Wrapping Gifts and Christmas Shopping

Hi! Here is day twenty two of my Christmas Countdown.

Haha I needed more Ladrien in this countdown so here we go.

Prompt: Christmas rush

...

Adrien Agreste was in a bit of a dilemma. He had to go out to get a last minute gift for Nathalie and the Gorilla but he hadn't counted on it being so busy. People were rushing around everywhere, all trying to buy gifts and decorations and food before Christmas. He knew it usually got busy just before Christmas but this was insane. He could barely move a metre in any direction without bumping into someone. It was beginning to get a bit frustrating. But he had to get those gifts so he kept moving on, albeit very slowly.

What was supposed to be a quick visit to the shops to get what he needed turned into hours of dodging people and trying to find a shop with things he could get Nathalie and the Gorilla for Christmas. He was exhausted.

Adrien had finally found gifts for them and started to head home. Well, tried. It was taking way too long to simply move twenty metres. Adrien wasn't normally impatient, but he had been out far too long and he knew he'd be expected back soon. His father would be irritated if he was out too long as dinner was at a set time that night and Adrien did not want to miss it.

His father would be joining him for dinner that night with Nathalie and the Gorilla and some of the other staff as sort of a Christmas dinner. He had made sure he would having nothing he would have to do that night so Adrien was not going to miss it just because he had been stuck out trying to buy gifts. He had even told Ladybug that he might not be at patrol tonight. She had been fine with it upon seeing excitement on his face.

He huffed as he bumped into yet another person. He mumbled a sorry and tried to step around the person, who was too engrossed in their phone conversation to notice. "Do you need help?" A voice behind him asked curiously and Adrien almost didn't turn around.

It was very crowded so it wasn't likely that whoever speaking was talking to him. But it had been right by his ear so he twisted around to see what it was... and almost jumped when he realised it was Ladybug, hanging upside down on her yoyo and staring at him. "L- Ladybug!" He gasped in surprise. "Er... what are you doing here?"

She shrugged; it looked slightly weird when she was upside down. "I had to quickly grab something from the shops and I figured it would be easier for Ladybug to just swing in here. Do you need any help getting past all these people?" She offered.

Adrien stared at her, wondering where she had put whatever it was she had brought. Perhaps she had put it in the same place she sometimes put her lucky charm object when she didn't use it straight away. Then he nodded. "That would be great. Thank you."

Ladybug twisted around and landed gracefully in front of him, despite it being crowded. She slipped an arm around him, making sure he was holding on and had all his stuff before swinging away above the crowds of people. He held on tightly. It was a bit different travelling by yoyo with her than bounding along with his baton by himself, almost unnerving. He tightened his arms around her and she shot him a slightly teasing grin but said nothing.

They soon arrived at his house and she swung in and landed neatly on the floor then let go of him. "Do you usually leave that window open?" She asked curiously as he put his bags down on the bed to wrap later.

"It doesn't shut." He admitted. "It's broken at the moment."

She hummed thoughtfully but said nothing. She wasn't leaving either. "So uh... why did you help me out of there instead of any one of those other people?" He asked.

She shrugged and her cheeks turned the slightest bit pink under her mask. "W- well I've talked to you before because of akumas and stuff and I didn't really know any of those other people and you were looking a bit frustrated so..." She trailed off, ducking her head shyly.

He stared at her for a moment. Ladybug stuttering and looking shy wasn't something he was used to seeing but he couldn't help but think she was really cute when her cheeks turned that colour. She lifted her eyes back up to his face. "I should get going now." She said. "Unless you need help with anything else?"

He bit his lip and thought about it, glancing over at the clock by his bed. Because she had brought him home he still had a bit of time before he had to go down to dinner. "Well, are you any good and wrapping presents?" He asked tentatively. "I'm not very good and I could use some help." He wasn't the best at gift wrapping, sure, but he wasn't bad at it either. He just wanted to spend a bit more time with Ladybug. It would be nice to talk to her when he wasn't Chat Noir.

Her eyes widened but she nodded. "I- I can help." She said simply then asked, "What do you need to wrap?"

For the next half an hour she showed him the best ways to wrap the various items he had and they chatted happily, the awkwardness and the fumbling melting away after a while and turning into easy conversation. He asked careful questions that he knew she wouldn't mind answering and stayed clear of anything that would give any hints to her identity. He didn't want to scare her off by probing too much. The goal was to simply spend time with her and maybe get to know her a bit better. So far, he was succeeding.

When everything had been wrapped, she stood up and gave him a smile. "I should probably go now. I'm sure you have other things to do."

He nodded and scrambled to his feet as well. "Bye Ladybug. Thanks for helping me." He paused. "Will I see you again?" He managed to ask, because he wanted to much to be able to spend more time with her when he wasn't transformed.

She blinked then gave him a bashful grin. "How about tomorrow?" She offered and he couldn't stop the grin from coming to his own face.

"Tomorrow's perfect." He agreed.

Ladybug hesitated, then closed the distance between them and pecked his cheek. She drew away with a squeak, face turning red as if she couldn't believe she had just done that. "Sorryseeyoulaterbye!" She rushed, then turned and fled for the window.

She stopped as she reached it, turned and gave him a little wave and then she disappeared.

Adrien sighed happily. "Merry Christmas." He murmured, though he was not quite sure why.

...

I was trying to write this but kept getting distracted by a tiny kitty that was just SO CUTE. It's so small and fluffy and argh soo cute. It has the most adorable meow ever. I just want to cuddle it forever.

Anyways, I've asked this for the last couple of stories but I'm going a story very soon with Gabriel and Mama Agreste and I need sugggestions for a name for her. Please suggest some. :)

Christmas countdown question: Who do you like to spend Christmas Day with? I like to spend it with family.