Ladybug watched as the man crumpled, released from the akuma possessing him. "Bye-bye, Little Butterfly!" she said, waving confidently at the now cleansed, harmless creature. Finally, with a toss of the red-spotted plate she had used, she purified the area of any damage.

At last, after the long battle, the streets of Paris were safe. Once again snow fell softly on the spiraling houses and quiet streets. Street lights flickered on as the sun set upon the crisp Parisian skyline. Civilians applauded in relief instead of running in terror.

She turned to her dark companion and held out her fist. "Mission accomplished?"

He smiled and gently pressed his fist to hers. "Mission accomplished!"

With a wave to the gathering crowd, Ladybug threw her yo-yo and began to swing away through the now darkening alleys. Chat Noir followed, quickly and quietly scampering beside her, finding footholds to jump off of in the tightest spaces.

Ladybug laughed as she swung. Finally, the year was winding to a close, the most wonderful year of her life. She could practically smell the gingerbread that awaited her at home and see the soft twinkling lights that would line her street. She lay upon the cusp of Christmas.

Pausing her Tarzan-like practice for a moment, she stopped on the top of a school, looking out at the setting sun. The view was as perfect as a postcard. Everything she could see was covered in a soft layer of snow. The sun's light made everything sparkle. It seemed to glitter just for her.

Well, not just for her.

Chat Noir practically appeared out of nowhere, standing by her side. She wasn't surprised. Their balance of good and bad luck, yin and yang, light and dark, was perfectly natural to her now. Wherever she was, he was sure to be. Without him, the perfect sight she gazed down on would not be complete.

"Staring at the view, My Lady?" he said with a roguish grin.

"Of course," she said "It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as what I'm looking at."

Ladybug laughed, cocking her head to stare at her partner. "You're lines are getting worse every day, Chat."

"It doesn't mean they're not true," Chat said pouting slightly. "I think that you're absolutely purr-fect."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I've never heard that one before, kitty."

He placed his hand over his heart in mock shock. "Why, My Lady, I've never suffered this much abuse before. Pray tell, are you paying attention to my words?"

"Occasionally your words bore into me, Chat," Ladybug said sitting down and facing the skyline again. She pulled her knees close to her body. "But otherwise you're paws-itively wonderful."

As soon as she said it she rolled her eyes. "Oh god," she said knocking her head to her knees, "You're starting to rub off on me."

Chat snorted and plopped down next to her.

The sun's final rays bathed the city in a golden light. In the oncoming absence of warmth, Ladybug shivered. Her costume might come in handy for fighting but it lacked necessary warmth for winter. Normally, she would never stop, but the view had been so beautiful she could hardly resist.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chat noticed her shiver and bit his lip. He knew she was cold, he was too. His heart was urging him to put his arm around her, pull her closer, wrap her up in his warmth. Sighing, he hung his head. That would never happen.

Ladybug heard his sigh and turned to face him. "What's wrong, Kitty? Cold?"

"Nothing," he said "Just thinking of things I can't have."

"Like what?"

Chat perked up somewhat. It was rare for Ladybug and he to have a moment of piece, even rarer for her to drop her guard and ask about something personal, something outside their alternate personas.

"Oh I don't know," he said. "How I can't ever tell anyone who I really am. How even though it's Christmas Eve we're still saving people, never a break. How there's the most beautiful girl in the world sitting next to me and I could never kiss her."

Ladybug leaned slightly and brushed her shoulder against his. "You really shouldn't say things like that," she muttered, "Especially when you don't mean them."

"What makes you think I don't mean them?"

"When have you ever meant anything like that?"

"Every time."

Ladybug turned to him in shock. In the low glow of twilight, his face was cast in half shadow. He was staring intently at her, assessing her reaction.

She pulled away from him and stood up suddenly. She stared down at Chat Noir. Even though it was dark, she could tell he was blushing.

Oh God, she thought in a panic. His embarrassment sparked hers and, before she knew it, pinkness spread across her cheeks.

Miraculously, her earrings chose that exact moment to beep their final warning.

"I-I have to go," she muttered, and swinging her yo-yo she ran away, flying from the balcony before Chat could even call after her.

"Oh, man," Chat said as his transformation dissolved in a flash of light. "I've really messed it up haven't I?"

The bells of Notre Dame could be heard all the way across Paris. It was New Year's Eve, ten minutes till midnight, and Chat Noir was sitting half-way up the Eiffel Tower.

He hadn't seen Ladybug in days, not since he had half-admitted his feelings. Honestly, he doubted he would ever see her again. The Eiffel Tower was the only place in all of Paris where he could be alone right now. No one could reach him, see what an idiot he was for messing up everything.

Almost no one.

"Chat?"

The leather-clad hero nearly fell off the tower upon hearing his name. Beside him, Ladybug had appeared. She was tentatively moving closer, walking across the slick steel beams with ease.

"I've been looking for you," she said sitting next to him.

"I thought you didn't want to see me," he said turning to her shyly. "I thought after last week you wanted to-."

"I didn't ever get to answer you," Ladybug interrupted. She startled him into silence. "I didn't realize that you meant all that. I thought every time you said something…you know, you were just kidding."

"I wasn't!" Chat said smiling slightly. He moved his hand closer to hers. "I would never joke about anything like that."

Silence fell for a moment, surrounding the two comfortably.

"I'm surprised you're here," Ladybug said leaning closer to him. "I'd think you were with friends or something."

"And you?" Chat responded sliding his leg next to hers. "There's no one out there waiting? Friends or family?"

"Perhaps," Ladybug said winding her hand around Chat's. "But I would much rather be here." She swallowed turning to him. "With you."

Chat blushed under his mask. "W-with me?" he stammered. "Are you sure? Because I'm sure that you have a lot of friends who like you and why you'd want to be out here in the cold with me is frankly a mystery and-."

He was silenced when she put her mouth on his. It lasted only a second, but that second was long enough to send his heart racing. His ears rang. Wait, it wasn't his ears ringing. It was the bells.

As she pulled away, her face turned as red as his. "Happy New Year, Chat," she said.

In the moment between their kiss, the world had suddenly slipped from one year to the next. One second had spanned into a whole new future. Suddenly, his whole world had changed.

He slipped his hand along her jaw and brought her lips a breath away from his. With wonder in both their faces, he looked into her eyes, knowing that in that moment it was just him and her; nothing else mattered.

Her eyes fluttered shut and she leaned into him. "Happy New Year, My Lady," he breathed. As their lips met for the second time, her arms encircled his shoulder pulling him closer into a moment that felt endless. And with the chiming of bells and the sweet promise of a new year, fireworks lit the night sky celebrating the start of a bright future.