Day 25 (December 25th) - Merry Christmas

(continued from 4 - "All I Want For Christmas," 8 – Christmas Music, 15 – Decorations, and 18 – Winter Wonderland)

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…."

Emilie hummed along as she added the finishing touches to the Christmas decorations.

"Ma'am," Nathalie said, coming towards her, "the Dupain-Chengs called; they're going to be a few minutes late."

"Oh good," Emilie said, "I've got a few more things to take care of. Did Adrien pick an outfit yet?"

"He was still deciding when I left," Nathalie said, not quite biting back her smile.

Emilie giggled and took one final look around the foyer. Her eyes landed on the portrait of her husband and son at the top of the stairs. She frowned. "No matter how much I look at it, I hate it," she finally said. "Do we still need to get a permit from the city to have a bonfire in the backyard?"

"I'll take care of it straightaway, ma'am."

"Thank you, Nathalie," she chirped happily. Maybe they could roast marshmallows on it.

"The chef said dinner's ready," Gabriel said, heading for the tree with a stack of presents.

Emilie tried not to peek to see if any were for her… oh, who was she kidding? She dove for them! Her husband quickly moved the stack of boxes out of her reach.

"No peeking," he scolded.

"I'm not peeking," she grinned impishly, still reaching for the boxes. "I'm taking a big, fat look! Come and stop me!"

Gabriel pulled her away from the tree, straight into his arms.

"Charmer," Emilie grinned against his lips. He responded by kissing her again.

Finally, they broke apart, and Gabriel sighed, resting his forehead against hers.

"I still don't like that deal we made," he muttered.

"All right, kwamis," she said, getting the attention of all three sprites now floating around them. "A life for a life. That's the price and the price must be paid, isn't that right?"

"Yes," the little red one named Tikki nodded.

"But," Emilie added, "is there any rule that says only one person must pay it? Could the price be divided between two—or even three—people?"

Tikki and Plagg blinked at each other. "Well, I guess so…."

Emilie glanced over at her son. "What do you think, sweetie? You were willing to give up your whole life for your Marinette. What if you and I each gave her half?"

"Yes!" Adrien breathed, hope shining in his eyes.

"No," Gabriel said. But before Emilie could open her mouth to argue, he took her hand. "Thirds. We'll each give up a third of our life to her."

"Father…," Adrien looked shocked.

"Master, are you sure?" the little purple kwami asked.

"Yes," Gabriel said firmly. "We're a family. And a family shares its burdens as well as its successes." He looked at his wife. "Wasn't that what you were going to say?"

She squeezed his hand. "You know me so well."

"'Tis the season for sharing," she whispered back. "Besides, there's a lot of magic out there to be discovered. We could still find a way to live forever."

He smirked at her. "I love the way your mind works."

"I love you too."

"Excuse me, sir, ma'am," Nathalie said, entering the room. "I believe your guests have arrived."

"Yay!" Emilie cheered, pushing away from her husband. "Nathalie, could you go tell Adrien? Oh, he'll be so excited!" She rushed to the door to greet her guests.

"Tom! Sabine! We're so glad you could make it!" she gushed, kissing their cheeks.

"Sorry we're late," Sabine laughed. "We had a little incident with one of the pies."

"But we brought eclairs to make up for it," Tom added.

"Your baked goods are always welcome here," Gabriel assured him as the two men shook hands. "Please, let me help." Ever the gentleman, he took Sabine's package and he and Tom headed off to the dining room while the women continued to chat.

"How are you feeling?" Emilie asked.

"Fine, fine," Sabine assured her. "The doctors say there's nothing wrong with us, we just can't remember those two days for some reason. Who knows what happened?"

"Maybe it was magic," Emilie said, winking.

Sabine laughed. "Well, if it was Christmas gremlins, I wish they'd have cleaned my house for me too!"

They both laughed.

"Maman, where do you want me to put these boxes?" Another voice called. Emilie beamed as Marinette came into sight, carrying a large stack of wrapped boxes.

There's my beautiful daughter-in-law-to-be! She thought gleefully. Oh, she's going to be such a lovely bride for Adrien! And those snowflakes in her hair… maybe we should have a winter wedding?

"Here, Marinette! Let me help!" As if on cue, Adrien came running up to his friend. He stopped just short of touching her, both of them blushing.

"Hi."

"Hi!" Marinette squeaked back.

They are so cute.

"Presents go under the tree, Marinette," Emilie reminded them, hating that she had to stop them from gazing into each other's eyes.

"R-right, Mrs. Agreste!" Marinette yelped. She and Adrien avoided eye contact as he helped her with her load.

"I've told you, dear. You can call me Emilie."

"Y-yes, of course, ma'am. Err… Miss Emilie. Err—ACK!" She promptly dropped a couple boxes on Adrien's head. "SORRY! Sorry!" He just laughed, rubbing his head as he looked up at her.

Emilie couldn't resist cooing. There was just so much love there! It reminded her of the first time they'd seen each other after the spell had been completed….

"Adrien?" Marinette said dazedly, not quite awake yet.

"Right here, Marinette," he said, grabbing her hand and holding it tight.

"Wha—what happened?" she asked, looking around. "You're not supposed to remember me. You're supposed… to be happy…"

"As if I could be happy without my Lady."

She looked at him wildly for a moment, and then her gaze softened.

"Oh, Chat, I'm so sorry…."

"I'm not!" he said, hugging her fiercely. Marinette returned it, but she was already looking over his shoulder as well, staring at Gabriel and Emilie in confusion.

"But then… who paid…?"

"Adrien and his family decided to split the cost and they each gave you a third of their remaining lifeforce!" Tikki said, hugging her former owner's cheek as soon as Adrien released her. "It's something we haven't tried before, but it worked!"

Marinette blinked, staring at her former foe. "Oh. I—I really don't know what to say. Thank you."

"Thank you, Marinette," Gabriel said, nodding at her gruffly.

"And welcome to the family!" Emilie added.

"Dinner is ready," Gabriel reminded them all, stepping into the room again, Tom right behind him. "Shall we?"

"Ready, Marinette?" Adrien asked, grabbing her hand as they followed the adults into the dining room.

His mother, however, was not quite done yet.

"Hang on, you two!" she ordered, as they stepped into the doorway. The teenagers froze. Emilie chuckled and pointed above their heads.

Mistletoe.

Their faces both went white.

"Mo-om," Adrien whined.

"Ah ah ah," she said, waggling her finger at them and trying not to laugh as Marinette went through several shades of red. "It's tradition."

"You are not even trying to be subtle," Gabriel murmured into her hair, she could feel his silent laughter.

"Subtle is for sissies," she whispered back. She cleared her throat and looked pointedly at the two teenagers. A couple more minutes of blushing and stammering, and they finally gave each other a quick peck on the cheek.

Emilie was not impressed.

"You got anymore Miraculouses?" she hissed at her husband as Tom and Sabine welcomed and cooed over the still-blushing young couple. "This is gonna be harder than I thought."

"We'll think of something," Gabriel chuckled. They joined the rest of their family.

"… Although it's been said many times, many ways: Merry Christmas to you."

…End.