Adrien licked his lips as he took in the sight in front of him. Snacks that Nathalie would probably faint at the sight of were set up on the picnic basket in front of him. A Studio Ghibli movie was queued up and ready to go. Now all Adrien needed to wait for was for his girlfriend to arrive.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late, I couldn't find where I put the container." As if his thoughts had summoned her, Ladybug came swinging in through the window.

"It's not a problem at all, my love. Here I'll take that." He held his arms out to take the container she was holding.

"Oh, okay thank you. This looks amazing Adrien." She gave him a warm smile that did wonders to his heart.

He still couldn't believe how lucky he was. Ladybug, the Ladybug, had started hanging out with him thanks to a project both of them were working on with Alya. The friendship that had started between them had rekindled his love for her and a few months after they started hanging out, he confessed. This time went a lot better than he had expected, and now he was dating her!

"It's the least I can do. I know it sucks having to stay in my bedroom all the time, but I thought I would try my hardest to make it romantic." He said, setting the container down with the rest of the snacks.

"It doesn't matter to me where we spend our time." Ladybug moved to sit down next to him. "As long as I'm with you I'll be happy. And one day..." She trailed off, intertwining their hands.

"Yeah, one day." He squeezed her hand. One day he wouldn't have to lie to her anymore. One day he could tell her that he was Chat Noir. One day he wouldn't have to be ultra paranoid about slipping up and using the wrong nickname for her. "So, what'd you make?" He asked.

"Christmas cookies! I made them this morning just for this occasion." She opened up the container to show off little Santas and Christmas trees.

"If they taste as half as good as they look then I'm in for a treat." He told her, picking up a cookie and biting into one. "Delicious as always." He complimented her, enjoying the combination of spices on his tongue.

"I'm glad you think so." Ladybug snuggled into his side and pressed play on the remote, starting the movie.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, munching on cookies and just enjoying each other's presence.

"You know, I haven't baked anything for Christmas in years." Adrien suddenly said. Ladybug turned to look at him.

"You haven't?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No, not since my mother disappeared. We would always make Christmas cookies together." He smiled at the fond memories.

"I'm sorry that she's gone." Ladybug whispered.

"I wish that she would come back, but I have grieved her and can live with her living on in my heart and remembering her through fond memories." He pulled Ladybug a bit closer to him, so her nose was in the crook of his neck. "I just wish my father felt the same." He muttered. Ladybug hummed.

"You know what?" She asked.

"What?"

"If you want, we could make something together."

"You'd do that with me?" Adrien whispered.

"Of course, my prince. If it's something you would enjoy, then I would love to teach you how to make one of my signature cookies." He could feel her smile in his neck.

"Isn't that possibly identity revealing?" He asked. "I obviously have no problem with knowing but..."

"You're gonna have to wait a bit longer on that one and don't worry, if it comes down to it and we run into each other when I'm outside of my mask, I'll make sure you don't get this type of cookies."

"Well, the staff has already left for the night, so as long as we're quiet I see no problem with making them!" Adrien smiled.

"Well, then let's go!" Ladybug smiled and stood up, pulling him up with her.

"Alright, but we have to be super quiet while we're walking in the halls. We don't want to alert my father or Nathalie that you're here."

"God, that would be a complete and utter disaster. Us having to explain to your father why I'm here?" Ladybug shuddered.

"Absolute nightmare." Adrien agreed. "He would see through the 'just friends' charade in a second."

"He would?" Adrien nodded.

"He's aware of my crush on you. He can see what I spend my money on and, uh,"

"He saw your Ladybug shrine?" She teased.

"It's not a shrine." He huffed.

"Of course not, only an area of things dedicated to me."

"Like you don't have an Adrien Agreste shrine." He smirked, leaning into her space.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that statement." She leaned up on her tip-toes and kissed his nose. "Now, to the kitchen!"

They snuck through the hallways of the mansion. Thank Goodness being Chat Noir had made Adrien's footsteps a lot quieter and it seemed like Ladybug was in the same boat.

Once they safely made it to the kitchen, they shut the door as softly as they possibly could before dissolving into giggles.

"I can't believe that I've just snuck into the Agreste mansion kitchen, to make cookies with my boyfriend, who is Adrien Agreste himself." Ladybug giggled. "You can't make my life up!"

"Not to mention the whole superhero thing." Adrien remarked.

"That too."

"Hey, do you mind if we maybe make a cake too? I kinda want to give something to my bodyguard and I think that could be my best bet." Ladybug nodded.

"Yeah! So we've got the cookies, the cake, and I would like to get the macarons I make for my parents done, if you don't mind. I normally go over to my best friend's place so my parents can't see them, but..."

"I'd love to learn how to make macarons!" Adrien bounced on the balls of his feet.

"You're really cute, you know that?" Ladybug said, a pink blush on her cheeks. Adrien felt his face turn red. How did he get so lucky again?

"No you." He told her.

"Alright Agreste, I need you to get out milk, butter, flour, sugar," Ladybug chose to ignore his comment and started listing out ingredients needed for the cookies instead.

Adrien smirked, knowing that he was victorious in winning the battle.

Baking with Ladybug was honestly amazing. She directed him perfectly, like she always did whenever they were fighting akumas together and when he messed up she didn't scold him.

"No, no, not like that. Here I'll show you." Ladybug said as he tried to mix in the chocolate chips in with the batter. She came around him and placed her hand on top of his. He relaxed into her enjoying her warm embrace.

"Thanks." He said as she moved their hands together.

"Of course. This will help get the batter to have more of an even spread of chocolate chips."

"Well, we can't have a cookie without chocolate chips now can we?"

"Nope! That would be a crime to humanity."

Before he knew it, her signature "Kitchen Sink" Christmas cookies were done and they had moved on to making the cake.

"So, what type of cake are you thinking about making him?" Ladybug inquired.

"I'm not sure. I know he really likes chocolate though and bananas crazily enough. I think it's part of the reason he supports the nickname Gorilla."

"He's never tried to tell you his real name?" Adrien shrugged.

"All I know is that it starts with G."

"Well then, how about we make him a banana cake, with real bananas of course, with chocolate icing?" Adrien nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah that sounds great! Thank you Ladybug, I'm sure he'll love it."

"Well, I think it's super sweet of you that you want to give your bodyguard a present."

"He does a lot for me." Adrien shrugged. "I just want to return the favor." If he had a dime for every time the Gorilla has allowed him to get away with something or other, he could probably construct a statue of the man made out of the dimes.

"You're so kind." Ladybug told him, kissing him on the cheek. "Just one of the reasons I love you." He blushed. Sure, they had exchanged 'I love you's' before, but they were rare and even if they weren't, Adrien was sure that they would make him blush every time.

"Love you too." He told her, returning the peck on the cheek.

"Can you get out some bananas for me? It may take awhile until it's complete and we still have macarons to bake."

"And the more time you spend here the more likely it is for you to get caught." Ladybug nodded.

"I wish it wasn't this way."

"It won't be someday." Adrien picked up her hand and placed a kiss on it.

"Yeah."

"It just means we have to value the time we get to spend together, right? It's not like we never hang out." He moved to go and grab bananas.

"I'm so lucky." Ladybug said as she started to mix together the dry ingredients. "You're so incredibly understanding about my problems as a superheroine." Adrien grinned at her, setting the bananas down.

"I think I'm the lucky one out of the two of us, and I honestly get it. I have to deal with a lot of the same pressures of being famous."

"I know, and you do an incredible job at it." Ladybug pecked the side of his face. "Now can you whisk the butter, vanilla, and eggs together?" Adrien gave her a salute.

"I'm on it!" 

They finished up with the cake quickly. Before either of them knew it, it was in the oven and they could start on the macaroons.

"So, I've actually have never made macarons before." Adrien said.

"You mentioned that earlier. Don't worry, dork. I'll fix you right up." She bopped his nose gently with the spoon that still had banana batter on it.

"Hey!" He said, wiping the batter off and proceeding to eat it. "Mmm, that's actually really good. He'll enjoy it for sure."

"I'm glad you think so." Ladybug beamed.

"So, what do you want to make for your parents?" 

"Well, my mother would probably appreciate rose and jasmine tea macarons and my father would prefer the vanilla and cinnamon ones."

"Wow, how fancy!"

"You get used to it after making macarons every other week since you were a young kid."

"Well, all I know is that your passion fruit macarons are heavenly."

"I'm glad you think so, now shall we start?"

"We absolutely shall."

Ladybug was excellent in coaching him on the art of making macarons and as they laughed and joked while making Christmas treats for friends and family, he couldn't help but think this would be one of the best Christmases yet.