Miraculous One-Shots!

Twelve Days of Christmas: Three Presents

There were many things that Marinette was thankful for. Her family was one of them, her friends were another, the fact that she was chosen as Ladybug made the list too. Another thing that made it on the list was something she would've never foreseen before.

It all started because of an akuma attack. It had targeted Marinette after she won a designing competition that the akumatized victim had been second place in. She had, unfortunately, been captured by the akuma before she could sneak away to transform and had to be rescued by Chat Noir. Chat Noir being Chat Noir had visited her that night to give her a check-up.

She thought that was the end of it, but he kept on coming back. He claimed that it was because he was just making sure that she was okay, but she suspected that there was something lying under the surface. Perhaps it was the loneliness in his eyes that Ladybug saw whenever she talked about her family that clued her in.

Whatever the reason was, Marinette didn't even try to prevent the visits. She made sure that he knew that he was always welcome to her balcony. That she was over both the Papa Garou incident and him. It was embarrassing, sure, but she really liked hanging out with Chat Noir as Marinette.

It was nice to be able to actually talk about her life with him for once. She didn't have to be paranoid about her identity all of the time. She, of course, still had to be careful, but it allowed her to get closer to him in a way she hadn't been able to as Ladybug. They were close as Ladybug and Chat Noir, sure, but no matter what there would always be walls up between them. Hanging out with him as Marinette helped her get rid of those walls.

Her friendship with Chat Noir was definitely an unexpected surprise, but after six months of near nightly balcony visits she knew she wouldn't have it any other way. He had just become such a huge part of her life in both personas and Marinette was perfectly fine with that.

She did feel guilty every now and then for hiding the fact that she was her partner from him, but she was sure he'd understand. As soon as she could, she would tell him. He deserved it, but until then Marinette would try and make him know her as Marinette.

That was why when Christmas rolled around, Marinette knew that she had to get him something not only as Ladybug, but as Marinette too. After being his partner for over a year, she might've not known many things about him, but she knew him. So, she knew that he would most likely get Marinette something. She didn't want to appear as cold-hearted and even if he didn't give her a gift, seeing his face light up would be enough for her.

True to her predictions, the last time he had visited her he had told her that he had a gift for her. She told him that she had one for him and they had decided to exchange gifts the following visit. Marinette, in the meantime, tried to forget the way he looked so surprised that she had made him something for Christmas.

Marinette hummed a small song to herself as she waited out on her balcony. A plate of freshly-baked cookies and two steaming mugs of hot chocolate sat next to a wrapped package. She tapped her foot as she scanned the skyline.

It was incredibly fortunate that it wasn't incredibly cold and that Marinete was comfortable in just a jacket and scarf. She knew from experience that the suit would keep Chat warm, so they could enjoy a night out on her balcony. Otherwise they would've had to go down into her room, which was a total mess from making his gift.

Not to mention the fact that her parents didn't know what they were up to. Marinette hadn't meant for it to be kept a secret, but she kept dreading about how her father would react and before she knew it the appropriate time to tell them had passed. By this point she was hoping that either A) they just knew with that magic parent intuition that her and Chat were hanging out or B) after Hawkmoth was gone for good, the masks could fall and she could have him over for a meal.