So I know technically the Christmas special happened between seasons 1 and 2 but I do what I want. Also as always, there will be some slight differences between this than in the show, the major one being the singing. Lol I don't mind musical episodes but writing them is silly to me. A little bit is no big deal but the whole chapter? Eh. Also idk what time it is supposed to be during this episode. It's evening the whole time, which is fine, but then when Adrien is out, a bell sounds and he announces to Plagg that it's Christmas. That to me would mean that up until that moment it was Christmas eve, making it around midnight. And everyone is up like it's only 7:30 or something lol. To make it even more silly, in the end, they have everyone who was looking for him show up and they all have dinner or something together? I'm sorry what? Is it not like 3 am? Ugh, so Imma just set these clocks back so it hopefully makes more sense.
After this comes the season 3 final Hearthunter and Miracle Queen which I have not decided if I will be making one big chapter or two separate ones. However, what I do know is it's gonna be sad as fuck. For most, save a few characters. But for me the writer and you the reader, it will be pretty sad. Anyway, happy holidays everyone!
OoOoOoOo
To my wife and daughter,
Merry Christmas. I'm sorry if these letters have caught you both by surprise. There is just so much more I have to say. I know you thought I was done giving advice, but I couldn't leave without reiterating a few things in writing. You may not relate to these things now, but someday you will. I wasn't able to be around forever, but I hope that my words can be.
-Don't stop making lasagna. lasagna is good. Wait until a day when there is no bad news, and bake a damn lasagna.
-Find a balance between head and heart. Hopefully, you've found that Moni, and you can help Lu sort it out when she gets to that point.
-Push your boundaries, that's what they're there for.
-I'm stealing this snippet from one of our favorite bands, Moni. "Always remember there is nothing worth sharing, like the love that let us share our name."
-Don't take life too seriously. Punch it in the face when it needs a good hit. Laugh at it.
-And Laugh a lot. Never go a day without laughing at least once.
-Never judge others. You both know good and well how unexpected events can change who a person is. Always keep that in mind. You never know what someone else is experiencing within their own life.
-Question everything. Your love, your religion, your passions. If you don't have questions, you'll never find answers.
-Be accepting. Of everything. People's differences, their similarities, their choices, their personalities. Sometimes it takes a variety to make a good collection. The same goes for people.
-Choose your battles, but don't choose very many.
-Keep an open mind; it's the only way new things can get in.
-And last but not least, not the tiniest bit least. Never regret.
Thank you both for giving me the best years of my life.
Especially the last one.
Love,
Dad
OoOoOOOO
Christmas. A time for togetherness, food, and gift-giving. You decorate your home with lights and a big tree, drink an overabundance of hot chocolate, and watch your favorite Christmas cliché theme movies that you under no circumstance would watch during any other point in the year. Tis the season for this reason. Unfortunately, not everyone can be so fortunate in feeling the holly jolly effects that the holiday tried so hard to spread. For some, it was a reminder of things lost that not even Santa could replace. The holiday season is a time for storytelling, and whether you are hearing the story of a candelabra staying lit for more than a week, or a baby born in a barn without proper medical supervision, these stories often feature miracles. Miracles are like pimples, because once you start looking for them you find more than you ever dreamed you'd see, and this holiday story features any number of miracles, depending on your point of view.
Lucy stood in front of their Christmas tree, fiddling with one of the ornaments. On the tree was a bunch of your average bulbs but mixed in were the sentimental ones. Baby's first Christmas, anniversary ornaments, and school crafts. The one currently being examined by Lucy was three little penguins in a group hug with her, and her parents' names on it.
"Hun, can you give me a hand?!" Lucy jumped at the sound of her mother's voice from the kitchen, knocking the ornament from its place on the tree and falling to the ground with a small crash. "What was that?"
Lucy cursed under her breath as she picked up the pieces of the ornament that now seemed to more accurately represent her broken family. Her father's penguin now missing half his head while jagged cracks spread through the other two penguins still left somewhat intact. She brought the pieces to the kitchen and showed her mother who awed sadly at the sight. Lucy moved to the garbage and stepped on the floor pedal that opened the lid and prepared to discard the trinket only for her mother to stop her.
"What are you doing?" Monica stopped stirring her cookie batter.
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Mom, it's broken."
"Put it on the counter. Nothin' a little glue won't fix." Lucy shrugged her shoulders and placed the pieces on the counter. She was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell herself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken - and she'd rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places.
"Here, you take over the cookie dough, and I'll handle the ornament." Her mother said, handing over the bowl. "The lasagna is almost done. We can pull it out and replace it with the cookies." Lucy took the cookie mix and brought it to another counter area before grabbing out some baking sheets. As she began rolling the dough into balls, Lucy glanced back at her mother who stood very carefully trying to put back together the pieces of her family.
OoOoOoOoO
In his own home, Adrien was placing finishing touches on the large Christmas tree with Nathalie that had been set up in the foyer of his home.
"Check it out, Nathalie. Do you think he will like all the decorations?" As Adrien's bodyguard comes in through the front door, Adrien can't help but frown. "He should be down here already. Did you call him?"
Nathalie sighs. She hated seeing Adrien like this but she also knew Gabriel was struggling today. "Perhaps we should give him... a few more minutes."
Adrien looks down disappointed. "What's the point? He's not coming." Before Adrien can walk away his bodyguard gives him a present. One he had been given by a girl in Adrien's class when he had stopped in the local bakery. Adrien thanks him and makes his way upstairs to his room but not before telling the two staff members Merry Christmas. As he leaves, Nathalie makes her way to Gabriel's office and knocks on the door.
"Yes?" He calls out. Nathalie enters the room and finds Gabriel staring at the large painting he had of his wife. The one that was also the secret entrance to her whereabouts.
"I can imagine how difficult it must be for you, sir. But it's also Adrien's first Christmas without his mother. I really think, sir..."
"I know," Gabriel stopped her. "you're right. I'll go see him. I just need a little more time."
"Of course." Nathalie leaves and Gabriel closes his eyes. His fists and jaw clench as he internally fights. He fights to keep it together. Suffering is one very long moment. We cannot divide it by seasons. We can only record its moods and chronicle their return. With us, time itself does not progress. It revolves. It seems to circle around one center of pain. He fights what he considers his disability. The thing the keeps him locked away from the outside world as much as possible. The disability that pushes him. The disability is not outwardly seen but strikes his mind. A disability that is not apparent in the person's appearance is no less intrusive, no less painful, no less disturbing than one that can be spotted across the room. And, yet, many people fail to respect the tremendous impact that the invisible disability has on the human enduring it.
He needed to be strong. For himself, for his son, for her. A person gains strength, courage, and confidence from every experience in which makes them stop and look fear in the face. They are able to say, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Gabriel sighed to himself. It never seemed to get any easier.
OoOoOo
Upstairs, all Adrien could seem to feel was rage. He accepted that everyone grieved differently. He understood and accepted that on a regular basis, his father had turned to a life of solitude to deal with his loss. But today. Today was one of those days that for a moment Adrien had thought that maybe, just maybe, his father would think to himself: "I am in pain, perhaps my son is too." Yet, here he was again, alone. Always alone.
"He is still only thinking of himself!" Adrien raged to Plagg. "I just want this terrible day to be over with! I hate Christmas!" Before Plagg could even attempt to comfort the boy, Adrien called claws out and transformed into Chat Noir. He climbed out of his bedroom window and ran into the night. His throat burned as he tried to force his feelings down. He missed her so much he wanted to die: a hard, physical longing, like a craving for air underwater. As he jumped from building to building, he tried to recall all his best memories of her—to freeze her in his mind so he wouldn't forget her—but instead of birthdays and happy times he kept remembering things like how a few days before she was gone she'd stopped him halfway out the door to pick a thread off his jacket. For some reason, it was one of the clearest memories he had of her: her knitted eyebrows, the precise gesture of her reaching out to him, everything. The sound of her voice speaking clearly in his head, remarks she might conceivably have made at some point but that he didn't actually remember, things like "Throw me an apple, would you?" and "I wonder if this buttons up the front or the back?" and "This sofa is in a terrible state of disreputableness."
As he came across the large decorated tree in the center of a shopping area, Chat called his cataclysm. He wanted to destroy it. He wanted to strike it down as if doing so would somehow make him feel better. As if Christmas and that tree were the cause of his pain and getting rid of it would cure him of his sadness and his rage. Yet, as he ran up to the tree, ready to strike, the image of his mother flashed before his eyes and he couldn't do it. His mother loved Christmas and she loved this stupid tree. Every year she would take him to come to see it the day it was put up. Destroying something he knew his mother loved...it felt like he would be destroying a piece of her too. There was no way he could do that. Instead, he looked around for something else to inflict his power on, his eyes landing on an advertisement. Not just any of course. His advertisement. Radiant, carefree, dreamy, Adrien. Chat growled as he brought his palm to it and just like that, it was dust.
Detransforming, Adrien shivered at the feelings of cold winter air hitting his skin. Plagg, now exhausted from his power being used, wouldn't be able to transform Adrien to get home. Adrien apologized to his kwami for being so careless and not remembering to bring any cheese with him. He pulled out the gift his bodyguard had given to him before he had gone upstairs, having not taken the time to put it down before he left. Opening it, he finds a decorated Santa hat and a note signed merry Christmas from Marinette.
"Awesome! Thank you, Marinette!" Adrien spoke aloud before placing Plagg inside the brim. "We're going to fix you right up, Plagg!" He stands up and the letter falls to the ground forgotten as Adrien begins to try and make his way home.
OoOoOOo
The sound of her phone ringing awoke Lucy. She blinked a few times, the sound of a scene from the movie "Elf" playing in the background becoming more coherent. Picking up her phone, Lucy sees an unknown number on her screen and debates if she should answer it or not. Hesitantly, she swipes the talk symbol and places the phone to her ear.
"Hello?" Her voice comes out raspy as she attempts to clear it.
"Hello, Lucy? It's Nathalie. We've met a few times, I'm-"
"Mr. Agreste's assistant. Yeah, I remember." Lucy tells her while bringing the phone away from her ear a moment and squinting at the time, reading 6:45 pm. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"I hope so. Is Adrien with you by any chance?" Sitting up, Lucy taps her mother who had dozed off at the other end of the couch with her foot.
"Adrien? No, he isn't here. Have you tried his friend Nino?"
"Yes, and several others. I'm going down a list. So far no one has seen him. His father is very concerned. Please let us know if you hear from him alright?"
"Right, yes, of course."
"Thank you."
The call ended and Lucy's mother knitted her brows together. "Do you think he ran away?"
"I don't know. I don't think so, but maybe we should go look for him." Monica nodded and the two women got up from the couch and grabbed their coats and boots before heading right out the front door.
OoOoOoOoOoooO
"Don't worry, Plagg, I'll find you something to eat. I can't promise it'll be Camembert." Adrien told his kwami as they made their way down another street. In the distance, Adrien spotted a Santa handing out presents to a couple of kids.
"Ho, ho, ho! No need to grab now, children. Good old Santa Claus has a gift for everyone."
The children sneered at the Santa. "These gifts are so lame, and I bet this is totally fake!" The little girl mocked as she gabs at his beard.
"Hey! Easy on the beard!" Santa complains as the little boy throws a snowball at him, knocking off his hat.
"Yeah! Totally. No way you're the real Santa Claus!" Adrien frowned at the sight and made his way over to the children and scolded them.
"Hey! What's wrong with you? Even if he's not the real one, what would Santa think of your behavior?" A man, who Adrien could only assume was the children's father nodded in agreement.
"The young man's absolutely right. Kids, say sorry right now."
The kids pouted. "Sorry, Santa Claus."
"It's no big deal, children." The Santa said, mildly annoyed with the encounter. "Merry Christmas anyway."
" I'm sorry, Sir, are you okay?" Adrien asked, earning a warm smile from the Santa.
"I'm fine. Don't worry, I'm a tough old Santa. But, what are you doing out at this time of night? Are you lost? You're not exactly dressed for the cold weather." He said, noting Adrien's lack of coat and placing a red blanket around his shoulders. "Maybe you'd like some hot chocolate, I've got some left."
Adrien smiles at him gratefully. "Yeah, I'd love some, Sir doesn't get much better than that." Plagg pops his head out of the hat and clears his throat to remind Adrien of his need for food. "Except maybe a slice of Camembert?"
"Oh you're in luck!" The Santa tells him. "I've still got some sandwich leftover. This is some of the smelliest cheese I've ever come across." He hands Adrien the cheese and as Santa puts away his sandwich Adrien hands the slice to Plagg.
"Hmm, that smells… perfect."
"To each it's own." Santa laughs. The two get into his sleigh and sip some hot chocolate. "So you're not lost then, I hope."
Adrien sighs and looks down. "It's my first Christmas without my mom, sir. And my father…"
"Doesn't know how to move on? I understand. But your dad must be wondering where you are, you know. He must be very worried about you. Now that you've gotten out of the house and cleared your thoughts a bit, don't you think it'd be a good idea to go home?"
Adrien smiles at Santa. "Yeah, you're right."
"Atta boy, that's what Christmas is all about. Families together. I'll take you there on my sleigh!" Santa put his hat on only for snow to come out and onto his head. Adrien chuckles a little and had Plagg leave the hat and go into his shirt before taking the hat off and handing it to Santa.
"Alright, but you put this on. The friend who gave it to me would want you to have it."
"A present, for me?" Santa asks.
"Everyone deserves a Christmas present," Adrien tells him. Santa smiles.
"Thanks a lot, son." As Santa is about to pull off, two voices calling out stop him.
"Adrien!" They call, getting the boy to look past Santa and down the street. Squinting he spots two figures making their way towards him.
"Lucy?" Adrien asks aloud.
"Seems perhaps your father isn't the only one worried about you," Santa commented as the two women approach the sleigh.
"There you are!" Monica quipped. "We've been looking all over for you!"
"Me? Why?" Adrien questions with a raised eyebrow.
"Dude, you're dad had Nathalie call literally everyone you know looking for you. The man has half of Paris looking for your ass!"
"I was just about to escort the boy home. You are more than welcome to hop in and join us ladies." Santa explains. The two blondes shrug and get into the sleigh. Lucy takes a seat beside Adrien while her mother sits across from them. Without another word, Santa sets off.
"What were you doing out here?" Monica asks. "You don't even have a coat on!"
Adrien laughs nervously. "It was kind of an impulsive decision. I was upset with my father...I wasn't thinking clearly."
Monica frowned. "What did he do this time?" She asked but Adrien shook his head.
"He didn't do anything...not really. He just..."A sigh escapes his lips. "It's my first Christmas without..."
"Oh, sweetheart," Monica murmured. "We understand." It was at that moment that Adrien brought his attention to Lucy who had stayed silent beside him. Her eyes were fixated on the empty seat in front of her as she looked lost in thought. For a second he had forgotten. He wasn't the only one with a broken family this Christmas. Adrien took his hand and brought it to Lucy's and gave it a squeeze, gaining the girl's attention. She brought her eyes to him and gave a light smile, squeezing his hand back. Monica looked between the two teenagers and tilted her head slightly in thought. A smile of her own ghosted across her lips. Feeling eyes on them, Adrien glanced over to see the knowing look on Monica's face and flushed, clearing his throat and pulling away from Lucy carefully, who seemed unfazed.
"How about you, sir? Where will you be celebrating Christmas?" Adrien asked Santa who glanced back over his shoulder.
"Me? I have all of Paris. The whole world even! Ho, ho, ho!"
"All by yourself, huh? Okay, here's what we're gonna do. Take me back home and have Christmas with us! I need you to bring the Christmas spirit back into our home." Santa looks uncertain at first but then nods.
"All right then. But I can't stay for too long, you do know that Santa's very busy at Christmas time." It didn't take long before they pulled up in front of the Agreste mansion and everyone exited the sleigh. Adrien goes and rings the doorbell to him home and the camera shoots out. His father's voice comes out of the intercom at first sounding relieved until noticing Santa behind him.
"Adrien, is that you? Who are you?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Santa went. "I'm Santa Claus!"
"Really now? That would make me the Easter Bunny. You're here for money, I suppose? I'll get my bodyguard to deal with you."
"No, you're wrong, father!" Adrien argues only for Ladybug to appear beside them, ready to attack.
"No, he's not. Your father's got the right idea. He's a supervillain under Hawk Moth's control."
Lucy lets out a hearty laugh before it immediately dies down. "Are you serious?"
"What?" Adrien asks, surprised Ladybug would jump to such a conclusion.
"You're all totally crazy!" Santa shouts, dashing for his sleigh.
"No, Ladybug stop! That man hasn't been akumatized!" Adrien tries to reason but Ladybug only smirks at him.
"I know when I'm looking at an akuma victim, trust me." Lucy gapes at Ladybug.
"Are you high? Have you never seen a mall Santa? Akuma victims always look like custom skin video game characters! That is so obviously just a guy! He gave us a ride!"
"C'mon!" Santa shouts to his deer to get away from Ladybug. The hero shakes her head at Lucy.
"I found remains of Chat Noir's cataclysm earlier. He had you fooled. Whatever he brought Adrien home for was not out of the goodness of his heart. Don't worry, you're safe now. Go home. All of you." Ladybug told them before going after Santa.
"No, wait!"
"Adrien!" Nathalie called out as she and his bodyguard come out to get him. As they approach, Nathalie places her hands on Adrien's shoulders. "We have been worried." Her eyes shoot up to Monica and Lucy. "Thank you for finding him and getting him home safe."
"Of course," Monica began. "But really, that man, the Santa? He really was just trying to be nice and give us a ride."
Nathalie hummed in response. "I suppose it doesn't matter now. Come inside, I'll call you a taxi home."
Inside Adrien takes Lucy's hand and begins to pull her along with him up the stairs.
"Where are you going, Adrien?" Nathalie calls, only to have Adrien look at her from over his shoulder with agitation.
"To my room, of course, I figured Lucy could keep me company until their taxi gets here since my father isn't celebrating Christmas."
"Of course he is Adrien. Your father came to see you earlier, but you'd gone out. I'll tell him that you're waiting for him." Nathalie taps his bodyguard, signaling him to follow the teens. "Just making sure you'll stay in your room this time."
"Yeah, okay." Lucy looks to her mother who waves them off casually, following Nathalie to the phone. Once upstairs, Adrien took a seat on his couch with Lucy following suit.
"So, what shall we do while we wait?" Lucy asked, leaning back against the couch. Adrien shrugged sadly. Lucy scooted closer to him and brought her chin to his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him, her hands resting on his other shoulder loosely. "You wanna talk about it?"
Adrien sighed and shook his head. "What's there to talk about? My mother is gone and due to my father having no care for anyone's pain but his own, I am now forced to go through this Christmas, and every Christmas after alone. Like an orphan...or a stray...cat."
Lucy hummed. "How about, hey Lucy, Christmas without my mom really sucks, how are you doing without your dad?"
The guilt Adrien had for once again getting so absorbed in his own self-pity was an ocean he might one day drown in. Being hurt inevitably breeds feelings of hatred towards your attacker. But when we hurt others, we have to deal with their hatred for us, and our own feelings of guilt. Knowing what it feels like to be hurt is exactly why we try to be kind to others. That's what makes us humans.
"I'm sorry Lucy, I'm so in my own head, I didn't-"
"It's alright Adrien," Lucy told him, pulling away slowly. As she did Adrien immediately missed the warmth of her.
"How are you?" He asked and Lucy pulled her knees to her chest.
"Been better. But, you know."
"I do." He confirmed. "Wanna play some video games? Maybe it will get our minds off it."
Lucy nodded. "Yeah, sure."
OoOOOoOoO
Monica had the door slammed in her face when she tried to follow Nathalie into Gabriel's office. She rolled her eyes and turned around, wondering back into the main hall. She could have called for a ride herself. She did have her cellphone after all. The blonde woman was even about to say as much before being so rudely shut out by Nathalie. Monica gazed up at the large portrait of Gabriel and Adrien and frowned. Adrien looked terribly sad and although Gabriel seemed to hold his usual gaze of authority, there seemed to be a sadness that he too, carried in his eyes. When they spoke about his wife, he had been quite furious with her, but his anger had only been a layer that Monica had found herself able to see through quite clearly. She was familiar with that look. She had seen it a number of times in the mirror, and occasionally, on her daughter's face.
It's easy to look at people and make quick judgments about them, their present, and their past, but you'd be amazed at the pain and tears a single smile hides. What a person shows to the world is only one tiny facet of the iceberg hidden from sight. And more often than not, it's lined with cracks and scars that go all the way to the foundation of their soul. Do you know what hurts so very much? It's love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked that means pain. There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill that love so that it stops hurting. But then, of course, part of us dies, too. Or we can look for another route for that love to travel. It was unfortunate how many people failed to find the latter.
OooOoOOOoO
A knock at the door, made Lucy and Adrien pause their game. They turned to find Lucy's mother standing in the doorway.
"Cabs here hun." She said. Lucy turned to Adrien and handed him the controller. He took it and sighed, closing his eyes, upset to see her go. Lucy brought a warm hand to his face and Adrien opened his eyes to see her smiling softly at him. She brought her face towards his and Adrien stiffened slightly as she placed a kiss on his head. Pulling away she remained smiling.
"Merry Christmas Adrien," Lucy told him getting up from the couch. "And try and stop by tomorrow so you can get your present. If not, I'll just give it to you on Monday." Adrien nodded silently as he watched Lucy walk over to her mother who also smiled at the boy.
"Merry Christmas, Sweetheart." Her mother said, blowing him a quick kiss. Adrien swallowed as he weakly returned the smile.
"Merry Christmas mo...Monica. Merry Christmas Lucy. I'll try and see you tomorrow."
The two left and Adrien sunk in his couch, gloominess casting over him. He wondered what it would be like to spend Christmas at Lucy's home. They obviously have their own family member to grieve, but at least they have each other. Adrien couldn't put much thought into it as suddenly an actual akumatized Santa flew through his window. Adrien's bodyguard stepped in front of him, ready to defend when the Santa tossed him a gift that then exploded into spiders. The bodyguard, now covered in creepy crawlies dashed for the door, and if Adrien wasn't a braver person, he might have been a little irked.
"I'll do you no harm, Adrien. I'm in your debt!" Santa Claws spoke. "You gave me a present, and that I won't forget. In fact, I will avenge you! I'll avenge us both."
"No, wait!" Adrien called out but the Akumatized Santa had already left "Plagg, claws out!"
OoOoOoOoO
In the cab, Lucy rested her hand in her palm as her elbow leaned against the door. She gazed out the window humming Sleigh Ride when her brows knitted together at the sight of Santa flying overhead. An airy laugh escaped her at the sight, grabbing her mother's attention.
"What?"
"Ladybug!" Lucy wheezed. "She annoyed that Santa so much she got him akumatized! Ha!"
"Should we be worried?" Her mother asked, not finding the situation nearly as amusing. Lucy let out one last chuckle and shook her head.
"Ah, heh, um...Nah, I think we're good." The cab driver pulled over and Monica leaned forward to speak with him.
"What are you doing? Why are we stopped?"
"I'm not driving around with an Akuma on the loose." The driver explained. "We're not going anywhere till Ladybug handles it."
"Do you honestly expect to get paid to just sit here?" Monica inquired and the driver waved her off.
"It's on the Agreste's account, why would you even care?"
Monica blinked in surprise. "Oh," she said leaning back in her seat and crossing her arms. "I guess I don't."
OoOoOoOoOoO
Twenty minutes. That all it took for Ladybug and Chat Noir to take care of Santa Claws and get the night back on track. Adrien walked into his father's office nervously. Today had been exhausting for him and he wasn't looking forward to the possibility of his father scolding him. Gabriel's eyes remained on the painting of Emilie and it isn't until Adrien is beside his father that the elder Agreste even acknowledges him.
"Adrien. You understand I can't have you disappearing like that. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you." A warm feeling fell over the boy. A mix of security and comfort, as if a blanket were wrapping its soft layers around his heart and nuzzling him snuggly. He and his father didn't share many tender moments. He knew his father loved him. He wouldn't be so overprotective if he didn't. But at the same time, Adrien craved to hear the words. You are my son and you are important to me. I'm sorry you miss your mom, I miss her too. His father had become such a shut-in since she went away. For most people, their family is the source of inner power and protection; Adrien's is a killing collapsar. Communication with his father is always such a stress; it's like a heavy burden he has to carry over his life. Suddenly, the bell rings, Nathalie picks up and opens the gate.
"I think it's for you." She says to Adrien who looks at her with confusion. They go to the foyer and open the front door, seeing everyone who had been informed of Adrien's little runoff. Lucy, Monica, Marinette and her parents, Alya and her parents, Alix, and her father, Rose, Juleka, Sabrina, and her father, and of course Santa. "I informed everyone that Adrien was home, safe and sound, sir. They were all worried about their friend." Nathalie explained. Adrien beamed hopefully at his dad.
"Oh please, father. It's Christmas!" Gabriel, though not one to care for unexpected guests, couldn't find it in him to Deny his son this request.
"Of course. Come on in."
The crowd rolled in and made their way to the dining room. Those like Monica and Marinette's parents placed food on the table while Nathalie called for the cooks who had already been making Christmas eve dinner, and informed them of the extra guests.
"I hope you like lasagna," Monica spoke to Adrien as she placed her hands on Andrien's shoulder. "We had the driver take us home before making our way back here when Nathalie called. Figured it shouldn't go to waste."
Adrien smiled. "It looks, delicious ma'am." Lucy wandered over and handed Adrien a small gift.
"Don't judge the wrapping. It is a skill I am afraid I will never acquire." She joked as Adrien took note of the less than neat-looking wrapping around the object.
"I don't know what you're talking about, it's beautiful. This is the most well-packaged thing I have ever seen."
Lucy snorts, crinkling her nose. "Cute."
"For what it's worth, you didn't have to get me anything. Just being here is the greatest gift you could give me." Adrien told her bashfully. Lucy grinned,
"You're so cheesy. Is that your way of telling me you didn't get me anything? Because we have the gift of friendship?" Adrien's eyebrows shot up as suddenly leaned closer to her.
"Are you kidding? Of course, I got you something. It's in my room. I'll grab it before you leave." Adrien hoped she would like it. He had nearly pulled his hair out trying to think of what to get her. He wanted it to be simple, she liked simple, but he also wanted it to have meaning. Something to showcase how important she was to him, but without coming off too strong.
Across the room, Gabriel watched his son interact with the girl he knew as Lucy. He recognized the look on his son's face. The presence of someone other than Nathalie standing beside him grabbed Gabriel's attention. Monica. Of course. She two was watching the two teens with a small smile on her lips.
"You know," She suddenly spoke. "I almost thought you might turn everyone away when the door opened," Gabriel said nothing in return, keeping his eyes forward. "So tell me," she then added. " What changed Mr. Scrooge? Did the Christmas ghosts come to have a word?"
Gabriel glanced towards the portrait of his family that hung on the nearby wall of the dining room. "Something like that."
"Well, good," Monica replied looking up at Gabriel. "Hopefully it will stick. For your son's sake." Gabriel's jaw clenched at her words and he had to fight the urge to snap at her.
"Ms. Goodman." He said, addressing her by her maiden name. It was a low blow. "For the sake of Christmas let us both do each other a favor yes?" His eyes cast down to hers in a piercing way. "Don't ask me why I find carrying on without my spouse so hard, and I won't ask why you don't."
Before Monica could give a retort, Gabriel had stalked away from her. She had half a mind to match after him. To grab him by his shoulders and tell him he had no idea what he was talking about. She reframed. This wasn't the time, nor the place to start a stand-off with Gabriel Agreste. He didn't understand yet, but one day he would. Getting over it so soon. That was his implication of her loss. But the words are ambiguous. To say a patient is getting over it after an operation for appendicitis is one thing; after he's had his leg off is quite another.
After that operation either the wounded stump heals or the man dies. If it heals, the fierce, continuous pain will stop. Presently he'll get back his strength and be able to stump about on his wooden leg. He has 'got over it.' But he will probably have recurrent pains in the stump all his life, and perhaps pretty bad ones, and he will always be a one-legged man. There will be hardly any moment when he forgets it. Bathing, dressing, sitting down and getting up again, even lying in bed, will all be different. His whole way of life will be changed. All sorts of pleasures and activities that he once took for granted will have to be simply written off. Duties too. At present, Monica was learning to get about on crutches. Perhaps they both shall presently be given a wooden leg.
One must break with one's past to embrace one's future. It is never an easy thing to do. It is one of the distinguishing characteristics between survivors and victims. Letting go of what was, to survive what is. She once read the sentence 'I lay awake all night with a toothache, thinking about the toothache and about lying awake.' That's true to life. Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery's shadow or reflection: the fact that you don't merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. Gabriel not only lives each endless day in grief but lives each day thinking about living each day in grief. It's a trap. A trap one must fight to get out of.
OoOoOoOo
After everyone left, Adrien sat in his bead with the poorly wrapped gift Lucy had given him. He had debated if he should wait until tomorrow to actually open it, but couldn't stop himself from feeling curious. He still had the last gift she had given him. The book for all his adventures sat nearly on his desk, waiting to be used, while the glow in the dark compass, which in all honesty didn't glow much anymore, was hooked to a keychain, along with the luck charm Marinette had given him all those months ago. Tearing open the gift covered in candy cane printed paper apart, Adrien was presented a snow globe. The characters inside were ones he had remembered Lucy showing him some time ago. A boy in a yellow and black sweater, leaning against a mailbox with a black and white dog sticking out. What were their names again? Ah, right! Charlie Brown and Snoopy! The bottom of the snowglobe read: "You never know when a little happiness might show up." Adrien smiled at the gift and placed it on his desk next to his adventure book. His eyes drifted over to the image of his mother on his computer screen.
"Merry Christmas, mom."
OoOoOoOo
At home, Lucy and her mother kicked off their boots and hung up their coats, preparing for a good night's rest. Monica put the leftovers away as Lucy walked past the kitchen to go to her room, stopping at the sight of their mended family ornament.
"You fixed it." She commented, and her mother made her way over and smiled, leaning against the counter.
"Of course I did. It's our family." She lifted the ornament up, the glue now dry, keeping the pieces in place. "It might not look at new as it once was, but it will hold together. All it needed was some glue and delicate reconstruction." Monica shuffled over to the Christmas tree and carefully placed the ornament on a branch. "There. You can hardly tell the difference."
Hardly tell the difference. Lucy repeated in her mind. Yes, she supposed her mother was right.
"Good night mom. Merry Christmas."
"Good night Lulu, I'll see you in the morning."
In her room, Lucy sat on her bed and looked at Adrien's gift. I was a light, rectangular object that was neatly wrapped in blue wrapping paper with white snowflakes on it. Just by looking at it, Lucy had concluded that it was a book of some sort. Opening up the wrapper, Lucy found her guess had been correct as she found a book hidden away. The title "Sincerely," by F.S. Yousaf. She smiled as she skimmed over the back cover. It was a poetry book. Flipping to a random page in the book, Lucy's heart grew heavy as she read.
Loveless lies / Lustful eyes.
That was all I was familiar with
Until you arrived before me.
And I would be lying to you
If I told you I still do not think
Of that time before,
But only to compare to my happiness now,
And how much I wish I found you sooner.
Oh, she was gonna like this one. It would have to wait, as the time was growing later and her eyes heavier. She gently placed the book on her nightstand, on top of one of the letters she had pulled out from the box of things her father had left behind for them to find. The one she had been reading before her mother had called her into the living room to help her put away the groceries. As she lay in her bed, Lucy turned on her side and looked at the bright moon from her window.
"Merry Christmas dad." Her eyes closed and her mind silenced. Unknowingly, off in the corner of the room opposite from where she was facing, a small blue circle glowed in the darkness.
"Merry Christmas, little Lu." her father's voice came out softly, before gently closing his pocket watch and the portal it had created.
Alright, there you have it! Christmas special! I struggled to make this one just because for some reason the Christmas episode was just one of those episodes I didn't really care about.
Fun facts about this chapter!
The song, that Lucy's father quotes is called Murder in the City by The Avett Brothers.
Hope everyone has a good holiday. And I hope you are ready for the end of season 3 in the next chapter!
Cant wait to read your comments! They always fill me with joy!