On their way inside, La La Anthony asked Diddy about his fashionable reunion with Miami, and the Love Records mogul could barely speak. Flustered and out of breath -- with Miami standing right there -- he had to wipe down his brow before finally saying, "We definitely go together, real bad!"

Mind you, the sweat was still pouring down on his face.

To be fair, Diddy had just climbed the gala's famed staircase while wearing a very heavy ensemble. As expected, Diddy went all out to honor both Karl Lagerfeld and André Leon Talley in a custom, king-sized Sean John robe created by June Ambrose.

After catching his bearings, Diddy explained to La La that he and Miami don't want to put labels on their situation, but he called her his "best friend" and said he was "blessed" to have her as his date.

Then he asked for a cloth to mop up his perspiration.

Diddy and Miami were very much in the public eye together until last October when the hit-making producer welcomed a baby daughter with another woman ... a moment Miami admitted fractured their union.