#25daysofchristmasprompts

"Happy holidays!"

"What... the hell is that!?" You stood in the doorway, confused and possibly terrified as you stared back at… yourself? Jisung pulled his sweater down with a smile, slipping past you and the apartment door.

"It's an ugly sweater! Well, I mean… it's supposed to be but," he pinched the knitted fabric between his fingers, "it has you on it so it's kinda false advertising, huh?"

You nodded slowly, your gaze settling back on your huge fucking face on your best friends sweater. It was hard to be flattered by his comment when you had one question on your mind.

"And how'd you get me on your sweater?"

"Oh, I got it printed at one of those custom shirt places! They had a deal on Christmas sweaters, buy one get one free. That reminds me, here ya go!"

He pulled a second sweater from the bag you didn't realize he'd been holding, handing you the ball of fabric. You shot him a questioning brow before unfolding the piece of clothing, instantly regretting it. 

"I ummm- uuhhh…" Speechless was what you were, Jisung's huge fabric face smiling back at you. It was… something else! The green and red fabric was festive enough without the silver pom-poms and felted ornaments framing the custom design. This was most definitely at the top of the list of oddball gifts you'd ever received. You blinked at imposter Jisung, brows furrowed slightly. Why? Why did he spend money on this?! You didn't have time to question this once the boy started excitedly hopping in place.

"We can wear them for the party later! Put it on, put it on!" You took your gaze off the sweater, focusing on your best friend. Watching him act like a kid on Christmas morning made you realize something; he was genuinely happy about this purchase. Jisung bought these sweaters and as odd as they were, you couldn't bring yourself to clown on him for it. After all, you had some weird interests too and Jisung never belittled you for them. So without anymore hesitation, you shoved your arms into the sleeves, pulling the sweater on. You instantly grimaced and Jisung noticed, his brows knitting together.

"You don't like it…" He said, his expression falling. He stood before you, halting his little hops of happiness. You quickly shook your head, pulling at the sleeves.

"It's not that I don't like it, Ji. The fabric is just itchy as hell!" 

It was almost unbearable to feel the harsh knitted sweater rub against your skin. If there was anything you couldn't stand more, it was scratchy clothes. You had to take it off, and you did so quickly. It was hard to tell who felt worse; you or Jisung. Your best friend was currently staring at the hardwood floor, frowning to himself. The look on his face made your heart hurt. Obviously this wasn't the most attractive piece of clothing but Jisung looked like he was excited about both of you having matching sweaters. After a moment of thought, the lightbulb went off in your mind. 

"Hang on a second." You said, handing Jisung the sweater. This purchase wouldn't be for nothing, you promised yourself. You made your way through the apartment, heading to your bedroom. Opening your closet door, you started searching through the rack of shirts and pants. A white long sleeved shirt stared back at you, your fingers sliding it off it's hanger. You quickly changed, slipping the soft article of clothing over your head. This should work. Once you were back in the living room, you took the sweater from Jisung, who was still pouting. That didn't last much longer, however.

"That's better!" You smiled to yourself, glancing down at your new gift. The long sleeved shirt was just the barrier you needed to be able to comfortably don such a crazy uncomfortable Christmas sweater. Jisung's gaze finally found you more interesting than the floor, finally seeing the smile that graced your lips. And finally, he found himself smiling again. 

"So.. You do like it?"

You chuckled at that, pulling him towards you by the hand. 

"Of course I do! You really choose the weirdest gifts, y'know." You said, wrapping your arms around his waist. He laughed, resting his chin on your head.

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment."

________________________________________________________

And here it is, part 5!

Ao3 / FF.net

Marinette and Adrien returned to the party with her arm in his again, but this time she really held on to him. Before, her hand had been loose, now it itched to just slide down and interlace their fingers.

He grinned as they entered the ballroom again, briefly nodding to his father, then he looked down to Marinette.

“May I have this dance?”

She giggled, nodding at him to lead her to the dance floor. It was a slow dance so Adrien grabbed her by her hips, gently beginning to sway in tact to the music as she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her temple against his shoulder. He smiled, his hands sliding around her waist to rest in the small of her back, holding her closer. She hummed, sighing contently.

Adrien slowly swayed them over the dance floor, keeping his attention up not to dance into other couples while she just enjoyed being held by him. One of his hands slid up further, then he leant his cheek against her head.

“Hey Marinette?”, he asked and she nodded slowly to indicate she was listening, “Are you happy?”

She smirked, one of her hands shifting up to bury her fingers in his hair. He silently moaned in delight, feeling a light shiver running down his spine.

“Yeah, I am…”, she replied, “Actually I’m very happy right now, yes.”

He chuckled, continuing to dance with her until the song stopped, then he went to the side, softly parting from her. She looked up to him, questioningly, but he merely shook his head, getting off the dance floor with her. He led her to the balcony where she had gone to before, asking her to go outside. She furrowed her eyebrows, watching him as he stepped forward to the railing, closing his eyes before looking at her again.

“Marinette, I-… I just want to make sure you-… You know about this. Before anything starts.”

She frowned, moving to stand next to him. He took her hands and brushed over her knuckles, then he interlaced their fingers.

“Listen, uhm-… I want to be honest to you. I-… I actually need to be honest to you, otherwise I-… Wouldn’t want me to be on your side. Uhm, I-… I wanna tell you something and-… It’s probably gonna be a shock but please, please bear with me here, okay?”

She was even more confused now but she nodded, gesturing him to continue. He took a deep breath, then he grinned sheepishly.

“Well… Chat Noir didn’t meet me. He, well, uh, he never met me.”

Okay, now that was some grade A bullshit. Marinette knew she had talked to him and she knew Adrien had told her he had talked to Chat Noir. Had he been lying to her? Had he improvised to be cooler for her? But how had he known all the stuff she had told Chat Noir?

“Did you-… What? I mean-… Did you lie to me, Adrien?”

He quickly shook his head, confusing her even more.

“No, no! I didn’t lie to you. Okay, well, yes I did, because Chat Noir didn’t talk to me, but, hear me out. I, uh-… I know you have a crush on me…”, her eyes went wide and she was about to scream but he quickly continued, “B-Because-… You told me.”

“I told you?!”, she snapped, all of this getting just a bit too confusing for her, “When?!”

“Well… This evening.”, he admitted, his smile sheepish and his hands in hers trembling of nervousness.

“I never-”, she began but even before she could finish that sentence she knew what he was talking about. She had told him and he had never met Chat Noir. Of course…

That’s why she had felt so comfortable talking to him all of a sudden, after her conversation with Chat. That’s why he had known exactly what had been going on. That’s why he-… Was such an idiot. Well, that was her kitty for her.

Suddenly, she spoke to her partner, not the blonde model boy anymore.

“… You know I’m gonna kick your butt for this?”

He gulped, nodding.

“And you know Ladybug’s gonna have a long talk with you about revealing to random citizens?”, she glared at him and he got just a little more uncertain.

“U-Uhm-… Probably…? B-But you’re no random citizen to me, I, uh, I was-”

“Hush. Do you understand that?”, she snapped and he nodded, “Good, then listen closely. Adrien, you do not reveal to random citizens. It’s dangerous and you could never know what I could do with that information. I could be anybody! My best friend is the head of the Ladyblog! And you didn’t even console me to reveal! You just-… You just did! Adrien, it’s dangerous and you could’ve landed anywhere by now! I could’ve-”

“W-Wait-…”, he softly interrupted her, his eyebrows narrowed, “Y-You said Ladybug’s gonna hold that speech so why are-…”

“Yes, I said that and you gotta listen. Now, where was I? Oh yeah. You were rash and careless and you don’t have a sense for security and safety, you stupid cat! You could’ve gotten hurt, you could’ve ended in Nadja Chamack’s seat and everyone would know about your secret and-”

He once again interrupted her, his eyes now wide and his jaw slack.

“Y-You’re-…”

“Yes and now damnit, Chaton, lemme finish. You do not reveal to citizens like that. There’s a reason why I told you not to reveal! It’s to protect yourself, don’t you have any sense in your stupid chesire head? I’m really, really-”

Her words were suddenly cut off and she was very surprised to find that something was on her lips. Something warm, moving and soft. A little vanilla taste, from a lip balm she knew all too well. That she had fantasized about tasting before. Adrien was pressed against her, the kiss tasting sweet and his warmth feeling amazing in contrary to the rather freezing night air.

He only unwillingly parted, grinning like she knew it from her partner. Widely and absolutely not model-like.

“… In love with me?”, he guessed, laughing.

“… Also, that. Yes.”, she admitted, blushing as her knees got a bit wobbly, “Get your head out of the clouds, kitty, because even if I think you’re ridiculously cute, I’m still mad at you about just revealing to someone. I set up the secret identity rule for a reason, you know?”

“Yeah, but purr not just someone.”, he smirked smugly, his face practically shining of joy.

She rolled her eyes, softly pushing him back on his nose in an all too familiar gesture.

“Aaaaaaand I’ll suffer under puns. Of course. I guess that’s the price I gotta pay.”

“Hey, you know you love it!”

She laughed, cupping his cheek now to shake her head.

“Absolutely not. Also, mister, you’re overly smug for a guy who found out about my crush before he should’ve known. After all you were the confused one and asked me for a fake date. I say you owe me.”

Adrien laughed, leaning his forehead against hers and nuzzling his nose on hers.

“Do kisses count?”, he asked, already placing a little peck on her cheek.

“Maybe.”, she smirked but before he could lean in to pay his debt she held him back, beginning to motion something above their heads. He furrowed his eyebrows, watching her quickly moving index finger, then he looked down to her again, a questioning expression on his face.

“What are mew doing, my lady?”, he asked.

“Drawing a mistletoe.”, she explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “’Cuz, you know, your father is a great organizer and all, but every Christmas Party needs a mistletoe.”

He chuckled as he watched her draw in the air with nothing but her fantasy, feeling himself falling for her over and over again every second.

“Wait, you forgot the ribbon.”, he laughed, drawing a very sloppy ribbon over her mistletoe, then he grinned down to her, “There. We got it. Can I kiss you now?”

“Merry Christmas, my Lady,” Adrien whispered in Marinette’s ear, brushing her hair away from her face.

”Kitty?” she mumbled, reaching out blearily and touching his face.

”Yes?” He clasped her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss on her knuckles.

She sighed blissfully. “C’mere,” she begged.

He obliged, lowering his head and brilliant emerald met glittering sapphire.

Marinette kissed his cheek chastely, her warm breath tickling his cheek.

”Emma’s waiting,” he breathed. “She wants to open her presents.”

”Okay, I’ll be up in a few,” she replied.

...

”I love this!” Emma hugged the jewelry-making kit to her chest. “Thank you Mummy and Daddy!”

”You’re welcome,” said Adrien fondly, and whispered when she wasn’t looking, “She takes after you.”

Marinette subtly rolled her eyes and smiled, her eyes glued to her daughter.

”In a year we’ll be getting gifts for another one,” she said, placing a hand on her growing stomach.

“That’s right,” he said earnestly, laying a hand on top of her slender one. “I can’t wait.”

“I can’t wait either!” Emma piped up.

Marinette chuckled, ruffling her hair. “Neither can we, sweetie.”

”Is it a boy or a girl?”

”We don’t know, darling, but you’ll be the first to know,” Marinette promised.

Emma giggled as her parents pulled her into a group hug.

“Merry Christmas, baby,” Marinette murmured. “And this one too,” she added, rubbing her stomach.

”Merry Christmas, Mummy and Daddy,” Emma said cheerfully. “And the baby too.”

They remained in each other’s arms, unwilling to let go.

It technically includes the word shopping so I’m going to count this as a success.

Audience: T

Word count: 1521 (ughhhh)

Summary: Chloe and Nathaniel are celebrating their first Christmas as a couple but they have very different ideas about what makes a good gift.

“Here.” Chloe slapped two sheets of paper down on the table in front of her boyfriend.

“What’s this?” Nathaniel asked, looking up at the blonde haired beauty.

They had only been dating for about six months. While they had known each other in collège and lycée, it had taken two years of university and a slew of unfortunate and humbling circumstances to bring them back together. Chloe had hit rock bottom for a while; her dad’s career tanked after a myriad of scandals came to light, and she had to try to make it on her own. She wasn’t very good at it but she was trying, slowly pulling herself back up. She called it her renaissance and really was trying to be a better daughter, person, and friend. That was when Nath had met back up with her. They had bumped into each other at a coffee shop and spent two hours chatting and catching up. She was focusing on the good in her life and trying to bring good into other’s lives. Nath was an up and coming artist still taking classes at university but also a prominent contributor to a fairly well known art gallery. For reasons unknown, they clicked and started dating. That had been in July.

“It’s my Christmas list, obviously. It’s already December 5th. Where’s yours?” Chloe looked at him expectantly.

“Christmas list? What do you need a Christmas list for? And what is all of this stuff?” Nath looked at the pages of items, most of which he didn’t even recognize.

“A Christmas list is a list of all the stuff you want to get as Christmas gifts. I always make sure to include a wide variety of ideas and price points. It also ensures that I get what I actually want for the holidays. How do you not know what a Christmas list is?” Chloe asked incredulously.

“I know what a Christmas list is, Chlo. I’ve just never bought anything off of one. In fact, I never buy Christmas gifts. I always make them.”

“Make them? 

“Sunwoo!?” You rushed into your bedroom, scanning the room frantically for the reason for your boyfriend’s not so manly shrieks moments ago. “What’s wrong?”

The boy coward in the farthest corner of your bed, pointing a shaky finger at the desk on the opposite side of the room. You furrowed a brow in that direction, stepping over the clutter you had yet to clean up on your floor. The bloodied werewolf mask you forgot to put away for the season stared back at you on your computer chair. 

“I know I’m late at cleaning up but come on…” You sighed, grabbing the mask and turning to face him. Sunwoo shook his head, still spooked by something.

“I saw s-something m-move!” He stuttered, making you even more confused. 

“Move?”

“Yeah, it scuttled across the floor so fast!” That’s when the realization finally hit you. Dropping the mask, you stepped over to the terrarium sitting on your dresser. Sunwoo didn’t follow your movements, too focused on the floor to make sure whatever he saw didn’t attack him. A chuckle escaped you once you glanced in the tank, grabbing the small container next to it. 

“W- what’s that?” He asked, observing you from afar. 

“Just calm down, alright?” You spoke softly, popping the lid off the container. Using the lid as a dish, you poured a small bit of the contents out and set it on the floor in front of the desk. You both waited - Sunwoo less patient than you - until movement caught your eye. A scaly head popped out from beneath the drawer, taking shelter at the sound of another scream. 

“Baby, you need to quiet down.” You said, pushing the lid closer to the desk. It didn’t take long for the creature to poke its head out again. You watched as he slowly made his way to the makeshift dish, chowing down on the crunchy morsels. 

“Santa Claws, you bad boy!” You scolded, reaching over to pick up the lizard. You did a once over his body to check for any injuries, not noticing anything out of sorts. Santa Claws?!

“Is that a-”

“Reptile? Yep.” Sunwoo felt his eye twitch at your casualty, observing you basically snuggle up to the mini dragon in your arms. “It’s a bearded dragon if we wanna be technical about it. I apologize, I never told you about him.” 

You opened the top of the terrarium, carefully placing your beardie on one of his branches. For the longest time, Sunwoo thought that terrarium was just for plants. He’d never really took a good look inside to be fair, but he wasn’t that surprised now that he knew. The two of you were the opposite of one another, it was amazing you two were as compatible as you were. 

Sunwoo was taken from his thoughts when you grabbed his hands, helping him off your bed. He kept eyeing the lizard’s desert paradise behind you, shaking at the thought of the scaly beast. 

“How’d he even get out?” Sunwoo asked.

“Oh, he’s an escape artist. I gave the little bastard such a nice habitat and he still can’t appreciate it.” You chuckled, double-checking the lid on the tank. You noticed Sunwoo’s shoulders relax a bit, calming down from probably the scariest thing he could see in December. He flopped back on the bed, taking a deep breath before a thought came to mind.

“Did you call him Santa Claws?!”

“Yeah, he was a Christmas gift and my little cousin named him, leave me alone!” You defended, lying down beside him. Sunwoo chuckled at that, pulling you into his side.

“At least it’s fitting.” He muttered, “Thanks for coming to my rescue, babe. You’re my hero!”

You scoffed, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I’ll always contain the scary dragon for my lovely prince.”

_____________________________________________________

Sorry, I was super busy with Christmas. But here's the last two prompts!

Ao3 / FF.net

“Sorry I’m late, kitty, my parents are going crazy with Christmas preparations…”, Ladybug greeted her partner with a quick kiss, then she sat down next to him, “Did you wait for too long?”

He shook his head, managing a smile.

“Ah, no. Maybe a few minutes, my lady.”

She leant against him, resting her head on his shoulder with a happy smile.

“Hawkmoth’s been silent, lately. I’m glad even he understands what Christmas means.”

Chat grabbed her hand that rested in her lap, sighing as he interlaced their fingers.

“Yeah… Maybe…”

A small moment of silence rested between them, then she looked up to him, lightly squeezing his hand.

“… You okay?”

He huffed, pressing his lips together and looking off in the distance, obviously not wanting to meet her gaze. Instead of worried she now grew annoyed, furrowing her eyebrows before lifting one.

“Adrien Agreste.”, she began in a scolding tone, “You tell me right now what’s bothering you on Christmas Eve.”

He grumbled, shaking his head.

“Adrien, c’mon. I don’t want you to be sad on Christmas!”

He huffed, then forced himself to grin, turning to look down at her.

“You missed a pun. What’s bugging me on Christmas, get it?”

She gave him a very, very long scolding gaze. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her piercing blue eyes drilled a sharp gaze right into his. He gulped.

“Adrien.”

His name in this tone was enough for him to slide away from her, flop down on his stomach and rest his forehead on her thigh, wailing comically loudly.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, my lady, but I couldn’t get an appropriate Christmas present for you, I’m so, so sorry! I searched and I wracked my brain over this and I couldn’t, I just couldn’t find anything!”

Her angry mood vanished within the second and she laughed, patting his head. His arms slowly wrapped themselves around her waist and he whined as her slender fingers worked through his blonde locks.

“Aww, kitty cat…”, she giggled, brushing his hair away from his face so he could turn his head to the side, “It’s not that bad, you know?”

He grumbled, nuzzling closer to her and letting his claws brush over her lower back to make her shiver a little. She giggled, getting the same effect with him when she scratched up the back of his head to his cat ears.

“But I wanna make my girlfriend proud…”, he murmured, only to have her bending down and kissing his temple.

“Oh Chaton, I am proud of you… And happy to be with you. And ever since the ball you tried to spoil me anyways, so don’t worry. Besides – you already gave me a Christmas present.”

He turned around to lay on his back, furrowing his eyes while looking up to her.

“I already gave you a Christmas present?”

“Yeah, you were my Secret Santa, remember? A cinema gift card.”

He rolled his eyes, but she cupped his cheeks and grinned, squishing his face a little.

“I loved it. And you also gave me a really big Christmas present.”

Once again, he gave her a questioning look and she squished his cheeks together to pucker his lips. Then she leant over to give him a little peck, giggling.

“Which one?”, he asked against her lips, “… I don’t remember giving you another?”

“Well, you yourself.”, she answered, her breath mingling with his, “I love you, Chaton.”

He grinned and sat up to kiss her back. She buried her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer, grinning against his lips – until she felt something wet on her skin.

She didn’t think of it as something bad, at first. It could’ve been snow.

But it rolled down her cheek and reached her lips. Only then she realized it was salty.

Ladybug quickly opened her eyes and parted from Chat to see his eyes reddened and tears leaking from them.

“Chat?”, she asked, now worried, and brushed the hair out of his face, “Chat, oh gosh, did I do something wrong? I’m so, so sorry Chat… I didn’t mean to upset you. Adrien? Please, please don’t cry…”

Much to her surprise he merely chuckled, shrugging and brushing the tears off. Then he shifted so he could pull her on his lap, resting his forehead on her cheek.

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, my lady. I just-… I kinda have nobody to come home to. Nathalie and the Gorilla are with their family, my father is who knows where again and-… You saying you love me is really relieving. These are tears of happiness, princess.”

She hummed grumpily, her arms tightly locked around his neck. While looking off the roof, where she saw Notre Dame sitting enthroned above the city, she held him closer.

“… Come home with me.”, she finally whispered, turning her head so she could press a little kiss to his forehead, “Maman and Papa will be thrilled to have you and I don’t want you to be alone. We’ve got enough food for all four of us and you’ll have it warm and with people who love you on Christmas Eve. To hell with your father.”

He looked up to her, surprised, but her frown only deepened as she met his gaze.

“Come home with me.”, she repeated.

Over the deepening blush he struggled to form coherent words but as they were out he couldn’t help but feel like the happiest boy alive.

Part 3 of 5! Yay!

Ao3 / FF.net

“Marinette, are you okay?”, Tikki asked as she flew out of her purse, a worried expression on her small face.

“Y-Yeah, I’m just-… Ugh, Tikki, this is all so wrong…”

The little Kwami nodded sympathetically, nuzzling Marinette’s cheek as her chosen sniffled another time. Marinette held her close but then gently pulled her away to cup her hands around the Kwami.

“You’re gonna be cold if you stay out in the open for too long, Tikki. I know how bad you take the cold.”

Tikki shrugged and hugged Marinette’s thumb closer, closing her eyes.

“I’m warm, I’ve had plenty of warmth in there. Don’t worry about me.”

The girl chuckled, softly brushing over Tikki’s head. She brought her up to her face again, nuzzling her tiny friend.

“But I have to worry about you. You’re so small and probably freezing and-… If I didn’t worry about you I’d probably cry. I don’t wanna ruin my make up.”

Tikki hummed and they remained in this position for a while, just letting Marinette cool off and calm down again, until they suddenly heard a voice speaking up.

“P-Princess?”, someone asked and Marinette quickly put her hands, with Tikki, down to the other side. She was really glad it had just looked like she was burying her face in her hands, otherwise this could’ve gone very wrong.

“Uhm-… Wh-What?”

She turned to the direction where the voice had come from and slightly recoiled as she saw Chat Noir sitting on the railing of the balcony, a worried expression on his usually so cheerful face.

“Princess? Are you okay?”, he asked and slid down from the railing to carefully step towards her, his shoulders pulled up. Maybe he wasn’t used to girls crying. Or maybe it was just her, “I, uh-… Am I interrupting something? I just-… I passed this place and I saw you here and-… It looked like you were crying…”

Marinette gulped, feeling Tikki phasing into her purse unseen, then she shook her head.

“N-No, I’m not crying! Uhm-… It’s okay, Chat. I just-… I needed a moment alone.”

He tilted his head at her appearance, then he looked to the side, narrowing his eyes at the party inside.

“… Did someone hurt you? I’ll punch them.”, he finally said, growling a little. Marinette quickly shook her head again, quicker this time.

“No, no! No-… It’s just-… Nobody really hurt me… I’m just-… Ugh, no, it’s okay… I shouldn’t talk to you like that…”

He reached her now, lifting one hand to gently place it on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze.

“I’m here…”, he said, “I’m here and you can talk to me… I wanna help you…”

She sighed, leaning against him for support. She always felt so natural around him. His arms wrapped themselves around her body and he held her as she trembled, willing herself not to cry.

“You must be freezing.”, he commented, having her snort at that. It was obvious she wasn’t cold since her cheeks were still reddened from the warm room that sh had just left. He chuckled as well, brushing over her back, “So, Princess, who do I have to throw in jail?”

She huffed, carefully leaning her face against his shoulder not to smudge her make up. She was just glad she had stood in a more hidden corner of the balcony so that nobody would see right away that Adrien Agreste’s date was hugged by Chat Noir. Now that would make the media curious…

She bit her lip as she thought back.

Adrien’s date, that was right…

“I-… I’m here with a boy…”, she began, sniffling again. Chat Noir growled at that and she couldn’t help but smile at her possessive kitty, “Relax, Chat. It’s just-… You know, that boy asked me to be his fake date for this party… His father wanted him to bring a date and I was a substitute for him to use. I mean, that’s okay, we’re friends and I guess it’s a favor but-… If Adrien had asked anyone else, Alya, Sabrina, I dunno, then-… Then it would’ve been okay. But I was-… Well-… First of all I wasn’t prepared… And-… And, well, there are certain circumstances that made it really hard for me to play the part…”

He didn’t reply for quite some time before finally whispering, his voice so soft she had the feeling he was petting a kitten and talking to it.

“… What made it so hard for you?”, he asked and she sighed, her hands now slowly coming up to lock themselves around his waist, one of her hands wrapping itself around her other wrist.

“I-… I’m in love with him, Chat…”, she felt how he tensed and had to smile once again at how possessive he was, “I’m in love with him and-… I didn’t tell him. He didn’t know. We’re friends, have always been. Nothing more than that. Lately I’ve noticed that-… He spaced off in the lessons, getting this lovestruck expression that I always get when thinking about him.”

Chat trembled by now and she had to grin a little. “You must be freezing, Chat.”, Marinette cheekily commented but he didn’t react to that. Only then it occurred to her that he was upset. She leant back and saw his jaw set and his eyes hard, th same expression she had seen on Adrien as she had talked to Silvio.

“Chat?”

“You-… You’re in love with him?”, he choked out and she caressed his cheek, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Chat, are you okay?”, he glanced to the side before huffing, catching her gaze again.

“You-… You said you’re in love with him… Did you mean that? And-… H-How did you feel when-…”, he squinted his eyes before opening them again, “Please-… Please answer…”

She was a little dumbstruck and confused but he looked so desperate, so upset.

“I, well-… It hurt. It hurt really badly… But he needed me. He needed me to be a good friend so I agreed… And-… and then I met Silvio and-… He’s everything I wanna be. Successful while still so young, talented and already renowned, despite his age. And-… I guess while I was star struck, I-… I dunno, I let him have his fun. I danced with him, well, he practically pulled me to the dance floor and-… It was so fun, it was relieving after the horrible start of the evening, so-…”

She didn’t realize how each word hit him like a bullet and just continued talking.

“… Well, I danced with him and I felt free for once and-… I felt beautiful and talented with him that I hadn’t felt next to Adrien and-… Next thing I know is that Adrien’s interrupting the dance and acting all weird and-… Almost overprotective, you know? Like a father who doesn’t allow boys to turn their heads after his daughter. I-… I asked him why he did that and he said Silvio had looked at me like an object.”, she sighed heavily, leaning her forehead against Chat’s chest. He numbly hugged her again, his green eyes lost in the dark as he replayed the evening with the important aspect of her having a crush on him. He gulped, his chest feeling tight.

“But, well-… I knew Silvio wouldn’t ever be a partner for me. He knew that as well. We just had our fun, it was like-… An entry to this new world that I wanna be a part of. Dancing with a young designer just-… I know it made room for my future. I know I’ve been seen now, not only by Silvio but also a lot of others. He-… It was basically a business dance. We talked about it while we danced, actually. We both know there’s nothing romantical about that. Well, he flirted a bit but that’s just teasing, I guess… Well, we actually talked about how he’ll make sure to make my name known if I still decide to take the path of a fashion designer after school.”

“A-And…?”, he finally whispered, his voice lost to his guilt.

“Well… When-… When Adrien said Silvio saw me as an object-… He couldn’t have been more wrong. I-… He failed to see that I’ve been the object for him the whole evening long. While-… While Silvio saw the human, saw the designer I could become. It’s just-… It was so, so wrong of Adrien to-… Assume I had been the object to Silvio when he had asked me to be his fake date for the evening!”

Chat pressed his lips together and didn’t say anything while Marinette desperately tried to keep her tears in. She sniffled a few times but finally she calmed down, now really feeling the cold.

She began trembling and snuggled closer to Chat, seeking his warmth.

But his arms were still loose and his body was without any strength. Had he become so upset with how her evening had gone? She propped her chin up on his chest, looking up to him.

“Chat? You okay?”

“… You’re freezing.”, he replied after a few moments, not meeting her gaze. His voice was free from all teasing, “You-… You should wait here for a moment, then go inside. I’ll grab this Adrien and kick his butt to talk to you.”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head as Chat parted from her.

“No, no, wait! Don’t tell him about my crush! Please! Please don’t do anything to him, I-… I don’t want you to.”

He finally met her eyes again, green slashing at blue but halting before any damage could be done. His gaze softened suddenly and she once again felt like she was the calming kitten.

“Okay, I won’t tell him and I won’t do anything to him. But I’ll make sure he regrets using you like this.”

She gulped as he sent her a swift gesture as a goodbye, then set off, over the roof and away. In contrary to his advice she didn’t wait a bit and then return. Marinette immediately stormed inside, calming her steps as she was through the doors but her gaze never slowing down. She scanned the hall from the top of the flight of stairs that led up to the balcony and gulped when she finished her search.

Hold your horses, guys, this is Part 1 ;) The next prompt will still be all about that!

Ao3 / FF.net

Adrien nervously shifted his weight from one foot to another while standing in front of the building with the ballroom that his father had rented for the big Christmas party the Agreste family always held.

It was disgustingly formal and stuck up and Adrien wanted to be everywhere else but there. Well, at least Chloé was out of town so he didn’t have to go with her.

What he hadn’t foreseen, though, was that his father had come to him with a question.

Who would be his partner for the ball?

First, he had thought of Nino but his father had politely declined, still leaving it open for Adrien to choose without considering a gender but forbidding him to bring this boy. Adrien knew Nino’s name was still on Gabriel Agreste’s blacklist so he wasn’t allowed to bring him.

Alya had almost been his next guess when he had remembered Marinette. She was an aspiring designer so she would surely be overjoyed to be around some of the most famous designers of Europe, right?

He had asked her right away and well, she had happily taken the offer.

The only thing he had failed to tell her in the heat of his joy was that-… Well… It was supposed to be a date. Or, well, a date to the outside.

Not, uh, not for them, right? She just had to pretend, right?

A little nagging feeling built up inside him but he ignored it as his phone chimed up. He pulled it out, recognizing the caller as Nino.

“Uhm, hi Nino?”

“ARE YOU COMPLETELY CRAZY, MAN?!”, the voice on the other end shouted and Adrien recoiled, holding the phone away. This voice unmistakably belonged to Alya.

“Uhm… No, thanks… What’s up?”

“Marinette just left!”, Alya now angered around in a slightly lower voice, still loud but at least so that Adrien could hold his phone like a normal person again.

“Uh-… That’s good, right?”

Alya downright exploded so as Adrien dared to take the phone to his ear again he heard Nino speaking.

“Dude, you still there?”

“Uhm, yes. What’s up?”

Nino sighed, his girlfriend audibly stomping around rambling angrily in the background.

“Alya, relax… So, uh, you invited Marinette to this big ass fancy party this evening?”

“Yeah?”

“Well…”, Nino began, “Problem is, you asked her just this morning, Adrien. She kinda freaked out over the whole day and Alya freaked out with her and she’s wearing an original design and stuff… Anyways. All I wanna say is that I’ll have to kill you with best regards from Alya if you don’t take care of her.”

“I will! I will take care of her!”, Adrien insisted but Nino sighed again.

“No, dude, like… She’ll be in a room with a lot of persons she looks up to and Marinette is kinda a person to have no chill when it comes to situation like these. Please take care that she won’t, uhm, y’know… Go crazy.”

Adrien chuckled, knowing Marinette’s antics.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Good…”, Alya had calmed down a bit, probably to listen, “And, uhm, dude? Have you told her about, uh, the thing?”

“What thing?”, Alya asked. Nino silently explained it to her, somehow successfully keeping her from freaking out again.

Adrien stiffened and looked down the street, gulping.

“Dude. Adrien. Tell me you-”

“… Didn’t?”

“THAT’S IT!!”, Alya yelled. She apparently took the phone again because suddenly, her voice was very close, “Agreste, if there’s one, and I repeat, ONE message from Mari that I might understand wrongly, you are dead. And if there is one Marinette crying in my arms this night, then you aren’t just dead but also castrated, neutered, skinned, burned, buried alive and tarred and feathered and most of all DEAD, do I make myself clear?”

Adrien gulped harder, actually leaning away from his phone.

“Uhm-… Y-Yeah, o-of course, Alya…”

“Am I scaring you?”, her voice was suddenly sweet and caring and he was even more afraid of that than before.

“Y-Yes?”

“GOOD!”, she hissed, the old bite apparent again, and he was sure he had never been so close to peeing himself in public. He swallowed, listening as Nino took over again.

“Yeah, I’ll try to calm her a bit, just-”

“DON’T YOU DARE, LAHIFFE!”

Adrien nodded.

“I’ll take care of her. There’s no calming and furious Alya Césaire when it’s about Marinette, got it.”

“One Alya Césaire, don’t forget that.”, Nino chuckled and it was the last thing he did.

“ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF M-”

The call was abruptly ended and Adrien was left alone with tingling ears, blinking once, twice, before straightening up again. He just hoped he would see Nino alive sometime again.

As he looked down the street and saw a car nearing he didn’t know yet how little Nino’s life would matter to him in just a few seconds. The car pulled over and he could make out Marinette’s father and her as the lights flashed on. They talked for a bit, then Marinette opened the door and stepped out. Adrien jumped to her side to help her out, startling her with that but after the first moment of shock she took his hand, standing up from her seat.

“H-Hi Marinette!”, he stuttered, his gaze involuntarily flickering up and down her body.

She was gorgeous.

When Alya had said that she would be wearing an original design he had been excited. But seeing her like this, her slender but somehow muscular body so wonderfully cupped by the amazing dress. Her hair done in a braid that led from her forehead to the back of her head, out of her signature pigtails. Her make up shining in the street lamp, applied to keep her natural beauty and just let her significant traits stand out a little more. Her bluebell eyes sparkled and her lips were so rosy he had to swallow.

Ever since he had joined her shopping as Chat Noir he had found his thoughts wandering off to her more and more often. Now seeing the wonderful dress on her that had the same color as her hair, maybe a bit more on the violet side, seeing her curves catching his attention because of the genius design of the dress, seeing how beautiful she let herself be, he found himself losing his mind.

Ladybug was long forgotten.

In a daze he barely remembered that they were still standing on the wintery sidewalk but the small snowflakes dancing over her eyelashes and midnight blue hair were hypnotizing. Her eyes were like lamps to a moth for him. He couldn’t turn away.

It wasn’t the dress that made her so truly beautiful. It wasn’t that she wore more radiant make up than usual and it certainly wasn’t that she had dressed up like that. The true beauty was her excitement, her genuine joy. The true shine that captured him was how beautiful she had allowed herself to be.

Marinette giggled, which ripped him out of his trance, and turned to her father. Tom leant over, winking at Adrien.

“You take care of my daughter, son!”

Adrien began grinning at the familiar nickname Tom had given him as his visits had become more frequent since Alya, Nino, Marinette and him had become better friends. He nodded, just barely able to look away from the beauty that was in front of him.

“Of course, Monsieur Dupain. Have a nice evening!”

“Same to you, kids!”, he replied before driving off, leaving the two teens standing on the sidewalk.

“You-… You look beautiful, Marinette…”, he finally choked out, feeling awkward and clumsy next to her. She giggled and blushed, making his heart skip a beat.

“Thank you, Adrien. You look quite handsome, too.”

He briefly wondered where this slight dimmed light in her eyes came from, of the lack of her stutters, but he figured she just felt confident in the dress.

“U-Uh, thanks!”

Only now he noticed how close they stood to each other, her feet already between his and her chin almost brushing over his chest when she spoke. He only noticed because he now felt her shivering.

“Uhm, let’s go inside! You must be cold. The, uh, the party will officially begin in ten minutes and, uh-…”

They entered the building, Marinette on his arm and her shivering stopping as they stepped into the warm foyer. He grew more and more nervous as they continued down the hall, towards the ballroom. He had to tell her.

So he stopped gently, turning towards her before his father could see them. “Uhm, Marinette, there’s actually something, uhm-…”

“Adrien, are you alright?”, she asked, sweet and caring as ever. He tried a smile.

“Yeah, of course! It’s just that, well, this here-… This isn’t just an invite to you, Marinette…”

Her eyes sparkled again and she downright looked ashamed as she spoke up, flustered and now finally stuttering.

“O-Oh, yeah that’s right! It’s such a b-big opportunity, Adrien, I didn’t even thank you! I just, ugh, I’m so sorry for my rudeness, I really-”

“No, no…”, he chuckled, “It’s an honor to me that you’re here today. It’s just that, well… My father kinda-… Made me invite someone. As, uh-… As my date.”

Her face was stable for a surprisingly long time. But she also didn’t react for a concerningly long time. Adrien already swallowed, ready to catch her or apologize for everything he had ever done. Or, well, to say goodbye to his life.

“… A date.”, she finally repeated, “Your date.”

He nodded awkwardly, his hand flying to the back of his head.

“Uhm, yeah, well, my father and-… Well, it’s just to pretend because, well, some designers are a little difficult and-… Uhm-… You just gotta pretend and we don’t have to kiss and nothing, we just have to hang out together and maybe dance and, uh, well, that’s all, promise!”

She slowly nodded, her head seemingly working at light speed. Little did he know how close she was to a full fledged nervous breakdown right now.

She had just adjusted to stepping her being in love down, she had just begun accepting he liked someone else. She had just psyched herself up together with Alya to be suave and cool and totally just a friend. To have a cool evening with a cool guy who was a friend, nothing more.

She still freaked out over all the renowned designers she would meet and yes, she was nervous. But this was no comparison, in no way, to the nervousness that built up within her now.

Pretending to be Adrien’s date.

There was something about that that she simply couldn’t grasp. And she felt herself slipping.

Pretending to be his date. Just pretending and, well, pretending to hang on his arm, pretend that kissing him occasionally was normal between them even if they wouldn’t do it today, pretending that they were in a relationship, were probably fooling around, hanging out in their free time, knowing personal things about each other. Pretending to be more than just a friend.

Yep, she was freaking out. On the inside. Just on the inside.

“Oh, uh-… Of course?”, she squeaked, watching as the tension left from Adrien’s shoulders.

Help, she thought.

“Oh man, I’m so glad Marinette! We don’t have to do more than just stay together, that’s all. And hey, this is gonna be fun, right? Just you, me, a few old and stuck up people that we say hello to and a few really cool younger people that we can talk to and the evening’s over faster than we can imagine.”

She managed a nod and even a slight smile.

“Oh, uhm, yes of course! Exciting, fun and, uhm-… Pretending to be a-… Uh, couple?”

He nodded, now an uncertain expression snuck over his face.

“A-Are you gonna be okay with that? We can also tell everyone you’re a friend and my real partner couldn’t make it or-… Well, some stuff like that?”

She quickly shook her head, now completely accepting that she had absolutely zero chance with him.

“Nah, it’s fine, really. Let’s, uhm, pretend we’re a couple and forget it tomorrow?”

She narrowly missed the sad shadow in his smile as he nodded.

“Yeah, of course. Friends, right?”