8/3/2018 Update- just did a couple of grammar and structure-related editing.

Chapter 1: Mask Games

Marinette's Room

Carefully, she sewed the hem of the dress, counting perhaps a couple of stitches before she'd finish.

Little longer…

It was finally time, and she couldn't be more excited.

10, 9, 8…

Marinette put the needle down, along with her thread and pin cushion. She aired out her finished dress and stood up to look at her newly created masterpiece. Weeks of hard work had brought her to the moment where she could truly admire one of her finest works. She had started the dress as a way to pan out her collection, but it now had a new purpose, as the last few weeks of school followed along. Her dress was now going to have it's debut in the Agreste Ball, tonight.

It had come as a complete surprise to Marinette when she had received an invitation. According to the woman passing them out to all of the upperclassmen, it was meant as an honest-to-God party to say goodbye to all their years of hard work, and to welcome the years to come. Marinette still felt weird about it. It made sense to her that Adrien would invite everyone in his class, but it had spilled over to Marinette's. She could only guess it had to do with his long standing best friend, Nino. Nino is also Alya's long-time crush. Something about his music being an inspiration to this generation. Nonetheless, she was happy to have been given permission to attend. She'd only seen Adrien in the hallways, surrounded by his classmates or his group of friends. It didn't help, either, that he was an internationally recognized model for his father's clothing line. She just knew him as a fellow, albeit famous, classmate.

There were also rumors going around that even though the ball was intended for their classmates, it also served as a way to introduce Adrien into the world of fashion, as the official heir to Gabriel Agreste's brand. Everyone knew that reporters would be flooding the venue, with questions of the next move for the famous heir. Including which University he planned to attend, if any.

"Are you finally done?" Alya spoke, jolting Marinette out of the deep recesses of her mind.

"Ah, yes, sorry about that!" Marinette fiddled around for a moment before pulling the finished gown for the world (Alya) to see. A small gasp spread throughout the room as Alya descended the stairs, as quickly as she had popped back into existence.

Simply put the dress was gorgeous. It was a soft red and black, high-illusion-collar gown, with a high-low hem, that Marinette had designed to start near her knees and then down to her ankles, creating the illusion of wings on the back. The skirt was red satin in the bottom and sheer glitter fabric that gave the dress motion, with small crystal flowers etched in a dispersion pattern. The top was satin, as well, with the illusion being a very soft beige, to match Marinette's skin color, and red lace patterns. It had no sleeves.

"I am at a complete loss for words, Mari. It's gorgeous," Alya sighed astonished, unable to contain her excitement for her friend's skills.

"Thank you. I have your dress ready as well," Marinette smiled, pulling out a gown that was expertly wrapped just for her friend. Alya almost exploded with joy.

It was a fox-inspired, white cotton (for breathable reasons), mermaid-draped dress, strapless with a sweetheart neck, and soft orange strokes at the hem. It had a matching shawl, with black extremities, like a fox's tail. It was a small side-project she had started when the invitations were given. It didn't have as many details, but it was still fun to do this for her bestie.

"HOLY SHIT MARI! For me?! Oh my god, how can I ever repay you for this?!"

"Oh no you don't. You know that I wanted to make your dress as well. Besides, I can't trust any other designer dress you would've chosen. I doubt they would have it custom tailored to you."

Alya squealed happily, "Oh Marinette. You deserve the universe. Thank you bestie!" She tackled her friend in a tight hug as they both started to scurry the room to start getting ready for the ball.

"Before we get started, what time does it say the party starts?" Marinette asked, unloading all her hair and make-up items on her desk, where she had placed two mirrors for her and Alya to use to get ready.

Alya checked her phone immediately, "Says eight o'clock. That's two hours to go fucking crazy. By the way, where are the masks?"

Marinette cracked a mischievous smile that reached her eyes, while pulling out a box with two masks wrapped nicely in tissue paper, "You honestly didn't think I'd forget, did you?" Marinette laughed, feeling on top of the world already. Alya squealed, taking what had to be hers, a fox-like mask, and clutching it to her chest.

Something about tonight was going to be really special, Marinette could just feel it.

Adrien's Room

Adrien looked at himself in the mirror once more, just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. His suit fit well, sure, and he looked well-dressed, but he hated the colors that were chosen for him. They had him dressed in a Agreste Purple suit with royal blue accents. His own personality was sacrificed in order to embrace the empire that would one day be his own.

It wasn't a bad suit. He looked sharp, and handsome, but the colors simply depressed him to no end. They screamed the personality of his father, cold and distant.

We can't let people forget where you come from, his father had told him when they were cutting the fabric. Like always, he wasn't given a choice.

"You alright, man? You look like winter came a little early." Nino came up to the mirror, to check himself out and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Not gonna lie, you kind of remind me of Periwinkle from that Fairy movie."

"Don't push it. I already don't like it." Adrien held back a groan. He decided in that moment that he would be caught dead before wearing the Agreste brand for the one night where his father had given him free reign. He had persisted for a masquerade ball and to be able to invite the school so he could have one last hoo-rah with them. It was the one time his father had let him.

"I can't do this, Nino. I'm not wearing this suit." Adrien paced towards his closet, where he had countless other, more acceptable suits, for the evening. He began looking for one that he had bought against his father's wishes.

"How come? And what are you looking for, it didn't come with an extra pair of wings, did it?" Nino chuckled.

"No, I'm looking for the dimension where you're actually funny," Adrien snapped back, smiling at the end so his friend would know he was just playing too. He took pride in his quick wit, and that there was a friend in this world that would understand it. It was the one thing he had left that his father couldn't reform. His hands roamed the confined space until he found what he was looking for. It was perfect. A black suit, with a black shirt, a neon green tie and handkerchief. His cuffs were also neon green.

"That's more like you. Though, I have to admit, I thought you'd wear some white." Nino observed.

"I'll have to make due with what I've got," Adrien smiled, grabbing the final piece to his transformation on, above his eyes, the mask, "I wonder if father will recognize me wearing this stuff."

Not that he'd actually care, considering what tonight would mean. His very last taste of freedom until the old man gave him full power. He hated to think of it that way, but ever since his mom passed, his father ceased his kindness. It's like he died on the inside and let his autopilot control the rest of his life, and his son's life. He could still remember his mother and the sun she brought to the house. If only she hadn't gotten sick.

"You're his son, there's no way he won't be able to tell it's you. Besides, we don't have a lot of blond classmates." Nino pointed out, snapping Adrien out of his memories. He looked at himself in the mirror, fully dressed. He looked sharper, and kind of dangerous. But Nino was right, his blond hair stood out like a sore thumb.

Perhaps there was a way to cover it…

"I got it." Adrien quickly sprinted toward his bathroom.

A knock resounded on the other side of the door, "Monsieur Adrien, the gates have been opened, you are needed in the ballroom in no more than five minutes."

"We'll be out in a minute, Natalie," he yelled back, before returning to his friend with a container the size of his hands, "How about we make this night, a little more interesting."

Adrien opened the container and dipped his hands inside, feeling the night become risky as he pulled his hand out of the tub. It was black in color.

"Hair Dye."

The Ballroom in the Agreste Mansion: Marienette

When Marinette and Alya stepped out of their car, the first thing they both noticed was the air of mystery that drowned the area. The night air tasted of complete chaos, the way only older teenagers could bring about chaos. Not only that, the whole place looked like it was right out of Shakespeare's, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Marinette could tell, stylistically, that there was definitely a battle that went on during the whole decoration process.

"Girl, I am feeling like a queen! Everyone is giving us such praising looks!" Alya pointed out, her voice full of the same glee and freedom Mari felt. She was going to blame that feeling to the mask, since it helped make her feel unaccounted for in some weird way. She looked around to see what Alya was talking about and noticed the boys she was pointing out. They seemed to want to go up to them, but hesitated. It was almost as if they were too beautiful to talk to.

That's crazy talk, Marinette giggled to herself.

"Not gonna lie, I do too. I don't think I've ever felt this confident before." More people turned their heads to see the two girls walking in. Normally, she would've shied away, and try to hide at the sudden attention, but something in her was glowing. Something in her loved it.

"I'm really happy to hear that," Alya said sincerely, "But you have to admit, this place looks insane. I wonder why they decided on a masquerade party. There's so much risk."

Marinette laughed again, feeling the giddy feelings bubble up in her again. That was when Alya lifted her head and laughed with her friend, before looking at the distance and blushing. It surprised Marinette, as she had never seen her best friend blush at anything, or anyone, besides her own crush.

"Why are you blushing?"

"You don't see those two guys staring at us? They look so handsome, I wish I knew who they were."

Marinette followed her gaze and for first time in the night, she felt a delicious chill up her spine as blue locked with green. It was as if the world had disconnected around her and all she could focus on were his eyes. Those beautiful bright green eyes. She wanted to look at the rest of him, but the intensity was growing, and she felt her eyes hesitate to move. Was he smiling? Was she? After a couple of heartbeats her eyes moved to examine the rest of him. He wore a tailored black and neon green suit that made his eyes pop all that much more, and she could tell that underneath, he was pretty fit. She blushed at the dirty thought and buried it. The only other color was his pale skin. It was… nice. His mask and hair were also black, he reminded her of a black cat.

She was so absorbed in taking in his details that she almost didn't hear her enthusiastic best friend.

"Oh my god, they're walking towards us!"

Adrien

When Adrien arrived at the ballroom, he was hit with the atmosphere of his fellow classmates. It was definitely chaotic tonight, and full of possibilities he had never before entertained. The best part was that practically no one recognized him. Even Chloe, who would always profess her love for him in the hallways in a very embarrassing fashion. The Hair Dye had accomplished what he wanted.

Anonymity.

He walked among his classmates, completely invisible to them. Nino was the only that could recognize him, considering that he had been in the room with him when he used the pearlish black stuff to color his hair. He promised not to give him away, and promised not to be obvious, keeping a friendly distance, as they would surely put two and two together much quicker. Then again, Adrien didn't think his classmates would really be able to tell. Not when there was so much alcohol in circulation.

He quickly became amused whenever they'd come up to him, asking who he was and if he attended school with everyone. As he couldn't recognize his own classmates, and his classmates couldn't recognize his, he started a game to see who can recognize who. Winner gets a kiss. If they found out who he was, then he'd give them a full kiss. It wasn't long before he found himself practically tackled by everyone who approached him. He was told countless times that he resembled a black cat. With that, he went by the pseudonym, Chat Noir.

"Dude, I'd say this idea of yours was a hit. You've got all the girls squealing. And most of the guys praising you." Nino held his glass of wine up to meet Adrien's.

"Yeah, but it's starting to die on me a little. I should've upped the game from the start. Some of these girls are just a little desperate for my taste. You should've seen Chloe. She was hilarious. Never seen her dance that way before."

"Oh? Are you getting a soft spot for her?" Nino teased, knowing that it'd really end up nowhere. Adrien was a long-time friend of Chloe's but they had sort of fallen out of grace once he started attending public school like the rest of Paris.

"You know me better than that, Nino."

They continued like that for a while longer, bantering and talking about their classmates' reactions, as well as all the girls, and even some guys, trying to guess his identity for the kiss. Then suddenly, the atmosphere of his party changed. Even Nino had stopped talking and looked like he was floating in heaven. Adrien turned his head to the direction of Nino's, and everyone's, attention, and he couldn't help the small breathless moment that caught him.

There were two girls at the entrance, dressed in finely made dresses that would put his father to shame, no doubt. Dresses even Adrien could appreciate from the distance. He looked them up and down and then stopped.

It was in an instant, as his eyes caught hers in a free fall he couldn't stop. They shined brightly, like the ocean, delicately framed by a paste-on mask made of silk with red and black polka dots, matching the dress she wore perfectly. His eyes wanted to trail down to the rest of her, once more to appreciate, but… those eyes. Where had he seen them before?

"Woah man, I get their gorgeous, but fall back. You look like you're about to sprint towards them."

Without breaking eye contact, he said, "I… I honestly didn't even notice," he whispered, feeling weird as he truly didn't notice the stance he had taken. He knew then that this girl was something else, "I have to go introduce myself."

Just then her own friend broke the spell between them by snapping the blue-eyed, bluenette's attention for a single moment. Adrien felt a small loss but still continued in her direction. He had to shove some of the crowd aside to get to her, but when he did, something in him growled in approval by seeing her up close. There were freckles hiding under her mask, and her lips were wonderfully plumped. Her cheeks were tinted pink as the spell they cast over each other blossomed again with the eye contact. The next thing that hit him was her soft perfume. It wasn't anything you'd find in any of the fancy stores, but it fit her perfectly. It reminded him of a garden or a meadow.

"Hi." He breathed.

"H-Hello." She smiled, unsure of herself.

He was about to open his mouth to say his name but then remembered that he was trying to fool the whole class into guessing his identity tonight. He silently cursed himself for having made up such a game, because now she'd have to play also. Although, he could drop her hints maybe.

Taking her hand in his, he placed a soft kiss on her knuckles, never breaking the precious eye contact.

"What's your name, Purr-incess?" He asked, loving the pun in his mind.

Her cheeks blushed a lovely shade of red at his words, and he reveled in the view of her. He wanted to kiss her in that moment but felt it was necessary to give her a good chance at winning this thing without pissing off everyone that's tried tonight. When she didn't answer right away, he had to wonder if she was awestruck as well, or also trying to hide behind the mask, as he was.

"You can give me a name you want me to call you, if you don't want it to be your real name. I understand the magic." He whispered, only to her. Reassuring himself that whatever she would give him would be enough to seek her out.

"Okay, then," she said more confidently, "Then I guess you can call me Ladybug."

He gifted her a smile, and her cheeks deepened to their lovely red color again, "Then, M'Lady, please call me Chat Noir. Would you like to join me for a dance? Or two?"

He winked at her to emphasize his desire to keep her close to him. She giggled, his heart leapt, and she nodded her head silently.

"I'd love to join you for a dance… Or two."

Without a moment's hesitation he pulled her away from the entrance and into the crowd, where their identities blended in the wind and absolutely everyone seemed to be masked strangers. Adrien could barely even tell where Nino and the other girl were.

(Infrared by Lucian, ft. Jordan Covey)

Adrien was unsure of how to continue the small awkward pause to the dance floor, as the song changed. When they reached the middle, it didn't take his Ladybug long to twirl into action under his hands. He watched her closely, and he saw the illusion she had in the back of her dress and understood that the pseudonym she made for herself fit like a glove. She dipped when the song dipped in the beat, nearly driving him over the edge and she slowly came up like some sort of mistress of the night.

No, no that's not a good thought for her. Adrien corrected in his mind, blushing slightly as an image tried to conjure into his mind.

She smiled at him, as if she knew what his mind was doing. He tightened his grip on her and danced with her to the eclectic rhythm. They moved in unison, stepping in the perfect spot at the perfect time. He hadn't realized that as the song continued, the people around them were as awed by them as he was. Staring at them as they danced in a space that kept growing for them. And for the first time ever, Adrien found himself not wanting to escape the spotlight.

"There's a game we're playing if you're willing to participate." Adrien said, at last. Seeing as the only way he'd probably ever see her again is if she'd know his identity.

"Oh? Is it a fun game?" She chuckled, and his bones danced.

"That depends, M'Lady, if you're interested in finding out who is dancing with you tonight."

She looked around, finally realizing the scene they both caused. Her cheeks blushed and she looked back at him. Their eyes connected and it felt like she was looking into his soul.

"What's the prize?" She asked breathlessly.

That's when Adrien realized how close he had pulled her to him. He could almost count the freckles in her face, and the lines in her iris. She was so close, and he just had to lean in for a small taste of her.

"A kiss."

Yeah you, laid me in that glow, yeah you, you came to my lips, Yeah you...

Marienette

Marinette almost forgot to breath in that moment. Her breath rested below her lungs and she stared into his eyes. She couldn't even hear the music anymore with her blood thundering through her ears. It was in this moment that she realized just how "risky" tonight was. Alya's choice of words, as always, were near perfect.

"I don't know if I want to play this game kitty." Her voice barely a whisper. No matter the outcome, she'd lose, for sure. And she wasn't sure if she was ready to kiss a complete stranger just yet.

A smile slowly stretched upon his beautiful features, and Marinette, once again, almost forgot how to breath. It was a lucky thing that he hadn't pushed her for her real name, because she was sure he would've lost immediate interest in her if he'd known who she was. Everyone at school already thought she was a clumsy fool, she didn't need that memory alive tonight.

"I purr-omise it won't be so hard with the hints I'll give you."

Marienette giggled again, feeling the girly laugh bubble up to meet the air with just how cute this guy was being. He really liked puns, so that already cut half of the guesses in half. But then it hit her like a ton of bricks. He'd said he'd give her hints.

"You want to kiss me so badly, chaton?"

If possible, his smile stretched further, giving his eyes a mischievous glint. He didn't need to give her an answer with that kind of expression. It was clear as day that he felt as pulled by her as she felt by him. It was odd. She felt like she should know who he was, considering everyone here was from school, so there was no way she couldn't know who he was.

She looked into his eyes again, searching. Those eyes. They were so familiar but she's never seen them so close. His hair was black as night and his features were definitely well-defined under the mask. Almost flawless.

"What's my first hint?"

He twirled her around and held her close again, and she realized that he had danced them a ways away from the onlooking crowd.

"My eyes, why of course."

"Not fair, Chaton, I've already been studying them."

Another twirl and this time the area around them had become somewhat secluded. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but she could tell that they were in the cusp of something important in this 5-minute relationship they set up for themselves. The next couple of songs were spent in silence as they both danced and stared into each others' eyes, memorizing what they could.

It wasn't until the party began thinning out that they even realized that their time together would come to an end. She had voiced a couple of guesses, seeing that the process of elimination would probably help her faster than anything else. He denied them all.

"I should be going home soon," she finally said, already looking around the room to look for her friend, whom she was sure was too busy to remember she even had a friend.

"No, wait… I can give you another hint."

His voiced pushed in the direction of desperation. Marinette, once again, looked into his eyes. Really studying them. A beautiful grass-green, like a meadow in sunlight.

"I hope it's an easier one." she teased.

"This isn't my real hair color."

She blinked. Lifting her hand to his hair and rubbing it with her palm. Sure enough, it almost came off and she could see a brighter color underneath.

"So that's how you've fooled people into guessing away. Tsk, tsk, minou. You are not as good as I thought you'd be."

He chuckled, and it rang through her body, "Forgive me for being a little bad. Does it make it easier to know who I am?"

He looked at her with hopeful eye but she felt distraught. Even with continuous rubbing she couldn't exactly guess correctly. The lights in the party didn't help and she was running out of time. She tried to really think of everyone that went to their school, and started to wonder if he even attended with her or not. Adrien could've very well invited all of Paris to this event. She flipped through her mind furiously, until a name kept popping up.

"Are you A-"

"Mari!" Alya yelled, grabbing her friend, and jilting her out of the small space they had cocooned themselves in.

"A-Alya!"

"Mari, oh my goodness, we got to go. I have so much to tell you and- oh…" Alya then noticed Chat looming over them, with his eyes wide in sudden alertness, and Marinette realized that her own gig was up. He'd heard her real name.

"I… I can explain…" She whispered. Blushing uncontrollably now, and feeling her own persona creep out from under the mask. Without wanting to she was unmasked before him.

"Are… Are you the Dupain-Cheng girl?" his voice sounded weird to her ears. She wasn't sure if he was disappointed or just surprised. Alya stood beside her silently, for once, and taking it all in herself. Marinette just wanted to hide and die. She released herself from his arms, took Alya's hand, and ran out of there as fast as she could.

Adrien

Startled, he watched Mari Dupain-Cheng leave just as quickly as she had arrived. Their conversation felt so short, and un-lived that Adrien felt cheated. He remembered her now, though. Recognized her for who she was. She was the daughter of the famous baker, that lived near the school. He had seen her in the hallways but never up close.

He wondered, for a brief moment after she left, if he would've had the same reaction to her eyes if he'd only looked into them before. They had a power in them that he couldn't explain, and he truly did feel like he lost something by noticing them now. When they were just about to leave for University. Adrien inwardly cursed himself for never noticing her before and felt like an idiot for ever starting the little game when he could've just found her sooner.

"Dude, you look like shit. Are you alright?"

"No, Nino, I just found out I missed something really good, like the dumb ass I am."

"You mean the beauty that was wrapping you around her finger all night? Did you find out who she was?"

Adrien looked up and Nino, "Did you find out who you were dancing with all night?"

It was Nino's turn to take on a Chat-like persona, riddled with the mischievous grin and a glint in his eyes. "None other than Alya Césaire, my friend. Kissed her and everything."

"Seriously? Dammit, you've had your eye on her all damn year. Ugh..."

If only he had taken notice when Nino did he might've seen the Dupain-Cheng girl. Mari Dupain-Cheng. He knew her name was longer, because of the couple of times she had participated in his father's designer competitions, but he couldn't remember for the life of him.

"Let me guess, you were with Marinette just now?"

Nino, you fucking blessing, Adrien sighed.

Hi Everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. If not, let me know. Tear it up!

This is my first fan-fiction ever, so honestly, if you see me doing something sideways, I'd really like to know.

Thank you!