Hi and welcome to my Valentine's story for 2021. Hope you enjoy. :)

Chapter 1:

Marinette absolutely loved Valentines day. Though it was fifteen days away, she could hardly control her excitement. She loved all the pink, red, flowers, balloons, cards and chocolate. She loved to be reminded of how lucky she was to have love in her life. She loved what Valentine's day stood for.

"Marinette!" Tom yelled from the kitchen. "Could you take the cake out of the oven?"

"Sure, Dad!" She made her way down the room and smiled as she saw a few more customers entering the bakery. Another of Marinette's favorite parts of Valentine's Day was how busy the bakery was. Being the city of love and all, Paris was practically radiating with warmth during the month of February.

On the actual day, there would be a long line leading from the bakery to outside. They received at least a dozen orders each day, some with the most adorable personalizations.

The most desired gifts weren't chocolate or cards. Even though she felt more defeated than usual about not being able to confess her own feelings to Adrien, she'd decided that there was more to Valentine's day than trying to spend another consecutive year writing a letter that would probably get rejected along with thousands of other letters he received. From about every single other girl in Paris, that is. To him, she was clearly just another girl. This time was to be about being grateful for all the love in her life and not just the love of her life.

She glanced at the clock, noticing it was almost 8. She had to meet up with her partner for patrol in a few minutes. Hopefully, sneaking away from her parents would be easier than it had been the past few days. With the bakery being fairly busy, Marinette hadn't been able to peacefully excuse herself in case of an akuma.

"Can I have a cookie?" Tikki asked pleadingly, peeking out of her owner's purse.

Marinette giggled, gently booping her kwami's nose. "Alright, but be quick. We have patrol in a few minutes." As Tikki cheerfully flew to the pastries, Marinette's thoughts drifted towards the subject of her partner. She wondered what he was doing for Valentine's day. At the memory of last year's chaos, her cheeks burned in embarrassment.

She did sincerely feel bad for all the rejections over the years, and felt a little worse after reminding herself that he still hadn't moved on. That probably meant he wasn't trying to find someone else. Knowing that she'd never be able to return the love the way he did, Marinette wanted to tell him to not be so persistent, but it wasn't her place to do that. She didn't want anyone getting hurt, but Chat Noir was the type of person to aim at the same target over and over again even if it resulted in failure. Though it didn't completely degrade her, Marinette knew that some people were uneasy with the concept of Valentine's day simply because of the fact that they were single. But love was more than just romance.

Shaking her head to clear the thoughts, she walked over to the table where Tikki was. She whispered, "We should probably go now." Tikki nodded.

"Mom! Dad! I'm heading out to..uh, Alya's house. We were going to do homework together!"

"That's alright! Just be back in an hour!"

Marinette rushed upstairs before calling her transformation and swinging off her balcony. She raced across the rooftops, wrapping her yoyo around the corner when arriving at their usual patrol spot. To her surprise, the usually early Chat Noir wasn't there yet.

She sat down on the ledge quietly, placing her hands on her lap. He's probably running late.

A few moments later, she felt a pair of warm hands close around her eyes. Ladybug smiled. "Let me guess. You were late because you were at the groomers again?"

A familiar laugh sounded behind her. Chat Noir sat down beside her, picking up her hand to give it a small kiss. "I was preening myself. You know how long it takes for cats to get ready."

She pulled her hand away with a small blush, hoping he wouldn't notice. "Silly kitty." A small shiver ran down her spine as the wind picked up.

"Are you cold, Bugaboo?" Chat Noir teased, reaching out to gently brush a strand of hair behind her hair. "I'm all fur you, I could warm you up if you'd like."

A small tingle ran through Ladybug's cheeks flushed, slowly pushing his hand away. "No thanks, I'm fine." In an attempt to change the topic, she cleared her throat and asked, "So..what have you been up to?"

He sighed, staring up at the evening sky which now had a dim light to it. "Nothing, really. Valentine's day is coming up, though."

Ladybug wasn't exactly sure how casual his statement had been, but there wasn't a reason it had to be awkward. Unless he somehow knew about how last year's demonic cupid mayhem had led to her kissing him on Valentine's day. Her cheeks turned red in embarrassment. Saving him! She reminded herself. Saving him, NOT kissing him.

She glanced at Chat Noir, hoping that he hadn't seen the look on her face, but his gaze was still fixated at the sky above them. To her surprise, he had a small smile on his face.

"What's up with you?"

"Oh, nothing." He assured her. Ladybug stared at him curiously. "I was just thinking about something."

"You mean someone?" She said slowly, raising a teasing eyebrow. To her surprise, he laughed.

"Of course not. My heart belongs to you, and you only."

"I figured." Ladybug looked down, though that's what she had anticipated. She was thankful Chat decided to speak up the next moment, because she didn't know what to say.

"How about you?"

"M-me?"

He smiled. She stiffened a little at the intensity of his wide green gaze.

"Not really," She said. "I mean, no. Well, I didn't- I mean, I haven't asked anyone yet. I mean, there's someone I want to ask, but I haven't..well, asked yet and..but.." She glanced at him. "Sorry. I've been talking for too long."

"I never get tired of listening to you, M'Lady." An amused sparkle in his eyes, Chat Noir turned to look at her, causing a tiny flutter in her heart. Her cheeks burned even hotter beneath her mask. What is wrong with me? "Well," He continued, either not noticing or deciding not to comment, "I actually need to leave a little early today."

Trying to hide her little disappointment, she looked up at him. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He smirked. She turned to look at him suspiciously as he stood up, extending his baton.

"Where are you going?"

"Cats have their secrets too, you know," Chat purred out smugly, pulling her hand up to his lips, barely brushing her knuckles. Her treacherous heart skipped a beat. "After all, have I ever left early before?" Ladybug wasn't convinced.

"What could possibly be more important than patrol?" She said, trying not to sound too pleading.

His only response was another complacent grin and a flirty wink before swinging himself to the nearest rooftop and into the dark night. She watched until he was out of sight, staring into the distance with a daze of confusion. After a few minutes, she made her own way home. She still felt uneasy. What was he not telling her?