“C”mon, Marinette! You can’t spend all day in front of the door.” Alya lightly pushed her friend, causing Marinette to stumble. “Why are you so shy? You look great,” she persisted, gesturing to Marinette’s formal, yet Christmasy, Ladybug-inspired outfit. Their school was having a masquerade dance, made fancy due to Chloe’s father. Full-length dresses and tuxedos were expected. Since Marinette didn’t want to be obvious with her usual black, pink and white colors, she decided on using Ladybug as inspiration. Plus she needed the extra boost of confidence that being Ladybug brought her. She adjusted her dress nervously.

“B-but…” Marinette trailed off, trying to think of some way to put off her entrance. It wasn’t her outfit, she knew it was amazing. The dark red sleeves were off the shoulder and lined the top of the dress, the ends widening just slightly as it came out from the center. Attached to the ends of the sleeves were more dark red pieces of cloth, which rested elegantly on her upper arms. The plain dark red bodice tapered to a point in the front just below her hips. From the bottom of the bodice flowed dark red fabric that poufed out in a ball gown. Sewn between the end of the bodice and the start of a skirt was more black fabric, going a few inches down the skirt with a ruffled pattern and a triangle cut out in the front. From the bottom of the skirt came numerous black spots that were bunched up so that you couldn’t tell where one circle ended and the other started. The dots rose up the skirt, dispersing as it rose. Her mask mirrored the skirt’s design and copied the shape of Ladybug’s mask. The mask was red with one big dot on both sides. After the dot were two smaller dots on either side, then two smaller dots again. She had traded in her pigtails for loose, wavy hair and a silver tiara. Circling her neck was a red choker that had black lace trimming on both sides. Black opera gloves and dark red heels completed the ensemble.

No, she loved her outfit. The problem was that, in this dress, she was stuck somewhere as Marinette and Ladybug. The clumsy teenage and the confident superhero. If someone thinks she’s Ladybug and then she trips or something...she didn’t want to think about it.

Alya pushed her again, and this time Marinette stepped into the room. Her first reaction was awe; it was like a genuine medieval ballroom complete with various fairy lights and mistletoe hanging from various places and a chandelier in the middle. Her second reaction was nervousness; people were staring at her. With a gulp, she turned to hide away in the corners of the room. Alya stopped her.

“None of that. You’re going right to the center of the floor.” she turned Marinette so she faced that direction. “Or else,” she added, knowing that Marinette could easily break her grip and run off or go to the shadows once Alya was gone. Marinette nodded, showing that she understood.

“Good. Now I’m going to get some drinks for us,” and with that Alya walked off, heading to the food and drinks area.

Marinette took and a deep breath and stepped forward. Gratefully, she noted the center was crowded, though not so much as the edges. She wandered around like a lost spirit, not exactly sure what she should do.

“....M’lady?” a voice called out to her hesitantly.

She stiffened and reluctantly turned around. Chat Noir. Of course she would run into the second person she didn’t want to run into. Chloe was the first. His face brightened.

“I knew it!” he bent a knee and kissed her hand. “You look pawsitively stunning, M’lady.”

She rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away, “You don’t look too bad yourself, Chat.” She smiled at him, hopeful that he didn’t notice that she was different, personality wise, today. Besides, she wasn’t lying. He was wearing a tuxedo. He had a black top coat with a cropped jacket front and one tail coat split into town. The inside of the coat was green as well as the top of the side pockets and a thin stripe lining the inside of the lapels. The waistcoat was black, the top and bottom lined with green with and intricate green design in the middle. The tie was also black with a green pawprint where it was tied. He wore black pants and shoes to complete the outfit.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he noted that she was slightly distant and nervous. He peered at her. “Are you okay, M’lady?”

She paused before breaking out into a smile just a tad too wide. “Of course, I am. Why?”

“You seem a bit off today,” he admitted, watching her reaction. She was surprised, but quickly schooled her expression into one of gratitude and “aww.”

“I’m fine,” she poked his nose, “ but thanks for worrying, kitty-cat.” She smiled at him as he analyzed her. She definitely wasn’t fine. He let out a very small sigh that she couldn’t hear. He knew she wanted to keep their personal lives private, and decided not to pry.

He bowed,”May I have this dance?” Ladybug raised an eyebrow, surprised.

“You know how to waltz?” she asked. The only reason she knew was because of the social dancing classes she had to take.

“And quite a few other dances,” he winked. “Give me a few songs and I’ll teach you all of them.”

She laughed, “Nice try, kitty, but you’re not getting more dances out of me that way.”

“It doesn’t hurt to try,” he replied, shrugging. She shook her head silently.

“Yes, you may,” she placed her hand in his and they started dancing.

“You really look nice with your hair down,” Chat commented.

“Enjoy it while you can,” she grinned, “I very rarely let my hair down.”

“Is there a reason for putting it down today?”

She shrugged. “It matches my outfit more than pigtails would,” she explained. He studied her, glancing at her outfit.

“That’s true. Did you design your dress? I’ve never seen anything like,” he asked, mentally going through the list of dresses he’s seen. She smiled.

“Yes, I did! I didn’t really expect it to be so Ladybug-ish but I quite like it,” she gushed excitedly.

“Ladybug-ish?” he asked curiously. She paused, and he knew she was rattled because she missed a step in the dance.

“Oh, um,” she paused, wondering whether or not she should explain, “I think of my personal self and Ladybug and two separate beings.” Chat was surprised, he always assumed that Ladybug’s personal life centered around a girl like Ladybug.

“Why?”

Ladybug looked down at the question, silent. After a minute she partly looked up, staring at him through her eyelashes. “Curiosity killed the cat, you know,” she said quietly. He wondered if she was implying that he wouldn’t like the girl behind the mask, which was impossible.

“Yet satisfaction brought it back,” he replied matter-of-factly, watching her.

“But how do you know you’ll be satisfied?” she asked. She looked so innocent as she looked at him in curiosity, her voice containing a tinge of some kind of desperation. They stopped in the dance, and he leaned closer, his nose touching hers.

“Because, whether it’s the girl in or out of the mask, I’ll always love who you are.”