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The little cat was napping on his back, lying on the couch with no care in the world, as per usual. Then, the door to Adrien’s room opened and shut, and the ever-recognizable scent of Camembert wafted in. Woken in an instant, Plagg easily shook away the sleep and floated over to his charge, who was holding a tray filled with the beloved cheese. Adrien offered the tray forward with a small smile. The cat’s eyes widened with delightful surprise and he wasted no time diving into the treat face-first, all the while making giddy little noises.
“Merry Christmas, Plagg,” Adrien chuckled and laid the tray on the sofa table, fondly observing the kwami’s unabashed joy. He often envied the cat’s ability to lose himself to the small pleasures of life, and how he seemed not to carry any weight on his tiny shoulders, very unlike he himself.
It was late, but Adrien was certain he and his father had finished le réveillon much earlier than most. It wasn’t much of an event in the Agreste household anyway, but he was grateful for Gabriel to have put work aside at least once a year, holding onto that one tradition.
“Dwidhe aik d’plesend?” he heard Plagg grumble from his cheese, and for a second thought the kwami was just talking to himself.
“Huh?”
Plagg swallowed a block of cheese audibly, sighing on top. Adrien stuck his tongue out a little in disgust.
“Did he like the present?” the cat repeated then.
“Oh. Uh, yeah. I guess,” the boy shrugged. He couldn’t really tell with his father, which Plagg probably knew too. He was personally sort of proud of the present he chose - an engraved pen, sturdy but comfortable between fingers, and the blue ink flowed out smoothly. With experience he knew practical was best; rest in peace all the “pointless” presents, who disappeared once they had been received with disinterest. The pen, too, hadn’t managed to move his father visually in any way, but he had no reason to throw it away either. Adrien took what he was given.
“He did thank me, though.”
“Good,” Plagg muttered and dived back in to his own Christmas feast. Adrien gagged to himself, and decided to prepare for bed. Christmas was pretty much over for them now, so no point in staying up.
A while later, he emerged from his bathroom with wet, mussy hair and soft pyjamas on. Plagg had passed out on the cheese tray in a comical fashion, with a full stomach and light snores erupting from the creature. The boy couldn’t stop a snort from coming out, and turned the lights off. His phone illuminated half the room, as it buzzed and beeped with notifications. His friends were apparently finishing their dinners, and sending him their holiday greetings. Adrien plopped down on his back on the soft bed, and started scrolling through them and replying in similar fashion.
Phone noises had quieted down, and Adrien lied on his side, not able to fall asleep. His mind was going in circles, with loneliness as the forefront feeling. It was the season to be merry and whatnot, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Plagg awoke in between his catnaps, and thought- well, hoped , Adrien would be in dreamland already. Instead, he called out his name.
“Plagg?”
The kwami wondered for a second whether it’d be better to pretend to be asleep, but eventually grunted in reply anyway.
“Do you think I should try to call mom?”
Plagg sighed audibly. He very much thought that the boy shouldn’t. The cat already knew the drill, knew how it’d end, knew how broken his charge would then be. He shouldn’t ; it’s Christmas, goddamnit. Give the kid a break.
Plagg could tell from Adrien’s whispery voice he knew how it’d go too, but like always , he just couldn’t stop hoping.
“If you want,” the kwami muttered eventually.
As if he had actually been waiting for permission, Adrien rustled the covers and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. Nearly mechanically, he unlocked the screen and pressed the telephone icon, searching for ‘Mom’, and pressed again.
The log spread out underneath the number, filled with various times and dates when he had tried to get a hold of her, all of them decorated with a glaring red arrow. Adrien swallowed the weight in his throat, and tapped the green button before he became discouraged. Hidden behind the couch, Plagg held his breath, and they waited.
“ The number you’ve dialed is not in service, or temporarily disconnected, ” the phone said, just like they both knew it would.
Somehow, it felt worse because of it.
Adrien slowly lowered the device and disconnected the call. He hung his head, and the blonde hair fell over his face. Plagg’s insides got all twisted, and he knew tears were forming.
“Ohh, no you don’t!” he grumbled and flew over to his charge. “Kid. It’s Christmas. She’d want you to be happy, just like all the other kids are during this pointless hoedown.”
“Oh yeah, the holiday cheer is practically palpable in here.”
“Knock it off.” Plagg ordered and smushed Adrien’s cheeks together with his paws to shut him up. “It’ll be okay. She’ll answer one day. Until then… I’m here, right?”
Adrien could only stare in astonishment, listening to Plagg’s very out-of-character words. The kwami rarely said anything that wasn't sarcastic or a complaint about something, much less anything that could actually be described as affectionate. Understandably, it took a moment for Adrien to process, and the tears rolled down his cheeks. The visible sentimentality was too much for Plagg, and he squeezed his face with the tiny paws and urged him to agree. “Right?!”
“...Right,” Adrien eventually gave in, and smiled at the kwami.
“Thought so,” Plagg finished and pressed his small fuzzy form against the boy’s cheek to offer comfort.
Maybe a bit too soon to Adrien’s liking, the cat floated away and clapped his paws together, eager to be done with all the touchy-feely mushiness. “Okay, enough, go to sleep!”
Adrien amended, gave one poignant sniffle and rubbed a sleeve over his eyes, and lied back down. Finally, he checked his phone once more before putting it away.
Overrun by the tugs of his heartstrings, Plagg impulsively grabbed onto the bed cover with his mouth and draped it over Adrien as the one last show of solidarity. Now he'd definitely doubled his affection quota. For the next year at least. Tikki would be proud.
Eager to leave the day behind and go back to sleep, Plagg floated down on the bed, and nestled himself on top of a pillow. Both of them closed their eyes, and all was well again.
Until Adrien's phone went off, lighting up the room, and both boys’ hearts jumped to their throats.
“Shut up!” Plagg yelled at the device. Its buzzing resonated on the bedside table loudly and Adrien hurried to silence it.
Only to do a double-take and rub his eyes a little, thinking he might be hallucinating, because Ladybug was calling him.
He couldn’t get a hold of his phone fast enough, couldn’t accept the call fast enough, and dropped the phone on the pillow right next to Plagg, who yelped in alarm. “You nearly crushed my tail!”
Never minding him, Adrien fumbled to pick his phone up, just in time to hear his Lady’s cheerful voice shouting, “ Merry Christmas, kitty cat! ”
“Meow-ry Christmas to you as well, my Lady!” he replied, not missing a beat, as if the previous 30 second hadn't happened, and was rewarded with Ladybug’s light laughter.
“ Can you come out for a bit? I have something for you. ”
“Wha- oh, yes! I can! Absolutely!” Adrien practically ripped the covers away and leaped out of bed, randomly grabbing a shoe and forcing his foot in. “Five minutes! Less than that! Uh, the usual place?”
“ The usual place ,” Ladybug confirmed. “ See you there, kitty! ”
The call ended just as abruptly as it had begun, and Adrien stared at his phone in awe. A giddy feeling began growing inside his chest and he turned around to search for his kwami, who pretended not to have heard anything.
“Plagg!” he demanded, trying his best to be firm and quiet while a wide and undoubtedly very stupid grin was spreading on his face. “Let's go!”
“Yes, yes, off to another disgustingly romantic rendez-vous, can't wait!” the cat retorted with thick sarcasm. “You’re a mess, kid.”