Mme. Bustier assigns Secret Santas - and a certain fortunate boy gets Marinette.
A/N: Boy do I love shipteasing. It's my favorite thing to write (besides hurt/comfort lol).
"Good morning, everyone! Take your seats, because I have a very special announcement before we begin!" Mme. Bustier greeted excitedly as she walked into the door, papers in hand.
The classroom full of kids filled with new chatter, glances thrown at the board as their teacher set the papers down and began writing. Murmurs turned into excited gasps when she wrote out Secret Santa Assignments.
"That's right!" She proudly began. "We're doing a Secret Santa gift exchange this year! We've been discussing this at staff meetings, and we believe that you all deserve a little extra cheer this year."
She glanced towards the class representatives, and Marinette sat up a little straighter. "Your representatives will be helping me with this event - and the rules. Pay attention and ask them questions if you need to! But of course, nobody can ask about gift assignments." She looked around the room, a stern expression filling her face for a moment. "Everyone understand? You can not ask for who is giving to who."
A ripple of "Yes, ma'am" made her smile. "Good. Now. Rules. We've already gone over rule number one." She paused as she wrote it down on the board. "Now! Rule number two: You may not spend more than fifty euro."
Chloe rolled her eyes as Adrien turned to give her a look.
"Rule number three: you may not share your partner with anybody. Nobody in the class, nobody outside of class. We want you all to be pleasantly surprised."
Rose crossed her fingers under her desk, and as an afterthought, crossed her toes. Nearby, Ivan and Mylene exchanged glances. Nathanael sent a longing look towards the front of the room.
"Rule number four: your gift must be here at school by the morning of the exchange. If you absolutely need to bring it after first period, please talk with the staff. We won't allow gifts to come in after lunch."
Max sent a look towards the robot on his desk, contemplative.
"Rule number five: No prank gifts." Bustier paused, then shot a warning stare towards the back of the room. "Understand, Kim? Alix?"
"Yeah," the two mumbled. Kim looked a little annoyed.
"And..." Mme. Bustier turned back to face her class, a smile on her face. "Have fun with it. Put some effort into your presents. Even if you don't like who you got assigned to, I want you to figure out something they would like."
Marinette seemed to vibrate in her seat out of excitement, and all but jumped up when her name was called. "Marinette? Will you and Alya please hand out these flyers?"
"Yes, ma'am," the two girls answered, and they took from the stack at the front and made their way back.
"Once you get your paper, I want you to put it in your bags and email me the name you got later today. Make sure you email me a list of gift ideas - with a limit of 50 euro - sometime today as well, and I'll be checking in with you next Monday on the 8th," the teacher called over the murmur rising in the room. "Once everyone has gotten their name, we will begin class."
Adrien looked up with a smile as Alya handed him his and Felix's papers. Looking around, he slid down in his seat and carefully unfolded his, scanning through it. The information Bustier had given them was typed up, as well as a line for a parental signature (which he mentally sighed at). Pausing at the bottom, his eyes got stuck on a name.
A thrill went through him and he looked up at the two representatives, hurriedly folding it back up and stuffing both into his binder.
He couldn't believe his luck. He had gotten Marinette.
The school seemed abuzz with a strange sort of excitement during lunch, with people either chattering happily or picking at their food glumly. Marinette hummed to herself as she sat down at her dining table, a bowl of leftover soup in front of her. She had gotten Kim - honestly, it wasn't the worst name she could have gotten. The two had been kind-of friends in elementaire, and she knew his family well enough to guess at what he would like. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that she hadn't gotten someone she knew better, such as Rose or Mylene.
"Oh well," she told herself firmly. "There's no use getting upset over getting an old friend. It's just Kim."
"Marinette?"
"Marinette?" Felix croaked incredulously. "Why are you asking me about her?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Christmas gift ideas." Adrien shyly rubbed the back of his neck with a smile.
Squinting at his cousin, the blond rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned. "I don't know her all that well. You'd have better luck asking one of her friends. Like Rose. Isn't she close with Rose?"
"Well, if I asked, she'd know why immediately," the younger of the two pointed out. "Besides, you both like fashion, right? What kind of present could I get someone who likes designing?"
Felix was quiet for a few moments, eyes closed. Before Adrien could call out to rouse him from sleep, he answered. "Fabric. She mentioned once that there was a bolt of fabric she had her eye on."
"Just... fabric? Really?" The boy wrinkled his nose.
"She said something about a dress. I don't know. Just- there's a fabric shop she goes to often, either get her something or a gift certificate." Mumbling grumpily, the boy turned over. "I'm tired. I would like to rest."
"Oh, okay. Well, thanks, Felix." Giving his cousin a smile, he hopped off of the bed and made for the door. Pausing, he suddenly remembered something and dug out another piece of paper, slipping it onto the bedside table.
"Adrien, hurry. You don't want to be late."
"Coming," he called.
"Coming," Marinette called downstairs, taking one last bite of salad before hurrying down. She stopped at the bottom step, eyes wide at her visitor. "Kim? What are you doing here?"
"Mari! Yo." He raised a hand awkwardly, a sheepish grin on his face. "Real quick, I have a question. Where would you get something for someone who likes... uh, nerdy stuff?"
"Nerdy... stuff?" She raised a brow. "Like what? Pokemon cards?"
"More like DnD."
Marinette blinked. "Wow. Uh... I'm sorry, I wouldn't know. You could check out Starplayer. Maybe they'd have something you'd like?"
"Starplayer. Got it, I'll put it into Maps. Thanks!" He turned to her mother, who was holding out a little meringue. "Thank you, Mme Cheng."
"Any time, Kim. Tell your mother hi for me."
"I will." Waving goodbye to Tom, he slipped out the door.
Marinette turned to her mother quizzically. "What was that about?"
"Just a present for a friend," she answered with a smile. "Are you finished with lunch yet? You have about ten minutes."
"Ack! No!" She ran back upstairs, suddenly remembering the soup.