The lights—and the heat—had finally returned. Of course, Adrien and Marinette were both sound asleep, far too tired to have noticed.
Plagg snorted, as he zipped out of the tiny drawer and off towards the door to escape the room. "They are so dumb. The pair of them."
Tikki was right on his heels. At least until she veered over towards the light switch. "Plagg," Tikki whispered wearily, switching off the light switch before their charges could awaken. "They've both had a long day. Just let them sleep and help me turn this light off…"
"What's in it for me?"
Tikki rolled her eyes. "The wedge of emergency Camembert she's got stuck in her bag downstairs."
"Works for me," Plagg confirmed, before throwing his weight in.
With the switch finally off, and the rest of the staff—even the janitors—safely away for the evening, the pair of Kwami swept downstairs.
Tikki slipped into Marinette's locker, snagging the cheese from the tiny pouch in her bag.
"Won't she notice?" Plagg hungrily snatched the morsel from her.
"Of course," Tikki's chirp echoed against the metal lockers in the otherwise silent room. "Then again, she's been been suspecting that your chosen is the real Chat Noir for a few weeks now."
Plagg cackled.
"What?" Tikki frowned, definitely not quite expecting the depths of Plagg's ill humor. "Plagg! It's not that funny."
"Oh, no." He whispered, a nub-like paw wiping tears from his eyes. "It's funnier."
Tikki's own paws crossed over her chest, looking every bit of her part of Ladybug. "Enlighten me."
"Pigtails fooled him once, but not before the kid figured it out." Plagg smirked. "My kitten has been a whole new level of smitten ever since."
"Oh?" Tikki leaned in, nubs pressed together in half hopeful prayer.
"Smitten enough that he didn't think she was Ladybug…"
Impossibly, Tikki's celestial blue eyes widened in the dark. "He figured out she was Marinette?"
Plagg smugly took a massive gulp of his cheese, nodding as he noisily gnoshed. "Maybe even before she figured him out."
Tikki's smirked evenly matched his. "You know what this means, don't you?"
Plagg blinked widely. "Aside from endless amusement—and more than our fair share of heartburn while they simper and sigh at each other?"
"No, silly." Tikki's grin widened. "Two things: one of them is bound to stumble onto the truth sooner or later."
Plagg snorted. "Unlikely. What's the other?"
Tikki rubbed her tiny paws maniacally. "We need photographic evidence."
"So we get Marinette's phone?"
"No…" Tikki mused. "If Adrien has figured out she's Marinette and her phone suddenly appeared, it would be way too suspicious…"
"So we grab his?" Plagg's brows furrowed. "I dunno. Adrien is already going to be irritated that I snuck off."
Tikki scoffed airily, darting with a purposes to the men's locker rooms down the hall. "Something tells me he won't be. Especially after he sees this little souvenir."
Alya's fingertips tapped across the table in a satisfying rhythm. Nearly all of her presents were wrapped and hidden away at her parent's house.
She was just down to this last one.
Leaning into Nino's legs as he sat in front of the couch beside her, Alya debated over which pictures to use for the collage laid out on the low coffee table in front of them.
She picked up one of the two final contenders, and held it up to Nino so she could get a second opinion. "How about this one to go in the collage?"
"For Adrien?" Nino's brows rose as he tugged the headphones away from his ears.
Alya nodded, smiling over at him. She tugged the blanket covering her legs, bundling herself more tightly beneath the coffee table.
He wrapped an arm about her shoulders, and her left hand rose to rub his arm fondly.
With an answering grin, Nino snuck in to press a soft kiss to her cheek before looking down. With a frown, he inspected the array of pictures she'd set on the table in front of him. "I thought you had decided on that one?"
He tapped on the photo in question—one of the candid shots she'd captured of Marinette at work as the Department store Ladybug. Her expression was soft and warm, as she gazed at Chat Noir who was just out of frame.
"I mean, I like it." Alya sighed, leaning back against him. "But maybe I'm not the best judge of what might appeal to your best bro."
"You could always do both." Nino shrugged. "I know he's a massive Ladybug fanboy, but otherwise, your guess is as good as mine, Babe."
Alya grinned. "I know. It's just absolutely a bonus to me that this one is really Marinette."
Nino chuckled, pressing a kiss to her cheek before turning back to the stove. "You haven't given up hope on that?"
She snorted, eyes narrowing as she peered back up at him over her shoulder. "When have I ever given up on anything? So, maybe the water has been a little choppy, but the waves have yet to topple my ship."
His smiled lingered, though she knew the words that were bound to trip over those lips. She'd heard them often enough before.
And so, she beat him to the punch. "I'm just amazed they both keep ending up single, and nothing ever seems to come of it."
Nino sighed. "You know that Adrien's Dad did an awful lot of damage."
"He's needed a friend, and Marinette has done so well with that. The only problem is that it's next to impossible to get them in the same room with their crazy schedules."
"Speaking of…"
"Hm?" She leaned back, looking up at him.
"Did we get them both to confirm they could come over tomorrow night?"
Nino shook his head, rubbing his hand over his face. His brows drew together as he pulled up the last unanswered message left up on the screen of his phone "Adrien has been a little preoccupied lately. I know his usual schedule and he actually hasn't outright committed to any plans… at least not any that he wanted to share."
Neither of them really wanted Adrien to be alone. She'd heard Adrien had gotten some secret modelling gig that was busy this winter—probably for something due out in the spring.
He had grown far more quiet and withdrawn, especially after his Father was quietly retired under a heavy veil of secrecy last year.
The rest of Paris might have been safely in the dark, but they both had both been there, battling beside Ladybug when the final battle went down...
Watching as Hawkmoth was unmasked as Adrien's own Father.
Alya nibbled at her lip, watching Nino pace the length of the apartment as she fired off her own message to Marinette.
By the time they both had cuddled up into bed, the worry on Nino's face hadn't exactly subsided.
Since neither of their best friends were answering their phones, they hadn't been able to confirm that they'd be showing up for Christmas Night.
"Aren't you worried about Marinette?" Nino murmured, tugging her close beneath the blanket.
"Honestly?" Alya snorted, setting her glasses, and then phone, down on the bedside table. "Not that much. For all the years I've known her, she just does that sometimes. Besides, I know she had her last shift at the mall earlier. And I'm not all that surprised—she'd be busy. Especially if she still was being super flirty with the hot Chat Noir actor she was working with."
Nino frowned in confusion. "I thought the whole point was to try and hook her up with Adrien…"
Alya shrugged. "Girl could use a bit more confidence in herself. I can't help but remember all the stammering from her in lycée around Adrien. And you've seen the pictures: tell me she didn't have this guy wrapped around her pinky finger." She laughed. "If Adrien's as into Ladybug as you think—and especially considering who he has dated? Confidence would be a perfect look on Marinette to catch his eye…"
Nino chuckled, cuddling closer to her beneath the covers, a little extra warmth against the questionable strength of the furnace that was struggling to heat their flat. "So you're saying it's just a bonus if Adrien finally gets a wake up call."
Alya preened, wrapping her own arms over his. "Exactly. Not that much can happen in one night."
When Adrien finally woke up, he felt extremely disoriented.
He wasn't sure what had woken him. Though his eyes were still closed, he could tell the room was dark—far darker than he was used to, so it wasn't daylight that roused him. Maybe it was the warmth, the gentle rush of the heater working overtime to fill the room. But it was clear soon enough that it wasn't the only reason he'd felt so hot, after the slight resettling of weight on his chest.
That, too, was unusual.
He frowned to himself as he realized his eyes were gritty from dryness, and they were slightly burning. Adrien blinked, letting his eyes water a bit to soothe the discomfort.
The next thing he was aware of was the familiar feel of a mask on his face. It wasn't the easy covering of his transformation. The stiff fabric was a little itchy against his cheeks and, as he dared to open his eyes slightly, he confirmed to himself it was slightly askew.
His bare fingertips brushed gently against a pair of pigtails, mentally connecting the spots…
He drew his hand away from her hair, carefully resting it ever so gently on her back. Savoring the soft rise and fall of her back beneath his fingertips.
But otherwise, he didn't dare move.
Mentally, Adrien took stock, as the events of the night prior started to permeate his sleep fogged brain. He was thankful he'd thought to tuck his contacts into the suit pocket right before they'd fallen asleep. But there was no telling if they'd held up...or even if he could put them back in safely without rinsing them in solution.
He dared to open his eyes a little, peering down to see if he might be able to recover them.
Of course, Marinette's head was nuzzled to his chest half atop that pocket.
He inhaled sharply, anxious fear slipping in. There was no telling how long it might take for Plagg to come back—or if someone had managed to get the door open...
With a barely audible grumble, she'd cuddled into him more tightly, her legs tangling with his.
Adrien gulped, growing as still as possible as his face only warmed all the more.
It wasn't like he could ever tell Marinette just how often he'd been inside her room, but he could vividly recall the large cat pillow on her bed.
Biting his lip to keep from laughing at the absurdity, Adrien let his eyes slip closed. Right now, he was a little more to her than a living, breathing cat-pillow…
Adrien smiled, peering down at her.
Her pigtails were mussed, slipping free of the Ladybug outfit's sleek perfection. One of the locks that had come loose was tickling his nose.
He was even pretty sure she might have even drooled a bit on him. Not that she could help it of course, and he found that he didn't mind all that much. Holding Marinette like this, in his arms… this might be the last time he could really count on her letting him get this close.
It was taking every spare ounce of control from him to stifle the instinct to purr contentedly.
Sighing softly, Adrien closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep a little longer. All so she would sleep a little longer, too.
So he could savor it for just as long as possible.
Awareness—like the warmth from the room—eventually seeped back into Marinette's mind.
She stretched out.
Until she'd heard the grunt coming from beneath her.
Panicked, her eyes flew open, gazing into soft green eyes.
Marinette was a bit breathless, stunned with the realization she must have she'd buried her fingers into his hair during the night. She scrambled back contritely, situating herself on his legs and forcing the offending fingers into her lap.
Embarrassed as she was that she'd clearly been petting his hair, it only locked up the certainty in her mind. That was definitely his own hair, not a wig, which meant it was only even more likely that this was Chat Noir...
Marinette blushed, drawing up her knees to her chest. It wasn't like she hadn't seen his eyes before. She'd technically seen them when he'd played at acting as Mister Bug, but she wasn't paying that close attention to them.
But now? She had been staring him in the face at all-too-close range.
When she dared to look back over, it was clear he was just as affected.
She looked back, noting his ring. It was odd; his actual miraculous appeared active—if anything, it seemed almost a little more fake at the moment to match…
He breathed a real sigh of relief, as he stood, fixing his mask and running his fingers through his hair. He must have taken the same sort of extra camouflaging precautions with Plagg that she'd done with Tikki.
Sitting up, she slipped onto the couch beside him and smiled. Clever Kitty.
"Huh…" She murmured, peering back over the couch towards the door. "There's a phone…"
"Oh!" Chat Noir blanched, picking it up.
Marinette blinked, piecing the puzzle together. It must be his. She detected Plagg's hand in it… "I wonder if someone came in?"
"They must have…" Chat peered over at the door speculatively, before rushing over to check the lock. He frowned as the bolt still seemed firmly in place. "Must have locked behind them."
She rested her head atop her arm over the back of the couch. "Is your phone working?"
He looked relieved she wasn't questioning it. Or getting weirded out that someone had come in while they both slept.
Of course, she couldn't very well tell him just how used she was to having a Kwami living (and sleeping) next to her.
"Let me send something to the manager..."
After a few short phone calls, the pair of them walked free of the little room.
Grabbing their few belongings, they walked out the door and down the stairs, free of their roles and responsibilities as Santa's helpers.
"Hey…" He offered his hand as he paused on the landing between floors. Those oddly familiar green eyes beneath the mask were now clearly anxious. "Do you maybe… want to meet up? After everything is done today?"
She nibbled at her lip, placing her hand in his. Like she had done so many times before. "Maybe."
Chat Noir smiled. "What about something simple? Like coffee. Or maybe some pastries?"
Marinette blinked, tearing her eyes away from him. "How will we find one another?"
Chat Noir beamed, tapping his cell phone. "I could always give you my email address…"
She shook her head. "I mean...yeah, but how are we going to manage to spot one another, outside of these masks."
Blinking, Chat Noir looked around for inspiration. His eyes widened as he pointed to her sweaters. "What about these?"
Marinette looked suspicious...but not entirely surprised. "So the store didn't really buy them, huh?"
Chat smirked. "What do you think?"
Marinette grinned back at him. "I think that they might work…"