Author's Note:

For TOG84,

Hey, I was your Secret Santa. This story is the first story I've written and posted in a long time. So I hope you like it. .

Also, I want to give a big thanks to Lady_Bryght (check out her stories on AO3). She betaed this story for me and for constantly giving me lots of support and encouragement. :)

It was a beautiful Friday. The sun was shining and the weather was not too hot and not too cold. Marinette felt like she could face the world.

There hadn't been any akuma attacks for the past week, which was strange to her and Chat Noir, but in the end Marinette wasn't complaining. She had actually gotten a decent amount of sleep, and had been waking up early, getting to school on time, and getting all of her work done. That was great because the extra room in her schedule really helped her to finish Adrien's birthday present on time.

Marinette couldn't help but let out a small squeal of excitement. She couldn't wait until school was over. To ensure that Adrien had some form of celebration with everyone, the entire class decided to surprise him with a get-together at the end of morning classes since today was only a half-day of school. Luckily, Marinette was able to get permission from Principal Damocles to have a small party in the school courtyard. It was going to be amazing! Everyone was going to bring food and drinks (Marinette had made a cake and some sweets), there were going to be games, and they were all going to give him presents. One thing Marinette was really determined to achieve this year was physically giving Adrien her present in person.

Marinette hummed a happy tune on her way to the school. When she walked in, she expected to see some of her classmates in the courtyard, but it was strangely empty. In fact, as she walked to the locker room to put away her gift, she noticed that there weren't as many students as usual.

'Maybe everyone is doing some last minute tasks for Adrien's party,' she thought.

When she walked into the classroom, she held up her hand to wave to her friends, but stopped in shock when she realized that the classroom was completely empty - well, almost empty. The only person inside was Adrien, who had his head and arms resting on his desk. She sat down at her regular seat in the front and turned towards him.

"Good morning, Adrien. Um, do you know where everyone else is?"

Adrien slowly lifted his head and said in a rather sad tone, "Hey, Marinette. Uh, I'm not sure where everyone is to be honest. I haven't seen any of our classmates since I got to school."

Marinette was concerned about where the rest of their friends were, but she felt like there was something else causing Adrien to look and sound so depressed. She got up from her seat and faced him. Marinette placed her hand on top of Adrien's. This action caused him to look up at her.

"Adrien, if there's anything bothering you, you know you can talk to me, right?"

Adrien took a deep breath and sighed.

"I asked my father if I could have a birthday party this year, and - surprise, surprise - he said no."

Marinette frowned and squeezed his hand for support. She and everyone in their circle knew how hard and controlling his father could be, so she wasn't surprised that he said no. But it still saddened her to see Adrien like this. He was always such a kind person, and he always did what his father wanted in an attempt to make him proud. As she had gotten to know the boy in front of her, she grew to realize how amazing he was. It hurt her heart to see him like a caged bird. All he wanted to do was be like a normal kid and enjoy the same things the rest of them did, and that desire to be more independent was growing stronger each day.

"You know what makes things worse? Him and Nathalie have been in New York City dealing with some company business and they won't be back until next week. My father not spending my birthday with me isn't all that new to be honest, but at least he was in the same city as me. So not only do I not get a party, but I'm literally going to be all by myself on my birthday, and you know what the kicker is? He told me during our morning video chat that he knew today was going to be a half day, so he scheduled a photoshoot this afternoon." He sighed with his eyes cast down.

Marinette looked at him with sad eyes. She and the rest of their friends had a feeling that the prospect of his father saying yes to a party was not good, which was why they had put so much effort into making sure he could have one at school today.

Adrien didn't deserve to be treated like this. He worked so hard all the time. How could his father leave him all alone and even force him to do a photoshoot on his birthday of all days?! From that moment, Marinette was resolved. She was going to do her best to give Adrien a great birthday. It might not be the long party that they were going to do, but it was better than him having nothing at all. She and the others would just have to find a way to figure out how to give him a great party.

Speaking of the others, where was everyone? Marinette realized that not one person had come through the door since she had. Someone should have come into the room by now. She was getting a bit worried. What if no one showed up? Her thought process was interrupted by a sigh. Finding out where the others were could wait; the boy in front of her needed her more than they did.

'Alya won't mind being with Nino for a day.'

"Adrien?"

His head again lifted up as Marinette said his name.

"How about we sit together? It's a little lonely to sit alone, and it doesn't look like anyone else is going to come into class."

Her tone was so sweet and kind, it made Adrien feel warm on the inside. He looked at her and his lips formed a smile. It wasn't a big smile, but it was a start.

"Sure, Marinette." He walked down to the front and sat in Alya's seat.

Not too long after that, Mlle. Bustier came walking in, and the bell signalling the start of the school day rang.

"Good morning, Marinette and Adrien. As both of you can see, you're the only ones here today. I'm afraid a large number of the students in the school, including the rest of our class, are sick from a bad case of the flu. So it looks like everyone is going to be out of school for a little while." With that said, Mlle. Bustier turned around to write something on the board. "Now even though the rest of the class isn't here, we are still going to continue on with the lessons as always."

At that moment, Marinette and Adrien's cellphones vibrated. They both quietly took out their phones to see who messaged them. Adrien got a message from Nino and Marinette from Alya. Both snorted. Then they looked at each other and, once they made sure Mlle. Bustier wasn't watching, showed each other what their respective best friends had sent.

Nino: "I'm dying."

Alya: "Kill me now."

They had to place their hands in front of their mouths as they snickered.

"So I want both of you to take out your history textbooks and turn to page 115," Mlle. Bustier instructed.

Marinette opened her bag and took out her tablet and textbook. As she placed her things in front of her, she noticed some shuffling sounds and saw Adrien still looking through his bag. His tablet was on his desk, but not his textbook.

She lightly tapped on his shoulder. He turned around and saw her smiling and pointing down at the table. His eyes then saw Marinette's textbook between them. It took him a second to realize that she was saying they could share. Adrien smiled back. She really was his everyday Ladybug. The two moved closer together so they could both read the text and take notes on their tablets.

Marinette soon felt another vibration from her smartphone and quietly peaked down at the screen.

Alya: "Sorry, girl. I'm not going to be able to make it. Have fun for me, and remember, take a deep breath. You will be able to give him your present in person this year!"

Marinette: "Everyone else is sick, too. But either way we can't have the party. Adrien's dad found out that it was only a half-day of school today, so he scheduled him a photoshoot for this afternoon. We're going to have to reschedule the party for another time."

Alya: "What the heck?! Wow, just when I think Gabriel Agreste can't get any meaner."

Marinette: "Yea, but I'm not going to leave him without anything special today. Not if I can help it!"

Alya: "You go girl! Sounds like you have a plan. Let me know how it goes!"

With that the messages stopped and Marinette placed her phone back in her bag.

About 10 minutes later, Marinette got a note slipped in front of her. It said, "Thank you, Purrincess. You're a lifesaver. :3" When she saw the cat pun, she snorted. She then quickly wrote something and passed the note back. "Anytime, tiger. ;)" He looked up to see her smirking at him.

During all their lessons that morning, they continued sneaking glimpses of each other, giving each other smiles, and passing notes to each other when the teacher wasn't looking. Adrien learned how witty Marinette could be, while Marinette learned that Adrien loved to make awful puns.

Soon the lunch bell rang, and Adrien sighed. He wasn't looking forward to the photoshoot at all. He really didn't even want to go home for lunch. Even though he missed his other friends, classes with Marinette had been so much fun. In fact, he honestly couldn't remember the last time he enjoyed school so much. He wished the morning hadn't passed by so quickly. Suddenly he heard someone clear their throat. He looked up to see Marinette who was all ready to go.

"Adrien, um, I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my place for lunch?"

He stared at her for a moment, taking in what she just asked him. When he didn't reply right away, Marinette assumed he was trying to think of a way to reject her.

"O-Oh, if you don't want to, that's fine. It's okay. I figured I ask because-" She stopped when she felt Adrien's hands on her upper arms.

"Marinette, I would love to come over to your place for lunch." Adrien knew his father would want him to go home for lunch before the photoshoot. But to be honest, he didn't care what his father wanted right now. The man clearly didn't care about the fact that it was his son's birthday today. If Adrien wasn't allowed to have a party and have fun on his birthday, well he was going to take advantage of what time he had right now to enjoy himself.

"O-Oh okay! Well then let's go." Marinette walked off first and Adrien followed her. As they walked out of the school, they noticed his bodyguard waiting in front of the car.

"Uh, Marinette, I just want to tell my bodyguard that I'm going to your place for lunch. I'll meet you there."

"O-Oh okay. Uh, take your time. This works out nicely actually. It'll take a bit a time to get the p- I mean food set up. I'll see you in a little bit." Marinette then quickly walked off in the direction of the bakery. Adrien chuckled as he watched her run off. A normal person would think the way Marinette acted was really weird, but to Adrien it was normal Marinette behaviour. He walked to his bodyguard.

"I'm going over to a friend's place for lunch. I'll meet you back here when the lunch break is over." Adrien got a grunt and a nod in response, which was a bit surprising to him because he expected some resistance. He quickly walked away before his bodyguard could change his mind.

Once he reached the bakery, he entered the establishment. The place was packed with the lunchtime rush.

"Oh, Adrien!"

He looked up to see Marinette's mother waving him over from behind the register.

"Good afternoon, Mme. Dupain-Cheng." Adrien waved to her as he walked up.

"Good afternoon to you too, sweetie. Marinette already told us you were coming by for lunch. Just head right on up to the apartment - Oh thank you, come again." Sabine quickly turned to wave goodbye to a customer, then turned back to him. "Don't forget to enjoy yourself and have lots of fun!" she said with a wink.

This puzzled him a bit, but he figured that she was just telling him to enjoy himself at lunch.

Adrien swiftly walked out of the bakery and up the stairs to the door to Marinette's apartment. Once he got up there, he knocked on the apartment door.

"Just a minute!"

He could hear Marinette's voice, then the light shuffling sound of her feet coming towards the door. It opened, and Marinette appeared.

"Adrien, you're right on time." She smiled sweetly at him.

He naturally assumed that she just meant she had gotten the food out.

Marinette moved aside and let him in through the door. As Marinette closed the door, Adrien started to look around the apartment. Or at least, he tried to. For some reason everything was dark. Like, really dark. He expected some light to shine through the windows, but there was nothing.

"Um, Marinette, I don't mean to be rude, but why is your place so dark?"

He heard some shuffling.

"Marinette?" he called out.

All of a sudden the lights came on. Adrien cringed and closed his eyes due to the sudden burst of light. He blinked to help his eyes adjust.

"Happy Birthday, Adrien!"

He looked up to see Marinette standing a few feet away from him, and holding… a birthday cake with candles in the shape of the number 15.

Adrien watched her sing the "Happy Birthday" song as she walked towards him. He was shocked, but at the same time… he felt… he felt really warm.

"Make a wish."

This gets him out of his daze. He looked up to see Marinette right in front of him with the cake. She had such a sweet smile, and he couldn't help but stare at her beautiful face. Particularly her big blue eyes. As he had been spending more time with her, he'd been noticing how much they sparkle, and how full of life they were. He could just look at them all the-

"Adrien?" She looked at him with a concerned face. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah!" His face turned red and he rubbed his neck with his hand. "Sorry, I'm pretty shocked to be honest. I didn't think I would see all of this when I was coming over for lunch." He gestured to everything in the room.

"To be honest, this wasn't planned."

He turned his attention towards her. Her eyes were glancing to the side and her face was a bit flushed. She raised her gaze to look up at him.

"Everyone in the class was planning on giving you a party at school today. Unfortunately that didn't work out since everybody got sick, and your father scheduled a photoshoot. But Adrien, I… I couldn't just sit back and let you be sad on your birthday. You're one of the most amazing people I know, and you work so hard to help everyone else out, and to make your father proud. You don't ask for much, and to see you sad and not get what you deserve on your birthday of all days just broke my heart. So I thought I would try my best to give you some sort of party. Even if it's just the two of us. I know this isn't the party you probably imagined, but I hope that this makes your day brighter even if it's just by a little bit."

Hearing her tone sound so sincere and seeing her dazzling smile - it filled Adrien with so many warm feelings. Feelings he hadn't felt in a long time. Tears filled his eyes.

"Adrien?! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you more sad!" Marinette started to panic.

"It's okay, Marinette. I'm not crying because I'm sad. I'm crying because I'm so happy." He wiped his tears with his arm. "Thank you. You didn't have to go through all this trouble, but you did. And I am forever grateful to you for doing all of this." His face filled with such joy.

"You're welcome, Adrien." She smiled at him.

"Now before we get this party started, let me make a wish before the candles melt entirely."

Marinette looked down and almost shrieked. She had almost forgotten about the cake. Her face became sheepish and Adrien chuckled. He grabbed her hands and lowered his face to blow out the candles.

"What did you wish for?" she asked him.

"If I told you, it wouldn't come true, Purrincess," he said with a smirk.

She snorted at the pun. "And the peace was nice while it lasted." She smirked back at him and then walked towards the kitchen, taking the cake with her.

"Aww, don't be like that. You know my puns are clawsome."

"Keep that up, kitty, and you won't see the amazing spread I prepared for us or your gift."

Despite what she said, it was clear from her tone that Marinette was just teasing.

"Did I hear something about food and a gift?" he said slyly.

"Yep, but I don't think I'm going to share them now because a naughty kitty keeps on ruining the moment." She pretended to be angry as she crossed her arms.

"Aww, I'm sorry. I'll be good. Can I see the food and my present please? It is my birthday." Adrien tried to act like he was remorseful, but it was obvious he wasn't.

Marinette tapped her finger on her chin, acting as if she were thinking hard about it.

"Hmm. Well, I guess I could let it go for today. You are the birthday boy," she said with a smirk. She led him to the dining room table where the cake and the rest of the food was.

When he finally got to the dining table, he saw the spread of food. There was a salad, two bowls of what looked like soup, Chinese dumplings, assorted sweets, and last but not least, the cake. His mouth watered looking at the food. Adrien couldn't wait to dig in.

Right as he was about to grab a plate and do just that, he remembered something.

"Wait a minute. Didn't you say that you got me a present?" he asked in a playful tone.

"Oh yes! I almost forgot!"

Marinette quickly ran up the stairs to her room. Not even a minute later, she came running down out of breath. She held out her hands and placed a big box in his hands. Adrien wondered what it could have been. It was big, but at the same time it was so light. He placed it on one of the chairs at the dining table. When he opened it, his eyes widened.

He slowly took it out and examined it. It was a reversible Ladybug- and Chat Noir-inspired letterman jacket. On the Ladybug side, the body was a ladybug pattern. He could see that Marinette made the sleeves and buttons black, and the collar and cuffs were interchanging black and red stripes. On the Chat Noir side, the body and the sleeves were black, the buttons were neon green, and the collar and sleeves were interchanging black and neon green stripes. But what made it clear that it was Chat Noir's side was that there was a giant Chat Noir green paw print on the back of the jacket. To top it all off, Marinette made sure to embroider his initials on both sides of the jacket: a black "AA" on the Ladybug side, and a neon green "AA" on the Chat Noir side.

Adrien didn't say a word as he took it all in. This amazing girl made him the most amazing present and did her best to give him a party so he would have something great for his birthday. Slowly tears started to come and run down his face as he sniffled. He raised his arm to wipe them away. Suddenly, Adrien wrapped his arms around her. He held her tightly and his face nuzzled against hers.

"T-Thank you, Marinette. Thank you so much."

Marinette slowly wrapped her arms around Adrien and held onto him just as tightly.

"Happy Birthday, Adrien."

They held onto each other for a few moments. Both wanted to savour the moment for a bit.

After a few minutes, they pulled apart and looked at each other with big smiles on their faces.

"Now if I remember correctly, a certain birthday boy still hasn't had his birthday meal."

He felt her bop his nose with her finger. He was a bit shocked, but he didn't hate it. He… actually kind of liked it. Marinette took his hand and led him back to the spread of food.

The rest of the lunch period was filled with laughter and fun. They finished all the food and got to the cake, which left them both full. Adrien had to admit that Marinette definitely took after her parents in terms of her culinary and baking skills. Somewhere along the way they ended up playing UMS 3, which Adrien lost more than he won. At some point Marinette's father came up and joined in on the fun. The three of them made a bet: loser had to do the dishes, Marinette against the two of them. But even with two people, they still couldn't beat her. Eventually, they had to admit defeat. The boys had to clean up, but M. Dupain-Cheng wouldn't hear it since it was Adrien's birthday. So he left Marinette and Adrien to play some card games, and then went down to help out in the bakery once the clean up was over.

Adrien had thought that by changing the medium, he could beat Marinette. He put up a good fight, but Marinette won against him in card games too. He ended up pouting a bit in the end because he felt like since he was the birthday boy, he should have won more. Marinette just giggled as he pouted.

Unfortunately, all things must come to an end. Before they knew it, the lunch period was over and Adrien had to go to his photoshoot.

The two teens stood by the apartment door. It was clear that neither of them wanted him to leave, but what choice did they have? Adrien hadn't felt this happy, warm, and loved in his civilian form in so long. He didn't want it to end. But how was he going to keep this amazing time going on longer?

Then he had an idea.

"U-Uh Marinette?" Adrien's voice caused her to look up at him. He rubbed the back of his neck. For some reason he was really nervous, and his heart was beating fast. "Do you want to come to the photoshoot?" he asked nervously.

When he didn't hear an answer, he started to backtrack.

"B-But you don't have to. I just thought that since you like fashion and all, and I did say that you you could come to one of my photoshoots a while ago, and-"

His rambling stopped at hearing Marinette's cute giggles. As Adrien looked at her, he couldn't help but notice how adorable she looked.

"Yes, I would love to go with you, Adrien." She smiled at him. It took him a second to realize that she said yes.

"O-Oh okay! That's great!" He looked away nervously. His face felt hot. Why was he acting like this? His deep thought process was broken when he felt Marinette's arm around his.

"Shall we?" She looked up at him with her cute smile.

"Ah- Ah-, I mean y-yes. Let's go. Heh heh."

They both left the apartment and Marinette locked the door. As they were walking to the car, Adrien still had no idea why he was feeling and acting this way, but he told himself he'd figure it out later. For now he was just going to enjoy Marinette's wonderful company.

Back in Adrien's bag, two kwamis smiled at each other...

"Finally."

Author's Note:

I have posted this story on AO3.

I may post this story on my tumblr and wattpad, but I haven't decided yet.

Happy Holidays!