Author's Notes: if you give a cat a cookie...;) of AO3, I finally present you with your one-shot request! I'm so sorry the ending is rushed! I tried to hit on what you really wanted. I'm swamped with other fics right now but this is one I wouldn't mind coming back to in the future to finish out properly. I'm sorry it took so long too I just hope you and everyone enjoys it!
Marinette took a deep breath, straightened the folders in her hands, and knocked on the rather large, intimidating looking door. There was a short reprise which was followed by a short, "Enter." She did one more check of her attire and her appearance before finally pushing the door open. Quickly, she proceeded into the large office, before stopping just short of the large oaken desk in the center of the room.
Fifteen years had passed since Marinette had graduated high school. Ladybug was still a reoccurring character in Paris life but she was far more removed; as was her partner Chat Noir and surprisingly, Hawkmoth, who seemed to have consider going have the miraculous to be a fruitless task and all but given up, only sending out an akuma every now and then to check that they were in fact still in Paris in case he ever wanted to try again. Really though, they all were just tired. Tired and older. Marinette was no longer the spry young girl she'd been. However, neither was she out of her prime. Just short of thirty, she still looked as if she was in her youth but she most certainly had lost all of the baby edges, her face now hosting sharper lines that accented her beauty perfectly. She'd also decided to go for a much shorter haircut. It was easier to maintain and made her look more mature for her position. The only thing she didn't change about herself was her determination to wear her own clothing; she did so regularly in front of anyone and everyone she could. This had eventually resulted in her moving up the Agreste Industry's ladder until now.
Now, standing in front of Gabriel Agreste himself, about to hear the news she so desperately wanted to hear.
Marinette gave a little half-bow in way of greeting the older man behind the desk. He turned to face her a little. Mr. Agreste had aged in the last fifteen years. His face was wider and he now sported a thin, but nice looking, beard and mustache, and his hair was shorter than it used to be. He still, however, carried the air of a dignified man, one who had earned and deserved every inch of respect a person was to give him. His eyes scanned her over.
"Ms. Dupain- Cheng. Thank-you for coming. Take a seat there," he motioned to the only available seat.
Marinette took a deep breath and nervously moved to where she had been ordered. She slid the purse on her arm discretely onto the floor. Placing the folders into her lap, she looked back up at her boss, waiting. Gabriel continued to eye her. He eventually cleared his throat. "Ms. Dupain-Cheng, how long have you been with my company now?"
"Ten years sir," she breathed, "I joined a year after I exited the university." He opened a folder on his desk, examining it now.
"Ah yes. Your mother fell ill, correct?"
"Yes sir. She fell ill for some time so I waited a year to find a permanent placement until she could get back on her feet. I didn't want to leave my father at the bakery without any help."
"Then you applied immediately to this company?"
"I applied to as many companies as I could sir," she explained, "but was only able to get an interview with a small handful- Agreste Industries being one of them." He hummed and continued flipping through the file in his hands.
"How many did you receive acceptance from?"
"Two- a smaller, upcoming place, and here sir."
"Ah and you chose the most successful of the two."
"No sir," she whispered. Gabriel raised an eyebrow at her. She licked her lips nervously and continued, "The other place was still growing- true. It would have been a fantastic challenge, however, I saw how they treated new people out of college. I spoke to a few of their newer hires, just like I did with the ones here, and what they told me terrified me; if I had joined that company, sir, I am most certain that I would only just now be allowed to touch the cloths to cut them. At least here, I knew my work would mean something."
A rare smile graced his lips, "Ah, yes, your work would mean something. You give very tactful answers Ms. Dupain-Cheng." She bowed her head but did not respond otherwise. Gabriel closed the file on his desk and held out his hand. "I believe you have something for me." She breathed again, standing quickly to present him with the file, which he opened immediately onto his desk. His eyes scanned every piece inside. He raised his eyebrows at her but said nothing for some time. Marinette watched him impatiently until his head finally rose again and he demanded, "Explain your concept to me."
"Family," she stated, "is one of the most important aspects of my life. Without my mother and father, I wouldn't be the person sitting here before you today. They taught me the value of hard work; they taught me what it meant to be honest, good, and loyal. I sit here because of them. My line is dedicated to the family. As you can see in my designs, there is one repeating element for each outfit even though they look different." She pointed to the first set that seemed to be vastly different clothes until one looked closely enough to notice a small, red and black dotted repeating pattern located in different, strategic areas. "I wanted these pieces to show the individuality of each person of the family while also showing how each needs the other to survive." She stood straight again, placing her hands behind her back. Now she waited. Gabriel clearly was mulling over her words. She wrung her hands behind her back. A silent prayer left her throat.
Finally, he said, "Excellent job Ms. Dupain-Cheng. You are now assigned to have your family line of clothing completed by the time of the Spring fashion show. That gives you three months."
Delight sprang to Marinette's face but she coughed it down. "Thank-you sir! I will be sure to get on it right away." He sat back in his chair.
"You will be in charge of coordinating everything. I will provide you with four assistants to help with the sewing and the producing and twenty models to wear your clothing - adults and children alike of both genders. It will be your task to ensure everything runs smoothly."
"Yes sir." Marinette started to grab her things. Before she left, she gave him one final bow and just as she was about to exit the door, he said, "Oh and Marinette?" She stopped and eyed him. His eyes were serious as he finished, "If this fails, it will completely fall to you."
She swallowed hard and nodded, finally exiting the room with a final bow.
Tikki popped her head out of the back and gave her a thumbs up. Marinette smiled down at her. She quickly petted her head before hoisting the bag higher on her shoulder and taking off for her studio. The next three months were going to fly by before she knew it.
MLMLMLMLML
Three months were not enough time.
Between the planning, and re-planning, practices and practices, and model fittings, there never seemed to be enough time in the day. Marinette sat nervous five days before the Spring fashion show and she wrung her hands as she watched one model after another walk the catwalk. However, she did the numbers in her head. They weren't right. One of the models was missing! She looked through her list to figure out who it was. Suddenly a shadow cast itself over her notes and she looked up to find one of her assistance, a nice young man named Andre, standing over her, worry etched on his face.
"Ms. Dupain? You're needed backstage. Something's gone horribly wrong!"
It was the last thing she wanted to hear but Marinette jumped to her feet and rushed back. She came in enough time to find the missing model on the ground, hissing in pain as an on-sight medic looked over his ankle. He shook his head. "Looks like a sprain. You're going to be off of it for a week at least."
"A week," the model cried, "but the show is in five days!"
"Nothing to do about it guy," the medic explained. "You need rest or you're going to be hurting for a long time."
"But..."
"No buts Hugo," Marinette cut in. The model closed his mouth immediately, knowing that fighting against the feisty, determined half-Asian woman would do him no good. In fact, a lot of them shrunk back a bit. Marinette moved closer and examined his foot herself. Having been Ladybug for so long, she knew the basics of health care. "You're out. I'll find a replacement." Hugo's face dropped. She patted his shoulder reassuringly, "It's not your fault. Things like this happen all the time. Alright everyone," she stood, clapping her hands, "back to rehearsal. Leave a spot for the model that'll take Hugo's place." She faced the medic. "Can you get him to the hospital to have that checked? I want him on my next show and a lame model does me no good." The medic shrugged and offered Hugo a hand, eventually helping him limp off set. Marinette sighed to herself.
What in the world was she going to do?
Someone grabbed her shoulder. She grabbed it and started to fling the person in surprise but froze when she realized that she was standing face to face with Adrien Agreste. A wide smile was plastered on his face.
Mari's, on the other hand, hit the floor.
It had been years since the two of them had really spoken. He had started at the university and received a degree in teaching but eventually returned to modeling when his father had begged him to help the company out again. Now it seemed his father was doing everything in his power to make sure he didn't stop modeling. Marinette had to swallow hard. The years had been good to Adrien. He was still taller than her (of course) but now he sported a light beard, was more filled out in his structure, and was every bit as delicious as she remembered him being (except not as cute! More handsome, yeah, but cute was long out the window). His golden hair was slicked back as he shot her a smile.
"Father mentioned an old friend of mine was doing a fashion show for him," he smirked, "He just wouldn't tell me who. I didn't know you worked for Agreste Industries."
Marinette nodded. Her face was red and her mouth was dry. Dear god. She was going to die. It took a lot to swallow down her childhood crush and smile back at him, "Adrien! What a surprise. Your father never mentioned you would be here." He chuckled and crossed his arms, eyeing her.
"I'm back in Paris for a bit. He's had me all over the world modeling different lines and what not. I'm taking a break for now. Thought I'd see the Spring Fashion show." He nodded his chin to the door Hugo and the medic had gone through. "And it looks like luck is finally on my side for once. I'm in the right place at the right time." She blinked.
"What?"
"You need a model right?" He spread his arms wide. "Well, here I am."
Marinette shook her head, "N-no way!" Adrien frowned.
"Why not?"
"Your father would kill me!"
"No he won't," he tisked.
"Oh yes he will. You know he only assigns you to certain things. My first show is not one of them."
"Marinette, would you trust me? I'll handle my father but can you really go without finding a model today to fit in his clothes?" She hesitated. True... the show was in five days and the clothes needed to be refitted to the model who wore them...
Oh cripes. He was right.
Marinette threw her hands in the air. "Alright, I can't wait but I am not getting fired because of your stubbornness Adrien Agreste."
He chuckled again and took one of the hands on its way down, placing a gentle kiss on the back side before smirking up at her, "I wouldn't dream of getting you fired Marinette." A blush broke out across her cheeks. He didn't notice. If he did, he didn't say anything about it, choosing instead to stand and continue with, "Well, I'll go tell your assistants to starting fitting me for the show."
Marinette blinked. As he turned to go, she heated up and grabbed his arm, stopping him, in surprise, in his tracks, as she shot around him, shouting to another girl, "Amelie? Watch over the practice. Make sure everything runs smoothly. I have to fit Mr. Agreste for the show." The blonde haired girl nodded and continued shouting orders to the people on the catwalk. Marinette turned and led him off to another room. He blinked but followed. She took him to a room where the clothing were being hung and where she immediately pushed him to where he could strip. "Out of the clothing."
Adrien blushed but quickly breathed it down. He'd done this for years. Marinette was no different. She was just another designer.
... Who was he kidding? His childhood crush was still there. Marinette was anything but another designer.
He breathed in deep though and did as ordered, leaving only his tank and briefs on. He climbed on top of the raised platform and waited. Marinette eventually reappeared only with clothing and materials in hand. He didn't miss this time how red her face was or how she kept her eyes adverted from his own as she started talking smoothly and clearly about what needed to be done and she eventually began working; at first her hands were shaky as they reached for his skin, and she hesitated to touch him at first, but eventually she calmed and found her rhythm. Quickly she measured and re-measured each and every bit of him. It was agony as her hands glided over his skin. Adrien swallowed hard. Years apart had done nothing to kill his feelings for her (or her to him but he didn't know that much). Things got really awkward when her measurements required to go in... certain locations. Adrien breathed evenly. He rolled his eyes skyward to hide the blush on his face and to keep his tiny member from jumping to attention at the sight of the beautiful woman kneeling and touching around his area. She didn't mean anything by it. She just wanted the numbers. On the other hand, she was moving in what felt like slow motion to him. God it was beautiful and torturous. He mused that if she ever knew her power, she would be a force to be reckoned with.
An hour passed. Finally, Marinette stood back from him and nodded, pulling out a notebook and making some notes. "I'll have the outfits adjusted for you by tomorrow. Can you come back then?" She had her back to him now. Adrien eyed her and could see the tops of her ears were red but he said nothing about it. He continued to dress.
"I'll be back tomorrow for the fitting," he confirmed. Marinette nodded.
"Excellent. I'll see you then." Before he could stop her, she took off, grabbing the clothes and materials, rushing to the sewing room. Adrien let out a deep breath and wondered what he could do to make sure that Marinette's eyes would never leave him again.
MLMLMLMLML
Marinette's show went on without a hitch.
Gabriel did not fire her for using Adrien.
Adrien enjoyed modeling a family line and wanted to continue working with Marinette on her new lines.
And, if things went to plan, Adrien was going to work to make sure that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, eventually became Mrs. Agreste.
