*Author's Note*

Getting to the home stretch! Ladybug's gift for Chat Noir is nearly set, but can her kitty FINALLY manage to gift her something he's proud of?

**DISCLAIMER: This is an uncollaborated, unofficial, POV-swap, companion story to Twelve Days of Chatmas by Taurus Pixie. This story contains major spoilers for Pixie's story. If you have not read her story yet, stop what you're doing, and go read that first (it's published on this very site). I promise you, it will be worth it for the hurt/comfort, and this story will still be here when you come back.**


Chapter 11


Ladybug crouched perched atop the Grand Paris hotel. She shuddered just recalling what happened there the day before, but that was precisely why she was there again.

Christmas morning was one of the busiest for her parents, which meant an early night on Christmas Eve. It also meant extra time for Ladybug to finish getting Chat Noir's present ready while also sticking to her patrol schedule.

Psyching herself up, she dropped to the street and entered the hotel.

The meeting with Mayor Bourgeois took exhaustingly longer than intended, but doing so solidified Ladybug's plan for Chat Noir's gift. Next up was an equally tiring chat with the ten Lords of Achoo. After a long, one-way negotiation about how many dates Ladybug would go on with Prince Ali (she refused to participate), they finally agreed to help with Chat Noir's surprise, in hopes it would butter Ladybug up enough to consent to the match.

As Ladybug finished giving them the details on what they needed to do, her yo-yo beeped. Quickly excusing herself for a moment, she stepped away to check on the message.

Emergency. Come quick. Not much time left. Ladybug's heart thudded loudly as she stared at Chat Noir's text and the attached coordinates.

"I'm sorry," Ladybug frantically closed her yo-yo and rushed to the window, barely looking at the lords as she crossed the room. "I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you."

She didn't wait for a response. She couldn't. Chat Noir said he didn't have much time. She leapt into the night and swung as fast as she could to get to him.

What happened? Is he hurt? Is he dying? How could he get that hurt while powered up? Did Hawk Moth find him? Did an akuma capture him? How did she not know there was danger? Thoughts of her broken Chat Noir dressed in a white supersuit with matching hair and icy blue eyes pushed her faster as she looked for her partner.

Below. He was in the alleyway, leaning against a wall. His hair was still blonde. His costume still black. Every couple seconds he'd check the screen on his stick. The rest of the time he was scanning the rooftops. Ladybug dropped in front of him and quickly verified that they were safe in Chat Noir's hide-away.

"What is it, Chat? What's the emergency?"

His eyes got wide as he checked his stick once more, then darted his glance back at her. "We need to hurry, my lady!" He quickly attached his stick to the small of his back before unzipping his right pocket and pulling out two theater tickets. His fearful facade slipping slightly, he held the tickets up to Ladybug's confusion. "These expire in an hour!"

"Wait. What?" Ladybug blinked at him. He was able to track an akuma down at a theater and they needed tickets?

"I told you it was an emergency," Chat Noir said playfully. He picked up his tail and began spinning it. "Could you imagine the tragedy if these went to waste?"

Ladybug's jaw went slack. She was in a full blown panic over tickets? She punched him in the arm. Not hard enough to actually hurt him, but enough to get the message.

"That's your emergency?" she demanded, fighting back tears, "Expiring theater tickets? Are you kidding me? I thought you had been captured by an akuma or something! I was frantic!"

Chat Noir sharply inhaled, fully feeling the gravity of what he did. His cat ears and tail drooped, and he nearly dropped the tickets as his arms also hung loose.

"Sorry. That was supposed to be funny. I never meant to scare you. I just-" he scratched the back of his head, and only stole quick glances at Ladybug to gauge how mad she was. "With how disastrous last night went, I- I was worried you might not show up if I had just asked-"

Heaving out her anger with him, Ladybug cupped Chat Noir's face to make him look at her. "Kitty, I told you last night that wasn't your fault."

Chat Noir reluctantly moved her hands away and took a step back. "I feel like it was. I should have been more careful. I've done nothing but embarrass you and put you in awkward situations these past few days, and I'm sorry. But let me make it up to you today." He held up the tickets as if they'd shield him from her. "I got us these tickets to see this fancy new show. They're called The Eleven Pipping Pipers, and I thought you might, I dunno, want to check them out?"

Ladybug mentally chuckled. How is he not seeing the Twelve Days of Christmas connection? Is he doing this on purpose now? It was sweet, and becoming increasingly amusing, but she still wasn't positive it was the smartest move.

"Are you sure it's such a good idea? Last night, when we went out in public, we ended up being hounded. And look where being recognized in public got us while we went shopping at the Christmas market."

"Ah! Fear not, my lady, for I have thought of everything!" He walked over to a bag a little further down the wall he had been leaning on. Rummaging though it, he stood back up proudly holding an elegant gown and large-brimmed silk hat. "Ta-da!"

"Umm?" Ladybug cocked her head to the side as she accepted the offerings. She held up the dress, and even with her hands above her shoulders, the skirt draped down to her feet and rolled like a carpet out before her. It was clearly meant for a woman a good thirty centimeters taller than her.

Doesn't he realize I'm shorter than him?

She quirked an eyebrow as she held the dress up in front of her for him to see. He awkwardly laughed and gave her a shrug. He then buttoned up a black dress shirt he had slid over his superhero suit. It looked a bit broad in the shoulders, and the sleeves needed to be too wide in order for his bracers to slide through. Other than that though, it did look like it mostly fit. Once Chat Noir slid on the tuxedo pants (again, a touch too large so the legs could accommodate his boots) and tucked in his belt tail and the button-down shirt he almost looked presentable.

Ladybug again gestured at the dress to draw his attention to how incredibly large it was going to be on her, especially in comparison to his tux on him.

"Maybe it'll start a new fashion trend?" he ventured as he adjusted his green ascot to try to hide his costume's bell.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny," she grumbled. With a huff, she snaked her way inside the tent of a dress. Not only was it meant for a woman much taller than her, but it was also clearly intended for someone much curvier. The front sagged like badly hung curtains. The waist line wrapped below her hips. She nearly tripped a couple of times as she took some test walks in the dress. This clearly wasn't going to work. She again narrowed her eyes at him as she pursed her lips.

"Of course, we could always just go to the theater together as our civilian selves. That would save us from people recognizing our superhero forms." Chat Noir winked at her. He was promptly smacked over the head with the large formal hat he had provided Ladybug. "Ah, okay! Okay!" he chuckled as he tucked for cover.

"Nice try, Kitty." She stuck out her tongue and plopped the hat on her head. With a sigh, she looked herself over best she could without a mirror. She didn't need a reflection to know she looked ridiculous. The elegant red dress Chat Noir provided her was sleeveless, so her arms were still fully exposed: red spandex with black spots and all. The plunging neckline, with no chest to hold it where it was supposed to be, sagged nearly down to her navel, which meant the chest and back of her supersuit was also on full display. The outfit did nothing to hide that she was Ladybug and did everything to make her look like a seven-year-old playing dress-up in her mother's clothes. All she needed was the high heels five sizes too big and a clutch filled with crayons to complete the look.

She was a fashion designer though. There had to be a way to get the dress to fit. She tried sliding her head through the arm hole instead so the dress would drape like a single-shoulder gown, but the hole was too small for her head to fit. She then tried dropping the one strap down to be an off-shoulder dress, but it draped well past her elbow in order to keep the neck line where it should be. It also didn't hide her superhero costume's sleeves any better. There were no clothespins or safety-pins anywhere in the area that she could borrow to try to bundle up the excess fabric. She also didn't have a way of making a straight cut along the hem, otherwise she could have easily made the excess skirt into a shrug to help hide the upper portion of her suit. Chat Noir also neglected any evening gloves to help hide her hands and arms.

Ladybug spent the better part of ten minutes looking around the alley, sliding the hat and dress off to inspect the possibilities, and then awkwardly trying to put them back on in inventive ways to try to hide more of her costume, or at least lift the hem off the ground.

"I'm sorry, Kitty, but this isn't going to work."

Pouting, he took her hand and gave her a little spin. Of course, she tripped as the long hem tangled around her legs, but thankfully he was there to catch her. Blushing a little, he instantly righted her on her feet and stepped back, giving her finger guns. In doing so, his eyes drifted to the cuffs his tuxedo jacket sliding over his knuckles. Chuckling, he slid the jacket off.

"Here ya go." He draped the jacket over her shoulders and waved for her to slide her arms into the sleeves.

The cuffs nearly reached her finger tips. It was certainly one way to hide her supersuit-covered hands, but it was also quite awkward. She rolled up the excess in perfectly creased folds. The silk lining of the jacket was a lovely accent, and with the combination of red dress with black tuxedo jacket, her gloved hands were less obvious. Besides, she could easily hide her hands somehow. As for her chest, she could pretend to be cold and pull the jacket tight around her to cover up her upper body. It wasn't the worst idea, but considering how large the jacket was on Chat Noir, Ladybug could only imagine she appeared even more like a seven-year-old, except now it looked like she rummaged through Daddy's closet as well as Mommy's.

That mental image was all but confirmed as Chat Noir struggled to not laugh.

Is it too late to offer to go home and put on my own clothes over my costume, and then meet him at the theater? That probably wasn't any better of an idea than what Chat Noir had already offered her. Especially since most of her clothes were Marinette Originals, and she couldn't chance him noticing that. Seemed like she was as ready for a night at the theater as she'd ever be. She shrugged submission over her outfit.

Placing a fedora over his cat ears, Chat Noir tucked one arm behind his back and deeply bowed at the waist. "My lady." With a graceful swoop, he held out his hand for her.

She was hesitant, but accepted his hand. He stood up and shifted so his arm was laced through hers. He then elegantly waved his free arm before them, "Shall we?"

Despite herself, she giggled. They probably looked insane, but Chat Noir deserved a nice night out. Who cares if they had some of the goofiest outfits on? It's not like it was going to shine badly on the future Marinette brand. Seems having a secret identity wasn't protecting her only from Hawk Moth.

She bustled the skirt of her oversized dress in her fist and gave her partner a nod. They took three steps before she halted, unhooking her arm from his.

"Oh, wait! I forgot something!"

Chat Noir cocked his head to the side. Ladybug wound up and jabbed him in the arm. Just like earlier, it was more to get her point across than to actually harm him. "Don't you dare pull another stupid stunt like faking an emergency again!"

He rubbed his shoulder where she hit him. Ladybug hoped it was for show and that she didn't actually bruise him.

"Yeah. Sorry. That was stupid. I promise I won't do that again."

"Good," she huffed before scooping her dress skirt back up in her hand and threading her arm back through his. "Then let's go to the theater, shall we?"

Proudly puffing out his chest and stupidly grinning ear-to-ear, Chat Noir tipped his fedora and escorted her to the theater. As they approached the building they pulled their hats down lower so the shadow would hide their masks. They had lucked out, and the lobby was fairly quiet outside of a few ushers talking amongst themselves. Most of the other patrons were already seated and awaiting the start of the show.

Walking up to one of the ushers, Chat Noir turned to gaze lovingly at Ladybug. It startled her for a moment, but then she realized that it would explain away why he wasn't looking at the usher while addressing him. She played along, leaning into Chat Noir's shoulder so both of their hats would block the usher's view of her mask. The act threw Chat Noir off for a beat.

"To hide our masks, Kitty. Just keep looking at me," she whispered.

"Gladly," he sighed.

Not looking at the usher, Chat Noir wordlessly handed over their tickets. The man seemed a bit weirded out by these two children in oversized clothes coming alone to a theater production, but they did have tickets, so he quickly ripped them and verbally directed them where to go.

Chat Noir had managed to get balcony seats. As he pulled Ladybug along through the theater and up the stairs, she hoped that would mean they would be far from the rest of the crowd, and it would be easier to stay incognito. Not that they were very inconspicuous in those get-ups anyway.

They again lucked out: their seats were in the front row of the balcony, right up against the banister. They would get an excellent view of the stage, but were still tucked away enough to (hopefully) not draw much attention. As they slid past the other theater goers in order to reach their seat, the house lights dimmed and the stage lights began to rise. They had made it just in time for the show to start.

A single player came out with an Irish tin whistle and started off with a jaunty Irish jig, keeping beat with a stomp of his foot, encouraging the audience to clap along. As the audience began clapping, three more pipers joined in with their own tin whistles of varying length to add a little harmony to their tone. The remaining seven members of the troupe emerged from backstage, clapping above their heads to help the audience to keep rhythm. As the song swelled, the seven clapping pipers began to play. A few more bars in, all eleven pipers started step dancing around the stage. Behind them, the lights rose and a man by a large bass drum began beating on it to count every fourth beat. Then two more band members joined in with ukuleles. It really got the audience hyped, and truly blew Ladybug away. She had never experienced music like this.

Throughout the night the pipers shifted cultures from the Irish tin whistle to the Scottish bagpipes – who would have known that the bagpipes could actually sound good? - to the American fife to the Native American flute to the Australian Aboriginal digeridoo to the Greek pan flute and finally to the Japanese Shakuhachi. It was a glorious global tour of piping. The music flowed from upbeat to soothing, and just before intermission, the music was so calming Ladybug couldn't help but simply lean back in her chair, close her eyes, and fully immerse herself in the music.

She nearly fell asleep when she got the feeling she was being watched. She popped open her left eye, and, sure enough, Chat Noir was staring dreamily at her. She shifted in her chair so she was sitting upright again.

"Chat Noir? Are you okay?"

That bolted him from his daydreaming. His cheeks flushed and he gave that goofy wide grin he always had when she caught him doing something.

"Oh, I- erm- I have to, uh, go to the bathroom, and I, uh, I can't get past you?"

"Oh! Umm, Oh-kay?" He was really going to go with a bathroom excuse? She had caught him sniffing her before! It's not like it was the creepiest thing he had done around her. It was just the creepiest thing he'd done in a real long while. "Don't you want to wait until the intermission? It should be soon."

"Nope. It's really urgent." For good measure, Chat Noir crossed his legs and started bouncing them.

Ladybug rolled her eyes and stood up so he could sneak past her, despite there being more than enough room between their seats and the banister. After he shuffled past, Ladybug retook her seat to enjoy the rest of the show. She hoped Chat Noir would use his ruse to at least compose himself before getting back. Shaking her head, she glanced over to watch her partner leave, and saw him trip over a gentleman's foot. He stumbled backwards and began to topple over the banister.

"Chat!" Flinging herself out of her chair and over the patrons sitting beside her, Ladybug dove to save him, her massive hat fluttering to the floor. The two reached out for each other, but all Chat Noir could catch was the folded cuff of the baggy tuxedo jacket. As he continued to fall, he pulled the jacket up and over Ladybug's head, spinning her slightly in the process. She couldn't turn fast enough to grab hold of the jacket as Chat Noir continued to fall into the audience members below. She went to grab her yo-yo, but it was tucked under the ginormous dress. In a fluid motion, she shrugged the dress off, and unhooked her yo-yo.

She went to throw it over the banister to catch her partner, only to see him already dangling from his stick, which he had wedged into a light fixture to halt his fall. His stick jostled him a little as it shook off his momentum, causing his fedora to flutter down onto a woman below him. She looked up, along with a bunch of other audience members around her. Meanwhile, the balcony Ladybug was on was also abuzz after watching a man fall over the balcony. The commotion stopped the performance, and the house lights were brought back up, fully exposing that Ladybug and Chat Noir were in the audience.

The room fell silent. Ladybug froze. Chat Noir gave an uneasy chuckle and waved as he continued to hang from his stick. Watching her partner, Ladybug couldn't help but facepalm and softly groan.

"It's Ladybug and Chat Noir!" someone from the audience yelled. The room erupted in gasps, murmurs, and hoots for the superheroes, but also a bunch of questions about why Chat Noir was in a tux and dangling from the balcony seats.

The audience near Ladybug in the balcony swarmed her with questions about why they were there, as well as requests for selfies and autographs.

"Chat Noir!"

He flung himself up onto his stick and ran towards her awaiting arms. Another leap, and he caught her hand. She swung him up over the balcony, then quickly lassoed his stick and whipped it back to her hand.

"Here." She handed him his stick, then wrapped her arm around his waist. He draped his arms around her neck, and she latched onto the light fixtures to swing them over the audience and through the doors to the lobby. The two then dashed out of the theater and back into the alley they had met up at.

A mob raced past the alley, missing them. Ladybug felt guilty that they directed attention from the pipers, let alone stole the audience from them. She hoped everyone would settle down, realize how silly they were acting, and return to the theater post-intermission.

"That was close," Ladybug sighed as she watched the alleyway entrance clear. When Chat Noir didn't respond, she turned. His back was towards her. His cat ears were drooped, and his head hung. His shoulders were hunched, his arms stiff at his sides, and his hands balled up in fists, one of them holding the button-down shirt he had ripped off at some point.

"Chat Noir?" Ladybug took a cautious step. "Is everything okay?" She knew the answer, but didn't know how else to breech the subject.

"I'm fine," Chat Noir snapped. He hadn't moved a muscle to face her.

"Clearly you're not." She took another step and reached out her hand to him. She caught his shoulder blade, but he rolled it away.

"All I wanted to do was give you a really nice gift this Christmas. I wanted to do something special for you. But no!" He quickly wiped the trail of tears off his cheek. "The universe hates me! All I've done is get us into trouble and put us in embarrassing situations!"

Ladybug softly moaned in sympathy. Her heart broke for her kitten. She knew he was putting this pressure on himself and she couldn't find a way to tell him to stop. "Chat Noir, listen-"

"I don't even know why you put up with me," he yelled. Realizing how loud he got, he lowered his voice, but the intensity was still there. "I'm nothing but a failure and a joke." He tossed the shirt to the side and hugged himself tight.

"Chat-"

He shook his head and took a step away from her, still not ready to hear anything she said. Sniffling back more tears, his voice softened. "Happy Christmas, Ladybug. I'm sorry I couldn't get you anything special."

"But-"

"I suppose the best gift I can give you now is to leave you alone." He extended his stick.

"No! Chat Noir, wait!" It was too late. He had already taken off, yet again. Ladybug slumped against the brick and rubbed her eyes. Everything had become so draining that Christmas season. Nothing could go right for her partner, and nothing could be simple for her. At least she knew her next step. Pushing off of the wall, she made her way back to the theater.

~o~o~o~o~o~

It was a bit of a feat to navigate her way to The Eleven Piping Pipers, and even more so to apologize for interrupting their show the way they did. Eventually, she did smooth things over with the musicians. Using the last of her charm, she convinced them to help her out with her gift to Chat Noir. She jotted down instructions and a meet-up time, then left them to get some rest after an eventful evening.

The next few hours were spent placing the final pieces together. Everything had to be perfect for Chat Noir. She would accept nothing less for her partner.


~ Thank you for reading. Comments are always welcome. ~


*Closing Notes*

Had to do some reworking of some of the blocking again in this chapter, and shift some dialogue/add dialogue, but it's again still about 90% still how Taurus Pixie described it in her story.

I also had an excuse to listen to a variety of pipe music (mostly Irish tin whistle) while working on this chapter. Score!