It's winter break at last - but not all is merry, as Felix and Adrien are forced to spend their first Christmas without Emilie. Meanwhile, Citron is melancholy, and Marinette must find a way to cheer up the Sentibeing.


A/N: I LIIIIIIIIVE! LABOR DAY WEEKEND IS OVER! Have some angst to make up for the update I skipped last Sunday :3


"WHEW!" Marinette heaved a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the building, backpack seeming half as heavy on her shoulders. "Finally, it's time for break."

"I know, right? I can't wait to finally catch up on some sleep." Juleka grumbled, stifling a yawn into her elbow.

"You're not gonna be sleeping for all of winter break, are you?" Rose pouted. "We've got to hang out! Ice skating, shopping, Disneyland...?"

"Maybe I'll have enough saved up for a day trip?" The pigtailed girl hummed, a frown settling on her face.

Juleka squeezed her hands into her pants pockets, huddling even more into her scarf. A gift from Marinette, it was as warm as it was soft. At her side, Rose gingerly hooked her elbow in the taller girl's, and a smile spread across her face at the contact.

"You won't be working the whole time, right?" Rose asked, looking over at their friend worriedly.

"No, not all the time. Just wherever they need me." She smiled in reassurance, bumping shoulders with her. "Hey, we still have the group chat! Let's make plans."

The blonde nodded, though when she exchanged a glance with Juleka, she didn't look placated.

Marinette's phone suddenly chimed, and she sighed, fishing it out of her pocket and scanning the screen. "Gotta go. Papa's swamped. Talk to you tonight! Say hi to Luka for me, Juleka!"

Raising a hand to wave goodbye, the two girls watched her rush off, barely managing to keep her balance on the snowy sidewalk.

"I really wish she would take more time to herself," Juleka found herself commenting, a flat note to her voice. "Ever since she became class representative, she seems busier and busier. Almost like she's trying to prove something."

"Yeah..." Rose let out a delicate sigh before turning to look up at her. "We'll have to let Alya know. She won't hesitate to pull her away if she needs a break."

The goth hummed in agreement.

The door opened behind them, and out stepped Luka, bundled in a black beanie and a familiar scarf. Similar to his sister's, it had soft aqua stripes instead of neon purple.

"Oh, hey, Rose," he greeted with a soft smile to the two of them. "Leka, are you ready to go home?"

"Yeah, just... thinking," she answered, looking him over with renewed interest. "Where'd you get that?"

"Huh, this? Oh, Marinette gave it to me." He shrugged.

Rose nudged her in the side, and she couldn't help the grin behind her own scarf. "How'd you like it? Super soft, right?"

"Yeah - I'll have to ask her what material she picked for it." Running a thumb across the bottom row of knitting, he let out a chuckle. "If I could find her when she's not busy, I'd want to commission more..."

"Oh we are definitely getting them a few minutes alone," came Rose's almost-indecipherable murmur in her ear.

"Rose, did you want to come over for a little while? Ma wouldn't mind." The older boy suddenly seemed to remember the smaller girl was there, and he turned a questioning look to her.

"O- oh! I didn't even think about that... I'll have to text my dad." Fumbling with her pocket, she let go of Juleka's arm to pull out her phone.


Snow fell gently all around them, even as the car made its way down the frigid streets. Felix took in the dreary gray skies, cheerful streetlamps, the people walking around, and he couldn't help the sour pang in his gut.

"Now that break has started, we'll have to go on outings as a family!" His mother commented cheerily, her ever-present hand on his shoulder squeezing warmly. "Doesn't that sound fun, Adrien? We'll have to get that stuffy grump to give you more free time. I want to spend more time with my nephew."

Adrien, up until this point dead silent, turned to give her a faint smile. "That sounds nice, Aunt Amelie."

She smiled back at the boy, creases forming in the corners of her eyes just so, a familiar maternal warmth that she now turned on her son. "What are you thinking so hard about, Fe?"

He blinked, train of thought lost as he turned from the window. "... Huh? Oh... nothing, Mother. Just thinking about what I'm going to do during the break."

"What akumas do you have in that awful mind of yours, Uncle...?" He wondered to himself, tuning out Amelie's voice as she kept talking about something or other. "I have to get the Graham de Vanily twin rings soon..."

Feeling a searing stare, he turned to see Adrien's eyes boring into his, blank and serpentine, a frightening copy of his own. Seemingly realizing he was staring, he blinked, and new warmth came to them. He smiled at his cousin before turning to look at the passing scenery.


"I'm home!" Marinette called out, shrugging off her jacket and hat onto the chaise lounge.

As she sat down and peeled off her socks, she realized she had yet to hear Citron make a single sound.

"Tikki? Is... is Citron here?" She asked her Kwami, concern clouding her face as the ladybug zipped out of her purse.

"Citron is here," she confirmed, gaze lingering on the closet. Her puzzlement turned to something more solemn. "Perhaps the winter weather wears them out. They'll come out when they're ready to."

"Uh... okay...?" Raising a brow at her friend, she shook her head and slipped on some slippers. "Well. I need to go down to help in the bakery. I'll be back after dinner."

"Be careful, try not to trip," Tikki cautioned as her Chosen moved around the room, grabbing an apron hanging off the ladder to her loft bed and tying it tight. "Are those shoes nonslip?"

"Of course!" The teenager laughed. "I'll be fine, I promise. I'll snag you an extra cookie!" After a moment's thought, she added, "And something lemony for Citron, too!"

That did sound nice. Tikki couldn't help the hint of pride as she rolled her eyes at the girl as she made her way out of her room. She knew she could handle herself - but she still couldn't stop the worry that crept in. She was still clumsy as ever, it seemed - and although she was more confident with more friends now, she hoped to make sure the poor girl didn't burn out completely with her drive to people-please.

"The people that need pleasing the most are her parents, I suppose," she mused aloud to herself as she settled down on the girl's drafting desk.

Sketches littered the surface, some of potential outfits, others of aprons, of banners, of posters - hadn't she agreed to make a few flyers for the drama club's fundraiser recently? She faintly recalled Mylene showing the girl a Pinterest board for inspiration...

She heaved a tired sigh. That girl never knew when to quit. Perhaps that's why she was so rapidly drawn to her. It wasn't often she came across Holders that were so magnetic.

She smiled when she heard the closet door open, and she looked up when Citron made their way across the room.

"It never gets easier," she told the Sentibeing, even as they slumped over on the chaise. "I'm... I'm sorry. I'm sure she never meant for this to happen."

Citron warbled some manner of response, eternally hard to decipher.

The ancient being let out a breath, making her way to the lounge.

"This is certainly new," she commented, studying the way the shimmering blob gleamed gold in the overhead light. "I wasn't aware that Duusu's..."

She trailed off, then, and Citron slumped even more. Emotion wasn't her domain, yet she figured even Plagg would be able to read this one like a book. The regret rolled off of the Sentibeing in waves, and even if she hadn't guessed at who this really was, it wouldn't have been hard to narrow down.

Tikki's eyes narrowed for a moment, and when the being looked up, it softened with sympathy. "It seems you're destined for agony no matter what timeline this is, aren't you?"

It took a moment for her words to soak in. At the Sentibeing's answering head-tilt of confusion, she waved it off with a shake of the head. "No, never mind. Let's just focus on reviving Duusu, and then we can focus on fixing this awful mess - the right way this time, I do hope."


Night fell across Paris, thick and cold.

While many slept, others remained awake, too troubled to dream.

Felix stared at the gigantic Christmas tree in the foyer, book forgotten at his side. Though it was beautifully-decorated for the upcoming Christmas holiday, there was a conspicuous absence of warmth.

Adrien stared at the ceiling, fiddling with the ring on his finger. Though his bed was warm, his chest was cold - and the picture of his mother seemed to burn holes into the desk where it had been set face-down, the boy unable to sleep with the smiling gaze aimed at his head.

Gabriel stared wearily at the papers on his desk, the words swimming before his eyes. His head thrummed with a headache, and he longed to get up to take some painkillers and keep working. The hot mug of tea Nathalie had given him an hour ago was no longer steaming, and he took another careful sip of the frigid liquid as he blinked, attempting to make sense of his work.

Amelie stared at her tablet, the photo of her and her twin sister staring mockingly back. It had been taken not long before she'd fallen ill, and the more she searched, the more she disliked what she saw - Emilie looked pale, almost gaunt, and the smile she gave the camera didn't quite reach her eyes.

Citron stared at the window, watching through the darkness as snow continued to blanket the city. Their heart was frigid as the temperature outside, panging with guilt and sorrow. A little plate sat on the chaise lounge, an after-shift present from Marinette: a single passionfruit macaron that the Sentibeing didn't have the heart - or the appetite - to bite into.


A/N: Having the ability to remember the world no matter who wishes - or what the wish does - must really suck, huh?

Let me know what you thought!