#mlss2019

“Or, he’ll hate my gift, realize that knowing me is a complete and total mistake, and never ever want to see me again!”

“You know that will happen.”

“It could! You don’t know that!”

“This is Luka we’re talking about, right? Nicest guy in the world? Wouldn’t hurt a fly? Totally head over heels in love with you?”

“You don’t know what either.”

“Don’t know he’s the nicest guy in the world? I think I do.”

“You don’t know that he’s in love with me!”

“Uhm, yea I do. The whole class knows it. The neighbours know it. All of Paris knows it. He’s even told you how much he likes you.”

“But that’s not the same. This is a confession we’re talking about here. This is a huge deal. I can’t mess this up.”

“Like you would have even done it in the next century if you hadn’t drawn his name.”

“If you hadn’t given me his name!” she retorted pointedly.

“Well, you might as well get planning,” Alya shrugged. “What are you going to get him?”

~

After a week of arduous planning and embroidering, Marinette held up her handiwork to present to Alya, Juleka, Rose, Alix, and Mylene as a final check. The girls sat in awe and approval at the sight of it.

“It’s beautiful, Marinette!” Rose bubbled, hands at her cheeks.

“He’s going to love it,” Juleka agreed.

“Now that we’ve got that all sorted,” said Alya, “what are you going to wear?” Marinette immediately stood and ran for her hangers, more than ready for this line of questioning.

~

It was agreed that they would unceremoniously reveal themselves to their Secret Santa recipients. Since Alya was the one to arrange the whole event, party aside, it was easily in her power to make that particular decision. This, of course, paired very well with Marinette’s intent to have a rather private discussion with her Secret Santa recipient. This all only left one problem: Marinette’s willingness and strength to approach Luka herself, without the pressure of all her peers’ expectations. Worse yet, if she didn’t approach him, he would be left as the only person at the party without a gift, and she would never forgive herself for leaving him that way. And even if she somehow managed to avoid facing him with her gift, and other things, on her own, he was sure to find her himself, having drawn her name as his giftee. It was all a mess and a small part of her (that somehow managed to take over her entire body) didn’t want to attend the party. But with a friend like Alya, how could anyone say no.

Chloe Bourgeois always held the most lavish parties. Even into their university years, she never ceased to impress, inviting anyone and everyone she knew, and even some she didn’t know. This made convincing everyone to exchange their gifts personally much easier. The dress code was nearly non-existent. People came in suits and gowns, contrasting those in khakis and crop tops. Marinette personally enjoyed her sweet, pink, semiformal dress. From across the way, Marinette spotted Luka. He was wearing a dress shirt and tie underneath his usual blue hoodie. Although it was not a style she would have put together herself, she found it ridiculously charming nonetheless. He made the effort, and something about that thought made her smile uncontrollably.

It almost melted her heart to see the smile immediately form on his face just at the sight of her. She wasn’t the only one.

“Hey Marinette,” Luka greeted when she approached his corner of the room.

“Hello,” she said, unabashed by the happiness in her tone. There was a nearly unnoticeable moment of silence, had neither of them been thinking about what to say and how to say it.

“Have you given your gift to your Secret Santa person yet?” Luka asked.

“Not yet.” Marinette shrugged.

“Neither have I. Who’d you get?” he prompted. Without another word, Marinette took the carefully wrapped present from behind her back and offered it to him. He blinked confusedly for a few moments before smiling and accepting. “Wow Marinette, you had my name? That’s amazing! I had your name!” Luka produced a small package from his pocket. Alya had mentioned that Luka had her name, but the sight of the small box still produced a gasp from her lips.

“You should open yours first,” she insisted. He tore into the wrapping of the gift and pulled the cloth from the remains.

The guitar strap was a deep blue and black, with tiny pink flowers embroidered into the swirling design. The contrast provided a cute and cool look to the overall design, but secretly, Marinette had made it with the idea of their styles combining into a single image. Not that she would ever be the one to point it out.

“So… what do you think?” she asked when he didn’t say anything. When she finally had the courage to look at his face, she noticed his eyes tracing the designs of the strap, his mouth slightly agape and his face flushed. Her brain searched for the meaning behind such a face.

“What do I think?” he repeated, like he was shocked that she could ask him a question with such an obvious answer. “It’s amazing, Marinette.”

“I’m so glad you like it. I wasn’t sure-”

“Open yours,” he interrupted. It was rare for him to ask her of much, so her curiosity spiked at the request. Tearing apart the wrapping, she was met with a plain velvet box. Inside was a small, pastel, pink, rose pendent on a silver chain.

“Luka!” Marinette gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

“You like it?”

“I love it!”

“May I?” Luka held his hand out, asking for the necklace. She nodded and turned around, pushing aside her hair so he would have access to the back of her neck. He draped the necklace around the front of her neck and secured the clasp.  

“It looks even nicer on you than it did in the box. It suits you,” said Luka.

“Thank you,” she replied, blushing and staring at the floor. A smile crossed her face and she gently touched the pendent, feeling all the intricate details of the design. “Hey Luka?” Marinette started. He looked down and smiled at her.

“Yes?”

“I have something I need to tell you.” She bit her lip and shifted her gaze nervously.

“What is it?”

“I… I really like you.” The words practically flew from her mouth as she rushed to get them out lest she change her mind.

“I like you too Marinette,” Luka replied, not missing a beat. The grin on his face was unparalleled. If Marinette had the courage and forethought to look for his reaction, she might have caught it.

“No, not like that!” she rambled, looking everywhere but at him. “I mean. I do like you. As a friend; but also as more.”

“More?” he asked, amused.  

“You mean so much to be Luka. And you’ve always been so kind and caring, and I can’t believe I couldn’t see it before.” Taking a deep breath, she mustered the courage to look him in the eyes before uttering the following words. “There is no one as sweet as you, or who makes me feel as comfortable and happy as you do.” She needed him to understand her seriousness and sincerity. “What I mean to say is that, I love you.” Luka pursed his lips through his smile and reached out to hold her hands, draping his gift over his shoulder.

“Marinette, thank you. That means so much to me. Thank you. I love you too.” Her head snapped up in shock at the statement.

“Really?” she asked, disbelieving. He laughed briefly.

“Of course. I haven’t been trying very hard to hide it either. Marinette, I care so much about you and I want you to be your happiest always.”

“I… I’m sorry, I had no idea,” she said. A giggle escaped her lips shortly after. “How could I have not noticed?”

“Well, it is more difficult to tell when you’re involved.”

“Everyone’s been telling me for ages that you liked me, and I just couldn’t believe it.” Luka’s hand rose to cup the side of her cheek and she rested her head into it.

“Believe it or not, it’s true,” he reassured her. “I really like you.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

“Just good?” Marinette’s brought her own hand up to her face to rest on top of his.

“That’s really good,” she grinned.

“Are you two done flirting or should I get the hose?” A voice cackled from behind them. “Al-” Ladybug stopped herself before exposing the secret identity of her best friend. “I want to make it clear that this is not flirting.” she grumbled as Rena Rogue laughed. Ladybug frowned and bit the inside of her cheek to avoid making it a bigger deal than what she knew it could become.

“My lady, we should let the cat out of the bag” Chat Noir purred “We should tell them about our history, how we are pawsitively more than fur-riends”

Marinette wrinkled her nose and opened her eyes long enough to give him a look, so he’d understand the excruciating pain he was putting her through with his dreadful puns.

“I think that would be a cat-astrophic idea, Kitty,” she teased, before closing her eyes and focusing on the task at hand. Had she kept her eyes on him she might’ve seen his cheeks brighten up.

Although they had been partners for the better part of 4 years Chat Noir couldn’t help the way his heart skipped a beat when Ladybug would rarely return his puns, or whenever she still called him kitty. He admired the blue-eyed heroine, and as time passed his feelings for her only increased, and even though through the years he had other girls he dated or was involved with, he never really got very far; his feelings for the polka-dot clad superhero prevented him from forming any real romantic connections, until he had met Marinette that is. The other blue-eyed girl had captured his heart and only her smile could make his heart skip a beat the way Ladybug’s did.

 Yet, as suave as he had become over the years he quickly quipped back.

“What is that Feline? Am I fortunate enough that purrhps the pawsibility has arisen that my purr-incess is finally warming up to my claw-ver puns?”

“Ugh, unless you want to do this Chat, I require the utmost silence!” Ladybug groaned, finding it impossible that Chat could find a cat twist to every other word, still a small smile found its way onto her face.

“Ladybug give me the word and I’ll shut him up for you!” Queen Bee exclaimed, with genuine enthusiasm. Although Chloe had grown closer to the team, she still couldn’t help herself with the dig at the leather clad boy. She was a tough cookie and her mean girl spirit never seemed to leave.

“Hey! What do you mean by that?” Chat cried before Queen Bee hit him with her spinning top. 

“She asked for silence!”

 “I KNOW I HEARD HER!” Chat spat back as Carapace laughed at both blondes while they fought about Ladybug.

Ladybug tuned out the rest of her team members, focusing on the task at hand, twisting the dial and slowly changing directions with every click. 

‘Crap, I might not be able to actually crack this’ she thought before letting out a loud sigh. If she didn’t concentrate, she wouldn’t be able to open the safe and their whole plan would be ruined. The last thing she wanted to do was use Chat’s cataclysm this early in the plan. Master Fu had been fairly certain that this individual possessed a miraculous and all the other places he could’ve stored the miraculous were empty. This was the last public place he could’ve hidden it, so if it wasn’t here, they’d have to break into his home. 

The vault door clicked three times, and suddenly it was unlocked.

 “Are you sure about this Chaton?” she asked, opening her eyes and stepping to the side. Blue eyes met green, and her companion smirked.

“You realize this will be the biggest one yet, right? I wouldn’t miss this for the world!” 

She smiled and let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. Running around, stealing stuff and wreaking havoc was fun, sure, however Ladybug always feared that her partner would someday get tired of running away from the law. Although Chat Noir was far from a saint, he had a certain softness to him. She feared that softness would someday over take him and he would regret all the criminal activity.

She let the vault door open fully, exposing the white cold room, transparent shelf upon transparent shelf piled with gold bars in the center of the room, security deposit boxes of different sizes lining the other three walls, which contained precious jewels, euros, and documents. Unlocking those security deposit boxes was much easier than unlocking the vault door; they were all well versed in picking locks after all. 

“Ohhh, shiny!” Queen Bee gasped from behind them. Out of instinct, Chat Noir held his arm out and stopped his impulsive teammate from entering the room. Ladybug sighed and analyzed the room. Obviously, the room would have some backup sensor and if they didn’t want a quick interruption from anyone, they would have to be careful. Although part of the fun was kicking some private security details ass, if they could prevent any more notoriety than what they already had, it would be great.

“Rena, what’s the status on this vault?” Ladybug asked her companion. Say what you want about Alya, she was a tenacious reporter and very good at finding the dirt on everything and anything.

“The floor is pressure-sensitive, light lasers that will trigger an alarm if the connection is interrupted between their two plates and there is a door sensor on each security deposit box. You have about 5 seconds before an alarm is triggered.”

“Basically, don’t touch the floor or the lasers and don’t open doors. Chill,” Nino responded squatting as he looked at the vault. He knew that the lasers wouldn’t show up with another light source on. “Is there any way we can, like, turn off the lights inside the vault to see the lasers?”

“We can try to fry the power box but we risk getting locked inside this bank and alerting authorities that way,” Alya responded, “but if we fry it we have about three minutes of uninterrupted snooping before all the backup security comes back on.”

“How big of a possibility is it that we get locked in?” Marinette asked, trying to decide if it was worth it. 

“About fifty-fifty. They are between changing security systems because this one is faulty. We can get unlimited access as the backup security warms up, or it might already be on and the vault closes up again.”

Marinette exhaled loudly in frustration and looked at her partner. Although she called all the shots, Chat usually had good insight.

“I think those odds are good. Worst comes to worst I’ll just cataclysm our way out of here.” 

Marinette looked inside the vault; all three walls were filled with security deposit boxes. There was a light fixture she could swing upon, but once he used cataclysm, they would have to find a different place to swing on. 

“What’s above this again?” she asked the others and Queen Bee pulled out some blueprints from her jacket handing it to the girl in red. Being the mayor’s daughter had its perks. The blonde girl pointed to where they were, “Okay, so like we’d have to get past 2 floors of stairs to reach the front of the bank, but most likely police will have arrived.” She tapped her chin. “But I know helicopters take a bit longer to come so if we manage to find the stairways that lead to the rooftop, we can escape through there.“ 

“But won’t they use floodlights to illuminate every side of the bank?” Carapace injected, looking at the girls before Chat Noir smiled. 

“Not unless we escape down,” he offered.

"You mean through the sewers?” Rena asked.

“No offense cat, but aside from that being ridiculous and gross,” Queen Bee huffed crossing her arms, “it would also limit our escape route and if they decide to go through the sewers, they will immediately catch us. Besides it will probably take longer for them to set up floodlights anyways.”

“Look, there’s a mall right across the street and behind it is the Seine, I think going through the roof is best since we don’t have any map of the sewers or know it. It feels like we could be exposed if we get lost, especially if any of us end up using our powers.”

Queen Bee smirked as Ladybug spoke, happy Ladybug was on her side. The rest of the Antiheros agreed, “But I think if time is just too short, we might have to go through the sewers. But we don’t have much more time to change the plan.” She beckoned the others towards her and the blueprints on the floor

All five huddled around as she laid the blueprints on the floor. “Ok so where exactly is the power system?” Marinette asked.

The team managed to pull the robbery almost miraculously. Having lady luck on their side, things went better than expected. Carapace was able to cut the wires of the vault, and banks’ power grid. Luckily the backup generators weren’t up, so the bank was completely unarmed for a good few minutes, giving the Antiheroes some time to snoop around and take some souvenirs. Although they had very little time, they were able to open a good portion of the wall security deposit boxes, and they took some very valuable documents, cash in different currencies and jewelry. As Queen Bee, Carapace and Rena Rouge were distracted with the gold bars and Chat Noir seemed deep in thought while looking at something in a security deposit box, Ladybug slipped something in her yoyo. Then suddenly an alarm blared above, signaling that something was amiss. They decided to cut their losses and get out of there before any more attention was brought to them. With everything secure in their miraculous tools, they ran towards the roof of the building, and saw the lights of the patrol cars closing in, they were about to cross the busy highway when suddenly they saw a huge iron man grow from one of the patrol cars. 

“An Akuma!” Carapace called out.

“Well crap.” Ladybug groaned. “Let’s get rid of it.”

⛄❆❅☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅

Adrien threw his backpack into his room and collapsed in his bed arriving home after a long fight with an Akuma. This one had been rough. The steel man had been the bank director,  and he had previous boxing experience so it was a doozy. He groaned as Plagg started to complain next to him, how many times he had gotten hit as Chat was uncertain but Adrien lifted his shirt and saw an angry purple welt forming near his ribcage. He was certain it had been way too many for comfort. Another of his concerns was a certain blue-eyed girl’s reaction to seeing his bruises. Although the antiheroes were always careful to never get hit in the face or anywhere visible, an Akuma had once hit Chat straight across the face, leaving a nasty black eye. Marinette berated him about being reeekless and not putting his own life before Ladybug’s and the team’s. He felt her love but at the same time it was too much. Marinette’s reaction was really overkill for him, he knew his girlfriend cared but not to this extent. She took care of him, was so gentle and kind, Adrien felt a bit uncomfortable not getting that at home. She worried, and he was very touched that she did, but it also made him worry about not worrying her. 

His girlfriend had obviously known it was Chat who was hit, but Adrien had to make an incident happen at home so his black eye was explained as well. Luckily there were cameras in every crevice of his house, so him slipping and hitting himself on the bannister was more than enough of an excuse. He sighed and put his shirt back down. Plagg floated next to him holding a piece of cheese bigger than his entire oddly shaped head. “Worrying about baker girl?” he offered. 

“If my shirt rides up and she sees this, I’ll be toast.” He sighs.  

“Then wear a girdle,” Plagg said nonchalantly inhaling the cheese, to Adrien’s dismay. 

“I should really lower your cheese intake for the amount of sass you give me.” He narrowed his eyes at the cat god, before laying back down in his bed. 

“Don’t you even joke about that lover boy. Remember I am the god of destruction and I might feel inclined to destroy some of your favorite anime DVDs.”

“I can download them again online.”

“Not your limited edition, uncut Naruto DVD, signed by the voice actors in Japan.”

Adrien sat back up and looked at his Kawamii “You wouldn’t dare do that.”

“Don’t test me.” Plagg laughed before flying back to his cheese.

Adrien groaned and threw himself back on his bed, putting an arm over his eyes and sighed. “I bet Ladybug’s Kawamii wouldn’t threaten me as you do.”

“Sugarcube? HA. She would’ve killed you by now because you wouldn’t be able to give her sweets so readily like cheese. Might I remind you of the long-standing sugar ban in your house?”

“Might I remind you I have a baker girlfriend who’s parents own the best bakery in all Paris.”

“Of whom you’ve been dating for less than a year. How long have you been Chat Noir?”

Adrien groaned in exasperation, knowing the kawamii made a good point. He decided that instead of fighting with his Kawami he should focus his energy on something else, like the present for his girlfriend. He walked over to his desk, where he had already put all his gifts in a box, yet he still hadn’t wrapped. He looked over everything when his eyes landed on a small blue box. He had bought Marinette a bracelet, from that really expensive store Chloe always gushes about, yet it felt impersonal, and wrong to some degree. His girlfriend wasn’t much about jewelry and fancy things, and he knew she appreciated when he made things himself, much like he enjoyed her handmade gifts. He had the feeling that she would still wear the lucky charm he made her more than the fancy bracelet. He let out a long exhale and looked up at the ceiling. What else could he give her? It was too late to buy something at a store, and he definitely couldn’t gift her something he had stolen from the bank yet suddenly his eyes landed on the picture of his mom.  Why hadn’t he thought of that before? His dad was away in the USA, making sure the Agreste line was sold overseas and wouldn’t be back until after Christmas. Nathalie was with his father and Gorilla was fast asleep. He snuck down the hall, careful to avoid any of the camera’s and stood in front of his parents’ bedroom. He hadn’t been in his parent’s bedroom for the longest time, and it seemed his father hadn’t either, as he slept in one of the various guest rooms around the house. He took his unlocking tools from his pocket and worked the keyhole, and quickly stepped inside the dark and dusty room, glad that the door hinge hadn’t made a sound after all these years of neglect. He was surprised to smell his mothers’ perfume amidst all of the dust. The hairs on his arm went up as he realized he wasn’t alone in the room. 

“You okay kid?” He heard Plagg’s voice whisper to him, and Adrien calmed down.

“Thanks, Plagg” Adrien whispered back and smiled, feeling somewhat better after the assault on his sense. Plagg landed on Adrien’s shoulder, nuzzling next to his chosen neck, to give the teenager some sense of calm. He knew how hard it was for Adrien to remember his mother, even after all these years, the boy couldn’t get over the presumed death of his mother; Plagg realized once Adrien left where he was going and followed him, just to make sure the boy was okay. Adrien let his eyes adjust to the darkness before venturing further into the room. He could see the fine layer of dust on his mother’s vanity, where albeit organized had some things out of place where she used them the day before she was gone. He smiled and ventured closer to their closet, a huge walk-in with a variety of colors. He went towards his mother’s side, remembering how she used to go through her things, him sitting on a bench in the middle of the closet. He knew exactly where to go. He opened one of the drawers and found many scarves yet carefully pulled them out, to find a small safe. Even his mother kept some secrets from his father. He put in his birthday as the safe combination and the light turned green and he heard it unlock. He smiled and opened the top of the safe to find an assortment of jewelry boxes, documents, and pictures. Deciding he would never be able to come back, he took the documents and pictures with him, putting them next to the scarves before looking at the jewelry boxes. He found delicate yet fine jewelry that he knew his mother had a sentimental attachment to, her favorite pieces she only wore around places she knew, with the fear of losing them. He opened a small box and smiled brightly. His mother mostly wore what was in the box when it was just the two of them. His father didn’t let either one of them out of the house much and his mother made the most out of their time together. He was suddenly flooded with memories of her; his mother in jeans and a t-shirt the jewelry she wore catching the light and reflecting as she played the piano in their living room, his mother laughing with him as they cooked in the kitchen together, his mother running around the house looking for him as they played hide and seek and then hugging him when she found him, his mother singing him a song about kitties on rooftops following childhood nightmares, his mother hugging him goodbye before a photoshoot promising her son tea later that day before he never saw her again. 

He felt plagg purring on his shoulder bringing him back from his sudden memories, wiping a tear from his eye. He pets his kawami, took the box and put it in his pocket, before closing the safe and putting the scarves back as he found them. He grabbed the documents before heading out, the memories of his mother too much for him. 

He sneaked back into his room, careful to lock the door again and leave everything as it was. He put all the papers in a random drawer in his desk and put the jewelry box inside the gift box for his girlfriend. Plagg, floated away from Adrien as he went back to his bed, flinging himself on it, belly first and buried his head on his pillow. Plagg brought a blanket from his chosen’s sofa and draped it over him, before laying on Adrien’s head in complete silence. He had more experience with his chosen and learned when Adrien needed to be distracted and when he just needed support, this occasion was the latter. They stayed in silence for a while before Adrien lifted his head, pale face red and warm, eyes also red and his cheeks wet. He sighed before going to the bathroom to wash his face. 

The holidays have always been a hard time for him, yet seeing all his mother’s stuff was putting more of a damper on him. He let the sink faucet run before letting the cool clear liquid splash onto his hands. He looked at the water, seeing how it flowed freely, given no pressure, and the sound it made cascading from the faucet onto his hands and then trickling down onto his porcelain sink, carefree. He splashed his face to clear his mind. Reminding himself of things that made him happy. The way Nino moved around when the beat was ‘way too good bro’; the way Alya’s would smile mischievously whenever she had a lead on whatever case she was researching, the way Chloe would buy small things for Sabrina because it was ‘totally out of fashion’ for her, but her best friend would love jt; how ladybug would always pound his fist when they defeated an Akuma; Finally he thought of Marinette the way her blue eyes sparkled brighter than any star in the Parisian night sky and the melody of her laughter when she let herself be carefree with him, the way her body moved with fluidity and confidence when sewing details on her commissions, the curve of her lips when she joked around with him and the unwavering strength of volition in her voice when she spoke those three words that he could hear her say over and over again. He smiled, water dripping from his chin, his miraculous might have been an omen of bad luck, but he felt like the luckiest boy alive. He turned off the faucet feeling much better and dried his face with a towel. He walked towards his desk when he suddenly felt his pocket vibrate. He tapped his phone unlocking it with his face before smiling at the text he received. 

‘Hope the Akuma didn’t interfere with you Iron Man fanfiction.’

‘My princess you underestimate my love for my Iron Man self insert fiction.’

He didn’t have to wait long before his girlfriend texted back and his phone vibrated once again in his hands. 

‘Damn I don’t know if you are a weaboo

or a nerd.’

‘I haven’t mentioned anime ONCE

… Since our last convo.’

‘Nope, I was mistaken you ARE a dork.’

‘Working on my body pillow girlfriend as a Christmas present?’

‘Ah…

I suddenly have something else to do than participate in this conversation’

‘😿‘

‘😂 JK Dorkzilla

But hey are you okay?

Did the Akuma do any damage?’

‘ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMESRatAG04 ’

‘That cat looks terrified

But are you okay? Are you injured?’

‘ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R5jG_5N5ZU ,

but if that doesn’t convince you then you can come over 😽’

‘Alright

I’ll take it Dorkus Suprimious

I do have to sleep tho

Love you Chaton

Sweet dreams.’

‘Thanks for checking up on me Princess

Rest well and see you tomorrow

Love you bunches’

“Well, you seem to be in a better mood.” Plagg teased, hovering in front of Adrien again. 

“Thanks, Plagg,” Adrien said, putting his phone down. “You helped me back there.”

“It was nothing kid.” 

Adrien smiled and pet his Kawami, deciding that this was all he needed for the holiday season.

“Well, are we going to unpack what you stole from the bank or what?” Plagg asked and Adrien laughed.

“You realize curiosity killed that cat right?”⛄❆❅☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆❅❄☃⛄❆

The following night Chat Noir ran across the rooftops in the quiet cold Parisian night, Christmas joy felt pouring out of their house, the dreams of children asleep with the hope presents delivered the following day. He glanced among the lights until he found the one he was looking for. There on the corner, on top of a small bakery, was a balcony emitting a soft glow. He ran with more vigor, feeling almost entirely carefree. There stood Marinette wrapped in a blanket looking at the night sky, deep in thought. 

To think that it was just yesterday that they had pulled the biggest heist to date, fought an akumatized bank director, stole about 6.2 million euros in combined assets of gold, jewelry, and cash. As Marinette stood there deep in thought, in her hand she held the most prized possession from the heist. An inconspicuous seeming black pendant. When she found it inside one of the safety deposit boxes, hidden behind more precious jewels, she knew it was the miraculous she was looking for. The mouse miraculous. She hadn’t had time to properly admire it and let the kawami free of its holding. Now that she was the Guardian, she was a bit more lenient with the kawamis than Master Fu had been, letting them free of their confinements. 

Chat Noir shot his staff from a rooftop over so he could walk over to his lady. “Penny for your thought Princess?” he asked, sauntering over. Marinette blinked and looked at her sudden companion. 

“Damn and I thought that buying that Valerian plant would keep you away,” she smirked, gesturing toward the flower. Chat smirked and walked towards the tall pink plant, bending over to smell its sweet aroma. Something inside him felt even more blissful if that were possible. 

"Princess, whoever told you that was way wrong. I’m pretty sure this plant is calling me more towards here. Oh, I’m so attracted to this plant, Mari, I could just about leave you for it.” This brought forth laughter from the girl and he couldn’t help but smile. 

“To think that it would only take a plant to get rid of you! I would’ve bought it years ago.” 

“Oh, you wound me princess! Would you really get rid of this amazing body and even better puns?” 

“I might’ve just kept the puns.”

 Chat Noir held a hand to his forehead and sighed dramatically. “Your words are like daggers tonight!” 

Marinette laughed again and opened an arm covered in a blanket, inviting her boyfriend to join the warmth. “I have to keep you alley cats on your toes.” She giggled as Chat Noir took her invitation, wrapped his arms around her torso and resting his head on her shoulder. She took this as an opportunity to pull the blanket over his shoulder and kiss his forehead. They remained in silence for a while, admiring the view from her balcony before Marinette felt Chat Noir shifting, the height difference between them finally getting in the way of their cuddling. “Too uncomfortable Kitty?” she asked as he pulled his head from her shoulder.

"Nothing is more comfur-table than your arms,” he purred. 

“I swear if you start with those cat—” Marinette was suddenly cut off as he moved his arms from around her and swiftly lifted her into the air. 

“Chat!” Marinette exclaimed as the blanket fell from their shoulders, her frame hovering a good foot off the floor, nestled between black claws and a leather-clad chest. Thankfully she was holding the pendant tightly in her other hand, if she hadn’t been, it would have surely dropped onto the floor, or worse, off the balcony and onto the street. He wordlessly carried her over to the loveseat she kept near the trapdoor leading to her room. 

He gently dropped her onto her side before going back to get the blanket. Marinette took advantage of this to slip the pendant in her pocket. “You know there are easier ways of shutting me up.” She said, moving her legs over the side of the bench to give the leather-clad criminal some space to sit. 

“I know of at least one other good way,“ Chat retorted, looking at the girl and wiggling his eyebrows. She threw a pillow at the laughing cat, her face bright red. "Okay! Okay! Truce! Damn, my girlfriend has a pretty strong arm,” he said chuckling a wide grin on his face. She stuck out her tongue in response. He picked up the pillow she had thrown at his head as well as the large pink wool blanket. “You know I’m glad you agreed to change your chair to this bench,” Chat said walking back towards it, but instead of giving her a chance to respond he put the blanket on her head. He smiled as he watched the petite girl struggled to find her way out of the blanket. 

“You realize I’m the cat, here right?” He laughed as Marinette pulled the cloth away from her face. With a newfound determination, she stood from the couch and walked up to the tall leather-clad superhero with a bit more sway to her hip. Chat smirked; green eyes focused on her entirely. 

“Oh, I know you’re the big cat here,” she said, flicking his bell with the tip of her fingernails. Chat swallowed loudly. “Which is why I am the strong bug here.”

 Chat looked at the girl quizzically yet had no time to really think as Marinette shoved him towards her trap door. He fell with somewhat of muffled thud onto her bed. Marinette laughed as he stared up at her from his position on the bed, wincing in pain get quickly changed his face to not worry his girlfriend. 

“Long live the king I guess,” he said, making the girl laugh with more vigor. Chat groaned and turned around trying to get up, his foot getting caught on one of the many pillows Marinette had on her bed and proceeded to fall face-first onto the bed again, prompting the girl on the balcony to howl with even louder laughter.  He groaned with pain, why was his little lady so adamant on hurting him today?

“You wish you were Mufasa,” she said, between gasps of air, bent over holding her stomach. in the time she had been distracted he popped his head through the trap door looking taking in the beautiful sight that was his girlfriend. 

"Why don’t you come here and say it to my face?” he quipped ducking back into her bed. 

She smiled and grabbed the blanket off her bench and went down her trap door stairs before closing it to keep the winter air out. She put the blanket over her boyfriend before settling on her knees as she heard the words, “Claws off” come from inside the blanket. She pulled the blanket off and There sitting on her bed was Adrien Agreste, holding his hands behind his back and a Santa hat perched on his head. “Ta-da” he whispered. 

She smiled and blushed, still not used to the model being her actual boyfriend.

“Hey Chaton,” she said softly, before he grinned.

“Nice to know you can practice magic princess.”

“I could say the same,” she said, gesturing towards the hat on his head. He had bought one with a small bell at the end and she dinged it with her fingers. “How is it you go around the world all in one night spreading presents?”

“Well you see princess, as you know I am a world-renowned criminal, infamous even, you might say, so I know my way around breaking and entering,“ he said with a wink.

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes a little. "Without you being a renowned,”- she put air quotes around the last word- “criminal, you always seem to be able to break into my house." 

Adrien couldn’t help but laugh, a faint blush gracing his cheeks. "Don’t you mean I break into your heart?” he said before moving closer to the girl. 

“Humph,” was all her response, her cheeks tinged a bright pink. 

“Merry Christmas, Mon Amore,” he said kissing her cheek before producing a box from behind his back. He had hidden it inside his baton and taken advantage of the amount of time it took her to get down to retrieve it. 

“Chaton, thank you,” Marinette said, eyes widening. She gently took the present from his hands. It had been hastily wrapped, and obviously contained more than one object inside. “I see you still are terrible at present wrapping,” she chuckled. 

He laughed, taking it lightly. “It took about three tries to get it looking not so bulky. Why are the corners so hard to fold?” he mused. 

“It takes years to become a master at gift wrapping!” she replied, winking. “Although I am more surprised you managed to contain yourself and get me only one box.”  

“I knew you wouldn’t let me give you more than one present, after what happened the last time I tried showering you with celebration gifts” he said sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. A few months after they started dating, Marinette had to make Adrien stop with the grand gestures every other day and limited him to only one present for celebrations. One time he went overboard and got her 50 presents, one of every kiss they had given each other since they started dating.

“I’m glad you know me so well kitty,” Marinette said as she started to unwrap the box and gently take the top off. She took out the tissue paper from inside the box and found three objects, a jar, a jewelry box and a picture frame. “Adrien…” Marinette trailed off as she took a good look at the frame. It was the picture Alya had taken of them on the train ride to London years ago. She had only heard of the infamous picture, never actually getting to keep it, her red-headed friend vowing it would be a great wedding present when Marinette would finally get the guts to confess to the blonde. “How did you get this?” she asked picking up the frame gingerly. 

“I have my ways,” he said, winking. 

In reality he had broken into Nino’s phone to get it, since no one could know they were dating. Even though Marinette knew his secret identity, finding out only after she helped him escape from one of their many heists, it was better if no one else knew. And to keep Marinette safe he had to make sure no one knew who he was really dating. Being a criminal for so many years only made Chat Noir, along with all the other Miraculous holders, more notable. And even though they lived their civilian lives normally, there was still a risk if they were ever unmasked, and he could not have any of the various enemies they have stolen from even catch wind of Marinette. It was also particularly risky given the fact that Adrien was a public figure, so it wouldn’t be hard to pinpoint the people he cared about. That meant he had to keep their relationship out of the public eye and from their friends, with the risk of them being akumatized. Thankfully Marinette understood and was a bit too on board with it, he had his suspicions as to why. 

She smiled and put the frame down on her bed and took out the jar. The sound was enough to shake Adrien from his thoughts. “Take one out whenever you miss me, or you feel angry or sad,” he prompted after she looked up at him quizzically. It was full of paper stars, and she suddenly realized he probably wrote little notes on them and then folded each slip of paper. He really was the most thoughtful boyfriend. 

Finally, the small jewelry box stared back at her. “Wait!” Marinette exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. 

Adrien looked taken aback as the girl scrambled down her lofted bed and disappeared underneath the bed, towards her desk. She returned towards the steps of her bed holding three neatly wrapped presents. She tossed them on top of the bed, nearly missing Adrien’s head and ran back up the loft stairs. She collected all of them and gave them to her boyfriend, with a small smile on her face as he had a wide smile on his face. 

“I think there was an easier way of doing that princess." 

“All the best things happen spontaneously and in threes.” 

“The best thing that happened was that you managed to do all that without tripping,” he teased his girlfriend.

She rolled her eyes. “Joyeux Noël, Cherie,” she said as he tenderly accepted the gifts. Although he adored his girlfriend he was still surprised whenever she gave him gifts. 

He took the top gift and unwrapped it viciously, excited to see what was inside. He found a pair of knitted gloves, with four accompanying smaller ones. “Wait you made this for plagg too?” He said with wide eyes. She nodded. 

“And he’s probably busy with the camembert croissants I made for him,” she said, lying to cover that Plagg was probably with Tikki and the other Kawamis. 

“God you really are amazing,” he said leaning over to kiss Marinette, making the girl blush red. 

“It wasn’t such a big thing…. But open the rest!” 

He complied with her request putting the smallest box aside and opening the other one that accompanied it, being just slightly bigger than the previous one he just opened. He smiled and tore the wrapping paper again. “Mari…” he trailed off as he looked at the picture. It was a collage of pictures, both from his Instagram as well as candids that seem to be taken by Marinette himself, framed in a beautiful frame. He smiled a bittersweet smile as he saw she had included a picture of him and his mother. “This is just… it so thoughtful I don’t think my present can ever compete with this,” he said looking at his girlfriend. She hugged his frame and laughed 

“Kitty, you can’t ever compete because this isn’t a competition. Just having you here beats this whole thing,” she said reassuring leaning over the gifts to hug him. “Besides you had to do some serious hacking to get this picture so if it is a competition you have me beat, because even I wouldn’t go behind Ayla’s back.” He kissed the top of her head, deciding not to argue, but looked back at his hand and the collage. 

“Wait you haven’t opened my last present!” he said as she took her arms away from his shoulders. 

“That you are about right,” She said. “And you need to open mine.” She said gesturing to the large rectangular box.

 He nodded and started to unwrap his as she gingerly took the velvet box out of the present box. He stopped unwrapping and looked up at Marinette wanting to gauge her reaction. She opened her mouth as she opened the container. “Adrien, this is too much. I can’t accept it,” she said, looking up at him worriedly. 

“It used to be my mother’s,” he started to explain, taking the gift out of her hands. He looked down and saw the small golden heart pendant, lined with diamonds, a smaller heart shaped ruby right inside, with the accompanying stud earrings. “I saw it buried hidden with all her other jewelry; I know she would have loved for you to have it,” he said smiling brightly.

“You really do love me, don’t you?” she whispered in disbelief. To have given her something that special, that meaningful it meant Adrien saw a future with her, with Marinette, clumsy and normal Marinette.

He smiled sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous way. “I do love you Mari, I just hope it wasn’t too much…” he trailed off. She shook her head and took the box from him. “I just saw it had studs and you always use those black ones and it looked like something you would really like…” he trailed off as he saw her gingerly take the necklace our of its packaging. 

“Can you put it on?” He smiled as she handed him the small necklace. He nodded as she turned around and lifted her hair. He clasped it on and kissed the back of her neck gently. “All done my lady.” He smiled, wanting to see if the name would bring forth a reaction from his girlfriend, yet she was too enthralled with the earrings. 

She couldn’t take off her miraculous, but she also couldn’t not put on the earrings, it would hurt him. So, she decided to change tactics. “You still haven’t opened my present, even though it isn’t as beautiful as yours…” she said putting her hair back down and moving away from her boyfriend. 

He smiled. “Anything you give me, my darling, is so special to me,” he said, ripping the neat wrapping paper almost instantly. 

“Sure you don’t need a cataclysm with that?” Marinette joked, trying to lighten the mood as she played with the pendent with her fingers. It felt expensive, no doubt since both Adrien’s parents were loaded it was probably real gemstones, she most definitely could not wear it every day. 

He laughed before opening the box. “A leather jacket?” he exclaimed, ecstatic. He had always wanted to wear one, yet it wasn’t in accordance with his public persona according to his father. 

“I made it myself, I thought it’s time to show the world how good Adrien Agreste looks in black leather.” She winked. He kept looking at the jacket dumbfounded when Marinette suddenly started to explain, nervous she had done a bad job stitching, “I know it’s not your dad’s brand but…”

“I love it! Marinette it looks incredible! It’s a Marinette Original.” He took the jacket out and immediately put it on. 

“How did you get my measurements?” he asked, "it fits like a glove”. 

“Seamstress magic!” she replied not wanting to admit she snuck into his room as ladybug, measured one of this tailored suits in his closet and then left. “I made it incase you ever felt you need a boast of Chat Noir in your day to day life,” she said smiling “And I was this close to making you kitty ears,” she said holding her fingers up very close together. He laughed and pulled Marinette towards him. “How did I get such a great girlfriend?” he asked her, peppering her face with kisses. 

She smiled. “I don’t know, kitty, how did you?” she teased back. 

Adrien pushed their presents to the side so they could lay down on her bed. He hugged her tightly and kissed her head before looking at her smiling. “Marinette, I’m so happy we are together, you really are the most open and kind person in my life, you are my everything.”

Marinette couldn’t help the weight that fell on her, the pendant in her pants felt almost burning, she had a whole side of her that Adrien didn’t know, and she had to find a way to tell him, she couldn’t keep that a secret from her companion, her best friend and her boyfriend. “And you are mine,” she replied smiling.

“Merry Christmas, my Lady.”