Day 10 (December 10th) – Blanket

Marinette smiled and softly sang to herself as her sewing machine hummed. She fed it more material, keeping her pace steady and watching carefully for any missed stitches.

No mistakes. She wanted this to be purr-fect.

She giggled a bit at her own lame pun as she started another seam. Chat, Chat, Chat. Her kitty had really rubbed off on her. Slowly but surely, it had gotten much easier to banter with the Villain of the Day. She was no longer simply dodging her own terror, or single-mindedly focusing on finding the akuma to purify. She truly had grown in her abilities as Ladybug.

And she owed a lot of it to Chat Noir.

From the very beginning, he'd had her back. Encouraged her. Cheered her on and acted as a human shield to protect her whenever she needed him. She wasn't sure she could find the words to tell him how much each "Pound It!" meant to her.

So, she'd decided to show him instead. After all, the closest metaphor she could think of… was a blanket.

Strong and warm and a little bit fluffy; something you could cuddle close and know you'd be safe…

She blushed at that last thought. It might be better if she didn't try to explain it that way…

Last seam done, she snipped the thread edges and shook it out. She still had to press it, and their patrol time was coming up fast. She hoped he liked it.

The last few minutes seemed to fly by faster than her yo-yo before she was calling to Tikki and leaping out her skylight. She'd just barely managed to put a ribbon and bow on it. Hopefully Chat wouldn't mind the lack of wrapping paper.

She sailed through the air, for once paying attention to how easy it was to fly over the rooftops nowadays. Those first few weeks… she'd gotten tangled up in her own yo-yo string, misjudged distances, decimated a perfectly good billboard….

And now, it was as easy as breathing.

"Hallo, milady!" Ladybug heard Chat call as soon as she reached the Arc de Triomphe (they'd decided against meeting at the Eiffel Tower today, Hawkmoth a tendency lure too many akumas there whenever they were spotted). He grinned as he landed beside her. "And how is Paris's prettiest superhero today?"

"I dunno, Chat Noir. How are you?" she flirted back.

Chat's jaw dropped. He stared at her in disbelief, his mouth moving silently.

"Oh, don't look so shocked," she laughed, flicking his chin up so he'd stop gaping at her. "We've already agreed I'm the badass, and you're the cutie who poses for pictures with the fans."

Chat burst out laughing. "You got me there," he agreed. He gave her an adoring look, which morphed into curiosity when he realized she was carrying something. "What's that?"

Ladybug held it out to him. "Merry Christmas!" she grinned.

His face lit up. "You got me a present?!" he exclaimed, taking it.

"Well, yeah," she said, nervously playing with her fingers. "I know we just did cookies and hot chocolate last year… but I really wanted to say thanks. For everything."

"I'll have you know that those cookies and hot chocolate were the best Christmas present I've ever gotten," Chat said, tearing off the ribbon. The blanket unfolded in front of him and his mouth dropped open again. "Until now," he amended. "My lady, this is amazing!"

Ladybug beamed with pride while he inspected her work. She made a sort-of patchwork quilt, with each square depicting the silhouette of every akumatized villain they'd defeated together. (Needless to say, there were quite a few squares!) And in front of each silhouette was a tiny, white butterfly, symbolizing their victory.

"I love it," Chat whispered.

"Flip it over," Ladybug suggested.

He did so, and promptly gasped. She'd divided the back into two triangles, red and black, with their respective symbols in the middle of each color. She hoped he understood the symbolism; they were partners. Two halves of the same whole. Together forever.

"I just thought you might want something to—CHAT, ARE YOU CRYING?"

"It's liquid joy," he insisted, wiping his eyes. He hugged the blanket to himself. "It's so soft," he whimpered. "And it smells like cake."

"Yeah, sorry. I didn't have time to wash it after I finished making it, so you'll have to—"

"I love it. I love it! I LOVE IT!" Chat squealed, scooping her into a hug. He spun her around a couple times, laughing. Then, just as suddenly, he put her down, looking concerned. "But I didn't get you anything! Well, I did, but my kwami said I couldn't give it to you, so…."

"Chat, it's okay!" she laughed, giving him another quick hug. "I don't need anything in return. I'm just happy you like it!"

"I love it," he corrected her. "But no, I have to get you something! I—just wait here! I'll be right back!"

"What? Chat, it's cold out here! Where are you going?!"

"I'll be right back!"