Chapter Two: Love

Love is a wonderful thing that can be shown in many ways, from the subtle to the obvious, the small to the large, and the simple to the extravagant. Each way it's shown is beautiful.

Sunday 2nd February 2020. 1.30 p.m.

Adrien sank into his seat with a relieved sigh. The big brand coffee shop was the quietest place the boys had been able to find for a shopping break, though it was by no means empty of people. A quick game of rock-paper-scissors saw Nathanaël be the unlucky one to brave the queue for drinks while everyone else grabbed a secluded table at the back of the shop.

The girls were having a girls-only shopping trip today and so the boys had decided they would have a shopping trip too. Kim needed some more sports clothes after his last ones had met an unfortunate end in a dare, Max wanted a new part for his computer, Nathanaël always needed art supplies, Ivan and Nino both loved the music store, and Adrien would never pass up the chance to buy gifts for Marinette. Markov would have joined them too but the cold bothered his circuitry too much and so everyone promised him another trip when it was warmer.

It was a great day to just spend some time together as friends.

Sort of.

Adrien sighed and adjusted his hat and his pale blue scarf, trying to make sure his disguise was secure. He did his best not to look at his bodyguard when the large man entered the shop and went straight to the counter, a barely there glance confirming that Adrien was safe.

It was the best compromise he had been able to work out with Gorilla earlier. His fans were riled up because of the huge Gabriel brand involvement in New York fashion week and because of the approach of Valentine's Day. It wasn't safe to go out unescorted right now. With the Gorilla tailing them at a discrete but close distance, disguising his normally instantly recognisable looks, and going out in a large group, everyone hoped that he would be safe today.

That was the reason everyone had insisted on finding the quietest place possible for their break. It was also why none of them were removing their coats, hats, or scarves either, so he didn't stand out from their group.

Adrien grinned. He had the best friends ever.

Nino was next to him, leaning over the table and pointing out some interesting songs to Ivan on the CD he had just bought, and Max was cooing appropriately over the new tracksuit Kim was eagerly showing off. It had been a fun day.

There had been one close call with some Agreste fans when a sudden gust of wind had blown his hat off and he'd been recognised. Kim had snatched it out of the air with an impressive leap and he and Nino had bundled Adrien into the closest shop while Ivan blocked him from view and Max and Nathanaël distracted the shrieking fans. A mini-mob had stampeded in the wrong direction.

It was a stroke of luck that the shop they'd run into had been a jewellery shop. They'd been watched closely but as Adrien and Ivan both eagerly browsed the shelves the staff had relaxed a little. Ivan ended up buying a pretty charm bracelet for Mylène, either for Valentine's Day or for her approaching birthday, and Adrien's gaze had been drawn to the same display.

He checked his shopping bags for the two tiny jewellery boxes he had bought, one red velvet and one black satin, and once he was sure they were both secure he tucked them safely away in his coat pocket. He'd had to throw bags away before when a fanatic mob had chased him and he didn't want to lose these. He didn't want to lose any of them, really, but these boxes were special.

"Bro!"

Adrien looked up to see Nino giving him a bemused look. "What?"

"Bro!"

"What?"

"I can't believe you!" Nino chuckled and shook his head in mock pity. "We finally get you out for a boys day, no father in sight, and you spend the whole time pining for your girlfriend and buying her so many gifts."

"She's totally worth it."

Adrien could help but smile, even as a blush teased his cheeks. Marinette was worth any amount of teasing he got, and he couldn't wait to see her face when he gave her the small red jewellery box later today. Or when she saw the black box. Kim made a fake gagging noise and Nino groaned then, making Adrien realise he'd probably just given another lovesick sigh. Oops.

Kim finished his performance and shook his head. "I still can't believe I lost out on the bet on you two - seriously, she spends years pining for you and you finally wake up and notice her, yet you take your time asking her out! Dude, what gives?"

"It was inevitable he would fall for her," Max patted Kim's shoulder consolingly. "Just about everyone romantically inclined or interested in girls in our school has had some form of crush on her at one stage - but it was unusual for you to take as long as you did to get together."

How could he respond to that? What answer could he give to them that wouldn't give away their identities? Their being together was inevitable. They were forever. She was his future and he was hers. That's just how they worked. The secret identities had confused things for a bit but at the end of the day it was him and her, together forever. It didn't matter how quickly or how slowly they progressed.

"Leave him be." Ivan came to his rescue, himself far too used to Kim's unique brand of teasing. "They were doing it at their own pace, not yours and not for a bet. They're in love. It's sweet."

"Thank you! See, Ivan gets it."

Kim was prevented from arguing back by Nathanaël joining the table with a bag of muffins and two precariously stacked drinks-holders filled with cardboard to-go cups. Kim took the snack bag and dropped it into the middle of the table while Nathanaël allocated the drinks.

"Cappuccino-" he passed it to Nino "-almond milk chai latte and a regular latte-" these went to Kim and Max "-and hot chocolate for the rest of us." Nathanaël took the seat next to Ivan, opposite Nino, and handed a hot chocolate each to Adrien and Ivan, keeping the third for himself. He correctly read the hard look Ivan was shooting Kim over his head and sighed. Adrien could practically see him wishing he had a different seat. "Okay, so what did I miss?"

"We're just teasing my boy here about being such a sap for Marinette that he's spending boys day buying her things." Nino sipped at his coffee and nodded in thanks, grabbing a triple chocolate muffin to go with it.

"She's probably doing the same on her girl's day." Nathanaël countered.

The thought of his Princess buying him gifts on her girls day, just as he was doing on his boys day, made Adrien warm in a way that had nothing to do with the mediocre hot chocolate this brand served. It wasn't that bad actually. He was just biased towards Marinette's amazing and lovingly made hot chocolate though. In his mind nothing could compare.

Nino grimaced as he conceded the point. There was no way Marinette wasn't buying something for Adrien, either a gift or some sewing supplies to make him one. Nathanaël didn't rub it in though. He grabbed the other triple chocolate muffin and then deliberately shoved the plastic wrapped lactose-free chocolate and hazelnut muffin down the table to Kim. That prompted Adrien to grab the blueberry muffin for himself, leaving the white chocolate muffin for Max and the red berry muffin for Ivan.

"Besides-" Nathanaël paused for a sip of his hot chocolate "-Ivan was buying gifts for Mylène too. It's not like there's a rule saying they can't buy things for their girlfriends on boys days."

Adrien grinned at his tall friend. "I told you, Ivan gets it."

"You gotta show love," Ivan nodded. Adrien held his hot chocolate up and Ivan tapped his cardboard cup against him in a toast. "When you've got an amazing girl, you've got to let her know it. I love Mylène. Adrien loves Marinette. Of course we'll buy them things."

"No!" Kim let out a dramatic gasp, interrupting the conversation. "Oh no… the sappiness… it's contagious!" He lunged across the table to grab Nino and shake him. "Run! Save yourself from the romance!"

Nino just shrugged him off as he started laughing at his own joke. "Screw you, dude. I have a girl and I love her too."

"Yeah but you don't make a huge production of it like these two saps, you're cool about it. Ivan's been a lost cause for years, and Adrien probably bought a gift for every day this week."

It was a joke but Adrien found himself confirming Kim's words. "Yes, and for all of next week too."

"Seriously? Dude, I was kidding."

"I'm not. I got the idea from Mlle. Bustier yesterday. I'm going to spoil Marinette every day between now and Valentine's Day."

Nathanaël looked surprised and a little worried. "Does she know this?"

"I told her last night when I took her a box of her favourite chocolates."

Ivan nodded, looking impressed. "That's actually not a bad idea. Would you mind if I took that idea and did that with Mylène?"

Kim gasped again. "Oh my god it is contagious! Thank god you're normal Nino."

Adrien pretended that Kim hadn't interrupted and nodded at Ivan. "Go ahead. Have you got any ideas for Valentine's Day yet?"

"Some," Ivan sighed. "I keep discarding them as not right or not enough. I want to make sure she has a better Valentine's Day than last year without having her worry about it."

Not even Kim thought to make a joke there.

Last Valentine's Day had been a nightmare. A boy in their school had been akumatised because he was upset over being alone on Valentine's Day. His power was spreading love around and making it so that no one would be alone - whether they wanted it or not, regardless of their feelings for the person they were paired with. Their class had borne the brunt of the first wave of attacking minions who wanted to shower their target with love.

Alix had been beating them off with a heavy book-bag in each hand, Kim was trying his best not to hurt the boy clinging to his ankles as he escaped, but Mylène and Ivan had been chased by four of them. They had gotten separated and while Ivan had made it safely out of the school Mylène had been forced to barricade herself into a cupboard and desperately keep in closed against their attempts to break in. She'd been terrified by loud noises, crowds, and people running near her for weeks afterwards.

It was the reason why the school was trying this new initiative. They didn't want a third Valentine's Day akuma.

Adrien wholly supported anything that would prevent another akuma like that. It had been one of the worst fights ever.

"Maybe we can brainstorm together?" he asked Ivan. "I'm stuck for ideas too. Between us we should be able to come up with something good for both our girls."

Max set down his empty cup then. "And on that note we'd better be going. We've still got plenty of shops to hit before we meet up with the girls."

They picked up their bags again and left. Adrien felt comforted by the fact that his bodyguard wasn't too far behind them, he couldn't deal with any fans today, but he quickly fell into a conversation about potential dates with Ivan. Nino was hanging back with them, leaving Kim, Max, and Nathanaël to direct the group around.

Ivan's problem was that he couldn't come up with a decent date idea that wouldn't make Mylène feel wary. Dinner, dancing, going to the cinema, a picnic in the park - all of them had too many strangers around for her to feel comfortable. So far his ideas involved surprising her in the morning with her favourite flowers and chocolates and taking her to brunch at her favourite cafe, but that didn't seem to be enough for Valentine's Day.

Adrien wasn't sure how to solve that one either. If it was him in that position then he would have rented out the whole cinema or restaurant. No crowds, problem solved. But that wouldn't work for Ivan and Mylène.

Adrien's problem was somewhat similar though. He needed a date idea that wouldn't get him immediately recognised and have them mobbed by his fans - fans who could turn vicious against either him or Marinette since he wasn't on the market anymore. A high end restaurant with security might be possible but Marinette wasn't fond of that kind of attention. She'd only coped with the gala as well as she had because it was for networking.

Not that Adrien was planning for all of their dates to be between Adrien and Marinette. No. Several of them were going to be between Ladybug and Chat Noir. He couldn't tell that to Ivan though.

Since they couldn't decide on a suitable date they moved onto gifts. Flowers and chocolates were an absolute must, and they had both bought some jewellery for their girlfriends today, but it needed something else. Ivan was going to write Mylène another song, or if he couldn't find the right words by Valentine's Day then he was going to write a poem from her favourite poet in her card. Adrien liked that idea a lot and admitted that he had a lot of little trinkets for Marinette but he was struggling with what to put in the card.

Nino cleared his throat then, startling them. They had been so caught up in their talk that they'd forgotten he was right next to them. They'd been so caught up that they'd also apparently completely missed out on the last few shops and were now walking through the streets towards the park by the bakery where they were supposed to meet the girls.

He cleared his throat again. "So, you two seriously put this much thought into it? All the time?"

Ivan nodded. "Yeah, I guess. What about you and Alya?"

Nino frowned, trying to pull something from his memory and failing. "I don't think we've ever done anything like that…" he finally murmured. "We've never had a date at a restaurant, or anything like that, and the only dancing we've done is at class parties or on the DDR excluding the big gala. I've never surprised her with jewellery or written her a poem either."

"That's not a big deal Nino. You two are happy together."

"Yeah but you two are so sweet on your girls and they love it. I just want to spoil Alya like that too."

Adrien just manage to hide a sigh and shared an annoyed look with Ivan over Nino's head. Damn Kim. He never knew when to quit with his teasing and now Nino was feeling terrible because his relationship with Alya wasn't exactly like.

"Oh crap!"

Correction. Nino wasn't feeling bad. Nino was freaking out.

"I don't know anything. I don't know if she prefers gold or silver jewellery, or what flowers she prefers, I don't even know her favourite poet!" he groaned and buried his head in his hands and Ivan had to pull him around a lamppost. Nino didn't even notice. "Oh god I'm an awful boyfriend. Quick, teach me your ways!"

Adrien sighed. "Nino, I-"

They froze in the entrance to the park when the girls shouted out greetings to them. They were early.

Nino whimpered. "Oh god its too late. They're already here! They weren't supposed to be early - why are they early!"

He pulled away from Adrien and Ivan and set his bags on a nearby bench, rifling through them in a desperate search for a gift for Alya. It was pointless though, Alya, Marinette, and Mylène were already separating from the group, passing clothes back and forth, and exchanging goodbye hugs.

Adrien couldn't help but smile at how happy Marinette looked. "It looks like they had a good shopping trip. I hope they went to the shop I recommended."

"You know what they were doing?" Ivan was surprised. "Mylène wouldn't tell me."

"I only know because I have professional connections." Adrien pointed to the many bags of clothing, mostly centred around Sabrina. "Chloé chose Sabrina's wardrobe and hairstyle for her before now. The girls took her out for a full makeover for things she actually wants. I'm pretty sure Marinette will tailor them for Sabrina's measurements."

Ivan grinned. "Good for her. You've got a good one there."

"Don't I know it?" Adrien sighed and smiled.

Across the park, Marinette noticed her boyfriend's smile and blushed. She suddenly knew what had been the topic of the boys' conversations today. Mylène nudged her in the side and they shared a giggle.

Alya meanwhile was frowning at her boyfriend. "What's spooked Nino?" Marinette couldn't help but nod along and agree that he looked particularly wound up, while Mylène hummed her agreement. Alya frowned again then nodded. "Divide and conquer. One of us will get the answer from our guys."

Marinette didn't need any more encouragement and barely nodded at Alya before she was rushing down the path to Adrien. He beamed at her when he saw her running and she grinned back. He opened his arms wide and caught her, spinning her around, before pulling her into a searing kiss. God she loved him.

Much as she wanted to lose herself in his embrace, she was supposed to help Alya right now. She pulled back with reluctance and nuzzled his nose. To her right Mylène sipped into Ivan's embrace and he kissed her forehead. But to the left...

"So, uh, yeah," Nino forced a grin on his face and gave Alya the double finger-guns. "That hurt a bit, didn't it Angel?"

Marinette was not alone in staring at Nino in confusion. What the heck was that? Did he… was Nino trying a pick-up line on Alya? A really bad one at that. And that was before he had mangled it so badly. Adrien discretely facepalmed where Nino or Alya couldn't see him and behind her she could hear Ivan give a low groan. Before she could ask, Adrien shot her a look that clearly said they would talk about this later. Judging by Mylène's huff, Ivan had done the same to her.

Alya's brain had finally puzzled out Nino's cryptic remark and she burst into loud laughter. "God, babe, that was awful! Did he dare you to pull one of his lines?"

Ivan quickly cleared his throat. "We'll see you guys in school tomorrow, okay?"

Marinete saw Mylène give Ivan a confused look before he brought out his puppy dog eyes. They were as effective on Mylène as Adrien's kitten eyes were on her and Marinette wasn't surprised when Mylène gave in. "Yeah, Ivan promised to walk me home. Buy guys!"

She also wasn't surprised when Adrien seized the chance and tugged her towards the park gates. "Since everyone is leaving, might I steal you away for a date, my Princess?"

She melted. "You may indeed." She smiled at him and hoped he got her unspoken message. If you try to get out of telling me what that was I will string you up from the Tower. Judging by his gulp, he got that message loud and clear. "I'll catch you tomorrow, Als, okay?"

"See ya girl!"

Marinette let Adrien choose where they went. He loved exploring the city whenever he could and trying out new cafes, coffee shops, and restaurants was so entertaining with him. She wasn't surprised that he didn't take her to Bastien's cafe, their usual date spot, and instead walked in the opposite direction. She also couldn't help but notice M. Guerin trailing them at a distance and made a mental note to tell her parents to give the large bodyguard a few freebies. He more than deserved them for allowing Adrien out while still keeping him safe.

Adrien picked a decent looking cafe for them, a bit more fast-food than haute cuisine, but by the time they sat down with their food there was at least one person who had sussed out his identity. At least they were tucked away in a corner, and M. Guerin was inside with them hiding in the opposite corner with a sandwich and a newspaper.

Marinette took a critical bite of her own sandwich - he baba's bread was miles better than this - and then set it to one side. Adrien did the same. "What got into Nino back there?"

"Kim."

"That doesn't surprise me but I need more details than that."

Adrien gave her what she knew was a very brief summary of their boys day - he was obviously leaving out the fact that he had bought her a few things, she could tell - and ended with Nino's mini freak out right before they met up. "So now Nino thinks he's a bad boyfriend because he doesn't show that he loves Alya like I show you I love you."

Marinette shook her head sadly. "Leave it to Kim to wind him up like that."

"I know," Adrien groaned around a bite of sandwich. "I'm guessing Max is already telling him off, but I'll have a word with him myself if he's still like this in a few days."

"You'll need to have a word with Nino too," Marinette added. She knew Alya would have quickly uncovered the truth for herself once everyone else had left the park, and she would be tackling that problem head-on in true Alya fashion right now. Nino might not be in the best state to hear her words right now though, so Adrien would have to step in and help his best friend.

"I'm planning on it."

"Make sure you tell him that Alya loves him exactly as he is. She doesn't like anything big or flashy, she likes things like a large coffee the morning after she stayed up late blogging, or a personalised mix tape, or having people listen to her rants about the superheroes."

"Nino does that all the time though."

"Exactly!" Marinette waved her remaining bite of sandwich through the air as she got on a roll. "That's what she loves. The coffee he brings her is always her favourite from the coffee shop he has to go out of his way to go to before school, and he's not telling her off for another late night like pretty much everyone else does. The mix tapes always have her favourite music on and never fail to inspire her. And I unfortunately know just how sexy she thinks he is when he listens to her - with how manic her family is, and how insane the twins are, she can never get a word in edgeways at home, so for Nino to listen to her is a huge deal to Alya. Plus he's always done more elaborate gifts and romantic gestures for her birthday and for Christmas, and he's never been shy about hugging or kissing her in public. She loves him the way he is."

"Let's hope Alya gets through to him then."

"I know she will." Marinette had the utmost faith in her best friend to tackle this issue. "Besides, if he's really worried about stuff like flowers, and chocolates, and jewellery, you can tell him that I can help him there."

"I thought Alya didn't like jewellery?"

"She doesn't. Nino will remember that when the panic disappears. He'll probably remember that she doesn't have a favourite flower either, and he already knows the chocolates she likes."

Adrien took a sip of his coffee. Marinette was certain she could see a little concern on his face. "So, uh, you like all the little things as well as the big things, right?"

Marinette almost choked on her last bite of sandwich she was so shocked. Was this because she gave in to his Valentine's plans last night? He didn't think she just wanted him for dates and Tessier chocolates, did he? No, no, no. That wasn't Adrien. But why then?

"Of course I do!" she swore and reached across the table to take one of his hands in hers. "Adrien, I love you, not your wallet. I love spending time with you whether we're at home in front of the TV, on in a cafe, or on the rooftops. I love your hugs, and you hand kisses, and your purrs. I love when you get me something just because you thought I'd like it and not because it has a price tag, like that perfectly frosted leaf you found on patrol three weeks ago, and I love just being with you without gifts too. It's you I love."

Wow, where was a hole in the floor when you needed one? Marinette could feel herself blushing at how forcefully she had spoken, even if every word of it was true, and it deepened when he smiled at her. He raised their joined hands to his lips and brushed a gentle kiss across her knuckles, before turning her hand over and kissing her palm. She was so thankful she was sat down already because her knees had apparently transformed themselves into jelly.

"I love you too," he murmured between kisses. He smirked then. "Which I why I got you this."

He reached his free hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a tiny red jewellery box and pressed it into her hand, letting go with one final kiss. She was chuckling as she brought the small box over to her. "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

Marinette couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu as she stared down at the tiny box. The tiny ring-shaped box. When he had given her the catbug necklace on Christmas Eve he had presented it to her in a similarly sized box. It had taken her breath away for a moment before she'd realised that it wouldn't have been an actual ring. Not yet.

She knew that Adrien was her future. Adrien and Marinette, Chat Noir and Ladybug, him and her. They were inevitable, fated, already matched. There was no one else for her. She knew they would marry one day. There was no rush to get there though.

Marinette looked forward to the day he proposed to her. Probably in a few years when they were finishing their final Bac, or maybe suited up on the Tower on the anniversary of their superhero debut. He would choose a significant moment in their life to propose, but it wouldn't be for a while yet.

Which is why it was amusing that this was the second time she had received a ring box from her boyfriend.

He gestured at her to open it and she did, gasping in delight at the tiny silver heart charm inside. It was about the size of her little fingernail, gleaming silver on one side and bright ruby red on the other. It was beautiful. She did have a small charm bracelet at home somewhere but there was another item of jewellery that she owned where this little heart would look wonderful.

She reached around to the back of her neck and quickly undid the clasp of his Christmas Eve present to her, a black cat and ladybird necklace, and slid the heart onto the chain. It slid down to rest right next to the tiny kitty ears and she admired it for a moment before slipping it back on. She hadn't taken it off since he had given it to her, save for the gala where she needed to wear something else.

"I love it!"

"And I love you."

She blushed again. Heaven help her but she loved this flirty kitty.

Author's notes: Phew, I just made it for the 2nd Feb. A busy weekend with the sproglet did not leave me much writing time. On to the notes. Yes, I have seen Robostus now. Markov is just the best! I mentioned Bastien in All I Want For Christmas chapter 4. He owns a cafe not too far from the school and calls Adrien by the name of a professional Adrien Agreste double to give him as much anonymity as possible when he eats there. Christophe Guerin is my headcanon name for Gorilla. The ring box and necklace are in AIWFC chapter 24. And, once again, I have not yet seen all of season 2 and none of season three. Consider this an AU if it disagrees with canon.

Replies to reviews:

yellow 14 - I know! I can't wait to watch it. If I pass my driving test I will get so much free time to catch up. Thanks for the well wishes, I'll need all the luck I can get.

calerose - I hope you'll enjoy the progression of their relationship in this. It's really just an excuse to write more fluffy feel-good fic.

LiquifiedStars - thank you for the review, I hope you enjoy this short sequel as much as All I Want For Christmas.