Clad in blue and the patterns of a peacock, Gabriel Agreste perched on the rooftop of a towering building.
This was something he never would have imagined doing, at least, it was something Gabriel Agreste would have never done. He glanced around the city watching out for crime and whatever mayhem that could suddenly arise.
"You're here early." Her voice rang out.
He turned ever so slightly to glance at his partner.
"How could I not be early? I always arrive on time."
She laughed at his remark. "And you're saying that I'm late?" She said with a smirk.
"Ah no! I didn't mean to-"
"Shh" she said pressing a finger to his lips, he turned his face away from her and blushed as she sat down next to him.
"Hopefully we don't have to deal with too much crime tonight, it's been getting really hectic around here lately."
"It really has." He agreed.
It had only been little over a month since he had taken up the duties of being a miraculous holder, and he was already feeling a bit overwhelmed, especially in the sense that it was hard to juggle his already busy life, as well as uphold his hero duties.
Yet despite his exhaustion, the bruises and the pain that came along with his newfound occupation, Gabriel thought that it was well worth it.
"Earth to Paon, do you read me?" She waved her hand in front of his face.
"Sorry, I've just been thinking…"
Papillon smiled. "I know exactly how you must be feeling."
She crossed her arms behind her head and laid back against the building. "It's so otherworldly, isn't it? Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be doing something like this."
It looked as if no evil was going to strike tonight, so he laid his head back down and joined her.
"It's so exhilarating at times, this whole hero thing."
"It can be, but I honestly love it!" she exclaimed
"Can I tell you something?"
She turned her face towards him. "As long as it doesn't involve revealing any aspects of our identities."
Not being able to meet her expression, he gazed at the stars instead. "I sometimes feel as if I can't be myself when I'm Paon… I just feel so lost…"
They sat in silence for a moment.
"If you feel like you aren't being true to the person that you really are, then be the person you want to be. That's my philosophy at least."
Gabriel glanced over at her, they met each others gaze.
In the dim light that the building cast, he found himself captivated in the eyes framed by the mask. He would have continued to be lost in them, if not for the beeping sound of his miraculous alerting him back to reality.
"I should really go…"
"Oh, alright." Papillon replied back nervously.
He leapt off the building and ran to an alleyway, de-transforming.
"Do I sense chemistry between you two?" The small blue kwami teased.
"She's just my partner, and it's not like that." He said with a sigh.
Realizing how late it must be, he checked the time on his watch.
"It just keeps getting later and later that I'm out!"
The kwami giggled upon hearing this. "And not a crime in sight either!"
...
Gabriel awoke, feeling tired. It was as if he hadn't slept one bit. He gathered his needed supplies, tucked his miraculous into his bag, and headed out the door. The internship job he had taken at the fashion hut was no dream come true, but it was an internship nonetheless.
Walking into the building, there was commotion all around. Not just the normal commotion that went on every day, but the kind that was noticeably different.
One of the other interns ran up to Gabriel. "Did you hear that we're getting a new model in today?"
"Models come and go all the time, so what's so different about this one?" He said, trying to look around the crowd.
"Apparently she's a famous model! And has come here to study fashion as well. I'm not exactly sure who she is, but she's causing quite a commotion around here no doubt!"
Before he could respond, the intern scrambled away, leaving Gabriel to continue trying to guess who this mysterious women really was.
As he tried to take a closer look around the crowd, a large man came pushing through.
"Out of my way! Out of my way!" The man's voice yelled.
When he had finally cleared through, a dainty young blonde woman followed after. She looked towards his direction just once, but there was no mistaking her.
Although they were no longer framed by a mask, her eyes immediately gave her away.