Okay I did not expect this to get as long as it did but this story sort of started writing itself. Anyways here's some holiday fluff for anyone who wants it. I hope you all enjoy this, and a happy holidays to everyone.

Knitting My Way to your Heart

The days become colder and shorter, an obvious sign of the impending holiday season. Adrien Agreste sighs as he cups his hands and breaths into them. He really should have brought gloves. Shoving his frozen hands into his coat pockets he looks around to see that there are few people out and about. Really not surprising since it's below freezing.

The only reason Adrien is out and about in this cold weather is because of the love of his life. Ladybug, hero of Paris and his trusted partner is more than worth weathering this cold weather. He is determined to get her the best gift possible and he won't let the cold stop him.

A bell jingles as he enters the latest store, this is the third place he's gone to today and he is still unable to find anything suitable for his lady. Frowning he peers around the store, it's a quaint little mom and pop store that sells an abundance of things. From simple knick knacks to cheap jewelry.

As much as Adrien wishes he could splurge on Ladybug he doesn't. The blonde is well aware that he would receive one heck of a scolding from his irate partner. And he does not wish to invoke her annoyance with his good will. So he opts to stay away from high end jewelry stores.

This store is decorated lightly for the holidays. There's a small tree in the front of the store, with presents underneath it. The multicolored lights give off a soft glow, illuminating the surrounding area. There are more lights around the store, as well as reefs and other festive decorations.

Adrien allowed a sad smile, this felt like a place his mom would have visited while looking for gifts for him and his father. Mrs. Agreste always did like giving sentimental-filled gifts. Shaking his head the blonde pushed his sadness away, now was not the time for that. He needed to find a gift for the most wonderful person in his life.

As he walked around the store he found himself pausing to exam anything that caught his eye. Trying to decide what would be the best gift for Ladybug. So far nothing is really catching his eye.

Shoving his hands into his pockets he continues with his search. He eyes an array of cute plush animals, figuring that his Ladybug might like one. 'Purrhaps a cat one?' He thinks with a chuckle before picking up a gray colored cat. Turning it in his hand he sees that it's a relatively good quality, but despite feeling like it'd be an acceptable gift he's not satisfied with it.

Putting it back down with a sigh he continues on with his search. Suddenly an elderly woman stands in his path, her hair nearly completely white with strands of grey. Warmness emits from her eyes. "Can I help you find something, dear?" She asks in a kind voice.

Adrien smiles in response. "I'm trying to find a gift for My Lady- er friend, lady friend..." He feels his cheeks tint ever so slightly.

The woman's smile widens. "Oh, a girlfriend? First Christmas together?" She asks knowingly.

Adrien shakes his head. "Uh no we're not together. She's like my best friend, we've known each other for awhile now and I just wanted to get her something special." He explains as he fights off the blush that has developed on his cheeks.

The woman chuckles at his quick explanation. "Young love is the best love." She says before leaning in with a twinkle in her eye. "If you really want to get her something special you should try making her something."

Adrien smiled as he had considered that. "I thought about that." He admitted to the store owner. "But I'm not very good at creating things." His specialty was destroying things, unfortunately.

The woman chuckled before bringing her hand forward to show a crudely made bracelet with a blue eyed cat on it. It looked like something a five year old could make yet it was obvious whoever made it had put much time and energy into it. There was an engraving that was somewhat faded, but he could just make out the words "To my sweet, would you be mine this valentine?"

"Fifty years ago my husband and I were best friends," There was a wistful look in her eye. "before we got together he made me this bracelet. Two years later we were married with our first born on the way." Adrien smiled at the short yet sweet story. "It doesn't matter if you're good at making things, just as long as you put in the effort to make it special."

Adrien took a moment to contemplate how Ladybug would take his gift. He knew while she'd appreciate the effort of him going out and buying something, that it wouldn't exactly make her heart melt. Ladybug would have no choice but to be in awe of him crafting something with his own two hands. Maybe this elderly woman was onto something. Even if his actions were not enough to get her to return his affections Adrien found himself dead set on this new avenue. He rather liked the idea of giving something to Ladybug that he had poured his heart into.

Smiling he nodded. "Thank you, umm..."

The woman smiled back. "Katherine." She said simply.

"Thank you, Katherine. I'll make the best gift possible." He says before quickly leaving the store.

Katherine watches the youth leave her store, her brown eyes soften as she sees the tiny black head poke out of his pants. The little creature grins mischievously at her before ducking down. She fiddles with the bracelet on her wrist as a light chuckle escapes her. Memories of running across rooftops garbed in red and black spots surface, her husband would be happy to know that his old friend had picked such a nice young man.

Looking at the cat on her bracelet she smiles sadly before walking back to the register. Looking down at a picture on the desk she sighs forlornly. After his death she had been unable to continue using her Miraculous, Fu had been most understanding when she returned the ear rings.

It had already been ten years, but she dearly missed her crazy cat. "Henry, you would have been happy to have met that boy. He's just like you were all those years ago." She smiles, knowing her successor is a lucky girl. "Now you got me doing it, kitty cat..." She whispers under her breath with a laugh.

Adrien paces back in forth in his room, trying to think of something he could make for Ladybug. Maybe he could sketch something for her? Or he could try making a song? Or he could sew something for her? From what Ladybug had said ever since receiving her Miraculous she had developed an aversion to cold weather during the winters.

"Maybe I could knit her some winter wear that'd match her suit?" He suggested out loud. 'Not that I know the first thing about knitting...' The blonde sighed, still unsure of what to do.

Plagg lazily watched from his spot, munching on his third wedge of camembert. "But you don't know how to knit." He echoed Adrien's thoughts before throwing the piece of cheese in the air and swallowing it in one gulp. "Honestly, I say give up on this and just get her cheese." He suggested.

Plagg received a stern glare for his troubles. "Ugh, why am I always stuck with love sick kittens?" He questioned before sitting up. "Have you considered asking that clumsy girl in your class? The one who makes her own clothes?" On the inside Plagg was grinning like a cat who had long since caught the canary. 'You know, the one you're going to end up making the gift for?'

Blissfully unaware of his kwami's thoughts Adrien raised an eyebrow. "You mean Marinette?" At Plagg's nod he frowned. If he wanted to try knitting something for Ladybug then his dark haired classmate would be the best person to ask to teach him.

A few months ago he would have been hesitant on the idea. Marinette had always been so skittish around him, always flustered and jumbling her words around him. Thankfully as the school year had gone on she had gotten a little more comfortable around him, enough that she could actually form words. Even if she still did get tongue tied around him at times.

"That's a good idea, Plagg. Glad you could be helpful for a change." He said as the little cat glared at him.

"Consider that your Christmas present." The green eyed kwami deadpanned before returning his full attention to his cheese. "I expect five wheels of camembert for my troubles." Adrien could only roll his eyes at the gluttonous cat.

The bell belonging to the best bakery in all of Paris jingled as Adrien entered. The place was surprisingly empty at this time of day. There were a few costumers, but not nearly as much as he would figure for the time of year. Maybe it was a slow hour?

From the register Marinette's mom raised an eyebrow before warmly greeting him. "Adrien? Hello, how are you doing today?" Sabine questioned in her usual motherly tone.

Adrien smiled as he walked over to her. "Hi Mrs. Cheng." He greeted. He was always happy to be in the presence of either of Marinette's parents. In his opinion they were like the perfect family, always so loving and warm. If the blonde were honest he was sometimes extremely envious of Marinette's home life, he wished his family was at least half as loving as hers. "I'm here to see Marinette, is she around?" He asked hopefully.

The Asian woman gave him a knowing look. "Oh Adrien, I've told you before. You don't need to be so formal, to you I'm just Sabine." Adrien smiled at the warmness in her voice. "And yes Marinette is here, she's up in her room. Go on up." She implored with a motherly smile that made the blonde miss his own mother.

Adrien nodded. "Thanks, Mrs.- er Sabine." He corrected himself before heading up to their apartment, passing Tom on the way up. The large man also gave him a warm smile before patting him on the shoulder and heading back down to help his wife out in the bakery.

Coming up the trap door that lead into Marinette's room Adrien raised his fist and gave a light knock. The girl inside, who had been talking to someone, paused. "Come in." She gave permission.

Adrien smiled before entering the pink room. Despite her skittish nature around him he was always happy to see his shy classmate. It was like her unintentional life mission was to make those around her feel better about themselves. "Hey, Marinette."

Blue eyes widened in surprise. "A-A-Adrien!?" She exclaimed in shock before calming down. "Wh-what doing you are here?" Her cheeks flushed a very attractive shade of red. "I-I mean what are you doing here?" The girl internally sighed in relief at managing to correct herself on the first try.

The blonde smiled, doing his best not to bring attention to her franticness. He had learned that the best way to get Marinette to calm down around him was not to point out her nervousness when it came to his presence. "Your mom let me up." He explained. "I'm here because I need your help. If your not too busy that is." The blonde suddenly became hesitant. When he had decided to ask her for help he didn't even know if she'd be able to help him.

It's not as though she might not be busy making/buying her own Christmas presence of others, or for all he knew she might be needed in the bakery. He hoped that she would be able and willing to help him. Well he knew she'd be willing, Marinette was always willing to help those in need.

The dark haired girl fought away her blush before clearing her throat. "Wh-what do you need?" She asked in a small voice. After a moment she quickly gestured to her desk chair for him to sit in.

Adrien smiled thankfully before taking a seat in her computer chair. "You see the thing is I have a...a friend. And..." He paused wondering how much he should tell the dark haired girl. Shrugging he decided to just tell her as much as he could. He knew the more he told Marinette the more determined she'd be to help him out.

"And she's the most wonderful person in the world. She's like my best friend and I want to get her something special for Christmas. Thing is when I went shopping nothing really felt right. Someone suggested that I try making something for her. I thought maybe I'd make a scarf or a hat or something for her, but I don't know the first thing about knitting or sewing. You're really good at designing clothes," And that was how Adrien really viewed it. As far as he was concerned she was as talented as she was modest. "I thought you might be able to help me..."

Marinette's face went through a different array of expressions as he explained. Curiosity, confusion, sadness, understanding, and many others that he couldn't quite name. She looked as though she wanted to ask him a million questions, probably about for the intended recipient of the gift. For whatever reason she refrained from doing so, he appreciated her understanding. After a few moments she nodded. "Okay, I'll help you."

Adrien felt warmth in the pit of his stomach. "Really?" He asked with barely contained excitement, at her timid nod he felt ready to burst in happiness. Reaching forward he grabbed the girl's hands, her face turning scarlet yet again. "Thank you, Marinette!" He happily said. "I really appreciate this!" He wasn't blind to her red face, it was pretty warm in her room.

After a few minutes of gathering supplies Marinette and Adrien sat on the floor facing each other. Marinette held up a pair of metal knitting needles. "S-so what do you want to make for...your friend?" She asked. "A scarf or a beanie are both pretty easy and would make a great gift."

Adrien took a moment to decide before opting to go with a scarf, he felt that would be something his Lady would appreciate in the cold months. "A scarf would work, and I figure it'd probably be easier."

Marinette nodded in agreement. "Okay then, this should be pretty simple. First you'll want to decide on a colored yarn."

Adrien pursed his lips as a thought struck him. "Do think it'd be possible to make the scarf red with black spots?" At Marinette's surprised look he quickly added in a small lie. "She's a fan of Ladybug, she even wears her hairstyle the same way." He explained with a secretive chuckle.

Marinette looked a little uncomfortable before nodding. "It's possible, but for your first time knitting I feel that's a bit beyond your level. This is for a Christmas gift, right?" Christmas was less than a week away, for a complete amateur like him there was no telling if he'd get it done on time.

Despite his disappointment Adrien could admit that Marinette did bring up a good point. Regretfully he nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I should practice first before I try making her Ladybug themed accessories." The blonde looked sheepish.

Marinette ignored the slight pain in her chest as she smiled sympathetically. "Well then, what colored yarn do you want to use instead? You could do red or black." She suggested trying to compromise on his desire to make a Ladybug themed scarf.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to decide before remembering something Ladybug had told him.

"My favorite color is pink." The spotted heroine had told him when he asked on a cool autumn night.

"Pink." He said without hesitation.

Marinette raised an eyebrow at the unexpected choice but complied, thankfully with pink being her favorite color she had an abundance of pink yarn. She didn't question Adrien's choice, a lot of girl's favorite color was pink perhaps his friend was also the same?

"Okay then also you'll need a crochet hook for picking up loose stitches, scissors to cut your yarn." Marinette said as she started pulling out the supplies. "Never break your yarn by ripping it or else you'll stretch it or even risk having it unravel." She had personal experience with those stupid mistakes when she first started out.

Adrien raised an eyebrow at what she said next as she grabbed a bottle and squeezed some of it's contents out onto her left hand. "You might also want to use some hand cream to keep your hands moisturized." She explained while rubbing the lotion onto her hands. "Make sure to have an absorbent cream, or else you'll get your needles and yarn dirty." The blonde nodded along to Marinette's instructions as she handed the bottle to him, not allowing any piece of valuable information escape his attention.

It was kind of amazing to see this different side of her, around him Marinette was usually a flustered bumbling mess. The only instances he could think of when she had been comfortable around him had been during the gaming tournament and the few times he had met her as Chat Noir.

Maybe he should take up knitting as a hobby so he'd have some common ground with her? If talking about making clothes was able to relax her enough that she could talk to him he'd be more than happy to make the effort to learn.

"Okay so first I'll show you how to get started and then you'll try." She grabbed a ball of light blue yarn. "You're going to want about fifteen inches." She said pulling a string of yarn out and showing him about how long it'll need to be. "Then you're going to want to make a loop, like so." She demonstrated before pulling the tail of the yarn through.

Adrien nodded along, doing his best to keep up with her simple instructions. "Then put the needle through the slipknot. And cinch it tight." She explained before slowly doing as she said. "Now to cast on."

"Cast on?" A raised eyebrow greeted her.

Marinette chewed her bottom lip before responding. "Basically it's a technique for adding new stitches." She explained after a moment. "Now watch." She said before demonstrating. "What you do is use your thumb and index finger like this, and put them through the needle." The dark haired girl had her fingers pointed as though they were a gun, with her thumb up and her pointer finger out with her three remaining fingers holding the rest of the yarn.

With her two fingers between the yarn she then proceeded to cast on. "First over the strand closest to your thumb, then under the one on your index finger, and back through the loop on your thumb. Pull it so it's tight, but not too tight."

Marinette was absolutely in her element as she explained the basics of knitting to her crush. It didn't even occur to her that her heart was still beating a mile a minute at the way his green eyes watched her fingers as though they were the most interesting things in the world.

Adrien, ever the apt student, kept his eyes focused on Marinette's delicate digits as they instinctually continued their ministrations. She made it look so easy, and as far as Adrien could tell it didn't seem too complicated. He felt that he would be able to replicate her actions without too much difficulty. "Okay, I think I get what you're doing." The teen model informed her with some confidence.

Marinette nodded, pleased with his attention. "For a simple scarf I'd recommend about twenty-five stitches. Since I'm just demonstrating I'm only going to do fifteen." She told him as she did the last stitch. "Okay, we now have enough stitches." She said holding up the lone needle to show him what it should look like.

"Now hold this needle in your left hand and take your other needle." She said before placing the point of the yarn-lacking needle just at the entrance of the latest loop on her other needle. "And insert your right needle into the loop. Hold the yarn in your right hand like so and wrap it over and under like this. If you need to use your finger to push it through. Then pull up a loop with the right needle, and shove the old loop off of the left needle, just like this."

"And that's knitting. Just keep doing that until you've done all the stitches of that row and then repeat until the scarf is the length you want it to be." As she talked she continued to slowly knit the yarn. "55 inches is good if you want to make a short scarf. While 70 inches would make for a more versatile scarf. Or you can make an even longer scarf if you want. It just depends on what you want to do, and how much yarn you have."

After a few minutes of slow steady knitting she started to speed up. "Now, as a beginner I wouldn't recommend using metal needles as they're a little slippery." Adrien was still fascinated at just how in her element Marinette was. He really wished she could be this confident all the time. "For someone who's been doing this for years like me the slipperiness of metal needles work for rather than against me. With metal needles I can make projects quickly. But since you're new to this you might want to stick with wooden needles since they have a better grip."

That made sense to the blonde. "I see..." Adrien, impressed with how skilled she was, said as he watched her fingers quickly knit a few more stitches before stopping. Looking up he met her sky blue eyes with a questioning look.

Catching his gaze Marinette paused in her actions, suddenly self conscious that maybe she wasn't doing a good enough job for her crush. "I-I'm not going too fast for you am I?" She had never taught anyone how to knit before, so she couldn't say whether or not she was a good teacher. She was amazed that she had managed to keep her words so steady while explaining how to knit.

Adrien noticed her nervousness and was quick to reassure her. "No, not at all. I'd say you've done a very good job at explaining this to me, I feel like I might actually be able to do this without too much hassle. You've already been so much help, Marinette." He flashed her a genuinely warm smile that nearly made her melt into a puddle.

Swallowing thickly Marinette returned the smile as her cheeks heated up. "O-okay now." She shakily said before clearing her throat. "Now let me show you what happens if a stitch falls off." The pig tailed girl, going back into instructor mode, informed him before taking a stitch off of the left needle. "If that happens it's no big deal, just clutch it with your right hand, and put it back on, then just keep going like nothing happened." Turning her eyes back to her work Marinette did as so.

"Now I'll show you what happens if you drop a stitch and it starts to unravel." Marinette continued without pause as she purposely dropped a stitch and allowed it to unravel. "This is something that use to freak me out when I first started knitting and I didn't know how to fix it. It was actually almost bad enough that I nearly gave up on trying to learn how to knit until my mom showed me what to do." The girl admitted.

"This is where the crochet hook comes into play." She then brought her knees up as she grabbed the aforementioned item. "I often hook the needles with my knees to keep them secure while doing this." She explained before using the hook to grab the dropped stitch. "Insert the hook from behind and then pull up the next loop, the one right above it, pull it through and slip it right back on the needle. No big deal." She casually said while doing as explained.

The lesson went on for a little while before concluding with Marinette showing Adrien how to cast off and then how to bind off. "And there we go." The pig tailed girl finally said as she cut the yarn off with a pair of scissors. "If your worried about it unraveling you can tie a knot if necessary, I usually don't." She commented before showing the blonde how to weave the end in.

"And that's all there is to it." Marinette concluded before meeting Adrien's attentive green eyes. Clearing her throat she did her best to keep a steady voice. "Th-think you're knitting to start ready?" The bluenette blanched before hastily correcting herself. "I mean ready to start knitting!"

Adrien smiled at Marinette. "Yeah, I'm ready to try it out now." He said with a fair amount of confidence. Marinette gave him another nervous smile before pulling out a pair of wooden needles and handing them over to him. After a moment of searching she produced a ball of pink yarn.

The time spent looking for the yarn proves to be enough for her to calm down. "Okay, so like I showed you." She relinquishes the ball of yarn. "Make a loop, and then put your needle through the slipknot." Adrien nods as he attempts to imitate her earlier demonstration. After a little bit of fiddling he managed to get the loop onto the needle tightly.

"Now do you remember how I showed you to cast on?"

"Like this?" Adrien says unsurely as he grabs the yarn with his right hand holding two strands between his thumb and index finger.

"That's good, though try holding the rest of the yarn with your three remaining fingers like this." She reached forward, pausing as her small hands came into contact with his slightly larger ones. Cheeks tinting she grabbed the loose yarn he hadn't gripped and opened his middle, ring, and pinky finger before closing them around the yarn. "Now cast on." She ordered before letting go of his hands.

Ignoring the slight nervousness at Marinette's warm hands letting go of his, Adrien nods. He also doesn't think too much about the lingering warmth that remains from where her soft yet firm hands had been. "Under and then over?" He asks unsurely.

"Over the thumb, then under your finger, and through the loop." Marinette corrected. "Tight, but not too tight." She attentively reminded him. "Good, now keep going until you have twenty-five stitches." The dark haired girl encouraged.

Time seemed to move at a steady pace as Marinette talked the blonde through his first row of stitches. Despite his obvious unfamiliarity with knitting he managed to get it well enough, by the fourth row of stitches Marinette had stopped talking and allowed him to simply keep knitting. The only time she opened her mouth was when he made a mistake that he couldn't immediately fix.

At some point Marinette's parents had poked their heads in to check up on the two teens. Thankfully this time they had managed to deliver the plate of freshly baked croissants before their daughter could chase them out. After a quick snack break Adrien resumed knitting.

Adrien had decided that a fifty inch scarf was too short, so he'd settle on 70 inches. He was determined to make sure that his lady would love her gift. 'At least I hope she does.' The blonde thought as he continued to slowly knit the scarf. He didn't dare try to speed up the way he had seen Marinette did. Slow and steady was the best for him with the current task at hand.

The teen model was so thankful to his shy classmate. He really needed to get her something nice as a thank you for all her help. He had already bought her a Christmas gift, the latest Jagged Stone CD and some high quality fabric for her to do whatever she wanted with. But now he'd felt that wasn't enough to show his appreciation for the kind girl.

"Stop." Marinette's voice cuts him out of his thoughts. Looking up he notices her critical eye looking at his work. At their eyes meeting she appears sheepish before regaining her nerve. "Y-you stitched a drop-er I mean d-dropped a stitch." The dark haired girl points out. "Y-you need to fi-fix it." She averted her eyes as she hands him the crochet hook.

Nodding tries to replicate the instructions she explained earlier. "Re-remember, hook it from behind and pull it up." With Marinette's help he manages to fix his mistake and continue the project.

Due to the shortening days the sun drops much quicker than Adrien prefers, and he has to leave. Marinette allows him to take her spare needles and yarn with him, as well as the crochet hook. "No-now that you kn-know wh-what to do you can keep going at home. Ju-just work on it whenever you have time, or whenever you want not like you need to do it only when you have time, knitting can happen at any time haha." Her words became a jumbled mess as she inwardly begged for some almighty power to end her right then and there.

Taking time to decipher her nervous and jumbled words Adrien managed to get the gist of what she was saying. Patting her shoulder he offers her a warm smile. "Thanks, Marinette. I really owe you one." The girl's smile became wide and Adrien's eyes brighten at her happy expression. "See you later."

As he's about to get in the car, Nathalie's looking rather impatient, he's stopped by Marinette calling out his name. Turning he caught sight of her coming towards him. "Call me!" Marinette mentally slapped herself before quickly explaining. "I me-mean I-if you need any hel-help don't hesi-hesitate to ca-call me." Marinette awkwardly said her cheeks becoming an adorable shade of red.

Adrien, overcoming his initial surprise, nodded radiating his appreciativeness for his shy friend. "Of course, thanks again Marinette." With that he slipped into the car.

The three days Adrien worked tirelessly to make sure the scarf was as good as can be. In between winter shoots, Chinese lessons, piano practice, and fencing he had squeezed in as much time as he could to knit. For once he was thankful not to have to go to school, the extra time really helped. To his immense surprise his father had taken note of his new "hobby" and had even taken the time to ask him about it.

The blonde was happy at his father taking note of something in his life, even if it was seemingly insignificant. Maybe it was the upcoming holidays influencing his father? Either way, Adrien had happily told his father that he had taken up knitting to make a present for a good friend.

Gabriel had simply nodded and not spoken any further on the subject. After the quiet dinner with his father, the third one that month, Adrien had retreated to his room. He had two days left to finish the scarf, and he was nearly there. He was hoping to get it done tonight before going out to patrol.

Sitting down to resume his project the blonde allowed his thoughts to drift onto the intended recipient of his gift. He wondered what she'd be doing tonight, since that night wasn't one of their joint patrols. Usually they patrolled together, but there were many nights when Chat went on the prowl on his own. Most nights Adrien felt the need to get out of the house, donning his cat ears and black mask was the perfect way to escape.

'I'll see her on Christmas eve...' The blonde sighed, happy that soon he'd be seeing the love of his life. Sadly there hadn't been many akumas over the last week so he'd hadn't seen her since their patrol two nights ago.

Looking down at the nearly completed scarf he grinned. "I really hope she likes it." He said as he continued knitting. He was really getting the hang of this.

The first couple of times had had sat down to knit had been a bit trying. He had made a few mistakes and had been forced to call his shy classmate for help. Marinette, despite her stuttering, had been more than happy to talk him through his mishaps and had even told him that if over the phone wasn't enough that he could come by and she would fix his mistake. Thankfully he had only had to resort to going to her place for that reason twice.

"Still working on it, huh?" Plagg floated over to him. "Just stick with cheese, I tell him. Shut up Plagg he says." The black cat sighed dramatically. "Seriously cheese does not require this much work."

Adrien rolled his eyes at his kwami's usual antics. "You just don't get it Plagg."

"What's not to get? You're a love struck schoolboy, who doesn't know what he's missing."

"Huh, Plagg you're a headache sometimes."

The black cat's whiskers twitched slightly. "Funny, I think the same about you." He smirked causing Adrien to chuckle at Plagg's response.

The day before Christmas eve Adrien called Marinette. "I finished it." He told her, happily.

"Th-that's great. I'm happy for you, Adrien. I hope your friend likes her gift."

Adrien was pleased to note that over the phone Marinette seemed a tad less nervous. "Me too. Anyway I didn't just call you because I wanted to tell you that I finished the gift. Can I come over in a little bit? I figured you might want to see it, make sure it's up to snuff?"

"Co-come over? Su-sure I do-don't mind looking at you- I mean your scarf! I don't mind looking at your scarf to make sure you did it right. I mean it's not like you wouldn't have done it right, you're amazing at nearly everything you do." Marinette was on the verge of banging her head on her desk. 'Please stop talking!' She inwardly screamed at herself.

Adrien nodded, not really absorbing all of Marinette's word vomit. All that mattered was that he heard that he could come over. "Okay then, I'll be over in a bit." He said before hanging up. Looking over to his bed he grabbed a holiday themed bag that was stuffed with holiday themed paper. Marinette's thank you/Christmas gift.

Marinette sighed as she too hung up. Looking over at her bare walls she was glad that she had decided to take her posters of Adrien down a few months back. Having to put them up and take them down every time Adrien came over would be exhausting. Despite her attempts to get more comfortable around him she felt like she had made no progress. His presence just had a way of reducing her to a fumbling mess. "Mon Dieu, don't let Papillon hear that." She mutters before standing up to tidy up a bit before Adrien arrived. "Ladybug's weakness, Adrien Agreste's smile."

Adrien thanked Marinette's mother as the Asian woman ushered him up. She had given him a knowing look when she saw the present in his hand. He failed to keep his cheeks from tinting as they parted, with her giving him an encouraging wink. When he got to Marinette's trap door he knocked and waited for said girl's permission to enter. "Come in." She squeaked, obviously expecting him.

"Hey Marinette." Adrien greeted as he closed the door behind him.

She offered a muffled hello back as he presented his finished work. Laying a critical eye over it she noted that it was pretty good, there were a few obvious, to anyone with a critical eye, flaws. But nothing that would make the scarf an unappealing gift. Adrien's friend was going to love this, Marinette knew that she'd be swooning if he made her something like this. "This is actually pretty good." She admitted giving it another appraising look. "The stitching's a little sloppy in a few spots, but to the casual eye you wouldn't even notice it." Adrien felt a swell of happiness at Marinette's words.

Hearing her say that to him made him feel warm. Receiving genuine praise was a rarity, so he'd savor the feeling of his friend's kind words. "I'm happy to hear that Marinette. Also since I'm here I wanted to give you this." He said handing her the gift he had brought. He had technically already given her a Christmas present on the last day of school, but he felt that he needed to get her something more.

Marinette's heart rate sped up at the prospect of Adrien taking the time to get her another gift. "A-Adrien, yo-you didn't ha-have to ge-get me anything." She stuttered as he handed her the gift. It was amazing that she didn't faint from happiness.

Adrien looked at her in surprise, as though she had no right saying what she had just said. "Are you kidding, Marinette? Of course I did, you helped me so much and I wanted to get you something to show my appreciation." He told her. "You can open it now or wait till Christmas." Personally he kind of wanted her to open it now, just so he could see her reaction.

Swallowing a nervous breath the girl nodded. "Thank you Adrien." She said before slowly pulling the paper out.

Adrien grinned. "Merry Christmas, Marinette."

Marinette's expression widened as her fingers came into contact with soft plush. Pulling the item out she gasped at the adorable black cat plushy in her hand. The bright green eyes staring up at her reminded Marinette of her trusted partner. She'd probably end up naming the plush after that silly kitty of hers. 'If Chat ever heard that Ladybug had a plushy named after him I'd never hear the end of it.' Despite the exasperation in her thoughts her lips had turned into a large grin.

Looking up at Adrien's expectant eyes she nodded happily. "Th-thank you. I love y-it! I love it!" She hastily corrected herself.

Adrien was elated that his shy classmate liked his gift. 'Maybe this whole incident will help us become better friends?' He was hopeful. Sure they hung out whenever Nino or Alya were involved, but despite everything Marinette had yet to get over her nervousness around him. He'd like it if this gave them the chance to become better friends.

"Also I did have one more reason for seeing you today." Adrien said after she had placed his gift on her bed.

Her back becoming ramrod straight she whipped her head to look at him. "Yo-you did?" She nervously said. She didn't dare allow herself to feel hope that he had come to sweep her off her feet, not that he didn't already do that every time she saw him. But that's beside the point.

"Yeah. I had one small little favor I wanted to ask you. You can say no, since you've already done so much, but I would really appreciate this. Do you think you can help me sign the scarf?"

Tilting her head Marinette glanced at him. "I guess. You want to put your na-name on it?"

Shaking his head he corrected her. "No I want to put her name on it." He explained.

Marinette felt her heart drop to her stomach as she looked down, saddened at the reminder that somewhere out there was a girl that Adrien was head over heels for. Swallowing her feelings she nodded. "Okay," Honestly wanting to help him she agreed. Despite the pain of her crush not noticing her feelings she was more than willing to swallow her despair and keep helping him. Even if he never did return her feelings she would still always place his happiness above hers.

In his excitement Adrien reached over and hugged the petite girl, drawing a surprised squeak out of her. "Thanks Marinette, you're a good friend." He said before realizing that this was probably too much affection for her and pulling away.

Tomato faced the girl did her best to calm her beating heart. "N-n-n-no pro-prob-problem." She prayed that he let go of her before she internally combusted.

Once she'd managed to calm down she pulled out the supplies she'd need to sign the scarf with her usual method. "So what's her na-name?" Marinette asked, doing her best not to look at him.

Adrien gulped. "Well her name's kind of long." He lied. "You think you can just do her initials?"

Marinette, not finding the request odd and also wanting to get this done with quickly, nodded. "Okay, that works." She quietly told him.

"LB."

For some reason hearing Adrien give her those initials made her think of Chat Noir, but only for an instant. He did sometimes call her LB. Shaking away thoughts of her kitty she concentrated at the task at hand and finished in a matter of moments.

Adrien was pleased with the large LB printed on the scarf. "Thanks again, Marinette." He repeated for probably the millionth time that day before leaving.

Christmas eve proved to be a quiet night for the heroes of Paris. Finishing their patrol they met at their favorite spot, the Eiffel tower and sat down.

"Ah, such a lovely night, though not as lovely as you My Lady." Chat Noir said with an easy going grin.

Ladybug smirked. "I don't know, I'd say the lit up city makes for a better view, at least from where I'm sitting."

"Then perhaps I should get you a mirror? My view is far more breath taking." He said, laying it on thick.

"Well you're just not forced to put up with the view I am forced to look at, Chat."

Chat grasped his chest dramatically as he feigned hurt. "You wound me, My Lady. Even on Christmas." He gave her an exaggerated pout.

Ladybug chuckled before patting his head. "Oh Chat, we both know you basically asked for it."

The blonde smirked, not at all taking her jibes seriously. "I'd figure that you'd at least indulge me for once, tis the season isn't it?"

The spotted hero smiled in response. "Sorry Chat, you only get one present from me this year." She said before producing a bag she had hidden on the tower at the start of their patrol. "Made them this morning." She told him before handing him the bag of sugar cookies.

Looking like a kid on Christmas, he kind of was, he accepted the gift. "Oh Buginette, you didn't have to." He opened the bag and pulled out a cookie. It was delicious, he had no idea how he was going to keep from eating them all before going home. Due to his forced diet he was rarely allowed to indulge on sweets. Thank the heavens for the spotted goddess that was Ladybug. 'And thank the heavens for the Dupain-Cheng's bakery.' He really needed to drop by there more often. Doing his best to keep in control he closed the bag and pocketed the remaining cookies.

"I also made you a little something." The leather clad hero told his partner before standing up. "If you'll just give me a moment to run home I'll be right back." At Ladybug's nod he jumped off the tower, using his baton to hasten his run home.

After a few minutes of waiting he returned with a green box that had a black bow on it. Offering it to her he grinned. "For you, My Lady." He said as she accepted the box. "You can open it now, or wait till tomorrow on Christmas." He offered. "Purrsonally. I'd rather see you open it now, just so I can see the moment you realize you're in love with me." Chat gave her his flirtiest look.

"I think I'll open it now, just so you can realize how wrong you are." Ladybug deadpanned before carefully pulling the ribbon loose. Have you ever eaten your own words? Because upon opening the box Ladybug let out a gasp and her eyes widened as she took in the sight of a familiar scarf. Pulling it out she dropped the box, allowing it to fall to the ground.

"So are you enchanted?" The blonde asked with a wide grin. Her head snapped up to look at him, as though she were seeing him for the first time. At her shocked expression Chat felt his confidence slipping and parts of Adrien started to slip through. "Uh, if you don-don't like it tha-that's understandable. I only learned how to kn-knit the other day. And I'm no-not very good at it." His suit suddenly felt too tight and it was hard to breath.

Momentarily overcoming her shock Ladybug quickly squashed his fears. "N-no!" Did she just stutter? "I-it's just real-really beati-er nice. Yeah! it's nice! You ma-made this, right Chat?" The spotted heroine did her best to keep from hyperventilating but all she could think was. 'It's Adrien! Chat is Adrien! Adrien is Chat! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!' She was internally screaming. Turning the scarf over she saw the LB that she had printed on it just yesterday.

She didn't know what she felt. On one hand she was happy that the two most important boys in her life were one in the same. Despite brushing off Chat's advances she did love him, and if her heart weren't so set on Adrien she would have easily allowed herself to fall for his charm a long time ago. But to know that the love of her life had been flirting with her for months was just too much for her brain to handle at the moment.

She thanked her partner for the scarf, and after a few minutes of tense silence she managed out a convincing excuse to go home. "Sorry, Chat." Thank god she had calmed down enough not to stutter. Seeing Adrien with the mask on did help calm her nerves marginally. Also the constant 'It's Chat, it's Chat, it's Chat.' she kept repeating in her head helped. "But I need to head home, don't want to sleep in tomorrow."

Chat nodded, accepting her need to head home. "But of course, My Lady. Meowry Christmas." He said with a grin before also departing.

Once he was gone the spotted heroine let out a sigh. "Mon Dieu, Adrien loves puns..." Despite that she still felt her heart beating wildly at the thought of him. Suddenly her heart went into overdrive as she looked down at the scarf. "Mon Dieu, I'm the girl he was talking about." It's amazing she didn't just faint and plummet to the ground.

Pacing back and forth in her room Marinette threw her hands up. "It's Adrien, oh my god it's been him this whole time! I've been rejecting the love of my life for the love of my life! What is wrong with me!? If I hadn't been so adamant in keeping our identities a secret we could have been together months ago! We could have gotten married, the three kids, and the hamster forever ago." Marinette plopped down onto her chaise.

Tikki, munching on a cookie, floated over to her. "I don't think you two would be married with kids and a hamster by now." She giggled as Marinette sighed.

"Well at least we'd be on our way to that." She grumbled out.

"So what are you going to do?" Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to tell him who you are?"

Marinette sighed as she thought about it. It wasn't fair that she knew Chat Noir's identity without him knowing hers. A part of her didn't want to tell him, simply because she was afraid that Adrien/Chat would be disappointed to know that his partner/love was just plain, clumsy Marinette. "Fair is fair..." She muttered looking around her room.

Suddenly an idea came to her, feeling somewhat devious she grabbed her knitting needles and quickly started working on her latest project.

Christmas morning Adrien woke up to find a wrapped gift in his room, one that hadn't been in there before. Opening it he was surprised to see a Ladybug themed scarf. Pulling out the note he read it and then read it again before he dissolved into a blushing mess. 'Marinette is Ladybug!'

Plagg floated down to read the card Adrien had dropped. "Ladybug fan? I'm more of a Chat Noir fan, minou. Love Marinette, your lady." He cackled as Adrien swooned in the background. "Wow, she's good. I like this one." He said before flying away to continue eating his Christmas present. "Falalalala." He hummed.

Happy holidays everyone. Hope you enjoyed this one-shot, I know I had a lot of fun writing it.