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For the first time in their partnership, Ladybug was avoiding her kwami.
It wasn't that she didn't want to talk about it, it was just that there were too many other important things to be doing! Between Hawkmoth and Mayura, the Guardianship, class, the bakery - Marinette simply didn't have time to discuss 'the limitations of the Ladybug miraculous'. Besides, she'd been Ladybug for months; if it was as big a deal as Tikki seemed to think, surely it would have affected her by now.
It definitely wasn't affecting her today, no way. Marinette had always been a little sensitive to cold weather, and it was the first truly cold day of the season, so of course she was shivering. It wasn't anything a few extra layers and some hot chocolate couldn't fix.
Maybe a space heater, too - but that was it.
"Marinette." Tikki's patience had always seemed endless, but lately the little goddess' tone was clipped. "You can't keep ignoring this. Eventually you will have to talk to Chat Noir."
"There's no reason to bother Chat with something I can handle myself." Marinette pulled on a second pair of gloves, avoiding her kwami's eye. She could definitely handle it herself. Previous Ladybugs probably didn't live in bakeries with the heat of industrial ovens to keep them warm. And if the heat of those industrial ovens never quite reached the cold inside her, she would just toughen up. Marinette was determined never to hear the words "Chat Noir" and "body heat" in the same sentence ever again.
She held out, shivering and sniffling, until the first winter patrol. They'd taken a break from their evening runs through the city to prepare for exams - sometimes superhero things had to take a backseat to school things - and Marinette found herself missing her partner. There had been a blessed lack of akuma attacks for over a week, and while that was cause for celebration, it meant she didn't get to see Chat even once.
The only upside was that M. Agreste was abroad for work, so Adrien was able to hang out with her and Alya and Nino every single day. If anything could take Marinette's mind off the cold, it was Adrien's warm smile.
As patrol neared, Marinette steeled herself to leave her bed. She'd piled on layers and layers of blankets, stuffed with heating pads and hot water bottles, and she still felt like her sternum was the surface of a frozen lake; one wrong move away from cracking. Her nest took the edge off the cold, and she wasn't looking forward to leaving it.
"Tikki," she whispered, "spots on."
Ladybug staggered across the rooftops, her movements stiff, her thoughts sluggish. The chill curled around her heart. It seeped through every fiber, down to the bone. She stumbled to a stop on their usual rooftop, hunched over and shivering, eyes screwed shut against the icy wind.
"My Lady?"
She tried to straighten up, tried to look her partner in the eye and tell him that everything was fine, she was just a little chilly, but her body betrayed her. "Ch-ch-chat," she stammered out, sinking to the ground.
"Woah! Bug, what's wrong?" Chat's voice was laced with panic, and she heard his hurried footsteps draw closer.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and oh - he was warm. Without a single thought, Ladybug abandoned her pride and threw herself onto her partner, who fell onto the rooftop with a muffled oof.
"Are you hurt? Is there an akuma?" Chat wrapped his arms around her, if only to keep her from falling off him. Ladybug barely heard him - she was too focused on snuggling as close to him as possible. Where sweaters, heaters, and hot chocolate had failed, Chat Noir came through - her insides had been frozen solid, and his warmth melted straight through it all.
"C-cold," she mumbled, smushing her face into his chest.
"Oh." He ran a hand up and down her back. "Plagg mentioned you might need help with that."
Her face flushed, and she was glad he couldn't see it. "He did?"
"He didn't say much." Chat pushed himself up, pulling her into his lap, positioning both of their bodies so he was wrapped around her like the world's most effective heated blanket. "He's not very helpful, honestly - but he did say that Ladybugs tend to get cold in the winter, and Chats are extra warm to make up for it."
Ladybug twisted around until she could slip her arms around his torso, and then settled into his embrace. "I'm surprised you haven't b-brought it up before now. Seems like good content for your puns and pick-up lines."
He snorted, resting his chin on top of her head. "I was waiting for you to say something. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
"Oh."
"It does seem like you waited until the very last minute..." he trailed off, uncertainty in his voice.
"I was just being stubborn," she admitted. "I don't like asking for help." The silence that followed felt heavy, so she wriggled up and pressed her cold nose against his throat.
Chat flinched, but didn't pull away. "You really are freezing."
They sat like that for a while, Ladybug regaining the feeling in her limbs, Chat absentmindedly rubbing her arms.
"If it hadn't gotten this bad, would you have ever brought it up?"
Ladybug pulled back just a little, enough to see her partner's face. He wasn't looking at her - his frown was directed at the horizon. "Chat," she started, but didn't know how to finish. He glanced down at her, and whatever he saw in her expression made the frown slide right off his face. He pulled her back against his chest, and she let him.
Softly, he said: "If I can help you, please let me."
Ladybug closed her eyes, and rested her temple right against his heart.
They met every night after that. Chat's warmth was enough to get her through a day, maybe two, but she never felt better than when she was actually with him. As it turned out, "Chat Noir" and "body heat" belonged in the same sentence after all.
Their playful banter returned, but Chat never flirted with her while she was wrapped in his arms. She guessed he didn't want to scare her away.
And despite what she would have expected, it was never awkward. They met somewhere secluded (if the media somehow snagged a picture of them cuddling, she would hand her miraculous over to Hawkmoth herself), silently arranged themselves to her satisfaction, and then just...hung out. Ladybug never realized how little time she and her partner actually spent together until they were talking every day. And sometimes they would just sit in comfortable silence, breathing in tandem, him holding her like she was something precious.
It was nice to spend time with him.
And that was it. No, Tikki, there wasn't anything else to it - he kept her warm because that was his job, and if they got to know each other more in the process, then their partnership would be stronger for it. Feelings for Chat Noir? Laughable. She was very much in love with Adrien, and always would be.
Adrien, who'd gotten special permission from his father to stay after school and work on their group project. Adrien, who was bent over his textbook in the seat next to her at their table in the library, underlining some relevant sentence. The seats across from them were empty, Alya and Nino having slipped away for a coffee break a few minutes before. Adrien had been so preoccupied with whatever he was reading that he hadn't noticed.
Marinette was trying to admire his handwriting, neatly printed in his open notebook, but it was difficult to focus around the shivering. It had been two days since she'd last seen Chat - apparently his schedule was unusually busy - and the first day had been fine. This second day, however, was another story; the cold was seeping back into her, layer by layer.
"I think I have an idea for our outline," Adrien said, brows furrowed as he made one last note. "We can start with-" he cut off as he looked up to find Alya and Nino's seats empty. He turned to Marinette. "When did they-"
"About f-f-five minute ago," she stuttered, teeth clacking together. "They went to get us all c-c-coffee."
Adrien frowned. "Are you alright?"
It was remarkable, really, that Adrien noticed a difference in her behavior at all; the stuttering, shaking, trying to make herself as small as possible - all things she did every day because of her debilitating crush. Ironically, all things she now did because of the bitter chill.
She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he only looked more concerned. "I'm j-just a little c-c-cold."
"Well today is your lucky day," he said, scooting his chair closer. "I almost never get cold, and I'm told I make a good space heater."
Marinette's giggles trailed off when he pressed their chairs together and slung an arm around her shoulders. And then she stopped thinking - not because of his proximity, or his smile, or the faint smell of cheese - but because he was warm.
Her body moved without her permission, snuggling into his side. She almost stammered out an apology, but that didn't feel quite right - in his warmth was comfort, and in that comfort was familiarity.
Her first thought was: Adrien is so amazing that he's the only person other than Chat Noir who can warm me up!
Her second thought was more like a record scratch.
"Is this better?" he asked, breath ghosting over the top of her head.
Marinette leaned into her partner, smiling. "It's perfect."