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Marinette Dupain-Cheng awoke excitedly, quickly leaping out of bed. This incidentally also woke Tikki up.
"Marinette? What's got you so excited?" The Kwami asked.
"It's almost Christmas, Tikki. And it's the first one I'll be celebrating with the rest of the Court." The bluenette answered. "And I have a particular mission."
The little ladybug perked up. "What's that?" She inquired.
"To give Danny a Christmas he'll actually enjoy." The Ladybug holder said.
Tikki tilted her head in confusion before it clicked. She remembered what White Rabbit said when they fought Dan. About how the Halfa hated Christmas because of his parents arguing over whether Santa was real or not, which certainly didn't help his reputation growing up when they would even stand around mall Santas to argue.
"That's nice of you." The Kwami smiled.
Her holder smiled back. She spent a bit of time working on gifts for the rest of her friends and her girlfriend, before leaving her room.
"Hey, mom. Fluff." Marinette greeted.
Nathalie gave her a smile over her coffee, while the rabbit Kwami paused from eating her carrot to wave. "Good night." She said.
The bluenette couldn't imagine what existing in non linear time was like, but Fluff at least seemed to handle it.......relatively well.
"Soooooo, got any plans for the holidays?" The girl asked.
Nathalie gave her an amused look. "You'll need to try harder than that if you want to know what you're getting." She said.
The bluenette shrugged. It was worth a try. "Ok, but seriously, do you?" She asked.
"Other than popping by to see Emilie and Adrien before returning here for the celebration, I don't." The woman answered.
"Just seeing? Nothing else going on with Emilie?" The bluenette teased.
The Rabbit holder rolled her eyes with a smile. Then she opened her pocket watch, noted the time (not like she can be late for anything), and stood. "I best be heading out if I don't want to miss my train. Enjoy your day, Marinette." Nathalie said, giving her a hug before leaving once Fluff entered her pocket.
"You heard the lady." Marinette said to Tikki, the duo leaving the house once they got ready.
The city of Paris felt particularly festive this year, she noted. And it made sense. After dealing with Hawkmoth, everyone going above and beyond with their good vibes was to be expected. It was a bit of a final fuck you to the man that terrorized them in the first place, one that Marinette could definitely appreciate. So the Ladybug holder took her time, enjoying the mood and unable to help the small bit of pride that her and her team were at least partially responsible for the unabashedly good mood. Even still, it didn't take long for her to get to her intended location. Tsurugi Manor.
"Hello. Is Kagami home?" Marinette asked as she reached the front gate.
She received no answer, but given the way it opened to let her in, it was a pretty safe bet to assume she was. The girl was proven correct when she walked over to the front door proper and her girlfriend opened it.
"Kagami!" She exclaimed, hugging her girlfriend.
"I'm happy to see you too, Marinette." The fencer chuckled.
"Are you excited for your first Christmas in Paris?" Marinette asked.
"Of course. Though I'm most excited to spend it with you." The Dragon holder smiled.
Marinette felt her face heat up but couldn't help her smile. This Christmas was going to be great.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Danny Fenton awoke unenthusiastically. It was that time of year again. The ghost boy could already make out the sound of arguing coming from downstairs. Groaning, the boy got out of bed, got himself ready and immediately made for his sister's room because there was no way he was going down there. She opened the door at his knock.
"Heading out?" Jazz asked.
"Yep. You?" He asked.
"Yeah. Still in Amity?" She asked.
He nodded. "Hanging out with Sam and Tucker before I leave." He wasn't going to leave them hanging right now when the friendship was rekindled so recently. Although they wouldn't blame him at this time of year specifically, especially with how surprisingly enthusiastic about the holiday season Sam was. "Need a way out?"
"Yes please." The redhead said gratefully. She also wasn't keen on going downstairs.
Going invisible and intangible, Danny quickly phased himself and his sister out of the house. Considering they didn't notice him going to Paris for months, his parents absolutely wouldn't notice they didn't go out the front door. The fact it was the holiday season made it even less likely. Now safely away from Fentonworks, the duo reappeared.
Danny's lip curled at the abundance of decorations and general holiday vibes. "Is it too early to just say bah humbug and wait it out in the Zone?" He asked, only slightly serious.
"You know you can't do that. Besides, I thought you'd be more enthusiastic about this one. The rest of the team is looking forward to celebrating with you." Jazz answered.
And that was the reason he was only slightly serious about his previous question. His track record with this holiday might be terrible, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't at least partially looking forward to spending the day with his favorite people.
The boy sighed. "I guess you're right."
"I'm always right, baby brother." She smiled.
With an exaggerated eye roll, the Fenton siblings went their separate ways. The Halfa found himself at the mall, and was greeted by Sam said Tucker.
"Happy holidays, Danny." Sam said happily.
"Still feels weird how happy you are." Tucker said. "So, how you holding up?" He asked Danny.
"Same old, same old." He grumbled.
His friends winced in sympathy. "Sorry, dude." The tech geek said.
"What can you do?" Danny shrugged. "But I think I have something to actually look forward to for once."
"Does it have anything to do with your other friends?" The goth asked.
It spoke wonders to their growth that she hadn't insistently questioned how exactly he met the rest of the Phoenix Court.
"Yeah." He answered.
"Good for you, man." She said.
The trio continued talking until the inevitable happened. And no, it wasn't a ghost attack this time. He almost wished it was. But it was instead Jack and Maddie, once more arguing in front of a mall Santa. Danny slumped into his seat. "Ancients damn it." He muttered to himself, just hoping he wouldn't get spotted.
"Danny, I know you don't need it, but I give you full permission to ditch us right now." Sam told him, and for that he was eternally grateful.
As quietly as inhumanly possible, he snuck out of the mall before they could notice him. To avoid the risk of running into them again, Danny decided to head somewhere he knew they wouldn't be.
Ember blinked at the knock on her lair door. She hadn't been expecting anyone. Curious, if not cautious, the undead rockstar floated over and opened it. "Babypop?" She asked.
"Hey, Em. Mind if I crash here for a sec?" Phantom asked.
"Sure." She shrugged, letting him in. He proceeded to crash on a couch with a groan. "What's got you so low?"
"Christmas." He grumbled.
"Eh, never been a big fan." Ember said.
"I have never been more into you than I am right now." The Halfa told her, making her snort.
"Sure dipstick. My fam was way too into it when I was alive, and aspiring rock star daughter didn't fit the vibe they were going for. But what's your beef?" She asked.
"You try liking the holiday when every year since you were a kid, your parents ruined it by arguing about whether or not Santa was real." Phantom said dryly.
"No way." The rocker said.
"Yes way." Danny said.
"Dang Babypop, your folks are something else. You could always spend it in the Zone. With the Holiday Truce you wouldn't even have to kick some ass, as cool as that'd be to watch." His spectral girlfriend suggested.
"Tempting, but Marinette has plans for all of us to spend the holiday together and I might actually be looking forward to that." The Halfa responded.
"She wouldn't mind if I crashed the party? Been itching to see Honeypop again?" She smirked.
"It's not really crashing when you probably have an open invitation." He rolled his eyes with a grin.
"Way to take the fun out of it." Ember said, making him chuckle. Maybe this Christmas wouldn't be so bad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mirabel Madrigal woke up in a good mood. Getting out of bed, the pyro hurriedly exited her room. The advantage of a magical room was that the door could switch between portal to Paris and regular bedroom on a dime.
"Morning, Casita." She greeted the sentient house, tiles shuffling in greeting.
The girl walked downstairs, where she ran into her uncle.
"Someone's in a good mood." Bruno said.
"How could I not be, tio? It's my first Christmas with the rest of the Court, and it's Ellie's first Christmas ever." She said.
The young Halfa and Antonio were over the moon to celebrate, a stark difference from her template, and it was honestly adorable.
Bruno chuckled in agreement.
It was soon time for breakfast, the rest of the Madrigal family making an appearance. Even Alma.
"Hey, you think you could bring me some Parisian food when you get back?" Camilo whispered to her.
"I'll see what I can do." She rolled her eyes in amusement.
They were taking the fact that she was planning to spend the holiday proper in Paris surprisingly well. Or maybe not so surprisingly considering they knew just how much everyone there meant to her. And she didn't miss the chance to tease Isabela about how she could see her boyfriend anytime she wanted while her sister's girlfriend had to go back to her country.
"Are you excited, Danielle?" Julieta asked, pointedly ignoring how the girl and Antonio paused their feeding of Cujo under the table.
"Yeah!" She responded enthusiastically, Cujo jointing in with happy yips.
They smiled at her. She would get the childhood Vlad wouldn't have let her even if it killed him all the way.
This Christmas was going to be nice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Christmas Day, one Marinette was practically vibrating. She was currently stood outside her siblings' doors, waiting for them to arrive. Fortunately, it didn't take them too long, the telltale golden glow of Mirabel's door flashing before the girl in question burst out and immediately hugged her sister. Not one to be outside, Danny's door opened soon after.
"What am I, chopped liver?" He said upon noticing them.
With an affectionate eye roll, they welcomed him into the hug.
"Where's mom?" The pyro asked.
"London. She'll be back in time." It was impossible for her not to be.
"Don't you dare." Mirabel told Danny, who had opened his mouth for a pun of similar thought process.
The boy closed it with a shrug.
"Come on, Chloé's waiting for us at the hotel." Marinette said.
"Tikki, Spots On!"
"I'm Going Ghost!"
"Miracle Manifest!"
Ladybug, Phantom and Miss Miracle took to the city proper. While this transforming helped them get there faster, it was also a little gift to the citizens. Them cheering as their heroes passed by being the icing on the cheerful cake. It didn't take them long to arrive (Mirabel may claim she did so first but there was no evidence as such), quickly detransforming and entering the hotel proper. The room Chloé had gotten for them was outrageously large as expected, and in it the blonde and her sister were waiting for them.
"Took you long enough." The Bee holder said.
"We can't all have your impeccable timing, Queenie." Danny smirked.
His girlfriend rolled her eyes, walking over to give him a kiss. "I'm surprised you know the meaning of the word." She said.
"Merry Christmas, Zoé." Marinette greeted her friend.
"You too." The Fox holder said.
Tikki, Pollen and Trixx had reunited and made a beeline towards the food.
It didn't take long for them to be joined by the Couffaine siblings, Rose and Kagami, their Kwami joining their companions.
"This is the best time of the year, ain't it Sugercube. So much food." Plagg said happily.
"You glutton." His counterpart said, though she didn't disagree.
"Merry Christmas!" The petite blonde exclaimed.
"Merry Christmas, Rose." They responded.
Mirabel moved over to give her boyfriend a kiss. "Hi, Luka." She smiled.
"Merry Christmas, Symphony." The musician responded in kind. "How's your family been?"
"Better. I even caught Luisa taking a break without prompting." The pyro said. "Oh that reminds me. Rose, do you think Unicorn could bring Danielle over for a bit?"
Danny perked up. "And Jazz too?" He added.
"Of course. The more the merrier!" She said enthusiastically. "Kaalki, Full Gallop!"
Now transformed, a quick call of "Voyage" had Danny bring slammed into by a little genderbent blur and glowing green dog, and Mirabel having the same done to her by a little boy.
"Danny! Christmas rules! There were so many presents! And Julieta made a gingerbread Casita!" Ellie said to her template/cousin, Cujo matching her energy.
"Happy to hear it, El." The Halfa grinned. "And happy to see you too, bud." He said to the dog.
Antonio meanwhile was absolutely fascinated by the Kwami. It was, once again, adorable.
Another "Voyage" brought with it Jazz Fenton, and Ember who couldn't be bothered to find the energy to teleport all the way there herself. The former reunited with Wayzz, while the latter made her way over to Chloé.
"Miss me, Honeypop?" She smirked.
Chloé smirked in response, but was unable to hide her blush.
With everyone there, the party could begin in earnest. And Danny had to admit he was enjoying it. Between Juleka and Rose absolutely destroying charades, Jazz and Mirabel taking trivia by storm, Luka and Ember making a not so surprisingly awesome duo at karaoke, Antonio asking questions a mile a minute to the Kwami with Danielle egging him on while stuffing herself, baked goods provided by Marinette and Chloé's staff, Kagami making an honestly awesome sketch of all of them(with special attention towards Marinette of course) and a suspicious amount of mistletoe hanging around that room that he blamed Zoé and her sister for (especially with how said sister and undead rockstar were always conveniently right there for), the only thing that was really missing was...
"Am I on time?" White Rabbit asked.
"You always are." The Halfa said, him and his sisters (minus Jazz) bringing her into a hug.
"Adrien says hello." Nathalie informed Marinette and Chloé.
Nice to hear about him doing well. It helped that he had a decent parent and other family around while Gabriel rotted in prison.
"Danny, follow me. It's time for your gift." Their mom said.
The fact she called for a Burrow had him intrigued. Shrugging he entered the portal, exiting through one directly in front of him.
"I know this holiday has a lot of bad memories, so I thought I'd give you a great one." White told him.
He was wondering what she meant when he heard it. The unmistakable sound of a rocket launch. Gasping, he flew higher, and couldn't believe what he saw.
"Is that the Apollo 11?!" He asked, starry-eyed. He was watching the launch of the ship that landed on the moon!
"They're advantages to being a time traveller." Nathalie grinned. "I take it you like it?" She asked.
Another tackle hug was her answer. "I'm so telling the M and M's how I'm the favorite." He said smugly.
"The authentic Egyptian cotton I got Marinette and new embroidery set and guitar that matches Luka for Mirabel would have them disagree." Nathalie chuckled.
"Agree to disagree then. Merry Christmas, mom." He said. And actually meant it for once.
"Merry Christmas, Danny." White Rabbit said.