Prologue Part 1: The Fashion Show
"Okay I've lost her…"
Alya thought as she stared at her best friend seated next to her. Marinette had absolute stars in her eyes. The next model appeared down the runway wearing an intricate butterfly-inspired dress.
Marinette let out a squeal, "Oh my gosh… Alya! Look, look, that's one of Gabriel's best designs! I can't believe I'm seeing it in person, look at the placement of the applique and the-"
Alya snorted as Marinette slowly spiralled back into her special world. Honestly, Alya could never understand a word she'd say in her stars-struck world. It was one of the things that made Marinette, Marinette.
Of course it was nothing to be surprised about. After being invited by a certain blonde haired model to the Gabriel fashion show, Mari managed to stutter a yes, and was handed two free tickets to front row seats. Everything was going awesome until Alya had spotted the class' very on blonde bully on the other side of the catwalk.
Chloe was star-struck as Marinette too. Seeing them have something in common… well, let's just say it was difficult to watch.
What did Marinette see in that girl?
…Anyway, maybe Alya should sneak her phone out and check anything on the Ladyblog. Ladybug and Chat Noir might need help sometime with Rena Rouge. Or she could maybe text Nino while she's at it.
On the other hand, Marinette could not believe that she had been given front row seats. Thank god for Adrien. She remembered it like it was yesterday…
Adrien waved as he moved over to her, "Hey Marinette!"
Marinette froze.
You can do this Marinette. Don't make a mess out of yourself as you always do. Don't want to trip over and fall on Adrien, breaking his leg and stopping him from being able to model! If you do that, his modelling career will be ruined and he'll hate you forever and Gabriel will get mad and reject you and you'll never be Adrien's girlfriend!
"Uh, Marinette?"
Marinette jolted out of her panic and realised Adrien had his head tilted in a sheepish smile and- oh he looked perfect.
"Hey Marinette! Oh- I mean, Adrien! Hi Adrien, hi. Hi, what's up?" If Marinette could facepalm right now, oh how embarrassing this is. But Adrien seemed unfazed.
"I know how excited you were to see my dad's fashion line that one time ago. I'm sorry that it was ruined by an akuma."
That's right. Marinette had been so ready to draw inspiration that day with sketchbook and pen in hand until it had been interrupted by Queen Bee. Chloe always seemed to have such great timing with ruining her life. It turned out to not be too bad though since that day she had gotten to understand Chloe as a person.
Marinette steadied her breath and smiled, "It's okay Adrien. It wasn't your fault, and I really enjoyed that you invited the class that day. It was really sweet of you."
Adrien still admired how resilient Marinette could be. She was the most excited to go too. "Either way I wanted to make it up to you. I managed to talk to my father and get front row seats to the new season line coming up this Saturday."
Adrien held two tickets and offered them to Marinette.
"I thought it would be a good idea to help you for inspiration on your new project. I'll be on stage so, you can bring Alya-"
He suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck. The force of it had Adrien take a step back to balance himself.
"Oh my gosh Adrien thank you so much! That's exactly what I need right now!"
They continued chatting for a bit before leaving school for the afternoon. It didn't occur to Marinette that she had hugged the love of her life until she went to tell Alya about it. Her ears turned red from embarrassment.
That lead to the current time with Marinette in the crowd of fashion enthusiasts, minus Alya. Here she was, privileged to witness the designs she admired as close up as she possibly could. Marinette was brought out of her thoughts as a shout alerted her to the present.
"Hey! It's Adrien Agreste!"
Then suddenly the room was blinded in white flashing as the camera's went off.
click click
On the catwalk entered Adrien, completely unfazed by the sudden flashing. Probably having to tolerate it for his whole career as a famous Parisian model. He walked in a sleek white outfit complete with a fedora. The stage lights and the photography flashing illuminated his skin in a soft glow. His blonde hair was soft and shiny, even the lady reporters looked envious. His smile could make people gay for him.
He was angelic.
They probably dressed him that way to promote his perfume line, Marinette realised. It's still a big-hit huge success and several parfums had been created since its release. Adrien walked up the catwalk and posed at the front. He turned to the side then ever so slightly moved his front shoulder back to spin his head to the front, giving a wink.
click, click
Oh sweet muffins… he really is a model.
Marinette would never know if it was because of her cheering or if Adrien had heard her thoughts aloud, but he suddenly stopped, surprised, and Adrien's eyes found it's way to Marinette's blue ones.
He smiled sheepishly and managed a small wave. Blood rushed to Marinette's cheeks.
Then suddenly the moment was gone as quick as it had started. No one noticed the exchange. Well, maybe one person did. Across from the stage, Chloe sat eyes wide and mouth gaping. She stayed like that for the rest of the show.
Meanwhile backstage, a stressed manager fires his new employee after she spilled coffee over a dress rack, staining her shirt in the process. It doesn't take long for a purple butterfly to flutter toward the scene.
After the show, special guests, vips and models moved into the upstairs hall to mingle. It was a function room used for the purpose of special events, popular for it's beautiful view of Paris. Marinette and Alya were special invited guests by Adrien, but Alya had to leave early to pick up her little sister from school. That left a nervous Marinette in Adrien's company which quickly changed after he asked if she enjoyed the show.
Adrien listened to Marinette as she explained her thoughts, sharing her opinion on the fashion designs and trends of the season. She delved into the good and bad parts of each one in aesthetics, functionality and things Adrien had never thought about. Adrien chimed in, mentioning that certain part of the outfits he modelled were uncomfortable which Marinette scribbled down on the back of her drawing pad. She was somehow able to make fashion design a lot more interesting than his father made it seem. The conversation eventually turned to modelling.
Adrien was happy that Marinette and Alya turned up. He had spotted them in the crowd cheering for him. Modelling was like a chore. It can be exhausting, but it was moments like those where he had friends that cheered him on that really made the day worthwhile. He was lucky to be friends with the amazing, caring Marinette.
"Say Marinette, could I see some of your designs? Maybe I can help a little. I can't say it'll be much though."
Marinette was taken aback. She looked like a fish out the water. Adrien would be laughing but he kept it in to save Marinette from feeling embarrassed again.
"S-sure! Let me get us some sweets first. I'll be back in a bit!" Marinette turned, a rosy red dusted over her face as she tried to move through the crowded space. She clutched her drawing pad. Her expression? It was one of utter bliss.
Marinette didn't make it that far to the table of food, not even a few steps. Adrien eyes adjusted to something strange in the background. The coffee machine on the table rattled uncontrollably. To his surprise the nozzle burst open and steaming hot coffee floated upwards against gravity. A lady with green-tinted skin and purple eyes emerged in a business cardigan and pencil skirt, one hand on her hip and the other with the orb of hot coffee that floated in the palm of her hand. Her eyes locked onto the closest target.
Adrien tensed and shoved Marinette, hard. She fell back in surprise. A stream of steaming coffee shot past her whizzing past in the space her head had been a moment ago. Screams filled the area. The lady laughed wickedly and grinned.
Marinette groaned, "What does the universe have against me?"
If Marinette had rejected the tickets or if she decided to leave with Alya then maybe the events of the following half hour wouldn't have gone as wrong as it did.
Author's Note
I haven't seen a Miraculous reveal fic that's gone this way yet, so I decided to write one. Probably won't turn out that great but this'll be some good writing practice!
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. This fanfiction uses characters from Miraculous Ladybug, a cute series owned by Thomas Astruc. If you somehow haven't watched it yet, do it.