Marinette Dupain-Cheng sighed and tapped her pencil impatiently on the desk. Her mind was completely, entirely blank. There was no way she'd be able to come up with a new design for Masson Fashion House's fall line at this rate. She glanced longingly at her computer. Oh fine, she'd check her messages one more time before getting back to work. She wouldn't be able to concentrate until she had talked to him anyway.
The familiar screech of the computer dialing up brought a smile to the raven-haired woman's face. She eagerly logged in and squealed in delight when she saw the notification: You've Got Mail.
Message from chatnoirxx
Subject: Plagg
Plagg is my cat. He's possibly the most ridiculous cat in existence, as his favorite thing in the world is camembert even though he nearly died once from sneaking a whole wheel from the hors d'oeuvres at a party my father was hosting. He wasn't happy when Plagg began projectile vomiting all over the guests and I had to rush him to the emergency vet clinic at 10 PM. Once I got over the terror of losing him, it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I wish I'd gotten a picture of my father's face! Aside from eating toxic cheese, Plagg also enjoys sitting on whatever I'm working on, sleeping on my head whenever I lie down, and generally being obnoxious. But he's one of my best friends and I wouldn't trade him for anything.
Marinette giggled as she tried to imagine her chat friend with a cat on his face. She felt better immediately and fired back a message before getting back to work. Staring at the blank page in front of her she was struck with sudden inspiration. Cats. Silently thanking Chat Noir, she began sketching furiously.
Adrien Agreste had just left another boring business meeting in his father's office and couldn't wait to get to his computer and see if there were any new messages from Ladybug. He slumped in his favorite desk chair and discreetly checked to see if the coast was clear before firing it up. His bright green eyes lit up even more than usual when he saw he had a message from his Lady.
Message from ladybug32
Subject: Butterfly
You know those stories about butterflies on the metro? Today I saw it happen! It got on near Notre Dame and off near the Eiffel Tower and I wondered how many tourists' pictures it would fly through the back of, unnoticed. Here's a question: how many times do you think you've seen the same butterfly? Or the same pigeon? The thought keeps me awake sometimes.
Adrien grinned. Ladybug had the most interesting observations. She wasn't like anyone he had ever met. Well, not that he'd ever really met her. They had met in a chat room three months ago and had kept up a regular correspondence ever since. He never mentioned this use of the internet to his father, knowing he wouldn't approve. He would think Ladybug just wanted an in with the heir to the Agreste fashion label. Adrien knew that wasn't true, since he and Ladybug had no idea of each other's real names and didn't share personal identifying details, but his father had never been one to listen to reason.
He was able to be himself over email in a way he couldn't in person. Adrien Agreste knew his responsibilities and had a reputation to uphold. Chat Noir did not. His father always made it seem like nobody would like the real him, but Ladybug liked him just fine. Sometimes he wondered if there might be more. If they'd meet…date…get married…He snapped himself out of it. He had work to do.
The whole point of the meeting he'd just come from was to get Masson Fashion House to fold. It was a small house, yet had somehow snapped up one of the most promising design students straight out of fashion school. Gabriel Agreste perceived Masson's head designer, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, to be a threat. He wanted her to work for Agreste. When Gabriel wanted something, he got it.
Adrien rubbed his forehead in agitation. He wasn't a huge fan of his father's plan—make a bunch of people lose their jobs just so he could get what he wanted?—but his father was insistent. Apparently Dupain-Cheng had already turned down the chance to work for Agreste because her old mentor, Tikki Masson, owned the rival fashion house. His father was ruthless and Adrien's protests were ignored. So now he had to come up with a plan to put Masson out of business.
He sent Ladybug a quick email back and wondered what made this Marinette Dupain-Cheng so great that his father was willing to go to such lengths. Gabriel Agreste, fashion mogul, was not a patient man.