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Sabine Cheng shuddered as an ice cold gust of wind swept through her hair and seeped through the warmth of her jacket.
It was a white Christmas Eve as a heavy blanket of snow had fallen over Paris; however the Dupain-Cheng family knew better than to assume this would stop the Parisians from showing up en mass for their legendary peppermints and yule log. They had been up since 7am that morning working on the baked gifts, leaving Sabine with the final job of clearing out the fallen snow from the front of the shop.
Despite the heavy snow and freezing temperatures though, nothing could temper the warmth in her chest as the Christmas lights twinkled and the smell of the bakery drifted through the air.
As she finished shovelling the last of the snow, Sabine glanced through the window and smiled as she saw her family; dancing to the radio as they boxed various cakes and pastries for their family and friends. Her husband had smeared flour around his mouth and her daughter was reaching to put a red and white santa hat on his head.
She chuckled at her family's antics, and turned to place the shovel away, ready to join them, when her eyes landed on something in the distance.
There was a black figure curled in on themselves, sat next to a pile of debris in the street. Sabine squinted her eyes trying to make out the figure through the still falling snow, and gasped when she noticed the unmistakable outline of cat ears.
She instinctively felt fear in her stomach and scanned the environment for danger. It had become a reflex to look out for supervillains whenever either of Paris’ resident heroes was around. Her confusion grew however when she saw no danger or destruction, and the cat remained shivering on the ground.
Seeing the slight shaking of his shoulders spurred Sabine to make her way towards the boy. He stiffened as she got closer, superhero senses no doubt, and slowly turned.
“Mrs Cheng!” Chat Noir sniffed and quickly brought a hand up to wipe his eyes, “I’m sorry, this can't be good for your business. Me crying on the ground, I’ll move now…”
He began to stand when a hand landed on his shoulder, the hand applied a gentle pressure, pushing him back to the ground. Sabine then sat down next to him. She shuddered as the snow seeped through her clothes, no wonder the cat was shaking like a leaf.
“Call me Sabine, my dear.” she smiled sweetly at him, “Now, young man. Are you going to tell me why you’re out here alone in the freezing cold?”
Chat Noir turned to look at the ground again, wrapping his arms tighter around himself and frowning. Sabine’s hand still on his shoulder gave a gentle squeeze as she waited patiently for him to speak.
“I don’t have anyone to spend Christmas Eve with. My mom isn’t here anymore and my dad…” he glanced to Sabine, worried he might be saying too much, “well let’s just say I don’t see him very often.”
“So you thought you would sit outside and get hypothermia instead?”
Chat blushed sheepishly as Sabine scolded him. A warmth blossomed in his chest; he hadn’t had a motherly scolding in a while.
“You’re not even wearing a jacket!” She continued.
“I’m a superhero, I don't need a-”
He stopped when he felt something warm drape over his shoulders, looking down he saw it was Sabine’s jacket. The instant warmth left Chat barely holding back a purr of relief and he couldn’t help but pull it tighter around himself.
“But… won’t you be cold?” He asked in a quiet voice as his eyes glanced over her bare arms.
“Yes, so you’d best come inside with me before I freeze to death out here.” She smiled, looking at him expectantly.
Chat’s eyebrows drew together in confusion, “y-you want me to come inside?”
Sabine nodded, “I can’t let you spend Christmas Eve alone now can I? Come inside and warm up, have something to eat.”
She stood before Chat had a chance to protest, and held out a hand. He blinked up at her in surprise, then took it tentatively, and suddenly felt like he was 7 years old again, holding his mothers hand. Suddenly he wasn’t one of Paris’ great protectors or celebrities, he wasn’t the charming Chat Noir. He was Adrien Agreste who really missed his mom.
He felt tears well in his eyes again as Sabine pulled him from the ground and lead him inside. The bakery was covered in warm lights and decorations, unlike his own home which remained barren and cold. The smell of cakes and pies and treats surrounded him in a warmth he didn’t think he would get to feel this Christmas.
“You know my daughter, Marinette. Don’t you?” Sabine interrupted his thoughts as they approached the door.
“Yeah… I- uh… I’ve met her a few times.”
She smiled at him before entering the shop. Chat followed nervously behind her, feeling as if he were imposing on the small family and their Christmas Eve celebrations. The shop was warm and smelt delicious. The instant growl of his stomach was a painful reminder that he had skipped dinner when he found out his father wouldn’t be joining him.
Suddenly in the corner of his eye he noticed the familiar red and black polka dot pattern that always causes butterflies to erupt in his stomach. Stood by the door of the shop was cardboard cutouts of him and ladybug - Chat couldn't help but chuckle.
He took a step closer to get a better look, focusing on Ladybug’s eyes. They weren't quite right. Sure they were her usual blue eyes, but the cardboard just didn't capture the truly beautiful bluebell colour they were.
He suddenly found himself wishing he were looking into the real Ladybug’s eyes at that moment. He thought of spending Christmas Eve with her, hopping from building to building together, sitting atop the tallest tower and watching the lights twinkle below them, eating pastries and exchanging gifts when the clock struck midnight…
“Tom, Marinette! We have a guest who will be joining us this evening.”
Chat turned and saw the look of confusion on both Mr Dupain and Marinette’s faces. Despite this though, they still graced him with a smile.
“Tom, please set up an extra place at the table. Marinette, maybe you could take Chat Noir upstairs and find him something warm?” Sabine instructed.
Marinette nodded, “Of course, come on up!”
Chat began to follow her, when he stopped and turned back to Marinette’s parents, “Thank you so much Mrs Che- ah… Sabine. You too Mr Dupain, for allowing me into your home.”
He then quickly turned back and followed Marinette up the stairs.
Much like the bakery, the entire house was covered in Christmas decorations. Everywhere you looked there were reds and greens and fairy lights and tinsel. It was small compared to his own home, but that gave it a much more homey feel.
“Something tells me we’re not the same size, but I’m sure I can find something to warm you up.” Marinette called behind her as she climbed into her room and headed to the wardrobe.
“Oh, you really don't need to. I’m wearing a supersuit, I'm fine.” Chat replied, glancing around the room.
The first thing he noticed was an abundance of photos of himself… well, of Adrien. Various cut outs from magazines and newspapers were tacked to her wall. Even her computer screen saver was a photo from his most recent shoot. He filed that information away to ask her about later on.
“Those suits are great for protecting against supervillains but not so much against freezing temperatures.” She suddenly froze, and appeared flustered, “I mean, that's what I read on the Ladyblog anyway. Besides, you’re still shivering.”
One look at his hands confirmed to Chat that he was in fact, still shaking quite a bit.
“Here!” Marinette pulled a very big, and very ugly Christmas jumper. The horrendously bright red and green colours fought over which one would give you more of a headache, the crocheted elves had funny noses and wonky mouths and tiny little bows decorated the cuffs.
Chat loved it.
“I know it's not the most stylish thing I own, but it will keep you warm.”
She threw it across the room to Chat who caught it and slipped it on over his catsuit. He could only imagine how ridiculous he looked at that moment, and the sweet ringing of Marinette’s laughter only confirmed what he was thinking. He laughed with her as she turned her full length mirror so he could take a look at himself; yep, definitely an ugly Christmas jumper.
“You have a pretty laugh, I don’t get to hear it often.” He slipped out without thinking as her full bodied laughter continued.
He thought of all the times he approached Marinette as Adrien. She always seemed to stiffen and close up whenever he spoke to her. Initially he was worried it was because she secretly doesn’t like him, but after time he just figured that Marinette was shy and he just wasn’t as close with her as she was with Alya or Nino. Right now though she seemed to have no problem opening up with him.
“Well we’ve only met a few times and it’s usually when I’m in some sort of peril, not really the appropriate moments to laugh, don’t you think?”
Oh, right.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry I just meant… um…” Chat sighed and smiled, “Nevermind.”
Marinette’s cheeks had coloured a slight pink hue and she looked down. They stood in a somewhat awkward silence for a minute when Marinette spoke up, “Your laugh is pretty too.”
Chat felt his face heat until he was sure his mirrored Marinette’s rosy cheeks too. Their moment was broken when Sabine’s voice echoed up the stairs, announcing dinner was ready.
----------------------------------------------
Chat had tried to leave once dinner was over, feeling as if he had overstayed his welcome already; but Marinette insisted he stay a little longer. He didn’t know why but his stomach fluttered when she had insisted they sit on her balcony and wait for the midnight bell signifying the start of Christmas day. He had eventually agreed and Marinette dragged him upstairs and made him carry what can only be described as a mountain of blankets on to the rooftop balcony.
It was still snowing and it had only gotten colder as the night progressed, but the heap of blankets round his shoulders and hot chocolate Marinette had made and the same ugly jumper kept him warm enough.
The buzzing energy of the streets had died down, giving Chat the feeling that him and Marinette were the only two people in the world. It was a feeling he often felt when he and Ladybug were soaring from building to building, so high that nothing else mattered but his Lady and the feeling of the wind in his hair.
“Chat Noir?” Marinette’s voice rung through the comfortable silence.
Chat turned to her, spotting her already staring at him, “yeah?”
She opened her mouth, before seeming to reconsider and closing it again. She averted her eyes and looked back out to the view of the city. Chat was about to ask if everything was okay, when she spoke up.
“I’m sorry you're not with your family right now. I don't know what goes on when you're at home and the suit comes off, but I know that if everything were okay, you wouldn't be here tonight.”
Chat blinked in surprise, his mouth hung open, not knowing what to say. He didn't know if he was angry that she was making assumptions about him, thrilled that she understood or sad because what she said was true. He felt tears form in his eyes nonetheless.
Truth was, he had the best time spending the evening with the Dupain-Cheng’s. He had eaten delicious food, laughed and joked and felt immediately accepted by them. But it just wasn't his family. What he wanted was his mum, and a dad that wasn't isolating himself instead of spending Christmas with his son. And he couldn't have it.
Of course he couldn't tell Marinette any of this, but she had this sad look on her face, like she knew.
“You deserve to be so happy Chat, more than anyone. I’m sorry.”
A lump formed in Chat’s throat. He knew that realistically, Marinette was talking to someone she'd only met maybe 2 or 3 times, since she didn't know he was Adrien, but it felt so personal he couldn't help the warmth that spread from his chest. Sure, when he was Chat he got lots of admiration and gratitude; he did help save Paris almost every week, but this didn't feel like that. She sounded so genuine and… sad.
“Marinette I…”
She finally looked up again, and Chat looked deeply into her eyes. Bluebell eyes.
Suddenly a loud bell sounded throughout the city.
Marinette smiled and slowly held out a hand, “Merry Christmas, Chat.”
Chat reached out and took her hand, “Merry Christmas Marinette.”