Ladybug's fake identity

Chapter 10: Gifts

"Merry Christmas!" six teens chanted as they pulled out the gifts they had prepared for each other.

Marinette would have preferred to celebrate Christmas with only Nino, Alya and Adrien, but the two latters had heavily insisted on inviting Lila and Lyssa as well and, despite her burning hatred towards the liars, she had been forced to accept. It was with them or not at all.

Luckily, they had decided to meet in a café next to the school instead of in her house. At least she didn't have to let them see the inside of her home, a place where they didn't have any influence. Still, she had had to find gifts for them as well. Choosing had been a difficult choice. She could have offered them a bag of trash for all she cared, but she couldn't do that in front of Adrien. Despite his choice, she still wanted to stay friends with him. It was something that she refused to lose.

The first gift Alya opened was Marinette's. Her eyes widened as they laid on the fabric and she pulled it carefully out of the wrapping paper with a gasp. It was handmade overalls that imitated the outfit of Lady Wifi – with a much better fashion sense, of course. The wifi logo was still placed in the middle of her chest, but from it flew gentle dark silvery lines like irregular waves to create small motives and slowly fade away when going down to the legs' part, making the fabric seem like it was glistening in the light.

"Did you do that all by hand?" Nino couldn't believe his eyes.

Adrien was speechless. He had already seen the gifts that he and Nino would receive since she used him, or rather Chat Noir, as a model, but she had kept this work hidden. And, even though she had explained in detail what she would do, he never imagined that it would be this beautiful. Honestly, he found that the villain's outfits were a blasphemy to the mode. Hawkmoth's fashion sense was terribly lacking, but Marinette had still archived the feat of making something out of it. And not just something, but something stunning.

Lila and Lyssa stared at the overalls with visible jealousy. Had they been a certain blonde with anger issues, they would have immediately started to plan ripping it apart and blame someone else under the excuse that it was too beautiful to fit someone like Alya. Or just called it a worthless piece of trash, just because it was crafted by Marinette's hands and belonged to the reporter that often stole her place as Ladybug's greatest fan. But they couldn't do that, not because it would have been out of character and mainly just a stupid thing to do, but because that would mean lying to themselves.

And, despite refusing to do so, they had to admit that there was something that they couldn't take from Marinette: her talent. Besides, the designer was smart. Even if they tried to steal one or two of her designs, she would always find a way to prove that it was hers. She wouldn't have survived Chloe's constant jealousy if it wasn't the case.

"Thank you, Marinette." Alya whispered and delicately brought the cloth closer to her with mesmerized eyes to admire every stitching.

Her friend smiled. Making the overalls had been difficult, but fun. She thought of them as one of her best creations. Watching the reporter's reaction, she wondered how the two boys would react to their gifts and slid the packages over the table towards them.

After seeing Alya's gift, they eagerly opened theirs, discovering a Bubbler-themed hoodie and a purple butterfly-themed jacket. Since Adrien hadn't been akumatized, she had added Hawkmoth to the villain's clothes collection for him.

"A Hawkmoth jacket? Adrien, is there something you're hiding from me?" Lyssa joked.

"Maybe I'll tell you the truth if you give me your miraculous." he grinned, holding out his hand like he was expecting her to take her earrings off to hand them over.