"I'm Back."

"Swan Lake."

She wandered the hall aimlessly praying she'd come across someone else she knew that would make her look less, alone for the time being. She wasn't the biggest fan of being asked whether or not she came alone by old businessmen.

Soon smaller celebrities started making an appearance, now all she had to stand by for was the blessed call she'd get from Natalie telling her to prepare for Adrien and Elias' appearance on the carpet. She had no hand in the collaboration but she was still here as a representative of Agreste and a guest of Audrey Bourgeois'. She stood with the now gathered crowd of people by the doors watching as each celebrity guest made their way through the grand entrance.

Paris's sweetheart, Mireille Caquet stepped out of a car, her soft, elegant demeanour drawing all eyes on her, she walked down the red walkway entering the hall with a smile followed by some other celebrities, one of them being Clara Nightingale. Marinette wondered if she would be performing. Then came XY in a flashy limo, the young pretentious new-gen celeb whose popularity didn't impress the bigger names that would be attending but still worth an invite to such an event.

Eventually, a blacked-out limo pulled up to the end of the carpet, fans already screaming the name of none other than "JAGGED STONE", a timeless legend, she couldn't help but feel excited by his arrival. The man was dressed to the part, everything about him drew a crowd. Shutter flashes almost whiting out the image of him walking down the red carpet the only thing missing was his pet alligator. He walked through the door scanning the room despite several people walking up to him.

"Ah! BAKER GIRL!" his eyes fell on Marinette, he walked towards her, his entourage nearby. "Mr. Stone, a pleasure meeting you again." "Drop the formalities kid, how are ya?" His voice boomed, her reply something along the lines of 'Alright.'

"Have you seen Luka?" Jagged asked, looking around the general vicinity. "He said he'd be here with you." the star looked back at her questioningly.

"Ah, he went off with Chloe Bourgeois to catch up a few minutes ago."

"Sick," he answered, "Well have a nice evening girl." And with that, he walked away leaving her with way too many looks from the people in the room and some camera flashes here and there. Honestly, who could blame them, she just had a casual conversation with the legend Jagged Stone himself, albeit about his son's whereabouts the rest of the crowd didn't know that. She didn't mind the attention, being Ladybug she just had to get used to it but she wasn't wearing the mask right now, and there was only some much until she felt overwhelmed before she could turn to withdraw.

"Marinette!" Alya's voice called out, her body relaxing at the sound. She turned to her friend who just arrived alongside her, Nino. She looked stunning. It was a dress straight out of the Aubery Bourgeois catalogue and it was gorgeous. "Yo, Marinette!" Nino followed.

"Hey guys!" She almost rushed over to her friends hugging the two, "Don't ever leave me you guys." her tone dramatic garnering a laugh from Alya and a chuckle from Nino. "Sorry we're late BUT, you look amazing!" the blogger complimented.

"Thank you."

They stood doing some catch-up, and simple idle chatter. Time flew by them fast but soon enough the screams of fangirls were heard drawing the attention of most guests Chloe and Luka returned from wherever they had gone, upon the arrival of a silver limo.  A ping comes from her phone but before she can investigate it she sees Natalie, step out of the side of the vehicle going over to open the passenger door.

The typical 'I love you!' screams from Adrien's fans were almost deafening but another name was being squealed alongside his. 'Elias.' though not to the same magnitude, still enough to be heard over the other fans which was impressive. Marinette looked over at Alya, "They're here." not more than a minute later the two men stepped out of the silver limo outfits fully on display. The dichotomy between Adrien and Elias as individuals and their attire created an almost poetic irony.

Nearly reminiscent of Swan Lake. Black and White; Each swan represents a different expression of love. White being honest and soft, black being unexpected and passionate. White being timid and innocent, black being seductive and confident.

Adrien adorned a fully black suit embodying the image of the black swan, his usually well-kept hair styled to create the illusion of unruliness reminiscent of Chat Noir's, giving him a roguish edge compared to his usually scrupulous appearance. A refreshing air of unapologetic confidence in his every step, something that only a model of his stature could express in the way they walked.

Elias on the other hand, adorned a white suit, his typically unruly monochrome hair pushed back neatly and out of his face allowing his sharp features to stand unobscured for the world to see. He was the white swan. The embodiment of purity, grace and love. His amber eyes seemingly shone brighter in the flashes of the camera scanning the surroundings before falling on her. His gaze lingered for a bit freezing her in place until the sound of his name being called freed her from her temporary paralysis. She cleared the lump that had formed in her throat trying to ignore the way her heart skipped a beat.

As Adrien and Elias approached, she noticed a shift in the behaviour of the paparazzi almost seemingly eager to get a shot of the back of the suits. She watched intently and in anticipation for the reveal, those ahead had gotten. Before the men made it to the doors they spun around for final photos revealing the open back of their suits. Intricate embroidery over the light mesh prevents their backs from truly being out. A pattern running down the middle of their backs gave this spine design she found quite cool.

However, the elephant in the room took most people's attention.

A large scar on Elias' back is now visible to the public due to the see-through material covering his back. It wasn't a normal scar, it was almost impossible to know what could have caused it. The scar tissue branched off in tendrils from the middle of his back. The open-back design was a bold choice yet it seemed intentional, his the botanical embroidery on the suit like an extension of his scar. One thing is for sure, this was definitely going to be all over social media.

Marinette couldn't mask the shock on her face. "That's one crazy scar," Alya commented leaning over her shoulder. "Yeah." Marinette's response was almost muted.