"Sugarcube, Sugarcube are you awake?" Tikki's eyes few open to be met in close proximity to a pair of blazing green eyes. Without a word she grabbed his paw and pulled him outside onto the balcony.

"Plagg what are you doing here? What if there's an akuma and Adrien is looking for you?" Plagg just waved her off.

"You worry too much Sugarcube, besides Hawk Moth tends to go pretty quiet over Christmas" He sat himself down on the deck chair. Tikki floating nearby folding her arms still waiting for an answer. "My kitten's in love with your girl." Tikki shrugged.

"So? What else is new? Chat Noir has been in love with Ladybug since the very beginning."

"I don't mean Ladybug, I'm talking about Marinette." Tikki's mouth flew open. "He admitted it out loud tonight to me. He's seeing the girl behind the mask and now I have to put up with his dopey looks and love sick declarations all over again." Tikki's face took on a new determination.

"Don't pretend you don't care Plagg. I know you worry about your kitten more than you let on and Marinette does too. She's been up most of the night working on a surprise for him for tomorrow." Plagg conceded defeat and nodded.

"Ok, fine I admit it, I care. There you happy." Tikki had to stifle a laugh as Plagg pouted with his ears pinned down and his arms folded. She floated down beside him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"I always knew you were more than just a Stinky Sock." She teased.

"Shut up." He continued to pout. "I need some assurance here Tikki. The kid can't be heartbroken again, I don't think he would handle it. Years of rejection from your Ladybug has made him nervous, but if he's ever going to be able to stand up to that so called father of his, he needs her support beside him, on both sides of the mask." Tikki's eyes lit up.

"Oh Plagg, you know Marinette been in love with Adrien for years and I know she loves Chat too. She would never reject him, but they might need a little push. Besides, Christmas is a magical time of year, just leave it to me." Plagg eyed her suspiciously.

"I know that look Tikki, what are you planning on doing?" But Tikki just shook her head.

"An insurance policy. Now off you go before you get missed." Plagg wasn't sure what any of that was about, but he trusted his counterpart so with a very Chat like bow he took his leave.

********
The rain poured down as Marnnette ran back into the bakery with her package. Shaking the water from her umbrella, she took off her raincoat before getting out her phone. Adrien had been texting her all morning, bored to tears waiting for her to come. He said he had set up Ultimate Mecha Strike V for them to play, assuring her he was much more improved since their last battle at Nino's place. She had to laugh, clearly he didn't mind having his butt served to him again, even if it was a very cute butt. She blushed at herself for thinking that, but it was true. Oh stop it Marinette!

Adrien: Good News! The doctor came and said I can finally leave my room! I improved quicker than he thought I would.

Adrien knew that his Miraculous had helped him get better faster than he normally would. It was one thing he was grateful to Plagg for. Well, there was other things, but he wouldn't want to inflate the grumpy Kwami's ego too much.

Marinette: That's great!

Adrien: Do you want to come help me shop at the Christmas Markets? I can come and pick you up?

Marinette: No!!!

Marinette: I mean yes, I would like to go shopping, but I'll meet you at your place.

Marinette: I have something for you

Adrien: Really?? I can't wait!

Adrien: I suppose I could kick your butt at UMS before we go *wink*

Marinette: Oh you are so going down Agreste. See you soon.

Adrien chuckled to himself as he put his phone down and continued browsing online shopping sites he had open on his computer. Plagg floated up and started poking at the screen.

"If you're going to the markets with pigtails, why don't you just buy something for her there?" But Adrien shook his head.

"She might see Plagg and I want to surprise her. Besides, I want to get her something more special than that." He continued clicking until he found something that caught his eye. It was a Ladybug inspired heart shaped pendant. On the back there was a space for engraving a message and a small cat paw print.

"Stepping a bit close to your identity there aren't you?" Adrien shrugged.

"If she'll have me, I want her to know all of me. I couldn't keep a secret like that from her. I know I can trust her." Plagg didn't want to argue knowing that there really was no point since Marinette was Ladybug anyway. Adrien filled in the space for the engraving and sent the order away

"You'll have to pay extra to get it here on time." Plagg pointed out. Adrien just smiled dreamily.

"She's worth it." Adrien couldn't stop thinking about how much he wanted to kiss her yesterday. Mind you, Plagg did helpfully point out he had been sick and passing that on to her wasn't exactly the kind of Christmas 'gift' he had in mind. He wanted to share the world with her, but his flu definitely wasn't one of them.

Adrien's phone rang and he was delighted to see it was Nino on FaceTime. "Hey Nino, how's your holiday going?"

"Adrien my man, I am freezing by backside off, but we've had some wicked falls for skiing." Adrien chuckled and wondered just how upright Nino would actually have been on ski's. When it comes to balancing, he was right up there with Marinette, or more like down on the ground. Adrien pondered the idea of taking Marinette skiing sometime? Nino could see his friend's mind had wandered off and a sly smile started to emerge on his face. "So how's Marinette? You guys kissed yet or what?" Adrien's eyes went wide and Nino saw the red run all over face. "Well?"

"Ah...Not yet." The model replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I want to." Adrien just realised what he had admitted to Nino, his friend giving him a knowing nod.

"Uh huh." Adrien threw his head back.

"Oh God Nino I have fallen hard and fast haven't I?" Nino let out a roaring belly laugh.

"No, you just woke up to what the rest of us have known for ages. She's finally gotten under your skin, and believe me, there's no going back after that happens. Trust a man that knows." He grinned, pointing a thumb to himself. "So what are you waiting for, make the girl yours dude?" Adrien held a hand over his face as he shook his head.

"I don't want to put her on the spot and do to her what Kagami did to me." He felt a shiver at that thought. "Plus I wouldn't want to make her sick either."

"Fair point." Nino concedes. "But your on the mend now, so that's okay then."

"Well yeah, but I don't want to come across as needy and desperate either." Nino raised an eyebrow at him and Adrien waved his hands up in the air. " Okay, maybe I am it's just...I wanted to make sure it's the right moment, not something forced and I want to make sure she wants it too."

"Trust me my friend, she wants it too, but she's not going to make the first move, Marinette's not like that. That will be entirely up to you."

"Yeah, yeah, I need to grow a pair, but I want it to be special for her you know. I'm pretty sure she's never really kissed anyone before, not that I have either, but I want it to be something she will always remember." Nino just shook his head.

"You my friend are an incurable romantic. It's Christmas dude, just find yourself some mistletoe and kiss the girl. I got to go, the slopes are calling me back but I want an update though when you seal the deal okay." Adrien agreed before hanging up. He didn't know how or when he was going to do it, but he just knew he had to find a way, a perfect way.

Not long after the rain had stopped he heard Marinette at the doorbell. He was surprised to find her carrying a large sack. She looked up at him with a shining smile on her face that seemed to have lit up the whole grey house.

"What on Earth is that you've got there?" He called out from the steps, her smile becoming infectious.

"Your surprise, come on." She led the way to his room, placing the sack on the coffee table. She was practically giddy with excitement. "Go on, open it."

Despite a bit of a cough hanging on, Marinette was happy to see Adrien looking more like himself. The blonde carefully opened the top of the sack and then paused momentarily before gently pulling out a small Christmas tree. Sitting it on the table he saw several beautifully coloured baubles with names on them. Hand written and covered in glittering snowflakes there was a blue one for him, pink for Marinette, green for Nino, Orange for Alya, and gold for Chloe. As much as she didn't get along with Chloe, Marinette knew Adrien's childhood friend was important to him, so she included her too.

"I didn't know what the names were on your original tree," Marinette said softly "but I wanted you to know that you will always have a family with us, your friends." Adrien was lost for words. She must have spent all night working on them, evidenced by the glitter he could see sparking in her hair, and he was so overwhelmed by it. Her face then became shy, her voice even quieter. "You can always add to it, you know, in the future with more names." He could see that touch of pink begin to invade her cheeks. He knew exactly what she meant, when he had a family of his own. He wasn't sure if it was because adulthood was around the corner, but it was something that recently had become very important to him, that one day he would have a wife and children and a life away from modelling and his insufferable father. He used to fantasise about it with Ladybug, but he knew that wasn't terribly realistic, especially the whole living on an island part. He had tried to picture it with Kagami, but he just couldn't see any future with her at all, and she honestly didn't seem the maternal type. With Marinette, though, when he looked in her eyes he could start to see a whole lifetime with her, a life he could no longer picture without her in it.

He wrapped her up in a hug, practically picking her feet off the ground. Adrien buried his face in her hair, the faint smell of vanilla and cinnamon that reminded him of the bakery, reminded him of her. "You're wonderful Marinette. No one has even done something so beautiful for me before. Thank you so much." He wondered if they could always be like this, keeping her in his arms forever.

Marinette stepped back smiling at him. "Doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you now though, I'm still going to kick your butt you know." She teased, flicking his nose with her finger. Adrien narrowed his eyes playfully.

"Those are fighting words." He smirked. However he didn't complain when Marinette reigned victorious 3 times in a row, as he knew she would.

"Had enough of being defeated?" Adrien pouted putting his nose in the air and crossing his arms in a show of playful superiority.

"A gentleman always lets a lady win." They both dissolved into a fit of giggles. Adrein looked at his watch and saw it was already past 2pm and they hadn't had any lunch yet. "How about we head off to the markets? There's some amazing food stalls and craft stands." Marinette agreed and put her warm coat back on. Adrien retrieved his coat and also his blue scarf. Marinette recognised it as the one she made him years ago for his birthday, but he thought his father had given it to him. She never had the heart to tell him any different, because he was so happy about it. She then saw he had another scarf in his hand, a black soft knit with green trim.

"You should keep warm too. A friend gave this to me last year, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you borrowed it." He stood in front of her and wrapped the scarf around, his heart skipping a beat when his fingers lightly brushed her neck. He quickly turned to look for his phone and wallet before he could break out in another blush. Marinette lightly touched the scarf with her fingers. It seemed almost like the one she had made for Chat Noir last year. The beanie she had wrapped for him at home was made to match it. But that would be impossible, how could Adrien have Chat Noir's scarf? Besides, there must be dozens of scarves that were black with green trim. There was a way to know for certain, but she would need to take it off to be able to look. Marinette was going to have to wait for a time where she could look discreetly. Right now though, this afternoon was going to be about her and Adrien, and she was determined to make sure that he thoroughly enjoyed himself.