Walking down Main Street together, Master Fu held onto Marinette's arm as they looked at the wonderful decorations that lined the street and adorned the shop doors.

"I have never seen the street looking so beautiful." He said in awe. "You have outdone yourself."

"It was a team effort." Marinette replied. "I couldn't have done this without the whole community getting behind it."

They stopped at the corner and Adrien came out with Ms Bustier and Harmony from the cafe. It wasn't that Adrien had been avoiding Marinette all day, well maybe a little, but he felt that perhaps she needed some space. She had been distracted whenever he did see her, and he was worried that he might have been the reason for that.

Master Fu happily accepted Ms Bustier's warm embrace. "Master, it is so good to see you out and about."

"It is good to be out and about." He replied. "Have you been taking good care of my friends here?"

"Of course we have, Master." Ms Bustier beamed. "They have been like a breath of fresh air. Adrien just set me up with some of his special hot chocolate mix ready for the judges and the sleigh is looking magnificent. Harmony is desperate for a ride in it later."

"It would be my pleasure Lady Harmony. " Adrien said with an elaborate bow, making the little girl squeal and clap her hands for joy. He looked across at Marinette hoping to find a smile on her face but instead found her checking her phone with a frown.

"She's certainly excited to hear that." Ms Bustier smiled. "Come on Master. It's too cold out here. Let me warm you up with some of that hot chocolate."

"We even have Christmas sprinkles." Harmony added.

Master Fu happily took Ms Bustier's offered arm and Adrien was about to follow when he saw Marinette was still on her phone.

"Everything alright?" He asked her. Marinette nodded her head.

"Everything's fine, don't worry." She fobbed him off. "You go on ahead and I'll catch up." She gave him a too wide smile before looking back at her phone.

Adrien didn't like to push it, instead just saying 'alright' and following Fu and Ms Bustier to the cafe. From the window he could see her making a phone call, but it looked like whoever she was trying to contact wasn't answering.

"This was actually Adrien's idea." He heard Ms Bustier say behind him as Harmony ran around excitedly. "He suggested hanging the pictures in an arc to tell the story of the cafe from when my Grandmother first opened it, to then my mother taking over and now me."

"Wonderful." Fu said, nodding in appreciation. "And where are the judges now?"

"We've sent Mrs Mandeleieve to meet them." Adrien explained. "Mr Ramier was good enough to lend us a sleigh and his horse to escort the judges through Main Street."

"It was your idea." Marinette added as she came through the door. "Also Nate just found me outside. He said the judges are just arriving now."

Everyone went back outside to see the sleigh round the corner. Sitting in the front with the driver was Mrs Mandeleive with the older male judge and in the back was a middle aged female judge along with two young girls who were the tv hosts. Running beside the sleigh was a cameraman capturing the spectacle as everyone in the sleigh sang "Jingle Bells" while the silver bells on the sleigh jingled along. The sleigh on the pristine white snow looked like something from an old photograph. Exactly what Marinette had hoped for.

"Who would have thought?" Nathaniel mused as the sleigh moved along. "Never in my life would I have thought I'd see the day Mrs Mandeleive would sing Christmas carols."

"Well you know what they say Nate." Marc said with a shoulder bump. "Christmas is the time for miracles."

Marinette looked across at Adrien, who had turned to glance at her too. They could both feel the unspoken tension between them, yet they couldn't address it. Time and place, and this was neither.

"Looks like she is stopping at her store now." Adrien observed as the sleigh came to a halt.

Master Fu put his beanie back on and threw his multicoloured scarf over his shoulder. "Maybe I should give the others a heads up." He said. Nate and Marc agreed.

"We better get ready too." The redhead said before he and Marc scurried over to the bookstore. Adrien looked back over to Marinette who had her eyes back on her phone again.

"Are you sure everything is alright?" He asked her. It was clear she was worried about something, he just hoped he hadn't inadvertently been the cause of it. "Maybe I can help?"

"Oh no, it's fine." Marinette replied, pocketing her phone. "It's just stuff, you know?"

"Okay." Adrien said, stepping back a bit. "Well do you want to come with me over to Mandeleive's and see how they are going?" He asked as he began to walk. Marinette suddenly grabbed his wrist.

"Wait… I…"

He waited patiently while she hesitated, still holding his wrist. Once, twice, she opened her mouth then closed it. "Never mind, it's not important. Let's go."

Adrien concealed his disappointment and took Marinette by the hand to walk down to where the cameraman was now set up inside Mrs Mandeleive's store.

"Good evening everyone." The young blond woman beamed down the camera. "I'm Aurore and this is Mireille. Welcome to part two of our Christmas Eve broadcast of the Battle of Main Street."

The camera then turned to Mireille. "As always we were dazzled by the amazing visual display that greeted us at Diamond Cove earlier this evening, the town showing their Christmas best to try to snag a sixth crown, but we are ready to be amazed by what we have been told is the new and improved Silver Bells on Main Street here at Silver Lake. Can they rise to the occasion and break Diamond Cove's winning streak."

Aurore then introduced Mrs Mandeleieve and she and Mireille began to question Mrs Mandeleive about the old movie theatre that use to stand where her shop currently is. The older woman eagerly showed off the old photographs she had on the wall as well as the memorabilia she had collected and restored over the years. Pride absolutely radiated off her face as she spoke of her great grandfather and the film projector he helped to invent.

Once they wrapped up filming in the memorabilia store, Mrs Mandeleive took the judges to the bookstore. Nate and Marc showed not only their latest stock, but as it turned out they had their own Manga project they were working on. While the two guys were being interviewed, Adrien noticed Marinette had disappeared, and soon after so had Master Fu.

Down the other end of Main Street, Marinette was answering a phone call that she had been waiting all evening for.

"You're here! That's fantastic. I'm the one in the red coat. Yes, that's me! See you soon."

Master Fu then approached Marinette, unaware of the young woman making her way up from the far end of the road.

"Marinette, did you know that Nathaniel's grandfather used to illustrate children's books?" He asked excitedly.

Marinette smiled at him, hardly containing her nerves. "Yes, he told me."

"All these years living here and I never knew. I've learned so much about everyone tonight. All these amazing stories of where everyone came from and how they came to be here." He then noticed the anxious look on Marinette's face. "Is something wrong, Marinette?"

Marinette fidgeted nervously, reaching out to hold his arm. "Master Fu, I did something and I really hope you won't be mad at me."

Fu looked at her curiously and Marinette turned her head. Following where she was looking, Master Fu almost felt his legs give way when he saw Fei approaching him in a long black leather jacket. Her hands were in her pockets and she was a little hunched forward, but there were tears in her heavily made up eyes and a smile on her ruby red lips.

"Uncle Fu." She said tentatively.

Fu could hardly hold back his own tears, immediately embracing his niece in a warm hug.

"I'm so sorry. Fei began to cry. "I said and did such awful things and I didn't even stop to think about the fact this would be your first Christmas without Aunt Marianne. Marinette told me you were giving me space but… I don't want space. I want to come back home. I want to come home to Silver Lake, if you'll still have me."

Fu took out his handkerchief and patted Fei's eyes. "You are always welcome home my sweet Fei." He said, embracing her again. "All I ever wanted for you was to be happy." Marinette had kept a respectful distance, but now Fei beckoned her over.

"Thank you." She said, holding Marinette's hand and giving it a squeeze. "I wouldn't have had the courage to come back if it hadn't been for you."

Marinette had tears in her own eyes. "It was my pleasure." She replied.

"Thank you." Fu also said. "Thank you for this. This is the best Christmas gift of all." He looked back at his niece with all the love of a father and for Marinette, it had made the risk all worthwhile.

Marinette was so choked up she could only nod and smile. Master Fu then took Fei by the arm. "Come my dear. I know Caline will be very happy to see you, and you must try her new hot chocolate blend, it's delicious."

As they began to make their way towards the cafe, Adrien finally found where Marinette had disappeared to. "Marinette… is everything alright? Why are you crying?"

Marinette gave him a reassuring smile. "It's happy tears I promise."

"Did we win already and no one told me?"

Marinette then pointed to where Fu was walking with his arm around a young woman. "That's Master Fu with niece, Fei."

It took a moment for Adrien to process this new information. "I thought you said they weren't speaking to each other."

"They weren't." Marinette confirmed. "But I called her and…"

"You called her?" Adrien asked, surprised. "When?"

"Last night. I found her number in Master Fu's address book. When I explained to her how much he missed her and how much he regretted their fight, she said she had missed him too and wanted to come home, but was too scared to. They just needed someone to bridge the gap for them. Now they can both have a truly happy Christmas and neither has to be alone."

Adrien put his hands into his coat pockets and rocked on his feet. "Well, I'm happy for them." He said, and he truly did mean it. "And I'm happy for you too."

Something had changed in the way he was looking at her. "For me?" Marinette questioned, confused. "What does that mean?"

Adrien folded his arms, his whole demeanor shifted from mild annoyance to something that looked a lot more hurt. "No shenanigans. Wasn't that what we had agreed on?" He shook his head with a humorless laugh. "God I am such a fool. I thought I had you all figured out, and then you go and make a call like that without even telling me. I thought we were partners, at least for this, and I thought I…." He didn't continue that thought, turning his head from her.

Marinette suddenly realised how this must have looked and shook her head, panic rising in her. "No, Adrien I…"

He dropped his arms by his side, his mind clearly already made up. "It doesn't matter. Congratulations Marinette. I'm sure this will seal the building deal for you."

Adrien turned on his heel and quickly disappeared around the corner, leaving Marinette standing on the footpath. No, no she couldn't leave things like this. That wasn't what she had been trying to do at all.

"Adrien, wait." She called out, breaking out into a run. Damn his long legs, where had he disappeared to?

A few streets away, she soon found him strolling down the street with his head down and his hands in his pockets. "Adrien!" She called again.

He wanted to just keep on walking, but his feet stopped without permission at the sound of her voice. She quickly caught up to him under the streetlamp.

"Marinette…" he began, not ready to hear what she had to say, but she cut him off.

"You're wrong." She said between catching her breath. Little puffs of air rose up from her lips and disappeared into the dark above. "Please, just let me explain."

Adrien looked at her skeptically, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Alright." He said, sitting down on the street bench. "So this wasn't some sneaky move just to try and get on Master Fu's good side?"

"Sneaky? Hardly." Marinette scoffed. "More like a risky move."

"How so?"

Marinette sat down on the bench next to him, keeping her hands in her lap, mirroring how he was sitting. "There was no guarantee that Fei would have come, or that the whole meeting didn't just dissolve into another argument. I know Master Fu didn't want me to get involved, and I was sticking my neck out into the unknown, but I couldn't watch him be so sad over something that could be solved with a single phone call. I had to at least try, even if it risked backfiring on me."

Adrien listened to her, trying to keep an open mind. "So this had nothing to do with the building?"

"I swear I didn't do this to try and undermine you in some way. This could have gone very wrong, but I really like Master Fu and what I did… it came from a place of genuinely wanting to see two people separated come back together, so they could be a family again." She placed her hands over her heart. "It came from a place of love. I wish you could believe me."

Adrien regarded her for a moment, the stands of her hair flying around her face in the cold breeze that swirled around them. Her eyes looked at him begging him to believe her. God he could get lost in those eyes, he could get lost in her. "I believe you."

"Really?" Marinette asked with hope in her heart.

"Yeah… I can tell you're telling the truth because you didn't bite your lower lip."

Marinette gave him a playfully annoyed glare. Adrien took her hand and held it between his. His hands were cold, but then again so were hers. "I'm sorry I doubted your motives. I guess my cynical side reared its ugly head again and I jumped to the wrong conclusion. That was wrong of me."

"I was wrong too." Marinette admitted. "I should have told you what I was planning, I was just… I've been feeling so confused. So much has happened in the last few days and my head is still spinning from it and my heart… it's trying to keep up."

She rested her head against his. Marinette looked down at their joined hands. Her hand looked so small between his and yet she felt a little bit safer when he held them. "I think I might have jumped to conclusions too… about last night?" She whispered, her warm breath fanning his cheek. "I thought… gosh this sounds so awful to say out loud, but I thought maybe you were playing games with me. That maybe you had used my feelings after what happened with Luka to…"

Adrien hooked his finger under her chin turning her eyes to meet his. There was so much intensity and in those emerald orbs that it almost took her breath away.

"I didn't kiss you because I wanted anything from you, Marinette. Only to show you how I felt and hope that maybe you might feel the same way." His eyes then became sadder. "I'm sorry if I crossed a line. You were feeling vulnerable and confused and I didn't recognise that. I shouldn't have pushed my feelings onto you."

Marinette wanted to tell him that she did feel the same, that she wanted to give him her heart, but their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Mrs Mandeleive once again singing a very off key "Jingle Bells" with the judges. The group had now also been joined by one of the townsfolk dressed as Santa, much to Harmony's excitement as they all began to file into the cafe.

"Shall we join the others?" Adrien asked, pulling Marinette up to her feet. She held onto his strong arms, looking up to him, trying to tell him how she felt with her eyes.

"Adrien… I want to… I need to tell you…"

He gently pressed a finger to her lips. "You can tell me later." He whispered, ghosting his lips across her on the forehead. "Things have changed between us, I can't go back on that now, but I just want you to know that when I kissed you… that was real. Whatever happens next is up to you."

Placing a soft kiss on her forehead, Adrien placed her hand in the crook of his arm and the two of them began to make their way towards the cafe. Light flurries of snow began to drift down, and somewhere deep in the pit of her stomach, Marinette wished she had met Adrien long ago… before Luka and before this bidding war for Fu's building. That they could have had a chance to have met unblemished by their pasts.

"Adrien?" She asked him, stopping at the cafe door. "Do you think you would have liked me, if we had met before? If we weren't competing for the same dream?"

Adrien looked at her curiously, a small smirk lifting at the corner of his lip. "I already did." He replied cryptically.

Marinette looked at him puzzled. "But how?"

"When we were sixteen. My bodyguard bought me passionfruit macarons from your parents bakery after a long day on a fashion photoshoot. I saw you, through the window, but I was sick so my mother wouldn't let me go inside. I never forgot you though, or those macarons."

He pushed open the cafe door and Marinette followed him in a daze. He had seen her, all those years ago, never knowing that the girl in a bakery in Lyon had his picture on her bedroom wall. What were the chances that they would be here now like this? What were the chances that against all the odds, that somehow they had started to fall in love with each other? And how cruel that their own dreams and desires could be the wedge that separates them again.