Two months ago, closer to January than December really, Tom had borrowed Marinette's phone to phone the cat himself. Marinette was still asleep at the time. she only woke up when her mother called for her too. She came stumbling down the ladder still in her pyjamas that didn't quite fit anymore. Tikki was still dozing on her cushion, and Marinette hadn't felt the need to wake her up yet. That was fortunate because she stretched her arms up as she came to the last step, and felt a chilly breeze around her belly. And then a shock of cold like ice against her stomach.
She yelped and leapt forward, suddenly wide awake. It was like someone had pressed an ice cube against her soft, warm belly, and made her throw her arms up in the air in alarm. She spun around, expecting to see her papa, and there was Chat Noir, with that stupid messy mop, and a grin that lit up his eyes. He had a smirk, because his arms with still out, close to her belly, so she could feel the cold radiating from them. She hit him on the arm, which made him laugh. He barely felt it through his suit, so she hit him again.

"What'd you do that for?!" she huffed.

"It's better than any alarm clock," he winked.

Her mother wandered into the kitchen behind them, arms full of washing up, and smiled at them. Chat grinned back so Marinette turned to see her mother.

"Morning Mari," she smiled.

"Morning mama," Marinette waddled forwards so her mother could reach her to kiss her forehead. she leaned back against the side and gestured to Chat. "What's he doing here?"

"Your father invited him," Sabine explained.

"Chinese New Year cookies?" Marinette sighed.

"He thinks he can beat my Cherry Blossom Stained Glass Cookies! With cream cheese thumbs!" Sabine chuckled.

Marinette frowned. "Well that's ridiculous you've been making them since you were three, I think you perfected the method years before you even met him."

"Exactly!" Sabine smiled.

Sabine gave Marinette a pointed look that, even tired as she was, she understood immediately. Nino was too busy with Alya to come visit, Kim was on a diet so avoided the bakery, Max was making sure he was sticking to the diet by joining in, and Adrien was busy preparing for fashion week. Tom was missing having the boys around. A bake off with Chat as a judge gave him a chance to hang out with a boy, even if it was with his wife and daughter, while he was baking.

"Ah, Mari! You're awake! Perfect, now we can get started," Tom beamed.

"What'd you mean now we can get started? Haven't you already started?" Marinette asked.

"We couldn't. This time, we're doing something new," Tom beamed.

"That sounds ominous. Will you need a cool cat to keep things mew-ving?" Chat chuckled.

"No. This time you'll be part of the paw-formance, Chat Noir," Tom beamed.

At the same time, Chat and Marinette both gave them and each other a strange look, and chorused, "What?"

"Today it's a bake off between the grown-ups and the kids. That means me and Sabine against you and Chat Noir," Tom put an arm around Sabine.

Sabine leaned against him and laughed. Marinette glanced over at Chat Noir. Two professional bakers against a girl who learned all she knew from them, and a cat who's only experience with baked goods came from eating them.

"That's not fair," Marinette argued.

"Why? Do you think you'll lose?" Sabine smiled.

"Of course I'll lose! You two are professionals! Chat can't bake!" Marinette insisted.

"Yes I can! I've been learning with your parents all summer! And you've been baking all your life! We can do it," Chat said with determination.

Marinette glared at him, sleepy and argumentative. "Didn't you hear me earlier? Mamas been baking cherry blossom stain glass cookies since she was a toddler. We can't win!"

"Are you scared?"

Marinette froze. She turned, slowly, to stare at her father. He knew what she was like. He remembered the fifteen-hour straight video game battle from a few years ago. Marinette was competitive. Very competitive. It had gotten better since she met Tikki, which was why she could walk away from Kim's ridiculous bets (which was easier now Alix was taking the brunt of the matter) now. Even so, Marinette couldn't walk away from challenges her father set. She never had been able to. Not since she was two years old and he said she couldn't climb on the counter to get the cookie. She proved him wrong then. Marinette grabbed a hairband from the table by her side and reached up to tie her hair into a bun, keeping eye contact the whole time.

"I'm going to get dressed, and then Chat and I are going to beat you at your own game!"

"We are?" Chat said, surprised.

There was a new fire in Marinette's eyes. "Yes we are!"

As she started heading back towards her room, she heard Chat clap and rub his hands together eagerly.

"Grab the eggs, we've gotta crack on!" He beamed.

"Keep the pun train going, I'll be back in a minute," Marinette called over her shoulder.

Chat straightened his back, and stared off dramatically onto the horizon. "My time to shine."

Marinette could hear her parents laughing at chats bad punny attempts at trash talk. He was full of them. Every time there was an akuma he had a pun to match. She smiled to herself. She liked someone who could make her laugh. Once dressed Marinette gently shook Tikki. Tikki uncurled slowly, and yawned so her little pink tongue was revealed. She sat up, smacking her lips, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning Marinette," she yawned.

"Morning bedbug. You can go back to sleep in a minute, but I thought you should know Chat is here, so you might wanna hide," Marinette teased.

"Why is he here?" Tikki yawned.

"Papa wants a bake off. Ladybug and Chat Noir against Sabine and Tom Dupain-Cheng! A bake off for the ages," Marinette chuckled.

Tikki gave a sleepy laugh, and said, "I can't miss that!"

"Come on then, you can sleep in my apron," Marinette smiled.

Tikki felt like a joey in a kangaroo pouch. Safe and warm. She sat low in the apron, keeping out of the way for her own safety, but she watched how they worked together. Marinette dumped an apron around Chat's neck and tied it around his waist with a bow, just like her mother used to do for her when she was young.

"Who's going to do commentary this time?" Chat asked.

"We'll have to commentate ourselves!" Tom beamed.

"Then you're going down one way or another. You two may have experience in baking but Chat Noir here can commentate for France!" Marinette beamed.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence princess, but let's not get too hasty. We've gotta work together on this," Chat said.

"Of course! You and I are the perfect team," she winked.

Chat felt a warmth in his stomach at her confidence. She knew they were perfect together. He smiled to himself.

"Close enough anyway."

Sabine and Tom shared a look. Ladybug and Chat Noir were the perfect team, and the only one here who didn't know that that team was right in front of them, was Chat Noir. Tom chuckled to himself. They were cute together.

"So, went do we start?" Marinette asked.

"Three..." Tom grinned.

"Two..." Sabine agreed.

"One..." Chat couldn't help himself.

"GO!" Marinette shouted.

Marinette darted across the kitchen to switch the oven on to preheat it. Chat Noir dove to the side where the ingredients had been set up by her parents while she was sleeping. Tikki felt the jostle as Marinette dove across the room. It would be more comfortable, she decided, to hide on the shelf, behind the salt and sugar pots.
Tom and Sabine were a lot slower than Marinette and Chat. They were running like they had lightning in their feet. They were also a lot neater too. Sabine greased the baking trays neatly and expertly without incident. Chat split a dollop of oil onto the floor, and had to clean it up and wash his hand, so they were losing valuable time.

"Kitty, you sieve the flour, I'll add the cinnamon," she said.

"Cinnamon? we shouldn't use cinnamon," Chat said.

Marinette shifted through the ingredients on the table until she found the cinnamon. "Stain glass cookies have cinnamon Chat, trust me, I'm an expert."

Marinette leaned over the bowl with the cinnamon in her hand, and Chat Noir gasped. A little too loudly, he cried, "No!"

He split flour over the side as he grabbed her wrist and pushed it away from the bowl. The movement split cinnamon on the split flour, leaving a blast of a warm spicy aroma around them. she stared at him in surprise, and he gave her an apologetic look, quickly letting go of her wrist. his hold had been tight, and now there was a ribbon of red where his hand had been.

"I don't think we should use cinnamon," he said, quietly.

"why not?" she asked, in the same hushed tone.

"Christmas is just gone, everyone is fed up on cinnamon, it's time for a fresh taste for a new year," he said.

She frowned, "Like what?"

"Vanilla."

"Vanilla?!"

"I know it sounds plain, but vanilla and-" Chat glanced over his shoulder. Tom gasped and quickly turned away to pretend he wasn't listening in. Chat Noir lowered his voice again. "and this."

He picked up an orange from the fruit bowl, and pressed it into her hand. Her gaze flicked from the orange, to him, uncertainly.

"This? this limits the colours we should use," she said.

Chat nodded. "It'll be worth it. Trust me."

Marinette didn't look convinced, but Chat Noir was her partner. She couldn't image a time where she couldn't trust him, so she shrugged.

"Pass the vanilla then."

Chat beamed at her. Marinette couldn't help grinning back. He grabbed the vanilla from across the table and handed it to her, while she dug around in the cupboard for the grater. Orange zest and vanilla extract. This was going to limit the colour of boiled sweets they could use, so it'd better be worth it.

"There's not a lot of commentating from your side. Anyone would think you've lost your touch," Tom teased.

"Not at all, we're just making it a little more," Chat glanced at the orange Marinette had collected for added flavour, "Zesty."

Marinette snorted. That was one of his worst puns so far. He beamed at her, proud to have made her laugh. She rolled her eyes at him, but she didn't stop smiling. Marinette dusted flour across the chopping board, and elbowed chat playfully.

"Time to get kneading kitty," Marinette beamed.

"Why me?" Chat asked.

"I've seen you knead at nap time. you're good. get to it," she winked.

Chat wasn't sure if that was something to be offended at or proud of, but he did what she told her too. It turned out that kneading with his gloves on was harder than with his hands. Dough stuck in smaller crevices. Marinette added a little more plain flour, to help him get it off. once it was less sticky, he could knead it easily. Expertly almost. Sabine and Tom used the electric kneading machine that Marinette conveniently forgot about.

"So, what do we do with-"

BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Poor Chat almost leapt out of his suit. He turned to see what Tom and Sabine were up to. Tom had a mallet, Sabine had a rolling pin, and they were both hammering hard on the table. Marinette sniggered.

"We don't need that. we've got something faster," she said. Chat turned to look at her, surprised and curious. The innocence of his expression made her laugh. "You kitty!"

"M-me? What'd you mean?" he stammered.

"Your cataclysm. Use it to break these boiled sweets apart."

she gestured to a pot of yellow, red and orange sweets in a bowl on the table. The limited colours they could use end up being the colours of fire, which made her smile a little. She liked that idea. Stain glass flames. She chuckled as she rolled out the dough. Chat Noir blinked in surprise, and gave her an uneasy look.

"But Princess-"

"You'll transform? I thought of that." Marinette reached into the cake stand that was covered with a pink top to keep the air out. she pulled out a baked tart she made last night and held it out to him. "a camembert tart handmade just for Plagg."

Chat Noir took it with a surprised smile. "You made this? but you didn't know I was doing bake off today, how did you know I'd need to use my cataclysm?"

Marinette gave a bashful shrug. "I didn't. I assumed you'd come visiting later, and you'd take it home with you for Plagg. This is just convenient."

Since Chat had something to feed Plagg now, using his cataclysm wasn't something to worry about. Marinette leaned over his shoulder as he cried out, and made it work. He turned the boiled sweets into little shards, which looked more white than orange. Marinette laughed.

"Fur-tastic work Kitty!"

He grinned, and his ring beeped. Suddenly he felt a need to run. Marinette reached out a hand to stop him. both her hand and his were covered in dough, so they got a little stuck together as she stopped him.

"You've got five minutes," she laughed, "Wait around a couple and help me pick which shape to make them."

Chat felt a ball of anxiety in his chest urging him to run, but Marinette's hand in his soothed him slightly. in his mind Ladybug demanded he hide himself away, but here, he knew deep down that Marinette wouldn't let him risk getting revealed. He eased, and picked a shape with her, and even helped start cutting them out of the dough. he chuckled when she told him to use a knife or a spatula to move them onto a baking tray. When his ring beeped for the last time, Marinette practically chased him out of the kitchen with the rolling pin. He ran out with Sabine and Tom's laughter echoing behind him.
Safely hidden away in the bathroom, Chat became Adrien, and Plagg flew out of his ring, and into his hand. The poor kwami rolled on his back, kicked his legs in the air and groaned painfully, like the hunger hurt.

"Oh, my poor aching belly!" he whined, "I could starve!"

"Oh stop whining!" Adrien tutted, smirking, "Marinette baked you your very own – oh no!"

Adrien had left the tart in the kitchen. well could you blame him? his ring was beeping and Marinette had a rolling pin! But now what could he do? if he left they'd all know who he was, and if he didn't he'd be trapped in a bathroom for the rest of his life, with a whining kwami.
He was stuck.
Back in the kitchen Marinette was busy filling holes in the centre of the biscuits, with the crystals of hard boiled sweets that Chat had broken up for her. she happened to glance to her left. There was the handmade camembert tart. She chuckled to herself, wiped her hand on her apron, and picked it up.

"These are ready to go in the oven, but Chat's forgotten something he needs. Can you put them in the middle shelf please?"

"of course, honey bun, be quick though. our over tray is almost ready to go in too."

"I'll be right back."

The knock at the bathroom door made that bubble of anxiety grow and twist and knot up Adrien's stomach. He stared at the locked door and gulped. Plagg stared at it too, willing whoever it was to have food.

"Y-yeah?" Adrien stammered.

"It's just me," Marinette said.

Her voice eased that knot, so he could breath again. he sighed with relief, and unlocked the door. She closed her eyes and opened it a crack. Just enough to fit her hand though.

"I thought you might want this," she said.

Adrien's heart soar to see the tart. As did Plagg. The whole of Plagg. He leapt to his feet and darted over to the tart, and snatched it up eagerly.

"Marinette you're no princess! You're an angel!" Plagg declared.

Adrien blushed scarlet on Plagg behalf, but Marinette giggled as she withdrew her hand from the door. "It's always a pleasure to talk to you Plagg."

Adrien sighed with relief that she wasn't offended or annoyed at him, like Adrien was. he was not unaware of how much he owed her, and this, this tiny little gesture, was yet another thing to add to the list.

That gratitude weighted his voice as he said, "Thank you Mari."

She gave an airy answer. He could hear the smile in it. "Don't worry about it. Be quick, the biscuits are already in the oven."

Her footsteps wandered away from the door quickly. Adrien turned his head to glare at Plagg. Plagg looked blissfully apathetic as he savoured a mouthful of tart like it was the best thing he'd ever eaten in all the millennia he'd been alive.

"You're a pest," Adrien declared.

"She's amazing. you couldn't do better than her, you should marry her!" Plagg declared back.

"Are you forgetting about Ladybug? My one true love?"

"No."

"Then you know that isn't possible."

Plagg took a bite of the tart that was deliberately so large he couldn't talk for a solid ten seconds. All the while, he glared at Adrien. If only Tikki were here to talk some sense into him.
Marinette grinned at Chat as he came strolling back into the room. He smiled back, still a little embarrassed about Plagg being so blaze and affectionate about her. he was never usually like that. Marinette didn't mention it other than to ask if he enjoyed the tart.

"Like angel food, he said," Chat smiled.

"I think I'll make more of them in the future then, what'd you think?"

"That spoilt kwami gets enough I think, but I think he'd appreciate it."

Marinette smiled. The question had been directed to Tikki, who was now hiding behind the oven timer. Her eyes shone with affection at the idea of Adrien coming in every so often, just to buy treats for Plagg. It wasn't like Marinette didn't come down here to bake treats for her. she knew the amount of love that went into them, and they tasted of it.
While the biscuits were in the oven, baking, they started to tidy up the mess they had all made. That meant piling up most of it in the sink to industrial wash later. Marinette pushed a mop into Chat's hand. He wasn't used to mopping, but since most of the mess on the floor was caused by him, he took the punishment without complaint. He paused to check on the biscuits though the oven door.

"I wonder what kind of biscuits Ladybug likes," Chat said, curiously.

"I'd think she'd like Sabine's sugar bugs," Tom said.

Marinette felt a tug in her chest. The sugar bugs were only on sale because Marinette kept taking them to play school and sharing them with her friends and her friends made a fuss at their parents to go to the bakery, where they begged her parents to make them some for their children. Marinette was good at causing a hype.

"Everyone likes the sugar bugs papa," she said.

"then you say I'm right?" Tom smiled.

"I think she likes macaroons. They're her favourites. Are they biscuits or cakes?" Chat asked.

"they're biscuits," Marinette stated.

"They're Marinette's favourites too. Have been for years," Sabine said, pointedly.

Marinette's ears turned pink as Chat gasped in awe. "really? Isn't that paw-some, you have something in common with ladybug!"

"she has a lot in common with ladybug," Tikki muttered.

"Yeah, Pawsome," Marinette mumbled awkwardly.

Tom tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Pawesome… if I made paw shaped biscuits we could call them pawesome! And Chat could be the face of them!"

"Papa I don't think Chat wants to-"

"yeah that sounds great!"

Once the moment of surprise had passed, Marinette laughed and shook her head. Chat Noir had modelled dresses for her, helped her with her designs, stayed still while she did his hair (for practice not because she liked playing with his hair, and not because he enjoyed having her play with her hair, because that's what actually cats are for and Chat Noir is not a real cat…) and helped her practice chat up lines she was going to use on "Louis". Now he was willing to model for their bakery, for a bit of publicity for some biscuits her father thought up on a whim. Chat Noir was a good person. he was more than that. he was a good friend.

"Papa, can Chat and I go stargazing tonight? To see the meteors?"

"Of course you can honey bun, but you might not see a lot. There's a lot of light pollution in Paris,"

"And Chat might be busy,"

"are you?"

"I-I am…"

"Oh."

"But I'll be finished by about half eight. I can be here for nine,"

"Papa?"

"If I can't trust a hero of Paris with my daughter, who can I trust?"

"Thanks papa!"

When the biscuits came out of the oven, Marinette used the spatula to move them onto a plate, and waited for them to cool. She and Chat mixed up some yellow and white icing, and drew little basic line decorations along the edge of the hole and points of the stars. now their biscuits were golden brown stars, with smaller orange see through boiled sweet stars in the centre, and white and yellow icing for that sparkling effect.

"Can I add these at the point of each star?" Chat asked hopefully.

He was holding a pot of those silver metallic sugar balls. They had fallen out of fashion, so they didn't get used much anymore, but Chat loved them. Marinette chuckled at the childish hope in his eyes and shrugged.

"Sure. and maybe tonight we'll get to see some real stars to outshine these," she said.

Chat nodded, already carefully picking out the balls to add to the tip of each star. "Hopefully."

…

Tikki was shivering. That's how Marinette knew it was freezing. Her kwami, who adored all things cold, was shivering. Despite her usual protests, Tikki allowed Marinette to wriggle her knitted jumper back on over her head.

"I don't want you to get sick," Marinette insisted.

She herself was bundled up in a jumper, a coat, a hat, ear muffs and a scarf. She, like Plagg, didn't much like the cold. It was already dark, and had been for hours. Marinette was waiting on her balcony for Chat to turn up. he still had ten minutes to get there, but Marinette half expected him not to appear at all. Alya did say he was unreliable…
Just as she was beginning to think he wasn't actually coming, and maybe she should just go inside where it was warm, she felt Tikki dive into her pocket. Marinette turned back to look out over the city, for her kitty. She couldn't see him anywhere. Not even a shadow.

"Sorry I'm late."

Marinette shot a foot into the air as Chat spoke from behind her. he'd snuck in over the roof, to land behind her, and make her jump again. she grinned, and hit him again. it hurt even less than before because of all her padding.

"if you keep scaring me like that, I'm going to have to get a bottle of water to spray at you!" she threatened.

His eyes widened. "you wouldn't!"

"wouldn't I?" she challenged.

Chat pressed a hand against his chest in mock offence, "after all I've done for you! I slaved in the kitchen making the perfect hot coco, sweet, just like my princess, and this is how I get repaid?!"

Marinette smirked. she picked up a thermos from the floor, and clinked it against the thermos on his waist, where his staff usually sat. "snap."

Chat glanced at his thermos, at hers, and then at her. a grin broke across his face, and he burst into laughter. she couldn't help joining in. great minds think alike.

"I also brought a bunch of the biscuits we made this morning, in case you were hungry. I don't know what you've been doing all day, but a cat's hunger never seems to be satisfied, so I thought…" Marinette trailed off.

Chat beamed at her, his green eyes shining in the moonlight, "you thought purr-fectly princess. I'm famished!"

To be fair, he was supposed to be on a diet, and he'd spent hours exercising to burn off the biscuits from this morning so his father wouldn't point out the weight he'd put on from last week's weighing. Usually it wouldn't matter too much, and his father would just roll his eyes and make a note of it, but now that fashion week was fast approaching, Adrien had to be the perfect weight to model the latest designs. That was taxing. And he'd been so busy today (his father was making the gorilla go through practicing "evasive driving techniques" so if the paparazzi followed him in the car he would get away without another Lady Di situation, which meant Adrien had to be treated like a rag doll for most of the day for added realism) he didn't get a chance to eat.

"Light pollution is really bad here, like Tom said, so why don't we go on a bit of an adventure?" Chat asked.

Marinette shrugged. "where'd you have in mind?"

It was freezing to swoop through the air, even with her arms wrapped around him tightly, her layers, and the thermoses of hot cocoa and biscuits and a blanket all close to her back, in her backpack, for extra padding. Chat kept going until they got to the edge of the city. He adjusted her grasp so she was clinging to him like a baby monkey clinging to its mother, and he twirled the staff above his head like a helicopter. He landed feet first on the ground, way out in the middle of Vexin Français Natural Regional Park. Chat helped her step down into the grass. The feeling in her legs had gone again, and she had to hold onto his arm to steady herself. Tikki, hidden away in a pocket on her scarf, was feeling just as chilled.

"You ok?" Chat asked.

"Where are we sitting?" Marinette asked, holding onto him still.

"Over here will do," Chat pointed.

Marinette pulled her backpack off, and tugged it open despite her numb fingers, and pulled out the blanket. She threw it down across the floor, so they didn't have to sit on the ground. Chat crossed his legs, Marinette sat beside him.

"Aren't you cold? You don't even have a scarf," she said.

"The only part of me that's cold is my nose," he explained.

Marinette remembered when Alya said that to Nino. He leaned forward and kissed her nose, and her whole face turned red so none of her was cold anymore. Marinette felt her cheeks flush at the idea of kissing Chat. Fortunately she could pass it off as rosy cheeks from being cold.

"Try the hot chocolate," she suggested.

Chat reached into her bag, and pulled his thermos out first. He poured it out into the lid, and the steam shimmered. It was difficult to see. There were no lights except the moon and stars. The cold crisp December air had cleared the night sky here down to the edge of the city, where there was less light anyway, so right now all they had was the sky. The silvery light caught in the steam and made it shine. It warmed his nose easy enough though.

"Mmm, extra sweet. Just like you princess," he smiled.

"You never don't have a pun do you?" She smiled, "That's miraculous."

Chat beamed at her, his tail flicking happily in the breeze. He took another deep sip from the thermos lid, and then held it out to her. Her fingers brushed against his, and she gasped. His hands were freezing and the cup was so hot it took her breath away. In the darkness she heard him chuckle. She smirked.

"Shut up," she mumbled.

Again she heard him laugh. She took a sip of his drink, and wrinkled her nose. It was so hot it practically burned her mouth away, and it was more chocolate than drink. It was so thick it was like drinking custard, but it tasted smooth.

"I made it myself. What'd you think?" He asked.

"You've got the hot and chocolate parts down," she said.

Chat had laid down to stare up at the sky. He put his hands behind his head and smiled at her.

"It's bad then?" He asked.

She wrinkled her nose. "It's thick... I don't think I hate it..."

"That's reassuring!" He laughed.

She ended up laughing too. His laugh was too infectious, too purely joyful to resist. She held the cup a little lower so Tikki could have a sip. She had a real sweet tooth and this was too much for even her. Marinette chuckled. She drank the last of the cup, and put it back on the top of the thermos before lying down next to him.

"What time do the meteors get here?" Chat asked curiously.

"About half ten. It's ten now," she said.

"So about any minute then."

"Yeah."

Both of them gazed up at the sky as if they thought the meteors would come flying past just because they said they were due.

"Shall we play snap?" Chat asked suddenly.

Marinette rolled her head to look at him. "In this light?"

"Oh, I forgot how dark it was for you," he said.

"For me- oh, right, night vision. Lucky you," she rolled her head back up to the sky.

"Makes a change," he muttered.

"What'd you mean?"

"Nothing."

"Kitten?"

He winced, and then he gave a small, soft chuckle. "You know I can't fight you when you call me that."

She chuckled, "I know a lot of things about you kitty."

"More than most. More than Betty anyway."

"I was meaning to ask you something about her, but it can wait. Tell me what you mean about being unlucky," she said.

Chat Noir sighed, "I'm a black cat princess. We're not known for being lucky."

"That's funny, whenever you're around I feel like the luckiest person alive," she said.

"Now who's sappy?" He grinned.

"I'm just trying to butter you up so I can get in close and steal your warmth," she smirked.

He laughed. "Sly devil. Come here then."

Marinette wriggled closer against him, so her head was against his chest, and he lowered one arm to pull her in closer. It was warmer here, but she had to put up with her head rising and falling with his breath.

"Can't you stop that?" She said.

"Breathing? Not easily," he chuckled.

"Shame," she said sarcastically.

"Don't make me put you back out into the cold!" He warned.

"No-o-o!"

She reached her arm around his middle to pull him closer. He laughed affectionately, and laid his other arm on hers as it wrapped around him.

"Does that make you feel safe? Clinging to a wild cat in the middle of the darkness?" He teased.

He heard her laugh into his shoulder, so her voice was muffled. "You're such a dork."

"So are you. We can be dorky together," he smiled.

She rolled to face the sky again and gave a content sigh. It was cold here, but it was warm with him by her side. She couldn't help wondering if he could keep her warm in the Atlantic, on a door of a ship that had just sunk. On the door, obviously. She wouldn't make him sit in the water.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

She blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"You've got this funny serious look on your face. What are you thinking about?" He smiled.

"It's not important."

"Purrincess."

She bowed her head, slightly ashamed, and muttered, "Titanic."

Chat groaned and kicked his legs in the air. "Not again!"

"Both of them could have fit on that door ok?! He didn't have to die! She didn't even have to be on the boat, it's entirely her fault!" She insisted.

"I know! You've told me a dozen times!" He laughed.

"Blame Nino, he's pointed it out a billion times," she laughed.

Both of them ended up giggling under the stars about how ridiculous that movie was. They were still laughing when a shot of silver passed in front of their eyes. Marinette gasped in awe and sat up.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?" Chat asked. Another meteor swished past high above them, and Chat's eyes widened in wonder. "I saw that!"

The meteors picked up speed and repeatedly flew past, like a million shooting stars rushing past them. Tikki had seen this a thousand times before, and even now she gazed up in awe. It was something amazing to behold.

"Wow... it's beautiful..." Marinette breathed

Chat's gaze edged down from the sky to her. He smiled softly. "Yeah. It is."

She turned her head and her gaze met his. She felt her chest tighten. Then he waggled his eyebrows suggestively, grinning, and she laughed so hard that she ended up flat out on her back beside him again. The meteors ran out minutes after they appeared. For a moment, they laid in silence, in the darkness, and then...
BOOM!
Chat Noir leapt upright, throwing Marinette up beside him. He spiked up, his hair standing on end, eyes wide, clearly terrified and ready to fight.

"What's that?!" He demanded.

BOOM!
A firework burst above them, filling the sky with red sparkles that fizzed out almost immediately, only to be replaced by another in green, then blue, then gold.

"Fireworks," Marinette said, gleefully.

"Y-yeah... fireworks," Chat agreed nervously.

Marinette blinked at him in surprise, and grinned. "Is the big brave hero afraid of fireworks?"

"No..."

She sniggered. Course he wasn't. He wasn't afraid of anything! Marinette reached behind them, and tugged at the corners of the blanket, to wrap around him.

"I said I'm not afraid!" He repeated, even though he was shaking.

"I know. I'm cold!" She argued, and pulled the other corner around herself.

Chat didn't buy it for a second, but he didn't say that. Instead he reached for the hot chocolate and biscuits again, so they could eat and drink in the warmth while they huddled together in this blanket, watching the fireworks. Chat stopped shaking as much now Marinette was practically pressed against him. He wasn't so cold either. Tikki had seen fireworks a billion times recently, and they still impressed her. Humanity took something as deadly and destructive as gunpower, and added colours, and made it beautiful.
The relentless regeneration of humanity made her smile. Nothing couldn't be made beautiful, no matter how lethal.
Marinette leaned against Chat Noir again, and yawned heavily. The fireworks were fewer and further between now, but they still made her eyes sparkle with rainbows. Even as the time her eyes were open between blinks got lesser and lesser.

"Are you tired?" Chat asked gently.

Marinette hummed, her eyes still shut, "It's late."

"Shall we go home?" He asked, gently.

There was a pause. Marinette didn't want this to end yet, but she was exhausted and struggling to fight the sandman's grip.

"There's school in the morning," Chat added.

Marinette groaned. She'd be a zombie in school the next day, she just knew it. These days she was spending with Chat got later and later each week. Like they couldn't bear to part. Chat began to tidy away the now empty thermoses and box the biscuits came in. He peeled the blanket off of her shoulders and helped her to her feet. She folded it up, between rubbing her eyes, which made him smile. She was adorable. When she pulled her backpack back on, Chat laid an arm around her waist.

"Let me carry you," he said.

She didn't fight him. He leaned down, and lifted her up onto his back into a piggyback. She grunted at the movement, but settled with her head in the crook of his shoulder, against his neck. Her hair tangled against his.

"You know I can walk right?"

Her voice was low but clear, and against his ear her breath was warm despite the January chill.

"It's more fun like this."

If by fun you meant terrifying, yes it was. He carried her home and had to peel her off. She broke a nail from clinging onto him so tightly. He helped her into her room and helped peel her layers back down to one, before kissing her hand and thanking her for a nice night. She smiled and curtseyed sleepily. He grinned, and left the way he came in.
Tikki opened her mouth to say something as they climbed onto the bed, but the moment Marinette hit the mattress, she was gone.
But that was so very long ago now...
-
Tikki glanced over at Marinette. She was conscious, but she wasn't awake. Tikki's antennae sank back against her back.

She wished for December back too.