Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas to u, my readers!

I had this idea for a different take on the Christmas special last Christmas, but didn't get enough of it done in time. I didn't start working on it again until just last month and I still don't even have half of it done (almost done with 2nd chapter). I wanted to have this whole story done and published before Christmas, and I doubt I will. But I at least had to post the first chapter.

I'm a slow writer most of the time, but I've gotten slower because I haven't been feeling well again (I know, worst time of the year to be feeling like crap. Not only is Christmas right around the corner, but my birthday is around the corner from there.)

Any-who, here we go with the Christmas special...

Adrien and Nathalie had been decorating the house for Christmas all day. Although Mr. Agreste had failed to come down at all to see their hard work, Adrien was optimistic he would like it. But by later that evening, his optimism began to fade. It was getting late, he and Nathalie were almost done with the tree, and his father still had not come down to see him. Not once.

This was their first Christmas since his mother left. And instead of sharing his grief with the only other person who misses her as much as he does, his father was shutting himself away and grieving all alone. His father usually shut himself away, burying himself in his work, but it was Christmas. A time to be with family and friends. A time for kindness and celebration. But even on this day, he decided to leave his son out in the cold. Leaving him to miss not only his mother, but also his father.

Realizing it was pointless and that his father wasn't going to spend Christmas with him at all, Adrien abandoned the tree-trimming and went up to his room.

Before going upstairs, however, the Gorilla had just walked in the front door and handed him a pink-wrapped present. But as soon as he got to his room, the young model just tossed it onto his bed as he sat there, thinking about how selfish his father was being.

"I just want this terrible day to be over and done with," he grumbled to himself, Plagg floating beside him. This Christmas had nothing good to offer him, so he wanted no part of it.

A part of him was a little curious about the gift wrapped in cute pink paper sitting at the foot of his bed, what it was or who it was from, but all he could focus on at the moment was how frustrated he was with his father.

Unable to even stand being in the house any longer, without any warning, Adrien summoned Plagg to transform him.

Once transformed, Chat Noir leapt out his window, leaving it opened and the pink present on his bed.

As he jumped over rooftops, Chat Noir sang his lament.

"It's Christmas in Paris, all is cheery and bright

But I am all alone tonight"

(Chat stood on a chimney across the street from Nino's apartment, watching his best friend laugh and have a nice holiday dinner with his parents.)

"Families are together with their gifts by their side, only Chat Noir's alone tonight"

(Chat arrived outside a window of the Le Grand Paris Hotel dining room and watched as waiters served Chloe and her father a fine holiday feast for two.)

"There's no warmth for me, no tenderness for me, I'm alone like a cat in the night

I'm a sad, lonely kitty, won't anyone take pity?

Chat Noir is alone tonight"

(Snow continued to fall peacefully around him as the feline superhero leaped threw the city and over rooftops.)

"Chat Noir is alone tonight"

(Chat eventually stopped at the sight of the big Christmas tree outside the Hotel de Ville, resenting the cheery symbol of the holiday standing proudly, mocking his misery. Chat stood on the building overlooking the tree, glaring it down.)

"No one cares about me, if I'm lost or I'm found, then I'm just like a cat in the night

I'll take your symbol of joy and beat it into the ground,

I'm the vengeful cat of the night"

(Chat jumped from the building, his baton in his hands as he ran through the snow, heading straight for the decorative tree.)

"I'm the vengeful cat of the night!"

Crying out in rage, Chat held his baton ready to strike as he approached the tree. He wanted to take all his anger and frustration out on it. But just as he was about to take that first swing…

"Chat Noir!"

Chat stopped in his tracks when the startled voice that called to him hit his ears. With his baton still raised, Chat turned his head to where he heard his second identify being called. And there, standing on his left a few yards away on the sidewalk in a black winter coat, white ear-muffs, fluffy snow boots, and a pink scarf around her neck… was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. A small box in her mitten-covered hands.

"W-What are you doing?" she asked, her eyes wide with concern.

Chat's own eyes widened as they locked with hers. He was surprised, seeing her of all people out there with him. But then her question began to sink in. What was he doing? His mother was gone and his father was ignoring him, so he was going to beat at this enormous Christmas tree because he wasn't having a good Christmas.

Now that he thought about it, it sounded horrible. And by the look on Marinette's face, she looked pretty horrified herself, seeing him about to do something so awful.

That was when he really realized not just what he almost did, but what he was already doing.

He was scaring her.

He must look like a total monster, about to destroy something so good and beautiful.

Breathing heavily, horrified with himself, Chat let the baton slip out of his hands and land in the snow. Quickly followed by his knees. Chat then lowered his head and covered his face with his hands, sobs choking from his throat as fat tears fell from his eyes, soaking his leather gloves and mask.

True, Marinette was startled, seeing her partner about to vandalize such a cherished holiday piece to the public. For a moment, she thought that he was being controlled by an akuma and being forced to do their bidding again. But by his reaction to seeing her, he clearly realized what he was about to do wasn't right. And when she saw him collapse and start to cry, she knew something was wrong. Not 'akuma' wrong, but 'personal problem' wrong perhaps.

When the sound of his sobs hit her ears, Marinette's first instinct was to rush over and comfort him. So that's what she did. "Chat!" she cried as she slid to her knees in the snow in front of him. Chat continued to hide his face as he cried, not noticing her closer presence. After putting the box she carried aside, Marinette cautiously placed her hands on his shoulders as they slightly shook with his sobs. "Chat Noir?" she said more quietly, trying to get him to look at her. Feeling the gentle hands on his shoulders quieted his aching sobs for a moment as he finally raised his head. Pulling his face out of his hands, Chat came face to face with his sweet friend and classmate, her big azure eyes wide with concern as they looked into his green, cat-like ones, tears still falling over his mask and down his cheeks. Seeing such a friendly and welcoming face, seeking comfort, Chat broke down once again, throwing his arms around the girl before him. As he cried into her shoulder, Marinette wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay. Shhhh, it's okay," she whispered to him, rubbing circles over his leather-clad back. "I've got you. I'm here." Chat's sobbing slowed to shaky breaths and sniffles as Marinette continued her soothing whispers and back rubbing.

In between sniffles, he could smell her hair as he took deep breaths to calm down. She smelled so nice. Like cinnamon and sugar, vanilla, fresh-baked cookies; that must come from living in a bakery her whole life. And then there was a flowery sent, most likely from her shampoo. Sweet pea, or maybe cherry blossoms. Whichever it was, it was lovely and seemed to help calm his tears.

In her warm embrace, he started to feel better.

After a few minutes of being held, Chat finally pulled back, still sniffling. "I'm-I'm sorry," he said as he wiped at his cheek with the heel of his wrist.

"No, it's fine," Marinette replied, still kneeing in front of him. "You okay now?"

"Yeah, I guess." Chat wiped at his eyes again before looking up to the big Christmas tree he almost ruined. But just looking at it once again reminded him of how his mother loved Christmas and how much he missed her today. "No… I'm really not okay," he choked out as fresh tears started to leak from his eyes.

Marinette scrambled to comfort him again. "Shhh, it's alright. Please don't cry," she tried to hush him as she placed a hand on his shoulder and used the other to wipe tears from his cheeks. "Wait." Marinette took her hands away and Chat missed them instantly. He sat there on his knees as he watched the bluenette dig in her coat pockets. From her left pocket, she pulled out a small white handkerchief with pink thread stitched into a pattern along the edges, and offered it to him. "Here."

Chat smiled through his sadness. "Thank you," he said as he took it gratefully to wipe away the rest of his tears.

Marinette waited patiently as Chat wiped his eyes and cheeks, giving him a bit more time to calm himself before asking him anything. She wanted to know what had him so distraught that he would want to deliberately destroy the big Christmas tree. As partners, they didn't know much about each other's personal lives as civilians, so she couldn't know for sure what was wrong. But something had to be going on. For someone to be this upset on Christmas of all days of the year, something personal (most likely family related) had to be wrong. The thought of her dear partner possibly having such an unloving family made her insides ache.

Marinette hated seeing her partner like this. She hated seeing anyone sad, but this was the first time she has seen Chat Noir cry or get that angry, and she found that she hated it even more. She wanted to help him. She had already lent him her shoulder to cry on, now she wanted to offer her ear to listen.

After a minute or two of watching the snow fall around them, Chat's small whimpers finally stopped and he just let his hands rest on his lap, grasping the handkerchief. Maybe he could talk now. "You wanna tell me what's wrong?" she asked him gently.

Chat looked up from the handkerchief and once again saw Marinette's big sympathetic eyes. She was willing to listen, and Adrien felt that he really needed a friend right now. But he wasn't Adrien right now, he was supposed to be Chat Noir. If he sounded too much like Adrien, Marinette would surely realize it was him. He wanted to talk and he would, he just had to be careful. "It's my first Christmas without my mom, and my dad isn't handling it well," he explained, casting his eyes down at the handkerchief again. "He's basically ignoring me, so I've got nobody," he continued, starting to feel a bit choked up again. "It's Christmas and I'm all alone."

He would have started crying again if a small, light blue mitten-covered hand hadn't gently placed itself on top of his. Chat snapped his head back up and there Marinette still was, looking at him with her big, sweet eyes. Had they always been that blue, he wondered in his head as Marinette started to talk.

"You're not alone," she told him in a voice like the softest silk. "I'm right here, and no one should feel alone on Christmas. Not on my watch," she said determined before giving him a reassuring smile. Heart melting on the spot, Chat smiled back, genuinely starting to feel better. As they looked at each other, off in the distance, the two could hear the ringing of bells. "Hey, you hear that?" Marinette asked, her smile now one of excitement. She knew what those bells meant. Swiftly, Marinette took a firmer hold of Chat's hands and pulled him up to his feet with her. "Merry Christmas, Chat Noir," she said happily.

Chat couldn't help be smile with her. "Merry Christmas, Marinette," he said, and he meant it.

They continued to hold each other's hands as they smiled. Chat savored the moment, feeling happier about today. But as the bells chiming ended a few seconds later, a look of realization struck Marinette's face. "Oh god, it's so late! I have to go," she said hastily, taking her hands away to reach down to pick up the box she had from the ground.

"You gotta get home?" Chat asked, a bit disappointed she had to leave. She probably had to get back home for a special holiday dinner with her parents. And that once again raised the question in Chat's head of why she was out here all by herself on Christmas Eve in the first place. He hoped she didn't have any family issues and was avoiding her house like he was. But that couldn't be. He'd met her parents and they both seemed like nice people and loving parents.

He however didn't have to ponder this long before getting an answer.

"Yes. Well, no, but-" Marinette stuttered as she was bent down. This made Chat smile again. Her stutter was kinda cute sometimes. "I do, but first I need to deliver this," she said as she rose back up to her full height, sticking the box out in front of her for him to see. Now that he could really look at the box she had with her, he could see it was a long red box with 'Joyeuses fetes' written on the top with a sparkle trail underlining it. And it smelled like cake. "Mrs. Roussel ordered a yule log cake from my family's bakery, but she couldn't come in today to pick it up. Her son came down with a fever and can't leave him alone. So I volunteered to bring it to them."

The feline superhero was once again taken in by the bluenette's selflessness. "That was very nice of you," he complemented her.

"Thanks," Marinette shrugged. "Mom and Papa were busy finishing preparing dinner so I thought I'd drop this off at their house real quick and be back just in time." After explaining all that, Marinette's eyes wandered downwards, not sure what else to say. She had to get going if she wanted to deliver the cake in good time and make it home for Christmas dinner. She didn't want to leave anyone waiting, but she really didn't want to just leave Chat Noir out there in the cold either. He was still upset, and it didn't feel right to her abandoning him like that.

Chat didn't want to leave her either. He was actually starting to enjoy the evening just being with her for the last few minutes. And he definitely didn't want to return to his cold, lonely house and spend Christmas Eve alone. He had to try and make this last just a little bit longer.

"Uh, Marinette," he said, regaining her attention. "Would you mind if I walked with you?" he asked. Marinette looked surprised for a moment before Chat continued. "Like you said, no one should be alone on Christmas, and I wouldn't want you out walking at this time of night all by yourself." Chat then brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Plus, I don't think I'm ready to go back home just yet," he admitted meekly.

To his relief and delight, Marinette smiled. "I wouldn't mind at all." Chat grinned back before picking up his forgotten baton from the snow and reattaching it to his lower back. "Come on, their house is just around the corner," she instructed, gesturing for him to follow her. Chat gladly followed after her, stuffing the handkerchief into his suit pocket as he walked beside her back to the sidewalk.

I don't know when I'll finish the next chapter, let alone the rest of this story, but I hope u at least enjoyed this 1st chapter by itself.

I have another story I really want to finish before the year is over and I'm almost done with the last chapter, so my focus will be mainly there for now.

Until then, wishes of good cheer and Happy Holidays everyone!