Hello all you beautiful Miraculous Ladyloves!

This is my first time writing fanfiction in a while but I was too in love with these nerds.

I'm sorry for all the mistakes T.T It's currently 3 am and if I don't post this now I'm not going to so EXCUSE THIS GARBAGE. I'LL GET BETTER I PROMISE.

Thanks for being such a lovely bunch of people you guys. Enjoy!

It's a frosty January morning in Paris. The streets outside are paved with snow, but the arctic weather was not enough to scare off the many visting tourists. Most of them were couples, and the bitter chill was but a small obstacle to test the heat of their love. Their sweet nothings form tiny clouds that curl from off their lips like chimney smoke.

School was out for winter break. For most students that meant a carefree handful of days to spend however they pleased. But, in the Agreste household winter breaks were spent working. Photo shoots, fashion shows, fittings, rehearsals- the list goes on for far too long. After all, the winter line of Gabriel Agreste's designs were his most popular. Adrien was put to work day and night without a moment to spare. He was never able to enjoy his favorite season.

This year, however, he had someone lovely to spend winter with and was determined to see her at least once. So, he had put his foot down for one day off, no exceptions. Natalie had brushed off his request, reminding him that this was a very important time of year for his father. Now, Adrien knew that Natalie had been working just as hard as he had been. Had he been planning to have a day off solely for himself he would have obliged. Accepting his fate knowing that was easier for the both of them.

This time was different. Natalie must have seen that, because after a long argument she finally gave in. Adrien would have to work to make up for it: long nights and early mornings. He assured her he's done this for most of his life. He knew the consequences.

Adrien had left his house the moment the sun rose, arriving at Tom and Sabine's bakery about an hour before they opened. He would have been happy to wait outside and enjoy the morning snowfall, but once Marinette's parents had spotted him they hustled him inside. He was ordered to sit down and warm up with a delicious mug of hot chocolate. Once his cup was drained, Adrien offered to help with the morning preparations and spent an hour kneading dough and baking cookies.

As he worked, Tom entertained him with old stories about a younger Marinette. He told him about how she used to put a metal strainer on her head when she was a toddler. Ordering him around the kitchen as she read the directions from his cookbook. He spoke of how Sabine had officially appointed Marinette as 'the royal taste tester'. The two of them were to test for 'poison' in cookie dough and cake batter. When Tom spoke Adrien thought, if he had stared a little harder into his eyes, that he would have been able to find the hearth that was her father's soul, brimming with proud, brilliant flames. He spoke about his family like they themselves had built the world with their own two hands, and for him that was probably true.

Tom had just gotten to the first time Marinette baked a cake all on her own when said teenager entered the kitchen. She was clad in pajamas and a Christmas sweater that was a bit too big on her. Her hair was tied into a messy bun with flyaway hairs poking this way and that. Adrien was pretty sure he was on the verge of melting onto the floor when Tom clapped a hand on his shoulder and brought Marinette's attention to him. Even though he was covered from head to toe in baking flour and had a few smears of chocolate on his cheeks, her eyes lit up like Christmas lights when she spotted him. After a rushed good morning to her parents she hurried him up to her room.

Now, Chat Noir sat cross-legged on a familiar pink bed, with a familiar pink face staring at him with a frown. Two half empty mugs of tea were growing cold on the nightstand beside the bed. Outside, snow caught against the grooves in the windows and built up against the glass.

"Okay," Chat says, smiling reassuringly. "Try again."

He and Marinette had been dating for about a month now, and it had been one of the best months of his entire life. Everyday he saw her was better than the last. Now Marinette was truly a warm light in his life that he held close to his heart, and it grew brighter every time he learned something new about her. One of the things he had learned recently was that she treated Chat Noir and Adrien like they were two different people. He decided today was going to be the day he cleared that up.

Marinette takes a deep breath and braces herself

"Hello Chat, how are you?" She repeats for the third time that day. Chat was surprised that she didn't seem to get tired of saying the same thing over and over. In fact, she looked more determined with repetition.

"I'm wonderful, Marinette." He replies. Chat thought, wracking his brain for something new to say this time. "It's been quite a while since I've had a day off. I'm glad I get to spend it here, with you."

"We haven't been doing anything particularly exciting." She replies, looking a little guilty. "Sorry."

And the lesson begins.

Chat takes her chin in his fingers and pulls her close to him. Their breaths mingle and the smell of something sweet reaches Chat's nose.

"No need to apologize, my lady. Every moment I'm with you is exciting and new. I wouldn't want to spend today with anyone else." He grins.

Marinette laughs and her smile is the color of summer. Blithe yellows and carefree golds burst from her laughter like the suns shine. They caress his cheeks and bathe her in a warm light. Just like that, winter was officially no longer Adrien's favorite time of year.

"When did I become such a sucker for your cheesy talk?" She sighs. Chat places the smell of green tea and sugar riding on her breath.

Before he can answer, a familiar rush washes over his body and he feels the breath being pulled from his lungs. With a flash of bright light, it is no longer Chat Noir sitting with his face an inch away from Marinette's, but Adrien.

"Where?!" A squeak of a voice says from above them.

"Plagg!" Adrien scolds, looking up at his floating friend in annoyance. He always hated when Plagg would leave him powerless without any warning. It was almost like getting the wind knocked out of him when the magic would suddenly drain from his body.

"Where is the cheese, Adrien?!" The tiny kwami insists, his bright green eyes zooming around the room in search of a snack.

"There is no cheese, you fanatic! Now hurry and transform me back before-" The teenager cuts himself off, his previous train of thought derailing when a new one takes the tracks. He slowly, almost mechanically, returns his gaze to his girlfriend.

Marinette is staring at him with a pair of eyes nearly the size of two moons. Her face has ignited into scarlet and the color reaches all the way down her neck. She grins at him tightly, giggling nervously.

"Hi." She greets, her voice having risen a few octaves.

"Hi, princess." Adrien sighs.

The teenage girl snaps her mouth shut and, just when he thinks she can compose herself, lets out a muffled, breathy squeal.

Adrien falls back against her bed with a flop, knowing all too well that there was no way to get Marinette back to her confident state unless they went through the entire process of calming her down again. If he was being honest, he wasn't willing to change back into Chat again. Not to mention Plagg was probably running out of energy. Which explains why he's still fluttering around the room, scanning for food.

Adrien was just going to have to accept the fact that the love of his life could barley get a single word out to him without breaking down into a fit of stutters and blushing. Which was fine. Marinette was certainly the cutest person he knew and knowing she only melted like this for him made his heart skip a beat.

Maybe some day Marinette would get used to the idea that they were dating and be able to talk with him easily and comfortably.

Cracking an eye open, he peeks at her. She was staring down at her hands in her lap with a disappointed pout. The blush has yet to fade even slightly.

"I'm sorry." She apologizes, shaking her head like she's trying to get rid of a thought. "I'm just not expecting it."

"Nobody is here except for you and me. There's no need to be so nervous." He assures her.

"Th-that's part of what makes it so difficult to talk to you!" She exclaims. The knot in her brow deepens when she hears how unsteady the sound of her voice is. She curls her hands into fists in frustration and refuses to look at him.

"What do you mean?" Adrien asks gently, scooping up one of her hands in his own and uncurling her angry fist to lace their fingers together. "We spoke all the time before. When you were Ladybug and I was Chat."

"Yes, but I didn't know that was you."

"You know it's me now. And yet, you still talk to 'Chat' a lot easier than you talk to me." He feels a strange prickle of jealousy in his mind. Chat wasn't even the first person she fell in love with, it was him. Yet his superhero persona gets all the witty comebacks and none of them are ever directed at his normal self. He loved the shy side of Marinette too, but he missed when she would poke fun at him.

"It's different."

"Explain it to me." He pleads, squeezing her hand in hope that it will remind her that they were already dating. There really was no point in hiding things like this.

She gnaws at her lower lip, debating something in her head. When she finally speaks again, her voice is warm and her gaze on their hands is distant.

"Chat's one of my best friends. I've known him for so long and he's always there when I need him. He's and loyal and honest and...he makes terrible puns that I hate but love." Marinette rolls her eyes with a snort, smacking her forehead in an unwilling defeat. Adrien grins at her, but remains silent in fear that she'll loose the building confidence in her words. "He keeps me safe. I guess I'm more comfortable around him because-..." She trails off, glancing at him sheepishly.

"Because?" Adrien prompts softly.

"Because, no matter what I said to him, I knew he would never leave me to fight alone."

And there goes his heart. It had been hanging on by a thread in his chest the entire morning. Waiting for the moment Marinette would cut it loose and allow it to skyrocket into his throat.

"And when I think of you," She continues, completely missing the devastated look he gives her. "I think of months of falling for you countless times and an unrequited love. It just doesn't feel real, Adrien. And I just get scared that you'll realize that I'm not Ladybug. A part of me is, but most of the time I'm Marinette. The awkward weirdo who can't get more than a sentence out to you without seeming like a total idiot-"

"Wait a minute." He cuts off the rant that was undoubtedly about to get a lot more negative. Propping himself up back to the seated position, Adrien makes sure their gazes are level when he speaks. "You think Ladybug is only a part of you?"

Marinette frowns and lets out a sigh through her nose.

"Of course she is. Most of the time I'm not a superhero, Adrien."

"Marinette," Adrien's voice drops lower and his gaze becomes a little more stern. "You're not two different people. You're just as amazing as Lady is. Just because, at the end of the day, you loose the mask doesn't make you any different. You may not fight any villains when you're like this, but that doesn't make you any less brave."

Her blue eyes glass over with tears and she straightens her mouth into a tight line. He wishes he had told her these things sooner, but he just assumed she knew. All this time, she had thought she was somehow a lesser person than Ladybug. The thought is so ridiculous to him he can't help but let out a hopeless sigh.

Really. What was he going to do with her?

"Everyone knows you're amazing. You're still a superhero, you just don't have a secret identity when you're Marinette.

Of course, that also means that I am the same person as Chat Noir. I'm still one of your best friends, the puns are inevitable. And I would never leave you to fight alone. Not Ladybug or Marinette."

It happens so quickly Adrien doesn't process her movements until after her lips have collided with his own. She kisses him like all the times their lips had met before that moment were nothing but dreams, and she was determined to show him how delicious reality really was.

It's not until after she pulls away that he realizes that was the first time Marinette had kissed him without her mask on.

White Camellia- You're adorable