Hi!!
I saw the answer you guys post a couple of days ago. I hope I'm sounding... rude? or desperate? but I kind of am (desperate)? in a way...
Anyway, have you guys decide... yet??
You know, if that won't be possible, it's alright, right?? I understand it, and believe that anyone who's interested would too.
So...?? any news??
Even if just to say no??
Hi! You're not sounding rude at all. We are aware that it's alright if it's not possible, thanks. It wouldn't be the first year we haven't been able to do it. That said, here's an answer (and we apologize for not posting sooner; it slipped my mind due to a busy week! I meant to post two days ago, that's on me.)
We will not be hosting Secret Santa this year due to time constraints and the busy lives of our mods. We apologize if anyone feels let down with this decision and support anyone else who may want to step in with their own Secret Santa this year. (If anyone does want to host their own this year here on tumblr, we will happily share the event, just send us an ask!)
Hopefully we'll be back next year! Happy holidays!
Hi! We mods are still discussing whether or not it's possible for us to pull it off again this year given that we normally would have already started the whole process a month ago. We will let everyone know once we've decided! Thanks for the interest :)
All gifts have been posted, and that's a wrap for MLSS 2024! Thank you all so much for participating and helping to make this event possible; we hope that you enjoyed!
We hope that you've had a good beginning of the year! As we only have a few gifts left to be posted, we wanted to ask that if you have not received a gift, to please contact us off anon to let us know so we can confirm that your gift is being worked on and will be posted shortly!
If you signed up under a different URL than your ask is sent from, please list the URL you signed up with in the ask. All asks will be answered privately!
If you're not sure if your gift has been posted yet, please check our blog by searching your URL or adding /tagged/[your URL] to see if we've reblogged it.
We'll make another post once this event has officially ended! Thank you all as always for your patience and for helping make this event happen!
Hi @decrescentmelancholy I was your back up gifter, sorry its a little late, I had a cyst rupture the day I was gunna post it! I hope you enjoy. Please let me know if you love or hate it all feedback is welcome!
Greed, assassination plots, and love—oh my! A cursed vigilante, a clever seamstress, and a prince with far too many secrets. Marinette never expected to fall in love, unravel conspiracies, or be swept into a political scheme that could shake the kingdom to its core. Curses and true love never come easy, but does she have what it takes to wield the most powerful magic of all… love?
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Alya Césaire, Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug), Kagami Tsurugi
Additional Tags: Inspired by Barbie of Swan Lake (2003), Kagami Tsurugi as Ryuko, heroes as ensemble characters, Fairy Tale Curses, True Love, lowkey inspired by me misremembering how the curse in the Ladybug PV worked, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, sort of Medieval setting but same powers
Summary:
Marinette is cursed when a new enemy is after the Miraculous. A promise of true love will save her, but she’ll be unable to hold onto the Miraculous if she’s betrayed.
Merry “Christmas” @fixation-central! I hope you enjoy your @mlsecretsanta backup gift!
@pk-freezer-burnt I am your @mlsecretsanta backup gifter!
This is my first time participating in the event, I hope you like this Marichat piece! It was so great to draw something cute and fun, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed working on it.
Hii @goodbye432, I'm your backup gifter for @mlsecretsanta! Sorry for the long wait, but I hope you like this! It's a Lukanette soulmate au, wherein they see color for the first time when they meet each other :) With a little red string of fate thrown in there. Happy Very Belated Holidays, and I hope you're doing alright!
hey @carelisswriting. i'm your way-past-christmas @mlsecretsanta. hope you're hungry...
They make it a pattern.
They see each other, whether on the streets or a club or just at a clothing boutique because their patterns and lives have become mirrors from years of falling in and out of love. Marinette will smile at Chloé, walk over and greet her as if it hasn’t been mere months since they yelled at each other. Chloé will run her eyes over the shape of Marinette, from the slope of her nose to the curve of her lips, the shadow of her eyelashes and the gentle motions of her hand.
An offer to grab a coffee leads them to Marinette’s bedroom—always Marinette’s bedroom—and then they’ll be memorizing each other’s bodies and swallowing the gasps of the other as if it wasn’t just weeks ago that they were yelling and cursing out each other’s names. They’ll spend 24 hours like that, talking in the spaces between to catch the other up. They’ll mold themselves together again, foolishly believing that this time it’ll be permanent, this time they won’t begin to breed hate in their hearts.
They’ll grab dinner three nights a week, buy each other scarves and hats and bracelets, giggle and call each other “girlfriend” with a flirtatious twist. Their friends will roll their eyes and ignore them constantly grabbing each other whenever they’re in public, will avoid bringing up their disheveled hair and clothing whenever they disappear together. Most days they’ll spend their nights together, make everything that belongs to one belong to the other too, as if this time they’ll last.
And then the beginning of the end will come. A few months in, Chloé will start distancing herself, and Marinette will throw herself into designing. Their friend group will be split into two, with one half listening to Chloé complain about Marinette not giving her the time of day, and the other half listening to Marinette vent about Chloé shutting her out. They won’t talk to each other at all, will never acknowledge that if they don’t talk they’ll be shouting, have never thought to break their habit of resorting to resentment.
There’s no more sitting in the back making out in movie theaters, no more silly fashion shows where the pièce de résistance is something completely ridiculous like a left sock or Marinette’s freckles or Chloé’s left forefinger nail. It’s empty silences and passive-aggressively setting their keys down on the counter. It’s sleeping alone in their own places, inhaling each others’ scent left on the bedding. They never think to themselves I can fix it, never say I should reach out. They leave that responsibility to the other, always have, blaming each other and pointing fingers the way they used to when they were younger.
Marinette will swipe away the house key she gave to Chloé, and then show up a week later to find her tearing at all of Marinette’s gifts. They’ll yell and scream, shouting insecurities until all that’s left is shattered glass disguising their heart. Marinette will collect herself, set down the key she has to Chloé’s place and walk out. Chloé always waits three hours after Marinette leaves before breaking down, letting herself feel numb until the tears making their way down her face burn.
And then they’ll avoid each other, go out of their way to stay away from the others’ favorite places until enough time has passed that they’re not worried about things being awkward.
Then they run into each other, and the clock starts all over again.
We hope that you've had a good beginning of the year! As we only have a few gifts left to be posted, we wanted to ask that if you have not received a gift, to please contact us off anon to let us know so we can confirm that your gift is being worked on and will be posted shortly!
If you signed up under a different URL than your ask is sent from, please list the URL you signed up with in the ask. All asks will be answered privately!
If you're not sure if your gift has been posted yet, please check our blog by searching your URL or adding /tagged/[your URL] to see if we've reblogged it.
We'll make another post once this event has officially ended! Thank you all as always for your patience and for helping make this event happen!
@thereisbeautyinflight hi! as ur mlbss gifter i wanted to gift u smth funky: a ladynoir au that’s been in my head for AGES
(sorry abt the bad pics)
anyway!
presenting:
In a dark era, two detectives take on the ever-unsolved case of the Butterfly Mask. Under the guise of Ladybug and Char Noir, however, two ordinary people begin their own investigations into each other.
Marinette is a perfectly ordinary woman, running a bakery. Her nights are spent in a mask, walking the streets of Paris with her partner.
Adrien models for his father’s company, having avoided the draft two years ago. At night, he slips through his father’s home’s security to become the Black Cat to his Lady’s luck.
Behind their information are TIKKI and PLAGG, two newly-minted AIs that say they’re from the future, sent to help Ladybug and Chat Noir discover the truth behind the famously unsolved Case of the Butterfly Mask.
My gift for @trishacollins ! Hi! I was your backup gifter for @mlsecretsanta ! Merry (super belated) Christmas 🎄 😂
A little re-imagining of the ending scene in Chat Blanc :>
I FINALLY GOT PAGE 1 DONE. Pages 2 and 3 are forthcoming (they are still in the rough stages) BUT I wanted to post *something* before my birthday tomorrow (which is also the deadline). I figured since you've been waiting for a gift for so long, I would just make you a 3 page comic.
If anyone likes what they see, please reblog and please support my ko-fi💜
hi @nagisachan1 !!! i was your backup gifter for the @mlsecretsanta exchange! i really hope you enjoy this piece!! i had a lot of fun writing it, it was neat looking more at nathalie and adrien's relationship!
this fic is also available on my ao3!
***
Adrien pushed around the food on his plate, his gaze darting over to look at Nathalie for a moment. She was sitting off to the side, tapping away at her tablet as she worked.
“Nathalie?”
She looked up, her eyes showing just the slightest hint of confusion.
“Yes, Adrien?”
He shifted in his seat “How do you…how do you tell someone you love them?”
Nathalie blinked.
She sighed, taking off her glasses for a moment to rub at her forehead, before placing them back on the bridge of her nose and looking at Adrien.
“Adrien—”
“No, it’s fine, forget I said anything.” He said, already turning back to his food.
Nathalie didn’t move for a moment, before nodding and going back to her tablet.
Adrien tried to avoid crying.
He mostly succeeded, only a few tears making their way onto the wood of the table.
***
She didn’t know why she was doing this. This definitely wasn’t in her job description. But, Adrien had asked her a question.
She wanted to answer it. To help him. She hadn’t known what to do in the moment, and she knew her reaction had come off badly. But she wanted to help him.
This had to have been sparked by one of his classmates, but, well. Even if Gabriel had been so stringently against Adrien’s attendance at school, she doubted he would stand in the way of his son finding love.
He had a real soft spot for romance, what with Emilie.
Nathalie ignored the small whisper in her mind that said that she was another one of Gabriel’s soft spots.
She leaned against the wall for a moment, before knocking on Adrien’s door.
She heard the usual scramble to hide whatever it was he was doing, before he said “Come in!”
She sighed fondly as she pushed open the door. He wasn’t nearly as sneaky as he thought he was, but he was also fourteen. No one was any good at hiding things at fourteen. And it wasn’t as if whatever he was hiding could truly be that important to hide.
Adrien glanced up at her from in front of his piano, where she was entirely sure he had not been sitting before she came in.
“Did my schedule change?” Adrien asked, his eyes flicking downwards for a moment.
Nathalie shook her head, before looking around for somewhere to sit. She’d prefer not to have this conversation standing up, or more accurately she’d prefer to have it where both of them were sitting down. She knew that her height, despite being average for a woman, could come off as intimidating to a fourteen-year-old boy who hadn’t grown into his own height yet.
She sat down on the couch, having to turn a bit to face Adrien, who was looking at her with no small amount of confusion from the piano bench.
“Nathalie? Is…is everything okay?” He asked.
She gave him a small smile, avoiding showing her wince. She’d undoubtedly managed to remind the boy of less pleasant conversations, serious ones.
“I thought I would answer your question from earlier.”
Adrien’s eyes widened, before his gaze darted to the floor.
“It’s fine, really, I wasn’t trying to—” He started to say, before Nathalie cut him off by holding a hand up.
“Adrien. I want to help.”
The boy looked at her for a moment, before his shoulders slumped. “Okay, I guess. So…what’s your advice?”
He sounded very hopeful that Nathalie would have some magical solution to his problems. Unfortunately, she could not offer anything of the sort.
Nathalie resisted the urge to take off her glasses before she answered. She had a feeling this answer was not going to go over well. It certainly would not have gone over well with her, when she was a teen.
Or go over well now, if she felt like being brutally honest.
“The simplest way to tell someone you love them is to tell them, Adrien.” She said, trying not to sound patronizing. She knew that most teenagers wouldn’t exactly react well to being told to talk about their feelings—
“But I have! She doesn’t believe me.” Adrien said, his eyes pleading.
Nathalie blinked.
“What— She doesn’t believe you?”
Adrien nodded, a dejected look on his face.
“I’ve told her, a lot actually. But she always laughs it off, or says that I’m not really in love with her. But I am! And I— I want her to know that. She should know, even if she doesn’t feel the same.” He said, before looking at her with a watery smile.
Nathalie took a moment, just one, to be extremely glad she was no longer a teenager, because this sounded, to be frank, absolutely exhausting.
She let out a breath.
“I’m assuming you’ve already tried at least one romantic gesture?” She asked, already knowing she was correct. For all that Adrien tried to play the part of the perfect child, and hide what media he was into from his father, he seemed to forget almost constantly that Nathalie was the one who managed all of the streaming services for the house. She’d already seen quite a lot of sappy romance anime pop up on the account over the last few months.
Adrien nodded “I brought her flowers, and tried to set up a date, but she didn’t show up until late, so—”
His eyes widened, and he cut himself off.
Nathalie raised an eyebrow.
Adrien cringed.
“In the interest of not derailing this conversation, this likely occurring weeks ago, and with the full expectation there will not be a repeat, I am willing to let this slide.” She said, attempting to keep some of the fondness out of her tone. She mostly succeeded.
Adrien let out a breath, his eyes darting to the side for a second.
“But, yeah. She doesn’t believe me.”
Nathalie took a moment to think.
She then considered the type of anime that Adrien watched.
And Gabriel and Emilie’s relationship, before her…Before.
Take into account how overdramatic it all was…
She sighed.
“Adrien. Did you actually tell this girl you love her, or did you make big speeches about it?”
Adrien blinked, his brow furrowing “That—Isn’t that how you tell people you love them? And I’ve been flirting, too.”
Nathalie finally gave into the urge to take off her glasses and rub her forehead.
“I’m sure. Speeches are well and good, but they can seem insincere. She might have thought you were making a joke.”
Adrien puffed up in a way that, oddly, reminded Nathalie of a kitten just learning how to use its claws “I wasn’t joking about it—”
“I know, Adrien. But I’m not so sure this girl would.” She said, putting her glasses back on.
He deflated.
“You really think so?”
Nathalie sighed again.
“You should try telling her, no speeches, no big gestures. Just tell her.”
Adrien looked at her for a moment.
He nodded.
“It’s not like I can make it any worse, really.”
Nathalie refrained from pointing out the possibility of the girl rejecting him out of hand. It wasn’t worth it to bring up now. And if the girl did—
Nathalie avoided following that thought to its logical conclusion.
She wasn’t Adrien’s mother. It wasn’t her place to get angry on his behalf, or comfort him.
Though, that was close to what she was doing now.
She shook her head slightly. No, this was answering a question her boss’s child had asked her. It was completely within professional bounds.
If you stretched those bounds a bit.
Nathalie took a moment to gather herself, before nodding sharply.
“I’m glad I could help. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should be getting home.”
Adrien startled “Oh yeah, of course, sorry for keeping you late—”
Nathalie shook her head “It was no issue, Adrien.”
She stood, walking to the door.
She had just turned the handle when Adrien called out to her.
“Thank you.”
Nathalie didn’t bother with an exchange of meaningless pleasantries, but she did turn to look Adrien in the eye as she nodded at him.
***
Chat Noir was practically bouncing as he waited on the rooftop for Ladybug. Usually, he showed up way closer to when their patrols started, but he just couldn’t help himself, not after his conversation with Nathalie.
She’d been surprisingly helpful. He’d asked her in the first place cause he’d thought she’d have some advice, well he’d hoped she’d have advice at least, but really, he hadn’t expected her to be able to figure out an issue in his approach so easily.
It’d also been…really nice, talking to her about this. She was nice, when she wasn’t officially on the clock.
It had probably been a mistake to try to talk her during dinner, she was always busy working then—
There was a scuff on the roof behind him, and Chat Noir turned around with a wide smile.
“My lady! Nice of you to give a lonely cat on a roof some company.” He chirped, already bounding over to his lady’s side, even as she rolled her eyes.
“Wouldn’t have been so lonely if you’d shown up when you normally do. It’s still ten minutes before our patrol actually starts.” She said, exasperated. Under that, however…
Chat smiled at her, a more genuine one than his wide grin.
“Are you worried, my lady?” He asked, hoping that the affection came through more than his worry for her.
“I’m not worried, Chat. I’m…surprised.”
Chat Noir could’ve kept poking at her, and it was really tempting to, considering how much he loved their banter, but he had actually come here early to do something specific.
He took a breath, before looking at Ladybug.
“I love you.”
Ladybug’s eyes widened a fraction, and she took a step back.
“Chat—”
“I’m not joking, I wouldn’t joke about this, and I mean it, okay? I don’t care we don’t know each other behind the masks, I know you. I know how you beam when you figure out a yoyo trick, I know how you stand strong under so much pressure, how you bend but don’t break, I know how you like your tea— I know you, my lady.” He said all in a rush, making sure there was no way for her to misinterpret it.
It took a moment for him to realize he’d definitely just ignored Nathalie’s advice of ‘no speeches’.
Ladybug was looking at him with shock.
“Chat, we can’t. It’s not safe—”
Chat growled in frustration, before cutting himself off in case Ladybug thought he was frustrated with her.
“I don’t want to live my life by just in case, what if this, I want to live my life. I don’t want to give Hawkmoth that power.”
There was already too much control in his regular life, in his opinion. He wanted to not have to worry about it here.
Ladybug bit her lip, looking away.
“There’s—Chat, there’s someone else.”
Chat Noir could just about feel it as his heart shattered.
“Oh.”
Ladybug’s eyes met his.
“This isn’t—Chat, you’re one of the most important people in my life. You’re my partner, but—” She cut herself off, wringing her hands.
He just waited for her to speak again.
“I thought you were joking.” She said helplessly.
Chat shrugged “I wasn’t.”
They stood there for a moment, looking at each other.
He broke the silence first.
“It’s okay, my lady. I just, wanted to make sure you knew. That I was being honest.”
Ladybug nodded, before shaking her head slightly.
Chat cocked his head.
“My lady?”
Ladybug looked at him. Her eyes were so blue.
“You really were in love with me this whole time. Since the first day.”
“Technically, it was closer to the second day I realized it, but yeah.”
She looked at him a moment longer.
Before letting out a small noise of frustration.
“This is stupid, this is so stupid—” She mumbled under her breath, apparently forgetting for the moment that Chat had very good hearing while in the suit.
His shoulders dropped, but he managed to keep the heartbreak off his face.
“My lady, it’s really okay, we can patrol now—”
Ladybug looked at him, before her eyes widened slightly. “No, Chat, kitty, I didn’t mean it like that.”
He looked away.
Ladybug sighed, before he heard a small shuffling sound.
“Look, I thought—you always seemed to like flirting, a lot. I assumed you were doing it to be silly. But you weren’t, and—”
She grabbed his hand, and Chat looked up at her, seeing tears in her eyes.
He blinked.
“Chat, I don’t know what to do. My crush, I’ve been in love with him for months, but—” She paused, taking a breath “You’re my partner. I thought you were joking, so I didn’t—consider it. And now I’m considering it.”
Chat Noir managed to keep the desperate hope bubbling up in his chest from spilling out all over his face.
“My lady, I wouldn’t try to keep you from your crush—”
“I know you wouldn’t, kitty.” She said, squeezing his hand.
“—but if it’s not— You’re not dating him yet. And he wouldn’t know if you were dating me. We could— date until you figure out what you want to do, or get him to like you?” He suggested, trying not to feel like he was doing something wrong as he did so. This felt way weirder to suggest than it had seemed when he’d seen a character in an anime propose something similar.
Ladybug looked at him for a moment “That, it wouldn’t—Chat, it wouldn’t be fair to him. Also, if we were dating, I wouldn’t—I wouldn’t want to do that to you, make you feel like a replacement, or a placeholder.”
Chat knew that all that was on his face was his love for his lady.
“I know, my lady.”
It was well past when patrol was supposed to start.
He went to pull his hand away, figuring the conversation was over, but Ladybug didn’t let go.
He looked back at her, seeing a look on her face that he wasn’t sure what to do with. It was the same look she got when she summoned a Lucky Charm, and had just figured out the perfect plan.
They hadn’t figured a plan at all, so why—
She pressed a kiss to his check, and Chat Noir’s train of thought stopped in its tracks.
“Kitty, let’s just see what happens. I’m not in love with you, and there’s still my crush, but—we can date. We can try. I’ll give it a chance.”
Chat Noir forcibly kickstarted his brain back into working so he could look at her with adoration.
“Of course, my lady! And if anything happens with your crush, I’ll back off, I promise.”
Ladybug smiled at him “I know, kitty.”
There was a moment.
“Also, we are not telling any of the press about this.”
Chat Noir chuckled.
“Agreed. Not after Prime Queen. That was a catastrophe.”
Ladybug groaned, before squeezing his hand one last time and dropping it.
“C’mon, first one to the Arch gets to pick where we stop for snacks on the way back.” She said, before throwing out her yoyo before he even had a chance to respond.
He glared after her, his lady, his—girlfriend, and smirked.
“Oh, you are so on, my lady.”
He threw himself off the roof, laughing as he chased after her.
***
Nathalie barely noticed when Adrien stepped in front of her a few days later, absorbed in the paperwork for the next line.
She noticed when his bouncing threatened to knock over some of the papers on her desk.
“What, Adrien?” She asked, trying her best to keep the frustration out of her tone. It wasn’t Adrien’s fault one of the factory owners was apparently throwing a hissy fit about the new production orders.
“It worked! Your advice, I mean. She realized I love her.”
Nathalie blinked, taking a moment to get her bearings.
Then she smiled.
“I’m glad, Adrien. Now if you don’t mind, I need to have this paperwork for your father by the end of the day.”
Of course, Gabriel would likely give her another day if she truly needed it, but she didn’t want to cause any unnecessary delays or trouble for him.
Adrien beamed.
“Yeah, got it. And thanks again for the advice!” He said, before running off, presumably excited to get to school and see the girl he loved. He hadn’t actually said who it was, but Nathalie didn’t mind. She was sure she’d find out eventually.
She went back to the paperwork, giving a fond shake of her head.
Hi - thanks for running this fun event! question, what happens if we never received a gift?
Hi! We still have a few people on our list getting back-up gifts, so there's a good chance you're on there if you haven't received one yet! If you want to know for sure, you can email us or send an ask and we'll check for you. Thanks for your patience!
Merry super-duper late Christmas @arisu-artnfics! Technically a back-up gifter. Anyway, I normally never take this long, but life got weird and hard. Nevertheless, you shall not be giftless anymore. I saw that you like Marichat, so I wrote a little something with the pair, with fluff and a dash of hurt/comfort with hopeful ending.
To the @mlsecretsanta team, thank you for being so patient with me and giving me the opportunity to still be a part of this wonderful tradition. You guys are the best.
Christmas Eve, Silent Night
Snow softly fell down the city, leaving a thin layer of white dust on the streets. Every step Chat Noir took left footprints in the oddest of places for a normal person, but very typical of a cat themed superhero. Lamposts and ledges became slightly uncovered with every jump he took, until he landed on a rooftop close to a bakery he knew very well.
Chat Noir stepped closer to the railing, resting his forearms on it as he stared at the warm lights emitting from the building. He always enjoyed how warm Marinette’s childhood home seemed. And felt, from the times he had visited. He didn’t visit much these days, though.
Marinette had moved out of her parent’s once she started university. She mainly stopped by to visit her parents, or work the occasional shift when she needed some extra money. In that particular evening, she was most likely helping them with the Christmas Eve rush before having a pleasant dinner with them.
It was the reason he was out on patrol in the first place. Ladybug had offered to take the shift, or to at least accompany him. But he insisted on patrolling for the holiday. She had done enough after the toy drives that he missed due to work. Plus, it gave him the opportunity to have the wonderful view of a happy home.
And a good thing too, as he noticed their specials sign get knocked over by a rowdy tourist passing by. Chat Noir took out his baton on instinct and vaulted his way to the sidewalk. With a swift movement, he straightened up the sign. Only to get knocked again, along with his forehead, by the bakery door.
“Sorry!” the melodic voice of Marinette apologized. “I didn’t see you…Oh, hi Chat Noir.”
As he rubbed his new bump, his eyes focused on the young woman before him. “Hi, Ma—”
“It’s Chat Noir!” Tom Dupain had suddenly popped his head from behind her, startling them both. Next thing he knew, the young man was having his hand furiously shaken and was dragged inside the bakery. “Look, Sabine! It’s Chat Noir!”
“Oh, dear, you were out there?” Sabine Cheng asked, moving towards a stack of paper cups. “Aren’t you cold in that suit?”
“Uh…” his eyes shifted from Marinette’s amused face to her parents, already having recovered from the surprise interruption. “It’s fine. It adapts.”
“Ha! I wish my clothes would adapt like that!” Mr. Dupain boomed in laughter, as he pulled on his sweater.
“Well, regardless if it adapts or not, here.” Chat Noir suddenly had a warm cup of hot chocolate in his hands, placed there by Mrs. Cheng. When did she even get this? he wondered. “I hope you're keeping warm.”
“I am, thank you,” he chirped.
“Oh! Now that you're here…” Mr. Dupain grabbed his wrist and started pulling him to one of the displays.
“Papa–” Marinette started, but Chat Noir already had Mr. Dupain's arm around his shoulders, as he was shown what seemed to be black and green macarons.
“Do you realize that you have been our own superhero for six years and a half?” he said, slightly shaking the hero. With a proper look at the pastries, Chat Noir noticed a distinct pawprint on them. “It's your six years and a half anniversary!”
“Papa, I don’t think people usually celebrate half anniversaries,” Marinette chuckled.
“But this is so sweet!” Chat Noir couldn’t help but say, giving her a large smile, to which she fondly rolled her eyes.
“You should take some,” Mrs. Cheng offered as she opened the display.
“I'll get it, maman,” Marinette offered. “You can finish closing up.”
Mrs. Cheng agreed, yet Chat Noir didn’t miss the sly smile she gave to her daughter before asking her husband to recover the very sign he attempted to rescue moments ago. He sipped on his drink, delightedly watching Marinette acquire a pair of tongs.
“I see your parents are still very welcoming,” he commented as she prepared a box for him.
“Shouldn’t you be finishing patrol?” Marinette shot back.
“I only have a few blocks left.”
“See, you still have a route to complete.”
“I get the sense that you don’t want me here.”
Marinette sighed, closing the box. “You know I don’t mind you coming here,” she said softly. “But if my parents–”
“I know,” he cut in.
A silence stretched between them with unsaid words. The only thing breaking it being the sound of a door opening, followed by the smell of meat. Chat Noir’s nose twitched, seeking the smell.
“They’re done!” Mrs. Cheng announced. Chat Noir had been so distracted by what Marinette was doing, he hadn’t even noticed her mother had left the room for several minutes. In her hands, she was holding what seemed to be a plate of homemade dumplings.
“I didn’t know you were cooking,” he excitedly said.
“There’s more upstairs, including a full dinner I’ve been making for the occasion. Would you like to stay for it?” Mrs. Cheng asked.
“O-Oh, um…” Chat Noir stared longingly towards the dumplings, right before his eyes shifted towards Marinette’s blushing face. He let out a soft sigh with a smile before responding: “Thank you for the offer, but I need to finish my run around the city. I promised Ladybug.”
“That’s a shame,” she lamented.
“You’re welcome here anytime,” Mr. Dupain said as he placed the box of macarons in his free hand. “Maybe I’ll convince you to take my daughter on a date one of these days–”
“Papa!” Marinette squawked, her face turning even redder. “You know how dangerous it can be for a superhero to date a civilian.”
“See, she’s interested!”
“No, I–” she smacked her hands on her face.
Chat Noir barked out a laugh at Marinette’s reaction. Mr. Dupain could say the darndest things in his presence sometimes.
“I’m sure that, whoever she eventually ends up dating, will be the luckiest guy in the world.”
“You don’t have to oversell it,” Marinette muttered, as she averted her eyes in embarrassment.
“You have a great daughter, Mr. Dupain,” he added. “I’m sure she’ll end up with someone who deserves her. For now, though, I must take my leave. Thank you for the macarons.”
Chat Noir made an exaggerated bow in farewell, taking the opportunity to place the now empty cup on the counter. Before turning, he took one last look at Marinette and gave her a covert wink. The next second, he used his baton to jump once again across rooftops.
- - -
Chat Noir softly landed inside the room. Thanks to his night vision, he was able to effortlessly place the box of macarons on the desk and drag himself to the bed, flopping on it. A part of him was admittedly regretting his offer to take the Christmas Eve shift. But then again, it wasn’t like there was any family waiting for him.
The door to the room creaked open, and a smile wormed itself into his face. The second he felt the bed dip he curled against the body that had sat down next to him.
“Why can’t we tell your parents, at least?” his muffled voice asked.
“I’m pretty sure my parents wouldn’t be able to resist telling the world I’m dating a superhero,” the soothing voice of Marinette responded, accompanied by the soft scratching of his hair.
“But their dinners are so tasty,” he whined.
“You know I didn’t come empty-handed, right?”
“It’s not the same.”
“Hmm.” Marinette laced her fingers through his hair. “I know. Maybe someday. Soon, hopefully. You did say Ladybug is close to figuring out the new butterfly miraculous holder, right?”
“It seems so,” he said with a shrug. “Still, by the eighth month, normal couples are already starting to talk about the future and stuff.”
“Yeah…” Marinette whispered. “Do you… think about that stuff?”
Chat Noir frowned, finally ungluing his face from her body to look at her wondering face. He gulped, tempted to give a joke answer, but feeling the need to be honest. Sitting up on the bed, he took her hand and spoke: “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t.”
“I see.” She squeezed his hand. “I wish we could talk about it more.”
He sighed. “Me too.”
They looked at each other for a moment, Chat Noir thinking about how badly he wanted to ask her to marry him. But he couldn’t. Not as a superhero. They had to wait for when it was safe to reveal his identity. So, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down to the bed with him. Marinette laid on his chest, taking soft breaths.
“The food’s in the kitchen counter,” she quietly said.
“In a minute. I just want to be here with you for a bit.”
“Hmm.”
The day they had decided to start dating was most likely not their finest decision. Although Chat Noir didn’t regret a single second spent with Marinette as his girlfriend, it did worry him sometimes. That she might wake up someday and decide she deserves a relationship she can share with the world. He would understand if that ever happened.
Of course, he hoped that wouldn’t be the case. Because, if his suspicions were correct, then maybe, just maybe, there was a good chance Marinette knew exactly what it was like to hide one’s identity, and she would do everything in her power to make sure the relationship would survive. Even if it was against the world.
