AN: This is the Second Annual Agreste Family Charity Fashion Show – the first can be found in "Tit for Tat."
To Butterfly: I really like those characters together! They're going to have another story together during "The Colossus Saga."
To yellow 14: Yeah, Chloe realizes that now. That she can accept it and almost joke about it with Bri definitely shows her growth!
To Agiani: Welcome! I'm glad that after reading this you are interested in everything that surrounds it!
"Good afternoon, and welcome to the Second Annual Agreste Family Charity Fashion Show!" Emilie announced, striding out onto the stage and smiling widely as the cameras flashed around her. The light, positive emotions of the crowd were absolutely intoxicating – family members of the models, all of them excited to see the show; donors eager for an opportunity to own a piece of history; the models themselves, huddled up backstage and waiting for their opportunity in the spotlight; Marinette and Adrien, relieved to have their hard work come to fruition. And, of course, the judges.
Emilie beamed down at the table in front of her as the spotlight shifted and the level of the music dropped. "I'm sure you are all excited to see the show, but first, we have four members of the Heroes of Paris here with us today as our 'celebrity judges.' You may remember three of them from last year, though Chloe is dressed a little different these days as Sent-Bee! Joining her from last year are Impératrice Pourpre and the Owl and, a guest who came all the way from America last year, Lupa Gris!" She smiled, taking in a breath as she felt the positive emotions from all four – five! – of them.
Out of the corner of her eye, Emilie could see Jeanne standing just behind the curtain, in front of the line of models waiting for their chance on the runway. Jeanne gave her a thumbs' up, and she nodded. When was the last time she'd actually been in the spotlight like this? University? She had participated in fashion shows over the years – at least a handful every year until Adrien was ten and she decided it was time to step back into more of a behind-the-scenes role at the fashion house. But even then, she had always been of secondary importance; the focus of a fashion show or photo shoot was always primarily on the clothing, not the model wearing it. Well, she amended with some amusement, sensing the building anticipation from the section where the young models' families were seated, that's not always the case.
"Looking backstage, I think our first model is ready – yes, that's you, sweetheart!" Emilie waved encouragingly to the girl, only about eight years old, who shyly walked out on stage in a red dress with sheer black fabric over the skirt. "First up we have Mlle Annette Poiret, in a dress designed by Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a rising star in Paris fashion – although I may be a bit biased there! Give us a twirl, Annette!" The girl held her arms up and spun around on her toes, letting the skirt flare out around her waist. The tiny black gems in the overlay caught the light, sparkling brilliantly and giving an impression of polka dots. An appreciative hum arose from the crowd. Annette beamed from ear to ear as curtseyed before crossing the stage to find her assigned spot. "Isn't she just precious?" asked Emilie, eliciting applause from the audience.
The next girl stepped out, and Emilie announced, "What would Ladybug be without her Cat Noir?" What, indeed? "This year's 'Cat Noir' is Mlle Mariette Guellec, in a skirt-and-blouse ensemble designed by Iris Cardin, a brilliant young designer studying at Sourbier Lycée in their arts design program. Keep an eye out for Mlle Cardin in a few years; you might be seeing her designs again! As it is, Agreste has already offered her a summer internship before she begins her Terminale year." Mariette spun around, flicking out a plastic baton with a green paw print and pressing a button to light up red circles in her blouse.
As Emilie continued to work her way through the models, she noticed more and more that the models' anxiety diminished, replaced by pure excitement. This was always her favorite part of working with younger models, something that was only possible because of Duusu: feeling the moment when they stopped being nervous and started just living in the moment, drinking in the cheers of the crowd and feeding off of the enthusiasm around them. For that matter, she could feel herself starting to relax and find her groove as the show continued.
"Our next model is wearing one of my favorite outfits," Emilie continued. "Mlle Gabrielle Poiret is in an outfit designed by one of our international contributors, Ryoji Takatani, a student at ESMOD's Tokyo satellite campus. He says that his inspiration for this piece was Ryoku – he says that he was drawn to the fluidity of her movements and the sheer potential of her elemental form, as demonstrated by the way in which Mlle Poiret can simulate becoming the wind just by swirling the skirt around her legs. If you would, dear?" A murmur ran through the crowd when Gabrielle grasped either side of her skirt and swished it. Lightning danced across the front of the skirt, flashing between cloud heads. "I wish I knew how he managed that!" Emilie observed with a chuckle as Gabrielle moved to stand next to her sister. Marinette had certainly picked well with that selection!
As the two models wearing complementary pieces inspired by Impératrice Pourpre and Sent-Bee marched down the catwalk and struck a pose, Emilie smiled. How different her life had become, in comparison to what she had known before Tibet! She had lost four years of her life and her husband – some days she still couldn't believe that Gabriel had really done the things that he had done.
And yet, she couldn't allow herself to become wrapped up in the past, in what had been or what could have been. The future was full of new and exciting possibilities. She may have lost her husband, but she had gained new family and new closeness with Amelie since confessing everything about their heritage to her. She had lost four years with Adrien and Chloe, but she had awoken to find both of them in an even better place than when she had left – and she had gained a new daughter in Marinette, to say nothing of a closer relationship with Sabrina than she had ever thought possible four years ago, when Sabrina had been little more than Chloe's meek shadow. She had lost her exclusive claim to be Guardian of the Miraculous, but she had been inducted into something much larger, with a full set of miraculous, a temple being rebuilt, and connections with other Guardians around the world. Far from being lost after her time away, she had in fact gained new friends, new family, and new purpose.
Emilie didn't know what the future would hold, but she knew that she would face it with her friends and family by her side.
AN: This feels like the right place to end "The Woman out of the Fridge," but this is not the end of the story for Emilie. "The Teutonic Knight" will be the final story in this "season," which will put a cap on all the currently-running one-shot anthologies. However, this won't be the end of the "Mind Games"-verse, as (after a brief interlude) "The Colossus Saga" will begin right after "The Teutonic Knight." That will be accompanied by another volume of "Patrol Logs," as well as another anthology of one-shots similar to "Life and Times."