The latest unfortunate victim of the akuma was a shopping mall Santa, and he was causing all sorts of grief, destroying Christmas decorations and literally forcing children to tears. And with that magic sack of his - no doubt where the akuma was hiding - he was also giving the intrepid heroes a lot of bother also.
"Really, what sort of Scrooge would want to ruin Christmas this badly?" Chat Noir grumbled, using his staff to knock another explosive present away from himself. Ladybug quickly grabbed another such present with her yoyo, spinning it once above her head for momentum before hurling it back toward the enemy. He merely sucked it back into his sack and, with a cackle, fired it their way again, forcing them to jump aside as it exploded where they once stood.
"We can worry about why later, right now we need to get the akuma and deal with it," she shouted toward her partner. 'And quickly,' she added mentally; after all, Marinette had been busy spending time with Adrien (And the rest of their classmates, given that they had all agreed collectively to go out and spread some Christmas cheer, but that part had already slipped her mind), and while she knew it was her duty to help the people of Paris, she couldn't help but be a little annoyed that the moment they'd been sharing had been interrupted.
"Hey," Chat Noir's yell snapped Ladybug from her thoughts, "d'you think you could try your Lucky Charm, see if you get anything that could help us out?" He leapt up the side of a building until he was perched on a balcony, still low enough for Ladybug to see and hear him but high enough that the Santa couldn't attack him. Indeed, the twisted figure - decked in a ragged red clock with greying, matted fur trimming, and with a long knotted grey beard that reached all the way to the ground, if only thanks to his hunched back, not that that seemed to hamper his movement - shook his gloved fist at the young man, in an almost stereotypical fashion.
"Ho ho ho, you get down here, you mangy rat," he yelled, his voice thin like that of a genuine old man. Yet if Chat Noir and Ladybug's deductions were correct, the person being controlled by the akuma couldn't be that old; he had to be the sorry looking Santa Marinette and her classmates had passed earlier. Even with the fake beard, she could maybe hazard a guess and say he was at least in his thirties, and it seems he was one of few that didn't even want to be the store Santa, and would only really do such a job if they were desperate.
She really couldn't blame him; even if the festive season brought out excitement in young children, the man was certainly being quite badly abused, as she could recall two kids bouncing on his lap and a distinct vomit stain that hadn't yet dried on his coat. He was, unfortunately, the perfect victim for an akuma.
Not that that was a good enough excuse to cause mayhem, misery and panic.
"Okay then," Ladybug said to herself, clenching her fist tight around her yoyo. She tossed it into the air, calling out her signature move, "Lucky Charm!" Amidst the spiral of spots appeared a bundle of red and black Christmas tinsel rope. Ladybug stumbled trying to catch the large pile, then again as the Santa hurled another explosive present her way. Thankfully, Chat Noir quickly jumped to her rescue, sweeping her off the ground and up the nearest building to the roof.
"Thanks," she said. He grinned and purred, "Anything for you, my lady~." Ladybug rolled her eyes. Chat's smile fell into a confused frown as he noticed the results of Lucky Charm.
"Isn't part of the problem here that he's destroying the decorations? What are we supposed to do with this?" he asked, hooking a piece of tinsel on one finger. Ladybug sighed, looking around the street below frantically as she said, "I'm not sure yet. Maybe we tie him up?"
"How? We can't even get close enough to him to touch him with that sack of his."
"I'm thinking about it," she hissed, trying to tune out her partner as her gaze swept across the chaos. She had to think, what could she do-
She spied a lamp post and instantly a plan formed in her head and she looked again to the pile of tinsel.
"I know what to do!" she cheered, quickly untangling the array of decorations and handing half of them to Chat.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" he asked. She leaned in and quickly relayed the plan to him. They shared a quick nod of agreement before separating, Ladybug jumping across the street to the roof opposite, and Chat landing on the ground near the crazed Santa, who had turned to blowing up cars parked in the street.
"You want Christmas cheer? Well what good would it do you?" the villain cackled as civilians ran for safety. He reached into the sack for another present, only to have a tendril of tinsel wrap around his arm, pulling it from the sack.
"It will probably do more for the people than what you're doing now," Chat called from the other end of the makeshift whip. The Santa growled, and tried to reach inside with his other hand, only to have that snagged by another tinsel whip, this one held by Ladybug and wrapped around the lamp post.
"Quickly!" she shouted, and with an almighty heave, the Santa was pulled over and into the lamp post, where the two heroes began twisting and turning around him with their ropes, until they had him tied up securely.
"Isn't now the moment you say 'Bah Humbug', or would that be too stereotypical?" Chat chuckled, though Ladybug nudged him in the stomach and said, "We don't have time for jokes, we need to deal with that akuma. Come on." They ran to the discarded sack and pulled together, ripping the bag in two and spilling presents across the tarmac. And from the torn lining flew the black and white butterfly creature.
"You've caused enough trouble," Ladybug said, tossing her yoyo in the air and capturing the akuma. She released the purified butterfly and tossed a stray piece of tinsel into the air, repairing the damage caused, as well as restoring the poor store Santa to his original self. As the poor man lay on the ground, confused as to what had happened, the duo shared a fist bump of congratulation.
"Another job well done," Ladybug smiled, though it fell briefly when she heard the tell tale warning beep from her earring. Chat Noir nodded, and replied, "Indeed, and I think now is the time we should go our separate ways, until next time." They split apart, traversing a building each in record time. Chat had already disappeared by the time Ladybug looked back, but while she couldn't hang around, she couldn't help but hesitate as she looked back at the young man. Despite receiving another warning beep, she jumped back down, in time for him to remove his hat and fake beard.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked him. He sighed, "Not really. I just caused a lot of havoc and I'm probably going to lose my job." Ladybug bit her lip, then shook her head. She put on an encouraging smile and said, "Now now, I wouldn't think of it like that. We all have our bad days, right? I'd say that as long as you hurry back to your post and keep working hard, your boss won't want to fire you."
"It's easy for a hero to say that," he mumbled, beginning to trudge off back in the direction of the shopping mall. The young woman jumped in front of him, and continued, "Maybe it is easy for me to say, but really sir, I do believe that you can keep trying and things will get better. Tomorrow is another day after all, and who knows, it might be better than today. I know sir, trust me; even I have days where things seem hard." She grasped his hands, ignored yet another beep - the third of five warnings she could have, she would have to be quick - and said, "We need to keep our hopes up, especially in such a season, don't we? It doesn't help anyone to be a Scrooge around this time, especially not ourselves."
The man seemed to deliberate over Ladybug's words, thinking about them carefully, until eventually - after a pause so long she almost feared he would continue to despair - a small smile appeared on his face.
"You're right. I need to stay hopeful." Ladybug nodded enthusiastically, which only helped his smile to grow. He gave her hands, still clasping his own, a thankful squeeze before he went to leave, this time with more of a spring in his step.
"I must return to my work!" he called over his shoulder, making the young heroine smile. She had just enough time to shout back, "If your boss has any issues, I will gladly talk to him!" before she finally had to hurry off, flying up the side of a building with her yoyo and down into a nearby alleyway on the fifth and final beep.
"Marinette," Alya huffed as the girl skidded to a stop beside her, "where did you go? We've been looking for you for ages, and I've been worried sick with that crazed Santa on the loose."
Marinette was doubled over and panting, trying to regain her breath before responding, "A-ah, I was caught up in the bathroom, then when I tried to leave, the police were trying to keep everyone together and away from him. I couldn't get back to you guys. I'm sorry." She gave an apologetic smile, hoping that it would placate her friend. And indeed, Alya sighed and grabbed Marinette in a hug as she said, "Well, as long as you're okay."
"I'm guessing you couldn't get anything for your Ladyblog?" the girl asked. Her friend shook her head, pouting slightly. "It was too dangerous to get anywhere near him. The difference between some of these guys that attack the city is crazy sometimes. At least Ladybug and Chat Noir dealt with him as quick as they did." Marinette just nodded in response.
"So what are we going to do now? It's getting late," Mylène asked, looking up to the darkening sky. The group murmured amongst themselves until Nino stepped forward and suggested, "How about we all go get something to eat before we go home?" The looks on everyone's faces portrayed their unanimous agreement, and they all made their way to the nearest cafe. The teens walked along, chatting animatedly about their plans for the holidays. Marinette and Alya stayed at the back of the group, where their own conversation had turned to Adrien, who was mingling nearer the front of the group with Nino.
"So, do any of your Christmas plans include trying to talk to him? Or are you saving that for a New Year's resolution?" Alya teased, nudging Marinette gently in the ribs. She laughed nervously in return, saying, "I don't know yet. I don't have any plans for Christmas, period, never mind anything to do with Adrien." Alya placed a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder and said, "Well, maybe at the very least we can shove you both under a mistletoe."
The group crowded into a small cafe which was, thankfully, relatively empty, and in an instant, they had claimed the tables and chairs by the window. Nino offered to get the drinks, with Alya, Marinette and Adrien helping him to collect them. After a myriad of orders, the four of them went up to the counter, where Alya spotted something hanging from the ceiling near the end of the counter. She gasped, catching Marinette's attention and she bounced on her toes.
"Marinette, you'll never guess what I can see~" she whispered, trying to keep the little tidbit between her and her friend. Before Marinette could even look back at Alya, her friend had grabbed her face and pointed it in the opposite direction. Her face briefly lit up, until she herself spotted something other than what Alya had noticed. Alya shuffled the other girl to the end of the counter, unaware of her change of expression as she tried to grab Adrien's attention.
"Hey, Adrien, why don't you come a little more this wa- Marinette?" To her surprise, Marinette was walking off down the side of the cafe, completely ignoring the mistletoe hanging above her. Her focus was on a table tucked into the corner, where a young man - she recognised him as the day's earlier akuma victim - and a small child - a girl of about 5 - sat. The man looked up as he saw Marinette approach.
"Uh, hey, haven't I seen you working the Santa's grotto in the mall before?" she asked, giving the girl a smile as well. He nodded, patting the child on the head, "Possibly. The boss decided to close it early today after the incident. Not that I mind really, I get to spend a little more time with my Nadine." Nadine pouted.
"Papa has to work though," she said, looking up at him. "He has to work really hard," she added, turning back to Marinette. Her father nodded, "Yes, papa does need to work, but papa loves spending time with you too." Marinette couldn't help but smile as little Nadine hugged her father, mumbling something into his chest that she couldn't quite hear.
"Well, maybe after the busy season is done, you'll both get to spend more time together," she said, before saying to Nadine, "Y'know, you remind me of a little girl I know. She has the same big smile that you do." The tiny girl laughed. The teenager laughed herself before saying to the man, "I should probably leave you both then. Sorry for bothering you." He waved his hand in dismissal.
"It's fine really." Marinette nodded, "Well, merry Christmas to you." She turned to walk away, smiling as she heard Nadine echo her festive greeting. She joined Alya by their table again, who gave her friend a confused look as she asked, "What was that all about? And you are aware that you just missed out on a big opportunity with Adrien, right? Even if you had been a blubbering mess like usual, it was still a prime moment." That last sentence was said with a smile and the usual friendly teasing that was common between the two.
"I know. I just thought I recognised him is all. His daughter is kinda cute; reminds me of Manon," she responded, looking back over at the father and daughter duo. Just chatting away, the man occasionally sipping his coffee, and Nadine with her juice…
"Hold on a second," Marinette said, getting up again and walking to the counter, once again leaving Alya to wonder what her friend was doing. Even more so when she returned empty handed a minute later. She cocked an eyebrow, the action asking the question for her. The girl just gave her a wink and said, "Just trying to spread a little festive spirit."
Marinette kept her focus on that back table again, even when some of their classmates got up and left for the night. It wasn't till Adrien and Nino stood to leave that she turned away.
"Today was fun. Well, before that Santa started attacking us all," Adrien said, looking between the girls, "Maybe we can do this again sometime. Hopefully without something attacking the city." Marinette laughed nervously, avoiding the boy's gaze. Alya smiled at her hopeless friend and answered for her, "That would be nice. Maybe we can arrange something, though the monster thing is obviously out of our control."
"But hey, isn't that what Ladybug and Chat Noir are around for?" Nino piped up. Adrien shook his head, an amused smile on his face. He gave his friend a light shove in the direction of the door, waving to the girls and calling over his shoulder, "See you then. Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas to you too!" Alya shouted back before the door could close. She turned back to Marinette, but she wasn't paying any attention to her. She was smiling as she watched that back corner table again. A father and his daughter, and a slice of cake for them each.
Merry Christmas!
I wrote this little Christmas oneshot for an advent thing some friends of mine are doing, but I figured it'd be good to share with the public as well. I hope it's okay.
Angel-chan x