Hi everyone and welcome to my new story! So this was a small, goofy idea that I came up with for the Christmas season. I hope that you all enjoy it.

I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. This is fanfiction written for fun.

I would like to dedicate this story as a little Christmas present for my dear friends TLOS21, LycoRogue, ChibiRinni, and oh-calliope, all of whom have been wonderful friends to me. It's not much, especially compared to everything you've all done for me, but I hope you enjoy it, nonetheless. You guys mean the world to me.

~ Twelve Days of Chatmas ~

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

"OUCH!" Adrien cried out as he gave himself a paper-cut for the fifth time.

He slowly brought his index finger up to his mouth and sucked on it gently, wincing slightly as it carried on stinging. His back was beginning to ache from having been sat at his desk all day, but he didn't care. His fingers were covered in paper cuts and his hands were covered in glue and glitter, as if he was merely a five-year-old child rather than a fourteen-year-old teenager. His desk looked like a bomb had hit it with all the arts and crafts stuff that was piled everywhere.

Adrien had to admit that he may have gone a bit overboard while shopping for all this stuff, but he had no idea what he would need. He wasn't a very creative person, so how was he supposed to know? But he supposed it was better to overdo it and be safe than to have run out of everything and begin panicking.

Taking a deep breath, Adrien got back to working on his little project that he had been working on all day. He just hoped that she liked it. He had really wanted to make her something special. Ladybug was a tough nut to crack when it came to figuring out what would impress her.

But Adrien was determined.

He was determined to get Ladybug the perfect Christmas present.

He had spent many hours shopping around, hoping that maybe something would jump out at him. Unfortunately nothing ever did. So that got Adrien wondering: what if he made her something? Maybe that would make it more special? It would be more of a gift from the heart, and it would be an added bonus if he could impress Ladybug with his creative skills.

After all, Adrien managed to excel in everything else, so why not arts and crafts?

Unfortunately though, his father never deemed it a subject fit for him to learn. He learned about art history, but his father never really allowed him to get creative himself unless it came to something involving fashion. Adrien had never got to make sculptures or paint pictures. He only really remembered doing it when he was a little kid, but as he got older, his father had wanted him to focus more on his academic subjects.

But how hard could it be?

He was only creating a small sculpture after all.

"Finished!" Adrien yelled gleefully, staring down at his creation.

However, his attention was soon brought away from his work by the sight of Plagg zooming over to hover next to him and inspect his handy work. He watched as Plagg gazed down at it with narrowed and confused eyes. But it wasn't long until it sounded like his kwami was trying to supress a chuckle. That instantly caused Adrien's heart to sink in his chest.

"What exactly is it supposed to be?" Plagg asked.

"It's a partridge in a pear tree, duh!" Adrien growled out before staring at his work again.

Plagg sniggered. "It looks like it's going to fall apart at any second."

It wasn't that bad…was it?

Adrien had been feeling pretty confident about it up until now, but Plagg's reaction now had him feeling self-conscious. Would Ladybug be able to tell what it was supposed to be? Adrien could easily tell, but was that just because he was the artist behind it? He was pretty sure that he had followed the online tutorial precisely.

The little sculpture of a tree made out of card stuck out of the small plant pot with green glittery leaves decorating it. The small partridge sat on top with a note clasped in it's beak, bearing Ladybug's name. Little, red, glittery love hearts also hung down from the branches of the tree, though Adrien had immediately known that he may have gone a bit overboard with those. But he just couldn't help himself. Each time he thought of Ladybug, he just had to include another heart to maybe help convey just how much she meant to him.

He had spent so long trying to come up with this idea. He had wanted to give her something special and from the heart, and maybe something with the theme of Christmas. He really hoped that Ladybug liked it. He couldn't exactly trust Plagg's opinions. Plagg would tease him over anything.

"Why would Ladybug want something like that?" Plagg's voice brought Adrien out of his thoughts again. "Why not just get her a delicious piece of camembert?"

"Because that's not special," Adrien sighed out, "besides, I'm sure Ladybug has better taste than that. I wanted to make her something that helps show how I feel about her."

"You're thinking way too hard about this." Plagg rolled his eyes.

"The problem is, I don't think I'm thinking hard enough about it. Ladybug's so beautiful and amazing." Adrien sighed dreamily, staring up at his ceiling with hooded eyes. "What could I possibly get that's worthy of her?"

Plagg groaned. "Annnnddd he's gone into mushy mode again."

Adrien ignored Plagg's comment as he continued to stare up at the ceiling. Ladybug did such amazing things every day. She kept all of Paris safe and helped so many people. She deserved so much more than what he had to offer. He just really wanted to show her his love and appreciation. After all, wasn't that what Christmas was all about?

And maybe – just maybe – if he impressed her with his gift enough, she might be so happy that she would treasure it forever. She might be so touched by his efforts that, if he was lucky, she might grant him a kiss under the mistletoe, something he had been dying to do with her last year, but never got the chance. Maybe this year would be his lucky year. She would kiss him under the mistletoe and that might help her finally develop feelings for him. Then they could get married, run away together and live on an island with a hamster called –

"Speaking of Ladybug, shouldn't you have joined her on patrol ten minutes ago?"

Adrien was instantly brought down from his daydream with a painful bump. His eyes widened and his breath hitched in panic as he caught sight of the time in the corner of his computer screen. Plagg was right. He should have met Ladybug ten minutes ago. He had become so consumed by his fantasies that he had completely lost track of time.

"Oh no! Ladybug's gonna kill me!" Adrien yelped as he leapt out of his chair with so much force that it was sent flying backwards. But he didn't care. Things already weren't going as planned. Ladybug would be in an annoyed mood with him. That wasn't exactly a perfect start and a good way to segway into giving Ladybug her present.

What if she hated it? What if Plagg was right and his gift was horrible? What if she was so annoyed with him for being late to patrol that she rejected his gift? Then he would never get that kiss under the mistletoe. He would never get to propose. They would never get the cute hamster!

How was it possible that everything had already started going so disastrously wrong?!

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien yelled, drawing an annoyed looking Plagg into his ring.

In a burst of green light, he became Chat Noir. He was about to jump out of his window when he suddenly remembered his gift and turned around to quickly grab it. It was a shame that he didn't have time to wrap it, but it would have to do as it was. Wrapping it might ruin it anyway.

Panicking, Chat Noir glided through the city of Paris, sprinting across the rooftops to his and Ladybug's usual meet-up spot for when they patrolled the city. All the while, he tried to keep his gift for Ladybug gently cradled in his hand. He cursed as some of the decorations began to work themselves loose, and that's when he realised that he hadn't given the glue enough time to dry. Some of the hearts slid down the tree, and Chat Noir cried out in horror as one of them was blown off by the cold, winter breeze.

Oh well, Ladybug wouldn't notice if one heart was missing…right?

Chat Noir gulped and halted in his tracks as he could see Ladybug pacing the rooftop in front of him, continuously checking her yo-yo before sighing and going back to pacing. She looked so beautiful with the setting sun behind her. The way the sunlight shone against her dark hair, the way her suit clung to her petite frame, the way she looked up from her yo-yo, a little worried crease forming between her eyebrows. His heart immediately began beating rapidly at the mere sight of her. His mouth began to dry up, and little butterflies fluttered around his stomach.

This was it.

He could do this.

He could give her the present.

He'd worked hard on it. It was a labour of his love for her.

But what if she hated it?

"Chat Noir?"

Chat Noir jumped slightly at the sudden sound of his name being called. His eyes refocused on reality again as they were met with the sight of Ladybug having stopped pacing. She was now turned towards him, staring at him in confusion.

"I was starting to get worried; where were you?" Ladybug asked. "What are you doing standing over there?"

Ladybug quickly hooked her yo-yo around the chimney next to him and pulled herself over. She landed gracefully next to him, gazing up at him with her blue eyes full of concern. How Chat Noir wished he could stare into those eyes and become lost in them forever. He couldn't think of a better way to spend an eternity.

He gulped again as words became caught in his throat. He clung onto his gift as all he could do was stare at her wordlessly.

"Okay, now I'm really worried," Ladybug said, sounding increasingly panicked, "you're never this quiet. Has something happened?"

"No!" Chat Noir quickly reassured her, watching as Ladybug's shoulders relaxed, though she still looked up at him in confusion.

"Then what's going on? Why were you so late?"

"I…errrr…" Chat Noir wanted to slap himself. He had always managed to be so confident around her, so what was going on now? Was it because this was the first gift he had ever gotten her? Was it because he was terrified of her rejecting it? Chat Noir wasn't sure, but he knew that his plan was likely in ruins. But still, he didn't want to continue to freak her out.

"I-I got you a Christmas present…well…made you a Christmas present." Chat Noir immediately held up the little sculpture that he had made for her.

Ladybug's eyes widened in surprise before she blinked as she stared at it.

"Aww, Chat, you didn't have to –"

Woooosh!

A strong, wintery breeze blew by them, destroying what was left of Chat Noir's sculpture. The trunk of the tree was nearly torn completely off, leaving it hanging as the little love hearts were blown away by the wind. The partridge slid down the tree, the still wet glue leaving a smear as it did so, leaving the whole sculpture looking incredibly deformed and pathetic.

All Chat Noir could do was stare at it in his hands, his eye twitching slightly.

"Chat, are –"

"And this wasn't it! This wasn't the present I got you." Chat Noir laughed nervously, beginning to back away. "As if I would get you something so horrible."

"Chat, it's fi –"

"Next time I see you, I'll give you the present you deserve. This was just a little joke." Chat faked a laugh. "But I promise that you shall have a Christmas present worthy of someone as amazing as you! You'll see!" Chat Noir continued to yell as he dropped the sculpture and took off.

"Chat! Wait! What about –"

But it was too late. Chat Noir had already disappeared from view.

"Patrol," Ladybug sighed out before glancing down at the broken sculpture Chat Noir had dropped.

Curious, she reached down and gently picked it up off the roof tiles and admired Chat Noir's work before staring in the direction he had disappeared. Ladybug smiled and slowly shook her head as she carefully clung onto Chat Noir's sculpture before taking off into the sunset.

Poor Chat Noir. I wonder what he has planned for Ladybug next? One can only worry. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I'll see you all again very soon for the next installment. Please feel free to leave your opinions as it helps me out immensely. Thank you for reading.