She still wasn't used to heels. Constantly running to and from different places in the office was stupidly difficult. She didn't understand how Nathalie did it. Working in the Agreste office was honestly more of a chore than anything else, but maybe that was just because she was only an apprentice and not an actual designer or seamstress.

It was a minor annoyance, but she couldn't complain. She has no reason to, after all. She has managed to get a job at one of the most demanding businesses there were. Of course there were days when it wore her down so much that she seriously considered quitting on the spot. Luckily, her resolve always kicked in just in time and she pushed herself to go another day running around in murdering heels.

But of course her life had to be even more complicated than it already was. She now had to rush from the bakery, to school, to work, and then to Nathanaël's place as soon as she got off. Sometimes she hated her soft heart and disability to say no to people. Then again, she probably couldn't have passed up the opportunity to work with him anyways.

It was just simple designs for some characters in his and Marc's comic, but still, the money was too good to pass up. She didn't really know where they were getting it, or how many copies were selling, but she didn't care enough to question it at this point. Was she turning into a money-hungry monster like everyone else in Paris? Yeah, probably, but hey. You gotta do what you gotta do to survive, even if you're still living with your parents and don't actually need that much money to get by. But it never hurt to be a little bit prepared.

Of course, if you tried telling that to her feet, they'd disagree wholeheartedly.

She must've been quite a sight, running down the streets of Paris with her hair in a barely-held-together bun and a large file that had loose papers threatening to fly away every second. She somehow managed to get to Nathanaël's place without losing anything, except maybe her dignity. She'd never been in that much of a rush before, but she supposed she rather deserved it for thinking she could take a five minute break when she knew damn well that the stupid bus left in three minutes.

Thankfully, Nathanaël didn't say anything about her appearance when he answered the door. However, he did raise an eyebrow that honestly spoke more than his words ever would. Marc didn't give her the luxury of not knowing just how bad she looked when they walked into the workspace.

"You look like crap."

Marinette scowled, whacking him on the head with the file as she walked past.

"Ow!"

"Oops."

Marc rolled his eyes and took the file from her, spreading the papers out over the large table he was sitting at.

"I'm gonna go take over your bathroom for a few minutes. 'Kay? 'Kay." She didn't wait for an answer as she stalked off towards the door on the opposite side of the room she had just entered from. She faintly heard Nathanël's shout of, "just don't leave a mess everywhere," but ignored it in favour of coming across the room she was looking for. Looking in the mirror, she grimaced at her reflection. Marc was right. She looked like crap.

Sighing, she undid her wreck of a bun and tossed the pins and hair ties onto the counter before digging through Nathanaël's drawers to find a brush. Finally finding something that wasn't just a flimsy plastic comb, she began the tiring task of unknotting her hair. It was even more of a pain now that she had grown it out. Her hair used to be just past her shoulders, but now it was down to her back and she was regretting that choice more and more each day.

A few minutes later her hair was tangle-free and up in a long ponytail that would probably cause her more trouble than the bun, but she didn't care all that much at the moment. Sweeping the remaining pins and hair tie into her hand, she pocketed them and exited the bathroom. She found Marc and Nathanaël bent over the table, scrutinizing all of her designs with narrowed eyes and pointed fingers.

"Oh, good." Nathanaël looked up from her drawings. "You're back. Please tell me you didn't leave my bathroom in ruins."

She rolled her eyes walking over to the rolling chair and collapsed into it. She pushed the ground with the tip of her heel and glided over to the two male artists. "Don't worry, your precious bathroom is safe. You don't need to worry about stray pins when you check each other out in the mirror."

Nathanaël flushed a dark red while Marc let out a strangled squeak that caused Marinette to cackle loudly. They were so gay for each other. Groaning, the two boys pushed her back over to the other side of the room. She didn't stop laughing as she rolled away, but her laughter died down into barely contained sniggers that the boys could still hear nonetheless. Kicking off her heels, she pushed herself back over to the table. Laying her arms down and resting her head on them, she watched the boys pick and choose their favourite outfits from the plethora of designs she'd created for them.

When they finally chose the ones they liked the best, they gathered the others into a pile and put them back into the file.

"You know, you didn't have to do so many. It's a little bit of an overkill, Marinette." She just snorted as she took the folder and envelope of money Marc handed to her.

"No, at this point that's just business." Smirking, she waved goodbye to the two of them, shoved her heels back onto her feet, and left to go do her final duties as Ladybug before finally going to bed.

Nathanaël rolled his eyes at her retreating back before getting up to go to the bathroom. Marc went back to writing the storyline of the new project and was just about to incorporate the chosen designs when he heard a yell from the bathroom.

"Goddammit Marinette! I just stepped on a fucking pin!"