"Marinette, you should really try and sleep don't you think?"

Tikki hovered near Marinette's workstation, looking on with a worried expression as the girl worked quietly on some project. It was nearly dawn and the girl had never even attempted to go to bed, it would have been pointless. She might as well do something.

Adrien and Cat Noir... god.

"You know I can't Tikki," she sighed back, leaning her weight onto her elbows as she stitched something. "I can't sleep after that."

There was a small stretch of silence and Marinette didn't look up from the soft black cloth in her hands, embroidering something by hand into the fold of the stocking in bright green thread.

"Are you upset?" Tikki finally asked, her question being posed for the dozenth time because the girls words and behavior always seemed to contradict.

"No, no I'm just- AH," her hands shot out, waving the almost finished black and green stocking around for a moment as her fingers desperately tried to grasp some untouchable concept. After a few seconds of that she sighed dramatically and dropped her head onto her desk, muttering, "You know?"

Her kwami giggled flying forward to tap her hair affectionately. "Oh Marinette, you're making it more complicated than it needs to be."

"WHAT how am I- how does this get more complicated!?" Marinette flipped around suddenly in her swivel chair, the momentum carrying her in a complete rotation and slamming her knee painfully into the desk. "AH!" she groaned, moving to grab her knee and fumbling the large spool of thread in the process, watching as it fell and unraveled across her bedroom floor with a grunt of frustration.

"Please tell me how this gets any more complicated Tikki, I couldn't make this more convoluted if I tried." Marinette grumbled and huffed as she hobbled after her thread, Tikki giggling all the way once she knew her charge was just getting worked up and not actually angry or injured.

"Is Cat Noir your friend?" Tikki offered, crossing her arms smugly in a way only an incredibly ancient creature could. Marinette narrowed her eyes as she returned to her desk, jabbing the needle at the cloth.

"Of course he-" she started, but Tikki zipped into her face and made her jump, cutting her off.

"Is Adrien your friend?" Tikki spoke again, tilting her head and smiling cutely.

Marinette groaned. "YES Tikki but-"

"Do you like Adrien?"

Marinette blinked, and gave her kwami an exasperated look. If anyone knew just how true that was it was her why was she asking?

"Yes."

"Do you like Cat Noir?"

Marinette froze, her face feeling hot almost instantly as she fought off the urge to shout 'NO' when she saw how contradictory it was. Hence all the confusion, she saw no point being made here. She stabbed again at the stocking, returning to the intricate close knit embroidery in an effort to calm herself.

"Marinette?" Tikki pried, the girl refusing to look up as she replied.

"I don't know!"

Tikki sighed but her expression was kind as she floated back down into Marinette's line of sight. "Let me say it different. Could you like Cat Noir?"

The designer for the most part seemed to be trying to ignore her but her hands slowed slightly, her eyes trailing along the bright green 'Cat Noir' stitched into the stocking, a Cat's eye glowing in the 'O'. She had elected to make a separate one for Adrien's other half, and another for Ladybug as well almost entirely just for something to do. She knew all her insane emotions would crowd her head until she couldn't sleep, but now there was that question too.

Could she like Cat Noir? Could she learn to love the person they are together?

Her working fingers stopped completely, the needle laying idle in her hand as she stared at the name awhile longer. In her mind she heard echoes of laughs and silly jokes, saw images of a smiling boy eager for a family as well as a playful Cat looking for a fight.

-

Of course she could, she realized...

It would be easy.

-

"I-I don't know yet," she fibbed slightly, not quite willing to say anything as concrete as a 'yes'. Concrete things seemed risky just then.

Tikki flew in front of the stocking, sitting on the cloth and demanding to be looked at as she gave her charge a kind and understanding smile.

"I think Adrien is feeling much the same thing right now Marinette, don't you?"

Marinette's response was slow but delivered in a low and distant tone, her eyes casting to the side as her fears from the past few hours bubbled up.

"Cat Noir- Adrien- they like Ladybug. Both of them do, he does."

Tikki's eyes twinkled with a quiet humor, crossing her arms in that same knowing way as she said, "But could he like Marinette?"

Silence.

'Oh' the girl suddenly thought, 'Tikki must be feeling smug about that one... I walked right into it.' Grinning kwami aside it was said now, the sound of it rattling in her mind and ushering in a warm and... hopeful feeling.

Maybe he could...

Marinette shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to push back the giddy almost-hope that built in her chest. It wasn't to keep those emotions away, it wasn't that... It just wasn't what was important for the time being.

In the silent hours of the night it was impossible to dodge her confused feelings for long, but as the sky outside just stared to lighten she knew what mattered most was being ready for him to walk through that door. Convoluted love square or not she knew how unsure he was going to be walking into the bakery. He was probably still awake like her, pacing nervously in his room and trying to sort through it all, wondering what the heck he was going to do when morning finally came.

She couldn't leave him to wonder or panic, this was going to be hard for the both of them but she knew they would adjust. In all fairness being thrown into close proximity for two whole days where they couldn't run and hide from each other was probably the best possible situation for them, it was do or die. They were either going to make it work or watch as their partnership went down in flames, not to mention any possible... anything else.

She leaned back with a sigh and felt the weight of her necklace tap against her chest, the sensation moving to counter her nervous thoughts almost instantly and bringing a smile to her face.

Their partnership wouldn't burn, it never could. She was Ladybug, and he was Cat Noir. Those two names went side by side, an awkward Christmas wouldn't thwart that.

Even so, she didn't think it would be bad. Weird at first without a doubt but... she really couldn't picture it as bad. Even if she was terrified of looking like a fool in front of Adrien she wasn't worried about embarrassing herself in front of Cat, maybe the two things would cancel out? It was almost sort of... reassuring. It's like having her close friend there to constantly make it better no matter how tongue tied she got with Adrien, but they were the exact same person. God how confusing and insane but... it was almost like knowing he was Cat Noir dulled the edges, made him a little less intimidating, furthered the progress of her confidence even more so then their recent closeness already had.

It was also a little comforting knowing that both halves of him had the tendency of being a dork and with his luck he was the one most likely to do something embarrassing. She would be there though to make it better, both halves of her working to keep him smiling. Marinette would comfort, even if Ladybug did tease a little.

It made her feel better.

-

Tikki left Marinette alone as she finished the last stocking, satisfied with the gentle smile on her face. Poor girl had gotten hit with a lot of information at once, but as more time passed she seemed to be doing better.

"What do you think Tikki?" the girl finally spoke up, holding out a cute black stocking with the name of her partner and little green cat paws stitched in. "I was thinking since Adrien would have his downstairs that maybe we could use this one for P-... Plagg? Is that his name?"

The small red kwami nodded, giggling happily as she flew forward to inspect it. "Yup! He's a trouble maker I'll warn you now, but he's a sweetie once you get to know him."

"I'm sure," Marinette chuckled, knowing full well that Tikki gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and that the mysterious other kwami was likely more of a hassle than she was letting on. "You like sweets, does Plagg like sweets as well? I could put cookies in it."

"Put cookies in mine!" Tikki cheered, whizzing over to the red and black spotted Ladybug stocking on the desk. She made an adorable disgusted expression when she said, "All Plagg eats is cheese. He'll eat any of it, put a few of those string cheeses you have in it and he'll be overjoyed."

"String cheese seriously? Are you sure he wouldn't want something else? I have some extra material I could make him a tiny... hat?"

Tikki giggled again, shrugging and snuggling into the opening of her stocking. "He'll love you for the cheese and a warm place to sleep, he doesn't need much more than that."

Marinette thought it over for a little while and put in some bits of extra soft and warm lining, making something almost like a nest on the inside. She would add the cheese just before Adrien arrived so it wouldn't be sitting out for too long, putting cheese in a stocking at all was enough to make her chuckle. How weird this all was...

She was starting to feel the drain of way too confusing revelations and a long night of uncertainty, so with a sigh she finally set her work down and headed towards her bed. She was still totally dressed and she knew she would need to be up in a few hours but for now she really did just need to sleep. Her feet thumped heavily against the steps leading up to her bed, until finally she collapsed, burying herself in the blankets and curling together for warmth.

She squeezed her eyes tight, breathing out a heavy sigh and letting all of her tension leave her body. She could do this for him. She could do it for herself too. He was going to be so scared... she knew that. She needed to be strong enough to show him that it was okay, and for that she needed some rest.

Snow continued to fall all over Paris, ushering in the light of morning on Christmas Eve in gently falling waves of white. The flakes accented every street, every sign and every single shining light, singing in silent voices that Christmas time had come at last. For so many the early hours of that morning were met with the shining eyes of family and friends, waking early to greet each other and the day. However for two undercover superheroes the early hours were spent face down on their beds, both out cold from emotional exhaustion, until finally a pair of loud blaring alarms shook them awake at 9:00 AM.

Marinette had gotten only four hours of sleep, Adrien as little as three, but for both of them realizing that they were expected to face their other half in less than an hour had them awake and on edge.

-

Marinette spent her first few minutes awake staring at the snow clogged glass panel of her hatch. The covering was thin enough that you could just see light leaking through, but the image as a whole was neither distracting enough nor interesting enough to keep her from dwelling on her confused too real dreams.

She knew so much more about Adrien now, and Cat Noir, that any dream with them- him- in it was all together too realistic. Adrien would stutter and hesitate and rub at the back of his neck just as the real one would, before leaning in and trying out some horrendous Cat like pick up line to win her over. He would smirk playfully as he gently pushed her beneath mistletoe hanging from the ceiling, pretending like he hadn't seen it and "Oh would you look at that princess, seems we've been caught out. It's in the spirit of things don't you think?" and just UGH.

Adrien Agreste with the flirtatious confidence of Cat Noir was like giving nuclear launch codes to a baby, utterly unpredictable and entirely too dangerous.

She groaned, her hands flying up to rub roughly at her eyes as she swung her feet over her bed. She probably wouldn't have to deal with it any time soon which was reassuring since she had no idea what she was going to do once it happened. As soon as Cat saw Ladybug get genuinely flustered over something he had said there would be no stopping him, so hopefully for now she would have some time to breathe. Some time to figure it out at least. Oh boy.

After a final deep breathe to prepare herself she launched into action, teetering a little from her exhaustion but soon jolting completely awake, running to her bathroom to shower and prepare. She only had an hour before he arrived, she needed to get some things in place before then.

At about 9:45 Sabine was preparing breakfast happily in the kitchen when Marinette appeared out of nowhere, bolting past her to grab an inordinate amount of string cheese from the fridge, practically all of it. Her hair was still wet and her clothes barely thrown on so needless to say she looked a little... on edge as she ran back up to her room offering literally no explanation. Sabine blinked once, twice, three times before finally shrugging, returning to her cooking and trying not to be concerned. Maybe she just had a craving? Hopefully she was still hungry enough for breakfast, because when her daughter finally reappeared ten minutes later it was empty handed. Her hair was dried and brushed straight, falling in waves down her shoulders and pressed gently down by a festive Santa hat on her head.

"Merry Christmas Eve Marinette!" her mother called now that she was standing still for a second, and after a moment of sudden dazed surprise Marinette grinned at her happily.

"Merry Christmas Eve Momma! Adrien is on his way," she offered, her phone being twisted nervously in her fingers. He had sent a simple one sentence confirmation of just that, betraying no sort of emotion or anything and she was more than a little anxious.

'You have to have this figured out for the both of you, don't let it be awkward he's counting on you.' Her thoughts churned, fighting to fill her with the resolute calm she had managed to find on the rooftop. She knew for a fact everything would be okay, but she also knew that he didn't and it was extremely important to her that she do everything right. What should she say to him? What should she do? If she hesitated at all it might make him even more uncertain but all of her own unease would translate into the situation and she just had to do it right. Thinking all that just made it harder and harder though, the girl bouncing anxiously around the kitchen while her mother chatted happily about decorations and other such things. What was she going to do?

She spent five minutes hiding her face from her mother to avoid suspicion and desperately trying to formulate a plan when exactly at 10:00 AM she heard the door chime downstairs, and without much thought at all she sprinted towards the sound.

She flew down the steps, reaching into her simple beige sweater to bring her necklace out from hiding as she ran. Her feet were clad in festive snowflake socks that aided her slide into the bakery, locking eyes with Adrien but never breaking stride.

In the few moments before she reached him she took in his stance and expression, seeing the timid quietly unsure boy she had expected. His shoulders were a little drawn in, a black overnight bag slung over the shoulder of his silly Cat Pun sweater. There was a sharp swell of delight in her as she read the words "Have a Clawesome Holiday!" spelled out cheerily across his chest, overjoyed that he had worn it to meet her, as well as a feeling of pride at the small hesitant smile he gave her before his expression warped into one of surprise. It was warranted, since she was practically charging him. She could see it, the fact that he was trying so so hard, and all her tentative plans flew out the window as she tackled him with a hug.

He staggered under the sudden weight, a yelp of surprise escaping him as he stumbled backwards against the door. He did his best to regain his balance but she had been running so quickly and leapt with such enthusiasm that the swinging door betrayed him completely, throwing the two of them suddenly out into the snow. His foot caught on the lip of the door, and with a final startled shout he fell backwards onto the snowy sidewalk, Marinette landing on top of him and pressed firmly against his chest. The intense show of affection totally upended all of his anxious anticipation, and when she finally pulled back just enough so he could see the sincere joy in her eyes (even if it was a little muddled with fierce embarrassment) his voice left him completely.

Her hair was down, his brain stupidly noticed second, and her voice was quiet and genuine when she spoke.

"You came."

For Adrien there was so much information to take in at once that he could hardly feel embarrassed at all at their incredibly intimate position. She was propping herself up from him but still poised directly above, lying flat on his back and staring up into her flushed, bright face as snow fell all around them. No... as overwhelming as that was, he noticed other things. The fierceness of her hello, the almost desperate eagerness behind it and the quiet shake of her voice. The fact that her necklace, his necklace swayed in the space between their chests, as well as the impossible depth of emotion displayed in her eyes. Joy, relief, a twinge of embarrassment and fragile confidence.

Marinette must have been afraid he wouldn't come, had some whispering fear in the back of her mind that he would break his promise. Some doubt that things really had changed for the worse. She was trying desperately to have all the confidence the two of them needed, but some part of her was terrified of losing him to this. Of losing him at all.

And it made him so impossibly happy.

"Of course I came Princess, I promised you didn't I?"

He was amazed at the strength of his voice and at how easily he grinned up at her from his place on the sidewalk. The grin wasn't forced or fake, he had been prepared to give as many fake smiles as it would take to make things better but it wasn't that at all. Being on his own had given him time to panic and worry and fabricate worse case scenarios, but he should have known better. This was Ladybug he was talking about she was a permanent best case scenario, even with his sour luck he still had her. He had her, she was right there, right in front of him. His lucky charm, showing some of that loveable Marinette clumsiness that made everything okay. She made everything... okay. She always did.

They stared at each other for another moment more before he watched as she turned an incredibly dark shade of red right before his eyes, the fact that she had him pinned against the ground in the falling snow probably dawning on her entirely.

"I-I uh I'm so SO s-sorry I-" she was a mess almost instantly, moving to scramble off of him and kneeling beside him on the sidewalk, hiding in her hands as the white bauble of her Santa hat swung dramatically in front of her face. He didn't move right away, smirking up into the sky before propping himself up on an elbow and looking at her, listening to the tiny whispers of 'Oh my god oh my GOD' before laughing out loud.

He regretted the sound when he saw her wither, peeking at him from between her fingers with a look of betrayal but he couldn't stop it completely, just bite his tongue and hope it made a difference.

It didn't, he was soon laughing again. It was only when he heard her make a sound almost like a whimper that he moved to sit up, reaching out and prying her hands away from her face so she could see his smile.

"Hey- heey! It's okay, I shouldn't have laughed I'm sorry, it's just-" he hesitated, mulling over the thought and wondering if it would get him in trouble before saying, "it's just that was really funny."

"Adrien!" she protested, trying to reclaim her hands to hide behind but his grip on her wrists was firm and unmoving while also being careful not to hurt her.

"No no I'm sorry I'm-" his words were broken up by giggles until he made of show of sobering up, giving her a very serious look. "I'm done laughing I'm good now I'm good."

She was pouting, glaring at him and tearing his expression to bits, seeing the corners of his lips threatening to turn up in a grin and the mischievous glint in his eyes.

There was a ghost of a smile on her own face as she matched his gaze, knowing for a fact he was one second away from bursting into another fit of laughter. It was a relief though, to see him so playful and genuine even if it was because she had made a fool of herself by literally tackling him out the door.

His lips twitched again, fighting against the urge to laugh as she forced a frown at him. After another pause though her expression softened, and despite her embarrassment she said, "I'm really glad you're here Cat."

He jumped a little at the name, feeling heat settle on his cheeks as it dawned on him once again who both of them really were, and what this situation really meant. He knew it obviously, but it was easy to ignore when it was so intimidating. That's why she said it though, so neither of them could ignore it. This was Ladybug, telling him to his face that she was glad he was there.

There was something so much more than relief that beat in his chest, something so much more powerful and complete. Her necklace hung heavily on her chest and she watched him with a gentle smile, fighting against her own quickly beating heart as they kept their eyes solely on each other.

When he finally spoke it was in a low, earnest tone, a smile on his lips.

"I'm really glad I'm here too my lady. Nowhere else I would rather be, no one else I would rather be with."

She smiled at him that happy closed eye Marinette smile he loved so much, both of them visibly relaxing as the air was cleared of some unspoken tension. It was so weird... but it was good. It was really really good.

-

"Come on Pearhead, let's go in before we get sick," he added at last, getting back on his feet quickly so he could offer her a hand of assistance. She took his hand with a timid giggle, letting him pull her to her feet with his considerable strength. They were both a little wet and a cold from the silly blunder, but they couldn't be happier. For Adrien, just being there with her provided more warmth than he could ever need, the kind of heat that thawed your mind when it was frozen, stuck in place and worn from worry.

They were inside for only a moment, brushing fallen snow from their hair and laughing together a little awkwardly before Adrien was literally swept from his feet again, pulled into the powerful crushing arms of Marinette's father.

"Merry Christmas my boy!" Tom bellowed, having somehow managed to sneak up on the distracted heroes. "And you too Marinette of course." Tom grinned down at his daughter playfully, letting Adrien swing and wiggle for another few seconds before letting him drop to the ground so he could breathe.

"Morning Papa," she laughed, hugging him second and saying "Merry Christmas Eve to you as well."

Adrien was still recovering his hand on his chest as he steadied his breathing until he could sputter out, "Merry C-Christmas sir!"

"The family is all here so let's go up! Sabine's almost done with the food then we can do the stockings!"

It was hilarious to see, a full grown man single handedly more pumped about presents than either of the kids combined. He was wearing his usual blue shirt and a festive snowman apron with a matching Santa hat to Marinette's settled squarely on his head. The huge man moved forward and picked Marinette off the ground, pulling the squealing girl into his arms bridal style and grinning at Adrien. "Your sweater is amazing by the way Adrien I love it. And your necklace sweetheart! Where did you get that? Did Adrien give that to you!?"

Marinette tensed from her place in her dad's arms before saying nervously, "u-uh yeah! H-he gave it to me outside isn't it beautiful?"

Tom blinked down at the obviously jeweled necklace around his daughter's neck, a little stunned. "He really bought that for you? Adrien that's so kind of you! An absolute gentleman, would you look at that."

Her father laughed for a second before leaning down to whisper something to Adrien she couldn't hear, her suspicions growing when Adrien snickered and blushed deeply, giving the father a thumbs up that seemed to surprise yet please him.

"Good lad!" was all Tom said, finally moving to walk upstairs with Marinette in his arms, Adrien following close behind with a giddy smile plastered to his face.

"What did he say to you?" Marinette mouthed over her father's shoulder, but the boy just continued to smile, shaking his head and winking at her just before they arrived in the kitchen.

In reality Tom had whispered to him something along the lines of 'She's a spring wedding kind of girl', but he definitely wasn't going to tell her that.

"Merry Christmas Eve Adrien!" Sabine called to him lovingly, darting away from the food long enough to hug him tightly and take his bag. "I'll put this down in Marinette's room why don't you have a seat? Food's about done, how was your walk here sweetie was it cold? Been snowing all morning!" and such and such like that. Adrien hardly had time to answer before he was pushed down into a seat and the mother was gone again, leaving to put the bag down and returning almost as quickly. The table was laden with cute nutcracker candle holders and snowflake shaped placemats and all sorts of decorations wherever a plate was not, the whole table brimming with dozens of food items he could hardly name and a few that were a little more familiar. The Cheng's went all out for the holidays that was clear, somehow making the house even cheerier and warmer than it had been before.

Marinette sat next to him, giving him a shy smile that almost seemed to apologize for her parent's enthusiasm, which was ridiculous because he loved it he loved everything about what was happening. The Christmas carols blaring throughout the house, the parents singing along, the smell of the food and the adorable sight of his lady with a Santa hat. It was awesome it was all so awesome.

He jumped a little when he got a text, his eyes darting away from Tom who was dancing with his wife to "Jingle Bell Rock" while they waited for one last thing to finish cooking.

He pulled out his phone and raised an eyebrow at Marinette when he saw it was from her, the girl only smiling and gesturing for him to read it. What wouldn't she just say out loud?

'M- Is your kwami hungry? I don't know how to spell his name, Tikki told me about him though. Tikki is my kwami btw'

Oh, yeah fair enough she couldn't really say that over breakfast.

'A- It's Plagg, and he's always kind of hungry he pretty exclusively only eats cheese though. I can sneak out to get him some later if you don't have any. What's Tikki like? What do they eat? Is the cheese thing only for Plagg cause it's kind of weird.'

He heard Marinette's phone buzz beside him and bit back a laugh when she snickered at his message.

Tom had come to sit across from them when he got a reply.

'M- No I actually have a surprise for him I think he will like? According to Tikki he will, I'm looking forward to meeting him. Once we eat we can go to my room so we can meet them. Tikki loves sweet things she almost only eats cookies. She's great you'll like her.'

'A- sounds good! Can't wait to talk to Tikki'

Their subtle conversation was forced to halt when Sabine slid into place with a big steaming plate ooooof... something. Looked good, no clue what it was though.

"Dig in kids! Merry Christmas and thank you so much for joining us Adrien, we're really happy to have you here with us," Sabine announced in a sweet gentle voice, and Adrien was hit with another wave of affection for these amazing people.

"Yes, glad to have you here," Tom seconded, grinning at the boy until he went a little red in the face, bowing his head and uttering genuine thank yous a few times over until the parents laughed happily at him.

"No need to thank us, it's a joy to have you," Sabine offered again, moving to start serving the food.

"Yeah... thanks for coming. Merry Christmas Adrien," Marinette almost whispered, her parent's giving her soft looks approval as Adrien looked up at her with a flushed face.

"Yeah," was all he managed, and the adults looked on as the two teens locked eyes for the longest second of their lives, flushed, and looked away with nervous laughs.

Tom idly wondered if he had mistletoe lying around.

-

Their breakfast was lively and fun, filed with jokes and stories that made them all laugh. Tom was telling some horrifically mortifying story about Marinette in her ballerina days that had Adrien on the edge of his seat when Marinette finally proclaimed "OKAY we're gonna go upstairs for a little okay dad!?"

Tom was roaring with laughter as Marinette was quickly on her feet, grabbing a chuckling Adrien by the hand and quickly hauling him upstairs.

"You used to be a ballerina?" he asked with entertained smirk.

"Please please shut up."

"No it's great! I can picture it, it suits you really!"

"I was good as well smart alec, thank you very much," she pouted over her shoulder, sticking her tongue out at him before giving in to a slight chuckle.

"Do you have the tutu still?"

"Shh alley cat," she sighed, throwing open the hatch to her room and climbing inside, Adrien following directly behind.

They stood in the center of the room for a moment before Adrien remembered himself, and a little hesitantly he said "Oh uh, you should meet- uh Plagg come here."

Marinette watched a little nervously as Adrien rifled around in his sweater for a second, before suddenly a small black blur popped into sight. It was tiny and black with huge glowing green cat eyes, but most importantly, "It has tiny kitty ears," Marinette whispered aloud, not really meaning to but unable to contain it. It had tiny kitty ears.

Plagg whipped around to look at Marinette, allowed to look at her unobstructed for the first time and finding that she was staring at him wide eyed with her hands close to her chest. With a sharp toothed grin he darted out into the open. "Hello shy girl!"

"Plagg," Adrien immediately scolded with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Her name it Marinette you know that."

"Oh and here I could have sworn she was Lady Luck," Plagg snickered back, turning playfully through the air so he could look at the designer upside down. "Sorry my boy is such a dunce, took him forever to figure out you and Ladybug were the same person it was so dull to watch!"

Marinette jumped a little, her mouth opening but producing no sound in surprise. Luckily she didn't need to before Adrien was exclaiming, "You knew!?"

"Of course I knew, hello Tikki!" he called, looking down to see Tikki rising out of Marinette's pocket with a slightly reproachful look.

"Don't tease him Plagg," Tikki scolded, her expression still managing to be somewhat kind.

"I haven't seen you in a century and the first thing you do is scold me? How very you," Plagg stuck his tongue out, but it somehow didn't come off completely bratty, it was obvious he was just playing.

Tikki smiled softly, letting out an adorable giggle. "Hello Plagg, I've missed you!"

"I know you did," he cackled, before flying in front of Adrien as if to present him, the boy still looking a little pissed off. "Check out my Cat Noir! Pretty cool huh? Even if he is a bit slow on the uptake."

"Hey!" Adrien protested before there was suddenly the much nicer red kwami flying up near his face.

"Very cool!" she giggled, seemingly praising Plagg on his choice of hero. "And cute as well! I'm Tikki! It's nice to really meet you Adrien."

"N-nice to meet you as well Tikki!" he stammered out with a smile. "You know Plagg?"

The red kwami hummed happily and smiled at him before turning to grin at Plagg. "Mhm! I've known Plagg for years and years! Not every Ladybug and Cat Noir reveals their identities though, so it's been some time since I've seen him. Still the troublemaking cheese head I remember."

"Cheese is better than cookies, sweet-tooth," he shot back, to which Tikki gave a small disgusted shout before crossing her arms with a pout, Plagg cackling all the while.

"Uh- um Plagg?" Marinette finally asked, having re-entered the conversation with something in her hands. Adrien looked over at her and with a jolt he realized she was holding a Cat Noir stocking, obviously made by hand.

"Wow," he whispered, looking at the beautiful gesture with a light heart. Marinette smiled shyly.

"I figured since I made you one as Adrien that I could use the Cat Noir one as a gift for Pla-"

"A gift!" the small black kwami cheered, zipping in a blur straight at Marinette so quickly that she flinched with a tiny yell. He vanished into the stocking, and before Adrien could shout at him to be polite there was a squeal of joy.

"CHEESE!" he yelled, reappearing with his arms loaded with string cheese sticks twice as long as himself. "CHEESE ADRIEN IT'S FILLED WITH CHEESE!"

Marinette stared at him with wide eyes before falling into a fit of giggles, using her free hand to try and smother the sound.

"She made a little bed at the bottom too!" Tikki added, flying over to push Plagg back inside. "Now you can eat cheese and sleep all day!"

"He already does that..." Adrien muttered mostly to himself, a smirk on his lips as an ecstatic Plagg popped his head out.

"KEEP HER!" he shouted at him, already peeling back the wrapper of one of the cheeses, "KEEP HER FOREVER!"

Plagg let himself fall back into his mini sea of cheese, hollering and cheering and even humming a few Christmas carols with a mouth full of food, retiring into the depths of his stocking not to be seen again for the next few hours.

"Seems like he liked the surprise," Marinette chuckled, laying the stocking down gently on her desk so Plagg could root around in peace.

"Do I get one too Marinette?" Tikki chirped, clasping her tiny hands together hopefully.

"Yes of course Tikki, it's over here."

Adrien looked on as Marinette lifted a Ladybug printed one for Tikki to fly inside, unable to contain his amused smile when Tikki resurfaced with a cheer, something small and made of cloth in her hands and a cookie hanging from her mouth.

Adrien walked closer, tilting his head and peering down at the adorable red creature as she inhaled the cookie that was practically gigantic in comparison. After a moment he realized the item she held was a tiny sewn pink onesie type thing with white spots all over.

"I love it Marinette!" Tikki sang, using magic to phase straight into it and posing for the two heroes. "Am I cute? I know I'm cute!"

"You're adorable Tikki," Adrien complimented her, pleased to earn an affectionate nuzzle for his words before Tikki also abandoned them in favor for her snacks.

"She's so nice," Adrien continued, looking up at Marinette. "Plagg can sort of be a hassle."

"Aw he's cute too though," Marinette countered, smiling at him as she set the Ladybug stocking next to Plagg's. "He's got super tiny kitty ears it's adorable."

"They might as well be horns," he sighed dramatically, an irritated hiss only just audible from the desk in response making the two of them laugh.

Marinette turned back around to face him, and he was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that they were alone. He felt... exposed was the wrong word but something almost like that. There were no secrets now, he knew her name and she knew his and here they were, being all domestic and getting gifts for their magical companions. And he had no idea what to say.

She went first though, making him a little nervous when she smirked at him. "Okay. So you're Cat Noir."

"Uh yes, already established I should think," he chuckled, still wary at her expression.

"Okay. So you're Cat Noir, which means, un-ironically," she waltzed causally over towards his overnight bag sitting on her floor, which he realized now was slightly open. She reached in, picking up a red t-shirt with a superior grin on her face, saying, "you purchased this 'Bug-Power' T-shirt for recreational use. Miss me that much kitten?"

Her grin widened when he froze in place, heat crawling up his neck as he watched her unfurl the Ladybug themed t-shirt for him to see. Why had he packed that? Why did he do that to himself?

"Uuh, uh I-well you bought my bell to wear!" he countered, crossing his arms and trying to defend himself. Her smirk didn't falter though.

"That's because I was supporting my partner, I'm not so sure you can say the same kitten," she teased, part of her amazed that she could play with Adrien like this but another part understanding it completely. He was Cat after all.

"Y-you said- well you said, 'I'd never say it to his face but he's amazing,' huh? Remember that? Guess you've always been impressed with me my lady." As he spoke he started to regain his confidence, his embarrassment fading as he grinned right back at her, glad to see her looking a little flustered now.

"Well you weren't supposed to be there," she protested, stomping her foot and glaring at him until he chuckled deeply. He was clearly amused, how had this gotten turned on her so quickly?

"You know a bunch of little stuff makes so much more sense," he said, his tone still playful. "You reminded me of Ladybug all the time, I actually almost guessed it early but I convinced myself to ignore it. Turns out I was right," he grinned at her, flashing his perfect white teeth.

She sighed, still smiling slightly. "I'd like to say I saw it coming but I really didn't. I guess I should have, looking back there was so much pointing that way but I just didn't see it. Guess we're both a bit dense."

"Hey I'm not dense!" he whined, narrowing his eyes when she rolled her own.

"Oh yes you are."

"How so?"

"Doesn't matter," she waved it off, smiling at something he could only guess at. "I'm sure it will come up later anyways, not now though."

"What does that mean?"

"And you said you're not dense." She laughed again, shaking her head and heading over to the hatch. She called over her shoulder, saying "Tikki would you be alright with staying up here with Plagg? You two could catch up and stuff we'll just be doing the stockings with my parents."

"I'll watch him up here!" Tikki replied, her response muffled with cookie and Plagg's own reply completely unintelligible but sounding vaguely like agreement.

"Please behave Plagg," Adrien announced, glad that Tikki was there to keep him in line since he only received a brief view of his kwami popping his head up to stick his tongue out at him.

"Mom is probably waiting for us, let's go be sociable." Marinette smiled at him before heading down, Adrien close behind and tailing her into the kitchen.

"So what is it we're doing?" he asked, following her towards where her parents sat chatting in the living room.

"Today we open stockings and one present from under the tree," she informed him, turning towards her parents who looked up at her with cheerful smiles. "Ready?"

"Yes!" Sabine answered, putting down her drink and rising to her feet. "We were just waiting for you two, Adrien sweetie go ahead and sit down on the couch, you too Marinette. I'll pick the gifts."

Adrien moved to obey, sitting on the sofa and watching as the parents moved about. He looked on as Sabine walked over towards their beautiful Christmas tree filled with ornaments, and with a wave of joy he wondered which were Ladybug's. He saw the spool of thread and the pencil she had mentioned before, but also one of a dolphin and a bunny and a bunch of other things. It almost looked silly, all the random things weighing it down, but in the end it looked beautiful.

"Excuse me Sabine," Adrien piped up, his hands on his lap as he leaned forward with interest, "but which ornaments go to who? Marinette told me about your tradition and I was curious."

To his surprise the mother seemed overjoyed that he asked, her entire face lighting up as she abandoned her search for presents in favor of educating him.

He loved it, it was amazing it was like everything on the tree had a story to it that was fun and full of life. The dolphin went to Sabine it would seem, it was her favorite animal and the bunny went to Marinette. "She's always loved bunnies, ever since she was a little girl."

Tom chimed in from the kitchen, approaching them from behind with warm mugs of chocolate. "When she was just learning to talk she couldn't say bunny, so she just called them hops instead."

"Hops!" Adrien echoed with joy, looking over at a slightly red Marinette. "That's adorable."

"Watch it alley cat," she muttered so only he could hear, giving him a playful glare. He just grinned, thoroughly entertained as he took the hot chocolate from Tom with a thank you.

"This one is a little airplane, it goes to Tom. You see when he was younger..." and the stories went on and on, everyone laughing and smiling until their cheeks hurt. Adrien genuinely felt like he was going to burst, the laughter warming his insides even more than the coco. Eventually though Tom reminded Sabine of the task at hand and she returned to picking presents. When it came time to select which present Tom would open that day she shot a glance over at Adrien, smirking about something before selecting a soft looking package loosely wrapped in festive paper.

"You can have this one honey, it's from me. Adrien can have one of the ones we got him, Marinette you can have this one," she handed over a heavy looking square box that took up most of her lap. She also unhooked the stockings from where they hung on the wall and handed them to their respective owners before selecting a present of her own.

Adrien took his present, a small thin box, and eagerly reached out for his stocking, inspecting the light blue and dark blue of the design with a slightly open mouth. It had his name hand stitched into the top of it, the bulk of it being diagonal stripes of light and dark blue while the fold at the top was white with dark blue stitching. Marinette had made it herself he could tell, and he held it gently.

Marinette watched his expression as he reviewed her work and her eyes softened as she watched the depth of emotion that crossed his features. When he looked up at her it was with a small smile and a grateful nod, and she smiled warmly in return.

"Alright children," Sabine spoke, breaking through their little moment, "start with the stockings!"

Adrien waited until Marinette moved first before peering into his own, gasping lightly when he found it was overflowing with caramels. Stuck between the carefully wrapped sweets, they looked homemade, were nice black leather gloves to match his jacket and a few random lose pieces of paper. He pulled the gloves into his lap, marveling at the quality before pulling out one of the pages, furrowing his brow as he inspected it.

"They're recipes," Tom offered to counter the boy's confusion, Adrien looking up with a bewildered expression. "I don't know if you bake at all but these ones are rather nice, favorites of mine and Sabine's. We figured at some point today or tomorrow Marinette could teach you how to make a few of them!"

Marinette gasped, squealing out, "That's an amazing idea papa! Adrien I'll teach you how to use everything downstairs it will be fun!"

Adrien was stunned, holding the papers close to him now that he knew they were personal recipes to their family's bakery, and with a slightly stunned but overjoyed voice he said, "Y-yeah! That sounds awesome, thank you so much!"

He spent another few moments staring at the pages before looking over curiously at Marinette to see what she had gotten in her cute white and pink stocking.

"I've got some new headbands and a bracelet! And some chocolates, want some?" she held out the stocking, offering him some of the treats but he shook his head.

"I'm fine with all this caramel thanks, did you guys make these?"

"Sabine did," Tom answered, happily munching on some peppermint he had found in his. Sabine herself was enjoying some small green candies he didn't recognize, humming happily.

"If you're ready you can open your presents now," she finally announced, Marinette opening hers quickly in her curiosity, almost jumping out of her skin when she saw what it was.

Adrien also grew very still, staring at her present and forgetting about his own as he watched Marinette slowly start to panic. It was metal cover plates for a sewing machine, a way to personalize it with a pattern or such, but it was the fact that it was Ladybug patterned that was so unnerving.

"Do you like it sweetheart?" Sabine finally asked, happy with the gift. "You and Alya have always been such big fans of Ladybug's we thought you would enjoy it!"

There was a beat of silence before both Adrien and Marinette breathed out heavy sighs of relief, laughing in an almost giddy way at the false alarm.

"O-of course momma thank you! I love it yes, of course I'm a huge fan," she laughed her way out of it, smiling happily at her parents before giving Adrien a look that said, 'Oh my god' when they looked away.

He chuckled, winking at her before returning to his own gift. It was signed from Tom and Sabine and it was still utterly surreal to him that he had gotten anything at all but there it was, something just for him. When he opened it he shouted in joy.

"Legend of Zelda Originals collection?!" he asked, on his feet and meeting Tom's cheerful gaze.

"Yup! Figured you hadn't properly played the original ones, or that you at least didn't have a console version to play. Figured you and I could spend some time showing it to Marinette, I remember all the secrets."

"Yes absolutely thank you so much sir WOW!" he wondered a little too late if he was being childish, bouncing around like that in their living room but they all laughed and smiled so brightly it just made him want to do it more. Something bought for him with him in mind directly related to his interests it was- oh god it was amazing. It was so much.

Marinette saw the switch of emotions as he sat back down, beaming at the game case with something close to tears in his eyes. She knew if he could help it he would keep it all inside, but this was probably a lot to take in. She watched as he took out his phone, snapping a picture of the case and furiously typing out a text message with an excited grin. When he caught her looking he said, "Nino is going to flip out when he sees what I got, it's so awesome I can't believe it!"

She laughed, also snapping a picture of her gift for Alya as well as a sneaky pic of Adrien beaming down at his gloves and game, happily eating caramel in his goofy cat sweater.

'M- He's having a great time, it's awesome' she captioned it, sending it quickly and turning her attention towards her father.

Sabine was recording which was strange, so Tom was immediately on guard, giving her a wary smirk as he started to unwrap it.

"Any particular reason you feel the need to record this hun?" he asked with a chuckle, getting through the tissue paper as she responded.

"It's just the most amazing coincidence in the world, it's perfect," was all she said, before Tom was blinking down at a large Christmas sweater.

A moment later he was howling with laughter, turning it around and saying, "Adrien we match!"

It was the exact same cat pun sweater that Marinette had bought for Cat Noir, just several sizes up. Literally the exact same one.

"I can't believe it!" Adrien shouted, back on his feet and laughing just as hard as Tom was. The man was quick to put it on, moving in front of the Christmas tree and modeling it for everyone with Adrien at his side, gleefully mimicking the poses.

Marinette was beside herself with laughter, trying to blink the tears from her eyes as she watched the two of them goof around, flexing their muscles and laughing at each other while her mother switched between video and getting as many pictures as possible. It was hilarious and completely perfect, the sight of her friend and crime fighting partner being an absolute dork with her father was just too much, she could hardly breathe.

Adrien looked so happy and content in each of the photos taken that Sabine couldn't pick a favorite and just elected to keep them all, grinning as she flipped through them.

"Aren't you gonna open yours?" Adrien finally asked, crossing to where Sabine had put her gift down and handing it back to her.

"Oh yes! Thank you sweetheart this is from you isn't it?"

"Yes Mam," he confirmed, smiling at her in a way only a genuinely eager boy could and she loved it.

She put her phone away and admired the elegant bag it came in before reaching inside, sorting through the decorative paper until she felt something hard and cool in her fingers.

Sabine gasped when she pulled out the decorative silver metal hair comb, meant to be a hair accessory and shaped to look like a koi fish. It was bent and cast in a swimming motion, its body decorated with gold lining to make the scales shine and reflective glass for the eye.

"Adrien," she breathed, setting the bag down so she could turn it over in her fingers, "it's so beautiful. Where did you get this?"

"J-just a small antique shop," he answered, relieved at her positive reaction. "Marinette and I found it, it's supposed to be very old. I think it's originally meant as a decorative piece for a formal event like a wedding."

"Yes," she filled in, turning it over with a fond smile, "it's a traditional item. Adrien I'm so touched, thank you very much."

Adrien gasped when he was pulled into a tight hug but was quick to return it, grinning over at Marinette who returned the smile.

Sabine spent another few minutes fawning over the piece before rushing off to fix it in her hair, returning to model it for everyone. They all agreed she looked beautiful, though Tom added cutesy remarks of, "She always is," here and there to make her smile. Eventually Marinette stood, heaving her present into her arms.

"Adrien I want to go fix it on my sewing machine will you help me?"

He looked up from his stash of caramels, admittedly starting to feel a tad sick from how much he had already eaten. He gathered his own things into his hands and hurried to say, "Yes! Let's go," before following her up towards her room, bouncing all the way.

As soon as the hatch shut Adrien darted ahead to show his gifts to Plagg, who was also feeling sick from his unchecked indulgence. There were string cheese wrappers ALL OVER the desk, Tikki passed out in a cookie coma nearby with chocolate still on her face.

"You guys are unreal," Marinette laughed, setting her things down and checking her phone, smiling at the texts she had from Alya.

'Alya- girl not only is this the most amazing thing for you but you're also making him really happy. He's never had this before, you should feel really proud. If that boy doesn't love you yet girl he doesn't deserve you.'

She snickered at the message, looking up at Adrien as he animatedly explained why his gift was so awesome since Plagg was too full to escape.

He was glowing with happiness, rocking on his heels as he described the journey of Link and why it was so cool with childlike wonder in his eyes. After a few moments he asked if he could play some music on her computer and in a flurry of blushing and teasing laughs she found herself swept up in his infectious joy. Eventually, with enough jokes and theatrical bows, they were dancing.

It wasn't anything so formal or practiced, they were just dancing together, laughing whenever the other would fumble a step. Adrien reached out with a wink, catching her hands and spinning her in place, his heart soaring as he watched the way she twirled with grace. She really must have been a ballerina, but the thought was barely formed when she was spinning him too and he laughed at the hilarity.

"No I spin you, you don't spin me!" he protested through his laughter, but she just grinned at him mischievously.

"Well watch me kitty!" and she spun him again, catching him when he teetered and falling into a fit of giggles as the song went on. It was something bouncy and festive, but it didn't really matter. It was just so much fun.

She was dancing with Cat Noir, laughing her lungs apart as they moved foolishly throughout the room, always in sync. How utterly unreal it was... that she was just being silly with Adrien.

But there he was, smiling so purely and contently she almost wanted to cry.

She didn't though... she just laughed, bouncing through the room while he sloppily taught her ballroom steps to the tune of a Christmas carol.

And the world had never seemed more right.