*Author's Note*

We made it! Final chapter! Only kept me *checks calendar* an extra month to get this story done. *sigh*

This chapter was the worst. Over a week of trying to get it to form. I must have at least 7 revisions of this chapter alone. It has a LOT of original stuff in the opening that I just could NOT get sorted out. I'm pretty sure I got it now though. So, thank you, for taking this journey with me.

**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 12


Chaos. Ladybug had created chaos. She had unknowingly welcomed chaos into the city. She didn't fully grasp what it would actually look like to have the entirety of The Twelve Days of Christmas on display.

Chaos. That's what it looked like.

The Eleven Piping Pipers tuned up their bagpipes in a long, low braying hum. The song-bird specialist was cooing to the four blackbirds she had borrowed, and made sure she had enough treats to reward them for their showcase. The boat renter from the one park Chat Noir took Ladybug to was talking to his fellow conversationalists about the best way to keep all of the water fowl content. Meanwhile, the swans honked away their part of the discussion.

Off to the side, the animal rights activist was trying to keep the Faverolles chickens from pecking at the eight farmers and their cows. Luckily, the ladies knew exactly how to handle the chickens, and the bovine seemed unfazed. Ladybug was glad to see the hens were already looking a little healthier, and definitely livelier. However, as she passed by the livestock, she subconsciously adjusted the satchel she was wearing that night, making sure to keep it safe in case the hens decided to turn on her or the cows stampeded again. Resting the small box inside the satchel on her hip to keep it steady, Ladybug continued to make her way through the crowd forming in front of City Hall.

Easily five-dozen people bustled up and down the road as they put the finishing touches on the six gorgeous floats Mayor Bourgeois provided. They were completely decked out with Christmas lights and independent sound systems. One was even a boat on a trailer with garlands draped around its bow. Ladybug was delightfully surprised by how quickly the mayor was able to find enough floats, and how beautifully they were decorated. He truly did put in some effort for this project.

Off on one of the side streets, around forty more people stood ready; long, thick rope in hand as another ten people worked on inflating the Chat Noir parade balloon commissioned for Heroes' Day. The balloon handlers only had a few hours to practice controlling the balloon in all sorts of weather, as well as coordinate turning the city corners. Unsure they would be fully prepared, Ladybug was jittery, and the crowd was equally electric with nerves. However, there was also an excitable energy as they all awaited the moment Chat Noir would see them parading his balloon around the city streets.

Ladybug continued navigating her way around the crowd, both attempting to help coordinate the masses, as well as look busy enough to avoid the Lords of Achoo as much as possible. The place was abuzz with anticipation, and it got Ladybug antsy as well.

"So, is everyone set? You're the ones kicking this whole thing off." She walked up to a drumline twelve semi-professionals strong. They were a multi-award winning line from a nearby university that had jumped at the chance to showcase their talents for none other than one of the Heroes of Paris. Each member was smartly dressed in blue and red uniforms paired with finely polished black shoes, pristine white gloves, and a blue cavalier hat adorned by a long, red plume. Their drum major's uniform also had aiguillettes draped from his shoulders to single him out.

Smiling at Ladybug, the drum major turned to his line. "Drummers!" he shouted, "Are we ready?"

They all beat a single note on their drums while giving out a loud, deep, guttural bark.

"I said," the drum major shouted again, "Are. We. Ready?"

They barked twice in quick succession to count out their beat, then all twelve drummers rapidly played a thirty-second set. They rattled off beats from their own drums before twirling their sticks and playing a few beats off of their neighbor's drum. They then barked once more before tossing one of their sticks in the air, and spun before catching it again. As they finished their rotations, they all played a loud beat and barked one last time.

The drum major silently turned back to Ladybug and gave a grand bow; arms extended to the side to showcase his line behind him.

"Wow!" Ladybug applauded. "He's going to love this!" She then directed them towards the front of her parade. The pipers lined up behind; the two groups already coordinating how their instruments would best compliment each other.

Ladybug then checked in on the nine cosplaying dancers. They were either stretching out or walking each other through the choreography again. Instead of Ladybug doppelgangers, all nine were dressed as Chat Noir. Ladybug was amazed by the quality of their costumes. She thought they looked even better than the Ladybug ones they were wearing when she met them. They even went so far as to have professional-grade blonde wigs cut in Chat Noir's signature shag, and had them firmly pinned into place to withstand the acrobatics of their performance.

Ladybug lead them to their float. It was a large stage with different elevated portions for them to leap on to, off of, and over. For that night's performance, they traded elegant yo-yo twirling for energetic staff tumbling using bo staffs designed to look like Chat Noir's extended stick. They just needed one last rehearsal of the choreography now that they had their stage, and a quick test run of the sound system. Then they would be good to go.

Nodding approval, Ladybug moved on to the eight farmers. They had just walked the cows into their long, caged float, and were feeding them to keep them calm. As they saw Ladybug approach they gave thumbs up.

Ladybug walked up to the woman who owned Eva the cow. "Thank you," she said, holding out a hand to shake.

The woman leaned down off the float and accepted Ladybug's hand. "Not a problem. We're excited to be able to help out with this."

"Well, I wouldn't have even thought to put all of this together if you hadn't offered to help me with cheering up Chat Noir. So, again, thank you." Nothing else needed to be said between the women, and Ladybug continued down her parade line-up.

The boat was the next float. A large tank was placed on the front of the deck for the swans to swim around in. The water was warmed to make it more welcoming in the cold winter air, and the boat renter had a large bin of feed to keep the swans interested in staying put during the parade. At the stern of the boat, six nesting boxes were set up for the geese to comfortably roost. They each calmly honked at each other as they continued to warm their eggs. Despite the lack of aggression, Ladybug still jumped at the honking, and rushed to the next float.

"How'd the training go?" Ladybug called up to the song-bird specialist. It was a fairly small float compared to the others, but it didn't need to be terribly large. The specialist had a cage nearly as tall as her for the four blackbirds; giving them plenty of room to flit around and perch. A microphone was placed low enough from the cage to not distract the birds, but still close enough to pick up on their lovely tweeting as they sung to each other. Ladybug was glad none of them were screeching. That magnified by a microphone would be borderline torture.

"Training actually went a lot smoother than expected." With a mildly cocky smirk, the woman turned towards the cage and whistled at the birds. The blackbirds sung back the simple melody the woman whistled, then gladly accepted the treats she offered them. "Any song requests?" she joked.

Before Ladybug could answer, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, Ladybug." One of the Lords of Achoo bowed low. "Where might you want us?"

Nearly all of her other prep-work was complete, so Ladybug escorted the tall man back to the other lords, then instructed them to climb onto the first float in her fleet; spaced far enough behind the pipers to be able to fit the Chat Noir balloon in between them. Mayor Bourgeois made sure it was the most elegant out of all the floats. Each of the lords had their own mock-throne to sit upon, should their feet get tired during the parade. Wrapped around their thrones were banisters, to make it look like each lord had his own private balcony to greet the citizens from. Everything was painted gold and silver, with white twinkling lights everywhere to add to the glamour.

After the lords all took their seats, Ladybug excused herself and hurried back to the final float of the parade; preemptively avoiding further questions, which would have most likely been centered around Prince Ali. Much like the blackbirds' float, the final one was a very modest size compared to the opening four. The float was caged in, just like the one for the cows, and the surface was carpeted with turf for the hens to peck at. The animal rights activist had herded the chickens inside already, and sprinkled some corn kernels down to keep them fed and occupied while they waited. As Ladybug approached, the man finished fixing a branch he found into a lower portion of the cage to give some of the hens a perch.

"They're looking much happier now," she told the activist.

"They do!" he gleefully replied, "And it's all thanks to Chat Noir that they were able to find a new lease on life. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to thank him."

"I was actually coming over to thank you for helping me with this surprise."

The two briefly chatted for a moment more before Mayor Bourgeois interrupted.

"The parade balloon is fully inflated, and the four-hundred individual balloons are also ready to be handed out. We're awaiting your signal." The mayor then leaned in closer to Ladybug, "And, please, let us be quick about this. I would like to close out my Christmas evening at home."

"It looks like we're all set here too. Thank you again for helping me put all of this together. I know it's a lot to ask everyone to be away from their families right now. I'll try to get you home soon."

"Very well." Mayor Bourgeois waved for Ladybug to take the lead, and he followed her to the front of the parade.

The Chat Noir parade balloon handlers were navigating the massive balloon into their spot in the line-up. The ten people that were inflating the balloon earlier each had their own cart that they wheeled out to the parade line-up. The carts each had twenty black helium balloons and another twenty green balloons attached. She positioned them throughout the line-up so no one was ever too far from a balloon cart.

It was set. It was a bit more massive than she had intended, but Chat Noir deserved every bit of it. Puffing up her chest with a bit of pride, Ladybug set up an initial parade route, and sent the drummers on their way to lead everyone through Paris.

The commotion instantly brought people to their windows, and then out into the streets. As they did, Ladybug welcomed them to join the parade and cheer on her partner. She also instructed them to welcome any other citizens that come out to watch the parade as the group grew. Not even twenty minutes down their route, and the parade already gathered nearly fifty random marchers. Some even sprinted back into their homes to grab pots and pans and large metal spoons to bang and cheer. Others were handed either a black or a green balloon from the carts.

The parade well on its way, Ladybug swung over to Alya's apartment.

"L-Ladybug? What are you doing here?"

"Merry Christmas, Alya. I just wanted to give you a heads up for the Ladyblog." Ladybug then quickly explained her Christmas gift to Chat Noir, and told Alya that she purposefully directed the parade route to go past her apartment. "If it hasn't slowed down, it should be here in about five minutes." Right on cue, a melody of drums and bagpipes sounded in the distance. Alya's little sisters sprinted to the balcony to check out where the music was coming from.

"So cool!" Alya squealed, "Thanks for the scoop, Ladybug! Did you want to say anything to introduce the live stream?"

"Nah, that's alright." Ladybug backed away, waving Alya off, and hoping her blush was too faint to see under her mask. "I should go find Chat Noir. Have a merry Christmas, though." She then turned towards Alya's parents and older sister. "Merry Christmas to you, too!" With a wave, she was gone.

Perched up on a rooftop, she opened up her yo-yo and gave the news room a call about the parade as well. She knew Nadja Chamack would be devastated if she didn't also get footage for her report. The conversation went fairly similar to the one she just had with Alya. She had promised to send Mrs. Chamack the parade route so the news team had time to get ahead of it to set up.

Hanging up, Ladybug then checked her map. She figured, between the ruckus of the parade itself, and then Alya's report on the Ladyblog – which Chat Noir clearly frequented; if his use of Nino's song was any indication – and the local news also reporting; Chat Noir had to know about the parade somehow. With any luck, he'd power up to watch it as his superhero persona. If he did that, then he would ping-

She didn't have to wait. Chat Noir's green paw print icon was already blinking in the corner of her screen. He was actually nowhere near the initial route Ladybug had set up.

He's already powered up? Why?

Ladybug quickly sent Mrs. Chamack a parade route that would pass right by where Chat Noir was. She then swung down to greet everyone who had joined in on the celebration before letting the drum major know his new route. He nodded understanding, and Ladybug slingshot herself back up onto the roofs of Paris.

The sun was setting by the time she made it to Chat Noir. The sky was a warm orange. People were turning on their Christmas lights around the city, filling it with a welcoming twinkle. The grass and trees still had a thin coating of snow to really make everything feel more Christmas-y. The whole scene would be a perfect postcard if it weren't for how lonely Chat Noir looked.

His one leg dangled from the edge of the roof, slowly kicking as he stared off in the distance. His chin nestled on his other knee, and his baton was in his hands, as if he were debating if he should leave. Ladybug moved to greet him, but then noticed his cat ears once more drooped against his head, and his tail limp behind him. She never understood what extra magic his costume possessed that allowed it to show his emotions, but it always did so perfectly.

Does he want to be alone right now? Should I go to him? Ladybug studied her partner, hoping for a clue on what to do. She wanted to cheer him up with every ounce of her, but she also knew how sometimes people just needed their space. And she was marching a parade right to him!

Chat Noir loudly sighed, and hugged both knees close to his chest. Ladybug couldn't just leave him like that, but maybe he needed a quiet talk, or a wordless hug; not a huge party. She opened her yo-yo to try to re-direct the parade, but then saw Chat Noir's cat ears perk up.

His lips puckered in intrigue as he scanned the horizon; towards the sound of bass drums echoing off the buildings. His eyes widened, and a little bit of light seemed to return to them. The parade may have been exactly what he needed after all.

Ladybug ended up calling the parade regardless, a new idea coming to mind.

"Mayor Bourgeois? Can you ask everyone to let go of their green and black balloons please? You're only a few blocks away from Chat Noir. The drummers know where to go." Closing her yo-yo, Ladybug turned towards the parade route. A couple minutes later, a slow wave of black and green balloons floated into the air, and the crowd cheered; chanting Chat Noir's name. It sounded like nearly half of Paris had joined the route.

The parade turned the corner to get onto the street Ladybug and Chat Noir were on, and the ginormous, fluffy, yellow locks of Chat Noir's balloon came into view. Chat Noir's jaw went slack, and his eyes widened further as he watched the parade march nearer. His back straightened, and both legs dropped to again dangle over the edge of the building so he could have a better view. His hands fell to the roof, and his arms were stiff and long, anchoring him as he leaned a little forward; absorbing it all. Behind him, his belt-tail suddenly looked so light it barely brushed against the roof anymore.

Ladybug thumbed away the tears threatening to spill. Her heart swelled to see him so amazed by what he was watching. She almost didn't let him know she was there. It was everything to just watch him see how much he was loved. She could have done that the whole parade.

That wasn't the point though. The point was to make sure he knew how much she appreciated all of the attempts he had made that fortnight. While she would have been happy letting Chat Noir simply believe this was all Paris' doing to gift him something, she also needed him to know that it was from her and why.

She took off her satchel and tucked it away before clearing her throat to choke down her emotions. Steady, she took a step forward. "Hey, Kitty."

Chat Noir twitched with a start, then whipped his head around. Upon seeing her, he leapt onto his feet. "L-Ladybug?"

He seemed so flabbergasted. It was like watching him try to figure out how they were going to use one of her Lucky Charms. He truly was adorable when he was confused. Ladybug couldn't help but giggle.

"You didn't think I would forget to give my best friend a Christmas present, did you?" She casually walked up, then gave a subtle nod towards the parade.

Chat Noir's eyebrows scrunched, and his mouth parted into a little 'o'. He turned towards the parade, then back at Ladybug, then back to the parade. He repeated the move two more times. With a shaky hand, he pointed towards the parade balloon of himself.

"Y-you did all of this?" His voice cracked slightly in surprise.

Ladybug nodded. "I wanted to show my appreciation for everything you've done for me this year." She then gestured towards the individual floats. "Including all of your 'disasters' from this week." He flinched at the reminder, so she scooped up his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I wanted to show you that, even when things go wrong, or things look dire, I'll always care about you. I'll always want you by my side."

Ladybug took his other hand and slightly shook both to draw his attention to their connection. He looked down bewildered at their linked hands, then back up at her. She gave him a soft smile in reply. "I also wanted to thank you for being such an amazing partner to me. I couldn't have asked for a better Chat Noir. You truly are incredible, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Without you, I would still be a nervous, clumsy mess of a Ladybug. You have saved me countless times. In more ways than one."

Chat Noir gulped, and his fingers tightened around her hands. "Ladybug-" Her name hung in the air. Nothing else needed to be said in that moment. She offered him another smile, then tugged gently on his hands to turn him back to his perch. Letting go of one of his hands – and ignoring how his fingers twitched to try to grab hers again – she stood beside him and took a seat. He studied her for a brief moment, his face in complete awe, before he joined her.

They sat in a comfortable silence as they watched the parade march around the corner and make its way down the street below them. The large black peaks of balloon Chat Noir's cat ears bobbed by at eye level; the full, impressive length of the Heroes' Day parade balloon on display as it stretched the width of the building they were spectating from. Loud cheers echoed off the buildings around them, calling more and more people out of their homes to join in on the celebration. From some of the upper windows, instead of venturing out into the cold, crisp, Christmas night air, residents threw make-shift confetti and added their own cheers for the black-clad superhero.

Here's hoping Lucky Charms can help restore Paris to pre-parade as well, Ladybug thought a bit absentmindedly.

Chat Noir's eyes welled up the louder the parade got. Finally, he dropped Ladybug's hand, and pivoted to look away from his gift.

"Chat Noir?"

"You didn't have to do all of this," he mumbled softly; nearly too soft for her to hear over the parade.

"Hey." She rested a hand on his back. Maybe gifting all of his 'failed' presents back to him wasn't the best idea after all. "I know I didn't need to do this, but I wanted to." She shifted her hand to his shoulder and tugged slightly, wordlessly pleading for him to turn around. "Chat Noir? What's wrong?"

"It's just-" His back hunched as he curled in on himself. "You've done all of this for me, and I couldn't even get you one nice gift." He sighed, his head hung low against his chest. "That's what these past few days have been about. I wanted to get you something, or do something for you, that was really special."

Ladybug chuckled. "I know. They were all wonderful, Chat Noir. Even when they went wrong."

"Wait." Chat Noir spun back to face her. "What?" He was looking at her like she just told him Master Fu was actually Hawk Moth.

"I could see that you were trying, Chat Noir, and it is the thought that counts." Ladybug playfully nudged him with her shoulder. "Besides, a lot of them ended up being rather amusing. Despite everything, I honestly had a lot of fun getting to just spend some more time with you."

His face softened, and his cheeks bloomed into a warm blush. Ladybug even caught the hint of a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. It didn't last long, though, and his expression quickly fell again.

"Yeah, but you still didn't get anything special." He growled his frustration, and stared at nothing just off to his side.

"Yes, you did." Without another word, Ladybug got up, and walked over to where she had placed her bag. Carefully, she carried it to Chat Noir. Sitting back down, she pulled the tall box out of her satchel, removed the lid and the stabilizing cardboard planks, and then daintily pulled out the tiny tree statuette Chat Noir had given to her twelve nights ago.

Stunned, Chat Noir watched as she unpacked his first gift to her. Just as Marinette had done a dozen times that past week, Chat Noir gingerly brushed the leaves of the tree with a knuckle. He then scooped up one of the heart ornaments with his claw before gently resting it back against the branch. His mouth slack, he stared deep into her eyes.

"Your first gift was perfect, and all I needed."

"But it was terrible!"

"No, it wasn't!" Ladybug defensively pulled the tree close and pouted. "It was adorable."

"But it broke!"

"So? It was easily fixable." To prove her point, Ladybug held the tree back out for him to see.

"S-so, all of that other stuff I did? I didn't need to do any of it?"

Ladybug giggled and shook her head. "Nope. In fact, you didn't even need to do this." She gestured with the tree. "You're the most amazing partner in the world. You in and of yourself are the perfect gift for me. Although, this is a pretty close second." She winked, and gave Chat Noir another little shoulder bump.

Her point made, Ladybug carefully tucked her little tree back into its box to protect it from any errant winds. It looked like Chat Noir needed a minute anyway. As she secured the lid on the box she heard Chat Noir gasp.

"Kitty? What is-"

Two lone pigeons soared over the celebrations below, making a bee-line straight for Ladybug and Chat Noir. Despite the dim lighting of the evening, Ladybug could still make out the orange turtle-shell pattern on their wings as they neared. It was the same two birds she had seen a little over a week ago. Except this time, Ladybug knew instinctively what they truly were.

Two turtle doves, she sung in her head, Could they really be anything else at this point?

Just as they had done when Ladybug first saw them, theturtle doves buzzed by dangerously close to her head. The birds weren't even a meter above them when one dropped a wilted rose into Chat Noir's open hands.

Then the birds were gone, nothing left of them but a dying rose. And a massive sneeze from Chat Noir; knocking a couple more crimson petals off the rose.

Ladybug chuckled. The boy truly did have terrible luck with animals, didn't he?

"You okay?"

He sniffled, but then stared at the rose dropped into his hand. Peacefulness washed over him, and a smile again tugged at his mouth. It warmed Ladybug more than she realized it would.

"Well-" Chat Noir rolled the dethorned stem across his knuckles so he was holding the rose upside down. "It's not exactly mistletoe, but..." He let the sentence hang in the air as he held the rose over his head. Another petal fell loose and wafted down onto Chat Noir's forehead, getting caught in his shaggy bangs.

Sometimes it killed her how adorably dorky her partner was. Especially when he started ringing the rose like it was a little servant's bell, and exaggeratedly puckered out his lips. Ladybug couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles as she shook her head.

Then Chat Noir wiggled his eyebrows and gave a little whimper.

Ladybug leaned forward and plucked the rose petal from his hair, and combed her fingers through his bangs a little. She was so close to him. He instantly stopped, studying her instead. Ladybug became only vaguely aware of Chat Noir still holding the wilted rose over his head like a sprig of mistletoe, and the loose petal pinched between her fingers, and the fact that he no longer looked ridiculous with his eyebrow wiggling and puckered lips.

Instead, he looked lonely, and wanting, and oh-so hopeful.

Ladybug cherished this boy more than she could truly say. She would protect his happiness with all she had. She wanted to give him the perfect gift, and she knew then exactly how to do that. She was still in love with someone else, but, for the briefest of seconds, Adrien was forgotten.

She closed her eyes, and gave Chat Noir a quick peck on the lips, before abruptly pulling back and sliding a little further away from him.

They lingered for five long heartbeats. Then, slowly, the world returned. The citizens cheered. The drums pounded loudly. The bagpipes whaled. The blackbirds sang. The colorful confetti carpeted the sidewalk. Paris was awake and inviting. Ladybug couldn't have Chat Noir miss out on his own present.

She slid the little boxed tree statuette back into her bag, and slung it over her shoulder. Confident it was safe and secure, she took Chat Noir's hand, stood, and pulled him up with her. "Come on. Let's go enjoy the party."

Still a bit dazed from their kiss – it was a peck; not that big of a deal – Chat Noir grinned ear to ear and gladly let her lead him. "Right behind you, Bugaboo."

She should have reminded him to not call her that. She didn't want to encourage him. Still, it felt wrong to correct him that one time. Instead, she smiled back at him and tightened her grip of his hand. "Merry Christmas, Kitty."

"Merry Christmas, my lady."

Trusting they would catch each other from any type of fall, they both jumped. Ready to enjoy their evening knowing they had both received the perfect gift; and gave it as well.


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


*Closing Notes*

Made it! Fin~

Figuring out that parade was TOUGH, but I got there. I also had to do a lot of dialogue reworking and/or adding to this chapter, but, as per usual, about 80% of the LadyNoir scene is still how Taurus Pixie originally presented it.

I hope you all had enjoyed this story, and this massive update-dump (even if it did take over 12hrs to upload!). Just an FYI, if you want to leave a comment, but not want it to be public, you are welcome to send me a message. I'd love to know your thoughts.

Take care! Love you! And one last Merry Christmas to Pixie!