Sabine had always been a somewhat inconsistent sleeper, so for her to slowly wake up at any random hour of the night was not entirely uncommon. As she got older she stopped trying to go back to bed right away, she knew it never worked, so instead she decided to go check that things were ready for Christmas morning and see if the kids had ever made it to bed. When she had last left them they were wrapped up again in their video game, sitting side by side so close that their knees touched and laughing at each other. Adrien had bid her goodnight along with her daughter, promising to keep it down since she was going to bed but she just laughed and told them to have fun.

Sabine gently swung her feet over the side of the bed, careful not to disturb her husband who was still fast asleep next to her. Her eyes fell first on the clock displaying the time, announcing that it was now about two in the morning, then on the small silver hair comb lying on the bedside table. With a smile she lifted it into her hands, admiring her present again before setting it back down to go check on the boy who gave it to her.

She shuffled tiredly into the hall, blinking at the bright light shifting and playing off of the walls as she got closer to the living room until finally she saw something that made her heart melt.

In the living room the TV was still on, showing a character standing still in the middle of a town. The screen was dimmed slightly from disuse, and as she got closer she couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of two kids passed out side by side on the living room floor.

The lights of the Christmas tree shined over their faces as they slept, the both of them tangled up in a sea of quilts and blankets that tied them together even more than their interlaced legs. The controller dangled from Marinette's hand sitting in the small space between the two teens, and Sabine wondered when in their playing had they both fallen asleep. The game wasn't even paused, their hero just abandoned to stand aimlessly in a town while his puppeteers dozed on the hard floor together. Dozens of empty caramel wrappers were woven into the blankets and a few empty soda cans dotted the floor, making the mother sigh and shake her head. They would have stomach aches for sure, and she knew she couldn't let them have sore backs as well.

A little regrettably Sabine knelt quietly besides them before reaching over and shaking their shoulders gently.

Adrien to his credit jolted awake, bleary eyes blinking up at the woman in drowsy confusion. Marinette was much harder to stir, but after a few moments she finally cracked on unwilling eye open. Since it was the way her face was pointed the first person she saw was Adrien, incredibly close to her and staring at her with the same sort of haze in his eyes.

"Merry Christmas..." he slurred after a moment, trying to bury his head in the pillows again before Sabine dragged him back out. He made a vague noise of disapproval that had Sabine giggling before he looked again at Marinette, who as now wide awake with a blush on her face that was visible even in the dark.

Why?

...

Oh.

The two of them were literally tangled in each other, he was surprised they weren't straight up cuddling even though they might as well have been. However in his sleep deprived state of mind it was easier to just sleepily grin at her, managing to get a wink out before she scoffed and started pulling away. If the mother hadn't been standing directly over him he might have been confident enough to reach out and stop her, but even his impulse driven low power brain wasn't that brave.

"Go on up you two come on, I'll clean this up."

It took a little work but eventually Sabine got the two of them on their feet, Marinette helping Adrien up since he was still mostly unconscious. He leaned on her heavily, wrapping his blanket around him and bundling up a pillow in his hands so he looked like a sleepy toddler.

"Where am I going?" he finally asked in a voice thick with sleep, stumbling a little when Marinette gently tugged him.

"You're sleeping on my lounge, my parents will wake you up otherwise," the designer reminded him, unable to help a smile at how disheveled he looked.

"Staairs though," he mumbled, trudging forward despite his complaint without Marinette's assistance. He was starting to wake up and part of his brain was now embarrassed to have been essentially curled up to her and caught by her mother.

"Get some sleep," Sabine chuckled, starting to tidy up the living room as the kids wandered up the stairs and in to Marinette's room.

Adrien slumped down onto the lounge the second he spotted it, scooting forward like a worm until his face was buried in the pillows.

Marinette giggled, absent mindedly patting his hair before heading towards her own bed. The second the pressure of her hand left his head he looked up, pouting even though she couldn't see and watching her work her way up the steps to her bed. From where he was he could watch her climb and stretch, shifting her blankets around to get comfortable.

"My lady?"

She stopped, looking down to where he lay. Through her windows soft wavering light from the street outside filled the room, being broken up and dimmed by falling snow. It was like a dozen tiny shadows flitting across his face as he looked up at her, smiling gently as he blinked the tiredness from his eyes.

"Yes?" she replied, grinning back at him.

"Merry Christmas," he murmured again, settling into the cushion of the lounge and looking around him at her room. "And... thanks again, for letting me be here."

He watched the snow fall outside for a moment more before her silence urged him to look at her again. Her expression was... soft, and gentle as she smiled, looking away at nothing in particular.

"Well... it's where you're meant to be kitty cat," she said in a light tone, trying to play it off like it was nothing at all.

"By your side?" he offered with a very Cat Noir tone, the smirk obvious in his voice. "Yes I think so too."

He chuckled at his words but felt something like a firework exploding in his heart when he saw her giggle and look down at him with a smile before turning towards her sheets. "Merry Christmas Adrien," was all she offered, no sort of denial or roll of the eyes, just Merry Christmas.

"M-merry..." he whispered to himself, his heart racing a little unevenly as he watched her climb into bed. He had basically just said they were meant to be together and she hadn't said no. She didn't say yes but she didn't say no and she didn't roll her eyes either or even scoff she just very strategically said nothing about it which means it was something she was thinking about right? Like maybe she's been considering it too, and just didn't know what to say so she didn't say no when he said it but maybe he should say it again just to be sure? But he couldn't if he pushed it to far she would leave and then she'd never be with him and he really couldn't deal with that now that he knew who she was, well he couldn't deal with it before but now he really couldn't deal with it because Ladybug was perfect but the more he watched Marinette talk and joke and play and move and dance the more he knew they were the same person but more complete now that he knew it. She hugged him and made him feel welcome and offered him a family and told him he belonged there and- he stopped.

He was going to drive himself nuts, he was already nearly having a heart attack in her room in the middle of the night if he had a crisis of the heart right then on top of it he would probably scream. The crisis was there wasn't one, there was absolutely no reason he shouldn't admit to himself that he utterly lo- stop. Stop, stop not now it's way too soon she's your friend first and foremost and you do this right now.

He watched the shadows above her bed and he could see that she was still awake, probably on her phone judging by the light. Wasn't she tired? She had seemed pretty awake, and now there was no way he was going to be sleeping. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his own phone, trying desperately to push his affections from his mind. It didn't matter that she was completely perfect, she hadn't shown interest in Cat Noir so- well. He stopped again in the thought, thinking of the whole picture. Marinette had sort of shown interest in Adrien.

Ugh. Stop, it doesn't matter right now.

He opened her contact, taking some time to admire the selfie they had taken in the snow before typing out a message.

'A- Not going to sleep?'

He sent it and waited, smirking to himself as he watched the light above her bed waver and flash. Then he heard her chuckle.

After a moment his phone vibrated and he read her reply.

'M- I got a little woken up, and you? I'm assuming no since you're texting me from ten feet away.'

He laughed quietly to himself before discarding the blanket surrounding him and getting to his feet without a sound. He left his phone behind, choosing to pad silently up to her steps without it. He managed to make it all the way to the top before she spotted him, yelping in surprise and dropping her phone on her face.

He was still crouched in place on the top step but he had to grab the guardrail to keep from falling over with laughter, glad for the grip once she threw a pillow roughly at his face.

"You scared me!"

"I was only ten feet away," he reminded her with a smirk, "you're just unobservant."

She huffed sitting up and scowling at hi for a second before saying, "Well we are both awake now, want to try and sleep or do something else?"

"Hmm," Adrien deliberated. Now that he had thoroughly woken himself up with his wandering thoughts of love and- he cut it off. He had a good idea.

"Tikki and Plagg have been cooped up all day, care to check the city? It should wear us out enough to get some sleep eventually."

Before Marinette could respond a tiny black blur zipped into view, his glowing eyes wide as he latched on to Adrien's face.

"Please YES yes let's leave I can't take all this pink anymore and Tikki keeps trying to get me to eat her stupid cookies!"

"Cookies aren't STUPID," another small voice retaliated, Tikki flying into view. "You would like it if you just tried!"

"No I won't do it!" Plagg shouted, zipping towards Adrien's ring and knocking the metal with his fist like he was begging to be let in.

Adrien watched him for a little with an amused smirk before saying to Marinette, "Well I guess I'm going out for a run either way, care to join me?"

She giggled into her hand, leveling him with a very Ladybug gaze that made his skin feel hot before saying, "Yeah that sounds fun, bundle up though it's freezing outside."

He grinned at her, his teeth so white they caught what little light there was. "Lucky for me I've got a very nice coat to wear that should do the trick."

"And I have a beanie that will do nicely," she snickered, watching as Adrien leapt from the raised platform her bed rested on and dashed to his bag. He transformed in a bright flash of green light that swelled and filled the room before there stood Cat Noir, grinning at her as he slipped on his coat. "Looks good even with the cat ears," Marinette chuckled, following him down to the lower level.

"Everything looks good with the cat ears because I look good with the cat ears," he replied, watching a little in awe as she transformed as well. Something about watching Ladybug slip on a coat and his gifts to Marinette made him jumpy, bouncing his weight as he pulled his coat close to him. He jumped in surprise when she walked over and threw his scarf around his neck, tying it tight before saying, "Let's go kitty."

"Y-yes mam," he stuttered, and to his delight she just laughed. Focus, he reminded himself, trying to peel his mind away from obsessing over her laugh and her smile and just... everything. Focus.

-

He was trying to pick. What was his greatest moment, when was he at his happiest? He had a few scattered memories of times with his mother, his joy at being allowed to go to public school, when he first became Cat Noir. Now however, as time went on, more and more of his candidates for happiest memory had the same girl in it. It had her, in one form another it all had her.

Was it when he first met Ladybug? No, probably not. As fantastic and amazing as that had been it wasn't all of her, so much was still confusing and obscure. Was it finding out who she really was? Maybe, but it was also such a terrifying moment that it was hard to say for sure. He slowly realized it was in smaller moments, small meaningful moments. When she reached out and put a gentle hand on his knee as he cried over his father's betrayal. She wasn't whole then but she had started to be, started to seem more complete to him the more he got to know her. When she leaned into him as they played Windwaker for the first time, or when she chased him away from her snacks with a laugh. When she looked down at him when she tackled him to the sidewalk with eyes that showed so much emotion and honesty and care and respect and- he hesitated to say love but there was that too. Not quite the love he sought after, but still love. Love for a partner, love for a friend, joy that he had come. Maybe it was when she met him outside of his house, bringing light to such a dark and cold place, making him feel warm. On the topic of warmth maybe it was even farther back, when she had first given him the jacket or shown him how much she considered him. Maybe it was when she bought his bell or maybe it was just when she laughed. Every time she laughed or smiled, those were candidates as well.

Or maybe it had been the AM hours of Christmas morning, where he chased her over rooftops and sang her silly songs until she started to throw snowballs at him. Maybe it was when she swung and leapt to his side, talking about the beauty of Paris in winter like it could even somehow compare to her. Maybe it was when she called him Adrien, even when he had the mask. Maybe it was when he called her Marinette, maybe it was when he called her 'lady'. Maybe Princess.

Or maybe it was this.

He shook his head to draw himself from his speculation, responding too late to a question Marinette had asked. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

She giggled, her santa hat still sat on her head as she stood in the bakery's kitchen. "I had asked if you were listening but I guess that answers that," she laughed, rolling her eyes and settling her weight on one hip that somehow still carried all the sass of a superhero just without the spots.

"No I'm listening I just got distracted, what were you saying I promise I'll pay attention now." He smiled at her in a pleading way, clasping his hands together and bouncing in place until she giggled and covered her face with one hand.

"You're so silly," she said a little breathlessly, peeking from between her fingers to see him grinning ridiculously wide as he smashed his own Santa hat over his head.

"No I'm as serious as they come let's make these cookies I am so ready."

He stood with his legs spread, hands on his hips and proudly displaying his borrowed apron from Tom that said, "Kiss the Baker" on it, one he had picked deliberately with a waggle of his eyebrow.

"Oh my god," she muttered, a laugh bubbling out as she turned back to the recipe. "Okay these are just simple cookies, the same ones I took you on the roof. Let's get everything we'll need."

"On it!" Adrien declared, snatching the list from her hands and charging into the store room with her hot on his heels, the two of them laughing and racing to get the right ingredients.

Yeah, maybe it was this.

It was so unreal, how happy he could be when she was there. It was the perfect storm, everything to make someone smile all thrown into one place until he felt like he would burst. It was Christmas Day spent in the home of people who genuinely cared for him and liked him. He could act silly and sing and make jokes to his heart's content without anyone making him feel bad or childish, sure Lady teased him but he never once felt foolish no matter how much of a fool of himself he made. He had a funny hat, everything smelt delicious he was wearing his new favorite sweater underneath his new favorite apron and she was there. She danced in place while she thought sometimes, her face furrowed adorably as she examined the recipe. When she looked for things she would twirl on the ball of her foot, her own mood so infectiously bright it was like a vicious circle. The happier she was the happier he was, and the happier he was the happier she was. They built off each other until they both felt incredibly warm, sometimes catching each other's eye as they rooted around and laughing at nothing at all. He was already fairly set on dubbing 'making cookies with Marinette' as his happiest moment yet when they made to walk back into the kitchen and stopped dead in their tracks, eyes glued to the small bundled plant hanging from the doorframe.

"Oh my god that was so my dad," Marinette blurted out loud, mostly on impulse. Her voice was high and breathy, her entire body felt like it was burning. How could her father do this to her she knew it was him, hung in just a way so they would only notice it as they were heading back. It was so awkward but there it was, mistletoe, and they were both staring right at it.

"I-I'm s-sorry don't even- just ignore that he's ridiculous I-" she was stumbling over her words and starting to panic, and for Adrien (who was in much the same state) he was confused. Was she flustered because she didn't want to kiss him or because she assumed he didn't want to kiss her? Because if it was the latter hell no.

"W-well tis the season huh my lady?"

Marinette looked up so quickly the bauble of her Santa hat flung around her face thumping audibly against the back of her neck. She looked up into Adrien's face as he blushed, rubbing at his neck but trying for a charming smirk anyways. He looked silly in a Santa hat and cat sweater with that "Kiss the Baker" apron that was way too accurate right now, but he still looked incredibly handsome. Leave it to Adrien Agreste to pull off that look, and so well that it made her brain panic. However it was the blush she noticed most, smirking at her to disguise something else, ready to play off a rejection if it came to that.

He was hoping for it.

Of course he was this was still Cat Noir, but... it was also still Adrien. Adrien was nervous, hot in the face and unable to totally look her in the eye, choosing instead to examine the plant above them, but Cat Noir was still flirtatious enough to crack a joke about it. Brave enough to hope.

He was being respectful, had been ever since he arrived. He made a few jokes but he was mostly just her friend, overjoyed at her family's hospitality. He had told her of his feelings for Ladybug in the past, she knew that he harbored somewhat of a crush for her but she had thought that maybe... it had... changed? Maybe not faded but changed, like hers had. Her crush on Adrien was not gone not by a long shot, but it had changed. She was realizing now that maybe it just changed to include... all of him.

Because how adorable did Cat Noir look, his foot thumping anxiously against the store room floor. He might not have the mask and ears, but he was there, there in the flash of his cheeky smile.