Secret Santa

Part of the Family

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

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

Adrien and Cat Noir... god.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marinette groaned. "YES Tikki but-"

"Do you like Adrien?"

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

"Yes."

"Do you like Cat Noir?"

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

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

"I don't know!"

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

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