"Marinette, you should really try and sleep don't you think?"

Tikki hovered near Marinette's workstation, looking on with a worried expression as the girl worked quietly on some project. It was nearly dawn and the girl had never even attempted to go to bed, it would have been pointless. She might as well do something.

Adrien and Cat Noir... god.

"You know I can't Tikki," she sighed back, leaning her weight onto her elbows as she stitched something. "I can't sleep after that."

There was a small stretch of silence and Marinette didn't look up from the soft black cloth in her hands, embroidering something by hand into the fold of the stocking in bright green thread.

"Are you upset?" Tikki finally asked, her question being posed for the dozenth time because the girls words and behavior always seemed to contradict.

"No, no I'm just- AH," her hands shot out, waving the almost finished black and green stocking around for a moment as her fingers desperately tried to grasp some untouchable concept. After a few seconds of that she sighed dramatically and dropped her head onto her desk, muttering, "You know?"

Her kwami giggled flying forward to tap her hair affectionately. "Oh Marinette, you're making it more complicated than it needs to be."

"WHAT how am I- how does this get more complicated!?" Marinette flipped around suddenly in her swivel chair, the momentum carrying her in a complete rotation and slamming her knee painfully into the desk. "AH!" she groaned, moving to grab her knee and fumbling the large spool of thread in the process, watching as it fell and unraveled across her bedroom floor with a grunt of frustration.

"Please tell me how this gets any more complicated Tikki, I couldn't make this more convoluted if I ." Marinette grumbled and huffed as she hobbled after her thread, Tikki giggling all the way once she knew her charge was just getting worked up and not actually angry or injured.

"Is Cat Noir your friend?" Tikki offered, crossing her arms smugly in a way only an incredibly ancient creature could. Marinette narrowed her eyes as she returned to her desk, jabbing the needle at the cloth.

"Of course he-" she started, but Tikki zipped into her face and made her jump, cutting her off.

"Is Adrien your friend?" Tikki spoke again, tilting her head and smiling cutely.

Marinette groaned. "YES Tikki but-"

"Do you like Adrien?"

Marinette blinked, and gave her kwami an exasperated look. If anyone knew just how true that was it was her why was she asking?

"."

"Do you like Cat Noir?"

Marinette froze, her face feeling hot almost instantly as she fought off the urge to shout 'NO' when she saw how contradictory it was. Hence all the confusion, she saw no point being made here. She stabbed again at the stocking, returning to the intricate close knit embroidery in an effort to calm herself.

"Marinette?" Tikki pried, the girl refusing to look up as she replied.

"I don't know!"

Tikki sighed but her expression was kind as she floated back down into Marinette's line of sight. "Let me say it different. Could you like Cat Noir?"

The designer for the most part seemed to be trying to ignore her but her hands slowed slightly, her eyes trailing along the bright green 'Cat Noir' stitched into the stocking, a Cat's eye glowing in the 'O'. She had elected to make a separate one for Adrien's other half, and another for Ladybug as well almost entirely just for something to do. She knew all her insane emotions would crowd her head until she couldn't sleep, but now there was that question too.

Could she like Cat Noir? Could she learn to love the person they are together?

Her working fingers stopped completely, the needle laying idle in her hand as she stared at the name awhile longer. In her mind she heard echoes of laughs and silly jokes, saw images of a smiling boy eager for a family as well as a playful Cat looking for a fight.

-

Of course she could, she realized...

It would be easy.

-

"I-I don't know yet," she fibbed slightly, not quite willing to say anything as concrete as a 'yes'. Concrete things seemed risky just then.

Tikki flew in front of the stocking, sitting on the cloth and demanding to be looked at as she gave her charge a kind and understanding smile.

"I think Adrien is feeling much the same thing right now Marinette, don't you?"

Marinette's response was slow but delivered in a low and distant tone, her eyes casting to the side as her fears from the past few hours bubbled up.

"Cat Noir- Adrien- they like Ladybug. Both of them do, he does."

Tikki's eyes twinkled with a quiet humor, crossing her arms in that same knowing way as she said, "But could he like Marinette?"

Silence.

'Oh' the girl suddenly thought, 'Tikki must be feeling smug about that one... I walked right into it.' Grinning kwami aside it was said now, the sound of it rattling in her mind and ushering in a warm and... hopeful feeling.

Maybe he could...

Marinette shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to push back the giddy almost-hope that built in her chest. It wasn't to keep those emotions away, it wasn't that... It just wasn't what was important for the time being.

In the silent hours of the night it was impossible to dodge her confused feelings for long, but as the sky outside just stared to lighten she knew what mattered most was being ready for him to walk through that door. Convoluted love square or not she knew how unsure he was going to be walking into the bakery. He was probably still awake like her, pacing nervously in his room and trying to sort through it all, wondering what the heck he was going to do when morning finally came.

She couldn't leave him to wonder or panic, this was going to be hard for the both of them but she knew they would adjust. In all fairness being thrown into close proximity for two whole days where they couldn't run and hide from each other was probably the best possible situation for them, it was do or die. They were either going to make it work or watch as their partnership went down in flames, not to mention any possible... anything else.

She leaned back with a sigh and felt the weight of her necklace tap against her chest, the sensation moving to counter her nervous thoughts almost instantly and bringing a smile to her face.

Their partnership wouldn't burn, it never could. She was Ladybug, and he was Cat Noir. Those two names went side by side, an awkward Christmas wouldn't thwart that.

Even so, she didn't think it would be bad. Weird at first without a doubt but... she really couldn't picture it as bad. Even if she was terrified of looking like a fool in front of Adrien she wasn't worried about embarrassing herself in front of Cat, maybe the two things would cancel out? It was almost sort of... reassuring. It's like having her close friend there to constantly make it better no matter how tongue tied she got with Adrien, but they were the exact same person. God how confusing and insane but... it was almost like knowing he was Cat Noir dulled the edges, made him a little less intimidating, furthered the progress of her confidence even more so then their recent closeness already had.

It was also a little comforting knowing that both halves of him had the tendency of being a dork and with his luck he was the one most likely to do something embarrassing. She would be there though to make it better, both halves of her working to keep him smiling. Marinette would comfort, even if Ladybug did tease a little.

It made her feel better.

-

Tikki left Marinette alone as she finished the last stocking, satisfied with the gentle smile on her face. Poor girl had gotten hit with a lot of information at once, but as more time passed she seemed to be doing better.

"What do you think Tikki?" the girl finally spoke up, holding out a cute black stocking with the name of her partner and little green cat paws stitched in. "I was thinking since Adrien would have his downstairs that maybe we could use this one for P-... Plagg? Is that his name?"

The small red kwami nodded, giggling happily as she flew forward to inspect it. "Yup! He's a trouble maker I'll warn you now, but he's a sweetie once you get to know him."

"I'm sure," Marinette chuckled, knowing full well that Tikki gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and that the mysterious other kwami was likely more of a hassle than she was letting on. "You like sweets, does Plagg like sweets as well? I could put cookies in it."

"Put cookies in mine!" Tikki cheered, whizzing over to the red and black spotted Ladybug stocking on the desk. She made an adorable disgusted expression when she said, "All Plagg eats is cheese. He'll eat any of it, put a few of those string cheeses you have in it and he'll be overjoyed."

"String cheese seriously? Are you sure he wouldn't want something else? I have some extra material I could make him a tiny... hat?"

Tikki giggled again, shrugging and snuggling into the opening of her stocking. "He'll love you for the cheese and a warm place to sleep, he doesn't need much more than that."

Marinette thought it over for a little while and put in some bits of extra soft and warm lining, making something almost like a nest on the inside. She would add the cheese just before Adrien arrived so it wouldn't be sitting out for too long, putting cheese in a stocking at all was enough to make her chuckle. How weird this all was...

She was starting to feel the drain of way too confusing revelations and a long night of uncertainty, so with a sigh she finally set her work down and headed towards her bed. She was still totally dressed and she knew she would need to be up in a few hours but for now she really did just need to sleep. Her feet thumped heavily against the steps leading up to her bed, until finally she collapsed, burying herself in the blankets and curling together for warmth.

She squeezed her eyes tight, breathing out a heavy sigh and letting all of her tension leave her body. She could do this for him. She could do it for herself too. He was going to be so scared... she knew that. She needed to be strong enough to show him that it was okay, and for that she needed some rest.

Snow continued to fall all over Paris, ushering in the light of morning on Christmas Eve in gently falling waves of white. The flakes accented every street, every sign and every single shining light, singing in silent voices that Christmas time had come at last. For so many the early hours of that morning were met with the shining eyes of family and friends, waking early to greet each other and the day. However for two undercover superheroes the early hours were spent face down on their beds, both out cold from emotional exhaustion, until finally a pair of loud blaring alarms shook them awake at 9:00 AM.

Marinette had gotten only four hours of sleep, Adrien as little as three, but for both of them realizing that they were expected to face their other half in less than an hour had them awake and on edge.

-

Marinette spent her first few minutes awake staring at the snow clogged glass panel of her hatch. The covering was thin enough that you could just see light leaking through, but the image as a whole was neither distracting enough nor interesting enough to keep her from dwelling on her confused too real dreams.

She knew so much more about Adrien now, and Cat Noir, that any dream with them- him- in it was all together too realistic. Adrien would stutter and hesitate and rub at the back of his neck just as the real one would, before leaning in and trying out some horrendous Cat like pick up line to win her over. He would smirk playfully as he gently pushed her beneath mistletoe hanging from the ceiling, pretending like he hadn't seen it and "Oh would you look at that princess, seems we've been caught out. It's in the spirit of things don't you think?" and just UGH.

Adrien Agreste with the flirtatious confidence of Cat Noir was like giving nuclear launch codes to a baby, utterly unpredictable and entirely too dangerous.

She groaned, her hands flying up to rub roughly at her eyes as she swung her feet over her bed. She probably wouldn't have to deal with it any time soon which was reassuring since she had no idea what she was going to do once it happened. As soon as Cat saw Ladybug get genuinely flustered over something he had said there would be no stopping him, so hopefully for now she would have some time to breathe. Some time to figure it out at least. Oh boy.

After a final deep breathe to prepare herself she launched into action, teetering a little from her exhaustion but soon jolting completely awake, running to her bathroom to shower and prepare. She only had an hour before he arrived, she needed to get some things in place before then.

At about 9:45 Sabine was preparing breakfast happily in the kitchen when Marinette appeared out of nowhere, bolting past her to grab an inordinate amount of string cheese from the fridge, practically all of it. Her hair was still wet and her clothes barely thrown on so needless to say she looked a little... on edge as she ran back up to her room offering literally no explanation. Sabine blinked once, twice, three times before finally shrugging, returning to her cooking and trying not to be concerned. Maybe she just had a craving? Hopefully she was still hungry enough for breakfast, because when her daughter finally reappeared ten minutes later it was empty handed. Her hair was dried and brushed straight, falling in waves down her shoulders and pressed gently down by a festive Santa hat on her head.

"Merry Christmas Eve Marinette!" her mother called now that she was standing still for a second, and after a moment of sudden dazed surprise Marinette grinned at her happily.

"Merry Christmas Eve Momma! Adrien is on his way," she offered, her phone being twisted nervously in her fingers. He had sent a simple one sentence confirmation of just that, betraying no sort of emotion or anything and she was more than a little anxious.

'You have to have this figured out for the both of you, don't let it be awkward he's counting on you.' Her thoughts churned, fighting to fill her with the resolute calm she had managed to find on the rooftop. She knew for a fact everything would be okay, but she also knew that he didn't and it was extremely important to her that she do everything right. What should she say to him? What should she do? If she hesitated at all it might make him even more uncertain but all of her own unease would translate into the situation and she just to do it right. Thinking all that just made it harder and harder though, the girl bouncing anxiously around the kitchen while her mother chatted happily about decorations and other such things. What was she going to do?

She spent five minutes hiding her face from her mother to avoid suspicion and desperately trying to formulate a plan when exactly at 10:00 AM she heard the door chime downstairs, and without much thought at all she sprinted towards the sound.

She flew down the steps, reaching into her simple beige sweater to bring her necklace out from hiding as she ran. Her feet were clad in festive snowflake socks that aided her slide into the bakery, locking eyes with Adrien but never breaking stride.

In the few moments before she reached him she took in his stance and expression, seeing the timid quietly unsure boy she had expected. His shoulders were a little drawn in, a black overnight bag slung over the shoulder of his silly Cat Pun sweater. There was a sharp swell of delight in her as she read the words "Have a Clawesome Holiday!" spelled out cheerily across his chest, overjoyed that he had worn it to meet her, as well as a feeling of pride at the small hesitant smile he gave her before his expression warped into one of surprise. It was warranted, since she was practically charging him. She could see it, the fact that he was trying so so hard, and all her tentative plans flew out the window as she tackled him with a hug.

He staggered under the sudden weight, a yelp of surprise escaping him as he stumbled backwards against the door. He did his best to regain his balance but she had been running so quickly and leapt with such enthusiasm that the swinging door betrayed him completely, throwing the two of them suddenly out into the snow. His foot caught on the lip of the door, and with a final startled shout he fell backwards onto the snowy sidewalk, Marinette landing on top of him and pressed firmly against his chest. The intense show of affection totally upended all of his anxious anticipation, and when she finally pulled back just enough so he could see the sincere joy in her eyes (even if it was a little muddled with fierce embarrassment) his voice left him completely.

Her hair was down, his brain stupidly noticed second, and her voice was quiet and genuine when she spoke.

"You came."

For Adrien there was so much information to take in at once that he could hardly feel embarrassed at all at their incredibly intimate position. She was propping herself up from him but still poised directly above, lying flat on his back and staring up into her flushed, bright face as snow fell all around them. No... as overwhelming as that was, he noticed other things. The fierceness of her hello, the almost desperate eagerness behind it and the quiet shake of her voice. The fact that her necklace, his necklace swayed in the space between their chests, as well as the impossible depth of emotion displayed in her eyes. Joy, relief, a twinge of embarrassment and fragile confidence.

Marinette must have been afraid he wouldn't come, had some whispering fear in the back of her mind that he would break his promise. Some doubt that things really had changed for the worse. She was trying desperately to have all the confidence the two of them needed, but some part of her was terrified of losing him to this. Of losing him at all.

And it made him so impossibly happy.

"Of course I came Princess, I promised you didn't I?"

He was amazed at the strength of his voice and at how easily he grinned up at her from his place on the sidewalk. The grin wasn't forced or fake, he had been prepared to give as many fake smiles as it would take to make things better but it wasn't that at all. Being on his own had given him time to panic and worry and fabricate worse case scenarios, but he should have known better. This was Ladybug he was talking about she was a permanent best case scenario, even with his sour luck he still had her. He had her, she was right there, right in front of him. His lucky charm, showing some of that loveable Marinette clumsiness that made everything okay. She made everything... okay. She always did.

They stared at each other for another moment more before he watched as she turned an incredibly dark shade of red right before his eyes, the fact that she had him pinned against the ground in the falling snow probably dawning on her entirely.