"Stop breathing!" Marinette placed her hands over her face and tried to stop the room from spinning. Nope, it wasn't working, if anything it was making it a lot worse.

"I wish I could ... the pain might go away then."

"As true as that would be, I've had second thoughts and I don't think I want you to do that." Marinette moved her hands off her face and opened her eyes. She was looking at the Christmas tree, correction, she was looking at the underneath of a Christmas Tree. So many questions came to her mind she didn't know where to start. Actually she did.

Why was she asleep under the Christmas tree, and how did she get out of her dress? Her brain began to pound as she attempted to think about what had transpired the night before. The pain of thinking was soon put to an end though, as her male companion asked her a favour.

"Can you please turn the lights off? It's hurting my head." Adrien's voice was gruff, and slightly husky from what Marinette suspected was all the loud singing they'd done the previous night. Marinette had a vague recollection at one point of doing Gangnam Style with Chloè Bourgeois, after singing 'Livin' on a Prayer' at the top of her lungs and dancing on top of a table. Oh, and she was also sure that at some point herself and Adrien had attempted and failed at the 'Dirty Dancing' lift.

"I would love to help you, Adrien, but unfortunately I can't turn off the sun!"

"No need to get so tetchy, I'm in pain here."

"And I'm not!"

Silence circulated between them as Marinette contemplated sitting up. She was trying to decide whether she should do it slowly, or, like a bandaid, with one swift movement. Going with the second option she could be sitting up in the matter of seconds ... or throwing up.

She rocked a little bit and decided that the swift movement she was going to make would certainly end up with her vomiting all over the nice Christmas tree and faux fur rug and she was quite certain Gabriel Agreste would not appreciate that added extra to the room bill.

"Are you alive?" She asked in the general direction she thought Adrien was in.

"I think so, how about you?"

"Yeah. I'm still here. Can you move?"

She heard some shuffling, followed by a groan and a thump. "Nope, definitely not yet, no."

"What time is our flight home?"

"Not until six this evening, so I think we have about an hour to get ready."

Marinette attempted to laugh and then groaned at the pain. "Where are you?" She asked, still unsure of their whereabouts.

"I'm on the sofa." He responded.

How did he end up there? Why was he on something cosy and she was on the floor? Underneath a tree?

As if the tree took offence to Marinette's thoughts about ten pine needles fell from the tree and onto her head, four of the little beasts ending up in her mouth.

"This tree hates me." She spat out the pines and heard Adrien chuckle and then groan.

"Serves you right for laughing at me," she said, still making no move to get up. It was too much work.

"You wouldn't happen to have any type of pain meds would you? I left mine at home."

"No, I -" yes, she thought, yes she had. Very strong ones as well. Thank god! "Actually I do. I have co-codamol in my toiletry bag, I just need to make it there."

"Can you stand up?"

"Not without puking."

"Roll?"

"Probably not the best idea,"

"I will pay you a thousand euros if you go and get your pain relief and share it."

Marinette considered Adrien's offer. Unsure if he meant it or if it was a joke, but either way she was tempted. Her contraband was valuable, and if she could make a little pocket money then why not?

"I'll try slithering." Rolling onto her side she began to pull herself across the floor in the direction of her bedroom. If she could make it to the doorway she could then send Tikki the rest of the way, get her to grab the pills and bring them back to Marinette to then pass onto herself and Adrien. It seemed a flawless plan, until she attempted to put it into motion.

Her crawling speed was slow and clumsy, and every slight movement of her head threw her off balance and bile rose to her throat. Okay, so if she was going to do this she needed to keep her head completely still. No movement equals good, slight movement equals bad, big movement equals 'please just take my brain out'.

"How's it going?" Adrien asked.

"It's going ..." she responded, continuing her army crawl across the floor. She needed her kwami more than ever. Who would have thought her most important mission would be to cure a hangover?

Trying to move again, Marinette slumped and face planted the carpet. This just wasn't working, she'd have to do it. She was going to have to stand up.

"I'm doing it!" She exclaimed, "I'm going to stand up."

"May the force be with you, Mari! Do you want a countdown?" She considered whether she wanted the embarrassment of Adrien counting her down to stand up, like a jelly legged toddler, and decided that 'yes' she definitely needed the motivation without it she wouldn't be standing up.

"Okay, are you counting one to ten, or ten to one?"

"I was thinking one to three,"

"Huh?" She let out a puff of air, "that actually makes a lot more sense."

"So shall I count one, two, three and then you stand up, or shall I count one, two and you stand up on three?"

"What's the difference?" She asked.

"About a second." Adrien answered.

"Maybe if I stand up after three then it'll give me that extra second to prepare. Start counting when you're ready."

"Okay, on your marks, get set -"

"Hold up." Marinette said, stopping Adrien in his stride, "I thought we'd decided on one to three?"

"I thought you might be a ready, steady, go kind of girl instead?"

"But, that wasn't what we decided."

Whilst the two adults continued their debate about how and when Marinette should stand up Tikki and Plagg sat amongst the mistletoe completely bewildered by what was happening.

"What are they arguing about?" Plagg whispered to Tikki.

"About Marinette standing up to get painkillers."

"Why doesn't she just ask you?" Plagg asked his counterpart at the same time as keeping track of Marinette and Adrien debating the pro's and con's of using 'ready, steady, go' instead of 'one, two, three'.

"I think she's worried about Adrien hearing."

The kwami's continued to watch their chosen's make an absolute fool of themselves discussing a simple action such as standing up.

Last night had been a hoot, and both Tikki and Plagg were gutted that neither seemed to remember what had happened. It had started when they'd returned from the ball and found the mistletoe. Marinette thought it would be fun to see if the mistletoe was magic and could make them kiss. Adrien agreed to join in, standing alongside Marinette in the doorframe waiting ... waiting for the magic to happen. That was when Adrien had decided that maybe they needed to kiss first to start the magic off, Marinette grabbed the back of his head and pulled him fiercely down to crush her lips against his, and then it was game over.

Adrien had taken control and pushed Marinette into the doorframe, kissing her with such love and devotion the kwami's swore Marinette could feel it in her toes, hell they swore they could feel it through their Miraculous'. Neither were giving in as they made their way to the couch, neither had noticed yet but their lips were decorated with bruises from the other, bruises from a teenage makeout session in front of a fireplace.

It didn't take long for both of them to crash, passing out together on the sofa, curled and cuddled into each other's bodies. A couple of hours later, Marinette had woken up feeling uncomfortable in her dress, and attempted to take it off. The results of such actions ended up with Marinette stumbling to her room, removing said dress, before returning in her Chat Noir tee and collapsing on the floor before rolling underneath the Christmas Tree.

And here they were. Hours later and both of them incredibly hungover without a clue about what they did the night before. Tikki had half wished she'd taken a video, or pictures or something. This wouldn't be believed.

"Three." The sound of Adrien's counting pulled the attention back firmly onto the raven haired girl, who pushed herself up and took one step towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

Her dizziness was a lot greater than what she expected, swaying her fiercely over to the right, the momentum dragging her backwards and towards the sofa. As her butt hit the top, she found gravity was working against her, pulling her over the back of the sofa and consequently onto Adrien's lap.

She heard the wind leave him as her back collided with his chest, his arms wrapping around her waist to stop her from continuing the roll and ending up on the floor.

"I am so sorry," she squeaked out, making to stand up quickly but placing her hands in the 'wrong' places. He let out a small yelp and she sprung off him, headache now firmly forgotten. "Oh my God, Adrien. I'm - oh Lord - I'm so sorry." Her hands were placed over her mouth in sheer disbelief at what she'd just done. Another series of unfortunate events from Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Adrien himself swung his legs down onto the floor, placing his hands over where she'd just crushed, whimpering in pain. She looked him over and noticed his eyes were watering as he rocked himself backwards and forwards.

"Adrien, can I do anything to help?"

"Yep," his response was short and it seemed to take his breath away as he spoke. Marinette didn't want to be overly dramatic but she was fairly certain she'd just ended any chance Adrien had to reproduce. She bent down to his eyeline, and placed her hands on his knees. After another quick whimper, he pushed her hands away and muttered one word "co-codamol."

Marinette launched up onto her feet and stumbled towards the bedroom, stopping just by the archway where Tikki and Plagg were hiding.

"Uh?" She said, "Mistletoe? I wonder how long that's been there?"

"Marinette!" Her name sounded from the sofa's as a hiss and she continued on with her mission. Pills, bedroom, toiletry bag.

She made her way to the ensuite bathroom and began to dig through her little pink bag. Tampons, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, pills. She grabbed the box and went to make her way back to Adrien, when something caught her attention.

She studied her face in the mirror and straight away could tell her makeup was still on, though slightly patchy, from the night before. She noticed the lack of makeup was very prominent around the mouth area. Her face had a soft glow to it, one that couldn't be created from makeup, only from a warming, natural reaction. Lifting one hand, she dragged her finger across her lower lip, a slight wince at the tenderness. It made zero sense.

"Tikki?" She whispered, looking around the room for her small kwami. "Tikki?" she called again.

Suddenly, a red blur flew past her and hovered in front of the mirror, wide blue eyes staring at her.

"Are you okay Marinette?"

"What happened when we got back here last night?" Marinette asked, taking one pill out of the packet and placing it on her tongue before filling a glass with water and washing it down.

"You took your dress off and then collapsed under the Christmas tree."

"Was that all? Nothing else happened? I didn't, you know, kiss anyone?" Marinette looked intensely at Tikki, willing the small kwami to tell her what was already in the back of her mind.

"Nope," Tikki responded, "no kissing."

She wasn't sure whether she believed her kwami, but at the moment her brain was still too painful to try and work out whether Tikki was lying or not, she could only deal with one thought at a time, and the most prominent at the moment was making sure Adrien received the pain relief.

Her unsteady walk back to the sofa took her on a detour of the kitchen to grab a bottle of water for Adrien. Slumping herself down on the sofa next to him, she noticed he was no longer 'cupping' himself but now resting his head in his hands as he was bent over on the edge of the sofa.

"Here," she passed him the co-codamol and bottle of water, catching his eyes as she handed it off.

"Thanks," he said, popping the pill in his mouth before swigging some water to flush it down. "Want some?" he handed the bottle to Marinette, who took it from him gratefully, taking another large gulp. "You didn't scream in your sleep last night."

He said it so matter of factly, Marinette flinched a little and almost dropped the water.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Since the akuma's started I haven't really been sleeping my best, which usually turns into me being late a lot." She handed the water back to Adrien and he downed the remainder of the bottle. She couldn't help but think that this was equivalent to kissing.

Her saliva, his saliva ... what a funny word that was. S - a - l - i - v - a.

"Are you okay, Marinette?"

"Peachy," she smiled at Adrien and noticed that the room had become filled with kwamis. She was sure she'd left them at home in the Miracle Box. Had the little creatures been cheeky again and escaped?

Swatting her hands around, she reached for Sass, and Longg, and Trixx only to come up empty handed.

"Marinette, are you sure you're alright? Your eyes have gone huge." Adrien moved off the sofa and crouched down in front of her.

Why was he doing that?

"You know, you're still cute even though you're a man now, not a boy."

Adrien frowned and looked her over. "Thanks, I think."

"Oh, it's definitely a compliment. I don't go after guys that often but I would chase you to the Arctic Circle." Adrien's smile pulled at his lips and he grabbed her hands in his.

"Marinette? Do you react to co-codamol?"

"Pfft, no!"

"Are you sure?"

"Pfft, no!"

Suddenly, Longg headed towards the Christmas tree, and she needed to catch the kwami before it set the object on fire, or, even worse, knock it down.

"No, no, no!"

Launching herself off the sofa she dived to grab Longg, losing her footing on the way. Before she knew exactly what was happening, her head went straight into the centre of the Christmas tree, sending the whole thing collapsing on top of her.

"Ouch!" She was quite sure she'd injured herself.

•••••

"How are you feeling?" Adrien came and sat next to Marinette in the departure lounge, a Starbucks cup in each hand. "I thought this might help."

"I'm not sure caffeine is the right way to go?" She was hanging her head in between her knees, eyes tightly closed and a plaster on her forehead.

"It's a good job I got you a hot chocolate then."

Wincing, her head shot up and she moved her lips onto his cheek.

"You are my new favourite, don't tell Alya." She took the cup out of his hands and took a swig, not a care in the world for whether it burnt her mouth or not. At this specific moment in time, the molten chocolate was all that mattered.

"Cross my heart," he used his finger and crossed his chest before taking a drink from his own cup and wincing. "How the hell do you drink it so hot?"

"Because I'm a woman. I'm not weak." She dropped him a wink, and they both smiled, each raising their cups for another drink.

Considering Marinette's accident with the Christmas tree back at the cabin, and Adrien's bill for the damage, they were both surprisingly chipper. The pills had worked a treat, well, they had for Adrien, Marinette swore she was never ever taking one again, regardless of what pain she was in.

After the incident, Adrien had carried her into her bedroom, tucked her in and demanded she got a couple more hours of sleep. Luckily, that did the job and by the time the 'Gorilla' had come to collect them for the airport Marinette felt almost human again and apart from the small gash on her forehead, she was relatively unscathed from the experience.

"Weak is definitely not a word I'd use to describe you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. You're a girl full of many surprises."

"That I am .. and you still don't know the most interesting ones."

"Well, maybe one day I'll find out." He dropped her a wink and she couldn't help rolling her eyes. What was with him and his flirting? He was so much like her kitty, and that's when it hit her. Hard and between the eyes.

He ... was ... like ... her ... kitty.

Marinette suddenly realised why she was attracted to Adrien, it was because of the similarities between him and her partner. Every little trait Chat possessed, so did Adrien, and it was each of the traits which she loved. She was projecting onto Adrien and now she understood it. She wanted to be with Chat, and she'd found someone similar.

"What are you thinking about? Your eyebrows are all screwed up."

"Oh - um - nothing really. Just wondering how I'll return to reality after such an amazing couple of days. I truly have had a wonderful time, and I'm sure it would have been exceptionally boring without you."

"You're very welcome," he smiled, scratching the back of his neck.

"Flight AF4434 to Charles de Gaulle now boarding all Business Class guests at gate twenty three."

"That's us," Adrien announced, standing up and brushing down his jeans, not that there was anything on them. He was as pristine and polished as always.

"I'm just going to run to the restrooms and I'll meet you at the gate."

Adrien nodded in understanding as Marinette turned and headed to the toilets. Once away from prying eyes she pulled out her phone and found Alya's name.

Marinette
I'm in deep trouble.

She placed her phone back in her bag and exited the stall, heading to the sinks and mirrors. She looked at herself and almost couldn't recognise what was looking back at her. She was glowing, even with the lack of makeup there was a sheen.

A buzz in her pocket indicated a reply. She left the restroom and took out her phone again.

Alya
There's nothing wrong with how you feel, Marinette.

Marinette
How did you know it was about that?

A new message appeared and a picture was prominent. There was Adrien and Marinette with their Starbucks cups and she could see the softening of her eyes as she looked at him.

Marinette
I don't know what to do.

Alya
Follow your heart, Marinette.

Follow your heart? So much easier said than done. If she followed her heart she'd be with Chat Noir, regardless of their love destroying the world or resetting time. If she followed her heart, she would have given up her Miraculous years ago to someone more worthy. If she'd followed her heart she would kiss Adrien Agreste and never let go. But she couldn't follow her heart. She was Ladybug, and she had to follow her head. She needed to step away from whatever this was with Adrien, for both their sakes. When she returned to Paris she wouldn't have to see him again, she'd make sure that she didn't see him again. She had to.

Walking towards the gate she noticed Adrien standing uncomfortably as a stewardess was talking to him. His 'model' smile was plastered on his face but his body language looked everything but comfortable. As she moved closer she noticed the stewardess was the one who had seen to them on the flight out and it was clear from her face and body language that she was hitting on Adrien.

Wanting to help Adrien one last time she made her way over to the model and wrapped her arms around his waist, pushing up on her tiptoes and placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you for waiting," she smiled at Adrien, willing him to understand from the look in her eyes and luckily he did.

"I wouldn't go without you sweetheart," he wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed his lips into his hair.

As they conversed with the stewardess, Adrien being the world's most flattering 'boyfriend', Marinette plotted her escape in her mind. As soon as they touched back in Paris that was it. Regardless of what Gabriel wanted she would not go near Adrien Agreste, and her heart hurt as she mentally prepared to say her final goodbye.