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It was Christmas Eve again…Adrien’s second Christmas without his mother, and this year was shaping up to be worse than the last.
His father had completely buried himself in work and barricaded himself inside of his office with orders that he was not to be disturbed.
His plan was to take advantage of those feeling alone during the holiday season. Little did he realize that his actions were putting his son in just such a position.
Nathalie was sick and confined to bed, and Adrien was decorating a little tree in her room to brighten things up.
There would be no big tree in the foyer this year.
Adrien didn’t see the point in going through the hassle. He was essentially alone, what with his bodyguard gone home to spend time with his own family, and Adrien didn’t feel like decorating a big tree all by himself when the ritual used to be one shared by his whole family.
“You usually go to midnight mass with your parents, don’t you?” Adrien remarked, trying to make conversation with Nathalie as he went about decorating the small, tabletop tree with mini ornaments.
“I do,” Nathalie replied, watching him through the deep weariness clouding her eyes.
“I could take you, if you wanted,” he offered, hoping she’d say yes and he’d get to experience some kind of family bonding activity for the holiday. “I wouldn’t mind pushing the wheelchair. It would be fun.”
Nathalie’s eyebrows pinched together, and she hesitated slightly before gently turning him down. “I’m afraid I’m too tired this year, Adrien, but thank you for your thoughtful offer. That was very kind of you, and I do appreciate it.”
“Yes, of course.” Adrien nodded and then tried again. “Maybe you’ll feel better tomorrow and could attend services then. I’d be happy to take you.”
Nathalie pursed her lips. “Thank you, Adrien, but I’m not sure your father would approve of you going out without your bodyguard, and you know how he feels about religion.”
Adrien’s gaze dropped down to his hands to focus on hanging a synthetic feather ornament on one of the miniature branches.
“Yes, Nathalie,” he mumbled, feeling completely disheartened.
The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, like it was any other day of the year.
Adrien puttered around his room, feeling worse and worse with every passing hour.
He ate dinner by himself, pushing the food around his plate to make it look like he’d eaten something, and then retired to his room again for the night.
“Father doesn’t even care,” he muttered bitterly, flopping down on his bed to gaze unseeingly up at the ceiling.
“Maybe we could make our own Christmas traditions?” Plagg suggested, sensing the miasma of depression around Adrien and doing his best to make things better for his holder.
“That’s a great idea, Plagg,” Adrien replied darkly, without enthusiasm. “I think we should go sing Christmas carols, just like last year.”
Plagg quirked an eyebrow and opened his mouth to ask if Adrien meant that depressing song he’d made up last Christmas when he’d been going through a bout of teen angst, but Adrien cut him off by calling on his transformation.
With a toxic green flash, Chat Noir was on his way, out the window and bounding over the rooftops of Paris, singing about how alone and miserable he felt.
He raced along the Left Bank and was just passing the school when he began to sing the chorus, “Chat Noir se sent si seul ce soir.”
“Chaton?” Ladybug called, dropping down onto the roof in front of him and making him trip in his surprise.
“Ladybug!” he gasped as he righted himself and tried to appear as if everything were fine. “Merry Christmas! How are you doing?”
Her eyes narrowed, and her forehead scrunched up, making her mask crease. “Chat Noir, that song you were singing… Are you okay?”
His first instinct was to put on a smile and deny that anything was wrong…but just the thought of doing that made him feel hollow on the inside and vaguely nauseated.
He took a deep breath and confessed, “…No. No, I’m not okay, My Lady. My father hasn’t been the same since my mother left us last year, so now he’s holed up in his office, and I’m left to spend Christmas by myself. I don’t even have my usual caretakers with me this year because one is sick and the other went home to be with his real family, so… No. I’m not okay.”
He shrugged and tried to smile, but the tears leaking down his cheeks ruined the effect.
“Oh, Chaton,” Ladybug breathed, rushing forward to pull her partner into a tight hug.
“Shh,” she cooed as she began to sway back and forth with him. “I’m so sorry, Chat Noir. I wish there was something I could do to—”
She abruptly stopped as an idea occurred to her.
“Ladybug?” Chat inquired as she pulled back with a grin.
“Follow me,” she urged, giving his arm a squeeze before letting go and heading for Marinette’s balcony.
Chat’s questioning frown deepened when they landed.
Ladybug only smiled wider. “Close your eyes and don’t move.”
He did as instructed, wondering what on earth she had planned but trusting her regardless.
His heartbeat quickened as a stupid, deliriously hopeful idea popped into his head: Was she going to kiss him?
His hopes were quashed seconds later as he heard Marinette’s skylight open and close.
He didn’t sense anyone with him on the balcony anymore, so he assumed that Ladybug had gone in.
Still, he kept his eyes closed and waited like he said he would.
Half a minute passed, and then he heard the skylight open and close again.
He found himself puzzling over what Ladybug had been doing in Marinette’s room when Ladybug broke into his thoughts, saying, “Okay. You can open them now.”
Marinette was standing on the balcony in front of him where he’d last seen Ladybug, and the sudden merging of the two of them in his mind had him feeling dizzy and giddy and terrified and ecstatic all at once.
“This is for you,” Marinette informed him, holding up a prettily wrapped gift.
It took him a few blinks to snap back to reality and take the present, saying, “Thank you. You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I wanted to, though,” she informed with a soft smile and a lovely cherry blossom blush. “Go ahead and open it.”
He did, and, inside, he found two knit caps in a ladybug pattern with an adorable pompom on top.
“One has ear holes for when you’re Chat Noir,” Marinette explained. “The other one doesn’t…for when you’re not Chat Noir.”
He pulled her into a fierce hug, tearing up again at her thoughtfulness. “Thank you, Marinette. You really are the best, you know that?”
“Nah,” she whispered, running a hand soothingly up and down his back. “That would be you.”
Before he could argue, she hastily added, “Come downstairs and spend Christmas with my family. You shouldn’t be alone, and we’d love to have you. We’re going to play video games and watch movies and make cookies. Please join us.”
He didn’t have to think twice. “Detransformation.”
She yelped as his suit melted away and quickly buried her face in his neck, squeezing her eyes closed so that she wouldn’t see.
“Chat Noir! You didn’t have to do that! You could have just come as yourself!” she squeaked in protest.
“You did it to me first,” he chuckled, pulling away from her. “…And this is me coming as myself. Open your eyes, Marinette.”
She hesitated, pursing her lips and scrunching her brow.
He didn’t push her. Even as he held his breath and mentally crossed his fingers, he didn’t force her hand. He wanted it to be her decision.
Finally, she inhaled deeply and slowly opened her eyes.
Her jaw dropped, and she drew in a sharp breath.
“Hi, Princess.” He smiled nervously, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck.
His hand never made it there because she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around him and nearly crushing him with the ferocity of her affections.
“Hi, Chaton,” she whispered into his chest, her tears dampening his shirt.
He didn’t mind, though. How could he when Marinette Dupain-Cheng was his Lady and she was happy that he was Chat Noir?
…Or…at least he thought she was happy. These didn’t seem like sad or upset tears.
He was just about to seek clarification when she lifted her head and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, halfway between his lips and his cheek so that he wasn’t sure which one she had been aiming for.
“Please spend Christmas with us, Adrien,” she pleaded, and he decided that they’d have to talk about the maybe-kiss later.
“You’re sure your parents would be okay with it?” he verified. “I appreciate the offer, and I’d love to accept, but I don’t want to intrude.”
“You wouldn’t be intruding,” she insisted with a bright smile. “Besides, I’m sure my parents would jump at the chance to get to know my…my new boyfriend?”
There was so much tentative hope in the words “new boyfriend”. Adrien got the impression she felt like she was going out on a limb, holding out her heart to him, not sure if it would end up broken.
He leaned in and pressed his lips firmly to hers.
She made the cutest little “meep” noise at the contact.
He pulled back with a reassuring smile full of adoration. “Your new boyfriend would be delighted to get to know your family too.”
With a trill of joy, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again.
The
End