Dear Reader, it's been quite a few months since I last posted something as I was so burnt out that I had nothing left to give. This story came to me last night and I just can't stop writing, so fingers crossed that inspiration will stay. Thanks for your support in advance :)

Chapter One

Marinette trailed her fingertip along the cool silver frame and let out a dreamy sigh. There behind the glass was her most favourite photo of Adrien. His head was turned slightly to the side as he glanced up at the photographer, his eyes shone with warmth and happiness which was enhanced by the upward curl of his lips that exposed the faint glimpse of his pearly teeth. What made her heart pound faster was the fact that she'd been the one to take that photo, that Adrien had been beaming at her.

Naturally it had been in a purely platonic fashion, much to her disappointment, but Marinette still loved that picture. Loved the little details that made him look more touchable. The way one strand of his blonde hair had caught just below his eyebrow in the crook of his eyelid as he smiled. And how his jaw and cheeks were faintly stubbled because he'd been too tired to shave the night before. It was such a shame that he was yet to see her as anything more than a friend.

Dipping her head with a wistful huff, Marinette turned her attention back to her design book and tried to focus on drawing the finer details of the buttoned bodice she was creating for Alya. For her wedding dress. Damn, it was still surreal to think that her best friend was engaged at 22. But then she and Nino had been together for eight years.

Sure, the pair had had their ups and downs. They'd even broken up briefly when Alya and Nino had attended different universities. But they had missed each other so much, to the point that they couldn't go three months without getting back together. The couple had made long distance work and Marinette figured if they could endure that kind of strain on their relationship, they could withstand anything.

As her pencil scratched short strokes over the page, Marinette lost herself to the flow of creation. She lost track of time as the drawing before her took on a greater depth of detail and the dress looked more like an illustration than a simple sketch.

The sun had sunken low on the horizon and its orange hues brightened the Parisian rooftops as the designer lifted her head in reprieve. Raising a hand to her nape, Marinette rolled her head in a slow circle, first left then right. There was the faint crack of vertebrae and she let out a snort, knowing she was going to have to con Adrien into giving her a shoulder massage the next time she saw him. It was the one excuse to get him to touch her that worked every single time. Plus, he was absolutely fabulous at working tension from her body with those strong hands.

Lost in her daydream, it took Marinette a moment to hear the sirens. At first, they were faint, being some distance off but then they grew louder. Laying her pencil on the table, the young woman pushed back her chair and rose to her feet. "Tikki, do you hear that?"

"Yes," the kwami answered as she hovered near the glass balcony door. Those tiny eyes were sweeping the streets in search of the emergency. "I have a feeling this is an akuma."

Marinette pulled the elastic from her single long ponytail and raked her fingers into her hair, parting it down the middle of her head. "Have you checked my phone?"

Tikki nodded. "The main thing trending was XY's come back concert."

Disgust had Marinette's nose wrinkling. "Seriously? People want to listen to that scammer?"

"Apparently prison time reformed him."

The young woman snorted, "It's more likely that he's hard up on cash and saw this as easy money."

"Probably. I'm also confident that the origin of those sirens is from his concert."

Pulling two red ribbons from her desk tidy, Marinette tied her left pigtail into place followed quickly by her right. Not that they were technically pigtails anymore, even pulled back her dark tresses touched the tips of her shoulder blades. It was something Chat Noir was currently fixated on. That and twirling her locks around his gloved finger whenever they had a quiet moment together. Even if she had chastised him frequently about it, he would smile coyly, say sorry but wouldn't guarantee that he could resist the temptation in future.

An amused smile tugged at her lips. As much as Chat annoyed her at times, he was also endearing. Besides it was likely that she was about to see her partner and maybe she could tug his hair for a change.

Stepping into her bathroom, Marinette called upon her transformation – better to be cautious and avoid the unfettered view others might have from the windows. Ladybug moved to the manhole above her kitchenette and pulled down the ladder which led to the rooftop. One of the reasons she had chosen this particular building to live in was due to the privacy of the roof space, only her apartment had access to the enclosed section near the chimneys. It had been absolutely perfect for her superhero needs. Plus, she had a wonderful place for her potted plants.

Weaving her way passed the passionfruit vine, Ladybug launched herself atop one of the wide chimneys and danced her way a few blocks over to stop and assess the situation. Raising a hand to shade her masked eyes, she zeroed in on the most obvious target. Blue smoke was billowing in a thick column from the stadium. "Seems Tikki was right," she muttered to herself.

A black blur caught the corner of her eye and Ladybug turned to her right to see Chat Noir land on the chimney beside hers. A lopsided grin spread across his face as their eyes met, although his attention was quickly stolen away by a lock of his wayward blonde hair which dropped to his nose before he blew it away.

"Greetings milady."

She gave a nod in return. "I see you didn't get time for that haircut you've been meaning to book."

The black clad hero shrugged his broad shoulders. "I keep remembering outside business hours."

"So, put a reminder in your phone."

Extending his baton to staff length, Chat Noir leant an elbow on the top of his weapon and swayed towards her with a smirk. "You could call me, you know to remind me. I have no problem giving you my private number. Hell, I'll even set up a separate SIM just for you."

Ladybug rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Sounds like an awful lot of effort, Chat."

"Ah, but you're worth it." He grinned.

Pressing her lips together to stifle the urge to return his expression, Ladybug lifted her chin in the direction of the smoke. "I think we have more pressing matters to attend to than your hair."

"I don't know, my hair is pretty important."

A snort of laughter escaped Ladybug as she glanced at her partner and he played up to it, flicking his hair dramatically back as he swept a hand through it before dropping it to his hip to pose.

"There are times I would swear you could pass as a model, Chat."

While her words were said as tongue-in-cheek, Chat Noir paled slightly before clearing his throat and looking at her with overly bright eyes. "You never know, milady, I might just moonlight when not in costume."

Shaking her head in amusement, Ladybug tugged her yoyo from her hip and tossed it in preparation to swing, "Let's get to work partner. I have a feeling this is going to be a long one."

Next chapter should be up soon, since I've written it already. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. Follows, Favourites and Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!