It was a small dance studio in the twenty-first district of Paris, much smaller than she was used to. She had done all her stretches and exercises already, and since she was the only one in the room of mirror she took the time to practice her flexibility and personal performances before the show in a few days. They'd told her she couldn't, that she was too tall, too square for dance, but she had proved them wrong.

"Pirro, the music."

A small white Kwami with tiny wings and bright blue eyes pirouetted over to the CD player on the stool by the door and pressed it on, unleashing an array of violins and pianos. The small creature admired as her partner raised her thick arms over her head and spun on the tip of her toes. Her dark skin made the sparkles on her bright blue shirt and white tights shine as she leapt across the room. "So beautiful, Beatrice."

"I know," she replied as she spun on one foot, her hair neatly kept up in a braided bun with her special bird-shaped hairclip, "but not beautiful enough." She took to the air as though she could fly without wings. "So where can we find him?"

"Him? Oh," Pirro did her own little dance on the top of the player, "if you want to meet Nooroo then we'll have to find a way of luring his partner out, and what better way than by using the very thing he manipulates?"

Beatrice reached her head back in a graceful pose. "Negative emotions. I must locate a source of sadness or anger and use it as a beacon." The music led into a crescendo as she tiptoed along the floor. "Repeat our plan, Pirro."

"I've repeated it a dozen times already!"

"Do not disobey me."

Pirro sighed and crossed her arms. "We find HawkMoth, form an alliance and use his powers to bring order to Paris, then the world."

"There must always be order," Beatrice murmured to herself as the music began to slow, "father was always right. Unless order is achieved chaos will continue to rule."

"Your father isn't here anymore."

The music stopped, and she froze in a position of contemplation. "Father is never gone, Pirro."

"Beatrice…"

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "Play the music again. It must be perfect."

"This is the fifth time today."

"Again."

Pirro pressed the button and sat on the player, watching her partner twirl and leap, lost in her own world. The performance of the small but extremely elite dancing school was only a couple days away, but she was more than ready. Ready to perform. Ready to fight.

Ready to meet HawkMoth.

~THAT AFTERNOON~

Dear Marinette Dupain-Cheng,

Greetings. I understand that we have not had any contact over these last few months (three now) but I have been informed by my colleagues that with our work in Paris coming up quite shortly, I should speak to you once again. We will be setting up our equipment at the stadium on Thursday, so if you'd like to speak further do arrive after noon but before mid-afternoon. My colleagues are eager to become acquainted with you.

Sincerely,

Oscar Smith

P.S There will be NO comments about my current work.

Marinette folded the letter and slipped it back into her purse, nuzzled beside Tikki as she walked into the entrance of the Parisian stadium. "How exciting," she remarked to the Kwami, "it has felt too long since we talked with Oscar."

"So you're okay with seeing him again?"

"Sure, Tikki. I mean, yes, he's obnoxious and way too stubborn for his own good, as well as a know-it-all and terrible with teamwork, but he's a fellow miraculous holder. He's also kept our secret all these months despite knowing next to nothing about us, so…I trust him. Not like I trust Chat Noir, though."

"Even though he knows your secret identity but Chat doesn't?"

"…We're gonna be late if we keep chatting away like this." Marinette walked into the stadium to find a stage being set up and staff walking around with clipboards. "Whoa, is there a concert happening tonight?"

"Tomorrow night, actually."

"A-Adrien," she spun around as her classmate walked up behind her, smiling ear to ear, "w-what are you doing here?!"

"Security let me through after they found out who my father was," he averted his gaze and rubbed the back of his head guiltily, "and I sort of didn't stop them. I've been a huge fan of Dragon Hop for a while now, and when I found out they were holding a show at the stadium…uh, well, here I am. W-What about you, Marinette?"

She pulled the letter out and handed it to him. "And old friend invited me to come and see him. I guess he's one of the stagehands now."

"How exciting!"

That's…just what I said…WE'RE CONNECTING!

"Mr. Agreste?" A young woman in all black walked over to them. "Security told me you'd be looking around. Welcome. And you," she glanced at Marinette, "must be Oscar's friend. He told me to tell you that he's behind the stage, reconfiguring the sound system."

Marinette turned to Adrien, unable to ignore the joy in his eyes. "Would you like me to introduce you to Oscar, Adrien?"

"R-Really?! Great," he took her hand, "lead the way!"

I don't think I can. My legs have suddenly become jelly.

She just managed to walk beside him over to the stage and around the corner, where an array of computers were lined up, wires trampling the grass below. It only took a few second before she recognized her old ally, dark curls falling over tanned skin as he worked in a grey shirt and dark jeans. "Over here, Oscar," she waved, "long time no see!"

Oscar turned, wearing a new pair of black chestnut frames over his eyes. He signalled them to join him by the computer. "All seems well with you," he said with a straight face, "and welcome to my new job."

I never thought people would enjoy "Lone Wings" so much, since it was just something I was writing on the side of preparing other stories and wasn't putting too much time into it. I'm glad it went so well with you guys, though, and so I thought they, since Oscar didn't get much time to know Marinette, why not write a sequel? And don't worry, there are new heroes and villains, too, so it's sure to be a ride! Also, yes, I do believe Adrien can be a fan boy when he wants to.

Until the next chapter!