"What am I doing here?"

Marinette looked around completely dumbfounded with all that had happened earlier that day which led her to where she is now, standing on the Eifel Tower, dressed in a skin-tight, red -and black polka dotted- latex suit.

'Tikki', the tiny self-claimed kwami -who emerged from the small red box she found in her room- told her that she was destined to become a vigilante superhero who fights for justice and she must go to the Eifel Tower to meet her new superhero partner. 'It's always best if partners can meet each other before having to go into battle together,' she said.

Marinette was finding it difficult to grasp the reality of the situation. She must have been dreaming. She must. There was no way any of this craziness was actually happening. Just a few hours earlier, the only exciting plan she had for the week was spending more time with the cute red-head in her Art class. And now she had to somehow fit crime-fighting into her schedule.

She wasn't cut out for this. Alya would have been a far better choice with her already huge admiration for superheroes and her even bigger passion for helping others. Just the other day she said to Marinette -after getting into a screaming match with Chloe over a snarky comment she made of another classmate's speech impediment- that 'the only way evil can win is if the good stay quiet.'

She nervously jolted, forgetting her thought process, when she was surprised by the sound of footsteps behind her.

She turned around to see a black silhouette stumbling to find their balance while standing on one of the Tower's supporting bars, before carefully jumping down to stand on the metal floor -used for tourists to see the city light from above- that she was currently occupying.

The metal wall which he had first landed on was hiding the large buildings behind it from Marinette's view. All that could be seen from it was a golden hue, lighting up the sky and illuminating the boy walking towards her.

She didn't dare move and even began to hold her breath without realising. The boy hesitated with every step he took, probably feeling uncomfortable under her critical stare.

However hard she tried, she couldn't move her eyes away from him. The new arrival of the stranger made her thoughts come to a squeaking halt and allowed numerous questions to clog her mind like busy traffic. It must have been her partner, but who was he? Who was under that mask? Was he the same age as her? Has he only just started the whole vigilante thing today, like she did? Or is this something he has had years of practice in?

When he finally came to stand two feet in front of her, she was finally able to give him a good once-over. He was wearing a tight latex suit, much like her own- only it was all black. He wore black combat boots and to finish off the look had what looked like black cat ears over his bright red hair. The only colourful thing about his outfit was a shiny golden bell that hung from his color.

He had shy, blue eyes that were tentatively looking her up and down , probably doing the same assessment she was.

"So... I'll take it you're Ladybug?"

She nearly snorted. "No. I just saw some spotted latex and decided to make a body suit with it."

He snickered at her sarcasm before smirking, "Uh-huh, so where does the mask come in?"

"Aesthetic pleasure."

...

Gabriel sat on his bed, propping his elbows on his lap and holding his head in his hands. His shoulders were trembling under the heavy weight of his guilt.

The same thing happened every year on May the eleventh. Sure, he would have his fair share of self-loathing during the other months. But it was always this particular day that all of his worst regrets would come to haunt him. As this day was the anniversary of his wife's death.

Not only that, but it would have also been the birthday of their first child if they hadn't died with her in the delivery room.

It was really a huge shock for everyone that the beautiful and kind Mrs. Agreste would have such a tragic death. Luckily, no one had thought to compare her sudden decease to the strange disappearance of Paris' famous superheroine, Hawkmoth.

But Gabriel knew from the very beginning about her secret identity. He never worried about her safety when she was fighting crime as a self-claimed hero. Back then he believed she was indestructible, nothing could kill her. Nothing... except giving birth to his child.

He took off his glasses and ran a hand through his white hair, as he leaned back to lay on the bed. But the cool sheets did nothing to suppress his burning headache. He felt desperate.

Fourteen years. Fourteen years had passed and he still couldn't numb the pain. Of course, he knew of one way to take away his resentment, but he always believed his wife would be strongly against him for even considering it.

Sometimes he wondered if he even cared about her disapproval of his plans. He couldn't help but think would even mind if she hated him, so long as she was there, safe. It was at this point that he allowed his mind to go to dangerous places. He thought of all the most precious moments he had spent with her. The tremble in his voice when they said their first 'hello'. The utter love and admiration in her eyes as they made their wedding vows. But most of all, the excited laughter and nervous chills they both experienced when the doctor confirmed her pregnancy.

For years he never allowed himself to think back on those memories of her. He knew they would only lead him to do something reckless. But after years of suppressing his emotions, years spent sleeping alone mourning over the promise of a happy family that was taken from him. He had reached his tipping point at fourteen years of unending pain.

He decided he needed to finally start acting on the crazy plan that had been buried in the back of his mind for so long. And when he did, he knew there was no going back.

...

"Leonard."

"What?" He tried his best to keep his expression as one of incredulous disgust, but that was hard to do while watching her laughing in such a giddy and free state.

"You look like a Leonard!" Marinette exclaimed through her giggles.

Chat Noir raised an eyebrow beneath his mask while sporting a look of dumbfounded confusion.

"You think me name is Leonard?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded.

"Not even close." He shook his head in mock disappointment, "Seriously?"

"Seriously!"She smiled so brightly that she gave off the impression that she might burst into another fit of giggles soon. But instead, she decided to start a new topic, "Okay, what do you think my name is?"

"H held her gaze with a playful smirk and then looked her up and down before answering, "I'm gonna say... Victoria!"

She smiled, "Although that is a lovely name, mine isn't quite so English."

"Hmm..." He scratched his chin pretending to think deeply. "What about... Gertrude?"

She pouted, "I liked your first guess better."

He chuckled softly, then followed her gaze to the beautiful scenery Paris had to offer. They sat in silence for a while, admiring the bright lights reflecting against the River Seine.

It was really a night to remember, even if they weren't spending it as superheroes, hiding their identities by using the magic of small 'kwami' creatures- that could somehow fly without the necessity of wings.

The scenery was captivating and Marinette nearly lost her self-awareness looking at the beauty of it all. That is until Chat Noir grabbed a hold of her attention once again.

"Ladybug?"

"Yes?" She answered, turning to look at him.

She saw him bite his lip with the scarce light that was surrounding them at this time of night. "If I ever did guess your name right... would you even let me know?"

She smiled warmly at her partner, before shifting her attention back to the scenery and giving her answer in a low voice, "No."

...

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I wanted it to be a bit longer, but I also wanted to get it out for you guys today. Thank you all for reading 3

If you could please leave a comment it would make my day 3