Marinette didn't just feel fully-rested, she felt wonderful!

And it was noticeable as she skipped up the stairs beside Alya humming under her breath. "I think the world must be ending," Alya observed dryly, "you're never this cheerful on a Monday morning."

"I had a good night sleep," Marinette replied airily.

More accurately she had a good whole day of sleep and then she woke up, did some homework, had dinner, showered, and slept again. She couldn't remember exactly what she dreamt about but she knew it was nothing but pleasant dreams about tingly foreheads.

"Really?" Alya said sceptically. "Or does it have something to do with the new shiny bit of bling on your finger?"

Marinette flushed as she held her right hand to her chest, her fingers brushing against the gold ring that hadn't left her finger since Chat Noir had put it there. Gold, she decided, was the weirdest thing ever. It didn't even feel like real metal but rather plastic-y, or maybe that was just her. It was so light and warm and different, she never had jewellery like this before.

"So I take it you got another present from your admirer," Alya smirked slyly as she nudged Marinette with her elbow, "eh?" she teased.

"Five gold rings," Marinette mumbled.

"Yikes!" Alya's eyes widened. "You mean that thing is five carats?!"

"No," Marinette blushed even more deeply, "I mean this one of five different gold rings."

"Jesus Christ!" Alya exclaimed, flabbergasted. "What is he? A Prince?"

"I don't know!" Marinette cried out. "I really wish he wouldn't spend this much on me. I'm really not worth i-ouch!" she rubbed her arm where Alya had just pinched it and glared at her so called best friend. "What was that for?!"

"I don't let anyone diss my best friend not even you, girl," Alya said sternly. "You're worth your weight in gold and then some and if someone has realised that and wants to treat you like a princess then you should just accept it."

"But Alya, I don't need a fortune spent on me," Marinette murmured, "I just need the thought. That's what counts."

"And that's what makes you so special," Alya said fondly as she pulled Marinette in for a one-armed hug. "Now come on, let's get going or we'll definitely be late to class which would be really unfair since you're actually on time for once."

"I'm not always late!" Marinette protested.

Alya's laughter at that was rather insulting.

The first couple classes passed by slowly as Marinette kept losing focus whenever her eye caught the gleam on her ring. By mid-morning she had to swing by her locker between classes to change textbooks and that was, of course, when Chat's new gift attacked.

And she means literally attacked!

She barely opened her locker when an avalanche of soft toys suddenly rained down on her. She covered her face as she felt fake fur and soft plushness bounce off of her and land on the floor. Once she was sure it was over she cautiously dropped her arms down and stared down at the mess that surrounded her.

The usual note fluttered down on top of a white teddy bear and she picked it up and flipped it open without a single thought.

On the sixth day of Valentine, the note read in its usual neatly typed font, my true love gave to me, six soft toys.

Marinette blinked and then slowly bent down to pick up the white fluffy bear that was right before her. It was a medium sized bear with big blue eyes and a little pink nose with soft pink felt on the insides of its ears and the bottom of its paws between its two front paws it held a heart that simply read; I love you, she tucked it neatly as she bent down to pick up another one.

The second one was a sweet little hedgehog clasping a red, felt, rose between its paws.

Then she picked up an unnaturally pink fluffy cat with a darker pink love heart patch over its left eye. There was brown in its ears and on the bottom of its feet with pink love hearts stitched on and the cat itself held a great big, dusty pink, heart that said we're purr-fect together.

She rolled her eyes at that.

Then she found a little tiger with a red satin love heart stitched to its neck that read in clear white writing you make me wild.

She rolled her eyes again as she moved to pick up what was probably the biggest, and weirdest, stuffed toy yet. Two little green frogs in plush, cuddly, hot air balloon. The hot air balloon was obviously shaped in a big red love heart with the words love is the greatest adventure stitched upon it.

The last one was a stuffed, cartoonish, ladybug that had red love hearts for antenna, black love hearts embroidered on its feet, a little red bowtie, and held a great big red love heart that read you're my Lovebug in white cursive writing.

Marinette almost dropped the toys in order to face palm out of sheer exasperation.

Of course he found a way to slip in a Ladybug pun!

It was so cheap and tacky compared to the last few gestures and yet Marinette couldn't help but smile brightly and feel just as flattered if he had literally showered her in jewels. It was just simply adorable! And the thought was most definitely there.

Marinette then struggled to put her soft toys back into her locker as soon as she got two or three in, another avalanche started before she could put another one in and she soon found herself actually physically fighting with the soft toys as she huffed and puffed and failed abysmally to get them all in and close the door.

How Chat Noir managed this she would never know.

Admitting defeat, Marinette sighed heavily and decided to just carry them to class. She would endure the staring, pointing, and whispering….somehow.

"Do you need some help?"

Marinette shrieked and accidentally dropped all of her stuffed toys as she heard Adrien's soft, lovely, voice right behind her. They bounced and rolled all over the floor once more.

"Here," Adrien ducked down, "let me."

He then gathered all of her stuffed toys all, handing her the cat and the ladybug while he tucked the rest under his arm.

"T-t-thank you!"

"Wow," he said in awe, "someone is trying to get your attention."

"He doesn't need to try," Marinette replied automatically, "he already had my attention."

She flushed at that when she realised she had just essentially told Adrien, her biggest, life-consuming, crush that she was in love with another person. She anxiously peered at him to see how he took it and, as she had feared for the last few days, Adrien looked unbothered and cheerful by it.

In fact he has a huge grin on his face.

"I'm happy for you," he said simply, "you deserve someone who knows how wonderful you are."

Her heart fluttered a little at that but it didn't change the fact that he was happy she found someone else. Which, of course, meant that he wasn't interested in her. That he only saw her as friend that he wanted to be happy.

She should be miserable that he never had feelings for her.

She should want to go and hide and cry her heart out.

Instead she felt….not that sad. There was a definite little twang of disappointment and misery that they were never to be but….well, it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

She still liked him, very much so, but if she wasn't heartbroken by his lack of interest then maybe, just maybe, she should give it her very best effort to get over him and completely and give Chat Noir the proper chance that he deserved.

She took down her Adrien Agreste posters that very evening.

MLMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Night patrol finished without a hitch.

Even the criminals of Paris didn't like to go out on a Monday. And unlike their previous patrol where Ladybug ran straight home, they reunited merrily on a nearby rooftop.

"No trouble to report," Chat grinned, "my Lovebug."

"Oh dear God no!" Ladybug cried out horrified. "Just no! I don't care how cute that stuffed toy is you're not calling me that!"

He smirked at that. "So you liked my present today then?" he said smugly.

"Yes," Ladybug mumbled as her cheeks flushed bright pink, "thank you, they were really sweet."

"I know they weren't exactly to the standard of the last few days," he admitted nervously, "but I thought-"

"They were cheap and tacky," Ladybug agreed, and he wilted slightly at the thought of his present being cheap and tacky, "but they were also cute and adorable and the thought behind it meant a great deal to me," she finished firmly as he immediately began to perk up at that. "So thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied softly.

There was an awkward of silence as they stood there on the rooftops of Paris in the cold wind and light drizzle as they gazed into one another's eyes, their cheeks both flushed bright pink (and not just because of the wind!).

"Erm….so…." Ladybug began to twiddled her thumbs nervously, "would…..would you like to come back to mine?!" she blurted out. "For hot chocolate?"

He smiled radiantly at that, pleased to be officially invited over. "I would like that very much," he said happily.

And so he needed up perched on Marinette's pink chaise with the pretty, red and black spotted, kwami nibbling on a cookie beside him while Marinette snuck down to the kitchen make their hot chocolates.

"Is it just me," he finally spoke out when the silence got a bit too much for him, "or is Marinette's walls a little bare?" he hadn't paid much attention the last few times he had been in Marinette's room to the décor (how could he when Marinette's very presence demanded all of his attention?) but he had vaguely remembered her walls being packed with posters and now there was lighter squares of pink where they used to be. "Is she in the middle of redecorating?" he asked.

"You could say that," Tiki replied sweetly, "she suddenly realised she had to move on from something."

"To something better?" he asked.

"We'll have to wait and see," Tiki said mysteriously and Chat shifted uncomfortably as he felt like the Kwami's big, blue, eyes were x-raying into his very soul. "How is Plagg?" she asked eventually. "Is he still annoying as ever?"

"You mean does he do anything other than eat cheese, sleep, grumble about work, and snark over everything?" Chat said dryly. "Then yes, yes, he is still annoying as ever."

Tiki giggled. "That's Plagg all right," she said fondly, "you'll get used to him."

Chat opened his mouth – to say what he had no idea – but before he could actually speak Marinette slowly clambered in holding a tray as carefully as possible. It was weighed down with not only two hot chocolates but a plate of cookies. "Here!" Chat stood up abruptly. "Let me help."

"Thanks!"

Marinette relaxed slightly as the burden of a tray with all that china on was taken away from her and she was able to get through her trapdoor with much more ease as Chat placed the tray onto her desk.

"I'm just going to help myself to some more cookies and then leave you too it," Tiki said as she hovered after the tray. She picked up three cookies and smiled sweetly at Chat Noir. "I do hope you unmask yourself soon," she said softly, "it would be nice to see Plagg again after such a long time."

And with that she left.

Once they made themselves comfortable on the chaise Chat Noir shot Marinette a flirty grin. "So I couldn't help but notice," he smirked, "you've kept most of your toys here on the chaise," he could feel the teddy bear at the base of his spine, it made a rather nice cushion if a little lumpy, "but the cat is sitting on your bed. Tell me Princess," he purred, "do you have a purr-ference for cats?"

"No!" Marinette simultaneously scowled and flushed. "I just like pink."

"Sure," Chat took a smug sip of his hot chocolate – it was thick, creamy, and ever so sweet. The best hot chocolate he ever had in his life – and admired the various deep pink splotches of embarrassment that now appeared not only on Marinette's face but her neck as well. "You keep telling yourself that."

"It's the truth!" Marinette protested.

"Uh-huh," Chat nodded disbelievingly.

"I – you- argh!"

Chat chuckled lightly at Marinette's frustration before he took another sip of his hot chocolate. They fell into a comfortable silence as they drank their drinks and ate their cookies slowly returning their body temperatures to normal levels now they were out of the wet and cold.

"Talk to me," Chat requested when the silence got too much.

"About what?" Marinette mumbled.

"Anything, everything," Chat shrugged, "tell me what it is like to be a daughter of two bakers. Are you allowed to eat cakes from other bakeries or do you only eat your parents' cooking?"

"Mum and Dad would never stop me from eating anywhere else," Marinette said quietly, and Chat envied her a little for that. His father controlled everything and heaven forbid he wore anything that wasn't from his father's design label. "But I must confess I often feel too guilty to eat anywhere else when it comes to cakes and croissants. It might be just because of that but I've never thought anywhere else tasted right."

"No?"

"No," Marinette shook her head, "there was something always missing when I tried other bakeries. I couldn't tell you what but it was like….it was missing the magic of what made a good cake, you know?" he didn't but then he didn't know cakes very well. Any cake tasted like magic to him. "I can't stand the taste of anything baked from anywhere but here. This is my favourite place for cakes," Marinette carried on and Chat Noir made a mental note for that for foreseeable events. Like their eventual wedding. "And don't get me started on shop-brought!" Marinette pulled a disgusted face. "Blergh!"

Chat threw his head back laughed fully at that and after a beat of silence Marinette joined in giggling.

They spent the rest of the night talking about their favourite cakes and music and other things right up until Tiki suddenly made another appearance and reminded them it was a school night.

With great reluctance, Chat Noir kissed Marinette's hand goodbye and went back out into the cold.

Yet, despite the cold, harsh, wind, he felt warm and fuzzy inside the entire journey home.