A/N: Last part!

"I did it! I did it!" sang Adrien as he poked Nino in the chest with both hands. "You didn't think I could do it but I did it! I'm going to the masquerade with Ladybug!"

"I never said that you couldn't do it." Nino told him exasperatedly.

"You totally doubted me." Adrien continued in a singsong voice despite the fact that Nino looked like he was moments away from smacking him.

"Will you quit poking me!" snapped Nino. He stepped out of Adrien's reach. "How does anyone look at you and think you're cool?"

"I don't know honestly." Plagg replied, "He's just a giant homeschooled nerd."

Adrien rolled his eyes but wasn't able to keep the smile off his face. "You two are real killjoys. You know that right. Anyways, I need your help. I've got come up with a masquerade worthy Ladybug costume by the end of the week."

"Ladybug..." Nino repeated. He shot Adrien a raised eyebrow. "You're serious?"

"Believe me, he is." sighed Plagg.

"What!" Adrien threw his hands in the air. "It's a good idea!"

"Keep telling yourself that Adrien." Plagg snickered.

Nino at least looked like he was starting to take Adrien's idea seriously. He tapped his finger on his chin thoughtfully as he sat down on his bed. "You could ask Marinette Cheng to help you. She's really into design and sewing. She could probably help you pull a decent Ladybug costume together fairly quickly. Her friend Alya runs the Ladyblog too so she'd have lots of references. Then again with as much staring at Ladybug you do I doubt you need any help with remembering what her costume looks like."

A little lopsided smirk tugged across Nino's lips. Adrien felt every blood vessel he had rush to his face and neck. Nino doubled over laughing at his expense. Plagg joined in pretty quickly. "Sh... shut up!" whined Adrien as glared at Nino.

They didn't of course so the only thing Adrien could do was try and continue. He quickly thought about Nino's serious suggestion of asking Marinette for help. He dismissed it just as quickly. It wouldn't be fair to her to ask her on such short notice. Adrien shook his head and began to pace the short length of Nino's room. "No I think I can pull something together myself. I'll just need your help tracking down a few items."

"Like a mask and a wig?" offered Nino. Apparently he was done trying to kill Adrien with embarrassment.

"Um, why a wig?" asked Adrien.

"Well you won't have Plagg's magic to disguise you so you need a little bit more than a mask to help conceal your identity." Nino said.

Plagg nodded as he came to sit on Nino's shoulder. "He's right. I don't think anyone will recognize you two as the real Chat Noir and Ladybug but you can't be too careful."

Adrien nodded slowly. Ideas were churning in his brain. He was the son of a famous fashion designer and though he didn't have the same eye for fashion as his father, Adrien hadn't been lying when he'd told Ladybug that he had style. He grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper off of Nino's desk and started sketching out the ideas that were bouncing around in his head. He'd have to convince one of his dad's associates to help him make the costume he had in mind but there were one or two that owed him a favor.

"So are you gonna try and put the moves on Ladybug on this date of your's?" Nino asked.

Adrien jumped in surprise. "Huh?"

"Very eloquent Adrien." sighed Plagg. "Absolutely hopeless."

"Are you going to try and sneak a kiss from Ladybug at the masquerade? It might be the perfect time." Nino repeated.

Adrien felt something claw it's way into his stomach. He'd been shoving it down ever since Ladybug had told him not to buy a ticket to the masquerade. "First of all, it's not a date. Just two friends hanging out."

"Only one of these people happens to be head over heels for the other." Nino reminded him.

"Yeah, and the other was probably likes another person." sighed Adrien.

"What do you mean?" asked Nino.

"I was wondering when you were going to deal with this properly." Plagg said as he rose into the air.

Adrien let out a groan and collapsed backwards on to the foot of Nino's bed with his arms splayed wide. He blew a wayward strand of hair out of his face before speaking. "Ladybug told me not to buy a ticket because she had a spare. As in she had two but didn't need both of them."

"Okay and your point?" Nino asked as he waved his hand through the air dismissively.

"I like to think of myself as a pretty intuitive guy so tell me why Ladybug would have two tickets to a fancy costume party. It definitely wasn't a buy one get one free thing. Those suckers are expensive. I know, I looked."

Nino immediately caught on to what he was saying. "You think she wanted to go with someone else but couldn't."

"Why else would she have two tickets?"

Plagg landed on his chest. Adrien had to crane his neck into an awkward position to see him. "She could've been thinking about going with another friend." Plagg suggested.

"He has a point man," agreed Nino.

"Then why isn't she going with that friend?"

"Could've said no."

"Or just been unable to go."

"I'm telling you guys…" Adrien moaned, "She sounded almost embarrassed and disappointed when she told me she had a ticket I could use. I'd bet anything that there's someone else she has a crush on."

"Adrien, buddy, I think you're overthinking the entire situation. Just focus on having a good time, like you want, and don't freak yourself out over whether or not Ladybug is into someone else."

"Yeah, worry about that brilliant costume of yours instead." Plagg added in with a distinct note of sarcasm. Adrien wasn't paying attention. He closed his eyes. Whoever it was that Ladybug had a crush on, Adrien hoped that person realized just how lucky they were.

X X X

"So, you're going to the masquerade with Chat Noir?" Alya questioned her for the umpteenth time. With each time she asked, her skepticism became more and more pronounced. Marinette waited for the unavoidable second part to the question. Alya didn't disappoint. "As friends?"

"Yes, Alya. Just as friends." sighed Marinette as she shouldered her bag to unlock the door to her apartment.

"It'll be fun!" Tikki said cheerfully as she poked her head out from behind Alya's hair.

Alya twisted her neck in an odd way to look at Tikki. She shot her a look and shook her head in exasperation. "Alya, please stop judging my decisions at the moment and help me get this stuff upstairs." Marinette's voice bordered on begging.

Alya finally let it go and helped Marinette carry all the bags of fabric and embellishments up the stairs to her room. It hadn't taken very long for Marinette to come up with a Chat Noir costume. In fact after telling him she would go to the masquerade with him, Marinette had come home and powered through the design process that very night in a fit of inspiration. She'd laughed at his suggestion as going as one another but Marinette had to give the cat his credit. It gave her the perfect chance to put some "Marinette flair" into his costume. She'd already prepped her patterns and was ready to cut and sew once she had the fabric.

Alya flopped down on the chaise bed that was in Marinette's room as Marinette started to lay out her fabric. Tikki dutifully helped her by making sure all of the wrinkles were smoothed out and the pattern pieces were on straight. "Have you ever thought about it?" Alya asked as she propped her chin up on her hand.

Marinette took the pin out of her mouth in order to answer her. "Thought about what?"

"Y'know," Alya wiggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively, "about you and Chat Noir?"

"What? No! Alya, no. Just no!" The color bled right out of Marinette's face. "I like Adrien, remember?"

"How could I forget mon chѐre? You keep his schedule on a pull down chart." Alya rolled her eyes. "All I'm saying is that Chat Noir is pretty easy on the eyes. Very easy… "

"Would you like me to introduce you two? Might get him off my back." teased Marinette.

Alya snickered, "He's not my type."

"And he's not mine either." Marinette said. She turned back to her fabric and pattern pieces and picked up her scissors. Very carefully Marinette began to cut out the pieces to her costume.

"I think going to the masquerade will be fun. Even if it won't be with Adrien." Tikki offered helpfully as she pulled back the scraps of black fabric from the pattern pieces.

Marinette nodded. "Might as well use the tickets that I bought with Chat Noir."

"Oh no, going to the masquerade will definitely be fun. I'm just worried that he'll forget that you're there as 'just friends' and it isn't 'a date.'" Alya told her, once more getting back to the root of her concern.

"You're going to the masquerade Qīn?" asked Sabine Dupain-Cheng as she came through the door with a tray full of drinks and snacks in her hands. There was a moment of panic that went through Marinette's mind. She gave Tikki a look out of the corner of her eye. Thankfully, Tikki was already dodging out of sight and under a hat.

"Mama!" Marinette exclaimed, "I thought you were down in the bakery?"

Sabine laughed as she sat the tray down on a desk far enough away from Marinette's workspace. Alya was quick to jump off the chaise chair and make her way to the free food. Then again, Marinette was just as fast. There was a reason to move quick when her mom brought her dad's cookies up from the bakery. Marinette would just have to make sure they saved some for Tikki. Sabine gave Marinette and Alya a smile. "I saw you two come upstairs when you got back from the store so I thought I'd pop up to you girls with some snacks."

"Thanks Mrs. Cheng." Alya said happily as she grabbed some iced tea off the tray.

"It's no problem Alya." Sabine said kindly. She turned her attention to Marinette. "I thought you weren't going to go anymore because that boy… Adrien, right? Because Adrien was already going with another person."

"He is," Marinette frowned. The cookie crumbs kind of got stuck in her throat because it was so dry. She reached for the other glass of iced tea that was on the tray.

"So someone else asked you then? Another boy? A cute one?" Sabine said sweetly.

The iced tea went down the wrong side of her throat. Marinette coughed and sputtered as the drink burned all the way to her nose. She clapped her hand over nose and mouth as if that were enough to stop the burning. "I thought as much." Sabine commented.

Marinette managed to get her eyes to stop watering long enough to see the knowing wink her mother shot Alya. Alya blinked and looked at Marinette for direction on what to say and do. Marinette was a little preoccupied though. She was busy trying not to blush so hard. "It isn't like that mama." Marinette said quickly. "He's just a friend."

"Oh? Do I know him?" Sabine asked.

"Ah, no. I don't think you do. He doesn't go to my school." Marinette answered. Maybe it was because her throat was still burning but she somehow managed to keep herself from laughing nervously.

Sabine furrowed her eyebrows together and pursed her lips. "I'm not so sure I like the idea of you going with a boy I don't know. What's his name?"

"Uhh…" Marinette stammered. A cold sweat was threatening to break out on her forehead and hands.

"Félix!" Alya said quickly in voice that was ten times more believable than Marinette would've been able to pull off. "Félix Malheur. He's in my journalism club at the rec center. Super nice and absolutely sweet."

"Oh, I see but Marinette I think your papa and I would like you home by midnight since we don't know him. Alright?"

"Of course mama." mumbled Marinette as she scratched her head.

"What about this costume of yours?" Sabine asked as she got up and wandered over to Marinette's workspace. Tikki had poked her head out from underneath the hat. Marinette waved at her to tell her to take cover. Tikki ducked back into her hiding place as Sabine started to look over the cut black fabric. She looked over at the pile of designs that were sitting beside the fabric curiously. "What exactly are you going as?"

Marinette scratched the back of her neck and grinned weakly. "Chat Noir." she admitted sheepishly. "Silly I know but…"

"That is a wonderful idea!" Sabine told her with genuine excitement in her voice. She turned, clapping her hands together, and gave Marinette an up and down look. "Are you going to find a blonde wig and cat ears for the night?"

"I was going to make a mask with cat ears." Marinette said.

Alya gasped in delight, "A blonde wig! Mrs. Cheng that's genius! Oh Marinette that would be perfect!"

Marinette opened her mouth to protest. She didn't want to give Chat Noir any fuel for his ego. Marinette could see him having too many things to say about her wanting to copy him down to the last detail. Then a second thought crossed her mind. Ladybug had black hair, not blonde. Marinette didn't think anyone would recognize her as Ladybug aside from Chat Noir but it might be a good idea to do something a little extra to keep her identity safe. Plus it would keep that sneaky cat from trying to guess her alter ego. Marinette looked over at Alya. That must have been the thought that she was going for because there was big grin on her face.

"I like the idea mama. I'll add it to my list of things to get before the masquerade. Thank you." Marinette told her mother before kissing her on the cheek.

"It's my pleasure. I'll leave you girls to it. I have to get back down to the bakery now."

"Thank you Mrs. Cheng!"

"See you later mama."

The door closed with a click. Marinette listened to her mother's footsteps get quieter and quieter. "You can come out now Tikki." Marinette called.

"Did you save me a cookie?" Tikki asked.

Alya held one up, "Yep! Come and get it."

"Yay!" cried Tikki as she zoomed across the room for the cookie in Alya's hand. Marinette turned to her friend. She shot her a critical raised eyebrow.

"Félix Malheur?" she questioned with a snort.

"What?" shrugged Alya, "Félix… feline? It works right?"

"You literally gave Chat an alias that literally means good luck, bad luck."

Alya giggled a little. "A happy coincidence."

Marinette rolled her eyes, "I'm sure but thanks for covering for me."

X X X

Marinette peeked around the corner of the building. People were making their way into the museum slowly. There was even a valet for parking and a red carpet for the guests arriving. Marinette pulled back behind the corner and fixed the black Venetian style cat mask over her eyes. It was a pretty thing that she'd spent most of her afternoon putting the finishing touches of lace and rhinestones on. "You look so pretty!" Tikki breathed as she floated next to her.

"Thanks Tikki," blushed Marinette. She smoothed down the folds and wrinkles in her black chiffon dress. Not that there were really any. The skirt hung gently around her waist and flowed delicately with each movement she made. At her waist was shimmering black satin bow that trailed down the length of the dress. The sweetheart neckline bodice was annoyingly bare simply because she hadn't given herself enough time for embellishments but Marinette had made up for it on the capped lace sleeves that were on her shoulders. Her mother had been more enthusiastic about the blonde wig than she'd realized and had managed to procure one and style it in simple bun for her. Alya had found her black velvet choker with a gold bell in the middle because "everyone knew that Chat Noir had a bell."

"Alright, into the bag you go Tikki. Don't want Chat to see you." Marinette told her as she held open the small clutch bag she brought with her. Tikki dropped into it and handed her the tickets before settling in for a night of observing human culture.

Marinette brushed a stray strand of blonde from her face and left the darkness of the building's shadow. As she walked to the cross walk, she looked about for Chat Noir. It was close enough to eight and he was, surprisingly, pretty punctual whenever he promised to meet her somewhere. Irritation started to niggle its way through her mind though when she didn't see hide or hair of any boy that could possibly be him. "Wow! You really went all out didn't you my lady?" said a black haired boy that fell into step beside her as the light to cross changed.

"Chat!" Marinette exclaimed as she jumped sideways. She couldn't keep the wide eyed look off her face.

Chat Noir bent over in a formal bow. "Who else? Blonde hair? I'm guessing a wig because you were so dedicated to the costume. I could've swore that you weren't sold on the idea."

"You're one to talk." Marinette told him as she looked him up and down. Thankfully, he wasn't wearing a red and black spotted leotard. He was, however, wearing a black wig with red tipped ends that was styled to fall wildly around the sides of his face. The mask on his face looked remarkably similar to her own Ladybug mask but that's not where the red and black spots stopped. He was wearing a charcoal gray dress shirt underneath a red and black spotted waistcoat. Marinette would guess silk judging by the way the material hung to the hard lines of his torso. Over top his black, pressed dress slacks was a red and black ladybug pocket watch on a gold chain. About the only thing that hadn't change and actually distinguished him as Chat Noir was the broad grin on his face.

"I told you I had infinitely more style but it looks like I can't even come close to yours. You look great."

Marinette laughed, "You don't look so bad yourself kitty… or should I call you Ladybug tonight? Ladbug? Bug Boy? I'm not sure. Ladybug doesn't really work very well for a gender swap does it?"

"Eh," he shrugged, "Not really but that's alright. Shall we go?"

Chat Noir offered his bent arm to her. Marinette wrapped her own arm through his, making sure that she kept a non-intimate, platonic, "totally not a date" distance between them. If Chat Noir noticed her hesitation he was gentleman enough not to say anything about it. At the door Marinette handed over the two tickets and the pair of them wandered into the lobby of the museum. "Oh wow!" murmured Marinette.

She couldn't help it but she stopped dead in her tracks. The lobby was washed in gold and red. The crystal chandeliers threw rainbow light all over the walls and the skylights displayed the stars in the night sky. People in all sorts of costumes, from formal to silly, mingled on the floor. The light chatter rose above her with none of the conversations discernable to her ears. A string quartet was playing music at the base of a wooden dance floor but there was a DJ booth set up to take over at some point in the night. There were already couples on the floor dancing to the music. "It's pretty isn't it?" Chat Noir said softly, just as taken by their surroundings.

"It's like a fairy tale." Marinette agreed. A camera flashed over in the corner and Chat Noir looked over at it.

"Let's go get our picture taken!" he suggested, turning to her with a wide smile.

Marinette shot him a look. "Are you crazy?"

Chat Noir huffed an overdramatic sigh, "My friend told me 'pics or it didn't happen.'"

It took every ounce of her being not to smack herself in the face with her palm. Doing so would've knocked her mask off. "Listen Chat," she whispered, "I'm not going to get on you about telling someone you were coming to the masquerade with me because that would be hypocritical of me. I am not, though, going to let someone take a photo of us just so you can show it off to your buddy. What if he recognizes me?"

"He won't. I promise. No one will even recognize us. Our costumes are too good. Look!" he told her before turning to someone in a stylized peacock costume and saying, "Love the costume mon ami!"

The person looked at him startled but laughed and replied, "Thank you. Not many guys dressed up as Ladybug tonight. Most of them wanted to be Chat Noir."

Marinette gaped as Chat Noir shrugged, "What can I say, even my friend here wanted to be Chat Noir. Luckily I'm alright being the unique one in a Ladybug outfit."

The person laughed and turned away. Marinette glared at him and drove her elbow into his side. "What was that about?" she demanded.

"See? No one realizes it us. That guy just looked straight at us and saw two party goers. Not the heroes of Paris."

"You really want this picture don't you?" sighed Marinette. Chat Noir smiled sheepishly and held up a finger.

"Just one little photo. That's it. I promise not to make it weird and I'll pay for your copy."

"Alright fine." Marinette shook her head and Chat Noir let out a very loud whoop. She would've drawn back in shock but he'd already grabbed her hand. Marinette struggled to keep up with him as he dragged her over to the photographer.

"Aw, how sweet. Young love." cooed the photographer as they settled in front of the backdrop.

"N...no!" Marinette stuttered as she started to wave her hands in denial.

"Nah, just two friends hanging out for the evening." winked Chat Noir as he pulled Marinette close to him. He held out a two fingered peace sign to the camera, stuck out his tongue, and winked. Marinette was laughing when the light went off which she was sure resulted in a puffed cheek, lip biting expression. The photographer looked at them as if they'd grown two extra heads. It didn't last long though.

"Can I, uh, have a name and an address to send the purchase information too?" asked the photographer. Chat Noir gave her a wink and a pat on the shoulder before sauntering over. He beckoned the photographer down to whisper in her ear. Something he said must have shocked her because her jaw hit the ground. Chat Noir pulled away from her.

"You understand right?" he asked her.

"Yes, of course sir. It won't be an issue." the photographer assured him quickly. Marinette didn't miss the note of awe in her voice.

"What did you tell her?" Marinette questioned as Chat Noir lead her away from the still staring photographer.

"Where to send the photos. Had to give her some special instructions but…"

Marinette jerked to a stop. "You didn't tell her who we were did you?" she whispered in horror.

"Have a little more faith in me my lady. Your secrets are more than safe with me." Chat Noir teased as he leaned in close to whisper in her ear.

"Chat…" Marinette shifted uncomfortably. Of course he meant nothing by it still unnerved her.

He drew back quickly, holding his hands up. The look on his face was pained. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I made it weird."

"It's fine." Marinette sighed, "Let's just not make it a recurring thing tonight okay?"

"Yeah, totally. Um… how about we get some punch? That's not awkward right."

Marinette stifled a giggle. "No. Punch is normal. Haven't you ever been to one of these kind of parties before?"

"Not unsupervised." Chat informed her as he winked.

"Great." sighed Marinette as she shook her head. "I guess that makes me your babysitter then."

"Aren't you always?"

"Get me some punch you nitwit."

"Right punch!" Chat Noir laughed nervously. He scurried off towards the buffet table and Marinette hurried after him. She definitely didn't want him to make a fool of himself or attract attention to them. He might not have any clue who she was but there were other people that Marinette might know in attendance. Adrien for example.

Her heart stopped beating. Marinette quickly threw a glance around the museum in search of a blonde haired guy. Adrien was supposed to be here tonight. What if Adrien saw her and recognized her? Her throat started to constrict as she thought about what would happen if he saw her and called out to her while she was with Chat Noir. That would be a disaster and her secret identity promise with Chat Noir would be up in flames. Sure, Marinette supposed she could ignore Adrien if he called out to her by name but she didn't think she was physically capable of doing that. It seemed like a sure fire way to ruin any chance with him. Then something worse flitted through her brain.

What if Marinette saw Adrien with his date? She didn't think she could handle that!

Marinette pulled her eyes away from the crowd. It was better not to look for that sort of scene right? Then again, there were other things that she didn't necessarily want to see either such as Chat Noir shoving a handful of cheese cubes into the inside pocket of his waistcoat. Marinette stared at him. "Taking some for the road?" she commented dryly.

A bright red blush spread across Chat Noir's face to go with the mask he was wearing. He waved his hands through the air as he tried to find the right words. "I, uh, how do I explain this… um…"

Marinette felt her clutch tap lightly against her hip and a realization dawned on her. Tikki was in her bag. Chat Noir's kwami must have been with him too. It made sense. Marinette winked at him before reaching over and grabbing a couple of cheese cubes off the table to and inserting them into her bag. She pressed her fingers to her lips and winked to tell Chat Noir that she understood. He visibly relaxed. "My friend can be a real pain sometimes." he admitted as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Aren't all friends like that?" Marinette told him. He offered her a glass of punch in a long stemmed glass flute. "It's so fancy!"

"I know. It's kinda funny. Kinda cool though." he agreed.

"Very. I've never done anything like this before."

"It's much more fun with a friend believe me. My father's taken me to a couple of these things before but it's always so boring. He kind of just expects me to stand quietly by his side and be the perfect accessory."

Marinette frowned, "That sounds really depressing. That and I can't exactly see you as quiet in any sense of the word."

"I can be when the time calls for it. I absolutely hate it though. There's too much silence in my house."

Marinette squeezed his forearm gently. Chat Noir looked as though his mind had stopped working as he stared down at her hand. She smiled at him, "Loud and brash is alright by me. I'm just glad you feel like you can be yourself around me… even if you are a complete dork."

"I am not a complete dork!" Chat Noir whined. "I do know some cool stuff too. I fence you know and dance!"

"Gangam style and moonwalking doesn't count as cool dancing Chat." she smirked.

"Okay first of all, I have no idea what you're talking about because both take an incredibly amount of skill and coordination."

"Sure whatever you say." Marinette snickered. Chat Noir ignored her.

"And second of all, I am an excellent dancer. At least so I've been told." he bragged as he motioned to the dance floor.

Marinette snorted, "You're going to have to prove that to me Chat. I think you're full of hot air."

"Challenge accepted!" Chat Noir told her with a very cat like grin. He held his hand out to her. "May I have the honor my lady because I'm about to prove to you that I'm a very capable dancer."

"There's that overconfidence of yours." Marinette teased him as she sat her glass down and took his hand.

"It isn't overconfidence if I can back my claims up." he told her as he lead her straight to the edge of wooden dance floor.

The string quartet had taken a break at some point while they'd been standing and chatting at the buffet table and the DJ had taken over. Some loud American pop song was pumping through the speakers. For one really horrible second, Marinette remembered just how clumsy Chat Noir could be. Then she remembered just how clumsy she could be. That was enough to make her turn tail and flee the dance floor. Chat Noir had a firm grip on her hands though as he threaded his fingers through hers.

The first few moves he made, she ruined for him by stepping in the wrong place. Chat Noir definitely had to notice but said absolutely nothing as he repeated the same steps over again. The first song wasn't even over before he had her bobbing back and forth in time to the beat of the song with a few helpful hints. By the second upbeat pop song, Chat Noir was grinning from ear to ear and incorporating a few simpler spins and turns. It was only working in tandem with Chat Noir to fight akumas that let Marinette have even a smallest inkling of what move he was guiding her into next. Even then she still managed to make mistakes and it was only his ability that kept her from completely throwing the two of them off at times. He always laughed it off in a way that made her laugh too.

"Alright, I take it back. You know what you're doing on the dance floor." laughed Marinette as upbeat song number three neared the last few bars.

Chat Noir winked at her, "Told you so. You aren't half bad yourself."

"Thanks," Marinette told him.

The tempo changed dramatically. A slow and wistful love song poured through the speakers and suddenly several more dancers flooded the dance floor. Marinette and Chat Noir were pushed further towards the center. It also occurred to her that it was very possible that if Adrien and his date hadn't been on the floor now, they probably were now. She looked around nervously. "Hey…" Chat Noir's voice cut through her mounting worry. Marinette turned to look at him. He was chewing on his lip nervously. Chat Noir pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "If you want we don't have to dance a slow one."

Marinette shook her head, "No, no it's fine. Just nothing fancy alright?"

"Okay," he mumbled. Another blush was starting to creep on to his face. He stepped in close to her and hesitantly wrapped his hand around her waist. The poor guy also had a hard time looking her in the eye. Marinette pressed her lips together as she draped her arm over his shoulder and tried not to think to hard about where Adrien might be. It didn't work very well.

She and Chat Noir swayed back and forth gently as the singer sang about heroes and good men. As she followed his lead in their small, tight circle Marinette kept glancing around. Couples were spinning closer and closer to them. Again the pictures of seeing Adrien dancing with his date was making her legs shake. "Who are you looking for?" Chat Noir asked quietly as his fingers fluttered against her hand.

"Huh," Marinette snapped her attention back to Chat Noir abruptly.

"You keep looking around." Chat Noir told her. There was something in his voice, an emotion she couldn't quite place. The tension in his arms and shoulders was palpable. Marinette could feel how tight his muscles were. It was as though he were physically holding himself in check. Or her at bay. "Are they... are they here?" he asked her haltingly.

"Who?" Marinette looked at him in confusion.

Chat Noir cleared his throat to buy himself some time to find the words. "You, um, bought two tickets to this thing right? You were planning on asking someone else, someone you really like, but they told you no."

Marinette drew back in shock. Chat Noir's fingers trailed on her side as he let her get the space she needed. However, he still held on to her other hand. "How did you know that?" she demanded.

"I guessed." he explained lamely. Disappointment and hurt. That's what Marinette heard in his voice. He was upset. Once more Chat Noir couldn't meet her eyes. He scratched the back of his neck and shuffled his feet.

"I don't want to talk about him." she muttered. Chat Noir nodded stiffly.

The song played on, almost mournful now as the singer pined after a love that she waited so long for but didn't seem to be there. People were giving them strange looks because they were just standing in the middle of the dance floor. Marinette shifted awkwardly. "Um, do you want to get off the dance floor or..."

"No, let's just finish the dance." Marinette answered half-heartedly.

She stepped back towards Chat Noir and placed her hand on his shoulder again. He made a point of keeping her at a farther distance than when they'd first started. His entire body seemed like it was still just as tightly coiled, like a spring. "For what it's worth, I know you don't like me the same way I like you and I'm okay with that." Chat Noir said, his voice just above a whisper, "I'm glad to be just your friend. And… I know it's your life and you're going to do whatever it is you want to do but I will be whatever you need me to be. Friend, confidant, partner, whatever. I'm here and that's all I'll ever want."

A soft smile tugged on her lips. How long had he been working up the courage to tell her that she wondered. "I know and thank you." Marinette replied. "You're one of the few people I trust fully."

Chat Noir finally managed to look her in the eyes again instead of at his feet. It was almost strange, she decided, to see his bright green eyes with normal human pupils rather than cat ones. The mask he was wearing made them look so much bigger than usual. Chat Noir gave her a weak smile and laughed a little under his breath. "Yeah, me too. Friends forever?" he asked her hopefully.

Marinette pushed herself closer to him and hugged him. "Definitely!" she promised.

Chat Noir's response was to promptly spin her in a wider circle and nearly take out another dancing couple. "Excellent because I think you're the only friend I have that I can slow dance with not get weird looks directed at me." he joked.

Marinette laughed and just like that the tension that was in Chat Noir's body disappeared. The awkwardness that had fallen melted away and the song ended on a light and hopeful note.

X X X

Chat Noir's waistcoat was definitely silk. Marinette felt the soft material on her cheek as she brushed against it to stifle a yawn. He was leading her on his arm to the corner of the street. "You didn't have to walk me out." she told him as she did her best not to sound so tired.

He gave as good a shrug and grinned, "It's not a big deal. Besides, you're dead on your feet Cinderella."

"Why did I ever tell you I had a curfew?" muttered Marinette.

"Don't know. Could've saved you a lot of headache had you not told me." he snickered. Chat Noir raised his hand into the air at the end of the sidewalk. A waiting taxi cab pulled up to them. Chat Noir disengaged himself from Marinette's arm to open up the door for her. Whoever had raised him had done really well. He was a perfect gentleman. "For you my lady." he said as he gave a little bow.

"Thanks." she replied as she got in. Chat Noir bent down and looked into the cab at the driver.

"Where ever she wants to go." he told the driver as he handed over a couple of folded bills. He turned to look at her again. "Thanks for coming with me tonight."

"It was a lot of fun. Best 'not a date' ever."

Chat Noir's face lit up. "Really?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Good night."

"You too. See you soon I'm sure." he answered before shutting the door to the cab.

The driver pulled away from the sidewalk curb and Marinette told him her address. She plucked the mask strings from her face and pulled it away before taking off the wig. Marinette sneaked a peak into her clutch at Tikki. The cheese she'd put in there earlier was gone and Tikki was fast asleep inside. She snapped the clutch closed again and leaned her head back against the headrest. "Not a bad night at all."

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited!

paradisepine: I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm just happy that everyone has enjoyed it so much.

CriXar Gem: I thought it would be fun too! There's just something about a ball/costume party type set up that I love!

Meiousei Dark: One magical dance as requested!

serima: There are so many character relationships/dynamics that I love in this show. I believe Adrien is a giant nerd when he's alone with Nino while Nino and Plagg just kind of shake their head in unison at Adrien's antics. Tikki and Alya are a horrible combination for Marinette because they just kind of egg each other on.

Sesshomarusama3: Don't cry! This isn't a sad story! It's a fluffy story lol! I'm glad you like it.

Morning Grace: One update as requested! I'm happy that you enjoyed it!