When the Phoenix Falls (Adrien Agreste)

Chapter 13: A Christmas Special

Colette's brow was furrowed in concentration as she tried to hold the pieces of wrapping paper in place. She had to admit that if there was one thing she was truly rubbish at, it was wrapping presents. There was just something about trying to hold down every single flap of paper and simultaneously tearing off the right length of tape to stick them together than got her into a state of utter confusion. In theory, she was great - she could perfectly calculate the amount of wrapping paper necessary and work out the angles the paper would need to be bent at in order for it to perfectly encase a gift, but she just couldn't do it in practice.

In previous years, it had always been something she enlisted Marinette's help for but her sister had vanished out of the bakery doors with their mother early that morning with the claim that there was something they needed to collect and she hadn't seen either of them since. Colette would have asked her father for help, but she knew that he was plenty busy enough trying to make sure that everyone made it out of the bakery doors with what they had asked for when they first came in, alongside at least one cup of hot chocolate with tiny little marshmallows, and a complementary candy-cane.

Letting out a sigh, Colette stood back as she finally managed to get the piece of Sellotape onto the edge of the paper. She looked at it proudly for a moment, trying to ignore the way the corners were scrunched up as though they wanted to make her lift difficult, or how the tape had become so ragged over the five minutes she had spent battling with the paper that it was now barely hanging onto the paper.

Turning around to pick up her next present, Colette almost dropped it on the floor when she turned back around to see the wrapping paper falling away from the gift and back onto the desk as it gave up once and for all. Letting out a huff of frustration, Colette returned the pile of books she had been holding to the large wooden chest behind her and moved back over to the present on the desk.

"Wow, you really suck at this." Colette frowned at Vohon's words, wondering for a moment why she couldn't have Marinette's Kwami - who by all accounts was one of the sweetest creatures ever.

"Thanks, Vee." She grumbled, rolling the crumpled paper into a ball and tossing it across the room so it fell into the paper recycling basket on the other side of her room. It fell onto the other balls of wrapping paper and then bounced out of the basket with a thud, making Colette give a groan of frustration. She threw her hands up in the air in frustration, striding across the room and picking up the piece of paper, placing it back into the basket and doing her best to squash down the rest of the paper in the bin so it wouldn't fall out again, before she moved back over to her desk.

Sitting down in the spinny chair and running a hand through the loose strands of hair which were beginning to collect around her face, Colette wondered what she was supposed to try next. Picking up her phone, she started to scroll through her contacts list, determined to find someone who could assist her with the issue.

Finally pausing over a name, Colette hesitated for a moment before hitting the 'call' button. She held the phone up to her ear, waiting in silence as the dialling tone sounded throughout the room. Finally hearing the tiny click which indicated the line connecting, she smiled.

Adrien had not been expecting the call from Colette. It was Christmas Eve, after all, and he had thought she would be doing stuff with her family. Apparently that was not the case, as the dark haired girl had explained when he first picked up his phone to answer her call.

Before his phone had started to ring, he had just been lying on his bed throwing a ball of rubber bands up into the air, catching it repeatedly with his eyes lazily blinking shut and a bored expression resting on his face. There was nothing to indicate that the day was more important than any other and he had barely seen his father. In fact, he had only caught a glimpse of the man as he disappeared into his study early that morning when Adrien had been heading down to breakfast. Nathalie had informed him that the man was going to be very busy that day and that he had been up early to ensure he got everything done.