"Marinette! Earth to Marinette!"

Marinette blinked sleepy blue eyes, focusing on the face of Alya , her best friend and confidant of ten years. She was sitting at her usual table at Espresso Yo' Self, the trendy coffee shop Alya worked at as Assistant Manager. It was part of her daily routine to drop by for breakfast and a chat before heading to her job at Femme Boutique, where Marinette worked as a seamstress.

"Sorry Alya," Marinette yawned, "I didn't get much sleep last night." She took a giant gulp of coffee in an attempt to revive herself and gagged, nearly spitting her mouthful on the new two-piece floral suit that she had designed herself.

"Yeah, I figured as much when you poured salt in your coffee instead of sugar." Alya chuckled, handed her a napkin.

"You knew? And you didn't stop me?" Marinette protested.

"I tried to, but you were off in Dreamland." Alya said, taking Marinette's ruined cup of coffee. "Try our new Caramel Chocolate Muffin, I'll get you a refill."

"Wait," Marinette grabbed for her purse. "Let me pay for it."

"Relax, girl." Alya winked, "It's on the house. Consider it a perk for knowing the newest Manager." She pointed proudly at her shiny new nametag.

"You got the promotion? Congrats!" Marinette said, standing up to give Alya a hug. "You totally deserve it."

"Hey, the owner knows star quality when he see's it." Alya smiled, before giving Marinette a stern look. "Unlike someone else's boss who wouldn't know star quality if it walked in and turned their business into a success."

Marinette folded her arms defensively.

"Miss Simmons needs me as an assistant. She'll promote me when she can afford to pay me better."

"And in the meantime you work yourself to the bone for a fraction of what you should be paid." Alya scolded. "Girl, if I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times. You're too nice. You need to start saying no."

Marinette sighed, taking a seat. They'd had this argument before. She knew Alya meant well, but not everyone could have the perfect job. A wicked idea occurred to her.

"You're right, I should." Marinette said, sounding as agreeable as possible. Alya raised an eyebrow, not convinced. Marinette played with the wrapper of her muffin, trying to keep her face calm. "I'll go quit and start looking for a job elsewhere. Of course, that means I won't have time to finish a certain someone's wedding dress..."

"Come on girl, you know that's not the same thing, I'm paying for all the material!" Alya protested. Marinette shrugged.

"Gotta start somewhere, and you did say I should start saying no to projects that don't pay me enough. ..." She took a bite of her muffin, trying to look as innocent as possible. She burst out laughing at the look of horror on Alya's face.

"I'm kidding Alya, relax, I'm going to finish your dress. In fact, it's almost done."

Alya blew out a sigh of relief, looking peeved.

"Girl, do not make jokes like that three weeks before the wedding. I wouldn't even know where to get a dress on such short notice."

"Most people go to a store." Marinette teased.

"You want a new coffee or not?" Alya asked in a mock threatening tone. Marinette held up her hands in surrender.

"You got me, truce!" She laughed. "I'll take another Venti Mocha-"

" - With cinnamon and whipped cream." Alya finished for her. "I think I should know your coffee order by now." She turned and started to head toward the coffee counter, then she turned back. "All jokes aside girl, I'd be really bummed if you couldn't finish. I want to be able to say I wore an original Marinette Dupan-Chang wedding dress before she got famous."

"Aww, Al..." Marinette put her hands to her heart. "You just made my day. I'll definitely try and make you the best wedding dress ever!...Speaking of which, are you free tomorrow? I'd like to do one more fitting after work."

"So long as we can watch movies afterwards. It's been way too long since we had a girls night."

"I'll bring the popcorn if you bring the wine." Marinette grinned.

"Deal." Alya agreed, heading off to refill Marinette's cup.

Marinette sighed as she leaned back in her seat and took a generous bite out of her muffin. It was delicious, but the taste was diminished by the fact that even though she had distracted Alya from giving her another lecture about her job, she was right.

Lately it seemed to Marinette that all her friend's lives were on the fast track. Alya had just gotten her promotion and was going to marry Nino in three weeks, Nathaniel and Alex's Ladybug comic series had become a best seller and there was news of a TV show in the works and Rose, Julika and Luka's rock band, Tempus Anguis was starting a six-month tour. Last week, Marinette was surprised to see Melene, Sabrina and Chloe while out shopping for fabric. Chloe was following in her father's footsteps and running for mayor while her husband, Kim, was training for the Olympics. Melene seemed perfectly content to be a mother of two, with a third on the way, and had seemed unhindered by her four-month baby bump. Sabrina looked much more confident than she had during her high school days and was proudly showing off her shiny new detective badge. Apparently she had become a rising star while at the police academy, her stealth tactics earning her the nickname, 'Vanisher.'

Marinette took another bite of her muffin, feeling a little sorry for herself. While it was stressful, she did enjoy making and designing dresses at Femme Boutique...she just wished she had made more of a name for herself as a fashion designer.

She rolled a chunk of muffin in between her fingers and started to put it in her purse when she remembered: Tikki wasn't there at the moment. Her Kwami was having a meeting with the other kwamis, trying to manage on their own now that Master Fu was gone. After the funeral, the lawyer had bequeathed Ladybug and Chat Noir with the gramophone that was the secret kwami hideout, and Tikki was the unofficial leader until a new guardian could be found. Marinette tried not to think about how even Tikki had been promoted, not to mention the fact that now she was not only the official protector of the city, but she was housing the group of magical, immortal kwami's in her closet. If Hawkmoth ever found out her secret...Marinette shuddered at the thought.

"Yo, Marinette!" Said a familiar voice, pulling Marinette out of her pity party, "how's it hanging?"

"Hey Nino," Marinette smiled, standing up to give her friend a hug. Nino Lahiffe had changed his style dramatically since high school. Gone were the boyish clothes; as Paris' rising radio host and DJ, Nino tried to look the part, wearing the hippest threads he could find. Today, it was a casual Louise Vuitton suit in red and blue, his trademark headphones slung around his neck and his signature bling around his wrists and right hand. His left hand was bare, except for the simple wedding band Alya had bought for him. Nino joked that wearing the ring kept the groupies off, but Marinette saw how he looked at her best friend and knew that ring or no ring, Alya was the only person he would say yes to.

"My boy Adrian and I were catching up and we thought we'd check in on my beautiful bride."

"You'd better be talking about me," Alya teased, coming over with Marinette's coffee and a kiss for her future husband. "Hey Adrian," she added with a smile, "long time."

"Hey Alya," said Adrian, peeking out from behind Nino. "yeah, it's been a while." He caught sight of Marinette looking elegant in her flattering two-piece suit and blushed slightly. "Hey Marinette."

Marinette took in Adrian's tousled hair, his casual, yet stylish jacket and slacks, and turned crimson.

"H-hey A-Adrian."

Nino and Alya shared an exasperated look as their two best friends fidgeted awkwardly. The look seemed to say, here we go again.

"Nino," Alya said slyly, "I need to talk to you about some...private wedding stuff. Adrian, stay here and keep Marinette company, I'll bring you one of our specials."

She pushed Adrian toward a chair and yanked Nino away before either could object.

Nino tried to grab a kiss as Alya dragged him into a corner, where they could secretly keep an eye on everything.

"Not now, Nino!" Alya whispered, as Nino nuzzled at a sensitive spot on her neck.

"So when you said talk about private wedding stuff, you meant spy on our friends?" Nino asked, disappointed. "Shouldn't we ...you know, let things happen normally?"

His future wife gave him a look that meant he'd said something incredibly stupid.

"Sweetie, we did let things happen naturally for the last ten years. At the glacier speed they're moving, Adrian and Marinette will start dating around the time we're having grandchildren."

Nino, couldn't help it, he wrapped his arms around Alya and kissed the top of her head.

"You're already picturing us with grandkids?" He murmured, nuzzling her colorful curls. Alya squirmed in his arms, a sure sign she was embarrassed.

"Maybe." She muttered. She added with a touch of sarcasm, "though I'm hoping they're not as goofy as their grandpa."

Nino turned her around to face him, kissed her forehead gently.

"If they're half as smart and as beautiful as their grandma, I'll be the luckiest man in the world."

He kissed her lips, leaning in to deepen the kiss and pulling her close as Alya wrapped her arms around his neck. They broke apart after a minute, breathing hard. Alya grabbed his hand.

"Come on," she said, with a wicked gleam in her eye, "I've got some more private wedding stuff we can discuss in my office."

Back at the table, Marinette nibbled at her muffin, busily taking mouse-sized bites while Adrian stared at the foam on his latte, as if expecting the secrets of the universe to suddenly be written there.

The silence was broken as a waitress brought Adrian one of the café's signature Cinnamon Roll Muffins. He thanked her and took a bite.

"Wow!" He exclaimed, "this is really good!"

"Definitely," Marinette agreed, taking another bite of her own. "Espresso Yo' Self has a fresh batch baked every morning. They have some of the best pastries in the city."

"Not as delicious as your parent's though," Adrian said with a smile. "Even in the States I couldn't find a pie half as good as your Dad's."

"Papa would be thrilled to hear you say that," Marinette said with a smile. "Their shop is still in the same place if you ever want to stop by and say hello."

"It's on my list." Adrian assured her. "I've been craving macaroons since I landed in Paris."

"Well, I hope you have time to see everything," Marinette answered, "how long are you staying for?"

The smile on Adrian's face instantly faded.

"I'm not sure," he said soberly, "my Dad..." he paused and gripped his coffee mug tightly. "My Dad...isn't doing so well...he asked me to come home...just in case."

Instinctively, Marinette reached out and grasped Adrian's hand, gave it a squeeze.

"Adrian, I am so sorry," she said, sympathetically.

Adrian attempted a smile. It was just last night that he had yearned to feel her touch without his gloves, but at the moment, Marinette's hand in his was a comfort, nothing more.

Across the street, Jacques took a picture of his ex-girlfriend and the once-famous Adrian Agreste holding hands. He'd already gotten a picture of Marinette hugging – it irked him that the chienne had so many up and coming celebrities in her friend group that she'd never bothered to introduce him to. He wouldn't be a struggling artist if Nino, "the Hip Voice of Paris" Lahiffe had played one of his CD's, or if he'd been invited to model at an Adrian – or even better a Gabriel Agreste - fashion shoot. The memory of Marinette inviting him to meet her friends flashed briefly through his head. Well, maybe he'd have gone if he'd known the sort of people they were. Jacques wished he'd had had his camera the night before. That would've made a sensational story. He had no idea how many more high profile men la pute was stringing along, but with names like Nino, Adrian and Chat Noir, newspapers all over France would be fighting like hyenas over the pictures of some nobody seamstress and Paris' superhero. Jacques saw Marinette's head turn in his direction and he ducked low behind a mailbox, narrowly avoiding the dark butterfly heading straight for him. As he did so, he inadvertently tripped a small girl carrying a beautiful china doll. The doll smashed on the pavement, and the girl immediately started sobbing. Jacques watched in amazement, then interest as the dark butterfly zoomed toward the girl, landing on her doll and instantly becoming absorbed into the figure. A second later, the enlarged china doll stood on the sidewalk. "I am Playtime!" She announced in a thunderous voice. "And I will play with all of you until I find my favorite."She pointed at a woman jogger. Instantly the woman stiffened, a knob grew from her back, and she became a wind-up doll. A rotund man in a red and green-stripped shirt became a large ball.Playtime barely looked at them. "These are boring! I need to have a favorite toy that no one else has!" The akumatized girl started walking stiffly towards the café across the street, turning the vehicles into wind-up toys and cars as she did so. "And I won't stop looking until I find one that is my absolute favorite!!"

Hello, readers and Miraculous fans!

Sorry if this message is a little garbled, I am very sleepy, but I wanted to get this chapter done before Monday was technically over!

First of all, how are you liking the story so far? What do you think of the futures I have chosen for some of the characters? Agree? Disagree? Are there any characters who you think would be better off with a different career?

Make sure to like, comment and share with your friends! I'd love to talk to you!

Sincerely, 

Your sleepy Authoress Cantrella  (zzz)