Chat frowned at the offer.  His father went to this ball every year to talk to some of his business partners and try to learn something about his competitors.  It was very big in their social circle, and he had never found it interesting. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember if Adrien Agreste was expected to attend this year.  He couldn't just pull out his schedule and check, after all.

He opened his mouth to answer, but Ladybug beat him to it.  Thankfully, she seemed as reluctant to go as he was.  His relief was short-lived as Chloe continued to push and Ladybug had no choice but to accept the invitation.  

"Unfortunately, I'm pretty busy this weekend. So.." he began. But the look in Ladybug's eyes was enough to make him pause. It was obvious she did not want to go to a party full of rich people, let alone Chloe.  "I guess I'll just have to schedule everything else around it. I'll definitely be there."

The mayor grinned, "Thank you both! It will be a pleasure to have you."  The mayor gave them a few more details about the ball before the conversation was over.  Once they were done, he and Ladybug went their separate ways and he headed back to his house.

"I'm surprised you said yes. Don't you hate those type of parties?" Plagg said as Adrien detransformed in his room.

"Yeah, but I can't just abandon Ladybug. She didn't seem to want to go, and she wouldn't have any fun if she was there alone.  Besides," he looked at his phone, "I'm going to be there anyway. Might as well be there as Chat Noir."

"Wait?  You're going there as Adrien and then turning into Chat Noir while you're there?  Don't you think that's a bad idea?" 

"It's not a great idea, but it will be fine.  I'll take plenty of cheese so you don't get tired.  Plus, my dad ignores me once he gets into his business talk.  He won't even notice I'm gone," Adrien said, trying to sound less concerned than he really was.  

Plagg was not convinced. "If you say so."

After Marinette met up with Alya, they went and got ice cream. In the ice cream parlor they were able to find a table in the back. The girls sat across from each other. Marinette handed Tikki a sample spoon that she grabbed from the counter. Tikki dipped it into Marinette's ice cream and took a bite. 

"So what was the meeting about?" Alya asked. When they met up Marinette told her she would talk about it while they were eating.

"The mayor wants me and Chat to go to his ball," Marinette replied. It was noisy so no one could hear them.

"Oh? The Gran Gala? My mom is catering for that. She's low on staff at the moment so I got drafted."

"You didn't tell me you were going."

Alya shrugged and took a bite of her ice cream. "We didn't have plans for Saturday so I didn't think about mentioning it."

"What are you doing? Is there a dinner?" Marinette started to tense up. Eating with a bunch of rich people would be nerve racking.

"No. They're just severing appetizers and drinks. I have to walk around and offer people food."

Marinette looked relived.

"Judging by your expressions you don't want to go to this."

"No, not really. It's a different social circle so I will feel so out place. Plus I was really looking forward to some me time."

"Then why are you going?"

"Chloe."

Alya laughed. "Of course. Well, at least I'll be there. I'll make sure you won't do anything embarrassing."

Marinette's eyes lit up. Tikki just giggled. 

"I have helped my mom in the past for these kind of things. So I know some rich etiquette."

"What are you going to tell your parents?" Tikki chimed in.

"Oh, god! I didn't think about that.." Marinette sunk in her seat. 

"Just tell them your spending the night my place. Hey! I'll ask my mom if you can help out at the ball. It will make easier for you to get into The Palace."

"That's a great idea, Alya!" Marinette took a bite of her ice cream.

"Alright then it's settle. I'll text you tomorrow morning. I won't see my mom until tomorrow. She's getting things ready at this moment."

The next morning while Marinette was sleeping, Tikki got up and headed to Adrien's house. She flew to his bedroom window and saw Plagg was alone and sleeping on a pillow on Adrien's bed. Of course he would still be asleep. Tikki flew through the window and over to Plagg. Last night she was up thinking about ways to get Marinette to fall for Chat. She landed next Plagg and pulled on his tail. It was the only way to get him up. "Morning, Plagg!"

Plagg hissed at the sudden interruption to his slumber. He was about to snap at Adrien when he heard Tikki's voice instead and opened his eyes to see the other kwami smiling at him.  "Tikki...?" 

He stretched before sitting up and flying over to the mini-fridge.  There was some camembert on top that he decided to grab.  It looked like Adrien had also left a chocolate chip muffin on the nearby table. His partner was probably saving it for later, but Plagg figured he could snatch it this once.

Plagg brought both over and sat the muffin in front of Tikki.  "So, what's going on?"

Tikki's eyes widen, when Plagg brought her a muffin. She was unsure about eating it, but it looked so good. Living in a bakery has corrupted her. She took a bite of it before answering his question. "So since our partners are attending this ball. This our chance to have Marinette fall for Chat. I'm going to deck out her outfit. You need to make Chat look handsome."

Plagg thought for a moment.  "It's been a while since I've done anything with formal wear. I'll have to look up some good examples. You have it easy, though. Adrien's already in love with Ladybug."

Plagg grabbed his cheese and flew to the desk to turn on Adrien's computer. Last time their partners needed to be formally dressed up was probably Victorian era. He had a feeling some things had gone out of style since then, and he never really paid attention if or when Adrien modeled those types of clothes.  A few moments of searching was enough for him to get a rough idea of what he should do.

He turned back to Tikki.  "I know exactly what to do with him.  Good thing he's a model.  I could put him in a chicken suit and he'd still be fine." The kwami's eyes glinted mischievously at the thought.  Maybe sometime in the future...

Tikki just laughed. She then flew over to him and patted him on the head. "Don't be mean to him." She then glanced at Adrien's alarm clock. "I better go Marinette is probably waking up. See you tonight." She then kissed him on the forehead and flew out the bedroom's window.

She returned to Marinette's room and found her owner was already out of bed. She floated down to the sub level and found her sitting at her desk checking her email. "Morning."

"Tikki," Marinette turned to face her kwami. "Where did you go?"

"I flew around the city for a bit. I just wanted fresh air," Tikki lied. She felt like Marinette would get suspicious if you she told her the truth.

Marinette just nodded her head and went back to her email. Tikki floated around and saw that she had an over night bag packed. She figured that Alya's mother said yes to her helping out. 

Later that night Marinette and Alya were standing staff woman's bathroom. They were going over the plan for the evening. Alya had a map of the ballroom which showed shortcuts for the staff members. Alya had them highlighted.

"This entry way leads to the kitchen. It's probably your best bet for an emergency escape," Alya spoke as she pointed her figure on the map.

Marinette nodded her head. 

"You should be fine," Tikki spoke. "You can stay as Ladybug for quite sometime if you don't use your powers."

"The ball ends at midnight though."

"It should be fine."

"I just hope there isn't an akuma attack."

"Alright, I better get going. If my mom notices your absence I'll tell her you're not feeling well," Alya spoke and put the map in her pocket. 

"Thanks, Alya." Marinette's friend then left the bathroom. Marinette glanced at herself in the mirror then frowned. She then turned to her kwami. "Won't I be out of place with my Ladybug costume?"

Tikki just smiled. "I can change it."

"You can?"

"Yes, every Ladybug had their own costume."

"Okay then, I guess we should get going to..." Marinette still wasn't thrilled about this.

"Relax, Marinette you're going to have fun tonight!"

Marinette loved how optimistic Tikki was sometimes. "Alright, Tikki Spots On!" The kwami then flew into her earring and she became Ladybug.  She turned and to looked at herself in the mirror. Instead of her usual bodysuit Ladybug was now wearing a red and black polka dotted ball gown dress. She also was wearing a pair of red high heels and red gloves. Ladybug's hair was also put up into a bun. "Not bad, Tikki." Ladybug then left the bathroom and made her way to the ball room. She could hear the other guests arriving.

Adrien returned around mid-afternoon to find the muffin he'd sneaked into his room was gone.  He narrowed his eyes and looked over at Plagg. "Hey, did you touch that muffin I had over there?" he asked. 

Plagg looked up from the bed where he was sitting and cocked his head cluelessly.  "Muffin?  I don't remember there being a muffin.  When did you put it there." his tail twitched, betraying his rather obvious lie.

Adrien crossed his arms, "You ate it, didn't you?  I didn't know you liked sweets..."

Plagg shrugged. "I might have, in a moment of weakness, eaten that muffin.  You know, I can eat other things besides cheese.  I just prefer cheese over everything else. Maybe you should leave your muffins somewhere less obvious."

"Plagg, we talked about how much work it was to get the muffin in here last night!  There is an entire cheese stash in this room. Why in the world would you decide to focus on a muffin this one time?"

The kwami frowned as if suddenly realizing how important the muffin actually was to him. "Sorry...  I won't do it again..  So where did you go this morning?"

Adrien decided to drop it at that point. Getting Plagg to apologize at all was like pulling teeth; a long and sometimes painful process.  "I needed some last minute tailoring for my suit tonight. Not that I'll be using it for long while I'm at the ball.  Speaking of which, what is Chat wearing to the ball?  Black bodysuit doesn't exactly fit in with rich, formal gatherings."

"Oh, don't worry.  I can make your costume whatever it needs to be.  I already have an idea.  It's going to be good," Plagg answered.

Adrien stared at him, ready to ask what kind of outfit the kwami planned to put him in.  Unfortunately, he didn't get the chance to ask before it was time for his Chinese lessen.  He wouldn't get any free time after the ball.


That night, he and his father rode quietly in the back of their limo, both in nice suits.  He was not ready to be here, but at least he would see Ladybug. His time as Chat Noir would definitely be the highlight of his night.

They entered the Palace and began making the rounds to each of his father's business partners to exchange pleasantries.  A few congratulated him with his continued success as a teen model.  He thanked them but didn't care either way.  His mind was on deciding when to sneak away and transform. It would probably take a little while for his father to decide to completely ignore him.  Hopefully, Ladybug didn't show up too early compared to him.

Ladybug entered the ballroom and the party was already in full swing. She glanced around and saw no signs of Chat. She slowly walked around the big groups of people. Ladybug wasn't the best in high heels. She only wore them, when she went out to eat at nice restaurants with her family. As walked she was stopped by people. Every single person who talked to her asked for a photo. Of course she let them because didn't want to cause a scene.

"Walk like you normally do," a voice said trying not to laugh. Ladybug turned and saw Alya standing there with a tray of food. 

"I'm trying," Ladybug whine and then whispered. "You know how clumsy I can be."

"Just don't think about it."

"I'll try."

"Well, good luck." Alya then walked away.

Ladybug took a deep breath and told herself to walk like she was wearing her sneakers. She turned and ended up smacking right into a person. "Ah!! I'm sorry!!!" Ladybug's face turned red out of embarrassment. The person turned and it happened to be Mr. Agreste. She then noticed that Adrien was standing right next to him. Ladybug bit hard on her lip to hold in a gasp. Of course they would be here!! She kicked herself for not thinking about that.

From afar Alya noticed the predicament. She just laughed to herself and pulled out her phone and started to record them. "This will be an interesting night."

Adrien had seen the collision coming. He had even opened his mouth to say something, anything, to get Ladybug's attention before she rammed right into his father, but he hadn't been able to call up the words in time. Now all all three of them were staring at each other in a train wreck of awkward silence.

"Amazing. One of our great heroes seems to have no awareness of her surroundings," Gabriel said, staring down at Ladybug with a critical eye.

"It's no trouble, really," Adrien interjected quickly with a soft smile. He'd taken a step forward in his excitement to see her. 

His heart was racing as he looked over his partner's outfit.  Her kwami had did a wonderful job of making her look absolutely stunning, choosing a dress that not only flattered her figure but also looked like something he'd expect to see on a runway.  He couldn't take her eyes off of her, and he could feel a small blush forming on his cheeks.

His father gave him an unamused glance, and Adrien quickly fell back into a reserved look at his side.  Gabriel looked back to Ladybug, "It is nice to meet you," he said, backtracking a little bit, "How are you doing this evening?  It seems like you're not used to formal attire."

Ladybug couldn't keep her eyes off Adrien. He looked so gorgeous in his suit. She felt her heart racing and her cheeks were still red. She snapped out of her gaze, when his father started talking to her. She frowned at his comment, but a smiled returned, when Adrien defended her.

"I'm doing well, sir," she replied to his question as she tried to hold back a glare. Why was his father so rude? " No, not really. Superheroes typically don't attend formal parties after all." She couldn't hold back the sass. She wasn't Marinette so it wasn't like she was going to see him again.

Adrien couldn't decide if he wanted to look at his father's expression or look away to give him a chance to subdue the small laugh trying to escape his lips.  He was so used to being open around her that it was overshadowing his typically quiet demeanor.

Unfortunately, he landed on a mixture of both options as he glanced at his dad with a grin that said 'she got you' a little too clearly.  He quickly glanced away when he realized what he was doing.

Gabriel stared at his son for a moment, trying to understand where his sudden shift in behavior was coming from. He would have to talk to his son later.  Looking back at Ladybug, he nodded, "I guess you're right. It looks like Chat Noir decided not to come. So, any closer to figuring out who or what is causing these attacks, or is Paris just going to continue living in fear?"

'Yes, where is that damn cat?' Ladybug thought to herself. 'It would be great if he saved me from this conversation.' She then frowned at Mr. Agreste's question. Did he really have to ask that? It was none of his business. She put on a cool face."Chat and I are currently working on it. Paris has nothin.."

"Ladybug!!!!" shouted a familiar voice. Ladybug turned and saw Chloe running toward them. "I have been looking everywhere for you!" She then linked arms with her. "Let's go hang out!" Chloe then dragged Ladybug off.

"Ah!! Chloe! I can't run in heels!" Ladybug nearly shouted, but the blond wasn't pay attention at all. She dragged her to the other side of the ballroom. Ladybug got out of her grasp at once. 

"Let's take a selfie!" Chloe said in excitement and got out her phone.

"Don't you have enough photos of me?"

"But you're never smiling in them." Chloe actually looked hurt.

Ladybug just stared at her. It was hard to believe that Chloe actually had feelings sometimes. "Alright let's take a selfie." Chloe's eyes lit up and they took a picture together.

Adrien watched as Chloe dragged Ladybug off to take pictures.  He wasn't sure who she disliked being around more now; Chloe or his father. He glanced at his father in confusion. Why had he acted that way towards Ladybug? Then Adrien had to ask himself why he was surprised. His father always had a cold edge to him.

He shook his head. No time to to think about it. Chat Noir should already be here by now, and he was not going to leave Ladybug with Chloe for any longer than he had to.  He didn't want her patience wearing too thin to early in the evening.

"Hey, dad? Is it okay if I go to the restroom and then mingle for a bit?" he asked.

Gabriel had also been watching Ladybug leave, his fist clenched. The miraculous had been so close and yet taking it now would reveal his identity not only to his enemies but also to the entire upper class of Paris.

He sighed and turned to Adrien, "Go ahead. Just make sure you check in occasionally. And try to interact with someone who will actually further your status in the fashion industry if you can."

Adrien nodded, "Alright. Thank you."  He left the ball room and headed toward one of the restrooms on the other side of the hotel. No one would be in it at this time of night; or so he hoped.

"Wow, that was a disaster.  Never knew your father hated superheroes," Plagg said, creeping out from his hiding spot in Adrien's jacket and landing on his shoulder.

"I'm not surprised. He doesn't seem to like anyone who doesn't do what he thinks is important," Adrien answered as he entered one of the empty stalls. "It's not like it matters, anyway.  You ready, Plagg?"

Plagg shrugged, "Let's get this over with."

Adrien nodded, "Alright, Plagg. Claws out!"

Magic washed over him, changing his suit from the standard look to something with slightly more flare. The jacket was a black, modern cut that showed off his figure. It was paired with a green striped tie that went from lighter greens on the top and bottom to a rich darker green in the middle. The inside of the suit had a green lining that was just visible poking out of the sleeves. Pulling the jacket together were the small, green cuff links that were subtly shaped like paw pads.

Chat Noir looked over his outfit and nodded, approvingly. He had been worried Plagg was planning something awful, but apparently he was mistaken.

He headed back to the ball room, making sure he entered from the front rather than the side door he'd left from.  A quick survey of the room pinpointed his partner and Chloe hanging out in one of the corners of the room.  Chloe was still excitedly taking pictures while talking about something or other that had to do with Ladybug while Ladybug looked like her patience was wearing thin.

Chat headed straight for them while briefly greeting anyone who spoke to him.  Thankfully, it didn't take long to reach them.  "Good evening, ladies. Chloe, do you mind if I borrow my companion for a bit?" he asked, a charming grin on his face.

"Now, let's do a Charlie's Angels pose!" Chloe spoke in excitement. 

"Haven't we taken enough photos?" Ladybug protested. She was starting to loose her patience. Then suddenly she heard Chat's voice. Ladybug turned and was shocked by his appearance. He looked good. Damn good. Ladybug glanced at Chloe and she looked shocked as well. It took her moment come out of shock. "You don't mind do you, Chloe? My partner and I have business we need to attend to."

"I, uh sure.." Chloe was only managed to say.

Chat then took Ladybug's hand and guided her across the ballroom. As they walked she couldn't keep her eyes off him. They found an area that wasn't surrounded by people. "Well, you cleaned up good." Ladybug then kicked herself. Did she really just say that!?

Chat was amused by the shock on their faces. Did his alter ego look so uncivilized that seeing him in a suit was enough to blow their minds?  Well, hopefully Chloe didn't suddenly add Chat to her list of obsessions.  Having her all over him as Adrien was already too much.

They moved away from Chloe and to a nice secluded area. He was already enjoying his time with her when she complimented him.  

He smiled at her and tried to refrain from making any sassy remark that might point directly to his modeling. "You may not believe it, but quite a few girls think civilian me is handsome," he said, motioning to himself with mock bravado before smiling at her, "But your beauty eclipses all others."