MrNoir: I know this is going to sound both ominous and corny, but we need to talk.
The discord message had popped up on Marinette's laptop just a few hours after Adrien had dropped her off to continue working after their lunch together. She had been staring at it for several minutes, biting her thumb and contemplating how to reply. She knew what she needed to do. She had known since their conversation. Now she just had to follow through, and without making it glaringly obvious that she had information that Mystery Lady had no right to know.
Lady: Very ominous and corny indeed. What's up?
His reply was almost instantaneous, letting her know that he had been watching for her reply.
MrNoir: I need to know who you are.
MrNoir: Not right now right now. But we need to start thinking seriously about this. As fun as the blindfolds are, I need to know if there's a future here. If this progresses to dating or marriage, we won't be able keep up the secrets.
She waited a few minutes. She had resigned herself and wouldn't back down, but it would be overly suspicious if she was immediately on board.
Lady: I'm scared.
MrNoir: Me too. But I'm willing to take a risk for us. Are you?
Lady: I don't want to lose you. If I don't take this risk, I know that I'll lose you for sure. At least this way there's a chance.
MrNoir: Then I guess we need to figure out how to do this. Is there any way I can make this easier for you?
Lady: I am 100% sure that I won't be able to verbally tell you. Just trust me on that.
I'd probably stutter over my words so badly he'd just assume it was Marinette struggling with something unrelated and never guess that I was his Mystery Lady.
MrNoir: How about interpretive dance?
Lady: I think that's just called having an anxiety attack.
Lady: Ok, I have I have an idea. I am going to be really really busy for the next two weeks. If you're as smart as I know you are, you'll know why. I will find a way to show you who I am when my work commitments are handled. So let's meet again in two weeks.
MrNoir: Can I get any clues now? At least on what to look for. I'd hate to mess this up because you overestimated my intelligence. I was apparently stupid enough to not recognize you already after all.
Lady: You know that we know each other. I work for Gabriel fashion. I had not previously been to your apartment, but I have been to your room in the manor a few times. Give me some time to figure out how to reveal my identity. Before we meet again, I'll make sure to give you a few more hints.
MrNoir: I trust you.
Lady: I love you. We can talk more later.
As she closed discord, Marinette let out a shaky breath and picked up the white jacket for her Bittersweet suit. The red thread from her needle mesmerized her as she continued diligently attaching crimson beads, stich by stitch. She had already completed as much of the design as possible by machine earlier in the afternoon, but these final details could only be done with hand stitching.
Thread by thread, Marinette toiled over the jacket. As she snipped her final loose end, the moon was high in the sky and the rest of her colleagues had already departed. But the jacket was done. She was ready to tell the truth.
On Friday, Marinette decided to reveal herself. On Tuesday she figured out how to do it.
After finishing Bittersweet, she had spent the weekend finishing Belladonna and Carnation, both of which needed their raw edges hemmed and neatened. Monday morning left her with the prospect of figuring out how to prioritize her time between finishing Gardenia and Forget-me-not, creating a sixth look in order to be ahead of schedule, and creating sketches for the remaining pieces she would need to put in her dossier.
It was obvious to her that her first priority had to be finishing her current outfits, so she began the long process of embroidering Gardenia. As her work spilled into Tuesday, she came up with her first clue for Adrien. Every piece on a runway had to be judged on its construction, creativity, and its other core aspects. But of secondary importance was appropriate accessorizing.
A mask. I'll use a mask to accessorize Gardenia, just like he wore during our first night together.
Adrien's assistant had emailed all of the designers the paperwork they would need for the showcase as promised, and one such document was a requisition form for specialty materials or accessories that were not readily available on the design floor. She began filling out the form and another bit of inspiration hit. Instead of one mask, she ordered two—one of deepest black and the other in blood red crimson.
Gardenia would start. It should catch his attention and make him search for confirmation. The closing piece would be Bittersweet. It was poetic, starting with secret love and ending with truth. However, now that Marinette had finalized four of her five constructed pieces and conceived of this plan she had run into a rather big problem.
Damnit, it won't work as a middle piece. Forget-me-not, a close-fitting yellow dress with a large over skirt and train of blue flower was an undeniable showstopper. It would have to be placed as either the opening or closing piece—it's what any sane designer would do. It was the best for flow, either grabbing everyone's attention and impressing them right off the bat or helping the collection to finish strong. I need Gardenia and Bittersweet where they are in order to confess to Adrien, but I need to replace one with Forget-me-not if I want to give myself the best shot of making it to fashion week. Fucking hell, I can't choose between love and career.
Glancing up at her cork board, she considered an alternative. I've been diligent and focused these last few days and knocked out the other four pieces much faster than I had budgeted. If I hurry, I have time to make a sixth look to sub in for Forget-me-not. Then the flow will work, and I can make Forget-me-not an opener or closer for actual fashion week when I no longer need to reveal myself. But which one?
Sweet pea and Camellia were the only two flower concepts she had on hand, both meant for male pieces. She would need three more concepts for fashion week and sketches for all five for the showcase in less than two weeks. Knowing the general direction of her next step, Marinette set about creating formal sketches for Sweet pea and Camellia.
Sweet pea's concept sketch featured a plain white tang suit, another nod to her Chinese heritage, with a fabric pattern of purple and blue buds on green stems. She would make the pattern herself digitally and then use the company fabric printer to bring it to reality. The button clasps and cuffs would be gold, and she would stitch other floral details in golden thread.
As she moved onto Camellia, Marinette decided to do a little more research on the flower's meaning for inspiration and stumbled upon an interesting detail that her original source had not mentioned. In Chinese culture, Camellia's represented the union of marriage, with the petals standing for the woman and the green leaves the man. Thus, her sketch ended up featuring a dark forest green three-piece suit. The suit jacket would be constructed so that a long cape, ending a foot above the heel, would line up with the ends of the lapel, covering the front of the shoulder but leaving the arm free for movement. Pink camellias would be embroidered along the lapel, onto the top border of the cape, and scattered throughout the rest of the cape fabric to give the illusion of flowers drifting behind the model as he walked.
Glancing at the stack of rejected papers which had been pinned to the side of her inspiration board, the blue of her Cyclamen design caught her attention. Maybe I missed something there. Camellia had a slightly different definition than what I first found, maybe I can find something to make this beautiful design viable. Finding a different online source, she did indeed find something different. It didn't just mean resignation, diffidence, or goodbye; it also meant lasting feelings and sincere affection. Perfect. Now I just need one more male and one more female design.
The final two designs were based on Jasmine (grace, elegance, sweet love) and Cornflower (tenderness, fidelity, reliability). Jasmine would be a deep green sheath dress with long flowing bell sleeves, bright white and gold beading interspersed throughout. It would pair well with Camellia while Cornflower would pair well with Forget-me-not, it's blue suit and golden yellow details mirroring the showstopping dress.
By the time Marinette had finished researching and designing for her final five pieces, two days had passed. Only one week remained until the day of the showcase. It would be even sooner that Adrien would be back to collect her paperwork. She hadn't spoken to him at all in the last week, not since she had agreed to tell him. She was glad. These last few days had been incredibly productive and focusing on her work had kept her from second guessing herself. Now there was only one thing left to do before she would see him. She had to pick the final piece to make.
Finished for the showcase:
Belladonna: (Female) White dress with extremely high neckline.
Carnation: (Female) Black suit with crop top and red and pink floral lining.
Gardenia: (Male) Black suit with white embroidery.
Bittersweet: (Male) White shirt and pants with red embroidery and beading.
Finished for fashion week:
Forget-me-not: (Female) Yellow dress with blue floral overskirt/train.
Concept:
Camellia: (Male) Green suit with cape.
Sweet pea: (Male) White tang suit with custom fabric pattern in purple and blue.
Cyclamen: (Female) Blue tea dress with purple flowers sprouting from its skirt.
Jasmine: (Female) Green dress with beading and bell sleeves.
Corflower: (Male) Blue suit with gold detailing.
All of the showcase pieces had ended up taking on a black and white theme. All of the remaining pieces incorporated much more color, so which one would fit best? Something about Cornflower drew her attention. She could alternate male and female, and have the blue suit start the pieces with partial color—Gardenia, Belladonna, Cornflower, Carnation, and finally Bittersweet. That would work beautifully.
The Wednesday before the show came so much sooner than Marinette had expected. She had already turned in her material acquisition the week prior and would receive her masks and gloves the day of the showcase. But now she had to turn in the rest of her paperwork to Adrien, who had just entered the room.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I hope you're all in good spirits. I'm going to come around to everyone's stations, please have your collection overview and sketches ready with the appropriate order."
As usual, Marinette was the last stop on his loop.
"Hey." Her voice was tired and hesitant.
"Hey. You doing okay?" His eyebrows were drawn together in concern over his beautiful green eyes. This might be one of the last times I can look into his eyes like this. Her stomach turned with worry, face to face with the decision that she had managed to view objectively by pushing his presence to the back burner.
"Yeah. I—uh—I'm definitely feeling sore and tired. I've been bent over embroidering so much these last few days I think I'm going to need to see a professional to work out all of the knots in my back." I wish he could work out all of my knots. Fuck I hope he's still into me after this so he can give me a massage.
"I get that. I've been sitting at my desk almost non stop these last two weeks and I've definitely got a crick in my neck." He looked distracted, eyes gazing into the distance beyond her head.
Her Tether hummed with an anxiety that wasn't her own. She reached out with her manila folder of paperwork and held it in front of him until he reached up and gently grabbed it from her, adding it to his bag with everyone else's.
"You're going to read over those tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, me and the rest of the panel."
"Well, I hope you like it. I'll see you once everything is over, okay?" Once everything is different between us.
"Of course."
Her Tether pulsed as he left, growing dimmer the farther he went.
