Marinette was at her drafting table working herself into a tizzy over the four items she was going to present. The last-minute lingerie was amongst them, as was a boxy, distressed leather jacket that had a very feminine design of a kittycorn embroidered on it; a pink, one-shouldered sundress with an asymmetrical hemline, and a black men's vest with silver studs around the collar. She had her sketches, her notes, and the final pieces laid out and ready to go, but it was the waiting that was getting to her.

Her work phone buzzed with an incoming message, and Marinette involuntarily smiled when she saw the name. Luka.

Luka: Hey. I just wanted to wish you good luck today. I know you were nervous about your meeting, but don't be. If your other pieces are half as good as the one I saw, you'll do fine.

She blushed to think of exactly which piece he had seen her in, but was smiling as she picked up her phone to reply.

LittleBug: Thank you. Meeting is in about 15 minutes. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. There's this little cafe down near the Seine. Couleuvre.

Luka grinned. She really wanted to meet him. She seemed shy and sweet, but he liked that she wasn't afraid of him.

Luka: My gig doesn't go too late tonight, so 10:30?

LittleBug: It's a date.

LittleBug: Or whatever.

LittleBug: Or just people getting brunch together.

Luka: It's a date.

Smiling, Luka leaned back, setting his phone down, and settled his acoustic into his lap. He was surprised at how nervous he was. He was 27 years old. It wasn't like he'd never been on a first date before, but this felt more important than that.

There were 4 other junior designers at the meeting who had pieces to show. Most of them only had one or two, and Marinette felt a little weird having so many, but her boss, Adrien Agreste, hadn't questioned it, simply given her one of his patented runway smiles and told her she'd been very creative this month.

Adrien was a good boss. He was a kind man, insanely attractive, and the face of his father's brand for the past dozen or so years. Just about every new hire had a crush on him at some point, but he never showed the slightest bit of favoritism to any of them, always the consummate professional. He was stoic in appearance, like his father, but he spoke gently, and led with kindness rather than discipline.

Marinette had been no exception, stammering and stuttering around him for almost a year when she started working at Gabriel. Her infatuation had long since faded, and she was able to talk to him like a normal person. She showed him her designs, both the sketches and the finished pieces, and he hummed. He dismissed the dress almost immediately as pretty but uninspired. The jacket he paused a little longer over, praised the workmanship and the idea, but as they were working on the summer collection, it didn't fit the look they were going for.

The vest he spent a while pouring over. He complimented the notched lapels, and tiny, silver, pyramid-shaped studs that lined the collar and the lapels, all the way down to where the two sides overlapped. The two large silver buttons that held the vest closed were also raised, and Adrien ran his finger over them, thoughtfully. "This definitely has potential." He admitted, slowly. "It's not terribly consistent with the Gabriel image, but I like it."

He turned to the final piece, the lingerie and choked slightly. He ran his hand down the silk and rubbed the lace between his fingers. The color was slightly raised in his cheeks when he turned to Marinette. "Now this, we could work with."

Face flushed in triumph, Marinette returned to her work desk, her two rejected pieces thrown over her arm. She wasn't terribly upset. Any rejected pieces they were allowed to throw away or keep, as long as they didn't sell them, and Alya had loved the pink dress on Marinette. They were going out that evening to see a band play, one that Alya's DJ boyfriend swore was one of the best new sounds in Paris, and Marinette now had a new outfit to wear to the club.

The pink detailing of the embroidery, as well as the pink lining of the jacket perfectly highlighted the pinks in the dress. She was excited to have a chance to hang out with friends and to go dancing. She'd been so busy lately and she really missed just losing herself in the music.

Before leaving work for the weekend, Marinette changed into her sundress and leather jacket, slipping a few slices of cheese into the vacuum-sealed portion of her specially designed purse. A black look from the even blacker creature that resided there, caused Marinette to giggle, and drop a slice into his open mouth. He responded with a soft purr, as he curled up and promptly fell asleep.

Marinette laughed at Plagg's antics, petting his sleeping head before zipping her purse closed and running downstairs to meet with Alya in the lobby. The friends hugged, and Alya admired her outfit. "Send pictures to any random guys today?" Alya teased, smirking.

Marinette blushed, but smiled. "No, it's definitely a date, though. He texted me to wish me good luck at the inspiration meeting. He seems really sweet."

Alya grinned at her friend. "I'm happy for you. I also want you to make sure your phone is charged in case he turns out to be a creep, and I'll send Nino to kick his ass."

Laughing, Marinette hugged her friend as they approached the club, skipping the last few steps to the front door. They spotted Nino across the room, it being still a little early for the club to be truly crowded. Alya's steps sped up, but as Marinette took in the blue-tipped hair of the man talking to Nino, her footsteps slowed. It couldn't be. It just couldn't.

When Nino waved at Alya and stepped towards her, the man with the guitar strapped to his back turned, and his ocean blue eyes met hers, and she gasped. "Luka?"

Alya looked back and forth between Luka and Marinette. "Wait, seriously? Luka Couffaine is your wrong number?"

Blushing heavily, she nodded and smiled sheepishly up at him. He smirked back down at her. "I like this outfit, too, Little Bug."

Alya squealed and gripped her arm, as Marinette flushed even darker. "Marinette! Did he just call you 'Little Bug'?"

Luka smiled to himself. Marinette. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. She definitely had that shyness that he'd seen the night before, and something sweet in her appearance despite the fact that she looked no less sexy than she had the night before, but he felt like telling her that would be a bad move.

Instead, he turned to her friend. "You must be Alya. The intended recipient." Alya nodded and poked Marinette in the ribs. She let out a squeak, but, after a glance at her friends, looked up at Luka.

"You must be in the band Nino's been raving about. I mean, after last night I knew you were good." When he blushed, she hastened to add, "At music! On your guitar. When you played for me." She grabbed his forearm. "Why are you not shutting me up? Why do you never stop me?"

Chuckling, he opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted but a call from the stage. He called out an acknowledgment, then turned back to them. "Will you wait for me after the show, Little Bug? Marinette?"

The way that he said her name made her sway towards him slightly, but Alya's amused snort had her straightening her spine and standing firmly in place. Slightly breathlessly, she agreed to his request. "Of course, Luka." She paused, and then confidence slid into her request. "I came because I love dancing. Will you come dance with me afterward?"

It was his turn for color to heat his cheeks. "You might regret that. I'm not a terribly good dancer, but I would love to." He gave her one final smile, then headed to the stage.