Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Nino, it's cold outside why are you still wearing your cap?" Alya complained as she sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, her homework long forgotten.

Nino looked up at his girlfriend subconsciously tugging on the bill of the cap. "I like it okay!"

"Wouldn't you rather wear a hat Marinette made fir you?" Adrien asked, a tease in his voice, from the couch still looking at the text book.

Marinette, her legs draped over Adrien's on the other end of the couch, swatted at the blond with her sketchbook. "You need to stop peeking at my projects."

"Wait, you have a new hat for Nino?" Alya asked grinning ear to ear.

“She does,” Adrien said, now obviously using the text book to hide his mirth. Not that it helped.

“I want to see it. Nino, you’ll wear it, right!” Alya went from looking at the two on the couch back to the subject of their discussion.

“Why wouldn’t I wear something my girlfriend made for me?” Nino asked, sounding somewhat offended.

“I could go get it now,” Adrien offered, they could all practically hear the smirk in his voice.

“What? But it’s suppose to be a Christmas gift!” Marinette complained.

“You’re going to let Nino freeze to death before then?” Alya asked, now draping herself over Nino as if to protect him.

“But…” Marinette pouted, then frowned. “You all realize I’m going to have to make another gift now!”

Nino shook his head. “No you don’t babe. I know it’s your gift, and you don’t ever have to make me anything besides.”

“Come on Marinette,” Alya said, as she detached from Nino and kissed her cheek.

“You already made it, you might as well give it to him,” Adrien continued the thought, kissing her other cheek.

“Hmmm, fine, fine, but I need one more kiss before I leave the comfort of the couch!” Marinette finally relented. There was more than just one kiss before she transformed into Ladybug and went back to the bakery for Nino’s gift. She was going to have to be more careful with Adrien’s gift, the sneaky cat!

Chapter Text

“Um, this is really,…” Adrien started looking at the sweater in his hands.

“The thought is very….” Marinette tried to continue looking at the sweater she had in hers.

Alya and Nino looked at their boyfriend and girlfriend with expectant smiles. It was obvious they were very proud of their gifts and the recipients didn’t want anyone disappointed.

“It’s just that…” Adrien glanced over at Marinette helplessly, hoping she could salvage the situation.

“The whole point of a secret identity is to keep it a secret,” she finally said. Someone had to say it after all.

The Chat Noir and Ladybug sweaters were well made and looked super comfy, but it was crossing the line between playfully flirting with their identities and possibly giving the wrong person one too many hints. With a few alterations by Marinette, Nino and Alya were able to wear the sweaters with pride.

Chapter Text

“Okay, let’s see what else the internet has for us,” Alya said leaning over and scrolling through the Ladyblog.

“I thought we were going to watch a movie,” Nino complained with his head resting on Adrien’s shoulder.

“We couldn’t agree, and this is our punishment,” Adrien reminded Nino, kissing him on the nose.

“Punishment?” Alya looked at the boys with mock offense. “Are you saying the Ladyblog is not full of quality content?”

“Aaaaalyaaaaa,” Marinette whined from the opposite side of their girlfriend, getting her to look the other way. “We all love your blog, it’s just some of the users on the forum, are well…”

“Oblivious?”

“Offensive!”

“Overly enthusiastic.”

“Hmmph! Then I guess that means you don’t want to see this amateur video dedicated to our two heroes!” That caught everyones attention and Alya set up the video in triumph as she sat back snuggled between Adrien and Marinette.

The quality of the film in and of its self wasn't horrible but the acting was very stilted. They were going to give it the benefit of the doubt though. Well some of them.

"That guy looks nothing like me," Adrien grumbled and got appropriate agreement from the two on either side of him.

"It would be bad if he did Kitty," Marinette reminded him. "However why is she so busty?"

"Don't like busty girls?" Alya asked raising an eyebrow.

"You know I do," Marinette disagreed as she turned to lean against Alya's own ample boosum. "I'm just saying it's sorta odd for Ladybug to... be... so...." Marinette could not help trailing off.

Not that her datemates noticed. They were all staring at the screen in various forms of shock. Adrien was the first to utter anything. "Oh my g-"

"Turn it off! TURN IT OFF! TURNITOFF," Marinette's growing freakout interrupting anything else Adrien or anyone could have said.

After another moment of shock both Alya and Nino moved. Alya to turn off the offending video before the actions of the now obvious porn got any more graphic, and Nino to move across both Adrien, who looked shocked but at least wasn't having a melt down, and Alya to get to Marinette to put his arms around her and coo soothingly to her.

"Why would, that that that why!!!" Marinette tried to verbalize her wildly fluctuating thoughts. Nino said nothing, just kept holding her and rubbing her back to try to get her to settle back down.

"Are you alright?" Alya asked Adrien after seeing that Nino didn't need any support bringing Marinette down as she finally went to muttering into Nino's shoulder.

"I'm... I'll be fine. That was. I think it was worse because I wasn't expecting it." Adrien shrugged.

After another ten minutes Marinette was finally willing to watch a movie. It was only because Adrien suggested they watch something from the Studio Ghibli. The two super heroes were placed in the middle of the couch and pampered the rest of the evening.

It would be two weeks before Marinette would even look at Ladybug fanart.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean you never saw Santa as a kid?” Father Christmas was just something you grew up with, or so Marinette thought. Then again they all were surprised from time to time with the things that Adrien didn’t do, or did, as a kid. His experience wasn’t like any of theirs, and that was with the individual cultural differences they all had.

Still this wouldn't do. They might have been in the middle of patrol but that didn't stop Marinette from shooting off a text to Nino and Alya to have them find a Santa nearby for the four of them to visit the next day. It was no surprise that Alya sent a text right back telling them where they were going to be going.

"There are a lot of kids here," Adrien observed not the least bit self conscious, if anything he seemed to be delighted. The four of them were in line for pictures with the gentleman dressed up as Santa. Christmas songs were playing and a faint smell of pine was in the air.

Alya was familiar with this Santa, having taken her sisters to this location before. She told them humorous stories of Christmas' past as the line moved up. Once they were at the front of the line, Nino grinned at the assistant dressed as an elf. "This is his first time. We'll just wait over there."

Over there was where the parents usually waited for their kids. Now Adrien felt self conscious. He wasn't a kid anymore. Why did he agree to this? It was too late as he was walking over to the chair, more like throne, that Father Christmas' sat in.

“Greetings young man,” the jolly old fellow said, smiling at Adrien.

“Hi,” Adrien said looking at the man dressed in red. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I think I might be a little too big for your lap.”

The old man chuckled. He really was an old man too. His tanned skinned was weathered with time, though his brown eyes twinkled. Adrien was pretty sure the beard was authentic as well. “Perfectly fine. Lean up against the armrest.”

Adrien did as he was instructed. “This is my first time.”

“So I hear, so I hear my boy. So tell Santa what you want for Christmas,” Santa instructed, his full attention of Adrien. Adrien hadn’t really thought about what he wanted. What he wanted for the longest time was really impossible. “Miracles are possible after all.”

Adrien looked down at his hand, absently fiddling with his ring. “I know that very well,” Adrien said with a grin as he looked up, and then he noticed them out of the corner of his eye. “And you know, I think I already have it.”

Santa was sharp and glanced in the direction Adrien was looking. “Which one?”

The smile on Adrien’s face broadened. “All of them.”

“You are a very lucky young man indeed. How would your feel if they were in the picture with you?” Santa suggested.

On Adrien’s desk there was a new photo. It was in a small decorative frame that read ‘Family’. In the shot there was Adrien on one armrest on Santa’s throne. Behind him stood Nino who had his arms on Adrien’s shoulders. Across from Santa was Alya on the other armrest, she and Adrien were holding hands while their other hand was on one of Marinette’s shoulder, her kneeling in front of Santa.

They would be getting pictures with Santa every year from now on.

Chapter Text

“So you know, Mistletoe is poisonous to cats,” Adrien said as he watched Alya nailing up said plant over the doorway. She looked over at her boyfriend and blinked, then went down on the three step stool to sit down and look at her phone. “You don’t believe me?”

“I’m just looking it up. Were you planning on eating the berries that fell on the floor?” She asked, lifting an eyebrow at the model.

“Well, no!” Adrien said a bit indignant.

“What about you Plagg,” Alya asked the kwami that was napping near by.

Said kwami lifted his head, only giving Alya one open eye. “I’m insulted that you even had to ask.”

“Why’s Plagg insulted?” Marinette asked as she looked into the room, the stool blocking her access into the room. Alya jumped down off the step stool and moved it to the side, but wasn't about to let Marinette in just yet. Marinette lifts an eyebrow at her girlfriend "Alya?"

"You know the tradition," Alya said pointing up at the small green plant.

Marinette looks up then smirks. "Oh!" She then wraps her arms around Alya's neck. "We should honor tradition."

The girls leaned into each other, their lips softly touching for a moment until Marinette pressed more eagerly into Alya.

"Ugh," Plagg's disgusted noise far too soft for either girl to hear.

"Oh come on Plagg, they're cute," Tikki said, having been napping next to her black companion.

"If you say so," Plagg said as the girls parted and Nino tried coming into the room but Alya pointing up at the mistletoe again. "It's just so stupid."

Tikki laughed. "Oh this is about the mistletoe!"

"Of course it is. What did you think this was about? Four thousand years Tikki. It's been four thousand years. I made the joke four thousand years ago and humans are still running with it!" Plagg crossed his arms even as Nino leaned away from Alya with a dazed smile on his face.

"Think of it as one of your better contributions to humanity," Tikki suggested as Adrien brought over a box of decorations to the others.

"Eh, I guess." Plagg shrugged his shoulders then started snickering as Adrien who had chosen to try out the tradition himself with Nino looked up at the hanging plant indignantly. Two berries had just dropped and bouncing off his head before landing on the ground.

Chapter Text

It was another cooking lesson for Adrien, Nino electing himself to be judge, while the girls took turns teaching Adrien various techniques in the kitchen.

"You know it wouldn't hurt you to learn a few things," Alya told him as they watched Marinette and Adrien roll out the dough.

"Eh, I can make ramen and if I lose all three of you I might as well starve anyways," Nino said with a shrug.

"That wasn't very romantic," Alya pointed out. She then shivered unexpectantly.

"I'm not the romantic one in the relationship," Nino still seemed fairly nonchalant about the whole thing. He wasn't even looking at her when he draped an arm around her.

"Mmm, you're warm like a furnace," she muttered happily. "So you get points there.

"Oh good," he said with a grin before kissing the tip of her nose. He then turned his attention to their partners, who were, well, not doing so good. Nino blinked as Adrien asked Marinette the same question twice. She seemed dazed and was having difficulty concentrating.

"Hey, hey Bug?" Adrien put's a hand on her cheek, not really minding that he just covered her face in flour. "Damn it I thought it was just me. Nino," Adrien turned to the two sitting, his arm around their girlfriend now. "What's the thermostat at?"

"The thermostat?" Nino was confused but unwrapped himself from Alya to go down the hall to check. He frowned and tried turning it up, but nothing happened. "Shit. I think the boiler is busted."

"Oh that's not good," Alya said when he returned. "We might want to do something with Marinette though."

"Alya why don't you get her wrapped up in a few blankets and snuggle her before she tries to hibernate on us," Adrien suggested.

"'m not gonna hide-hiberbate," Marinette muttered her retort.

Adrien was already guiding her out of the kitchen. "I'll, uh... do something with this mess in the kitchen."

Alya shook her head as she took the semiconscious Marinette and passed her over to Nino. "You get her warmed up," she turned to Adrien, "you call the maintenance person, and I'll get this finished and in the oven."

Adrien was a little bummed he didn't get to finish his cooking lesson, but at least he got to have a cuddle party until the spare parts for the boiler were obtained and it got fixed.

Chapter Text

"Wow there's a lot of glitter," Nino stated.

"And tinsel," Adrien added.

"Alya, are you sure your parents aren't secretly elves?" Marinette asked as they walked into the apartment.

Alya snickered. "My parents try to claim it's because my sisters are still young, but I have evidence they were this way even before I was born."

"Like Babe, I've seen movies and shit where people's places was decorated like this, but I didn't know you people really did this!" Nino was obviously impressed with the sheer volume of Christmas paraphernalia in the apartment. Despite the activities they'd done together so far, it was obvious Nino was still surpried from time to time.

Granted in this case Adrien and Marinette were as well.

"Well you knew what you were in for when you got involved with me," Alya said with a wink then motioned all of them to follow her. "And now you get to help add to the, um, festivities."

"Making ornaments does sound like fun," Marinette admitted as they followed Alya into her room.

"Yeah, I remember making stuff for Christmas as a kid with Mother, but I never made a tree ornament before," Adrien said as the all settled into their girlfriend's room.

"And we'll be doing this every year," Alya reminded them as she dug into her closet for the supplies they needed. She recalled when she was younger and her parents telling her anyone she dated was welcomed to participate in the tradition, 'be they with you for only one year or fifty, it's a part of your life and history.'

Alya chose not to tell them, as she helped them with their first Christmas ornaments, her parents would be purchasing an ornament for each of them for their own tree. It would be a great surprised