-Night-

There was still batter under her nails.

Biting her lips with concentration, Marinette attempted to pick out the remainders of hardened macaron mixture that had solidified under her nails, flicking off the crumbs onto the alley floor. However annoying the tightness of the batter felt under her nails, part of her somewhat liked it, having it serve as a reminder of her previous accomplishment.

After countless minutes, no, hours of her continuously mixing different flavors together, tasting it, and eventually throwing it out, she had finally created the perfect batch of macarons. They were strawberry flavored, decorated with pastel pink icing that she had delicately squeezed to create a beautiful rose decal. The macaron itself was baked to perfection, each bit of biscuit perfectly fluffy, chewy and crisp, balanced perfectly on creamy layers of icing in the middle.

Her only regret was only making a dozen- if she had more time she would have attempted to replicate a second batch of the perfect macarons, possibly in a different color that would help add to the overall aesthetics and presentation of the baked goods.

If she had more time….

Yet the dusty gold colours of the setting sun as she had been finishing baking her perfect batch served as a reminder of another duty she held, another place she had to be, another person to meet.

The reason she stood in this cold alleyway in the dead of night, folding her arms across her body, trying to retain as much warmth as possible against the icy winds.

She glided her hands across the red and black dots of her tunic, smoothing out any ruffles and folds the velvet fabric had gotten into whilst leaning against the rough brick of the deserted alleyway. Spotting a puddle nearby, she leans down to gaze at her reflection, checking to see whether the red and black jeweled mask she adorned properly hid her face.

She had used to hate their designated meeting place of the alley, with it's eerie emptiness and unsettling sounds of echoing clangs that seemed to come from nowhere. Yet now Marinette had to admit that she had developed a bit of a soft spot for it; It was a nice contrast to her day-life of helping out in the bakery, which was always loud with the clamoring voices of new customers.

Sighing, she stretched out her arms, arched her back, and leaned against the wall.

He was late.

Again.

Fighting down twinges of annoyance, she gazed around the still empty alleyway when there was a sudden banging noise above her. Looking up, she scowled.

"Waiting long, My Lady?" Chat Noir purred from his spot above her on the roof, the moon causing tufts of his blonde hair to appear almost silver like in juxtaposition to his jet black mask that disguised the rest of his features.

"I'm used to it at this point, Chaton."

"Apologies, Bugaboo. Life has been pretty busy lately."

Grabbing the edge of the roof, he jumped onto the nearest windowsill and gracefully slid down a plumbing pipe, smirking as he bounded up to Marinette.

"But no matter how busy my life is, it'll never be too busy for you."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "You're insufferable."

"Insupurrable, you mean?" His mouth twitched. "Besides, I got a bit distracted just watching My Lady from above. I have a suspicion you look good at any angle, and so far my theory has been correct."

"Honestly Chat, sometimes I think you became a rebel just to pick up girls."

"Girl." He corrected. "Not girls. And you hurt my heart, Bugaboo. You know as much as I do that I despise how the royals treat our people right now." His eyes darkened.

Marinette's face softened.

"I know, Chat. I shouldn't have made a joke about that."

Looking away, Chat arched his back, stretching his hands into the air as he let out a massive yawn, and Marinette couldn't help but notice how much taller he had gotten over the years.

Over the years….

And with a twitch of her lips, Marinette felt herself drifting back in memory lane, to when she first met Chat.

Five years ago, since her first meeting with Prince Adrien that one fateful day in the rain, Marinette's developing interest in the prince had also led her curiosity of the rebel group, The Miraculous, to grow. She had no previous impression of them, thinking that they didn't really do anything. Yet upon researching Adrien, she had stumbled upon articles on his father, King Hawkmoth, followed by the articles of the laws he was creating, the people he was mistreating.

And she admits, her motives for joining had been questionable at first- it had only taken hours after meeting Adrien for her feelings to grow and grow until it had reached that point where it would only take hearing his name for Marinette's heart to pound, for her stomach to flutter with butterflies that tickled her insides.

Marinette knew that she wasn't the kind of girl that would change who she was just for the boy he loves, yet she had also noticed that her views and perceptions on certain things had began to change- Hawkmoth was no longer just a King that had slightly warped views on how to deal with things (which was how both her parents seemed to view the whole "Our King is cruel" controversy), but as Marinette began keeping a closer eye on news of the royal family, she had begun to realize how much of a tyrant- how cruel he really was.

Falling in love with Adrien had helped her to realize that as a member of somewhat upper class family, she had been shielded from Hawkmoth's fits of rage, and further investigating in older articles had shown that there had been darker secrets that had been hushed, whispers of his soldiers, the Akumas, enslaving the poor. And as a 13 year old teenage girl filled with impossible fantasies, she began to dream of how she, Marinette, would be the one to save Adrien from having to live in his father's footsteps. After all, he was so kind to her, and Marinette couldn't imagine how someone that sweet would ever find what Hawkmoth was doing as acceptable.

Thus began her journey in joining the Miraculous, where after careful observation and questioning she was finally able to locate the base held in the sewers of Paris, where recruitment was occurring. Fighting down a lifetime's cultivation of worry and panic, she had researched clothing design for hours and trudged through basket loads of fabric scraps to hastily put together a red and black tunic and mask that she hoped would cover up all of her main features. Yet against intuition she had decided to keep her signature pigtails in place; having a piece of herself still intact helped with her nerves.

Of course, that didn't stop them from going absolutely haywire as soon as she stepped into the large underground sewers- The echoing of unknown voices bounced off the walls eerily, and Marinette had never felt more alone in her life, huddled in the midst of a bustling crowd, when-

"You new too?"

And upon hearing his voice, Marinette had whipped around, her heart racing and face flushing, wondering what on earth Adrien was doing here, and why he was talking to her but-

It wasn't him.

Instead, before her stood a young boy around her age dressed clad in black, his face almost completely covered by a silk black mask that only left room for his mouth and eyes, which had a warm yet mischievous glint to them.

"How did you know?" She asked cautiously.

"Your demeanor. Seemed nervous."

"And I take that you're new too?"

"Your assumption would be correct."

There was an awkward moment as both of them stood there, unsure of what to say next. Marinette bit her lip slightly, turning to look at him.

"What's your name?"

He raised his eyebrows, and Marinette had felt her face begin to turn red.

"What's your name?" You're such an idiot Marinette! We're at an underground society for heaven's sake. And the first thing you do is ask for their identity? What were you even-

"Chat Noir"

She blinked twice, surprised.

"That's my cover name, if you want one. Because I'm as charming and charismatic as a cat of the night." He added with a wink.

Flustered at his flirty demeanor, she had looked away awkwardly, racking her head for an appropriate response. The boy…..no, Chat Noir took a step forward, bemusedly looking straight at her.

"And what's yours?"

"It's…..uhm….."

Frantically looking down at herself, trying to look for something that could be an inspiration for her cover name, her eyes landed on the black and red pattern of her tunic. She recalled Chat Noir's own reasoning behind his name, and panickedly tried thinking of a creature that was red and black.

Her eyes widened.

"It's Ladybug. Because I'm...um…"

God, why did she pick a ladybug? Are there even any good things associated with ladybugs? Why couldn't she pick something cooler, like dragon or-

"Because you're lucky?"

"Huh?"

"Ladybugs are a sign of good luck, aren't they?"

Grateful for his idea, she attempted to smile in what she hoped was a confident manner.

"Yes. Ladybugs are a sign of good luck, and that's why I chose it."

His mouth twitched, and she suspected that he knew that she actually didn't have a name prepared beforehand. Feeling a bit embarrassed as well as frustrated with the amused way he was looking at her, she pondered on what she could say that would stop him from laughing at her.

And then to both the surprise of Chat Noir and even herself, she blurted out:

"Hopefully I can be your good luck charm as well."

His eyes widened, and for a second Marinette wondered if she had misread his personality and overstepped, and how this was so embarrassing, why did she say that? - until his eyes crinkled and his mouth widened to let out a loud laugh. A moment passed, then Marinette found herself laughing along with him.

And in this cold underground, laughing breathlessly with this random boy that was just her height and had a questionable personality, she no longer felt so quite alone.

She had a feeling that she would be seeing Chat Noir quite often from now on.

Thanks for reading! Note: I fixed the macaron recipe in the first chapter so that its actually accurate (haha). Also, all reviews and follows are appreciated, so don't be scared to let me know what you liked/disliked/where you think the story's going etc!