Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.
"Wow… first snow of the year…"
Black Cat and Ladybug looked up at the white, angelic puffs of snow that descended from the sky. It was roughly eleven at night at that time, so most people were asleep. However, the superhero duo had to patrol daily, and so had to sacrifice some of their time.
It's so quiet, Black Cat thought. Everything felt so peaceful, so serene. It felt like he and Ladybug were the only people under the dark sky, Christmas lights twinkling in through the town. Flakes of snow landed on his head and his cat ears twitched, sensitive to the cold. A giddy feeling rose in his heart. Christmas is coming soon!
Ladybug was admiring the scene when she suddenly sneezed. A shiver coursed down her body and she rubbed her legs together. A snowflake landed on her nose and it melted, the cold seeping into her skin.
"Bless you," Black Cat said automatically, brushing the snow off his head.
Ladybug stared at the snow that fluttered down. Tikki had told her that being the ladybug miraculous holder came with side effects, and one of them was being extra vulnerable to the cold. The kwami had warned that the first year would be particularly bad, and afterwards the holders would get used to it. To prepare, Hayami had already bought a new coat and several scarfs.
She didn't want to mention it to Black Cat as to not make him worry, and besides, his kwami might have already talked about it.
It's ironic, Ladybug thought. Some time ago it was him being ill, and now it's my turn.
An unexpected crash caught their attention. "Akuma!" both of them cried. Immediately, they sped off, clenching their baton and yoyo respectively.
Black Cat leapt forward, spinning his baton. He ran forward and smacked the akuma's head with his baton.
Ladybug was about to attack, but a gust of chilly wind caught her off guard.
So this winter sickness has already begun…
Ladybug gritted her teeth. Unexpectedly, she sneezed again, which distracted her. The akuma nearly delivered a blow to her, but thankfully Black Cat managed to block it. Ladybug rubbed her nose, which was becoming slightly pink. Her numb fingers threw her yoyo, but it missed the target and bounced off. Black Cat turned to look at his partner, who gave him a rather forced smile.
I hope I can go through this season...
"It's not that cold, right?"
Hayami didn't reply as she wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck. Nakamura stood nonchalantly next to her, taking in Hayami's coat and her cheeks, which were red from the blowing wind.
"Winter just began, and you're indoors!" the breezy girl exclaimed. "Won't you get stuffy from all those layers of fabric?"
"I'll be fine," Hayami replied shortly.
"Wow!" Yada joined in the conversation. "That's a pretty coat, Rinka!"
"Yeah, I know," Hayami looked down at her clothes. "It's new."
"But honestly, for me, I don't feel cold at all," Nakamura said. "And by the way, my homeroom teacher sucks, he actually…"
The girls began to chat, and a few seats away, Chiba watched Sugaya draw.
"You draw a lot," Chiba observed. Sugaya was focused on his drawing, which were Ladybug and Black Cat in winter gear. Black Cat wore a knitted beanie with cat ears, and a scarf with a pawprint on it. Ladybug wore a long scarf. The pencil sketch of Ladybug was unfinished, and Chiba was glad that Sugaya didn't drew him and Ladybug sharing scarfs, or in some sort of romantic position.
"Yeah, I like drawing," Sugaya replied, as he sharpened his pencil.
"You know," Chiba began to voice out his question, which had been brewing for quite some time. "I don't peg you as a romantic person, but you draw a lot of couple scenes."
Sugaya stopped drawing. "Well, I suppose I've been requested to draw them. And people like them."
"... I may be wrong, but don't artists draw when they feel like drawing? Not always when people request them?"
"Hmm…" Sugaya looked down at his sketch, where the drawings of Ladybug and Black Cat grinned up at him. To be honest, the artist himself had to think for a while.
He remembered how his parents and people around him had praised his artistic talent when he was young. As Sugaya grew older, they began to focus more on his studies than his artistic skills. Sugaya was not academically talented, but unfortunately, nobody seemed to care about his other talent. They only wanted him to have good grades.
Sugaya had been sad and frustrated. He didn't care about his studies. He was sure if his artistic talent was developed properly, he could make a living without having good grades hanging like a trophy on his head. He refused to stop drawing, and he posted his drawings online.
Sugaya was happy to see that people liked his drawings. It felt like people were finally beginning to recognize his talent. He felt acknowledged. He felt proud of himself.
His first follower on pixiv was very encouraging. They praised him and offered him support. Sugaya was unused to attention, but gladly accepted it. Later, when he began to post his drawings on the Ladyblog, he was surprised to find out that his initial follower from pixiv was a member of the Ladyblog too. Although, even after Sugaya had hundreds of followers, he still had a special place in his heart for his first follower.
There were sometimes when Sugaya wanted acceptance from people, so he drew what he knew people would like, in order to keep the encouragement and views coming.
"..." Sugaya couldn't answer.
"Is it because that person on the Ladyblog gives you a lot of requests?" Okajima butted in.
"Maybe."
"Ooooh," Okajima drawled in a tone that made Sugaya immediately annoyed. "Is that an internet crush you have? Since you do a lot of stuff for them?"
"No," Sugaya answered simply, ignoring Okajima's ooohing noises. "And so says Okajima, who has a hopeless celebrity crush on Ladybug."
"Hmph. She's my goddess." Okajima crossed his arms. "Don't compare her to your internet obsession."
"Seriously Okajima, stop making things out of nowhere," Sugaya said good-naturedly as he continued to draw.
Meanwhile, one the girls' side, Nakamura had left the class to talk with more people. Which left Yada commenting on Hayami's current condition.
Hayami had been continuously sneezing for a few times. The arrival of the wintry weather did nothing to make her feel better. Her nose was runny and she often shivered even if just a light breeze blew past.
"Are you okay?" Yada asked after Hayami's fifth sneeze. Hayami gave a curt nod, but was interrupted by another sneeze. Yada shot her friend a concerned look and put a packet of tissue on her desk. "Take care of yourself, okay?"
Hayami grunted in reply, too busy blowing her nose. Suddenly, a high pitched scream pierced through the casual chatting of the class. They became quiet and their focus turned to the corridor outside, where the scream had sounded.
"Oh my gosh! An akuma!" an excited voice gasped. Chiba poked his head out and saw a girl with short purple hair, eyes alight as she looked upon the akuma that was presumably outside. Chiba vaguely recognized her as one of the crazy manga fans in their year, but that was no time for recalling people's names and faces, because-
The classroom immediately broke into chaos, and the discomposed yet stimulated students dashed out of the classroom, half wanting to get a glimpse of the akuma, and half wanting to escape. Chiba stayed behind in the classroom to transform, and to his slight annoyance, Hayami noticed him and glanced over with a puzzled look. Hayami had wanted to transform too when she was alone in the classroom, but for some reason, Chiba lingered. So she was rather confused.
I'll just go out, Chiba thought, not really faltered. He had learned from his experience from being that superhero that he always, always needed a backup plan. He however, was feeling rather gratified that Hayami had noticed him- wait, he had to focus!
He ran down the stairs to a less crowded space, nearly slipping down. For the akuma to be in such a close proximity to the school, a student must had been akumatized. Chiba's mood turned sour but he quickly regained his usual composure. The boy looked to the right and to the left, before transforming in a flash of light.
Black Cat was pretty observant. Ever since the snowing on Friday night, he had realized that Ladybug seemed to be sensitive to the cold. Because of his vulnerability to water, Black Cat also shivered when his feet crunched on the slippery, wet snow.
Hopefully, when their abilities were blunted by the weather, the akumas would too. Black Cat gritted his teeth, and saw a red figure zooming out. Ladybug.
He sidled up to his partner, and she appeared to be in worse health. Ladybug was rubbing her arms to warm herself. The wind lashed at her pale face, but she asserted the situation as cooly as ever.
The akuma was wildly flinging snow at the students, wailing at the same time. The students screamed and ran away. Ladybug and Black Cat thought it was most likely another bully incident.
The akuma swerved towards them, eyes glinting as they raised a gigantic snowball in their hands. Instinctively, Black Cat placed an arm in front of Ladybug to protect her.
The akuma gave an evil grin and tossed the snowball towards them. Black Cat and Ladybug dived away in opposite directions, and the snowball smashed to the ground, little pieces of snow flying out.
Ladybug coughed as she felt snow slap on her back and she nearly tripped. The girl sniffed, brushing the snow off. She could hear Black Cat beginning to attack, and she joined him, despite her fingers growing numb from the cold.
Ladybug breathed out, puffs of white mist appearing. The wind cut against her cheek like a knife and she could barely hear the familiar whizzing of her yoyo due to the strong gale. She wobbled on her knees slightly.
Black Cat frowned a bit. His eyes widened when he felt a huge clump of snow collapse on top of him. The boy shuddered, icy crystals stuck in his hair and his cat ears trembled in the cold. He didn't stop though and broke out from the snow. He leapt onto the akuma, clutching the akuma in a tight grip to stop him from slipping off.
Ladybug's feet slid around the snow as she ran around the akuma, trying to locate the akumatized item. In a hurry, she slipped, body splatting on the cold mush. Ladybug looked up and to her horror, white filled her vision as the akuma dumped snow on top of her.
"Ladybug!" Black Cat yelled, and immediately jumped off the akuma, scrambling towards the girl. He panted and began to frantically dig the snow away, ignoring his freezing fingers. "Ladybug!" he called again.
The cold was burning her and her legs felt stiff. It felt like hundreds of icy snakes were biting on Ladybug's face, and she was chilled to the bone. Blindly, she tried to wipe the snow off, but a hand closed around her wrist and yanked her away. Knowing that was her partner, Ladybug stumbled after him, knees going weak and the harshness of the weather seemed to intensify. She gasped for breath, the frigid wind sapping the heat from her.
"Look out!" Black Cat cried as the akuma flung another snowball at them. The duo barely escaped but Ladybug lost her balance, slamming onto Black Cat. His body heat comforted her temporarily before she pulled herself off him. She sniffed, a slight blue tint on her cheeks.
"You okay?" Black Cat asked as he spun his baton to shield them from the snow flying in their direction. Ladybug held his shoulder to steady herself.
"I'm fine," she managed to say as she shook her head to get the snow off. "T-thanks," she muttered.
Ladybug was still shaken by the cold even after they had defeated the akuma. She rubbed her cheeks in an attempt to warm them up.
"Take care of yourself," Black Cat said, concerned. He noticed that snow was beginning to accumulate on Ladybug's head, so he swept it off. Ladybug peeked at him and her sharp emerald eyes met his cat-like eyes.
Ladybug exhaled, a puff of white mist forming. "I will," she muttered, remembering that Yada had asked almost the exact same question. "Don't worry, Black Cat."
Her partner only wished she was right. Although he only liked her in a platonic way, Ladybug was still his precious friend, one he felt at ease with. He didn't want anything to happen to her.
"Ack!" Hayami yelped as a gust of wind slashed against her the second after she detransformed. The cold seemed to return with twice the force than when she was Ladybug. Apparently, her Ladybug suit could give her more protection from the cold.
"I'm m-more like a ladybug when I'm not, well, L-ladybug," Hayami murmured under her breath, teeth chattering as she stuffed her numb hands into her pockets. The cold latched onto her, the icy fingers creeping over her skin. Ducking her head from the falling flakes, the girl hurried back to her classroom, where she met up with the rest of her classmates.
"Rinka-chan!" Kurahashi cried and waved at her. Hayami gave a weak grin in reply. Kurahashi's eyes widened and she gasped, "You look really cold!"
Hayami didn't say anything as Kurahashi flung one half of her scarf over her. "It must be that naughty akuma," Kurahashi said absentmindedly, half to herself and half to Hayami. She and Yada huddled close to Hayami to share their body heat. Hayami was grateful for her friends and she began to feel warmer.
Okajima and his friends happened to walk past the trio of girls. Overhearing their conversation, Okajima said flirtatiously, "You can share my body heat if you want."
"Ugh," Kurahashi and Yada deadpanned in unison, and Hayami just commented, "Are you a second Maehara?"
Sugaya then smacked Okajima in the stomach.
"Ouch!" Okajima cried and he rubbed where he had been hit. He glared at Sugaya. "What the heck, man?"
"You can't flirt or do anything inappropriate to Hayami," Sugaya replied.
"And why is that?!"
Sugaya sighed, and sneaked a peek at Chiba. Chiba looked away, pretending not to notice, and Sugaya gave a smirk. "Well, she's in our group for the project, so we can't scare away the only girl, alright?"
Okajima huffed. "And you didn't tell me?"
Sugaya snorted, amused yet exasperated at Okajima. "We thought you need to be caught by surprise."
"Wait. We?" Okajima swerved to look at Chiba. "I'm pretty sure you're the one who made this rule up."
Chiba didn't reply, but self consciously touched his bangs to make sure they were in place. The boys took that action as a sign that the Chiba was nervous.
"Haha!" Okajima grinned. "Look who's protective? Now all three of us have crushes-"
"I don't," both Sugaya and Chiba cut in together. Okajima raised an eyebrow, but couldn't detect any sign of denial in their expressions, so he let it go.
The class was muttering excitedly about the akuma when clear footsteps sounded. As if muted, the corridor switched to being deadly quiet, as silent as a tomb. Chairman Asano strode down the corridor as terrified students leapt out of his way, a smile on his face, but the look in his eyes were chilling and nobody dared to stare at him.
Chairman Asano stopped and looked at Chiba's class, a strange sort of smirk on his lips. "You all are students of this school. You are not weak. Do not let yourselves be possessed by fear and anxiety." The chairman seemed to specifically focus on Kurahashi as he said those words, and Hayami felt the innocent girl next to her shiver.
With bated breaths, the class watched as the chairman's back grew smaller as he walked away. After the class had determined that the chairman was far enough, hushed whispers broke out among them. Yada placed her hand on Kurahashi's shoulder to show her support.
However, Chiba's expression was grim. I believe Chairman Asano just made things worse.
"Mom? Are you okay?"
Tikki flew around Hayami's room, munching on a cookie.
"Ah, I understand. I'll be fine."
The kwami watched as her holder's feet paced around the room.
"Yeah, I'll do that."
Hayami stopped walking.
"Merry Christmas to you too, Mom."
The girl put her phone down and ended the call. Wordlessly, she sat on top of her bed and hugged a cat plushie. The kwami stopped flying and hovered next to Hayami.
"Rinka-chi?"
"Hmm?"
"... Your mom's not coming back for Christmas?"
Hayami looked at the plushie with a wry smile before looking up at Tikki. "Yeah. She was on a business trip and got stuck in a blizzard. She won't make it back in time."
Tikki was silent for a moment. Then she said, "It's lucky that you have me with you, at least."
To be honest, Tikki didn't know everything about Hayami's family. Her mother was stern and a bit distant, and the kwami hadn't heard anything about her dad, because neither mother nor daughter had mentioned him. Tikki assumed that it was something she should not know about, so she didn't inquire.
"Yeah, thanks for that Tikki," Hayami reached for a cookie to hand to Tikki, but there were none. The girl promptly stood up to go to the kitchen to get more cookies.
Once her holder went out, Tikki flew over to Hayami's desk, where a few pieces of cut fabric and sewing materials laid. Tikki took a piece of fabric and felt it. The quality was rather good.
Just then, Hayami returned, a new plate of cookies in one hand and a cup of warm tea in the other.
"I can work on the gift now," Hayami remarked as she looked at the clock. She set the plate and the cup down and hopped into her bed, wrapping herself in warm blankets. She rearranged the pile of cat plushies and finally settled down.
"He's going to love it," Tikki grinned.
Hayami gave a small smile in return. "I hope he does." The girl picked up a needle and began to sew two pieces of fabric together.
Hayami planned to make Black Cat a small cat plushie for Christmas. Originally, she was at a complete lost at what to give him, but after taking Tikki's advice, she decided to make something herself. Hayami usually didn't give homemade gifts but she knew Black Cat would appreciate it. He was also her fighting partner and had saved her multiple times, so he deserved something better than a pack of stationery.
On the day of Christmas Eve, snow whirled outside Hayami's window as she sewed at a steady pace. After two hours, Hayami finished, and she carefully sewed the opening after she had stuffed cotton inside it.
"Hmm," Hayami looked at her handiwork, satisfied. She turned it around and pressed a finger on the plushie's head, the hand-sewn features grinning up at her.
"Wow! That's adorable!" Tikki praised, flitting around the plushie, which roughly the size of Hayami's palm. The plushie was round and black with protruding cat ears, two dots for eyes and a little mouth stretched into a cute smile. Tikki peered at the plushie from behind and saw that her holder had even sewn a tiny green paw print on the other side of the plushie.
Hayami noticed what her kwami was looking at. "That's to remind him that I gave it to him," she explained. "But it's also small enough to hide it easily. I do hope it's not obvious."
Hayami placed the plushie on her desk. "Now I have to cook dinner," she said and rose up.
Christmas was a busy time for Chiba.
He had a big family, but his extended family was even bigger. So, at around Christmastime, there would be tons of dinners with relatives.
On Christmas Eve, Chiba would have dinner with his family and the relatives on his mom's side. His aunt had just given birth to a new son so there was special excitement in the air. And because he and his sixteen-year-old sister Shiho were the oldest children, a lot of their relatives asked if they were dating.
The eldest Chiba children did their best poker face with a signature death glare.
"Well, there's still next year," a relative said cheerfully. Neither of them replied.
"Wow! It's a baby!" Chiba's youngest sister, Minori gasped at the little bundle their aunt held in her arms. "Can I hold him!"
Chiba's mom petted Minori's head. "Sweetie, I'm afraid you can't, because the baby is very fragile. Maybe when you're older?"
Minori's face fell. Meanwhile, Shiho gently took the baby from her aunt, long black hair swishing. "Aww," she said, smiling down at the baby, who giggled and played with her hair.
"Ryuunosuke, do you want to hold him?" Chiba's aunt asked. Chiba's entire body tensed up when he heard his name. "Uh, umm…"
He was about to refuse, but the entire family (including his younger sisters) were staring at him with judgmental looks. Chiba swallowed his refusal and managed to say, "Okay."
It wasn't like Chiba hated kids. In fact, he could look after young kids pretty efficiently (given his experience with babysitting his younger sisters). But Chiba's eyes had scared every child he had looked after. Because kids were shorter than him, they could peer at his eyes from below. Chiba still had the negative memories of his younger sisters crying and feeling helpless and worthless. And that was the main reason why he didn't want to hold his baby cousin.
But under pressure from his family, he did it anyway. The baby's eyes were big and innocent, so unlike Chiba's (he hated pictures of him as a baby). The baby was so small and vulnerable, and naturally Chiba felt an urge to protect him.
However, the baby looked up and glimpsed the infamous red eyes. The baby broke into tears immediately, and Chiba's mood sank to rock bottom, knowing he had caused this.
"He's probably hungry," Chiba's mom said hastily, knowing her son's insecurity about his eyes. Chiba quickly passed the baby back to his aunt, biting his lip.
He hated how he always scared people, especially kids. He tried to make himself less threatening, but they only looked at his hairstyle weirdly. Chiba stayed silent for the rest of the meal, listening to his sisters conversing happily.
That was why he was so reluctant on revealing his identity to Ladybug. He didn't want her to look at him oddly like most other people did.
Chiba's mom was aware of her son's sullenness, and wanted to cheer him up. "Hey, how about we make cookies tomorrow?"
"Cookies? Ooh!"
"Wow! I wanna eat them!"
"Let's do it!"
Chiba's younger sisters Minori and Fumiko talked excitedly among themselves. Shiho nodded, giving her approval.
"Then let's shop after dinner!" Chiba's dad suggested.
"We can have some family bonding time on Christmas Day!" Chiba's mom chimed in.
Chiba might not like being around people too much, but he also wanted to spend time with his family, after weeks of constant studying and isolating himself in his room. The rest of the family looked at him for approval. He opened his mouth to voice his opinion.
"Ooh, sounds like a good idea. Let's do it."
On the night of Christmas Eve, the iconic duo patrolled over the roofs of Kunugigaoka Town. Ladybug was still cold, so she had a red scarf around her neck, the ends of the scarf flying out behind her. Black Cat was feeling rather festive due to the influence of his family, so he wanted to spread the Christmas spirit to his good friend.
"What are you doing for Christmas?" Black Cat inquired casually as they hopped and leapt.
"At home, I suppose," Ladybug replied. "With my kwami."
Black Cat sniffed, thinking about his own kwami. "Your kwami is nice, unlike mine."
"Hey, be a bit softer with them," Ladybug said in a teasing tone. "They give you powers, after all."
"I know," Black Cat remembered that Plagg had changed his eyes to a less creepy pair, which boosted his confidence. "How about your family?"
Once those words came out, the boy immediately regretted it, because Ladybug's face fell. Crap, I hit a sore spot. Wisely, Black Cat waited for a few seconds before saying, "I'm sorry."
Ladybug waved a hand dismissively. "Nah. It's just that mother got stuck in the snow and probably can't make it back tomorrow."
"Oh." Black Cat noticed that Ladybug didn't mention her father, so he decided to avoid that topic. He knew it was some territory he should not enter.
There was silence as the duo continued to patrol under the night sky, Christmas lights twinkling throughout the town. Some people were crowded around the town's gigantic Christmas tree, counting down the minutes to the Christmas. They waved when they caught sight of the heroes, windblown cheeks flushing red. Ladybug and Black Cat waved back, before continuing their way.
"Hey, kitty, do you have siblings?" Ladybug asked, preoccupied with fixing her scarf around her neck.
"Yeah, three." Black Cat answered. Then he realized something, and his eyebrows raised in confusion. "Did you just call me 'kitty'?"
Ladybug's face turned tomato red, as she attempted to hide more of her face behind her scarf. "I-it was a slip of mouth. I d-didn't mean to call you that," she stuttered, voice growing smaller with every word.
"Ah, it's okay." Black Cat said. "But really, I'm not fond of pet names."
"I-is that so," Ladybug peeped, the blush on her face intensifying. She liked cats so much she would subconsciously call them "kitty" and for some reason her subconscious thought Black Cat was an actual cat. How mortifying.
It didn't help that Black Cat had been turned into a real cat before, and Hayami had encountered him.
"I'm a single child," Ladybug said. "I wonder what it's like, having so many siblings."
"It's rather loud," her partner confessed. The his eyes flashed liquid green. "Wait, are you going to be alone for Christmas?" he almost yelled.
"I have my kwami," Ladybug replied. Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. "I won't be alone."
Black Cat had never experienced a Christmas on his own. It was rather staggering to see the difference between him and Ladybug, but he tried to keep the shocked look on his face minimal. Everyone came from different families, after all.
I feel bad for Ladybug… while I'm at home with my parents, three sisters, and my admittedly annoying kwami, she only has her kwami… the house must feel rather empty.
Ladybug could sense Black Cat's surprise. Don't pity me, she thought. I can't help it. I'll be fine even if I'm alone.
(But honestly, seeing her partner's concern for her would make her feel better.)
Ladybug shivered as flakes of snow fluttered on her skin. She rubbed her arms. I'll be fine.
Black Cat's ears drooped when he thought about Ladybug. It felt kind of sad to be alone on Christmas, even if she didn't crave human contact. Besides, her house would be so quiet. Christmas was a time for family, and if her family weren't there, Christmas would have lost a great part of its meaning.
"You okay?" Black Cat was broken out of his thoughts by Ladybug. She was trembling slightly in the cold, but she was still concerned for him. At first, Black Cat was confused because it seemed like he should be the one worried for Ladybug, but then she gently patted his head (AGAIN), saying, "Your ears are drooping."
Oh, Black Cat thought, cat ears instantly springing up when Ladybug touched them. Ladybug was amused at his reaction, and wondered out loud, "Hmm, are you kind of like a cat? Can you purr?"
The boy was glad that they had progressed to the step where they could talk about non-work things freely. "I don't think I can-" his sentence was stopped when Ladybug scratched his chin, and a purr tore from his mouth. A blush rose on his cheeks, embarrassed. Ladybug stood next to him, a smug grin on her face.
"I knew it," Ladybug said. "Works every time."
Black Cat recalled the times when he was a cat and Hayami petted him and made him purr. "Ha, are you a cat expert?"
"Maybe?" Ladybug swung herself to a building, Black Cat following suit. He looked at the single, constantly moving forward silhouette in front of him, and an idea popped in his mind.
An idea to spread some of his Christmas family spirit to his partner.
"Nii-san! Look!" Minori shoved a messily iced cookie in front of her brother's face. A wide innocent smile stretched from ear to ear. "Is it pretty?"
"Yeah," Chiba answered. "It's pretty." He carefully iced an intricate snowflake on a cookie, keeping a steady hand.
"Ooooh!" Fumiko poked her head out to look at Chiba's icing skills. "Onii-san is good at this!"
Chiba gave a small smile, and continued icing.
"Ah. There's simply too many cookies!" Shiho muttered, eyes sweeping over the huge plates of cookies.
"It's a pity that school ended, or else you guys can give them to your friends," Chiba's mom sighed. "I'll give some to our neighbours."
"Mom, I'll be meeting up with my friend soon. Can I give them some cookies?" Chiba asked.
His mother's eyes widened, "friend" being the only word she heard. Her son… meeting up with friends! In a state of overwhelm, she nearly let her icing bag slip out of her hands.
"Feel free! Take as many as you want!" she smiled, glad that her quiet son had friends.
"Thanks," Chiba began to ice with more focus, knowing that the cookies would end up in Ladybug's hands.
Thankfully, on Christmas Day, there were no akumas. It would surely be a downer to have an akuma on such a joyful day.
After she had transformed, Ladybug took the little plushie and swung herself out of the window. She wanted to meet with Black Cat as soon as possible. Clutching the plushie with one hand, she used her other hand to swing herself to the roof of the library, her standard meeting place with Black Cat.
He was already there, holding something behind his back. His cat ears perked up when he noticed Ladybug.
"Merry Christmas," he greeted her.
"Merry Christmas," she said in reply, holding her gift behind her back, mirroring Black Cat's pose. The two stood there in silence, fidgeting nervously.
"Uh, umm, for you!" Black Cat thrust out a box wrapped with a red ribbon. Ladybug's heart skipped a beat.
"Thank you," she said, surprised. She took his gift and gave him the plushie she made. "This- this is for you," she muttered, a blush on her cheeks. "I hope you like it."
Wow, Black Cat thought privately, carefully weighing the small plushie he held. She put so much effort in making this! "It's cute. Thanks."
Ladybug could hear something rustle inside the box her partner gave her. "Hmm, is this something edible?"
"Yup. They're homemade cookies." Black Cat explained.
Ladybug stared at the box, a brilliant flush going up her face. He… he took the time to bake that? For me? I don't deserve this! He's too nice.
But Ladybug didn't say that out loud as not to hurt his feelings. So she just gazed at the box, heart filled with a thousand emotions yet unable to express them.
Black Cat also looked at the plushie, admiring Ladybug's skill. He ran a finger over the cat ears.
Then Ladybug said, "Should we go back home to put them down, because…"
"It may interfere with our patrolling…" Black Cat continued.
"And the cookies might break, yeah…"
"Meet back here in five minutes?"
"Good."
The duo rapidly decided on what to do, and went their separate ways. Ladybug zoomed back to her house, carefully holding the box, a smile on her face.
Despite the cold, harsh wind blowing against her, warmth and gratitude flowed inside her, as she held Black Cat's present to her chest.
"These are beautiful," Hayami awed as she took the lid off the box after she had finished the patrol. It was two minutes past midnight, so technically, it was Boxing Day and she could open his gift.
There were snowflake patterns, a ladybug pattern, a paw print pattern, and even a cat iced on the cookies. Hayami took her phone out and took a picture of them.
"Cookies!" Tikki nearly screeched in delight, dancing circles around the box. "Rinka-chi, can I have one?"
"Of course. Take your pick," Hayami was amused by her kwami.
Tikki swooped down and picked up a cookie with a star iced on it. After gobbling it down whole, her eyes widened and she sighed blissfully. "Delicious!"
Hayami took a small bite of another cookie. "Tikki, you're right!"
"Marry him immediately," Tikki teased. "He makes fabulous cookies."
"Hey!" Hayami laughed it off, but a bubbly feeling rose up inside her, making her feel warm all over. She finished off her cookie and leapt face-down into her bed, burying her face in her blankets.
"He's too cute," Hayami muttered, green eyes narrowed but heat glowing from her cheeks. "He's too nice." The girl rolled over and grabbed the Black Cat plushie and cuddled it, peach hair splaying all over her blankets. Hayami then pulled the blankets over herself, and fell fast asleep, still clutching the plushie.
Meanwhile, Plagg was sizing up the plushie his chosen got from Ladybug. The cat kwami gave a scoff. "Kind of looks like me, don't you think?"
"Are you kidding?" Chiba snarked, poking the plushie's side. "This is much cuter."
"So you finally grew a pair," Plagg commented. "You used to be so mild and quiet. Well, you still are around everyone else, you just like sassing me."
"That's because you really grate on my nerves," Chiba muttered off-handedly.
"Ooh, is that a cheese pun?" Plagg gave an infuriating smirk, but didn't press on that matter. "Whatever. I'm going to sleep."
"Night," Chiba gave a yawn and climbed into his bed. He snuggled into his blankets and closed his eyes.
Plagg flew over to where the plushie stood, right next to Chiba's calendar. Plagg knew Chiba used his calendar a lot (it was full of scribbles and events), so he theorized that if he placed the plushie next to an important item, Chiba must think highly of Ladybug and her gift.
Plagg sighed. Honestly, how can he still not realize Ladybug has a massive-ass crush on him…
A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS! WOOHOO!
This was supposed to be a short chapter… ended up with almost 6k words…
Anyways I realize I put a lot of Adrienette Christmas fics elements into this? Baking cookies? Sewing stuff? Someone being alone on Christmas? "She's just a good friend" meme?
I swear if I dive into this Christmas chapter any longer soon we'll have Hayami staying over at Chiba's place and his family will dote on her like "ooh future daughter-in-law".
And yeah they'll continue to be oblivious to each other's identities for quite some time.
Fumiko Matsubara, I'm really glad that you like my fics! I appreciate it! Thanks for reviewing! :D And you got all of the usernames correct, congrats!
(And I haven't updated Yandere Sniper in like 6 months whoops.)
AND WE HIT 1000 VIEWS! Thanks to each and every one of you! Lol I remember writing the first chapter on holiday, thinking no one would read it… obviously, I was in a surprise. ≧ω≦ Thanks again!
Please kindly review if you have time! Thanks for reading! :)