In the spirit of the holiday season, I decided to gift these prompts to people I think would enjoy them, or who have made an impact on me this year, or who I appreciate for their art and/or writing. For this one, I dedicate it to @australet789 @nyankittyblr and @fuckingchatnoir. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Quiet Evening
“Here,” Ladybug offered.
Chat Noir looked at the steaming pink cup in her hand. His nostrils filled with that chocolate smell that just made his mouth water. Slowly, he took it in his hands, hoping to come off polite, despite wanting to down the thing in seconds.
“Thanks, LB,” he beamed. “So what’s with the gesture?”
“Can’t I do something nice, just because?” she said. Yet, the boy could’ve sworn her cheeks took on a rosy color.
“What about patrol?” he asked.
“I thought we could take a break,” Ladybug shrugged. “Besides, it’s really cold. We won’t be of much use if we freeze our butts off.”
“Hm, good point,” he nodded. With a soft smile, he turned his gaze into the cityscape, marveling at the falling snow on the bright lights of Paris. He sighed contently, and brought the cup to his lips.
“Chat?” Ladybug suddenly said. Chat Noir hummed, lowering the cup. “Have… have you ever taken a risk? In love, I mean?”
The boy tilted his head. “What kind of risk?”
“Uhh…” Ladybug scratched the back of her head. “You know, like telling someone you have feelings for them, even though there’s a really good chance they’re gonna say no to you, because they like someone else?”
His lips parted. That was… oddly specific. How could someone not like her? That’s dumb, he thought.
“Any guy would be crazy to say ‘no’ to you,” he voiced, without thinking. As a response, he got a chuckle from the girl sitting next to him.
“I’m not saying I’m not good enough for him,” she corrected. “I know my worth. I’m just… wondering if it’s worth taking a risk on someone who already likes someone else.”
A frown crinkled his forehead. “I would say…” But he paused, thinking better on what to say. “Go for it.”
Ladybug rose her gaze from the ground. “Go for it?”
“You don’t lose anything from trying,” Chat Noir shrugged. “Besides, you may end up changing their view of you. You may even spark interest in him. Interest he probably didn’t know he was capable of…”
“You almost sound like you’re talking from experience,” Ladybug teased.
“Hehe, nah,” the boy chuckled nervously. “Just saying what I think.”
Ladybug hummed. She then turned back to look at the snowy rooftops, silently sipping her hot chocolate. The move made Chat Noir remember he was holding a cup of his own. At last, he took his first sip of the sweet drink. But it was more than chocolate, he realized. It had small marshmallows in it, and a dash of peppermint.
It was the same recipe Marinette had made so many times on his weekly visits to her terrace.
His heart warmed, remembering the pleasant evenings spent with her. The jokes and puns shared. The quiet moments when they spoke of their problems. The times she spoke of her crush on his civilian identity. Which had been reduced with time, to his dismay. But it didn’t deter him from continuing his visits.
“Chat?” The boy blinked and turned his eyes to the girl beside him. “What are you thinking about?”
He smiled. “Just someone I care about,” he said. He stared back at the hot chocolate in his hands, thoughts returning to the girl with the midnight colored hair. “And hope she cares back as much as I do.”
Let me wish you all a very happy holiday period and only the best things coming your way in year 2018!
It's been a little over a year since I've discovered Miraculous Ladybug, and a bit less since I've stumbled into this fandom. During this year I've met some fantastic people here and for that I am very grateful. @their-destinys-writer @freedom-shamrock @seasonofthegeek @youcancallmecirce @enberlight , Remasa, to name just a few, and thank you my wonderful followers - you really make my day, my week, my month!
Thank you all for being so amazing! Treat this story as my gift to you :)
The Mistletoe Ball
Summary: December weather doesn’t make things easier for Chat, as he wants to spend some time with his Lady. Marinette finds snowballs falling all around her, courtesy of a certain feline hero. It’s a busy time for Adrien because of an upcoming charity event and Ladybug has her own ideas of how to contribute. Who will Marinette meet at the ball, standing under the mistletoe? Four drabbles on four sides of the love square.
Read it on AO3 / fanfiction.net
Chat knew it had been a bad decision even before he slipped. The rooftops of Paris were covered in a thin coat of ice from the freezing rain. The rain itself was the reason they came up with the idea of the tag game in the first place. Otherwise they were risking some serious butt frostbite.
That's why the feline hero was chasing the wet red blur ahead of him in the rising darkness of December afternoon. His hectic schedule barely made it possible to get some well deserved time for personal enjoyment. So really, patrols were the only time he could spare and he'd be damned if he wasted it because of a bit of drizzle. Well, more of a sleet right now, but he chose to ignore it in favor of the pleasant flutter of his heart as he ran after Ladybug.
The city was slowly lighting up with bright decorations prepared for the festive period. He always loved those lights and was thrilled to get to watch them this way - leaping over the roofs and admiring the subtle pattern from high up, like no one else could.
He should have minded where he put his feet instead of watching the lights. His boot caught up in a loose tile and lost traction. The other leg wasn't ready to compensate and Chat suddenly found himself free-falling. He was already prepared for a rough impact when Ladybug slammed into him, her momentum sending them to the side, rather than down. They still ended up tumbling over the street like two wet bowling balls, but it was definitely less painful than a direct meeting with the ground after a horizontal flight.
Ladybug slowed down and gracefully finished the roll by leaping to her feet. Chat wasn't that lucky. There was an open truck loaded with evergreens and mistletoe down the road and of course Chat rolled into it and got buried under hollies to the tips of his cat ears. His landing was anything but soft. Some of those twigs had very pointy needles.
'Ow, ow, ow, ow-' he complained trying to break free from the green trap.
Somewhere above him he heard the melodious laughter of the love of his life.
'Hand,' she demanded and he blindly obeyed, raising his clawed arm up. He felt fingers closing over his wrist and in a blink he was pulled out and deposited on the ground.
Chat kept his eyes closed, partly out of embarrassment and partly for protection, as he began to shake himself from the needles and twigs to Ladybug's amused chuckle. It was quickly replaced with a gasp and then silence.
The feline hero decided to open his eyes only to find her sapphires boring into him mere inches from his face. Now it was his turn to gasp in surprise, but Ladybug took care of it by grabbing him by the bell and pressing a heated kiss to his lips.
To say Chat was dumbfounded was to say the half of it. His eyes opened wide, pupils dilated and he would have inhaled sharply if his mouth hadn't been occupied. When his brain finally restarted and supplied his limbs with instructions how to reciprocate it was already over. Ladybug giggled once again, a delicious coat of pink adorning her cheeks. With a subtle wave and a whispered 'See you next patrol' she was gone.
Chat stared for a moment after her, trying to determine if it was a dream or if he hurt his head in the fall after all. He raised a hand to his hair to scratch an annoying itch and he felt a sprig tangled there. Carefully he patted his head in a few other places and came up with more twigs.
Ow. Getting rid of this mess would take a while, he thought absentmindedly pulling more random pieces out of his hair. It turned out to be a sprig of mistletoe. He pulled another one, and another. His hands quickly filled with more sprigs and he ended up with a mistletoe bouquet.
Green eyes flared at the sight and his trademark grin found its way to his face. He could work with that.
*******
Marinette wrapped herself tighter in the shawls she threw over her winter coat. The sleet from the previous evening was replaced with snow sometime during the night and now Paris was covered in a white blanket, unusually thick this early in December, but no one complained. It would be nice to have a truly white Christmas for once.
The girl quickened her pace. The air was pleasantly crispy, but still cold. She was thankful the delivery didn't take much time and she was already on her way to the comfortable warmth of her house. That was when she heard the quiet creaking of feet on snow. The pavements were clear so the sound must have been coming from the park she was walking by. Plenty of people there. Marinette shrugged. It was probably some kid enjoying the fluffy whiteness. She resumed her stroll towards home but the creaking steps followed her. Something was up.
A snowball landed a few meters ahead of her, but she ignored it. Then a second one hit the pavement less than a few steps from her. A third one followed, hitting even closer. Either someone had an extremely bad aim or they were trying to catch her attention.
Marinette huffed and turned around to see what was going on and she instantly got a face full of snow.
'Oh, god, Princess!' she heard Chat's terrified squeal. 'I'm so so so so sorry! I didn't think you'd turn around!'
The girl wiped the fluffy cold slush from her eyes and cheeks. It was a loose snow ball, and it had fallen apart at the impact, so she wasn't really hurt, just a bit wet. Nevertheless she shot her attacker a murderous glare. 'What do you want, Chat?'
Seeing that she was mostly okay, Chat put on his easy grin and strutted nonchalantly her way with the swagger of a very tipsy sailor in a storm. It didn't even take Marinette's acquaintance with him to see he was up to no good.
'Nuffin,' he murmured nearing her. His teeth were now fully visible with the width of his grin.
'So you just felt like throwing snow at me?' She raised a brow in disbelief.
'Ah, I may have wanted to show you something,' he replied slyly, invading her personal space. At her questioning gaze he only pointed a clawed finger up, above their heads.
Marinette automatically followed it to where a bunch of mistletoe sprigs dangled from the end of Chat's own tail. Before she even understood what she was looking at, she felt his lips brushing her cheek.
The girl gasped and spluttered but all she was left with was Chat's snicker echoing in her ears as the feline hero was already leaping to the rooftop. Once safely above her, he turned around and shot her a brief salute. 'See ya, Princess!' he yelled and disappeared among the chimneys.
Marinette felt the blush creeping its way to her cheeks. Her scowl dissolved into a tender smile as soon as he turned around. She giggled happily, her hand tracing the slightly damp patch of smooched skin. When she reached to her pocket for her mittens, she found an envelope loosely tucked in there. The sneaky mangy tomcat!
The girl opened the envelope. Inside, she found a tiny sprig of mistletoe tied with pink ribbon and a heavy piece of handmade paper. Her jaw dropped immediately as she read the stylish, round letters of the invitation.
************
Adrien was having another one of those days when everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. At the moment he was stepping from one foot to the other and rubbing his hands together in vain attempt to warm himself up as he waited for his father to get to the set. The photoshoot for the Mistletoe Ball advertisements was scheduled to be over an hour ago but it didn't look like they'd be finished any time soon. The boy sighed. Chat was supposed to be meeting Ladybug for patrol around this time. It was clear that wouldn't happen today. He was hoping his partner wouldn't worry too much.
The idea was to get some tasteful picture of the two Agrestes, as the hosts of the first Mistletoe Ball, a charity event Adrien convinced his father to throw just before Christmas. The idea was supposed to be sound and simple. What Adrien forgot to take into consideration, was that nothing was simple in case of Gabriel Agreste. First, the man showed up late because of an unexpected crisis that needed his attention. Then he criticized the outfits prepared for them and demanded substantial changes. While they waited for the new clothes to be delivered he inspected the decorative arc made of hollies that was supposed to be their background, and discovered the lack of their theme plant. Finding no mistletoe he barked another order and Nathalie rushed to organize some fresh sprigs. And finally when everything was ready, he got attacked by a pigeon, the poor creature possibly thinking he was some sort of huge candy cane, and the man's hair got severely ruffled. A hairdresser had to be called as Gabriel didn't trust the stylist present on the set enough to let him touch his precious hair.
Adrien shivered under the heavy blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He was wearing a smart suit underneath, coupled with a white and green striped tie, to match his father's favorite white and red one. By no means a winter outfit. Left to himself he wandered over to the decorative arc where he could be alone for a while. He nearly missed the characteristic swoosh of a yoyo and light steps approaching him from behind the hollies.
The boy turned around just in time to see Ladybug marching up to him with a mischievous smirk. Her eyes gleamed and her lips sparkled, as red as the berries on the branches of the hollies.
'Hey, handsome,' she practically purred, halting to a stop in front of him and effectively rendering him speechless. 'I'm glad to be at the right place at the right time,' she chuckled, casting a quick glance to the top of the arc where an impressive bunch of mistletoe sprigs spinned happily in the wind. Then without further ado she grabbed his face and pressed her red lips to his cheek. The heroine quickly pulled out and shot him a saucy wink while the crew caught onto her presence and started cheering and hooting at the sight of the two of them.
Ladybug silently pointed to the mistletoe as if explaining her prank, and then with a self satisfied smirk she was gone, leaving the stunned blond model behind. Adrien felt the blush blooming on his cheeks and slowly crawling up to his ears. He wasn't sure if the thick layer of foundation would be enough to conceal it.
Gabriel chose that moment to appear on the set again and to Adrien's utmost horror got instantly not only briefed with the heroine's occurrence, but also presented with visual evidence, as the photographer turned out to be quick with his cell phone. A mysterious smile danced across the designer's lips as he watched the viciously red imprint of Ladybug's lips on Adrien's cheek bone. And if Adrien thought he couldn't be more embarrassed, he clearly underestimated his father once again, as Gabriel insisted on leaving the imprint for the session as a clear addition to their theme plant.
**********
Marinette arrived at the Mistletoe Ball fashionably late. Of course she never intended it this way. Faithful to her style she just fell asleep in the afternoon after pulling a few all-nighters to get the dress ready. Now she was standing at the foyer, waiting for the official part to be over. From behind the heavy doors to the ballroom she could hear strong voices of Gabriel and Adrien, making their welcome speech and answering journalists' questions. Nothing really interesting in that part, she just needed it to be over so that she could slip inside.
The girl inspected her reflection in a large gold-framed mirror. The evening dress turned out really nicely - the deep magenta an unorthodox choice of color for a Christmas themed ball, but it complemented her hair and skin tone perfectly. A tight bodice nicely hugged her figure, leading down to where the skirt flared from her waist. For a festive sparkle Marinette added some Swarovski crystals along the boat neckline and in an asymmetric triangle inset on the skirt, giving the garment a princessy vibe, without making it overwhelming.
The speeches dragged on, so the girl moved to look at the posters for the gala, displayed prominently on the stands down the corridor. A small smile appeared on her face as she admired her alter ego's lipwork on Adrien's cheek, captured for posterity in the pictures from the eventful photoshoot. She had to hand it to the boy; he was a professional. She could spot the embarrassment in his eyes only because she knew it was there. For everyone else he looked every bit the confident host of the Mistletoe Ball he should be. Next to him, Gabriel Agreste was wearing a shameless smirk and not even trying to hide his amusement. The result was one of the funniest photos of the Agrestes, and it did a marvelous job in advertising the event. It was already obvious that Adrien's first initiative resulted in great success and there were rumors spreading of turning it into an annual thing.
Marinette hadn't noticed when the monotonous oration turned into delicate music and the susurrations of the party getting started. She realized it just as strong hands snaked their way around her waist and closed over her tummy. She felt the characteristic cool of the silver ring on her skin, even through the layers of her dress. Light breath warmed her earlobe.
'You look gorgeous in this dress, my Lady,' Marinette heard a whisper by her ear and felt Adrien nuzzling the hair at the base of her neck, where a few strands slipped from the high bun. She hummed happily and turned around only to snort when she saw an impressive sprig of mistletoe tucked behind his ear, decorated with a green bow.
'What?' he asked feigning confusion.
Marinette gave the sprig a playful tug. 'I guess now I have to kiss you, Minou,' she sighed in mock complain.
'Not if I kiss you first,' Adrien murmured closing the distance between them and claiming her lips. The kiss was lazy and gentle, with just a hint of spice that sent a pleasant shiver down her spine to where his hands rested at the small of her back. Marinette could hear the purr starting deep in his throat and she gave in to the temptation to set it free. Just as she ran her tongue over the seam of his lips as a signal to deepen the kiss, she heard someone clearing their throat.
The pair slowly broke from the kiss and turned to the source of the sound.
Gabriel Agreste was standing at the now closed door to the ballroom, a tall blonde woman wrapped in a dazzling blue gown at his side. Her green eyes warmed as she nodded to Marinette.
The man shook his head in disbelief, composing his features into a mild frown. 'Adrien, do you really need a social cue to kiss your own girlfriend?' he asked, eyeing the mistletoe behind his son's ear. He kept his voice stern, although there was a mirthful lilt to it.
Adrien shrugged and winked at the girl. 'No, not really. Just, you know, a little inside joke.'
'Then you better take it off, dear,' Madame Agreste smiled wickedly, 'I think I saw Chloe heading this way, and you know how she is when she sees mistletoe.'
As Adrien tried to untagle the sprig from his hair, Marinette wondered if the look of pure horror and disgust in his eyes matched her own. She felt her facial muscles stiffened at the reminder of the last time Queen Bee assaulted her under the mistletoe. The girl made a mental note to avoid their friend and mistletoe traps. Speaking of traps…
'Funny you should say that, Madame Agreste,' Marinette giggled and pointed over the woman's head.
Gabriel and Emilie raised their eyes to the ceiling and they chuckled when they saw a generous bunch of mistletoe hanging there, covered in golden ribbons. They both pursed their lips to keep the outburst of laughter inside, but then the man's eyes darkened and a delicate pink brushed his wife's cheeks. Gabriel lifted his hand to Emilie's face and tenderly stroked his thumb over the blush. She took a step closer and splayed her palms on his chest. His icy blue eyes softened when they locked onto the warm green fringed with long dark lashes. They gazed at each other for a moment and then gave in to the mistletoe call.
Whoops, I guess I forgot to mention this is post-reveal and established relationship? My bad :D
If you are one of those people who need to know what is Mrs. Agreste doing there, and how come they are all on such good terms, I suggest you read a possible scenario that could lead to this. It's a story by my miraculous friend Remasa: "No One Mourns a Villain" posted on fanfiction.net .
The Blizzard (Winter Week Day 5: Snowed In/Snowfall)
Marinette’s parents had already texted that they would be waiting out the blizzard at Ms. Chamack’s house, so she was startled right off the couch when a heavy booming knock fell on the door of her home.
“Who is it?” she rapped out harshly in her best ‘don’t-mess-with-me’ tone. She stood on tiptoe and spied Kim through the peephole, shivering on the landing.
“P-p-please let me in, Marinette! I’m f-freezing,” he whined.
Marinette quickly released the deadbolts and pulled the door wide. “Le Chien Kim! What in the heck are you doing outside in a blizzard?!”
“T-training.”
The young man on her doorstep was a pitiful sight. His beanie and the tops of his ears were covered in melting snow. His workout jacket - far too thin for the cold - was soaked with liquifying water. Marinette could practically see his knees knocking together above his wet, cold sneakers.
“Come in! Take those shoes off in the hall, though.”
Kim quickly obeyed. Once she had him inside and rebolted the door, Marinette helped him pull off his scarf and outerwear. She draped them over the stairs to dry and led Kim to the kitchen.
“Tea or hot chocolate?” she asked.
Kim stood hunched with cold, but he brightened at the question. “Hot chocolate. Uh, it’s not the store-bought kind, is it?”
Marinette raised one eyebrow, but smiled. She showed him the milk jug she was pulling from the fridge and he sighed in relief.
“Definitely hot chocolate, then. Has Juleka ever made any for you?”
Marinette shook her head in silent response and busied herself with the treat. Once they were settled and Kim had a blanket around his shoulders, Marinette needled him a bit more.
“You were out training in this weather? Don’t you ever check a forecast?”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I have another race with Alix next week. I want to be at my best.”
“Well, if being at your best means running with a few missing toes…” Marinette chuckled when Kim’s ear went pink.
“Anyway, thanks for letting me in. Where’s the fam?” Kim glanced around, only then realizing that the two of them were alone in the house. Marinette shrugged.
“They went to a Christmas party, but can’t get back home. They’re fine. The news says this storm should blow itself out overnight. They can come back tomorrow once the roads are plowed.”
“Oh, geez, it’s that bad? What am I going to do? My mom’s gonna be worried.” Kim looked down into his hot chocolate mug and swirled the bottom of the liquid.
“Hmmm, you’re right. You better call her. You can stay here with me. I’m really glad you didn’t get lost out there, Kim. It’s easy to get turned around when it snows like this.” Marinette’s expression turned slightly stern.
Kim’s ears flushed pink again as the full import of his foolishness hit him. “Yeah. Thanks, Marinette. I’ll call her now. Can I help you make up the couch after?”
“Sure! And I was just about to put on White Christmas. It’s a holiday classic, you know.” Marinette moved to clear their mugs and put the dishes in the sink.
Kim laughed. “Maybe I can talk you into watching Die Hard instead.”
Thin late-morning light streamed through the windows of the Dupain-Cheng’s house as a key quietly turned in the lock.
“Guess no one’s getting hot bread this morning,” Tom chuckled to Sabine as he held the door for his wife.
His mirth was interrupted by the surprisingly manly snore issuing from the Dupain-Cheng’s couch.
“What on earth?” Sabine murmured as the pair stepped closer to peer over the back.
Kim lay propped against the arm of the couch, a pillow behind his head. Thundering snores sounded from his open mouth. Nestled under his arm was Marinette, a light trickle of drool dripping onto her own decorative couch pillow as she leaned into Kim’s chest. They both had lap blankets strewn across their propped-up legs and one of Marinette’s pigtails had come out in her sleep.
An image of a crackling fire played on the television, lightly accented with cheesy instrumental versions of Christmas carols.
“Awww, would you look at that,” Tom rumbled softly.
Sabine stepped under his arm, slipping her hand around Tom’s waist. “Should we wake them?”
“No, the longer we let them sleep, the more embarrassed they’re going to be.” Tom mused.
Sabine smothered a giggle and went to put on the kettle.
“Tom, you’re absolutely ruthless,” she admonished.
With kwami cuteness, I dedicate this one to @edendaphne, for the gorgeous art she made of my OC, @frostedpuffs, because you draw the cutest kwamis, and @instantwaffles for being a ball of sweetness. Happy Holidays!
Soulmate Bonding
“Tag, you’re it!” Tikki giggled. Instantly, she flew away as fast as she could, ignoring Plagg’s annoyed growl behind her.
The two little gods had been deep in a game of tag for about thirty minutes already, as their chosen were baking downstairs. They were flying in circles inside Marinette’s room, in the meantime. Killing time before Adrien had to leave, and they had to separate once again, without either teen noticing.
“Tag!” chuckled Pagg. Quickly, he phased through the trapdoor that lead to the balcony above the room.
Tikki giggled as she went after him. Once outside, she made a circle in the air, looking at her surroundings. At last, she saw one of his whiskers poking out from behind one of the flower pots.
“My-oh-my, now where could Plagg have gone,” Tikki said out loud with a mischievous grin.
The whisker twitched, confirming Plagg’s position. The goddess did her best to suppress a snicker, thinking about what she was about to do. In a swift move, she shot straight through the flowerpot and collided against her other half, sending them rolling.
“TAG!” she yelled as they came to a stopped. She laughed and laughed, while Plagg huffed.
“That’s cheating!” he complained. “You can’t tag me while phasing through something. Doesn’t count!”
“It counts!” Tikki retorted, sticking her tongue out.
She continued to giggle, until something cold landed on the black spot on her forehead. With a yelp, she scurried off underneath the leave of the flowers in the pot. Plagg zipped up to look at her, with his tiny paws crossed.
“Not so tough now, are you?” he mocked.
But when a small white speck landed where his nose should be, Tikki whimpered and started burying herself in the soil, while hugging the stem of the plant. Plagg sighed and floated closer to her.
“You know I don’t like the cold,” the little goddess said, before he even opened his mouth. “Last time I was exposed, I got sick.”
She then proceeded to bury herself further, but Plagg stopped her.
“C’mere,” he whispered, as he wrapped himself around her.
They sat in silence for several minutes. In that time, Tikki cuddled closer to the black cat, basking in his fuzzy warmth.
“It’s pretty,” she said quietly, staring at the light snowfall.
“You just said you don’t like the cold,” Plagg deadpanned.
“Just because I don’t like to touch it doesn’t mean I don’t like looking at it,” she retorted.
They sat quietly for another minute, the snow starting to weight on the leaves.
“How much longer until they figure it out?” Plagg suddenly asked.
Tikki gave him a sad look. “Until Hawkmoth is not defeated, it’ll be too dangerous,” she said. Plagg hummed. Sensing his concerns, Tikki continued. “But they’re close. I can feel it. They’ll know soon.”
“I hope so,” Plagg sighed. “It’s killing me to see those two pinning for each other without knowing it.”
“That makes two of us,” Tikki agreed. “But we should be patie—”
SWOOSH
Tikki shrieked when of the leaves surrendered under the weight of the snow, making it fall on the kwamis. The goddess of luck continued yelping all the way back to Marinette’s room, followed by Plagg.
“Get it off! Get it off!” she screamed, frantically shaking her head.
The two let out a breath of relief. But were immediately startled when a crashing noise broke the silence. They looked at the source, and were met by two gaping teenagers. Marinette’s eye twitched, while Adrien had a raised eyebrow.
They all stared at each other. At last, Plagg broke the silence:
This is dedicated to @simplystefanie-rae and @spottedcutie who always appreciate Marinette for all her awesomeness, and I think they will really enjoy this one. Have some feisty Marinette who loves her friends too much ^_^ Happy Holidays!
Baked Mess
Ms. Bustier’s eye twitched.
This could not be real. There was no way this was her classroom. No way her students were capable of making such a large mess in less than five minutes. And was that Marinette pulling on Chloé’s hair?
“What is going on here?!” the teacher bellowed.
Before she left with Mr. Dupain, the students had seemed content mixing ingredients and readying them for the oven for this year’s Holiday Bake Sale. Marinette had even been kind enough to go from student to student, making sure they were doing the job correctly. Not one argument had erupted. Not even a peep from the mayor’s daughter.
Yet the floor was a mess, covered in sugar, flour and chocolate. Several students were also drenched with the ingredients as well. Nathanael was laying on the ground, with Alix checking for possible injuries. Rose was in tears, fully covered in flour and a very concerned Juleka patting her shoulder. Ivan and Kim seemed to be in the middle of an argument, while Mylène and Max stood between them.
And in the middle of it all, Alya and Nino were holding a very angry Marinette, while Adrien and Sabrina did the same for Chloé. The pig-tailed girl pulling on the blonde’s ponytail, while the other grabbed the shirt of her rival.
The second Ms. Bustier yelled, they all stopped in their tracks. Except Rose, who continued crying. They all stared at the entrance, but none moved or said anything. The teacher crossed her arms.
“Well?” she pressed.
At the same time, everyone started yelling their versions. But it was too much noise to make anything out of it.
“One at a time!” Ms. Bustier bellowed again, over all the noise. Everyone went quiet again. Taking a look around the classroom, she pointed at the pink-haired girl. “Alix, perhaps you could shed some light?”
“Chloé was being nasty!” the short girl said, without missing a beat.
“How is me making suggestions ‘being nasty’?” Chloé snarled.
“Saying ‘your food is more disgusting than you’ does not count as constructive criticism!” Marinette snapped, struggling in Alya and Nino’s arms.
“She was spreading her disgusting perfume on the crappy food!” Chloé defended herself, causing another loud wail to come out of Rose.
“That was vanilla, you idiot,” Juleka intervened.
“Who are you calling an idiot?!” Chloé yelled.
“Why does everyone keep insulting her?!” Kim joined the loud rants.
“Why are you defending her?!” Ivan screamed.
“I’m not!”
Another shouting match started. In the confusion, Marinette somehow managed to free herself from her friends’ grips and launched at the mayor’s daughter. But before getting to her, Adrien lifted his childhood friend and dragged her away from the designer’s fury. With the unexpected move, Marinette tripped and fell face-flat on the floor, one of her legs sticking up and her fingers twitching.
“Ooohhh,” the class cringed in unison.
“HA!” Chloé snapped.
THUD
The next second, the blonde girl had her butt on the floor, followed by an insincere oops from Adrien.
“Okay, that is enough!” Ms. Bustier stalked further inside the classroom, between the girls recently landed on the ground. “If somebody doesn’t tell me what happened here right now, you will all be banned from the school dance this year.”
There was collective gasp. The students looked at each other, wondering who should speak. At last, Adrien stepped forward.
“Marinette was making rounds checking how everyone was doing, so Chloé decided to do the same, but started insulting everyone’s work, so she told Rose her food sucked, and she got upset, so Marinette and Alix stood up to her, but then Kim told them not to be too harsh on Chloé, so they backed down, but then Chloé went on to say the food was disgusting because she thought a bottle of vanilla was perfume, so Rose started crying, and Marinette got mad and told her to mind her own business, but Chloé argued with her, then Kim defended her again, then Ivan told him to stop, that he should be on our side—”
“Our side?!” Chloé yelped, but was ignored.
“—and they started arguing, and Ivan accidentally hit Alix’s bowl, and Nathanael slipped on her batter, and Chloé laughed, and Marinette said it wasn’t funny, but Chloé said he deserved it for agreeing to make ‘poor people’s food’, so Marinette got mad, but Alya held her back, but then Chloé dared her, and—”
“Okay,” Ms. Bustier raised a hand to stop Adrien’s rambling. “I see where this is going.” She looked around the classroom. “I’m guessing the other three bowls were Marinette and Chloé.”
In unison, Adrien, Alya, Nino and Sabrina nodded. The redheaded woman let out an exasperated sigh. She looked back at the two girls in question. At this point, they were both still sitting on the floor, Chloé with her arms crossed and Marinette looking at the ground in shame. Sometimes, Marinette’s need to defend and protect her friends was too much trouble than was worth.
“Alright,” she said at last. “Since the holiday season is upon us, and I’m feeling pretty generous, I will not ban any of you from the dance, if you all apologize to each other and clean this mess up.”
It didn’t take long for most of the students to comply. Most of them.
They all stared at Chloé, who still had her arms crossed and was staring at anything but her classmates. Ms. Bustier cleared her throat, and Chloé sighed.
“Sorry Rose,” she said forcefully.
“And Marinette?” the teacher pressed.
“I am not apologizing to her,” the blonde sneered. But the moment she got a pointed look from Ms. Bustier, she deflated. “Uuugh, sorry.”
“Marinette?”
“Me?!” the designer questioned. “Why do I have to…” but she trailed off, like she was assessing the situation better. She then took a deep breath, and gave her rival a deadpan look. “I’m sorry Chloé.”
Ms. Bustier thanked the class for solving the mess they made and urged them to clean up. Despite the disaster she had found, the students worked well, and even started joking about as they set everything up again. By the end of the day, the mess seemed like a long ago memory. To the point that Adrien dared to joke about it, and earned him a punch to the arm by Chloé and a giggle from Marinette.
For a little bit of comedy, I have decided to dedicate this one to @perditaalottachocolate-blog, who is always super supportive and awesome, @corgi-likes-chat, whom I think could use the smiles, and to @nanadanonini for making me smile at a time that I really needed it.
H E Double Hockey Sticks
Nino slapped his forehead for the third time. Three times he had had to explain a hockey concept to Marinette. They were going to lose so badly. If only he could’ve chosen his team first. But no, he was stuck with the person who had never played hockey in her entire life.
“This is a puck,” he said, raising the disk-like object. “As long as you get this to the net, we get a point.”
“Okay,” Marinette nodded determinately. Yet, it still didn’t inspire much confidence in Nino, after having to explain so much.
“Nette, you sure you wanna play this?” he asked for the last time.
“If I don’t play, the teams won’t be even,” she reasoned. “I’m not helpless. I’m good at sports.”
“Just ‘cause I don’t know the name of the thing, doesn’t mean I can’t play well,” she defended, with a pout.
“Hey!” Adrien called behind them. “Are we playing or what?”
Nino let out a defeated sigh. We’re doomed, he lamented. He’s never gonna let me live this down. Might as well give up already.
It wasn’t like his team was bad. Kim was a dedicated jock. Juleka was a decent player. And him… well, decent too. And that was a problem. Alya was pretty good at the game. Adrien was good in sports. Alix was a kick-ass player. And Ivan was destined to be the goalie.
We’re doomed.
“Everybody remember their position?” he asked. Everyone nodded. “Okay then,” he placed his hockey stick on his shoulder, “let’s kick their butts!” He finished with more confidence than he felt.
The other three yelled a cry of battle, raising their own sticks in the air. Swiftly, they all took their place. As predicted, Ivan was the other team’s goalie. Nino looked at their net, where Juleka was making sure every piece of equipment was well placed. Well, at least she wasn’t scared easily. Hopefully that would work to their advantage.
“Good luck!” Mylène called from the edge of the frozen lake, waving at her boyfriend. Ivan scratched the back of his head with one hand, as he waved back with the other.
“Ready to get your butt handed to you?” Adrien smirked.
“Keep dreaming, bro,” Nino chuckled, placing the puck on the ice between them.
Next to Mylène, Rose blew a whistle, and the game started. For the first half of the game, Nino’s team didn’t have much luck. He had been right about Juleka not being afraid of getting hit by the puck, but she was not as fast as he hoped. Marinette moved well, but ended going off the playing area twice. By accident, of course. And Kim seemed more focused on competing against Alix than any of the other players. And it almost seemed like Adrien had been counting on that, because she tended to be away from their goal.
Slick, Nino thought. After almost an hour of playing, they were four points down. Which was awful because the score was five to nine.
“Time out!” he called as Alya was placing the puck in the middle of the court again. “Team meeting, now!”
Marinette, Juleka and Kim huddled around each other, looking defeated and flushed under all the layers of sweaters and scarfs.
“You guys can’t tell me you’ve given up already?”
“It’s five to nine,” Kim flailed his arms.
“We agreed the first team to reach ten points would win,” Marinette reminded him. “We’re done for.”
“Ditto,” Juleka agreed.
“C’mon, guys,” Nino tried. “We can at least make a few more points before admitting defeat. We can do better.”
“Face it,” Kim sighed. “Adrien has the better team. We got stuck with Marinette.”
“Hey! I resent that,” Marinette pouted.
“Can’t we make just one measly point?” Nino begged.
The other three exchanged questioning looks. Marinette frowned and directed her gaze back at Nino.
“One point?” she asked. Nino nodded. She placed a hand on her chin. “No matter the cost?”
This time, it was the spectacled boy who frowned.
“Why?”
Marinette smirked. “Follow my lead. And send me the puck.”
He looked at the other two, but they simply shrugged, no idea of what Marinette was up to. They skated back to their positions. Nino looked at the pig-tailed girl from the corner of his eye. He was slightly wary about what she had in mind, but he couldn’t exactly doubt her. She was smart, and always knew how to get out of a tight situation.
“I don’t mean to be cold, Nino,” Adrien said with a smug face, “but you know it will take a Christmas miracle for you guys to win.”
The boy scowled at his friend’s cockiness. Give him hell, Marinette.
The whistle resounded again, and Nino quickly hit the puck to the girl’s direction. Marinette lead the black disk towards the opposite net. Alya tried to grab her, but she wasn’t fast enough. The designer slipped right by her best friend, and was now headed directly towards Ivan. But as she got closer, Adrien moved in to block her way.
Go, go, go, go, g—
BAM
Nino gaped, just as several of the others gasped. Just as Adrien had gotten in the way, Marinette tackled him so hard, she sent him flying over her back. Yet, she didn’t seem to notice, because the next second, she scored their sixth point.
“YES!” she screamed. Oblivious to the shock of her friends, she wiggled her butt in a victory dance.
Finally coming out of his stupor, Nino slid to Adrien, who was lying on his back.
“Dude, you okay?” he asked. It was then that he noticed the blond’s eyes were blown wide, also in a state of shock.
“What the hell?” Adrien grunted, still not moving a muscle.
Everyone else came back to their senses and crowded around the model. The last of them being Marinette.
“Oh my gosh, what have I done?!” she shrieked.
“Girl, what have you been eating?” Alya questioned, still baffled.
“That was rad,” Juleka commented.
“Man, I thought we were playing kiddie hockey,” Alix snickered.
“Ha! In your face, Agreste!” Kim bellowed.
“Guys!” Nino called over all the chatter. “Less talking, more helping.”
The group didn’t need to be told twice. Immediately, they helped Adrien get back on his feet. For good measure, Nino placed the blond’s arm over his shoulders.
“Adrien, I am so, so, so sorry,” Marinette apologized. “I went completely overboard. That was totally uncalled for. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s fine,” the model assured, scratching the back of his head. “Guess I had it coming.”
Nino huffed. “You definitely did, bro. Serves you right for being so smug.”
Adrien winced. “I get a little competitive sometimes.”
“That makes two of us,” Marinette mumbled.
Even though Adrien was fine, the group of friends decided to end the game there. Instead, they pulled off their skates and hung out for another half hour, before going home. As Nino accompanied the blond to his mansion, they engaged in small talk.
“Man, Marinette got you good back there,” he chuckled.
“Yeah,” Adrien sighed, wistfully. “It was awesome.”
Nino arched an eyebrow. “Awesome?”
“If it weren’t for Ladybug, I’d totally fall for her,” Adrien said, seemingly unaware of what he was saying.
Nino couldn’t help but cackle at his friend. Of all the things that could get him interested in Marinette, this was definitely not what he expected. Alya was right: those two idiots were made for each other.
