Marinette rolled over on her bed with a groan, shoving her face into her pillow with a muffled scream.

"Tikki!" she complained. "Why does this have to be so complicated?"

"Why does what have to be so complicated?" Her kwami asked, a mischievous glint in her bright blue eyes.

Marinette huffed, raising her head to glare at her kwami. "Boys," she whined, drawing out the word. "I thought I was finally getting better once I stopped idolizing Adrien and actually became good friends with him, and now..." She shoved her head back into her pillow. "Stupid Chat Noir," she muttered.

Tikki giggled, holding a half-eaten cookie in her red hands. "Poor Marinette," she cooed. "Torn between a supermodel and a superhero. What a hard choice." When Marinette raised her hand to throw her pillow at her, the kwami merely phased through it, and continued munching on her cookie. "Why do you think you're feeling something for Chat now?"

Marinette rolled over onto her back and shrugged, staring up at her walls, which now bore pictures of her with her family and friends, and a poster or two of her and Chat, instead of being covered with magazine pictures of Adrien. She had become closer friends with the son of the fashion mogul three years ago, and had decided to permanently take down the pictures after realizing that she wasn't exactly treating him like he was a normal person like the rest of them.

"I don't know. It kind of snuck up on me," she mumbled. "I mean, we've always been best friends. But I never really liked him, liked him, until earlier this year. It was after we'd stopped that one akuma, Aquifier, where he nearly drowned, that I'd realized just how much I cared about him, and how much I didn't want to lose him." She rolled over to look at Tikki. "I never really felt like that about Adrien. That was..." she blushed. "More of an obsession. This feels different."

Tikki smiled at her charge. "So now that you know you like Chat, what are you going to do about it?"

Marinette shrugged. "I don't know. Chat would probably be ecstatic if I told him. But it's not like we could date while we were in our masks, or anything. We'd be swarmed by reporters and fans wherever we went."

Tikki tilted her head to the side, watching the young girl closely. She thought she could detect a bit of sadness at the thought, and came to a decision. "Marinette, you can reveal yourself to Chat Noir if you want to. Enough time has passed, that I think you know whether or not you want to reveal yourself to him or not."

Marinette raised her head and stared at her. "Wait. You mean that I could reveal myself? I can tell people who I am?" There was alarm and reluctance in her voice, and Tikki hastened to reassure her.

"Not everyone, just Chat Noir. You two are the only ones who are safe from being akumatised. If you told someone else, and they ended up being akumatised, Hawkmoth could find out. When we first started, I told you to keep it a secret so that you could just focus on learning how to use your powers. Now that you're almost eighteen, I think that you're experienced enough that Chat could know. Especially now that you two might be growing closer."

Marinette blushed. "Tikki! It's not like I'm just going to go up and tell him that I'm in love with him!" she protested.

"Why not?" came the unruffled reply. "That's what Chat does. Well, he doesn't come out right and say it, but it's so obvious that I'm honestly surprised it took you so long to figure out that he wasn't just flirting for the sake of it."

Marinette grabbed her extra pillow and slammed it on top of her face, muffling her screams into it again. "Ugh! Fine. I'll do something about it on patrol tonight." The pillow slowly slid from her face and fell to the floor with a thump. As Marinette turned to grab it, her eyes caught a silver bauble hanging from the wall behind her lamp, a Christmas ornament Chat had given her last year. It was a silver spiral of ribbons, with a base on top that held a Ladybug and Chat Noir figurine on top, bumping their fists together in their signature move. He had assured her that he had seen lots of people with it, so there was likely no way he could figure out who she was just by that. Despite how much he wanted to know, he would always respect her wishes.

That comment alone had earned him a tight hug that left him stammering and blushing for the rest of patrol that night, which brought a smile to Marinette's face every time she remembered it. He'd also been ecstatic with the Chat Noir-themed hat she'd knit him, complete with a little ladybug for her signature inside. He'd worn it every patrol for the rest of winter, and she'd even seen it make a few appearances since then, on particularly chilly days.

She stopped, eyes fixated on the ornament as a slow grin came to her face. "It's almost December, Tikki. What do you think about a special Christmas present for him?"

"What kind of present?"

Marinette giggled. "It's so cheesy, it sounds like something Chat would say. What if I tell him that I'm giving him my heart, and my mask, for Christmas?"

Tikki flew in front of her, eyes wide. "Marinette, are you sure? I'm sure he would love it, but are you ready for something like that? Are you really ready to give your heart to Chat Noir instead of Adrien?"

Marinette hesitated, then stood straight with a firmness that would fit Ladybug. "Yes." A mischievous glint entered her eyes. "But, I think I might mess with my kitty a bit, first."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Merry Christmas! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Ladybug swung into their usual meeting place for patrol later that night, Chat was already there waiting for her.

"Ladybug! And how are you on this feline evening?" he asked, bowing at her.

She rolled her eyes fondly. "I was feeling quite merry until a certain black cat showed up," she retorted.

He gasped in fake shock, looking around at the snow covering the ground, and the Christmas decorations which had started to go up. "Did my lady just make a Christmas pun? I think I'm in love," he swooned, clasping his hands to his chest. "My night is suddenly so much brighter."

She snorted. "Such flattery. Have you seen anything yet?"

Chat shook his head, his blond hair flying as he did so. "No. Looks like it's going to be a silent night. All is calm in town."

She groaned, unhooking her yo-yo from her belt. "That's it. I'm going to go have a silent night of my own on patrol. I'll take the west, you take the east?"

Chat nodded, extending his baton with a grin. "Good luck, Lady Luck!" he called as he leapt of the roof to start his patrol. She shook her head with a smile as she swung out in the opposite direction. Just because she loved him didn't mean she was going to put up with his puns. She narrowed her eyes as she saw an explosion of light in the distance, and changed the direction of her swing towards it, knowing that Chat would be doing the same.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Merry Christmas! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three weeks before Christmas, there were decorations everywhere. Mistletoe was hanging from nearly every doorway, and a fresh blanket of snow seemed to fall every week. And the Eiffel Tower was no exception. When Ladybug swung up to the top to meet Chat, there was mistletoe hanging from the arches, and a cheeky, unrepentant grin on her friend's face.

"Hey Ladybug!" he greeted her with a salute. "Notice anything different?"

She stood on the edge of the tower with a smirk, thinking this might finally be the time to put her plan into play. Chat Noir was definitely different, for one. Four years of fighting crime meant they were both in peak physical condition, and he definitely filled out his suit well - not that she had been looking, or anything. OK, she had definitely looked. And enjoyed. Their suits had grown with them, changing slightly to match their maturity, and it only served to emphasize his looks.

Ladybug's hair was now held back in a slightly messy bun with a red ribbon, and black boots extended to a point along the side of her thighs, while black gloves reached to her elbows. Chat's suit was mostly unchanged, but did serve to emphasize his muscles and height, as he was now a good six to eight inches taller than her.

She blinked and flushed when she realized that she had been staring at Chat Noir for the past few minutes, and judging by the incredibly smug smirk on his face, he knew exactly what she had been thinking of.

"Enjoying the view, my lady?" he teased, flexing his muscles in a bodybuilder pose. "If you had a camera, you could take a picture, then it might last longer."

She snorted, and was about to make a denial when she remembered her plan, and smirked back at him, sauntering towards him. "Why would I want a picture when I have the real thing right here?" she practically purred, flicking his bell.

She was close enough now that she could see him swallow hard, a light pink dusting the skin beneath his mask as he struggled to come up with a suitable reply. "Uh, I, uh, you... mistletoe!" he suddenly shouted, eyes wide as they looked up to see the holiday plant above them. "Why, why aren't you doing something about that?"

She shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't you trying to sneak a kiss? Isn't that what people normally try and do?"

He blinked at her. "Ladybug... The only reason I've tried to kiss you in the past is because I knew that you would stop me if you didn't want it. And you did. I've always respected that. But I just hung this up as a joke. I wasn't trying to pressure you into thinking you had to kiss me, or anything."

That wasn't fair. He was being so sweet and gentlemanly, that it made her fall for him even more. And the kicker was, that he wasn't acting any different than normal. She chewed her lip in indecision, before deciding to act.

"Well, I guess it is the season of giving, and this is the city of love..." she trailed off, looking up at him out of the corner of her eyes.

His mouth fell open slightly. "What? Are you saying- are you - what?"

She giggled at her poor kitty. "Oh, chaton. Have I finally broken you?" She leaned forward until their lips were a hairbreadth's apart. "You may have worn down my walls, but I'm not giving in yet," she challenged him, though a part of her wondered if her partner was even breathing, he was so still, watching her intently. "And that means you have to find me first..." she breathed, moving ever so slightly closer, eyes flicking down to his lips as they parted slowly. She suddenly moved her head to the side and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Unfortunately for you, I don't make a habit of kissing strangers in masks," she teased him, whispering in his ear. "If, however, someone were to find me, say a certain black cat, I might be agreeable to letting him kiss me properly." She pulled back and enjoyed her handiwork, smirking at the sight of Chat, usually so suave, standing frozen in place, not even his tail twitching. However, when two minutes had passed, and Chat still hadn't moved, she began to grow slightly concerned. "Uh, Chat?" she asked, waving a hand in front of his face. "Are you in there? Chat?"

He blinked, a strange squeak coming from his throat that made her giggle before his entire face turned red. " Are, are you saying that you want to tell me who you are?"

She giggled and shook her head. "No, minou. I'm saying that I want you to find me. Preferably before Christmas." She glanced up at him flirtatiously. "Think you're up to the challenge?"

He straightened, green eyes narrowing down at her. "My lady, if you think you can do... that, and just get away with a challenge and no repurcussions..." he leaned down abruptly, cupping her face gently with one of his gloved hands, smirking as red now flooded her face, matching her suit. "You're not exactly wrong," he breathed by her ear, trailing back slightly to plant a kiss of his own on her face. "I'll find you, but can you give me a little hint first?"

Trying to calm the raging blush on her cheeks, she eyed him, then leaned in and whispered something in his ear, leaning back and enjoying the look of shock on his face. "That's where I go to school, kitty," she informed him softly. "You have until Christmas to find me, or else you lose." Shooting him one last wink, and trying to calm her heart, which she thought was about to pound out of her chest, she pulled out her yo-yo and swung away to start patrol, not missing his stunned,

"I go to the same school as Ladybug?!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Merry Christmas! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Marinette walked into class the next morning, she was surprised to see Adrien already in his seat in front of her, a strange expression on his face.

"Adrien? Is everything all right?" she asked in concern as she took her seat next to Alya.

He jumped and swung around to face her, green eyes wide. "Oh! Sorry, Marinette. I didn't see you come in." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm alright. I just got some news last night."

"Must have been pretty good news," Nino said, eyeing his best bud. "You've been spacey all morning."

Adrien laughed sheepishly but nodded enthusiastically. "The best news, actually. It's a secret, for now, though. Maybe I'll tell you after Christmas. Nice shirt, by the way, Mari," he said, as they all turned to look at Marinette's shirt. It had a black cat on the front, with a gold bell on its collar, and the words "Meowry Christmas!" written on it underneath.

She looked down at it and grinned. "Thanks. I really like black cats. They're my favorites."

"Even before ladybugs?" Alya asked with a grin.

Marinette nodded. "Absolutely." She noticed Adrien flushing slightly, but dismissed it, pulling out her textbook as the class started.

The next two weeks were rather crazy, as she worked frantically to make sure that her gifts for everyone were ready on time. She also had to dodge going through doorways at the same time as anyone else, due to the prevalence of mistletoe, claiming that she wanted to wait to kiss a special friend first. That, of course, had nearly driven Alya crazy as she tried to find out who it was, but Marinette stayed strong, and kept it secret.

Adrien seemed more and more distracted as time went on, but he claimed that everything was all right - more than all right, really, so they let him be. Marinette made sure to wear something Chat Noir themed every day, no matter where she went, and nearly drove Alya mad again with her sudden love for cat puns.

On her secret life side, Chat Noir seemed to be no closer to figuring out who she was, although he claimed that he had narrowed down the possible list of candidates by removing all the girls from their school who had already been akumatized. She still found pleasure in tormenting him every time they came close to mistletoe, and teasing him about being able to find her in time.

Then, one day, a week before Christmas, everything changed. While leaving after taking down an akuma one evening, Chat Noir had accidentally ended up in the same alley way as her, and his transformation released before hers, leaving a shocked and sheepish Adrien Agreste in his place with a flash of green light.

"A-Adrien?" she gaped.

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Uh, yeah. Heh, uh, surprise?" he waved sheepishly. "Please don't be mad, it was an accident, I promise! I wasn't trying to figure out who you were, I didn't see you jump in here, and I was just going to-."

Ladybug cut him off and pulled him into a hug, smiling when she felt him bury his head into the crook of her neck. "I'm not mad, silly kitty. I know you wouldn't have done anything like that on purpose. This is a bit of an adjustment, sure, but I'm not mad. Or disappointed," she added, knowing his thoughts would likely have gone in that direction. "I'm actually..." she paused. "Really glad it's you. You're someone I know on both sides of the mask."

He pulled back and stared at her. "Really?" he furrowed his brow, thinking hard. "But I only know a few people, and almost all of them have been akumatised."

She smirked. "Keep looking kitty. I'm closer than you think." She released him completely as her miraculous beeped in warning. "I'd better bug out. Keep looking for me, chaton! You've still got time!" Mimicking the salute he usually did, she pulled out her yo-yo and quickly swung away, blowing him a kiss as he stared at her.

There followed a very strange next two days, and Marinette's parents remarked on how often they heard muffled screaming from Marinette's room before she finally emerged, a resolved expression on her face, and was frequently seen face-palming, and muttering comments regarding her observational skills.

Marinette spent the next two days after that punning like crazy whenever she was around Adrien, and emphasizing the Chat Noir apparel she wore. They were around each other a lot, as they, Nino, and Alya all hung out as much as possible during the Christmas break. Unfortunately, while Adrien blushed every time she complimented Chat Noir, he seemed completely oblivious as to any deeper meaning than that.

She even ignored the possible risks, and did her hair up exactly like Ladybug's, figuring that if no one else figured it out when she was younger, they likely wouldn't now. It did nothing. He complimented her on her hairstyle, but didn't seem to see anything out of the ordinary. And forget all the inside jokes she would crack, that that he seemed to miss completely. He would get a strange look on his face, and watch her curiously for a moment, before shaking his head and dismissing whatever thought he had.

Finally, however, the day before Christmas, the four of them had wandered through the town, just looking at all the different decorations, before stopping by the Eiffel Tower, and going up to the top. It was strangely quiet, but perhaps most people were staying home due to the recent onslaught of akumas. Either way, they enjoyed the quiet as they strolled along and looked over the city they all loved.

Alya gasped, before grabbing her boyfriend's arm and shaking it excitedly. "Nino! Look!" She pointed at their two friends, who both looked back at her in confusion

"What?"

She merely exchanged a grin with her boyfriend before pointing above them triumphantly. They both looked up, then flushed simultaneously as they realized that they were standing directly underneath a sprig of mistletoe.

"Oh, sorry, Mari," Adrien stammered. "I know you didn't want to do that before you had the chance to do r special friend, and we don't have to do it if you don't want to. Alya and Nino are just being silly."

Marinette stopped him, biting her lip as her cheeks became even redder before she reached up and kissed him gently on the cheek, in the same place she had several weeks before, ignoring Alya's whoop. "My special friend is a bit of a dunce," she whispered, ignoring the flush on his face. "You see, I told him that he had until Christmas to find me and give me a proper kiss. I even gave him hints, so many hints. But my silly kitty never even seemed to guess it was me."

Adrien pulled away from her and gripped her shoulders, looking at her face intently, ignoring Alya's and Nino's less than subtle commentary. "My lady?" he whispered, his green eyes searching her bluebell ones.

She looked up at him flirtatiously. "Have you finally found me, chaton?"

He leaned in again, until his lips were just shy of touching hers, hearing Alya's ecstatic squeal in the background. "I think so," he smirked. "I may have been an idiot about it, but I think I did. Now the question is, will she let me kiss her properly, or not?"

She tilted her head up towards him. "It's Christmas Eve. Consider it put on my wish list."

"As you wish," he breathed, eyes bright with a joy she had only seen a few times throughout the years. Swooping down, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss that left her knees weak, Alya screaming in the background, Nino wolf-whistling, and the light of a camera flashing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Several Christmases Later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Adrien," Marinette's voice was unamused as she stared up at her husband. "We've been married for four years, and dating for two before that. During that time, you've never needed an excuse to kiss me before. In fact, you stopped me in the middle of breakfast just this morning to give me a kiss. So, and I ask this carefully, wondering if I will regret the answer, why?"

"Why what, Bugaboo?" Adrien grinned unrepentantly down at her from his position on the ladder in the middle of their living room. "You'll have to be more specific, my lovely wife."

"Why is there mistletoe everywhere in our house?"

The secret superhero chuckled and leapt down from the ladder, pulling her into his arms for another kiss, hands running through her hair as he held her up.

She finally broke the kiss and gasped for breath, chest heaving as she leaned against him. "Four years of marriage, and you still leave me weak-kneed with one kiss. So, again. Why do we need mistletoe?"

He grinned, kneeling down and placing a soft kiss on her swollen stomach. "You've given me the best possible Christmas present this year. Forgive me if I go overboard on my celebrations." He stood back up and placed a kiss on the ring he had placed on her ring finger four years ago. "I just want to celebrate the fact that I can kiss the person I love most in all the world." He held their clasped hands over her stomach. "And in a few days, I'll be able to kiss the two people I love most in time for Christmas."

He grinned as placed his free hand behind her head and gently pulled her in for another kiss. "And besides," he breathed just before returning his lips to hers. "'Tis the season for mistletoe."

A/N: So, this is my first foray into the Miraculous Ladybug realm, but I really wanted to write something fluffy here for Christmas. Hope I succeeded, and that everybody likes it!

May you all have a very blessed, Merry Christmas!

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! :)

General Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug at all.