Marinette hummed happily to herself as she laid on her bed. With Tikki on her shoulder, the blunette Marinette pulled up the news and settled into watching the new movie premiering today.
"They're scared of cats, but powerless without this feline. And without her wings, they'd be stuck on the ground."
"Huh? That is so not true. Neither Raven or I are scared of cats. And Raven doesn't have her wings anymore."
"Cat Noir, Raven and Ladybug: three heroes facing their destiny. Coming soon to theaters."
The trailer ended and a man Marinette recognized as the movie director appeared on the screen.
"The real trio of heroes won't be able to make it to tonight's premiere, but I hope that they'll love my movie as much as we love them."
"Meh, I'll be the judge of that."
"You turned down an invitation to the premiere?" Tikki asked, shifting on Marinette's shoulder.
"I'm a superhero, Tikki, not a star. It's my job to protect the city, not sit around at a movie premiere. It's the same reason Cat Noir and Raven gave."
"Well said, Marinette." The teen smiled at her kwami, while the news broadcast shifted back to Nadja.
"The premiere will be attended by many illustrious guests including the rockstar Jagged Stone, the famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste, his teen idol son who voiced Cat Noir, Adrien Agreste, and Adrien's singer girlfriend who voiced Raven's Wing, Ella Sancoeur."
"Adrien and Ella are gonna be there? Awe man- it would have been fun to see with them." Marinette sighed, putting her tablet down. Tikki giggled in her ear.
"Well, maybe you can find a way to go to the premiere as Marinette."
"Maybe. I'll text Ella- see if she knows anything."

Marinette put her tablet away and went downstairs, finding both her parents in the kitchen going over some sort of list.
"So we've got six hundred macarons plus eight hundred petit fours not to mention the Ladybug, Raven and Cat Noir tiered cakes." Her father listed off, checking off things as he spoke.
"We should have hired someone to help us serve all these guests at the premiere." Sabine sighed, as Marinette approached, picking up the clean plates and moving to put them in the cabinet.
"Do you mean the premiere for the Ladybug, Raven and Cat Noir animated movie?" The teen asked, poking her head around her dad's shoulder.
"Yes." Marinette grinned- maybe she wouldn't have to ask Ella after all!
"Me! I can totally help you out with that." She offered, moving to stand between her parents and the plates balanced carefully in her hands.
"You mean, as a server?"
"Yes. I'll hand the macarons out. I mean..." As she shifted, one of the plates slipped and nearly fell, but Marinette managed to catch it, "you guys need the help."
"And the fact that Adrien is going to be there has nothing with it, of course." Marinette's mom teased, causing the teen to sigh, realizing she never filled her parents in on her love-life update.
"Not a thing, mom. Like, not in the slightest. I gave up on Adrien- since he's in love with Ella, and I want the two of them to be happy. Now, I just want to help out my wonderful sweet parents who I love so much."
Her parents looked wary for a moment, making Marinette sigh once more.
"You guys don't trust me. Then again, I'm such a klutz. Even I wouldn't trust me." She placed the plates back on the table, turning to go back upstairs.
"Of course you're not a klutz, my darling. You're hired. We'll just-"
"Thank you, dad! I'll do my best and make you two proud!" Marinette smiled, hugging her father before dancing up the stairs to her room.

Marinette buzzed around her room, sliding her butt into her chair and spinning towards her sewing machine.
"This is going to be so cool tonight! I need something to wear so I can look the part! And I can put this to use finally! Tada!" She exclaimed, pulling out a little bag of two macarons.
"Er, don't you think your father's 800 macarons will be plenty?"
"No, Tikki. It's passionfruit for Adrien, and pomegranate for Ella! Since they're the stars of the movie, they deserve special macarons!"
"Wait! Your crush on Adrien was why you used to bake a single macaron every Sunday! Why suddenly do you have a pomegranate one, if it's Ella's favorite?"
"I was testing a new recipe last Sunday and wanted to get Ella to try it- this just worked out perfectly!"
"It does." Tikki giggled, smiling at the maturity of her holder; such a change from before and Tikki couldn't be prouder.

"Are you ready to go, Elle? Nathalie's gonna be down here in a minute."
Adrien called through the wooden door, readjusting the tie of his all-black suit. He felt stiff in the outfit, but his father required him and Ella to dress up for the premiere of the 'Ladybug, Raven and Cat Noir' movie. Not just because they were attending as guests, but because Adrien and Ella voiced their secret hero personas- and sang a song that Ella wrote for the movie.
"Ready!" Ella's voice pulled the teen from his thoughts as the door opened to his left. Green eyes found grey, and Adrien smiled at how beautiful his girlfriend was. Her dress was a simple black A-Line style with a square neck, sleeves to her elbows and the top half shimmering with silver jewels. Some silver earrings and a matching necklace his father designed (along with her Miraculous), and short black heels completed Ella's beauty.
"You look amazing." Adrien purred, holding out his hand for Ella to take. She giggled at his comment and placed her left hand in his.
"Thanks, so do you." Adrien smiled at her before leading the way to the door, where Nathalie was waiting.
"You both look wonderful."
"Thanks Nathalie/mom." The teens chorused as they approached.
"The car is waiting. The Tsurugi's will be attending as well."
"Are the documents prepared for that, Nathalie?" Both Adrien and Ella jumped at the sound of Gabriel's voice coming up behind them; the pair turned to find him almost right over Ella's shoulder.
"Yes, sir. Although, Mrs. Tsurugi isn't very happy about the changes in the agreement."
"Things change with extenuating circumstances." Gabriel answered, and Adrien couldn't help but feel as if his father was talking about him and Ella. Was something supposed to be happening with him and Kagami?
"Very well, sir. Come you two, the car is out front. I'll be there in a moment."
"Okay." The teens spoke, Adrien leading Ella out carefully.

"It's for the best." Nathalie's voice pulled Gabriel from his thoughts, and his eyes from the two teens heading down the steps.
"As I said: things change. If Ella had not come into Adrien's life, then the agreement would not have changed. But I will not force my son into a business deal, when he is so happy." Gabriel spoke, his face not changing but he knew his assistant could tell he was content with his decision.

"Wise choice, sir." Nathalie gave her boss a soft smile, choosing to not comment on the ring she had spotted on her daughter's finger- the same one she had caught Adrien looking at a few weeks prior. She would have to speak with the teens later- make sure there was nothing else going on.

Outside movie cinema, Nadja Chamack was already reporting about the premiere and all the guests arriving.
"Don't be bemused, it's just the news. Nadja Chamack coming to you live from the premiere we've all been waiting for: the brand new animated movie of the adventures of Cat Noir, Raven and Ladybug. The gorgeous Clara Nightingale, who sang all but one of the songs in the movie, has just arrived!"
Clara walked into the theater, the doorman greeting her and expressing his admiration for her work. Another man, wearing a VIP badge and casual clothes for a premiere, walked up and moved to enter but was stopped.
"This is a private event, sir."
"Huh? Excuse me- I'm Thomas Astruc, the movie director." He held up his ID.
"You filmed Cat Noir, Raven and Ladybug? What are they like in real life?" The doorman asked, getting excited.
"Er, it's an animated movie. It's all cartoon characters. We don't actually film anyone. See, there's this whole team that draw the chara-" Thomas tried to explain, but the doorman just scoffed and turned away, waving Thomas into the event.
"Whatever. Who would want to see Ladybug, Raven and Cat Noir as cartoon characters?"

Marinette couldn't help but wonder if her parents really trusted her with this job, as her father explained how to carry the (empty) tray carefully, moving her hand and head as he spoke.
"So put your thumbs here and look straight ahead."
"Uh, shouldn't there be macarons on the tray?" She asked, glancing at her parents.
"Yes, yes. We'll put them on as soon as you're ready."
"Dad, Mom! I am totally ready. Trust me, I'll be super-duper careful." She begged, watching them glance at one another before they sighed and swapped out the empty tray for one laden with three different macaron types. Marinette adjusted her grip to the new weight, gave her parents a confident smile and moved into the crowd of people.
She moved about carefully, making sure to keep her hands steady and to fully pick her feet up as she walked. Premiere goers flocked around her, asking for macarons and she smiled, offering the tray. After a few minutes, she made her way over to by the door, where she spotted Jagged Stone talking with someone. Marinette walked up to Jagged's right, hearing the last bits of conversation.
"...Well, technically the screen writers wrote the story, inspired by Ladybug's exploits." The man- it took her a second to recognize who he was from the news broadcast this morning- was explaining the different jobs, she guessed, when Jagged cut in.
"Oh, ok. So you did all the drawings?"
"No, no. The animators do all the drawings."
"So what do you do then?"
"Well I-"
Marinette must have just made it into Jagged's peripheral vision, cause the man turned to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into the conversation.
"Hey Marinette! Now she can draw! She does it all herself. Just check out these groovy sunglasses here she made!" Jagged bragged, pulling his sunglasses off his head to show; the blunette blushed as Thomas Astruc commented on her work, "Well, that's impressive."
"She even designed my album cover!" Jagged continued, smiling down at her. Marinette giggled awkwardly at the situation but kept the smile on her face.
"Er, thanks. Macarons?" She offered to tray to Thomas, but Jagged and other hands grabbed the last few before the man could.
"No worries, sir. I can go grab more! I'll be back!" Marinette smiled wide, turning and moving back to the table to switch out for another tray.

The car stopped and Gorilla opened the door. Ella and Adrien followed Nathalie down the red carpet into the theater, with Gabriel on the tablet already. The two teens walked in the door first, cameras flashing and people clamoring about their arrival. Ella kept her arm wrapped around Adrien's, as they waved and smiled before Ella saw the piles of sweets and nearly dragged Adrien over to the table.
"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!" Ella grinned wide as she approached, Adrien trailing behind with his hand tight in hers.
"Hi Ella! You look lovely!"
"Thanks, ma'am!" Ella lightly blushed as Adrien finally got even with her and greeted Marinette's parents himself.
"Hello, Adrien. Marinette just told us this morning that you and Ella were together. We're so happy for both of you." Mrs. Cheng congratulated the couple, making the teens blush and stutter out 'thank you'.

The pair got a couple of sweets for them to share before they made their way around the room, greeting people as Nathalie moved about with Gabriel on the tablet. As they circled, Ella caught Marinette's eyes. She poked Adrien gently and subtly pointed to their friend. Adrien smiled and the pair waved to Marinette. Marinette mimicked the motion, causing the platter she was holding to nearly tip but she caught it quick enough and with an embarrassed smile, continued on.
"I didn't know Marinette was gonna be here. Looks like she's helping her parents."
"Maybe we can get her an extra ticket to see the premiere with us?" Ella asked, silently figuring it would be good for their team leader to join them at a movie about them three.
"We can ask- shouldn't be too hard."

Marinette smiled as she continued through the crowd, happy the event was going well. She had yet to fully trip over her own feet or bump into anyone, so she counted that as a plus.
The blunette slipped past Chloé, fully intending to go un-noticed by the blonde girl, and couldn't help but listen in on the loud commands of her classmate.
"You! Go fetch me a chocolate macaron, but make sure it's dark chocolate, not milk chocolate. Got that?" The yellow-clad teen pointed at Thomas, the man looking around him confused until he realized Chloé was talking to him.
"But I'm not a waiter. I'm the movie director."
"Oh, really? So you're the one responsible for this movie?"
"Yes, yes! Exactly! That's me!"
"Then you were the one who left Queen Bee out of the trailer. You're lame, utterly lame."
Marinette rolled her eyes; of course Chloé was gonna harp on that. Queen Bee wasn't even a part of the timeline the movie was telling, so why would they add her in? With an annoyed sigh, Marinette shook her head, feeling bad for Thomas before she kept going.

Adrien and Ella, having finished their greetings of all in attendance, decided to go over and spend some time with Marinette, when Nathalie stopped them.
"Adrien, you and Ella are expected to welcome the Tsurugi's." Nathalie gestured to the door where Kagami and her mother were entering. Ella smiled at the noirette, taking Adrien's hand and encouraging him to go.
"Come on- last time we saw Kagami was at the Louvre after she was akumatized." She whispered. Adrien nodded and followed Nathalie to the door.
"Konbanwa, Tsurugi-san. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Adrien bowed, Ella mirroring his motion. Kagami and her mother bowed back, greeting the blond boy.
"It is nice to meet you, as well, Adrien-san." Kagami's mother spoke, "My daughter has spoken very highly of you." Adrien blushed at that, his eyes sliding to Kagami and then to Ella.
"This is my girlfriend, Ella." He introduced next, Ella bowing once again.
"Sore wa meiyodesu." Ella spoke in perfect Japanese, but Adrien noticed the look of shock on Mrs. Tsurugi's face at the introduction; so whatever his father had spoken about earlier, did have something to do with a relationship.
The older woman was silent for a moment, but then spoke again, seemingly ignoring Ella's greeting.
"Gabriel-san. Per our last discussion, I've brought the documents."
"Domo arigato, Tsurugi-san." Gabriel spoke; Adrien though, could tell his father was hiding some sort of annoyance. Nathalie's face too, tensed just a bit.
"Please follow me." The woman spoke, turning with the tablet and leading the way to a secluded corner. Mrs. Tsurugi followed after, leaving the three teens.
"I'm glad to see you again, Kagami!" Adrien grinned, once again unconsciously taking Ella's hand in his.
"It's really been too long!" Ella added.
"Me too."

Marinette sighed as she glanced over to where Ella and Adrien were talking with Kagami. Now she was kind of wishing she hadn't offered to help her parents, and rather texted Ella about getting an invite to the premiere; today would have been more fun being able to chat and see the movie with them.

Gabriel waited until he, Nathalie and Tomoe were alone in the corner before he started.
"There have been extenuating circumstances, as you can tell."
"We had an agreement, Gabriel-san. In exchange for future business deals and contracts, your son would take my daughter as his."
"And had Ella not come into Adrien's life, then that deal would be continuing. But as Ella has made Adrien happier than I have ever seen him, I will not be ruining that for my son."
"Nor will I be asking my daughter to destroy her happiness." Nathalie added above the man.
Gabriel watched Tomoe grit her teeth in anger, but resisted the urge of negative emotions flowing over him.
"This is breaking years of preparation and planning, Gabriel-san. You are not known for breaking your promises, but I see even an honorable man like you is weak."
"I am not weak, Tomoe-san. I will honor every other portion of our agreement, but Adrien's relationship with Ella is something I will not take away from him. Nathalie's daughter has gone through enough and in turn- Adrien has been through it too. I will not force more of that devastation onto them and become the villain in their lives."
**