling her fingertips go into a hole in the costume. Concerned furrowed her eyebrows before her eyes widened. “IT HAS POCKETS?!” 

     “Yeah, I thought you’d like that. Mackinzie seemed to think it was crazy that I thought of it.” He chuckled, looking over at Marinette. “She’s the talented one that sewed and completed your jumpsuit.”

     “Oh my goodness! Does she work at La Boule De Laine?” She looked at him expectantly.

     “Yes!” 

      “I love her! She’s fantastic.” She looked down at her jumpsuit with more appreciation than before.

      “Yes, I commissioned her!” 

       “That’s wonderful.”

      “I believe it turned out wonderful. I originally thought of commissioning you but I didn’t think it would be good to have you create your own costume.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “So, these buttons, is that how the cape is supposed to attach?” He raised an eyebrow. “Where at?”

     “Oh! Here, let me.” She smiled, happily taking the cape and moving to behind him, moving the fabric she had designed to hide the buttons on the shirt to combine them, stepping back and admiring her work. “It looks great.” 

      “Of course it does, you designed it.” Adrien tilted his head to smile at her, hands running along the cape. “Whoa, you put pockets in here?” He looked down to see the hidden pockets, Plagg will be comfy there.

     “Yep, I thought about how witches would gather herbs and whatnot and figured that you’d enjoy having the pockets on the inside of the cape.” Marinette explained. “I also used the same fabric for the inside of the cape to match your shirt.” She lifted the hem of the cape, showing him the embroidered planets, constellations, and random stars. “Since you have a space theme, I added touches of space everywhere to keep it all in the same skeem.” She explained, pointing up to where his cape connects, one shoulder has a moon whereas the other has the sun.

     “Wow.” He whispered, amazed as he took in everything she’s shown him. “I can’t believe this.” He smiled down at her. “I mean, I can cause you’re amazing. But why am I deserving of all this? I’m just me.” He gestures to himself. 

      “Oh, Adrien.” She smiles softly, a gentle look in her eyes as she shakes her head. “You are also amazing.” She smiled softly, letting go of his cape, her fingers itching to cup his face. “Y-You’re one of m-my best friends.” She whispered, fingers fiddling with each other.

     “Really?” He whispered, eyes widening as he looked into hers, searching for any sign of lies or regret. But, this was Marinette. She hated liars so why would she lie?

     “Yes, A-Adrien. I c-care for you, a lot. Which is w-why I made you the best. Y-you deserve it.” Marinette spoke softly as her face heated up. Adrien smiled widely, his heart pounding. He opened his mouth to reply when the bathroom door open for the girls and Alix and Julika emerged in more costume than when they went in.

      “Whoa! You’re costume looks epic Adrien!” Alix called out, looking between them. “Marinette?”

     “Yep! A Marinette original.” Adrien smiled broadly, bringing out his inner model and posed. 

     “At least you know this time.” Julika mumbled before looking to the side. “This is going to be a long day.” She headed towards the door.

      “It’s not too bad.” Alix said, following her as she waved to Adrien and Marinette. “See you guys in class.” With that, the two girls exited the locker room, leaving Adrien and Marinette alone. Both were mulling over different thoughts. Adrien over what JUlika mumbled, had Marinette really gifted more things? Marinette thought about the praises that Adrien had given her for her handy work with his outfit and that she just almost confessed to him. Was Alix and Julika breaking the moment a gift? Or did they just set her back a couple of weeks.

     “For the record.” Adrien’s voice prompted after the couple minutes of stewing in their thoughts. “I consider you one of my best friends too.” He said softly, looking over at her through his eyelashes.

      “R-really? I’m glad.”

     “Yeah, honestly you were one of the first friends I’ve ever made.” He explained, rubbing the back of his neck. “Chlo I’ve known since I was a kit- kid. Nino basically because we sat next to each other and he saw how awkward and socially inept I was.” He explained.  “And then when we talked that first day, after school, where it was raining and I let you use my umbrella. That moment is one I’ll always cherish. It showed how caring you are and how you were willing to hear me out. So, thank you, Marinette. For listening to me when you did. Because you’ve given me so much happiness.” He smiled at her gently.

     “I remember that day, too.” She looked up at him, a small smile appearing on her lips. “It is also one of my cherished memories.” Her heart pounded. Now was it. This was the perfect time. “For a different reason. I saw how genuine you were. I saw you being open and honest, completely not what my first impression of you was and I’m sorry for judging you. Yet, being able to become your friend is a dream come true, Adrien. It’s allowed me to get to know you better.” She laughed softly, shaking her head. Taking a deep breath, she glanced away before steeling herself and looking into his eyes. “I, uh, I have f-feelings for you. Adrien. I have for a wh-while now. Please, promise me that information won’t ruin our friendship.” Her eyes looked in his, searching this time for any hint of regret. Instead, he smiled even wider than she thought possible, pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

     “Marinette.” He whispered into her hair as he held her close. “Thank you.” He felt his eyes tear up as he buried into her, nuzzling her head softly like he would as Chat. “I appreciate hearing that. No, I don’t think our relationship will be ruined. But, hopefully, it can improve.” He backed away, looking down at her with a small smile, blush rising on his cheeks.  “I- I may have realized Sunday morning that uh… I may have a crush on you as well.” He rubbed the back of his neck yet again, glancing to the side. 

     “Really? Me?” Marinette gasped, looking at him shocked but happy.

     “How could I not?” He raised an eyebrow, gesturing his hand towards her. “You are simply amazing. Our everyday Ladybug.” He glanced to the side, blush intensifying. “And. I may as well be honest. I’m uh… inlovewithladybug.” He gushed out, hiding his face in his hands. He heard her intake of breath and refused to look at her.

     “I can work with that.” She whispered, reaching up and moving his hands from his face. “How about we start slow? Maybe going on a couple of dates to figure out where we see this going? And working with our feelings, figuring out where we stand.” She explained gently. 

     “Yeah… I would love that.” He nodded, pulling her hand to his face and lightly kissing her knuckles. “Cause… I had this amazing dream that really changed my perspectives on a lot of things.” She arched an eyebrow but he shook his head. “For later. First, let's finish putting on our costumes and join the class.”

      “Ok, I can get behind that.” She smiled at him, watching as he went and grabbed the teeth, heading over to her. She automatically opened her mouth and closed her eyes, allowing him full range for applying the fangs. She felt them both go on, before he tilted her head down and he placed a gentle peck on her nose. Blush was on both of their faces as she blinked her eyes open, looking up at Adrien.

     “How do they feel? Do they feel secure or loose?” He asked, looking at her mouth as she closed it, chewing on nothing for a minute.

     “Not tho bad.” She blinked, running her tongue over them.

     “Move your jaw back slightly, lets see if the teeth will peek through if you bite your lip or something.” He instructed, showing her with his mouth how to move it. She followed his instructions.

     “Yeah, I think they feel good.” She was getting more used to speaking with it the more she tried. She smiled at him, fangs glistening at him. “Alright, mister. Time for your hat.”

     “Hat?” His eyes lit up as he looked at her.

     “Yep. But it’s in the classroom. So let’s head back.” She backed up towards the door, gesturing him to follow. A blush rose on his face as he followed her, pulling his cape up and hiding his face as he took a couple of deep breaths, ignoring the way his heart sped up. He dropped the cape and grabbed the two garment bags as they headed back to the room. 

     “Oh. Also, I got you a cape as well. It’s more of a drapery but still cape-light.” He shrugged, watching Marinette as they headed back towards the classroom.

     “Oh awesome!” She smiled happily at him, looking up at him as they walked. He looked down at her with a smile, looking up at him happily. “I can’t believe we got each other.”

     “Neither can I, but I’m glad we did.” He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him for a side hug as they walked. “It let the air come clean between us.” She snorts at that.

     “T-that sounded so wr-wrong.” She shook her head, eyes lighting up. He pouted at her.

     “You just ruined a cute moment.” Smirking, she looked up at him before pulling his head down and gently pecking his nose like how he did to hers earlier. 

      “But, it’s just the start of many more, hopefully.” She looked shyly up at him beneath her eyelashes. He smiled as he looked down at her.

     “I plan on it.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze, pulling her close before letting her go. They enter the class to see Max green and Mylene adding on the neck bolts. Ivan was finishing up Rose’s hair, somehow making it floofy like it did back in the Victorian Era for short hair. Slowly putting white on her hair and the rest of her body, making her look even more ghostly. He had a good hand at makeup, making her face look sunken in, not to unlike his own resembling a skull. Looking back, Alix was applying the final touches to Nathaniel’s costume, adjusting his crown accordingly. 

      “Alright, let’s finish up your costume.” She smiled as she looked at him, heading to her seat. 

      “Oh, did you two get each other?” Alya’s voice brought them out of their own world a little bit more as they looked at her. Along with her hair being teased slightly to look more like a mane, she had tufts of red fur along her, her hands with grey and burgundy fur. She had a precious little snout on her.

     “Yes we did!” Adrien said happily, pulling out some makeup from his bag. “I hope I can do her justice.” He glanced over at Marinette who blushed.

      “Shh. You know it’ll be f-fine.” She blushed, eyes averting from his before fishing his hat out of the hatbox for him. She fluffed it up to where it was extended to its peak. “Ta-da!” She said happily, presenting him the hat that encompassed all separate elements of his outfit together into one piece. 

     “Wait. That green, it looks like the green that I chose for your outfit!” He points, pulling the hat towards him, looking at it in shock. 

     “Yeah, I think we can thank Mackinzie for that.” Marinette popped out her hip, placing a hand on it. Shaking his head, Adrien smiled.

       “Even more proof that we could be a couple.” Alya coughed, choking on water she just took a drink of.

       “Excuse me, what?!” Her eyes bugged out as Adrien and Marinette blushed madly and looked at the floor.

      “Did you tell him, dudette?” Nino asked, wrapping on his brow area rising, so they assumed he arched an eyebrow at the revelation that Marinette confessed.

      “Mostly.” Marinette spoke softly, nodding as the blush raised up to her ears.

      “And… I also told her the truth.” Adrien explained, a hand coming up to place on the base of his neck as he looked to the side.

      “Which is, sunshine?” Alya raised a very furry eyebrow.

     "That I think I have a crush on Marinette?” Adrien said softly, glancing shyly towards the girl in question.

     “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Kim’s voice came from the side causing the two new arrivals to turn to look at him. To say they were shocked was an understatement. Kim was dressed up as a Queen. Queen of what, they weren’t sure. The dress was large, a huge skirt looking like it had several hoops beneath it causing him to not really be able to get into his desk. He wore a bodice that was basically a corset and if he had been female, the neckline would’ve been dangerously low. He placed his hands on his hips, which really was the only place. They were more on the waist due to the largeness of the hoops. It was like a crude rendition of Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, where the Queen had massive red hair. 

     “Uh?” Marinette looked him up and down. Who did this to him?

     “Did you finally tell Adrien?!”

     “Dude, she just basically confirmed it. And so did Adrien. They told each other they like each other.” Alix rolled her eyes, shaking her slightly braided hair. Half was in a braid, albeit short, while the rest was tied up with a bandana. “So, I win the bet, you’re highness.” She smirked, extending her hand towards Kim.

     “Oh, no. We don’t know who told the other first.” They turned to look at the blushing ‘couple’. “So, spill. Who confessed first?”

      “Yeah, who cracked first?” 

      “Uh.” They exchanged a look.

     “I guess, technically…” Marinette trailed off, touching her finger to her chin as she thought about it. “I guess me? But it was with the boost of knowing I am one of Adrien’s best friends.” She blushed and glanced towards him.

     “And I told her that I figured out on Sat-”

      “You told me Sunday.”

      “Well. I guess it was both because it was a dream I had Saturday night and woke up on Sunday.” Adrien explained.

     “Wait, is that the dream you were telling me about?” Nino asked, getting up and leaning against Adrien’s side of the desk. He nodded, going and placing the witch hat upon his head, adjusting until it was comfortable.

     “Yeah.”

      “Dude, that was one heck of a dream.” Nino chuckled, shaking his head. “Did he tell you the dream?” He looked over at Marinette, who just shook her head in confusion.

      “No?” She arched an eyebrow and looked at Adrien when Nino had busted out laughing.

     “I said it was a story for a later time.” He groaned, kicking Nino lightly in the shin.

       “Hey!” Chloe’s voice called out from behind Adrien. He spun around and eyes widened at his childhood friend. “Don’t ruin that costume. I paid decent money for it.” She pointed a metal finger at Adrien. He snickered, shaking his head as he took in his classmates around him, joy starting to spring into his heart.

     “You guys… This is my first Halloween party.”

     “What?” “No way!” “Seriously?!” “Bro…” “Have you even gone trick or treating?!” The class shouted out questions towards him.

     “Uh, no. I’ve never gone trick or treating.” He shrugged. “I just rather spend time with you guys, in all honesty.” He smiled at everyone. They exchanged looks with each other, causing Adrien to shift on his feet. 

     “You know, we can fix that. If you want to, that is.” Mylene spoke up from her seat. 

     “Yeah, we can do it for you.” Ivan’s voice came from up as he looked at the monster of a classmate. Nathaniel's painting skills were sharp. He looked amazing.

     “Whoa, your costume is epic!”

     “Thank you, Nathaniel painted it.” Ivan tilted his head towards the redhead who was sporting a regal looking coat that was fur lined, colors of red and gold throughout the jacket. A crown sat atop of his head that blended well. 

     “That’s awesome, Nathaniel.” Adrien shot him a thumbs up. Nathaniel raised a cane thing that looked like what those royals of the past would use to gain attention.

     “Thank you, Adrien.” 

     “Wait, hold up.” Alya’s voice cut through the conversations that had erupted once again. Everyone turned to look at him. “I think we are lacking important knowledge.” Her gaze shifted between Adrien and Marinette. “You two. Are you dating? You two are, right? It only makes sense.” 

     “Actually,” Marinette started, looking at Adrien with a sweet smile before looking at her friends until she ended up back on Alya. “We are taking things slow. We aren’t dating yet. We wanted to figure out our feelings a little more.” She explained.

     “Yeah, uh you can blame that on me.” Adrien raised one hand while the other pulled the hat down infront of his eyes. “I still have feelings for someone else.” He mumbled.

     “I thought you were over Kagami?” Nino spoke up, confusion evident in his tone.

     “It isn’t her.” Marinette’s voice cut in. “I appreciate everything you guys have done, but please respect our privacy as we go through this phase of our relationship.” She held up a hand to Alya when she opened her mouth. “Relationships do not have to be romantic. Friendships are considered relationships as well.”

     “Fine.” She pouts and crosses her arms. “I guess that’s fine.”

     “I’m just glad they finally confessed!” Alix called out, going and plopping down in her chair, obviously done with Nathaniel’s outfit. She leaned back, throwing boots up on her desk as she watched them.

     “It’s so sweet you two are thinking of each other's feelings and taking this seriously!” Rose exclaimed, holding her gloved hands together in front of her with a smile. 

     “Of course. I really care about Marinette and I want this to work out for the best outcome.” Adrien smiled, looking around. “Now, can we please move on to the halloween festivities?” He asked excitedly. “To answer your question, Mylene. I would rather enjoy a party and movie marathon than go trick or treating. I don’t know how much outside of the school Father would allow me to have, anyways.” 

     “I can respect that.” Mylene smiled, going up and sitting next to Ivan at his and Nathaniel’s desk. This allowed people to move the desks and chairs around to accommodate Kim and Julika’s dresses. 

     “Alright, Mme. Bustier should be back any minute with the food, I’ll set up the movie.” Max said, going to the front as Markov floated after him. Adrien turned to Marinette, smiling at her.

     “I got a few finishing touches.” He smiled, holding up the neck corset that would fan out behind her head. It was made of the green that was underneath her bodice. “Believe it or not, the only thing this piece was coming up as was Vampire Neck Corset.” He blushed as he stepped up to her as she turned around. He positioned it on her before looking at it from the front. “Alright, let me do your hair and then I’ll put it on.” She nodded as he got to work. It ended up in two buns that were very poofy ontop of her head, looking identical to the mom in The Little Vampire. He took the neck corset, going and placing it on her. “Alright. What do you think?” He asked, holding up a mirror so that she could see.

      “Whoa. I look… wow.” Marinette tilted her head one way then another next. “Thank you, Adrien!” He smiled. 

      “Not a problem!” He admired his handy work. “I seem to be struck by your hypnotizing gaze, my dear.” He takes her hand and gives it a squeeze as someone shuts off some of the lights of the room as everyone finishes up their costumes. The lights in the back illuminated her from behind, the neck corset casting shadows in delicate places. She smiled at him, her fangs showing a little.

       “Well, you are my type. You can always count on me having your back.” Marinette smiled, looking down at him. He smiled up at her, thinking how he may actually be falling in love with the beautiful girl before him, more so than Ladybug.