AN: Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! It really means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy the new chapter!
Marinette woke up to the smell of baked goods coming from downstairs. She smiled. Mornings like this were definitely a perk of living in a bakery. As she rolled out of bed, she realized it was only 6:30. This has to be the earliest I've ever woken up on a school day, Marinette noted to herself. Even though she was up an hour earlier, she felt refreshed from a good night sleep. Her worry for Chat Noir's behavior had sucked the energy out of her and she had fallen asleep right away. Marinette started to feel less happy as she remember Chat's apology. It really wasn't his fault, he shouldn't have had apologized, she thought. Marinette told herself that today on patrol she would apologize and explain herself to him.
Adrien woke up to the sound of his alarm going off. 6:00 was the usual waking time for him. He tiredly turned off the blaring alarm and yawned. He went to the bathroom, washed his face, and got ready for school. As he was leaving, Nathalie handed him his afterschool schedule.
"Here's your schedule, Adrien. I trust you won't make other plans that will conflict with this," Nathalie informed him as she walked away. Adrien looked at the schedule. He had a gala dinner later this evening. He didn't really mind that much, after all, , it was only a dinner. He shoved the schedule into his pocket and headed towards the limo taking him to school.
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Marinette unpacked her bag at her desk and looked at the pastry box in the bottom of her backpack. It was full of chocolate croissants, which she knew Chat loved. She was hoping to give them to him as a gift on patrol. She had even carefully wrapped the box in a sweatshirt so as to protect it from getting crushed. She smiled. Today she was going to make things right, no matter what.
As Adrien sat down as his desk, Chloe instantly ran up to him. "Adrikins! I heard you have a fancy dinner tonight and can bring a guest! So, being the obvious choice over all the losers you know, don't you have something to ask me?" Chloe said sickly sweet as she batted her lashes at him. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. I have to bring a guest?! I'd be happy with anyone but Chloe, the poor boy thought to himself nervously. He desperately looked around the classroom for an excuse and there she was. Marinette, his newly declared guardian angel, was poking around in her bag unsuspectingly. "Sorry Chloe, but I'm already taking Marinette!" Adrien lied nervously.
This got Marinette's attention. She had overheard Adrien and Chloe's conversation and nearly jumped out of her seat when Adrien said he was taking her. "WHAT!? You're taking HER?!" Chloe screeched. "Yea, I am," Adrien said as he looked at Marinette, eyes pleading with her to agree. "U-uh, y-yea, sorry Chloe!" Marinette stuttered as Adrien beamed at her. "Ugh!" Chloe grunted as she stomped out, even though class was just starting.
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Adrien ran to catch up to Marinette after school let out. "Marinette, I can't thank you enough. You really saved my tail back there," Adrien said thankfully until he realized what he said in the latter part of his last sentence. Marinette's eyes widen as she heard it. "Uh, sorry. I used to have a thing for cat puns," Adrien quickly said.
"No, no, it's fine! I don't mind, really!" Marinette reassured him. The last thing she needed was to hurt another important friend over cat puns, of all things. Adrien smiled. He started to relax a bit.
"So, about the gala. It is black tie, so you would need to wear a formal dress. It's okay if you don't have one, you can borrow one from the latest formal clothing line," Adrien informed her. He had a feeling Marinette would be excited to borrow a dress since she loved his father's clothing line so much.
Marinette's eyes widened as she took in what Adrien had just said. Not only did she get dinner with Adrien, but she could borrow a dress?! She had dreamed of wearing one of the designer dresses, but could never afford it. They could cost up to thousands of euros sometimes. She felt like she might faint from happiness. That is, until she remembered her plan for patrol.
"YES! I'd love to borrow a dress! Thank you so much! But I have to ask, when will the dinner be over?" Marinette asked, hoping it would be before patrol.
"7:00, since it starts at 4:30. There's going to be entertainment before the dinner, so it's starting kind of early. You can make it, right?" Adrien asked worriedly. If she said no, Chloe was sure to find out and pounce on the opportunity.
Marinette inwardly sighed. Patrol didn't start until 8:30, she had plenty of time for both events. "Yes, I can! I just wanted to make sure it didn't conflict with something," Marinette responded, without a single stutter. She felt pretty proud.
Adrien smiled. "Great, I'm glad you can still do it! By the way, do you want to go to my house until the gala starts? It's 3:00 right now and we should probably start getting ready," he asked.
"Y-Yea sure!" Marinette replied. She didn't even care that the stutter had returned. "Just let me text my parents. I'm sure they'll be fine with it!" Marinette said as she pulled out her phone and started texting. She got an almost immediate response with permission to go and a winky face emoji. Marinette blushed and quickly put away her phone before Adrien could see. "They said yes!" Marinette grinned.
"Awesome, let's go!" Adrien said as he lead her to the limo waiting for them.
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The Agreste's mansion seemed to get bigger every time Marinette (or Ladybug), saw it. It was a little scary, in Marinette's opinion. Even Adrien didn't seem to feel comfortable in his own home. She watched as his posture instantly straightened and he brushed his hair out of his face. It made her a little sad to see how he felt the need to correct himself and be perfect all the time. She wished he would realize that he could afford to relax from time to time.
"Here we go! This is it, the vault of all Father's designs," Adrien announced as he entered a code into a huge door. He pushed it opened and stood to the side to let Marinette look.
Marinette couldn't believe her eyes. A whole room, full of the latest fashion of one of the most well known designers, was a dream to any aspiring fashion designer. Inside she saw Gabriel Agreste himself looking at the clothes to find inspiration. He looked over at Adrien and frowned.
"Adrien, who is this girl?" Gabriel asked as he walked towards the two teenagers.
"Hello Father, this is Marinette, my guest to the gala. I was thinking she could borrow a dress for tonight," Adrien answered politely.
"I see. That's fine, go ahead young lady," Gabriel said as he left the room. Marinette waited until he was out of sight and ran into the room and immediately started looking at the dresses.
Adrien chuckled. Marinette was one of the most energetic and appreciating people he knew. He hoped after tonight they would be better friends.
Marinette forgot about Adrien for just a moment as she raced to the nearest rack of dresses. She had enough self-control to have waited until Gabriel Agreste left, but she couldn't contain herself anymore. The rows of dresses had called out her and she couldn't resist.
A navy high-low dress, a light yellow dress with a bubble skirt, and an emerald green dress with a white Peter Pan collar caught her eye. Just as she was about to try them on, she stopped. On a nearby mannequin, a light blue dress was displayed on. It was such a light shade that it was nearly white. It had white braided straps and a white braided belt, and had silver thread woven through. There was a gauzy over-layer, and specks of silver all over the dress. It looked like something an angel would wear.
Marinette put the other dresses up and headed over to the dress in a daze. She had never seen such a beautiful dress in her life. She unclasped it from the mannequin and looked at the size. She took it as a sign that the dress was made for her when it was her exact size. She carefully held it as she ran to the dressing room.
Adrien smiled and headed towards the men's formal wear section of the room. He knew his father had already picked out his outfit, but he grabbed a tie that was the same shade of blue as Marinette's dress anyway.
Marinette never wanted to take off the dress. It fit like a charm and was made of the softest material. She went to find Adrien and spotted him looking at ties. Adrien saw her coming and held up the tie.
"Look, it's the same color as your dress! I'll try to convince Father to let me wear it," Adrien said excitedly. Having mentioned the dress, he glanced at it on Marinette.
He had never seen her in blue before. Only her usually pink and white [AN: And red with black spots too;)], but never blue. The light blue brought out the blue of her eyes and hair. He had to admit, the dress was made for her.
"You look amazing, Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed.
"Uh, th-thank y-you!" Marinette stammered gratefully. "I w-was th-thinking I would w-wear my hair in a French braid?" Marinette asked meekly.
"Up to you, while I might know a thing or two about fashion, hair and makeup are not my specialty," Adrien shrugged. "I'll show you to a guest room to get ready in while I get ready."
"S-sure!" Marinette agreed. She and Adrien made their way and stopped at the nearest guest room. She walked in and closed the door. She saw a makeup kit and hair accessories laid out on a nearby and got started.
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Adrien finished fastening his tie and checked himself in the mirror. "Not bad, huh Plagg?" Adrien called out to his kwami.
"Whatever kid, where's my cheese?" Plagg responded lazily.
Adrien rolled his eyes fondly. He brushed back his hair and went to go check up on Marinette.
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"Alright Tikki, I'm done!" Marinette stated proudly to her purse she had cast astray on a nearby chair next to her backpack. She had taken Chat's pastries out so they wouldn't get crushed any more.
"You look great Marinette!" Tikki cheered as she popped her head out of the bag. "Where do you want me to stay during the gala?" Tikki asked.
"I grabbed the matching bag on the way out, it has just enough room for you," Marinette smiled, tapping her head.
"Good thinking!" Tikki said before she heard a knock. She quickly flew into the matching bag that Marinette gestured to.
"Come in!" Marinette yelled.
Adrien stepped in and noticed Marinette's makeup and hair. She had woven silver thread into her braid and wore a touch of white eyeshadow around her eyes with mascara. She had on lipgloss that had a little bit of silver shimmer in it. He was amazed on how she had really tied together the look with a little makeup and a French braid.
"Marinette, you look great. You really know your way around fashion," Adrien smiled.
Marinette could barely breathe. She had never seen Adrien in a suit before, and he had just complemented her once again today. It was too much.
"Come on, let's go before we're late," Adrien said before Marinette could thank him. She nodded happily, grabbed her backpack, and they walked off.
AN: Sorry the chapter's so short, it wouldn't let me upload the whole thing. I'll finish the rest and post it soon! Thanks for reading!
