The first time she sees him, she is thankful that she isn't alone in this. She's just a teenage girl, her biggest worries should be about love, school, the pimple that popped up overnight, and fashion designs and icons. Not necessarily in that order. He seems very confident and sure in what he's doing, compared to her regular clumsy self. She doesn't know why she, of all people, has been chosen to be a superhero. She doesn't know why she must fight this giant rock thing, who was her classmate Ivan a couple of minutes ago.
She can barely get her yoyo to work properly and her coordination is all wrong, she has a hard time remembering everything that Tikki has told her. She plays their conversation over and over again in her head.
Her outfit is bright red with black spots, and she feels like it makes her a giant target.
Her partner is loud and has a blinding smile, he flirts and shows off, he stands tall and towers over her. Is he older? Is he her age? He's dressed in all black. He looks like a cat, with the ears, tail, and eyes to match.
His eyes. She has to do a double take the first time she sees him, because they aren't human. They're green. Really, really green. The whites of his eyes are green, his iris is a slightly different shade of green and his pupal is oval-shaped and vertical. She knows that isn't normal, but he doesn't seem bothered by it.
He seems to know what he's doing, so she doesn't feel bad about deciding to give up the Miraculous to Alya. Alya seemed interested in all of this stuff, she would make a great superhero. This black cat guy didn't need her to get in the way.
However, she doesn't get the chance to give away the earrings, because they apparently never fixed the problem the first time. They forgot a step. The second time around she feels surer in what she must do. What they need to do, because they're a team. She notices that her partner isn't as on top of things as she had originally thought. He's still very good, but she sees the clumsiness and the eagerness to act before thinking. It occurs to her, as she purifies the akuma and fixes their lovely city of Paris, that he's just as new to this as she is.
This is his first time too. He looks just as happy as he did earlier, he doesn't seem fazed by the fact that she witnessed him fumble. When he offers her his fist to her she knocks her own against it, and his smile is contagious.
She realizes they did pretty good for two strangers who were thrown into the unknown without much warning, and she decides there in that moment that she wants to stick around for all that this has to offer. She can do it with him by her side.