Marinette clutched her creation closer to her chest as she ran through the sea of people crowded backstage. A panicked glance at the clock reminded the young designer that she only had about half an hour before the school-sponsored fashion show began. This particular fashion show wasn't the first she had participated in; however, it was the first design contest that Gabriel Agreste was judging.

Gabriel Agreste: World famous fashion designer and Marinette's idol for as long as she could remember.

She was determined to do well.

Marinette sprinted to the changing room, kicking the door open with one foot and bolted to her workstation, hastily greeting her classmates on the way. She carefully pulled her creation out of its garment bag, threw it over a mannequin, and stepped back to see if there were any issues in her work.

Which, she confidently noted, there wasn't. Marinette had made sure that her entry was as perfect as could be, pulling constant all nighters and spending every waking moment perfecting her design. Marinette's model for the event, her older cousin Bridgette, had fallen hopelessly in love with Marinette's outfit, repeatedly thanking her for being so beautiful and creative and smart and bringing such an ethereal dress into existence.

With the final details hammered out as of 3 days ago, Marinette was feeling good about this.

Now, if she could just find her model to get this show started.

"Hey, where's Bridgette?"

"Now, Adrikins, don't put your hopes up about this so-called fashion show," Chloe cattily remarked, examining her perfectly manicured nails, "Nobody in my class is as talented as you or your dad."

"Chloe..."

"See that? They aren't even prepared for the runway. Nino's over there still trying to find all of his records. What a shame."

Adrien frowned at his childhood friend and sank lower in his chair.

It wasn't that Adrien Agreste disliked attending fashion shows. He didn't mind it! After all, he got to spend his time with his father, an opportunity that didn't happen very often. The younger Agreste sat in the center of the front row, in between his father and Chloe, curiously observing the collège students scurry backstage, their shouts clearly audible from where they sat.

"Kim! Why aren't you watching the door?!"

"Rose's already there!"

"Rose not even in charge of the door. She's in charge of the snacks, Kim!"

"Alix, I swear to God if you don't stop referencing that stupid Ashley Katchadourian video..."

"You're supposed to be watching the door, Kim!"

"Mme Bustier, Max told Nath that his piece is missing 2 rhinestones and now Nath is hiding in the racks backstage."

"Has anyone seen Bridgette?!"

"Yeah, she had to go home because Chloe accidentally stuck gum in her hair!"

"CHLOE!" Adrien noticed the distressed holler bringing a smirk to Chloe's face and felt pity for the unfortunate soul. Among the shouting, Adrien could also hear laughter; joy and glee from people his age, having fun together as most kids his age were supposed to be.

Adrien was envious, suddenly wanting to join his peers backstage.

"You said these were all collège students who entered?" he asked. Gabriel nodded quietly, but offered no other explanation. A few minutes passed and Gabriel was suddenly called out of the runway, prompting Adrien, now left alone with Chloe, to sigh and return to his people-watching, tuning out the young girl's chatter.

One taller, darker-skinned boy hustled past Chloe and Adrien, his hands carrying a large stack of vinyl records.

Chloe's nose scrunched up at the sight of the boy, "Eugh, Nino. Nobody wants to listen to your catscratch. Why don't you play someone with more finesse? XY, perhaps?"

The boy, Nino, stopped abruptly at Chloe's suggestion, disgust apparent on his face. He scrutinized Chloe quietly, peering down at the girl through his thick-rimmed glasses.

"XY?" Nino parroted, "Chloe, the runway show theme is Balance, not I-think-Dial-Up-Modems-Are-Top-40-Material."

Adrien snickered, strongly agreeing with Nino.

"XY does not sound like a dial up modem! He makes more money than you do, so." Chloe stuck her tongue out and Nino, who wasn't phased by the girl's catty remark.

"Yeah, because being overhyped totally means you make better music. Whatever, Chloe," Nino rolled his eyes at the girl. Adrien's chuckles grew louder, attracting Nino's attention. He grinned widely, shifting his records to one arm before offering Adrien a hand; Adrien took it without a moment's hesitation.

"Seems like your friend agrees with me," Nino said smugly before turning to the model, "How's it? Name's Nino."

"Adrien."

"Nice to meet you," Nino readjusted his records, "I'd chat longer, but I gotta go set up."

"No problem," Adrien replied, "Maybe we can talk after the show."

"I'm down! I could even introduce you to everyone back there," Nino paused, flinching as a girl with thick, curly red hair bounded to the front of the stage, yelling for him to haul himself backstage. Nino smiled apologetically at Adrien, the pair now fully ignoring Chloe, "That's my call. I'll catch up with you later."

"Definitely!" Adrien had never been more excited for a show to end.

After fetching Nino from the front, Alya ducked back inside the curtain and continued her rounds backstage. The redhead checked her clipboard, pursing her lips in concentration. So far, so good.

"10 minutes till curtain! Models! Make sure you're all positioned," when Alya was in charge, nobody dared fall out of place, "Juleka, please make sure everyone's face is in place. Kim, since Rose is outside watching the door-"

"Even though she was supposed to be in charge of the snacks!" Alix interrupted, earning herself a rude hand gesture from Kim.

"-I'm gonna need you, Kim, to help time the pacing of each model's walk. When I give you the signal, you show them to the stage. Got it? Good," Alya stalked away from her classmates just in time to notice Marinette frantically pacing in front of the dressing room, her creation hanging from her hands.

Alya knew her best friend well enough to know that something was wrong. She approached the girl just as Marinette's head snapped up, meeting Alya's inquisitive stare.

"Chloe stuck gum in Bridgette's hair and now Bridgette can't walk because she went home!" Marinette moaned, "Alya, what am I going to do?"

Alya clicked her tongue in irritation. Of course that spoiled brat would try to sabotage Marinette's entry. Usually her best friend was good at fending off Chloe Bourgeois, but this really wasn't the week to do it. Alya made a mental note to report Chloe to Mme Bustier-and possibly chew her out herself-and focused on the issue at hand.

Marinette paced, too distracted with her own problems to notice anything else. Alya watched her best friend walk, ideas beginning to formulate in her mind. Meanwhile, Marinette continued to curse Chloe Bourgeois.

"The outfit worked so well with Bridgette too!" she lamented, "How am I going to find a replacement in," Marinette checked her watch, "Five minutes?! Alya!"

"Relax, Mari!" Alya said. She placed a placating hand on Marinette's shoulder, "I got an idea, but you have to be open minded."

Marinette wasn't too sure about the wicked grin that was beginning to curl up on Alya's face, but at that point, she didn't have any other option. The young designer nodded, signaling to Alya that she was all ears.

"Good, first we gotta go to the dressing room. We don't have much time."

Marinette hoped this wasn't going to blow up in her face.

With her luck, she could only hope that she'd be able to show her piece on the runway.

Gabriel returned to his seat exactly one minute before the fashion show started. A single glance at Adrien's father revealed nothing out of the ordinary, though that wasn't saying much. Adrien averted his stare, redirecting his attention to the runway, where the lights at last dimmed. The crowded hall came to a hushed silence as two bright spotlights beamed at the entrance of the catwalk.

The show was starting.

"A-Alya, this is a bad idea!"

As Mme Bustier gave her opening remarks in the front, Alya took charge of Marinette's current dilemma. Marinette stood in line with the other models, dressed up in her own design: a yellow hi-low tulle skirt that fell to her ankles, paired with a red and white polka-dotted off the shoulder blouse and ankle-strap chunky-heeled shoes. Juleka had completed Marinette's look flawlessly and in no time: her dark hair was quickly tossed up in a messy topknot with her face lacking any makeup, save for the bit of pink gloss that she always wore anyway. On any other day, Marinette would have thought herself to be the best-dressed teen at school.

Her knees buckled under her voluminous skirt and she looked helplessly at Alya, who was complimenting Juleka on her work, "This is a really, really bad idea." Marinette emphasized again.

"Well, it it's not like we have a choice," Alya answered, taking a moment to peek at her clipboard, "You're going on last, so make sure you remember how to walk without tripping. Okay?"

"Alyaaaaa."

"I gotta go," Alya turned to Kim, who stood at the edge of the curtain, "Remember to wait for my signal before you let them walk. Oh, and make sure Marinette doesn't barf on herself or run away."

"Roger!" Kim answered, shooting his distressed classmate an amused grin. Marinette frowned.

Alya clapped a hand against her best friends back, "It's just one foot in front of the other. You got this, Mari." Marinette wasn't so sure with her nerves makes it difficult for her to concentrate on anything other than the fact that Alya was leaving her!

Her calls for Alya to come back were drowned in the booming bass line of Nino's music. Marinette groaned.

"Aw, don't be like that, Marinette," Kim cooed, throwing an arm around Marinette's shoulders, "It'll be a piece of cake. It's not like you're walking into the boys bathroom on accident on something."

"Kim!"

"What?! I'm just saying!"

Marinette rolled her eyes and turned away from Kim now that the show was starting. Her heart was racing in her chest, her knees were buckling terribly, and was it her or was the line going a lot faster than she had anticipated? Her mind was racing at a mile and minute and at this point, the only thing that she could do was suck it up and walk.

Gabriel Agreste was out there and Marinette was absolutely determined for him to see the design that took her weeks to create. She clenched her fists, took a deep breathe, and marched over to the curtain where Kim was.

"You ready?" he asked.

"I-Its not like I have a choice," Marinette answered, her burning bluebell eyes directed at the entrance of the catwalk. Kim beamed and patted her back.

"That's right," he gave her a gentle push towards the stage, "knock 'em dead!"

The first thing Marinette saw when she made her way onto the runway were the bright stage lights that illuminated the catwalk. It was a narrow path, sidled with silhouettes of people she couldn't quite make out and flashes from the photographers who decided to see the show.

She took another deep breath and made her first step.

Adrien wasn't a fashion designer, but he'd been around his father enough to know what he looked for in an ensemble. At this age, the young model was well-aware of what would sell and what wouldn't...

...which is why his mouth dropped open in awe when the last entry made her way onto the stage. A second longer and Adrien realized that it wasn't the solely the (very-well made and designed) clothes he was gawking at.

The girl, small and petite in stature, effortlessly worked the stage, her bright blue eyes burning brightly with determination. She strutted down the runway, her dark topknot bouncing lightly on the top of her head with every movement she made.

He ignored the displeased noise Chloe made, watching intently as the girl made her way back towards the entrance. As she reached the part of the walkway where Adrien was seated, the model's fiery gaze briefly scanned the crowd and stopped when she met his.

Adrien felt a jolt at the contact, leaving him so starstruck, so totally stupefied that he didn't notice the beautiful, dark-haired model falling off the side of the runway until she inevitably fell on top of him.

Not even Chloe's screams could pull Adrien from admiring the young woman worriedly leaning over him.

Well, Marinette thought, it was nice while it lasted.

The walk towards the front of the runway wasn't bad, it was the return trip that figuratively and quite literally tripped her up. She was doing quite well until that point, Marinette had managed to strut like she was born for it, she smiled at the crowd, channeled every single bit of confidence she had in herself...

...until she was totally ruined by a set of bright green eyes that belonged to one Adrien Agreste.

Gabriel Agreste's son.

His model son.

Who she just fell on top of because Marinette Dupain-Cheng cannot walk in heels and be distracted by beautiful, iridescent green eyes.

Which were currently staring up at her, still in shock.

"Oh my! Are you okay?" Marinette cried, "I'm so sorry! I told them was a bad idea."

"You're right that was a bad idea!" Chloe snarked next to her, "Look what you did to Adrikins! Right, Monsieur Agreste?"

Gabriel didn't answer, steely blue eyes still trained on Marinette as she moved.

"Don't touch him, you klutz! We have to call an ambulance! Take him to the hospital"

Marinette ignored Chloe, and helped Adrien sit up. By then, the music had stopped and everyone backstage had made their way to the front, seeing what all the commotion was. Marinette pushed away the nearly crushing humiliation and focused on the dazed boy seated in front of her, still staring at Marinette.

"Um? Are you okay?"

That seemed to capture his attention. Marinette had expected one of the two responses from Model Extraordinaire Adrien Agreste: either he yell at her and demand for her arrest like Chloe currently was or that he'd just brush it off like it was nothing.

Never in Marinette's wildest imaginations would she expect Adrien Agreste, son of The Gabriel Agreste (who was still looking at her outfit, pensively rubbing his chin), to actually blush and impulsively blurt out, "You have really pretty eyes!" before slapping his hands over his mouth.

Their audience on the walkway chittered in amusement.

Marinette gaped at Adrien, who was now covering his face in embarrassment. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest and she felt her cheeks warm. Marinette laughed softly at the boy.

"I-It's okay," she comforted, "I think you have pretty eyes too."

To her surprise, Gabriel Agreste, who hadn't said a word since arriving, snorted in amusement, turned to Mme Bustier, and handed her the envelope with the results.

Needless to say, Marinette Dupain-Cheng had simultaneously won the design competition and the affections of one smitten Adrien Agreste.

Bonus scene:

"Did it hurt-"

"Adrien, do not-" Marinette warned her boyfriend with an unimpressed glare.

"-when you fell from heaven?"

"God. It was just one time!" Adrien leaned over and to plant a kiss on Marinette's nose; she scrunched her nose up at the contact. He grinned at her.

"Once is all you need, Princess."