CatWalk

Forty-Two

Emma was nervous during the car ride to the school. She was dressed in her miniature version of ChatNoir's costume. She could've waited until she arrived at school to change as a normal child would. Although, the black pleather Yaya Han cosplay fabric that the costume was made out off was quite comfortable. The only thing that was really was a bother was the black face paint which was exactly how makeup artists created the illusion that Michael Keaton's Batman mask covered his eyelids. Marinette had suggested the idea when Emma complained that her mask wasn't accurate.

"Mom, can Charlotta come to dinner with us?" Emma asked in backseat as she held on tightly to a small bouquet of red roses on her lap. She worked extra hard at the bakery while her mother was at work trying to finish the fashion collection. Her grandparents, Tom and Sabine gave her money here and there for helping out so she used that money to buy some flowers for her Ladybug.

"I'll ask but it's not a guarantee." Marinette replied as she watched the road. Unbeknownst to Emma, Luka was setting up a party for Emma since Emma loved to throw parties for the most randomest things. She once tried to throw a party for herself for finally figuring out how to use the toaster.

After, Marinette and Emma faced one of the most insufferable problems that a human could face which was finding a parking spot in a packed lot. The two walked to the back of the stage for role call. Emma waved her mom goodbye as she held her head up high holding a bouquet of roses. Marinette realized as she waved her daughter bye that her baby girl was growing up so fast, she was so proud.

'You can do this! You can do this! Your ChatNoir' Emma kept repeating internally. Her palms began to sweat. 'Breath in. Breath out.' She didn't want to sweat for Emma forgot if the face paint was waterproof or not. She had faith that Luka would arrive before the play would start since the play wasn't going to start in a hour or so. He also was far better at applying the black face paint and lime green eyeliner.

"Who gave you those?" Wade (that kid that Emma will never forgive for wasting a perfectly good cookie) asked. He sounded a bit jealous that someone gave Emma flowers. Jealousy was an emotion that kids often experience but never actually understood. All Wade wanted to do was to smash those flowers out of existence and he would've if Emma didn't hold them out of his reach.

"They're for Charlotta."

Wade tilted his head and furrowed his brown eyebrows as if his small adolescent brain couldn't process her words. "Girls can't give girls flowers."

"If girls can't give girls then ChatNoir will give her Lady flowers instead." She stated as she continued to look for Charlotta.

Charlotta was wearing a standard Ladybug costume. It wasn't the quality of Emma's custom ChatNoir suit but that didn't make Emma think Charlotta wasn't anything less than cute.

"M'Lady!" Emma greeted as she ran to hug her but she halted. She wanted to take in this moment because this could be a preview to the future to come. Emma could see it now, opening her apartment doors being greeting by Charlotta, her stay at home wife by day and fighting Akumas as ChatNoir and Ladybug by night.

"I got you these, M'Lady." Emma said as she handed the bouquet to Charlotta who had no idea what to do with the flowers or how to reply to Emma's kind gesture.

"I like them. Thank you." She smiled. Her blue eyes staring at the bouquet her friend had kindly provided. She sniffed the flowers enjoying the aroma they provided. "They smell good too."

Emma's heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Was it possible to feel this way at such a young a age? She had practically planned a future together but her first step to make that a reality was to ask her out. However, her mother told her that she couldn't date until she was in high school that was four long years away.