Work Text:
When Marinette organized a Secret Santa, she knew what she was getting into.
Every single one she had ever been a part of, every single one always had something happen.
She had absolutely no idea why she kept on organizing them.
Especially with her friends. She had lost contact with many of her friends from years before or they simply weren’t as close as they used to be.
Nowadays, it was only Nino, Sabrina, Kim, and surprisingly, Chloe. Kagami too, but she didn’t know how much she counted, given that they had left friendship a while ago for a rather more romanticapproach.
Sometimes, she wondered whether she had some sort of fixation with searching for trouble whenever her life turned even slightly easier than it used to. Was a Secret Santa even a logical replacement for her former superhero duties?
Granted, none of her friends were at risk of getting akumatized over being sad about their gift or angry at whoever decided to give them some form of disgrace to humanity, so Marinette wasn’t even sure what all of that was for.
“Are you sure you’re not craving an akuma appearing out of nowhere so you can go back to being Ladybug?” Tikki had asked.
She was decided on doing her best to prove she wasn’t even close to the Kwami’s suppositions.
Marinette grabbed her phone and sent out the text to her friends’ group chat.
furry skittles
lepidopterophobic: morning guyss
lepidopterophobic: so i was thinking, what if we do something for Christmas?
lepidopterophobic: i was thinking of a secret santa or something what do y’all think?
As she expected, within five minutes everyone had replied. Well, with the exception of Chloe, of course, but Sabrina would take care of it.
All with the same response.
Sure!
Okay, that left her with just one thing to do.
Start planning.
First, she needed to know what they would be dealing with
lepidopterophobic: any suggestions for the minimum spending amount?
lepidopterophobic: yes kim this is about you
lepidopterophobic: for a start and before chloe says anything that will make us go broke i’d say 50.000? like, it's fine if you go for a little more or less, but just to have a reference point, and preferably not more than 80.000
lepidopterophobic: and also, to make things more fun pls don’t send me the names you get, and dont change them unless you get yourselves! ik i’m organizing but tbh i really want it to be a surprise if its fine
lepidopterophobic: and tikki says i have to start trusting you guys more so as much as my brain says it’s a bad idea IM TRUSTING YOU!
To her surprise, everyone liked her texts. Marinette turned towards Tikki.
“Did no one object, or am I hallucinating?”
“Not even Chloe.”
Secret Santa was starting to be… fun? Not exhausting? Those definitely were words she wasn't used to saying together.
Marinette could only hope it stayed like that. For once, she would be able to actually enjoy a Christmas activity without wanting to rip her scalp off out of stress about things not happening as they should.
She finally had time to plan something decent instead of spending two days without sleeping and running on nothing else than pure determination to finish and the loudest music she could make her headphones play.
It was only a matter of hoping by that point.
~(x) ~
Marinette had blisters on her fingers from the most obsessive knitting and macrame session she had had in years. After about four balls of yarn and multiple froggings that threatened to end whatever sanity she had left, part one of the gift was ready.
After a lot of self-control and reminders of who the art supplies were for, part two was done.
A quick internet search on how to make embroidery patches later, the final part was finished.
She spent days visiting every single crafts store and any place that sold wrapping paper trying to find the prettiest she could. She had spent hours looking for the perfect ribbon.
Almost miraculously, she managed to actually get it to be good. Great, she would say, bragging a bit.
She was proud of her creations and she could only hope her girlfriend would feel the same way.
The groupchat had been flooded for days, until she figured it would be best to temporarily use her admin privileges and close it, at least until she could be sure no one would slip up and accidentally spoil the surprise factor.
They had agreed to meet at the park, sitting in the grass and praying no cloud of rain would tarnish what she hoped would be her day of glory, the day she could finally see any group activity not be the reason of her slow descent into madness.
Marinette sat down and pulled out a picnic blanket, merely for aesthetic purposes, and waited for the others to come.
She had even brought her phone fully charged, expecting it to be a long wait.
Instead, every single one of the others was on time.
Could Tikki finally have decided it was time to give her some of her rightful Ladybug wielder luck?
She greeted everyone as they arrived.
To her surprise, everyone carried boxes or gift bags that looked like they actually corresponded to the set minimum.
She exhaled, ready to begin with a nice, civilized exchange.
“I was thinking we could begin with something about the person we were assigned and then the gift, so, who wants to start? Or should I?”
“Would anyone have any objections should I start?”
Kagami taking the initiative, of course. Marinette could only stare at her with a loving, grateful gaze.
“Excuse me, I want to give out my gifts. Such incredibly generous actions of mine shouldn’t be left unnoticed for so long!” Chloe interrupted with a shriek.
Marinette was lowkey stunned. Chloe, actually taking the time to get her a gift despite their long rivalry? Was she feeling okay?
She headed over to a big bag that was hiding in the bushes, to Marinette’s surprise. When had she placed it there?
Chloe extracted four boxes, placing them in front of her.
“While I have no idea how on earth we came to tolerate each other, let alone even speak to each other, I’d like to say merry Christmas and all that, blah blah blah. Now, take these before I change my mind about being nice.”
Marinette tried to grab the boxes, pretty sure it was her. Who else did Chloe despise enough to give out that speech to?
Until Chloe interposed between her and the gifts.
“What are you doing? Take the one with your name on it! And I’m supposed to be the greedy one-”
Apparently, everyone.
Marinette took a deep breath. “Chloe, you do realize that the purpose of a Secret Santa is to give a gift to someone you get assigned, right?”
“Well, Sabrina didn’t tell me who I got.”
“You were supposed to get your name on the randomizer I sent to the chat!”
“WELL-” Chloe waited a few seconds before retorting, only to find herself at a loss for words and sitting down in embarrassment. “You’re all welcome for those gifts.”
It was only the first person. It still has chances of getting better, Marinette repeated to herself mentally.
Everyone began opening their boxes, to the sight of incredibly detailed Santa hats with each of their names embroidered around the edge. About a dozen tiny golden baubles hanged from the sides like bells, glimmering under the sun
“Be careful everyone, those were incredibly hard to find exactly as I wanted them.”
Marinette was stunned for a few seconds before remembering.
“Anyone wants to take over?”
Kagami came to the rescue, standing up almost immediately.
“I was assigned someone who, as much as I would have desired to not get if it meant not being able to gift Marinette something demonstrating my love, I can say is greatly respected by me. Putting up with that girlfriend of yours is truly admirable in my eyes.”
“Sabrina, you may now receive your gift.”
The poor girl didn’t even know whether to be embarrassed, offended or flattered.”
“Inside the bag you will find a box. Inside the box you will find your present.”
The girl did as she was told, and opened it to see a multicolored shine that was only magnified by the morning sun.
She could only admire it for a few seconds before Chloe interrupted, though,
“Thank you, but I’m not sure this stays within the limit. I have never seen an imitation bracelet like this that was over thirty euros. No girlfriend of mine should have to wear this kind of ridiculous trinkets.”
“I can guarantee I attained to the minimum. An original, perfectly within the range.”
Marinette caught a glance of the bracelet inside its box. If it was the one she thought it was-
Marinette caught a glance of the bracelet inside its box. If it was the one she thought it was- She had spent hours mesmerized by its colors on the window of a fancy jewelry shop, trying incredibly hard to think about how broke and for how long she would be if she tried buying it.
She got up to whisper into her girlfriend’s ear.
“Kagami, how much did that cost?”
“Fifty-five thousand euros, barely over the limit as you said you would prefer,” she replied in an equal whisper.
“I MEANT FIFTY!” Marinette had forgotten all discretion by now.
“Why would you add three zeros after it then?”
“I just like to know my decimals!”
Everyone looked confused.
“Yeah, Chloe, you can stop trying to murder my girlfriend now. I can guarantee this is no cheap ridiculous trinket or whatever you called it.”
Marinette could feel the headache bubbling.
“Sabrina, you can go next.”
“Well, I got someone I… I really care about. I really love this person, and I hope she likes my present.”
She looked at her person. “Chloe, I hope you like it!”
The cheeky grin in her lips didn’t go unnoticed by Marinette, who was starting to worry.
“Um, Sabrina, what are these?”
Chloe held a pair of blue denim jeans in front of her like they were the deadliest of bugs.
“Look at the tag,” was her only answer.
Chloe gave out the most horrifying scream anyone had heard since the akuma days.
“SABRINA?? I THOUGHT WE HAD AGREED NOT TO TALK ABOUT IT!”
Marinette turned towards Sabrina, ready for whatever tragedy she would get as an answer.
“What did you get her?”
“Oh, remember how back in lycée she was madly in love with her dear Adrikins?”
It clicked for Marinette.
“How on earth did you get them?”
“Turns out his bodyguard is very easy to get past. Vanisher sure taught me how to be sneaky, if you get what I did.”
Marinette pinched the bridge of her nose.
She couldn’t contain a few chuckles, though.
“Maybe we should give Chloe a few moments to recover and do her best not to murder Sabrina. Wanna go next, Kim?”
He got up, buzzing with excitement.
“Okay, so, I got this present for someone who I know will really like it and that is totally not because I saw him literally post about being willing to date anyone who gifted this to him.”
He threw a small box to Nino.
Everyone gasped.
“NO WAY! Did you-”
“I did.”
The bag had nothing other than a small bauble with a compass on it, pointing towards the entrance of the park.
Nino walked over, the group following behind.
Outside, there was a parked truck, carrying a fully decorated Christmas tree on the back.
As they admired the tree, Nino began.
“Speaking of which, I saw you sharing the exact same post.”
He pointed towards the entrance on the other side of the park.
There, a small sleigh carried another, fully decorated tree.
“Does that mean we’re… dating now?” Kim asked.
Marinette was both incredibly amused and very confused.
This was certainly not a disaster, but it was definitely not the smooth, chill event she was hoping for.
Instead, she was beginning to really enjoy this. Just the right amount of chaos.
“Before we get to the wedding vows, can we finish the exchange? I kind of wouldn’t mind getting to give out my gift.”
Everyone nodded, returning to their original seating places. With the exception of Kim and Nino of course, who were now sitting together and glancing at each other non-stop.
Marinette was the only one left to give her gift out.
“I’d like to begin by saying I spent a lot of time on this gift. I wouldn’t be surprised if a soul-eating akuma appeared someday out of the blue, ate mine and was left hungry because it was missing a part, a part that went into this. But, before I continue rambling, this is for you, Kagami.”
She extended the box to her girlfriend, who opened it cautiously, trying not to break the wrappings.
Inside, a multi-layer arrangement laid carefully placed.
On top, there was a tiny cushioned box that held an embroidery patch covered in tiny hearts with a note below that read “for your fencing suit <3”. To the side, another tiny box contained a macrame charm, with another note that read “for you bokken<3.
A carefully folded scarf, red with golden details, filled the empty spaces.
Just when Kagami thought it was already enough to make her fall more for her girlfriend, if that was possible, she saw it.
Below a layer of colored rice paper, there was a box with about fifty colored pencils, another one with different graphite ones, and a sketchbook.
Marinette looked at her with a shy, yet proud look on her face to the sound of everyone’s “Aww”.
“Merry Christmas to everyone!”