Three Months Later
Christmas Eve
"Nino, I swear to God! Give me that!" Alya shrieks, practically jumping on top of Nino to steal back the remote he's protecting with his body.
"Never! I'm not watching freaking Rudolph!" He argues sitting down on the couch, sticking the remote under his butt and crossing his arms defiantly.
"I agree, Rudolph sounds like an awful idea." Chloe pipes up, sitting next to Luka on the large couch that wraps around like a big U shape.
Never would I have thought I'd see the day where she hung out with all of us willingly. Yet, time and time again, here she is. Slowly becoming the kind of friend that I wished we could have been all along.
We've got a plethora of snacks and drinks spread out on the massive coffee table, and a huge flat screen TV with a list of classic Christmas movies to watch.
"It's my favourite!" Alya whines, still trying to get under Nino's butt to steal the remote back.
"Shouldn't Adrien get to pick?" Rose pipes up, beaming over at us. "I'm happy with anything! Rudolph is a great choice, but Adrien should be the one to pick."
"I agree!" I say, trying to pull Alya back into a sitting position.
"Fine." She grumbles, glaring over at Adrien. "You win this time, blondie." I smile at my boyfriend, who looks happier than ever amongst his friends.
"I'm fine with-"
"No!" We all yell, bursting out laughing immediately. Adrien doubles over, holding his gut as he laughs with such passion that I'm certain he's going to crumble to the ground.
"Okay! Okay! Kagami, what do you want to watch?" He asks, turning to our wide eyed friend snuggled up to Felix. The two of them have become increasingly close, having started to date after Felix made it clear he's going to be here for awhile.
I've never seen Felix so soft and gentle with anyone before. Somehow, Kagami has turned Felix into someone actually likeable. It's a miracle.
If not for Kagami, I'm sure Felix and I would still be on the rough end of things. Though he did pull through, and has done a great job to help take care of Adrien, I still wasn't convinced he was a nice person.
That is, until Kagami turned the boy into a love struck mess. It took just mere days to make Felix follow her around like a lost puppy. I honestly was really impressed. More so, I like that Felix has brought Kagami so much comfort and has made her feel so loved. She's a wonderful friend who deserves all the good there is in this world.
"I'm fine with whatever." Kagami says coolly, making me smile. She's so closed off, but I know it's just how she is. I like that she doesn't feel the need to try to be something that she's not. Her demeanour is often reserved, coming off as cold and harsh to anyone else. But I know her, and I know that she's happy to be here with us.
"Mylene? Do you want to chose?" Adrien turns to Mylene, who is tucked nicely under her boyfriend Ivan's arm. She looks slightly panicked as she glances up at Ivan, shrugging her shoulders loosely.
"I don't really know." Mylene smiles apologetically, making Ivan grin and poke her nose. He speaks up to offer a movie, "how about Elf?"
"I love that one!" Rose pipes up, Juleka nodding her head with her arm draped around Rose's shoulders. The two are happily resting back on the couch, their comfort in expressing their relationship publicly growing exponentially in the last few months.
"Elf?" Adrien cocks his eyebrow at Alya, waiting for her approval. She sighs dramatically, flopping back against the couch cushion.
"Fine." She drawls out, crossing her arms in the most Alya-way ever. I reach over to ruffle her hair, making her break character with a laugh.
"Luka? Chloe? Elf good with you?" Adrien, ever the diplomat, makes sure to get confirmation from everyone.
"Sounds good to me." Luka smiles, and I swear I see Chloe inch a little closer to him. "Fine by me, Adrien!" She beams over at my boyfriend, but her gaze isn't filled with longing anymore.
Adrien.
She didn't call him Adrikinz.
Maybe Chloe really has moved on from Adrien, and judging by the way she sits so close to Luka, I would make a very fair guess that she's caught feelings for my talented friend.
What's more surprising, is how Luka can hardly take his eyes off her. At every chance he gets, I see him taking long glances down at her when she's not paying attention. He's totally whipped for Chloe too!
It's actually really cute. They make a beautiful couple, albeit a surprising match but adorable nonetheless.
"Elf it is!" Adrien calls out, grabbing the remote from Nino who removes it from under his butt. As he turns around to put the movie on, I look over at all my friends. In a hilarious turn of events, this coincidentally turned into a sixfold date.
Adrien turns the lights off, rushing back to join me on the couch. I turn to lean my back on him a bit, while Alya cuddles into me.
"Hey! Why not me?!" Nino argues, making Alya flip him off.
"It's your fault we're not watching Rudolph." She shoots back, though I know her well enough to know she's just being playful.
"I'll snuggle your ass then." Nino grins, making me groan.
"Don't you dare, Nino." I fire back, protectively wrapping my arm around Alya's shoulder as she nuzzles into my side.
"No, no. He may." Alya grins up at me cheekily as Nino leans against Alya's butt. I roll my eyes at the two of them, always being such a nuisance.
The movie begins, and Adrien snakes his hand around my torso to hold me closer to him as the four of us rest in this surprisingly comfy dog pile. It makes me happy to see all my friends together, despite having taken back their Miraculous' a while back to return to Master Fu. I worried that my friends would hate me, because I'd personally hate anything that forced me to part with Tikki.
Master Fu was kind enough to allow Adrien and I to keep our Miraculous for the time being. I'm sure there will come a day where we will have to part with them. But for now, I'm choosing not to worry about that day.
I snuggle into Adrien's embrace as I hold Alya in my arms. This is the best night of my life.
—————
When the movie is over, we're all too busy chatting with each other to bother picking another one. The plan was to have a Christmas movie marathon, but it seems like we're one and done.
"Adrien." The familiar voice speaks up, quiet and reserved. "Would you like anything else ordered to the house for you and your friends?"
"No, Nathalie. We're okay, but thank you." Adrien smiles up at her as she approaches the couch, her lips slightly curving upwards in a soft smile.
"Are you still planning on visiting your father tomorrow?" She asks, eyeing the others nervously. Adrien nods his head, a frown replacing his previously bright grin.
"Yeah, I promised you I would, so I will."
Nathalie nods her head, turning to leave the room. My eyes are drawn to the ankle monitor clasped on her, a little light flashing on the side. Adrien looks back at me, his lips pressed in a thin line.
Since the trial concluded last month, Nathalie has been able to come home. She's on two years of house arrest, which was the best we could get for her. Adrien even took the stand in her defence, because ultimately none of us blame her for falling victim to Gabriel's manipulation.
If the roles were reversed, and Adrien needed me to do the same for him, I think I would do it. Love alters reality after all, sometimes you can't tell that the person you care about has evil intentions. When all you want is to make them happy, it's understandable why someone like Nathalie was an easy target.
Gabriel, on the other hand, was not nearly as lucky as Nathalie was. He's received 8 years of prison time, with the chance of parol after 5 years if he's a well behaved inmate.
Adrien has promised Nathalie to go visit him tomorrow on her behalf, to make sure he's doing okay. This is their first Christmas without him, and Nathalie isn't allowed to leave to check in on him.
I don't think Adrien cares to do so at all, but Nathalie has been quite heart broken. He thinks this will make her feel better.
"Are you okay?" I ask, squeezing his hand. Thankfully, the room is filled with life again as everyone continues to chat amongst themselves.
"Yeah. I mean, I don't want to go. But I don't have the heart to tell her no." Adrien shrugs it off, shifting in his spot on the couch so that he can lean on me. I hold him tightly in my arms, rubbing my fingers through his soft blond locks.
"I'll go with you."
"Marinette, it's Christmas, you should spend tomorrow with your family."
"I will, don't worry. I'll spend Christmas morning with my parents and come over to see you after, then we can go." I smile down at him, but his expression looks sad as his eyes don't quite meet my own. As if he's lost in thought.
"Or," I begin again, touching his face to draw his attention back to me, "you can spend Christmas morning with us, come back here to see Nathalie and your family, and then we'll go see your dad after that."
"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude on your family."
"They've already said it's okay for you to join us. Plus, you're my family now too. I didn't lie when I said I'm going to be here for however long you want me." I touch my forehead against his, inhaling his sweet scent.
"Then I guess you're going to be around forever." He grins, connecting our lips for a very brief yet intoxicating kiss. I smile at my lover, my heart feeling more full than ever before.
"I guess so."
—————
The rest of the night went really well, we ended up playing games instead of continuing our movie marathon.
It was the most fun we've had in a long while, I can't remember the last time that we all laughed so much.
"This is our last Christmas all together. I'm glad we got to spend it like this!" Rose pipes up, holding Juleka's hand as they go around to give everyone a goodbye hug.
"I'm glad, too." Adrien smiles, but that crushing weight that sinks into my chest whenever I think of graduation hits me at full speed. I was able to enjoy the night so far without thinking about that, but once Rose reminded me, I can't help but think how she's right.
After graduation, everything changes. Again.
How much more life-altering changes can one person handle? It's no wonderI'm floundering, feeling as if I'm just barely floating with my head above water.
"Wherever we end up in life, our families are here in Paris. That means we'll always come home. And when we do, we'll get together each time. This isn't our last Christmas together." Adrien smiles, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. That familiar action bringing me down from the ever rising panic tugging away at me. This boy has a wicked sixth sense when it comes to me, as if he can read all my thoughts.
"I promise. No matter where I go, I'll come back to you all." Adrien says, looking at all of our friends.
"I promise too." Juleka says first, surprising us all. She's so quiet most times. To see her be the first one to speak up is extremely heart warming. A chorus of 'I promise too' rings out, everyone agreeing one after another.
"And so I do. I promise." I confirm, feeling hope for the first time in a long while that even though things will change, our friendship never will. Even if we drift apart, we will always have Christmas to get back in touch.
One after another, all our friends say their goodbyes and leave, giving us big hugs before they go.
"Let's get you home, Princess."
"And you too, come home with me. Stay the night." I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively, making him smirk in response.
"Christmas morning came early!" He beams jokingly, calling out to let Nathalie know we're leaving.
"Be safe, you too." She smiles, giving Adrien and I a soft pat on the shoulder. She's become a lot more gentle since everything happened, I think it was quite the eye opener for her.
Though I doubt she'll ever stop loving Gabriel, I know she understands now that she deserves better. Someone who won't manipulate her to get what they want.
I trust that once Nathalie is back out there, she'll find the love she deserves.
"We will. Plagg, claws out." Adrien transforms into Chat Noir, making my heart flutter. Something about seeing him in his hero suit makes my brain blank for a solid few moments.
It's just too hot.
Being able to see such a clear shot of his muscles that dwarf mine, his abs and the way they shift with each movement. It's like a drug, luring me in for more.
I shake my head, mentally slapping myself. I'm practically drooling over here, yet the smirk on Chat Noir's face proves he really doesn't mind.
"Shall we?" He offers his hand, and I swat it away.
"Tikki, spots on!" Transforming into Ladybug, I watch his eyes travel up and down my body, desire filling his pupils. "First one to the balcony wins."
"Wins what?" His husky tone distracts me for a moment, but I should have known better. Before I have the chance to answer, he takes off.
"Hey!" I yell, chasing after him.
As fast as he is, I know he doesn't stand a chance winning a race against me. So as we practically fly through the city, I overtake him quickly.
The cold air on my skin makes me feel alive. I adore the way the snow falls slowly, like each individual snowflake is in no hurry to land and become one with others. They're independent, all so uniquely beautiful. But when they cover everything in a blanket of snow, it's even more mesmerizing.
The smile plastered on my face never falters for the rest of the night.