As soon as daylight slipped through the gap between the curtains, Adrien was awake. Pulling on his shirt and pants from the night before, he stepped into his shoes and headed down the stairs with Plagg hidden inside his shirt pocket.

Transporting more than a little Camembert had been tricky, especially away from refrigeration and his apartment for so long. He was definitely going to need to find something for Plagg to bring back up to his room. Plagg's messy eating practically required it. Without a driver here to ferry him around, it was far too likely that his Kwami might be spotted if he ate in the taxi.

Peering down into the empty breakfast nook, he took in the set up as he made a mug of coffee. A heaping pile of baked goods was probably from the small bakery he'd spotted just down the street. It was bound to pale in comparison to Tom and Sabine's fare, but it would do the trick.

Glancing up, he spotted the hotel owner hanging up the sprig of mistletoe over the end of the buffet.

The older woman smiled, climbing back down the step ladder. "Need any recommendations, dear?"

Wide eyed, Adrien plastered on his modelling smile. "I think I can figure it out," he assured, hastily piling a still-warm croissant and a small assortment of cheese cubes, and rushed back up towards the stairs, gaping at another new frond he'd missed on his way downstairs.

Breathing heavily, he took the stairs two at a time, not stopping until he'd shut his room door behind him, slumping against it wearily.

Shaking his head, Adrien panted fretfully as he strode across the small room. Setting his plate of cheese on his desk with a noisy clatter, he shucked off his t-shirt onto the floor and headed over to the shower.

If he moved quickly, he could get cleaned up, eat, and be out in the city well before Marinette even thought about waking up.


Donning his hoodie and sunglasses, with a snoozing Kwami nestled in the hoodie pocket, Adrien headed out, trying to stay as below radar as possible. The hotel owner had waved him out, offering a few recommendations for spots to visit in the local area.

It wouldn't always be easy, especially when he had four tourist information bureaus across the city lined up to visit before lunch. He was here on a mission, even if it wasn't one he could freely share with just anyone.

Maybe Ladybug wouldn't be opposed to coming back here later, after they finally got their victory over this new villain.

Adrien already had a full day ahead of himself. At least it would keep him safely away from Marinette and the hotel growing more filled with mistletoe that covered the dark wood and vintage wallpaper of the front hallways more and more by the minute.

Shaking his head, Adrien nursed his coffee. If he started at the locations closest to the train station and worked his way back to the center of town, he might be able to check out where all the pictures of the Akuma had been taken and see if he might be able to tell something from where they might be headed.

If their elusive-but-villainous traveler was a local, he needed to know what travel tips they were likely getting. On the other hand, if their villain was only stopping in for a visit, he wanted to know what Hawkmoth was likely to do — to hide as much out of sight as possible. The more isolated the hotels, the better. Tempted as he was to talk to the hotelier about the local competition, he definitely had been recognized and didn't wish to invite any more speculation than necessary.

Especially with the endless amount of mistletoe that seemed to lurk around every corner.

He already had enough bad luck to contend with, and he wasn't due for another brush with Lady Luck until much later this evening.

At least, he could easily claim he was looking into modelling along the Northern coast, learning to set things up for a future Gabriel shoot.

Occasionally, it was actually a good thing to be the face of a major business.


Unfortunately, it only took a few hours to find that most of the recommendations from the tourism clerks didn't pan out. He barely heard a single tip that he hadn't already gathered through his research online.

He sipped his coffee, picking up speed as he walked between the third and fourth travel information stations.

There were a few more private and exclusive hotels recommended that he could try to call and check on this afternoon. At least his voice was far less likely to be recognized since it had been years since he'd last voice acted in anything.

"You know, young man. You look quite familiar…" The little old man behind the counter muttered as he started to gather a heaping pile of brochures.

Adrien plastered on his model smile, as he tugged the sunglasses from his face. "I get that a lot."

The old man grinned. "It will come to me, I swear."

"Maybe from a magazine?" Adrien prompted. The old man had been very kind, but there were at least two or three more places he'd flagged before he wanted to stop and grab lunch.

Snorting, the old man waved his hand. "Nothing silly like that. The only magazines we keep in this office are for destinations."

"Oh," Adrien's own smile widened. "I just have one of those faces, I suppose."

"It's a point of pride for me to remember all my customers, young man." He squinted, focusing on his features in a way that reminded him too much of pasta-obsessed photographers. "You wouldn't happen to have a lady friend, would you? Perhaps a brunette?"

Chuckling, Adrien replaced his sunglasses. "I'm afraid I've always had a thing for girls with hair as dark as night. I'm afraid you must have confused me with someone else."

Frowning, the old man gathered up a whole slew of adverts, pressing his card on the top. "No matter. Just take a few of these with you. They give you any trouble and you tell them Jean Michel will give them what for."


Stretching and finally burrowing out from the thick comforter, Marinette stumbled out of bed. It was nearly ten am, but she still had to sneak in a few extra visits on this trip to keep her cover.

Alya: Girl! Why go to yet another romantic spot alone?
Marinette: Who told you I was travelling?
Alya: I checked in with your Mom after you never answered last night.
Marinette: Alya, what are you doing talking to my Mom? I thought you were on a romantic trip with Nino.

Alya: I'm not about to ignore my best friend…
Alya: Anyways, were you hoping to find someone?
Marinette: Not every trip needs to be romantic, you know?
Marinette: I'm here to tour a museum this afternoon that will help with my research I'll need for next semester

Marinette rolled her eyes as she pulled her outfit for the day out of the wardrobe. How many times did she have to say she was just fine before everyone started to believe it? She actually was dating. She was happy. It was just impossibly hard to explain how she was dating Chat Noir since she could only do that as Ladybug.

Alya: Marinette, you're supposed to be taking a much needed break.
Marinette: I know.
Marinette: One of these days, it might even happen.


Finally dressed, Marinette slipped downstairs, pulling her jacket on as she strode down the steps.

To her horror, it seemed like there were sprigs of mistletoe that had popped up everywhere. There hadn't been this many last night, had there?

Paling, Marinette scuttled outside as quickly as she could.

The prospect of running into Adrien inside within that gamut of a mistletoe forest was increasingly dangerous to her composure.

She was half relieved and half sad that she didn't see Adrien before she left this morning. Even if it could have been at a safe distance.

If she was being honest with herself, she really just missed spending time with him.

With Chat Noir, she wasn't lonely...but there was always a small, guilty corner of her heart that had held out hope that maybe, eventually things might work out with Adrien.

But the threats never really stopped coming...and Chat Noir had wound his tail around her heart, slowly but surely.

"Oh," the younger front desk clerk rushed over, pressing a brightly colored coupon into her hand. "You must take this. We just got a few of these in today, for one of the best restaurants in the area. Just down the street a few blocks to the right."

Smiling widely, Marinette dropped the coupon into her purse.

The hotel owner appeared in the doorway, cleaning rag in hand as she dusted the banister for the stairs. She winked, gleefully. "Do tell Pierre I sent you, and he'll set you up with a lovely little table with quite a view. If you go in tonight, he might add in a little special desert on the house."

With a final, weary wave, Marinette headed out into the cold. She needed to make up a little time, and a fast pace was sure to help.

Rubbing her gloved hands over her arms to warm her muscles faster, she sighed.

Maybe it was just the prospect of extra sweets, but the meddling hotel owner reminded Marinette a little too much of her mother…

Marinette's eyes narrowed in suspicion, glancing anxiously back over her shoulder. Had her Mother written ahead?

Massaging her temples, Marinette sighed. She knew her Mom just wanted her to be happy.

She shook her head, waiting until the light changed and she could safely cross the street. There was no possible way she could have known that Adrien would even be here, right?

Her eyes widened as she tugged her coat more tightly around her. Right?

Sighing, she checked her phone to make sure she was headed in the right direction for the library. There was a bakery along the way she planned to stop at as she slept in too late for the breakfast the hotel had offered.

The extra expense would be meager. Besides, she kind of wished she'd stayed out a little longer last night...even if he was clearly tired.

It was hard, knowing they were both so close...and still unreasonably far apart.

It wasn't as big a deal when they were younger… but she had spent years watching Alya.

She was half convinced there was a real chance Nino would also propose on this trip.

But they already lived together. They'd dated for half a decade already. They already knew what life would probably be like on the other side of getting married.

Between the endless stream of villains and the masks that still kept them safe — but separate — it seemed like she might never be able to have the same.

And she really did love him.

Adrien….he had opened her eyes to what it was that she valued. To what she was looking for in letting someone into her heart…

Were it not for him, she might have never lost her heart so fully to the boy who had stood at her side all along.

She could never tell him that, but she would always be grateful.

Curious as she always would be, she plotted her walking path to carefully avoid the travel places, since that's exactly where Chat Noir would be headed. Any of the other big parks or local monuments had to be avoided as well, since she had no idea wherever Adrien was out modelling.


Marinette didn't spend long at the local library. Considering the homework she managed to do before she arrived, she was really only looking for any local for that timeframe that hadn't made it online.

If there wasn't anything more in the images, she at least wanted to find actual people to talk to tomorrow.

An hours worth of research gave her an achy neck from staring down at the screen at the scanned articles, but at least it had turned up a few names. Taking a few pictures with her phone before she tucked it away and gathered up her things. Ladybug would have to pass along the details to Max and Alya so they could track those people down.

She checked the clock on the wall. If she hurried, there was just enough to make it to the museum and sneak in some research there before it closed for the day.

That would give her just enough time to check out the restaurant the hotel owner recommended before she met up with Chat Noir.


In the end, Adrien made a slight stop out of his way to check at the local Theater. Of the few pictures Alya's network of butterfly informants had managed to capture, the only one away from the train station had been clearly spotted outside of it. He was trying to match the picture to figure out where the holder may have been headed.

There was a little restaurant nearby that looked good. It had even been highly recommended by the hotel owner before he raced out this morning.

Heading up to the host's desk, he put his name in.

Turning around to sit down, he didn't expect to come face to face with an equally stunned Marinette.

It was just his luck that a table for two was available before any space at the bar was, so he, of course, found himself pulling out her chair for her to sit before he wound around the table to sit across from her.

Studiously, he otherwise stayed as far apart from her as he could.

But it didn't last long before they both leapt back as if burnt whenever they both reached for the menus at the same time.

Adrien frowned, sitting back in his chair with every scrap of polite society manners that had been drilled into him for years on end. Perhaps a meter apart wasn't a safe enough distance, even if Hawkmoth might hopefully be miles away.

At least in Paris, she was clearly safe. He'd spent more than enough evenings checking on her balcony on patrol to make sure of it. He couldn't help but keep checking to make sure the Akuma attacks stayed far away from wherever she was.


"How long are you staying in town?" Adrien asked politely, as he stabbed a fork into his salad.

She gulped, feeling every bit as painfully shy and awkward as she had after Adrien had surprised her with how kind and genuine he was at heart. Her fingers fiddled with the napkin on her lap, straightening it absently. Just remembering that rainy early day was only turning the knife a little deeper. "Until Monday."

"The hotel is nice." He chuckled. "Although it maybe has a little more foliage than I would have expected this late in the year."

Marinette snorted, before coughing not-so-subtly. "I'm particularly fond of the little balcony in my room. I just wish it was warmer to be able to head out and enjoy the view.

Not that she would actually be able to if she could. If anyone actually spotted Ladybug, it was too risky that they might place her as staying in the room Ladybug visited.

Adrien smiled serenely. "I'm afraid there isn't much of a view from my room. I really wanted to try and stay under the radar on this trip."

"Are you actually having any luck with that?" she chuckled, resting her cheek.

Adrien grinned back at her. "Perhaps a little more than I expected to."


Marinette smiled, watching him from behind her eyelashes as she sipped the last of a glass of red with dessert.

It was funny. Her heart was no longer in that chaotic spiral of panic that she'd had at 14 that sent her tripping and stammering around him for a whole year. By the time they had dated, she could at least handle whole sentences and keep herself upright, but he still managed to have that dizzying effect on her heart.

He was still just as attractive as the day they had met. Time had only been kinder to him still. If that hadn't been unfair enough, Adrien was definitely wearing some of the clothes that had just gone up on Gabriel's website for the winter line beneath his jacket.

But time — and no small amount of danger — had tempered her feelings for him. They were absolutely still there of course.

Just sitting here with him simply warmed her to her core.

Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was the fact that she had dated him in the distant past.

Maybe — just maybe — it was because now, sitting across from him at his table, she was never more aware of how genuine and sweet Adrien's clear concern for her really was. As were those painfully soft looks he hept tossing, it tugged at heartstrings she thought she'd safely severed…

She kept having to remind herself that this wasn't a date. It was just two old friends who happened to meet up for dinner. And chatted for two whole hours, while her boyfriend was probably already up waiting for her on the clock tower.

He even picked up the check, snagging it off the table before she could.

"Let me pay," she insisted, holding out her hand.

Adrien shook his head. "Modelling still pays pretty well. Just consider it an investment on your first big project as a fashion designer."

Oddly, it felt like Chat Noir all over again. Bringing her yellow roses, when she kept telling herself they could only ever be friends.

Sighing heavily, Marinette tipped back the glass of wine, finishing it off with a grimace as the liquid warmed the back of the throat..

Clearly, she had a type.

Adrien glanced down at his watch with a frown. "I guess I ought to walk you back."

"Oh," she blinked. She had been planning to finish dinner and head up to the clock tower to meet Chat Noir. "I...kind of needed to go back to the library for one last thing, then planned to turn in early."

"It's nearly 7 pm." He picked up his phone to check the hours. "Isn't the library about to close?"

"Really?" Paling, Marinette floundered for another excuse. "That's a shame. I guess I'll have to be up earlier tomorrow. My boyfriend is going to want to call and check in." Wincing, she mused aloud, reminding herself of that very firm line that was in place.

"Lucky guy." Adrien murmured.

She flushed, turning her gaze away. "I hope he thinks so."

"I'm happy for you." And he really, truly was.

"Thanks…" She whispered, face flushing slightly. Or maybe it was just the dim light and half a hope in heart.

However that happiness didn't change the fact that a solid part of him was also irrationally jealous.

His fleeting joyful moments with Ladybug were often stolen. Try as he might, they never lasted long enough. What's more, the masks were always the one thing that got in the way. The one thing that truly kept them from growing closer, from sharing secrets more openly.

In those earliest days of dating Marinette, it had just been nice to spend a quiet evening cuddled up and playing video games. He'd always been full, eating dinners that her parents had prepared — even sitting with them at their table — and cuddling up on her balcony to talk about their hopes and dreams for the future.

He missed the fact that they could walk around the school at least, hand in hand, openly accepting the happy well wishes from all of their friends.

He loved Ladybug dearly, but he mourned the loss of that with her.

She looked up at him, confused, pressing the cloth napkin to her lips.

Marinette was just a pointed reminder of everything that he'd truly been missing. After all, Marinette was one of the very few people in his life who was nearly everything he had admired in Ladybug. He meant every word when he'd called her their Everyday Ladybug. When they had been dating, it had been a real delight to revel in her boundless kindness and generosity.

Adrien closed his eyes, savoring the large bite of chicken.

At least with Marinette, everything had still been new. They had kissed and held hands.

But with Ladybug, they weren't children anymore. It was hard enough watching Nino and Alya without wanting what they had.

He wanted to have Ladybug in his house...to wake up beside her in the morning. To make breakfast together and watch all the ridiculous movies they ever talked about.

To truly know the girl hiding behind the mask, once and for all.

He smiled sadly. Maybe that is what he missed most about Marinette…

The hope that she had always represented for him.

He looked into the worried expression on her face, trying to veer the conversation around to safer ground. After all, he excelled at distraction. "Did you ever get to watch that Ultimate Mecha Strike movie?"

"Ugh." She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. "Don't get me started on that disaster…"

He leaned his head onto his hand, settling in to watch her barely checked glee as she prepared to itemize every single cinematic flaw in exquisite detail.


Marinette focused on keeping a careful and separate distance between them as they walked back to the hotel.

They both separated as if burned as they ducked into the first hallway, pressing themselves into the edges of the doorway to avoid the mistletoe as if it might be dropping Horrificator's acidic spit.

Safer out in public...strategically ducking every bit of green foliage she could spot.

As he helped her out of her jacket, the hotel owner glanced over with interest from the front desk, but politely said not a word.

Adrien shed his hoodie quickly, tugging it up over his head with practiced ease.

Her eyes widened as he pressed his hands to his stomach, tugging the shirttails back into place.

It was hard for her not to pay attention to it. Not to file away every minute design detail. Not to not-so-subtly drool over the ideal planes of his chest and how the tailored dress shirt fit him perfectly.

She shivered at the sight.

"Are you cold, Marinette?" he murmured.

"Oh…" Her eyes widened, finally feeling that familiar panic setting in. She rubbed her hands over her arms, hoping it would help her ground herself. "I-It's just a bit drafty in my room."

"Oh, did you want to switch rooms?" Adrien tilted his head, his brows furrowed as the both walked up the stairs side by side. "I'd offer my jacket, but I'm definitely going to need it outside later."

Marinette nibbled at her lip. "I'll be fine. I'll just ask the front desk for a few more blankets."

Smiling, he pressed the softest kiss to her cheek as they parted at the top of the stairs.

Ruefully, he nodded up at the ceiling above to the first mistletoe that they both hadn't noticed until it was too late.

That soft look in his eyes and his innate sense of chivalry was going to drive her mad.

"Good night, Marinette."

Lucky for her — and her traitorous heart — he headed straight back to his room.

Her shoulders slumped, wearily as she watched him go.

In spite of all of her best efforts and all of the years in between, it somehow managed to leave her just as breathless as he ever had.

"Good night, Adrien," she mumbled to his now closed door.