December 19th, gift number 19 :

Marinette held a small purple envelope with golden stars that was sealed with a crocodile-shaped sticker: she was a little puzzled by the last detail. Nevertheless, despite the dubious air that had taken place on her face, she removed the sticker and opened the envelope from which she carefully removed two small rectangular tickets. These two tickets were two entries for the private concert "Happy New Year" of Jagged Stone which took place on January 1st and this in a very limited committee. It was a unique showcase where only 50 lucky people would be happy to participate.

The place of the event was kept secret until midnight on January 1st, until the transition to the new year. At that point, the ticket buyers, having had to leave their details beforehand, received a text message on their mobile phone indicating the place of the appointment to attend the one-hour concert.

If Marinette was so well informed about the event, it was because she had been waiting for hours, on the day the 50 tickets went on sale, in front of her laptop. And despite the best will in the world, and her chance at a ladybug, the tickets sold out in a split second, leaving her facing a screen displaying: "Sold out."

But Chat Noir seemed to have been lucky for both of them that day. He had not only had one place, but two! Maybe it was her luck that was starting to be good for her partner? If so, it was proof that they were in perfect balance.

A small note accompanied the two entrances:

"My Lady, my sweet queen,

Would you accept Milady Coccinelle, to be my cavalier for this refined, sumptuous and "Rock n' roll" ball?

Your Little Kitty, your "Purr"ince charming"

Machinically, she rolled her eyes at the grandiloquence of her partner. It was typically Chat Noir that theatrical side. Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind. She knew perfectly how to give her answer to her partner.

-Tikki, Spots-on !

Marinette opened her yo-yo in phone mode and quickly wrote a message to Chat Noir, so the next time he was transformed he would see his answer.

*I gladly accept, Sir Chat Noir of Paris. *

When Marinette fell asleep that evening, Tikki slid silently outside and carefully moved away from her carrier's home to the Manoir Agreste.

When Adrien saw the little red lightning flashing in his room, his heart raced hard in his chest and anxiety immediately gained him.

-Tikki, what are you doing here!? Is Ma... Is Ladybug okay? Did he recover at the last second.

-Adrien, don't try to hide it, I know you discovered the identity of Ladybug yesterday.

-Is that why you're here? You're gonna tell her I found out who she was and you wanted to let me know? I ruined everything, didn't I? I'm an idiot, he blew as he lowered his head to the ground with a low air.

-I told you to dedicate yourself to the Camembert. If you had listened to me, it would have avoided you all these sentimental problems of humans, mumbled Plagg, grabbing a piece of Camembert from his reserve, whom he quickly gobbled with one bite.

-Plagg, this is not the time to play the stinky sarcastic sock, muttered Tikki angrily before focusing her attention on the young blond completely sorrowful in front of her: - You're not an idiot Adrien, if I came, it's because I wanted to make sure that you wish to maintain the plan.

-Oh, Tikki, yes, the mission I gave you for the last gift...Of course! You thought I'd stop everything because I found out Marinette's Ladybug? Adrien was outraged.

-And you don't want to stop? she questioned him. Despite its thousands of years of existence, the little red Kwami was still quite novice when it came to human feelings which were sometimes contradictory and often complex.

-Of course not Tikki! I love her with all my being, with all my soul, with or without the mask. Discovering that it was Marinette, it blew my heart out of love and happiness. I never imagined I could be so lucky. Marinette has always been special for me, I couldn't really explain it to myself but her presence always awakened in me stronger feelings than friendship, even if I refused to recognize it because I was too busy trying to win the heart of Ladybug. But my heart always knew, I just was not able to understand that earlier.

The little indigo eyes of the ladybug began to shine and she could not help but swirl joyfully in the air.

-Operation "Merry Christmas" maintained, she exclaimed with emotion.

-Operation "Merry Christmas" maintained, he repeated to approve Tikki's words.

She kissed Adrien's cheek, and then, despite his sometimes abhorrent behavior, to which she was accustomed, and which she always forgave him, she kissed Plagg's cheek, while he wriggled to avoid the overflow of affection which she showed. She then hurried back to her carrier's home because she could not be away for very long as a security measure.

To be continued...


Bluemoonkid:thank you for your review,I'm very happy that you are coming out of the silent majority to leave me such a nice comment. I'm glad you like to"unwrapped" every box (chapter) in my calendar and it really touches me to read that you find it to be up to the task.

Thanks for your support!