Author's Note: Valentine's Day Exchange gift for lavendermatrix! Please enjoy :)

The Thought That Counts

"The whiskers are too short."

"Plagg –"

"Left ear's too big."

"If you can't say anything nice –"

"And the eyes are just creepy."

"Shut up."

Plagg sniggered loudly, and it took Adrien every ounce of restraint not to stab his kwami with a needle. Instead, he jabbed it through the black fabric in his hands with a little more force than necessary, valiantly trying to ignore Plagg's teasing as he continued to sew.

Valentine's Day was tomorrow, and it was the first one he would be spending with Marinette as her boyfriend (just thinking about it put a dopey smile on his face). They'd only been together for about three months, but he wanted the experience to be perfect for her, especially given the utter disaster last year. Even if it had earned him his first kiss with Ladybug (under a certain akuma's influence or not), she didn't count it, heck he didn't even remember it, and he couldn't help but feel as though he'd been cheated somehow.

Coming up with the perfect gift for Marinette was harder than he'd originally thought. She was a modest girl with simple tastes, and he knew she wouldn't complain even if he just treated her to lunch. But no, Marinette was his Princess, his Lady, and she deserved only the best. Buying her jewelry or other expensive gifts was too impersonal though; he wanted to give her something more meaningful, something handmade perhaps, but what could he possibly create that would be worthy of a baker's daughter who also happened to be an aspiring fashion designer?

Suddenly his idea didn't seem so great anymore.

"Come on, I was just joking!" Plagg said, noticing Adrien's dejected sigh. "It's the thought that counts, right?"

The blond lifted the plushy in his hands, examining it with a frown. A stuffed black cat stared blankly back at him, and he could see why Plagg was making fun of it earlier. It was lopsided, had loose threads sticking out, and frankly speaking it could hardly hold a candle to Marinette's impeccable handwork (not that many could, he thought proudly).

The table started to vibrate as his cellphone rang, and Adrien briefly glanced at the caller's name on the screen before hitting the loudspeaker button. "Hey Nino, what's up?"

"Status update," Nino reported cheerfully. "Meeting time's been pushed to one tomorrow. Alya has some last minute errands to run."

"Got it, thanks."

"How're your gifts coming along?"

Adrien winced. "Well I'm almost done with the plushy, but…"

"Don't sweat it, man! Mari's gonna love it, I promise," Nino assured him, sensing his best friend's apprehension. "Didn't you say you were going to bake as well?"

Over the past two weeks of sewing and finger pricking, Adrien had also been learning from the kitchen staff in his manor. The chefs taught him easy recipes from soups to simple pastries, and he had been planning to cook something for Marinette in case he couldn't finish the plushy.

"Yeah, I was thinking of cookies or maybe cupcakes, depending on how much time I have."

"Cool. Bring some for us too, alright? See you tomorrow bro!"

"Sure thing. Bye Nino!"

Feeling a little more encouraged now, Adrien cracked his knuckles and went back to work.

"Flowers and chocolates?"

"Yup."

"Are you serious?"

"Very."

"Dude! What about my cookies?"

"I chickened out, okay?" Adrien argued weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. "The plushy looks awful and I don't want to risk giving you food poisoning or something."

Even though flowers and chocolates were so cliché they had made him gag when he bought them, at least they were safe. Call him insecure, but he didn't want to risk tempting his bad luck. Besides, ladybugs liked flowers, right? And chocolate was always a safe bet, according to Alya.

Nino shook his head. "You worry too much man, but whatever floats your boat."

"Sorry, maybe next time." Adrien shrugged before looking around. "Where is Marinette, anyway?"

"I don't know, she's not picking up her phone," Alya replied worriedly. "I've been calling her for the past twenty minutes already. It's not like her to be so late, especially for something like this. Hold on, let me try her home."

Marinette wasn't coming. Sabine had picked up the call, regrettably to inform them that her daughter was sick and unable to leave the house. Marinette had been making deliveries the previous day and caught something from a customer who sneezed in her face. She insisted that they went on without her, and sent her apologies to Adrien for having to cancel their date.

"Bummer. Now what?" Nino huffed. No doubt they were all concerned about Marinette, and he could tell Alya was ready to march straight into the bakery to visit her best friend.

Adrien sighed in disappointment, a frown marring his face as he stared at the wasted gifts in his arms. He hissed when he felt a sharp poke at his ribs, and looked down to see Plagg peeking at him from under his jacket.

"Don't look so glum, kid. You still have your backup plan, remember?" the kwami whispered.

"This was my backup plan. What are you talking ab–"

Inspiration hit him like a stroke of lightning.

"I have an idea," Adrien said slowly, turning towards Nino and Alya. "Go ahead with your date. There's no point ruining it for you two as well. I'll head over to see Marinette."

Nino cottoned on quickly and whispered in Alya's ear before she could protest. Whatever he said seemed to have convinced her, and she grinned at Adrien. "Alright Romeo, you do your thing. But make sure to send her our well wishes too, got it?"

The blond nodded excitedly. "Thanks guys, you're the best!"

Shoving the flowers into Nino's chest and the chocolates into Alya's arms, Adrien turned around and sprinted back to the Agreste manor.

"Marinette? Time to get up. You need to eat."

The girl in question grumbled incoherently, burying herself deeper under the covers to blot out her mother's voice. She felt like death warmed over, and all she wanted to do was sleep for a week. It was bad enough that she had to leave her boyfriend dateless on their first Valentine's Day together. What did she ever do to deserve such injustice?

"Come on Princess. For me, please?"

That… was not her mother.

It took Marinette some effort to pry her eyes open, and she blinked blearily at the sight of Adrien kneeling next to her chaise. He smiled warmly at her, reaching out to stroke her cheek. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Like crap," Marinette groaned, nuzzling into his touch. "What're you doing here?"

"Taking care of you, of course!" The blonde jerked his head towards the tray on her table, where a bowl of warm chicken soup was waiting for her. "Your mom told me to get some food in you before you can take your medicine," he explained, helping her to sit up and fluffing the cushions behind her.

Marinette leaned back with a contented sigh, a blush creeping up her neck. From the corner of her eye, she spotted Tikki and Plagg near her computer, gorging themselves on a plate of cookies and cheese pastries. A thought came to mind as Adrien stirred the soup, getting ready to spoon feed her. "Wait, did you make this?"

He laughed sheepishly. "Yes? I mean – your mom helped too. You know, making sure I didn't chop my fingers off or add too much salt. It's not super tasty or anything, but she tried it and said it was okay so –"

"Thank you, kitty." Tired as she was, Marinette couldn't stop smiling, knowing that Adrien had gone to such lengths for her. A wave of gratitude and warmth filled her heart at her boyfriend's thoughtful gesture, and she felt like the luckiest girl in the world, sickness be damned. She could only stomach about half the bowl before taking some pills, but Adrien didn't seem to mind. He was careful not to jostle her too much as he tucked her back under the covers.

"So, uh…" Adrien looked away, wringing his hands slightly. "Normally I would offer to cuddle with you and all, but given the situation, maybe…" Before the last of his nerves could desert him, he reached behind and pulled out the plushy he had made, stuffing it into Marinette's arms.

She blinked owlishly at the misshapen black cat in front of her, her lips forming an 'o' shape in muted surprise. The look on her face was indecipherable, and Adrien swallowed nervously. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he wasn't so sure. There were at least a dozen mistakes Marinette would catch in his stitch work. What if she didn't like it? What if it fell apart on her? What if –

Adrien nearly jumped when she let out the loudest coo he'd ever heard and hugged it tightly to her chest.

"It's so adorable, I love it!" she gushed happily, smooshing her face into the plushy.

Laughing in relief, Adrien allowed himself a brief moment of jealousy for the inanimate object before reaching out to grasp Marinette's hand. His heart fluttered at the delightful sounds of her joy as he gently brushed his lips over her knuckles.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my Lady."

Author's Note: Cheesy fic is cheesy, oh god.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think :)