12 Days of Christmas

Day 11: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Summary: Alya goes out on her only free night before Christmas to give Adrien his gift and ends up with more than she bargained for.

.............

With winter came cold, and with cold, came snow; and like frosting came with cookies, so presents came with Christmas.

It was simple as that.

Tonight the snow fell hard and Alya sighed, exhaling softly, watching her breath float into the night air. She wondered what Adrien was doing at this moment; she knew his schedule is and if she remembered correctly, at 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, he had nothing going on, which worked out well for her since she planned to give him his present tonight. It was her only free night the week of Christmas. Better now than never.

She strode down the snowy streets of Paris, past the familiar buildings she'd come to know better than most. Several of them were decorated with simple charm. Lights strung here, a small decoration in the window there, and occasionally, she'd catch the sight of a Christmas tree lit up inside certain homes. The scene filled her heart with joy, warming her spirits from the inside out.

The cold chilled her to the bone, but the mission came first: give Adrien his present and then she could stride her flustered, stuttering self back home and drink herself into a hot cocoa stupor. At least she could say that she braved the freezing cold to deliver her gift to the love of her life.

Oh, if he only knew.

She paused in front of the Agreste Manor once she arrived. Its beauty and grandeur never ceased to amaze her, even amidst the lack of external holiday decor. The intercom button quietly beeped before Nathalie's familiar voice cut through the silence of the night, inquiring as to who was there.

"This is Alya, one of Adrien's classmates. I have something to give to him."

A few more moments of silence filled the boding winter's night before the large brass gates swung open uninvitingly. Alya began to wish she'd just stayed home.

This was really happening.

Nathalie greeted her with a small courteous smile and motioned toward a small chaise lounge to wait, saying she'd go fetch Adrien. Truthfully, Alya would have found no trouble in quickly going up and giving Adrien his present herself, less bother for Nathalie. Nevertheless, Alya obliged and plopped down on the chaise with a small thud.

And waited.

That's when all the second guessing started happening. Would he even like his gift? Did he already have what she made for him? Would the color she chose be something he liked? Is he even into the particular accessory she decided to make for him? Would he even accept her gift in the first place?

Before she knew, Adrien was coming down the stairs, smiling kindly and seemingly oblivious to the internal spaz mode Alya felt herself being drawn into. Adrien stopped in front of her, green eyes bright and smile sweeter than ever. She tucked his present behind her back, standing to greet him.

"Hi, Alya. What brings you here?"

"Hey, Adrien. I, ah, I just wanted to give you this." She brought back out the package she'd wrapped in red and white paper dotted with candy canes and looked away. "It's nothing much. I hope you like it; I made it myself. Merry Christmas."

Adrien glanced down at the package then back at her. "Thank you, Alya." He took the gift in his hands, unwrapping it carefully, yet with intent. Hidden within her gift was a beanie-green and black striped, topped with a black and green poof. Adrien's expression changed from surprised to a gentle, rather fond and softened gaze. For a moment, he seemed lost in thought, but that soon passed and he was grinning up at her again. "Alya, I love it!" He quickly donned the cover and shot her a cheeky smile. "Suits me, don't you think?"

She couldn't help but giggle. All her worry and for what? The happiest response she could ever ask for. "It certainly does! I'm glad you like it."

"I really do. Thank you, Alya."

She smiled up at him, too caught up in his eyes to care about anything else. He really did look adorable in the hat she made him. He took her by surprise by pulling her into a tight hug. She faltered a moment, frozen by the fact that she was, indeed, being embraced by Adrien, and when she finally came back down to earth, she hugged him close, reveling in their closeness and probably the most intimate gesture they would ever share.

Someone clearing their throat brought them out of their little world and they saw Nathalie standing atop the stairs, her lips curled into a sly grin and a slim finger pointing above their heads.

"It's tradition, you two." And with those four words, she strode off, leaving the two teens in a rather large ball of confusion.

They both glanced up and there it was.

Mistletoe.

Why did it have to be mistletoe?

Their eyes met and Alya wanted to run. Run far away and get that hot cocoa she promised herself and forget she even went to Adrien's. She didn't prepare for this! This was mission critical!

Adrien still had his arms around her from their embrace, so she couldn't run. He'd stop her the moment she tried to wiggle herself away because, well, that was just so Adrien. She had zero percent chance of getting out of this.

And it was also just so Adrien to shrug his shoulders with no cares given and gently rest his lips on hers. Because tradition.

His lips were soft and he tasted like cinnamon and smelled like pine. But that was after she stopped her internal screaming. She barely held herself back from pushing him away the moment he caught her lips. She couldn't help it! The boy had swooped in and kissed her point blank. No reservations.

All because of mistletoe. That stupid, hanging sprig of mistletoe.

Had she said she really hated mistletoe?

They both got lost in the kiss for a time-a small slice of ecstasy lasting mere moments before Adrien pulled back, a small sideways smile on his face. "Merry Christmas, Alya."

And then he was gone, leaving her in disbelief as he traipsed away, beanie still on his head, and back up the stairs like their kiss hadn't just happened. She stood there silently and allowed herself a small smile before making her leave. When she returned home, she fell face first into her pillow, releasing a small squeal of delight, quietly wishing the boy the same homage.

Merry Christmas, Adrien.