Chapter Ten: Laughing All The Way.

Cold weather and bugs do not mix. Or do they?

"This is so much fun!"

Marinette laughed at Tikki's excited squeal as they zipped around the ice rink. They were both red cheeked from the chill and breathless from excitement and having the time of their lives.

She had never been this graceful on the ice before, though that implied her current skills were beautifully controlled (which they weren't as she proved by immediately tripping over her own feet and hitting the ice with a shriek), so this was obviously one of the benefits that being Ladybug had brought into her life. She was still clumsy at times, but she was more comfortable in her own skin and more sure of herself, so naturally some of her heroic grace would transfer over.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Tikki. Do you want to go again?"

"Can we get hot chocolate instead? Pretty please?"

"Of course!"

Marinette hopped off the ice rink and handed her skates back in, glad that her newfound grace helped her to do that without tripping over again. She just wished that her agility was the only thing that had transferred over from the miraculous. Why did she have to get cold susceptibility too? She couldn't remember being this cold in winter before - and the worst weather was yet to come.

She bought two large hot chocolates from the kiosk and grabbed a straw on her way to the seating area. Marinette made sure to find the most secluded corner of the stadium she could and set one of the hot chocolates on the bench next to her, hidden behind her bag. Tikki immediately dove out of her coat, grabbed the straw, and started slurping her drink up as fast as she could.

Marinette giggled even as she took a long drink of her own hot chocolate, letting the drink warm her from within. "Tell me it won't be this bad next year? Please?" Marinette groaned when Tikki's answer was a sheepish grin. "Please don't tell me I'm going to hibernate or anything silly like that."

"Well, not hibernate exactly-" Tikki paused and wiped some whipped cream off her cheeks "-but we'll both be getting sleepier in the colder weather. A little more sluggish too. But plenty of warmth will fix that, lots of blankets and hot chocolate, and snuggly jumpers and hot water bottles too - and the miraculous magic means you'll barely notice it in a fight. It'll all work out fine, trust me."

Marinette was about to argue before she remembered going up against Stormy Weather. Paris had been one giant ice cube by the end of that fight, but while Marinette had been chilled to the bone before she transformed Ladybug had still been able to fight as normal. She'd put it down to the adrenaline of the fight, but miraculous magic was as good an explanation.

Still, it wasn't fair that she would feel so cold for months on end! Marinette pouted and slouched down in her chair, finished her hot chocolate. "Chat had better have some side effect too."

"Don't worry, he does."

"Really?"

"Yep!" Tikki grinned and brushed a bit of whipped cream off her nose. "But I think it will be more fun if you discover them for yourself!"

"Tikki!"

Author's note: As you can see, Plagg didn't need to be worried about Tikki at all. Not with hot chocolate readily available! Thank you to everyone for your get well soon wishes. I promise I'm fine and taking it easy. The hubby is fine and the sproglet is getting better. Writing this is fun for me, not taxing, but if I need to take a day off to rest and recover or tend to the sproglet then I will. Right now I'm typing this up with a hot cuppa and Christmas tunes on the radio so this is wonderful for me. I hope you're all going into the weekend in happy moods too. Finally, my usual reminder that I have not seen all of season 2 or season 3 of Miraculous Ladybug, so please do not spoil it for me.

Replies to reviews:

frustration - I'm glad you like the fluff, I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.

KayKay0606 - can you blame him? He's stuck in the cold and missing Tikki, anyone would be cranky in his shoes. I hope you liked this chapter.

yellow14 - well if you want to avoid Christmas songs you're in the wrong place I'm afraid. There's plenty in this story and I blast them 24/7 at home. Oops? Glad you like grumpy Plagg, he'll be making a few more appearances.

CrystalKaouri - oh that sounds stunning! I'd love to live in such a picturesque place, all I can see out of my windows is brickwork. Grumpy Plagg will make a few more appearances, but there's a reason for his mood. Other than the cold of course.