"I still don't get why you keep refusing to let me make your dress, Alya. It wouldn't be a big deal, really. I could easily squeeze it between cutting my hoodie pattern and sketching those lingerie concepts, and you'd get to have a decent dress," Marinette sighed as she ran her fingers on another cliché, satin ready-to-wear gown. It was pretty enough to the untrained eye, but it was so bland, so generic, so not special, that it made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. She couldn't picture her best friend walking down the aisle in something so ordinary. All the dresses the young designer had seen in this boutique were so plain and boring, even in their magazine-ready gorgeousness. They weren't flamboyant, they weren't fierce or fiery.

They weren't Alya.

Marinette would die if she had to watch the amazing woman she loved so much getting married in a dress so below her own standards, she would never even dare turning it in as an assignment. Alya deserved nothing short of the best, the dress she had dreamed ever since she was a little girl.

But Alya Césaire wasn't only fierce and flamboyant.

She was also incredibly stubborn.

Right on cue, Alya shook her head, her eyes intently scanning the room for a diamond in the rough. "We already talked about this, Mari. About a dozen times since Nino proposed. Your plate is already full enough with your finals and that insane portfolio you had to make for your internship applications. Not to mention that the wedding is next week! Let's be real here, girl, there's absolutely no way you can manage to come up with an amazing, original wedding dress design, sew it, and finish your schoolwork in less than seven days. And you still have your dress to make. I can't have my maid-of-honor walking down the aisle in rags, now can I?"

Marinette pouted childishly, crossing her arms over her chest. No matter where she looked, she was surrounded by generic designs that lacked any personality or flare, stuff that had her inner designer crying in a corner. Clothes that were pretty, but uninspired, empty. Fiddling with the hem of a beaded veil, Marinette carefully eyed her friend, "I know you' won't like this, but there's still the design I submitted in my portfolio, the pattern's almost done, and…."

Alya spun around, still holding a few choices of garters as she stared at her friend in disbelief. "Are you nuts? You poured your heart and soul into that design, Marinette! I can't even count how many all-nighters you pulled to make it "perfect". That's your dream dress! There's no way I'm gonna wear your dress in this lifetime. That masterpiece is yours to make, and yours to wear, that is if someone ever manages to snap you out of your eternal celibacy."

Marinette frowned, halting her search for a suitable dress for her best friend. "We are so not talking about this right now, Alya." That slippery topic of conversation never boded well for her, not whenever her reporter of a friend was concerned. Alya was basically a walking lie-detector, and her favourite hobby was to pry into Marinette's nonexistent love life. With an exasperate sigh, the young designer returned to her fruitless quest for a proper dress, pointedly ignoring the stare she could feel on her back.

Not to be deterred by her friend's openly hostile attitude, Alya went back examining dresses as she replied with a teasing but wry smile. "Not talking about what? About how you wasted the last seven years of your lonely life hopelessly pining over Adrien Agreste, even though you haven't even talked to him ever since he moved to Toulouse? Or about how you keep coming up with more and more creative excuses avoid finally meeting the guy you've been texting 24/7 for the last six months?"

Marinette groaned inwardly and pulled another cliché dress from the rack, staring at it intently without even seeing it just so her friend wouldn't notice how she was hit so close to home. "Adrien has been history for years now and you know it. And whether or not I'm ready to meet my anonymous texting buddy face to face is between me and him. For all we know, he could be a serial killer!"

Alya chuckled disbelievingly as she tried on a long veil, which seemed so cheaply made Marinette couldn't help but visibly cringe. "That guy''s been begging you to meet you forever Mari," Alya said. "Your weird issues are yours and yours alone. Don't blame them on him."

Embarrassment washing over her, the young designer abandoned her futile quest to find a suitable dress and flopped into a nearby armchair. "It's just that … I like how things are right now between us... I can tell him anything, no holding back. I just really don't want our relationship to change." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "I don't want him to be disappointed once he finally sees who the girl behind the screen."

Alya's glare softened instantly and she immediately wrapped her arms around the smaller girl into a bone-crushing hug. "Mari… Is that really why you're stalling, silly girl? How could he ever be disappointed in you? You're an amazing girl, do you really not see it?"

Marinette snorted dryly, hugging herself as she casted a glance to her phone despite herself. "Yeah," she sighed, "so amazing that Adrien never even bothered gave me a second glance in all the years I was literally sitting right there, five feet behind him. And then moved to the other side of France without as much as a goodbye." She quickly pulled out her phone and typed a quick text,

[Ladybug]: Bestie's snooping in my nonexistent love life again. S.O.S.

"I thought you were long over him?" Alya asked, pulling back from her friend to carefully study her expression.

Marinette rubbed her temples, trying to ease the headache threatening to overwhelm her as Alya was getting closer and closer to the source of her inner turmoil.

"Being over him doesn't mean it doesn't hurt anymore," Marinette said nonchalantly, hoping to deter her friend from her hopeless case. "He never even acknowledged my existence after all those years, Alya, what makes you think it would change now? I never even stood a chance with him to even begin with."

Her phone chimed softly in her palm, distracting her briefly from her grim thoughts.

[Chat Noir]: Do you want me to come in and free you from her evil grip and emotional abuse? If so I'm gonna need a few minutes to find my superhero tights 3 =^.^=

She smiled fondly at the words of her silly kitty, and Alya picked up on her change of mood instantly. "See?" she all but boasted. "He texted you and you're suddenly shining brighter than the sun itself. Why won't you give him the chance he deserves? Heck, the guy was ready to move to Paris just to get to know you better, and yet you keep shutting him down! I just don't get it, Marinette."

Marinette frowned, tucking her phone back into her pocket, "You're the one getting married, we should be focusing on that. Why is my virtual love life—or lack thereof—suddenly the topic of the day?"

[Ladybug]: I swear I'm gonna kill her if she doesn't drop it.

[Chat Noir]: No! You can't be a jailbird, m'lady! I'm severely allergic to feathers!

[Chat Noir]: ...I will be allowed to visit you in jail, right? Cause I don't think they allow cellphones in there.

"I'm just worried, Mari," Alya said softly. "You've never even been in a real relationship yet, and you keep pushing that texting buddy away with every excuse you can come up with even though he's never shown any ill intent. He won't wait for you forever, you know? Six months is already a long time for a nameless, faceless woman, and yet there he is, still patiently waiting for you to make even a little room for him in your life."

[Ladybug]: Will you at least bring me a bread loaf with a file hidden in it? That's what they do in movies.

She looked up from her phone and sighed dejectedly. "Alya, I'm fine. I don't need a boyfriend to keep me warm at night. My life is right on track just as it is. Things will come in due time. I don't have any free time for a boyfriend now anyway. My texting buddy would get bored with me within a few days and he'd run away with his tail between his legs as soon as he got the chance."

[Chat Noir]: Of course I'll bring you bread, m'lady! A nail file might delay your escape too much, though, I'll miss you. Better sneak you the prison keys! =^.^=

She chuckled out loud at his last text, a novice mistake. Alya arched a curious eyebrow at her, still dejectedly scanning the dress racks. "You two busy scheming?"

At that Marinette laughed out loud. "Actually, we're planning my jailbreak after your murder."

Alya smiled. "I'm relieved to hear it. At least you won't rot in jail because of me. Let's head to another store, nothing here seems right for me."

Getting up, Marinette sighed deeply. "Alya, stop being so stubborn. No matter how many stores we go to, you're not going to find what you're looking for because it simply doesn't exist! Not yet."

[Ladybug]: She's onto us. Hide any evidence you may have at your place!

[Chat Noir]: Plagg's already hiding in the dryer (since he obviously is the murder weapon). What more do you need me to make disappear?

The brunette shrugged. "It's a small ceremony, I only have to find something that looks nice enough. Nino's parents are leaving the day after the wedding, so we can't possibly postpone it. Honestly, anything fitting my damned hourglass shape is fine by me by this point."

Marinette shook her head forcibly. "Not on my watch. There's absolutely no way I'm going to let my best friend get married in an 'okay' dress. Let's head back to my place: we'll talk about what you had in mind, and I'm going to make it."

Alya stared at her best friend in disbelief. "Marinette, you don't have any time to spare and…"

"I'm not gonna let my best friend marry in a lame dress just because we're short on time. I'll pull an all-nighter or two if I have to, but you ARE walking down that aisle in a stunning dress. My place. Now."

As much as Alya would've liked to argue, she knew Marinette could be just as stubborn as she was. As much as she herself was nagging her about the boyfriend matter, she knew perfectly well that the young designer would be just as stubborn about her dress. If she kept stalling, it would only lessen the time Marinette would have to sew the thing, so Alya figured she might as well give up already and let her friend do as she intended, since it was going to happen in the end anyway.

The drive back to her apartment was abnormally silent, as Marinette was still processing the unexpected confrontation about her love life. Sure, it was far from the first time Alya had bugged her about it, but it had been the first time she had been so aggressive about it. True, Alya was no stranger to problems in her best friend's life, but pushing it that far, despite Marinette's obvious discomfort, pressing things like that? That was a first. The young designer felt uneasy, having her flaws thrown in her face like that. She knew she was unfair to Chat Noir, and she knew that her handicapping insecurities and reluctance to meet him were more than likely going to push him away sooner or later.

Six months of talking and he still respected her wish to keep any identity-revealing information out of their relationship. He took gladly what she was willing to give and never asked for more. What Alya had labeled as him begging to meet her had in fact only been a shy Chat Noir, walking on eggshells, suggesting that one day, if she felt ready, he'd like to meet her.

And he never pushed it.

Sighing, Marinette got out of the car and walked toward her door. Alya picked up on her sour mood, and patted her best friend back sympathetically. "Hey. Sorry if I went too far. I worry about you, that's all. And with me getting married… I don't want you to be alone."

"I get it," Marinette smiled softly as she unlocked her door. "I'm not mad at you, just a little shaken about all this. Let's get started on that dress if you want it ready on time."

Three hours, many measurements, and a few peals of laughter later, Alya finally left her alone to gather her thoughts and get started on the design itself.

As soon as she closed her apartment door, Marinette pulled out the phone that she had ignored while Alya was over,

[Ladybug] Just a fair warning, I have a wedding dress to make, may be MIA for the next few days.

[Chat Noir]: Just reassure me, the dress isn't for you, right? Did you get coerced into an arranged marriage? But don't worry m'lady, I know how you get into your designs! =^.^=.

She smiled at that text, before typing quickly:

[Ladybug]: Don't worry alley cat, it's for the nosy best friend. If I'm ever to get married, you'll be the first to know.

[Chat Noir]: I sure hope so. =^.~=

The young woman hesitated briefly, before typing,

[Ladybug]: Hey kitty?

[Chat Noir]: Huh? =^.^=

[Ladybug]: I'm going to miss you over the next few days. And thanks for being there for me, can't say how much it means to me.

The answer was almost instant:

[Chat Noir]: Always, princess.