Who Needs You?

Episode 00

Santa Claws: A Miraculous Christmas

"Don't you just love the snow?" Marinette asks, catching snowflakes with her gloved hands. "Don't you just love Christmas?"

She's walking alongside her best friend, Alya, who's holding onto the hand of the little girl they're babysitting, Manon. They're all on their way to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, kicking piles of snow on the way and humming along to Christmas carols.

"I love Christmas!" Manon exclaims, a spring in each step she takes. "The presents are the best part!"

"They sure are," Alya laughs. "Whether it's giving or receiving. Marinette especially loves giving."

"I just like to remind people that I care for them a lot," Marinette says before pointing at the two plushies popping out of Manon's backpack. "That's why I made you those Ladybug and Chat Noir plushies," she then points to Alya's ears, "and why I made Alya those earrings."

"Thank you again!" Manon exclaims. "I love my stuffies!"

"And I love my earrings," Alya grins.

The three girls soon find themselves in front of the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, and Marinette holds the door open for Alya and Manon. The bakery is decorated with red and green streamers, and two life-sized cardboard cut-outs of Ladybug and Chat Noir stand near the entrance. A Tips box is placed in the Chat Noir cut-out's hands, and Santa Claus hats are neatly placed on both heroes' heads.

"Merry Christmas!" Tom and Sabine exclaim.

"Mom and Dad, I'll help you in the bakery, so that I can pass Christmas logs to my friends," Marinette says cheerfully. Sabine passes her daughter the traditional Christmas dessert, who's on her way to give it to Alya. However, clumsy as always, the log slips out of her hands, ready to be splattered all over the floor, but Alya catches it at the last second.

"That was a close one," Alya laughs. "Merry Christmas, you three!"

"Merry Christmas to you and your family," Marinette says, waving goodbye as her best friend exits the bakery.

"Careful not to drop any logs, Marinette," Tom teases, making Marinette grin sheepishly.

The bakery doors open once again to reveal Alix and her father, who drops a few coins into the Tips box.

"Alix!" Marinette exclaims, grabbing a log from the counter to hand it to her pink-haired friend. "Merry Christmas!"

"You too, Marinette," Alix says, giving her a hug. Marinette quickly reaches over the counter to give her friend a little Christmas gift, who thanks her excitedly for it.

"Happy Holidays!" Alix's father exclaims before leaving with his daughter.

Not too long after, Rose and Juleka walk into the bakery together. After giving her two close friends warm hugs, Marinette hands them a log each, as well as a little Christmas gift as usual. Nadja enters the bakery a little later to pick her daughter up, and after being handed her own log, she thanks the Dupain-Cheng's for the lovely Christmas dessert. After Nadja comes Nino, who excitedly thanks Marinette for the log and the gift she prepared for him as well. Sabrina comes in a few minutes later, and after her comes—

"Chloe…" Marinette mutters under her breath, nearly crushing the package in her hands.

She continues to make a face at the blonde, who scoffs, "Do you want a photo?"

"Marinette, it's Christmas!" Sabine says from the counter.

Marinette presents the log to Chloe, mumbling, "Merry Christmas, Chloe."

"Could you repeat that?" Chloe smirks, holding a hand to her ear. "I couldn't hear you."

"Merry Christmas Chloe!" Marinette screams, clutching the log in her hands even tighter.

"Much better," Chloe smirks victoriously. "Now, give me my log."

"Chloe, that's not you should be treating people. It's Christmas," Andre Bourgeois says, making his daughter grumble incoherently.

"Merry Christmas, Marinette!" Chloe screams, swiping the dessert out of her enemy's hands. "But I still hate your guts, don't you forget."

"How could I?" Marinette says flatly.

Soon after Chloe and her father leaves, Adrien's bodyguard walks into the bakery. He drops a handful of coins into the little Tips box and walks over to the counter to pick up a Christmas log.

"Merry Christmas, Adrien's bodyguard!" Marinette exclaims, handing him the dessert. She then reaches over the counter to grab Adrien's gift, but her face falls when she realizes it isn't there. "Um, hold on one second. I have something for Adrien."

Marinette hurries up to her room, digging through all her things to try to look for her rival's gift.

"Where's the gift? I swear I just had it," Marinette says aloud.

Her kwami, Tikki, flies out of her purse and flies over to her desk. "It's right here, Marinette!" the little ladybug exclaims.

"Oh! Thanks, Tikki," Marinette says, patting her head.

While Marinette is making her way down the steps, Tikki floats near her head, saying, "I'm really surprised you made something for Adrien."

"It doesn't mean anything," Marinette huffs.

"Are you sure?" Tikki giggles. "Earlier, you told Alya and Manon you gave people gifts to remind them that you care for them."

When Marinette stays silent, Tikki giggles even louder.

Back in the bakery, Marinette is surprised to see that Adrien's bodyguard left already. She quickly rushes outside and follows him to his car.

"Excuse me, if you don't mind…" she begins once catching his attention. Marinette hands him a gift, which is neatly wrapped in lavender and white polka-dotted paper, and it's being held together with a golden yellow ribbon. "This is for Adrien."

Gorilla takes the gift with a nod.

"Please let him know I wish him a Merry Christmas, even if we do fight a lot," Marinette says, muttering that last part.

With another silent nod, Gorilla enters the car and drives off.

"You think he'll like it?" Marinette asks Tikki, who pokes her head out of her purse.

"I think he will," Tikki smiles.

At the Agreste mansion, Adrien and Nathalie are decorating the Christmas tree with streamers and ornaments of all shapes, sizes, and colors.

"Do you think he'll like the decorations, Nathalie?" Adrien asks hopefully. He frowns when Nathalie remains silent—that's never a good sign.

Gorilla enters the mansion, shrugging off his winter coat and stomping his boots on the carpet to shake off the snow.

"Gorilla's back. Father should be down here already so that we can all be together," Adrien says melancholically. "Did you call him?"

"Perhaps we should give him… a few more minutes," Nathalie hesitates. Adrien knows her hesitation means his father isn't going to be joining them at all.

"He's not coming, is he?" Adrien asks sadly. "Merry Christmas, both of you."

Adrien hangs his head low, making his way over to the stairs to lock himself in his room. Before he can take one step up the stairs, Gorilla places a hand on his shoulder, causing hi to stop in his tracks.

"What is it?" Adrien asks, the frown on his face never leaving.

Gorilla reaches into his pocket and hands him the gift the girl at the bakery asked him to deliver. Adrien, believing it's just a gift his father ordered them to buy for him, takes it without giving it as much as a glance and shoves it into his pocket. He hurries up the stairs, failing to hear the sad sigh that escapes Nathalie's lips, and the angry grunt Gorilla makes before heading over to the dining area to set the Christmas log on the table.

Upon entering his room, Adrien closes the door and immediately plops onto his bed. He eyes the Chat Noir plushie sitting by his pillows and smiles as it immediately reminds him of Marinette. She gave it to him when he decided to pay her a visit after they defeated The Puppeteer together, and it's been a special item to him ever since.

"Since your dad isn't coming anytime soon, why don't we pay Marinette another quick visit?" Adrien's kwami, Plagg, says as he pokes his head out from behind the Chat Noir plushie.

"I can't do that, Plagg," Adrien frowns.

"Why not?" the little black cat asks.

"Because it's Christmas. She's undoubtedly spending time with her family, just like everyone else," Adrien says, sitting upright to curl into a ball. "I should've expected this. My father's never going to change; he'll always only think of himself. I just want this terrible day to be over with."

"Adrien…" Plagg frowns.

"I hate Christmas," Adrien mutters. He gets up from his bed and walks over to his window to watch the snow dance in the air. "I need to get out of here."

"I know what you're thinking," Plagg sighs, and flies over to his user.

"Plagg," Adrien says. "Transform me."

After transforming into Chat Noir, the blond leaps out of his window and into the night. He hops from roof to roof, hoping to find something to distract him from the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. Instead, he finds himself watching families eat dinner together, children opening gifts by their Christmas tree, and couples watching Christmas movies by the fireplace.

"Only I'm alone tonight," Chat Noir says, feeling the anger inside gradually swelling up.

When Chat Noir reaches the heart of the city, he takes notice of the huge, decorated Christmas tree. He jumps off the rooftop he's standing on, landing just meters away from the joyful Christmas symbol. He glares daggers at it, and starts sprinting towards it, his mind clouded with nothing but hatred.

"CATACLYSM!" he screams as black, destructive bubbles appear on his right hand.

Just as he's about to touch it, however, his mother's face appears in his mind. He freezes, his hand just inches away from touching the Christmas tree.

"M-mom?" Chat Noir chokes.

Realization of what he's about to do hits him in a second, and he hurriedly looks around for something to use his Cataclysm on. He instantly eyes a large post with a Gabriel Agreste advertisement on it, and he loses no time. The post collapses at his touch, and Chat Noir walks away shamefully at the realization of what he almost did.

Chat Noir drops to his knees pathetically, letting his transformation go.

"Let's go, Plagg. This was such a stupid idea," Adrien says with a sigh. When his kwami appears, he isn't floating like he usually is, but instead lying on the cold ground. That's enough to make Adrien panic and hurriedly pick him up with his hands. "Plagg?!"

"I'm sorry, Adrien," Plagg says. "I really wish I could help you transform back to get home, but I'm so cold… and hungry, too."

"Oh no, what have I done?! I'll get you something to eat right away," Adrien says, digging a hand into his inner breast pocket. He blanches upon realizing that he forgot to stock up on Camembert cheese. "I must have something to help keep you warm."

He then starts looking through his pants' pockets for something to keep his kwami warm, hands landing on the gift Gorilla gave him earlier. He immediately rips it open, gasping to find a red Santa Claus hat with snowflake designs scattered all over the red fabric.

"This is perfect!" Adrien says, picking his kwami up to stuff him in the hat.

"So… warm…" Plagg says, burying himself even deeper in the hat. "Thanks, Adrien."

Adrien picks up the wrapping paper to throw it into the nearby trash bin, when he catches sight of a little card attached to the golden yellow ribbon.

"Merry Christmas, Adrien. I'll lay off the name-calling for today. Signed, Marinette," Adrien reads. A smile makes his way to his face, and he rips the card off the ribbon to keep.

"You look happy," Plagg teases.

"You know what, Plagg?" Adrien says, walking off to find someplace warm for him and his kwami. "I'm not so angry anymore. I was at first because I thought I was spending it alone, but I have you."

Plagg smiles. "Merry Christmas, Adrien," he says.

"Merry Christmas, Plagg."

While walking away, Marinette's card falls out of his pocket, but Adrien doesn't notice at all. All that's on his mind right now is looking for a place to stay; a place that he can call home for the night.

Marinette takes a bite of her mother's homemade dinner, sighing in delight at the explosion of flavor. "Your food is as good as always, Mom," Marinette compliments, stuffing her face with more food.

"Thank you, Dear," Sabine says, pouring more food into her hungry husband's plate.

Marinette's phone suddenly rings, and her eyebrow raises at the sight of the Unknown Caller title above the mystery number. "Hello?" she answers.

"Hello, my name is Nathalie Sancoeur, Gabriel Agreste's assistant," the woman on the other line says. "Is Adrien with you?"

"Adrien?" Marinette asks, making her parents look up. "He isn't with me, I'm sorry."

"Would you happen to have an idea of where he could be?" she asks, and although her voice monotonous, Marinette can tell she's worried. "He left and hasn't come home."

"No, I… I'm sorry, I have no idea where he could be. But I'll help look for him," Marinette says.

"Thank you," is all the woman says before hanging up.

"Adrien's missing," Marinette says after putting her phone away.

"Where could he be?" Sabine asks. She thinks of how horrified she would be if her daughter disappeared on such a happy holiday, and her heart drops for the poor boy's family. She gives her husband a knowing look, who nods and puts the presents in his hands back in their places under the tree.

"Let's take a look around the neighborhood, just in case," Tom says, getting up. "The presents can wait. Do you want to join us, Marinette?"

"I'll stay here," Marinette says. "In the case he passes by the bakery, I'll be here waiting for him."

"Good idea," Tom says, rushing over to the coatrack to shrug on his winter coat.

"Go on ahead, I'm just going to quickly contact my other classmates to see if he's with any of them," Marinette says, rushing into her room. She shuts the trapdoor behind her, and she opens her purse to let Tikki out.

"Adrien's gone?" Tikki asks.

"That idiot, where could he be?" Marinette asks aloud, a twinge of worry in her voice. "As annoying as he can be, we need to go find him. TIKKI, TRANSFORM ME!"

"Don't worry, Plagg, I'll find you something to eat," Adrien says, holding the hat close. "I can't promise it'll be Camembert, though."

"It's all right, Adrien. You should look for someplace warm though, I can see you shivering," Plagg says. "Or you should at least go buy a sweater."

"I'm fine," Adrien says. "All that matters is that you're warm and fed."

Plagg frowns worriedly at his user's stubbornness, but he pushes it no further.

"Ho, ho, ho!"

Adrien and Plagg look up to see an old man dressed in red and white talking to two little children. A sleigh being pulled with horses instead of reindeers stand behind him, and it's filled with colorful presents of different shapes and sizes.

"No need to fight, children," the man says, handing the little girl a snow globe and the little boy a book. "Good ol' Santa Claus has a gift for everyone."

"These gifts are so lame," the girl says, dropping the snow globe on the ground.

"No!" Santa Claus exclaims as he tried to catch it. He fails to, however, and only watches sadly as the glass shatters, making the liquid leak all over the ground.

On his way to picking it up, the little girl continues, "And I bet your beard is fake!" She proceeds to pull on his long, white beard, and Adrien's face contorts in anger at the sight.

"Ow! Please, easy on the beard, it's not fake at all," the old man says.

The little boy throws the book over his shoulder and proceeds to throw snowballs at him. "No way are you the real Santa Claus," he says, throwing a snowball hard enough to knock the hat off of Santa Claus' head.

The little girl joins him, and she throws a snowball so hard it knocks the poor man off his feet. Having has enough of this, Adrien runs over to Santa Claus to help him get back on his feet. However, he arrives just as the little girl throws a fresh snowball, and it hits him right on the chest. Both the little boy and girl gasp loudly.

"I'm sorry!" she automatically exclaims.

"You should be saying sorry to him," Adrien scolds. "Even if he's not the real one, what would Santa think of your behavior? If you ask me, Santa has every right to give you coal instead of presents."

The two kids look down guiltily.

"The young man's right," a man passing by with his wife says. "Kids, say sorry right now."

"Sorry, Santa Claus," they say in unison.

"It's all right, children," Santa Claus says with a tired smile.

"Now, where are you parents?" the woman asks as the kids start walking towards an open shop.

"Are you all right?" Adrien asks, shrugging snow off of the old man's Santa Claus hat. Once done, he hands it back to him, who thanks him kindly.

"Don't worry, I'm a tough old Santa," he laughs. "But what are you doing outside at this time? Are you lost?"

"I'm not lost…" Adrien answers.

"You aren't exactly dressed for the cold weather either," the man says, kindly placing a hot blanket on the blond. "Would you like some hot chocolate? I still have some left, and I have mini marshmallows, too."

"I would love some, Sir," Adrien answers.

"What are you doing with that hat in your hands instead of on your head?" Santa Claus chortles, making Adrien laugh nervously.

Plagg winks at him and flies out of the hat to hide in the huge pompom at the tip of the hat. Adrien puts the hat on, and says, "My arms were really cold, so I thought holding it would help warm me up a little."

"You're an odd one, aren't you?" the old man laughs. "Is there anything else you would like? Something to eat?"

"Would you happen to have a slice of Camembert cheese?" Adrien asks, making Plagg light up.

"You're in luck! I have a few slices in my sandwich," Santa Claus says, handing him a slice. When the man turns away, Adrien immediately gives the cheese to his kwami, who gobbles it up in three seconds flat. "Would you like to have half of my sandwich to eat? I doubt that little bit of cheese will fill you up."

"I'm all right, Sir, thank you. I'm just a bit thirsty, is all," Adrien says.

"I'll get that hot chocolate ready in no time, then," he grins, gesturing for Adrien to sit in the sleigh with him. "Extra mashmallows?"

"Please," Adrien smiles.

Santa Claus pours hot chocolate into two cups of different sizes. He gives Adrien the bigger one, who graciously thanks him before taking a sip.

"Delicious!" the blond exclaims, taking another sip.

"So, what has you feeling so down on such a cheery holiday?" the old man asks.

"It's my first Christmas without my mom, Sir," Adrien frowns. "And my father…"

"Doesn't know how to move on? I understand. But your father must be wondering where you are, you know. He must be very worried about you."

"My father doesn't care about me…"

"Of course he does. Even if he doesn't show it, he loves you very much," Santa Claus says, putting his cup of hot chocolate away. "Now that you've gotten out of the house and cleared your thoughts, don't you think it's a good idea to go home?"

"You're right," Adrien says, giving him a small smile.

"I'll take you there on my sleigh," the old man offers, hopping to the front of his vehicle. He puts his red hat on, making Adrien a bit sad with how worn-out it looks.

He takes Marinette's hat off, and quietly says, "Come on, Plagg."

The black cat kwami flies out of the pompom to hide in Adrien's inner breast pocket instead. The blond looks down at the precious gift, wanting so bad to keep it because Marinette made it just for him, but Christmas is about giving, and putting others' happiness before your own.

"Here, Sir," Adrien says, offering the man his hat. "The friend who gave it to me would want you to have it."

"I can't possibly take this," Santa Claus says.

"I insist. Everyone deserves a Christmas present," Adrien says. "And I would like to give it as thank you for keeping me company."

"Thank you," the man says, graciously accepting the hat. "Now, let's get you home."

Ladybug swings by the heart of the city, where the enormous Christmas tree stands. She gasps upon seeing the crumbled remains of what seems to be a post, and she lets go of her yoyo to land right in front of it.

"There's only one thing this kind of damage can bring," Ladybug says. "It's Chat Noir's Cataclysm."

Ladybug then notices something red on the ground beneath a thin layer of snow, and hurries over to it to check it out. She wipes the snow off, surprised to find a familiar red envelope. She opens it up to read it, and her suspicions are confirmed at the contents of the letter.

"It's the card I gave to Adrien," Ladybug says. "Adrien disappears, Chat Noir casts Cataclysm… what if Adrien was targeted by an akumatized victim?"

Her face then contorts in anger.

"Of course Chat Noir wouldn't let me know about it, that stupid cat definitely just wants his point!" Ladybug exclaims in frustration.

Ladybug looks up from the letter to find footsteps leading right out of the open area and into the streets of Paris.

"Footsteps?" Ladybug asks herself, following them.

While walking, she passes by a billboard with her and Chat Noir on it, frowning at the sight of her rival. She hoped so bad to see him for the holiday, but she knows that asking him to join her for patrol would be selfish of her. He has his own family to spend Christmas with, and she certainly didn't want to get in the way of that.

"That's right, I'll help whether you want it or not," Ladybug says, sighing sadly. "Because you're the boy I secretly like."

"So, who is this friend?" Santa Claus asks as he continues to guide his horses.

"She's… a very special friend," Adrien says, and the old man can already tell that she's a crush. "She doesn't like me very much, but she still went out of her way to make me a present."

"I see," he replies with a knowing smile.

"Well, enough about me. How about you, Sir? How will you be celebrating Christmas?" Adrien asks Santa Claus as they ride through the empty streets.

"Me? I have all of Paris, and the world, even!" the old man answers joyfully, hoping it's enough to fool the blond into thinking he isn't alone.

"You're alone, too, aren't you?" Adrien asks.

"Let's just say… Mrs. Claus isn't here anymore," Santa Claus says solemnly.

"Then, come join my family and I," Adrien smiles. "We're a bit unusual, but we care about each other a lot. It'd really help if you brought some Christmas spirit back into our home."

"Are you sure it's all right?" Santa Claus asks. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"My father won't be joining us anyway, so how would he know?" Adrien shrugs.

"Oh… alright. But I can't stay for too long, you do know that Santa's very busy at Christmas time," he laughs.

"Just take a left turn here, and my house should be the first thing you see," Adrien says.

Nodding, Santa Claus takes a left and stares up in awe at the magnificent mansion before him. He gets his horses to slow down and halt to a stop, growing nervous as he approaches the gates with Adrien by his side.

Adrien rings the doorbell, and his father immediately answers, making their security camera light up with life.

"Adrien, is that you?!" Gabriel Agreste's worried yet angry voice asks through the speakers. The camera suddenly shifts over to the old man. "Who are you?!"

"I'm Santa Claus, of course!" he exclaims.

"Really, now? That would make me the Easter Bunny," Gabriel Agreste answers. This comment alone makes the smiles on both Adrien and Santa Claus' faces disappear. "You're here for money, I suppose? I'll get my bodyguard to deal with you."

"No, Father, you're wrong," Adrien says, running in front of the camera.

"No, he's not."

Adrien swiftly turns around to find Ladybug behind him, spinning her yoyo.

"Ladybug?!" Adrien exclaims.

"Your father's right," Ladybug says, making a defensive stance while continuing to swirl her yoyo. "He's an akumatized victim under Hawkmoth's control. I thought Chat Noir caught him by now, but guess not."

"You're all insane!" the old man exclaims, rushing to get back on his sleigh. "I'm leaving!"

Before he could get on his sleigh, Ladybug throws her yoyo at him, allowing it to tie him up.

"Ladybug, stop!" Adrien exclaims. "He hasn't been akumatized!"

"I know when I'm looking at an akumatized victim, Adrien," Ladybug replies, looking at him sternly.

"Clearly, you don't because he isn't one," Adrien argues.

Their arguing is interrupted by the sound of Santa Claus rushing off on his sleigh, making Adrien exclaim, "Sir, wait! Don't leave!"

"You're safe now, go on inside," Ladybug says, throwing her yoyo into the distance. "I'll take care of him."

"Ladybug, wait!" Adrien exclaims when she takes off, growing frustrated as everyone ignores everything he's been trying to say.

He's about to take off running after them, when the gates suddenly swing open.

"Adrien," Nathalie says.

Adrien takes one last look in the direction Ladybug went, and he rushes back into the mansion to head back into his room. Nathalie and Gorilla chase after him, calling out to him as he's running up the stairs, two steps at a time.

"Adrien, where are you going?" Nathalie asks.

"To my room," Adrien answers. "Since Father isn't going to be celebrating with us."

"He planned to," Nathalie says. "Your father came to see you earlier, but you'd gone out. I'll tell him that you're waiting for him, but he instructed for us to make sure you stay in your room this time. Gorilla will be keeping you company until then."

"Fine," Adrien says, clutching his fists.

The two enter Adrien's room, who turns on his video game console. He decides to play a round to drive off any suspicion Gorilla may have as he tries to come up with a plan on how to sneak out. His game, however, is soon interrupted by a flying sleigh that phases right through his window.

"Santa Claus?!" Adrien exclaims, getting up. Gorilla instinctively stands in front of him to protect him.

"Actually, it's Santa Claws," the akumatized victim says. He begins to sing an introduction for himself, a parody of a joyful, Christmas carol. "I'll punish you, and give you a fright!"

He points at Gorilla, and makes a gift box appear out of seemingly nowhere. "Have a horrible Christmas night!"

Santa Claws throws the box in front of Gorilla, which explodes and clouds the room with green smoke that smells disgusting. When the smoke recedes, over a dozen of tarantulas crawl out of the box and all over Gorilla, who scurries out of the room, his arachnophobia getting the best of him.

"I'll do you no harm, Adrien," Santa Claws assures. "You were kind to me, and you gave me a present I won't forget. I'll avenge you, us, and make sure that everyone remembers that this Christmas is one of revenge!"

Santa Claws phases through the window once more, ignoring Adrien's cries for him to stop.

"Let's get that tally mark?" Plagg asks, floating out of Adrien's pocket.

"Just what I was thinking," Adrien nods, punching the air. "PLAGG, TRANSFORM ME!"

A flash of green later, Chat Noir jumps out the window and back into the cold night. He jumps from one roof to the other, following a very obvious flying sleigh in the sky.

"Chat Noir? Is that you?"

Chat Noir turns to his right to see Ladybug running alongside him; he was too preoccupied with catching the akumatized villain that he didn't even notice her.

"Where were you?" Ladybug asks. "What happened with Adrien?"

"It's a long story, and quite frankly, none of your business," Chat Noir says, still somewhat bitter that she refused to listen to him as Adrien.

"What's with you?" she huffs. "It's a harmless question."

"A question I'd rather put on hold for now," Chat Noir says, leaping off the roof. Ladybug watches him land perfectly onto Santa Claws' sleigh, and she does the same when the next opportunity comes.

"Who's going to deliver presents to the children now, Santa Claws?" Chat Noir asks, elongating his silver staff.

"There are no more presents, no more spirit of Christmas!" Santa Claws says, throwing a gift box in Chat Noir's direction. "You should've been nice instead of naughty!"

Chat Noir dodges the gift box successfully, but he falls backwards and right off the sleigh when Santa Claws throws another less than a second later.

"I've been nice all year!" Chat Noir says as he's falling. Ladybug immediately dives after him and grabs his hand before launching her yoyo at the sleigh with all her might.

"Nice to everyone, but me," Ladybug mumbles, making Chat Noir feel somewhat guilty.

They're suddenly jerked forward when Santa Claws speeds up. "How about a nice sleigh ride, my little wretched elves?" he cackles maniacally.

Santa Claws makes his sleigh fly in loops and sharp turns, hoping to lose the two heroes hanging from the bottom of his sleigh. After realizing that they won't be letting go any time soon, the villain starts throwing boxes at them, unfortunately only hitting Chat Noir.

"Oh, come on!" Chat Noir screams in frustration after shaking off some cockroaches. "Why aren't you hitting her?"

"Because I've been nice all year," Ladybug says. "I'll try to stop the sleigh, and you—"

"Get the akuma and get the last point before the new year, got it!" Chat Noir exclaims.

However, just as Ladybug's about to launch him back onto the sleigh, Chat Noir catches sight of a familiar auburn-haired girl on a balcony filming the scene on her phone.

"Wait!" Chat Noir exclaims. "Ladybug, let your yoyo go!"

Are you insane?!" she screams.

"Just trust me!"

Ladybug hesitantly lets her yoyo loose, sending both rivals flying in the direction of Alya's house. They land right in the middle of her living room, causing the entire family to scream or gasp in absolute shock. Alya instead screams excitedly and continues to film.

"Ladybug? Chat Noir? And in my home, too!" Alya exclaims. "Anything you'd like to say for the LadyBlog and Miraculous Chat?"

Chat Noir immediately gets up and proceeds to strike poses for the camera.

"Too bad you won't be able to film this villain's defeat because I'm getting this point," Chat Noir winks, while Ladybug gets up and rolls her eyes in the background.

"Come to think of it, I haven't been able to film you de-evilizing an akuma yet," Alya says thoughtfully. "What are the points as of now?"

"We're tied at fourteen-fourteen," Chat Noir says truthfully. "But I'll be getting the final point of the year."

He walks over to Alya's twin siblings, and asks, "Got an empty box for me? And maybe some tape, a ribbon, and some pretty wrapping paper?"

"Are you wrapping yourself up as a gift?" Ladybug asks as Chat Noir ruffles the little kids' hair after they gave him everything he asked for.

"Oh, that actually sounds like a pretty good plan," Chat Noir says honestly. "But I think I'll stick to mine instead."

Chat Noir and Ladybug head over to the balcony, but before leaving, Chat Noir turns to the family and says, "Thank you for all your help, have a Mewrry Christmas!"

"Ugh, Chat!" Ladybug exclaims after him when he jumps off the balcony. She smiles at the Cesaire family and greets them a Merry Christmas as well before following after her rival. She finally catches up to him, letting go of her yoyo to run by his side.

"Are you going to tell me what your plan is or not?" Ladybug asks tiredly.

"Fine, fine. I'll tell you on the way," Chat Noir laughs as the two heroes make their way to the Eiffel Tower. "And… ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but…"

Ladybug looks at him hopefully.

"I might… need a bit of your help."

At this, Ladybug's face lights up, and Chat Noir is convinced that her smile is bright enough to light up all of Paris. But her smile immediately makes him think of his mother, and his stomach churns uncomfortably.

"Really?" Ladybug beams.

"Don't make such a big deal out of it," Chat Noir says, jumping onto the next roof.

Ladybug can't wipe the smile off her face, and she can only laugh as she chases after her rival.

Santa Claws is flying by the Eiffel Tower when something suddenly catches his eye. He approaches the object cautiously, face expressing both surprise and confusion.

"A present?" Santa Claws asks out loud, taking in the sight of the gift before him. It's wrapped in shiny charcoal paper and flashy green ribbons, and it's hanging off the tower thanks to Ladybug's yoyo string.

"It's for you."

The villain looks past the gift to see Chat Noir standing on the edge of the tower, and Ladybug standing a little further away, holding onto her yoyo to keep the gift from falling.

"For me?" Santa Claws repeats, holding his hands out to reach for the gift.

"That's right," Chat Noir nods. "Everyone deserves a present for Christmas."

Just as Santa Claws is about to reach it, Chat Noir turns to Ladybug and nods. The superheroine lets her yoyo loose, making the gift head straight for the ground.

"Oh, no! It fell!" Chat Noir exclaims dramatically, pointing at the falling gift.

"My present!" Santa Claws exclaims, turning his sleigh around to chase after it.

Seeing as his plan worked, Chat Noir rushes over to Ladybug, who pulls him close to swing the two of them to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower as quickly as possible.

Santa Claws fails to reach the gift box before it hit the ground, getting off his sleigh to see if it's all right. He lifts the top open to check, and his facial expression instantly turns into one of rage when he realizes that there's nothing inside.

"Did you really think you can make a fool out of me?!" Santa Claws yells into the air. He catches sight of Chat Noir and Ladybug swinging over in his direction, and quickly takes off to get back into his sleigh.

"Oh no you don't. You're going to watch out for my hand, My Lady," Chat Noir teases, and Ladybug nods, ignoring the stupid nickname he gave her months ago. "CATACLYSM!"

The black cat superhero touches the Eiffel Tower as they're swinging by, causing a dozen of rails to break off and crush Santa Claws' sleigh. The villain stops in his tracks, not knowing what his next course of action should be. His hat is suddenly pulled right off his head, and he instinctively grabs the top of his head.

"My hat!" Santa Claws exclaims.

"Sorry, Santa," Chat Noir says, ripping the item in hat. "But I need my point."

A black butterfly flutters out of the broken item, and Chat Noir extends his silver staff when a bright green sphere glows at the tip. He twirls it around impressively before leaping up and skillfully trapping the akuma inside the green orb, which glows brightly when he hits the other end of his staff against the ground. When the light disappears, a white butterfly flies out of it instead of a black one.

"Bye bye, little butterfly," Chat Noir says to make fun of Ladybug, who glares at him from where she stands. "MIRACULOUS CHAT!"

Chat Noir raises his staff as high as he can, and a burst of light emerges from it, sending a wave of magic and warmth as it restores everything to its former glory.

A purple cloud envelops Santa Claws, turning him back into the same old man Adrien met earlier that day.

"What happened?" Santa Claus asks. He then backs away at the sight of Ladybug, fearfully saying, "Get away from me! You were the one who knocked me right off my sleigh earlier!"

"And I apologize," Ladybug says, holding a hand to her chest. "I thought you were akumatized at the time. Please forgive me."

"Oh, alright. I appreciate you admitting your mistakes. You're forgiven," Santa Claus smiles.

A warning beep suddenly resounds, making Ladybug and Santa Claus look up at Chat Noir.

"Looks like I'm about to de-transform," Chat Noir says. "I'm sorry for everything, Santa."

"Sorry? No need to be sorry, Boy," he says with a jolly tone. "If I'm talking to two heroes, that must mean you saved me. Thank you."

With a nod, Chat Noir extends his staff to leap onto a roof, and he disappears behind a tall building in the distance.

"I should be going, too," Ladybug says, spinning her yoyo in her hands. "Merry Christmas, Santa."

"Wait, Miss," the old man says. He then takes off his hat, and Ladybug nearly falls backwards when she realizes that it's the hat she made for Adrien.

"Wh-where did you get this hat?" she asks, pointing a shaky finger at it.

"Do you remember the boy I was with earlier?" Santa Claus asks. "The one with blond hair, and maybe a dressed a little too light for winter?"

"A-Adrien?" Ladybug asks.

"Yes, him," the man nods. He then presents the hat to her, and says, "Please give it back to him. He said that a very special friend gave it to him. I just can't bring myself to keep it."

"Oh, yes, I-I'll give it back to him," Ladybug says, her cheeks turning pink upon hearing that Adrien considers her a special friend. They argue all the time and call each names every day, but she does admit that if those things were to stop, she'd miss them greatly.

"Thank you," Santa Claus says, climbing back into his sleigh.

"Um, Sir? If you don't mind answering, why did Adrien give this to you?" Ladybug asks.

"He said that the friend would want me to have it, that everyone deserves a little something for Christmas," the man says. "If you ask me, his friend sounds like a wonderful person."

"Thank you," Ladybug says absent-mindedly. She then goes back to twirling her yoyo, throwing it into the sky and latching it onto a nearby building. "I'll be sure to bring this back to him."

Adrien stands next to his father, whose eyes are kept glued to the portrait of his mother. They stand in silence, until Gabriel decides to break the ice.

"Adrien," he begins, his voice stern and cold as always. "You understand I can't have you disappearing like that. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you."

"I'm sorry, Father," Adrien says, head hung low. "I was just hoping for some company since it's Christmas. I didn't think you were going to join us."

"I'm sorry for making you wait," Gabriel says. "It's our first Christmas without your mother."

"Don't worry," Adrien says. "It's hard for me, too. I was just hoping for you to be there for me."

The doorbell suddenly resounds all over the room.

Nathalie opens the door and steps into the office. "It's for you, Adrien," she says.

Gabriel and Adrien walk over to the entrance of the mansion to find the door wide open revealing Adrien's classmates and their parents.

"I informed everyone that Adrien was home safe and sound, Sir. They were all worried about their friend," Nathalie says, and Adrien smiles brightly at the sight of all his friends. He smiles even wider when he sees Marinette in the crowd.

"Can they spend Christmas with us, Father? Please?" Adrien asks.

"Of course," Gabriel says. "Come on in, everyone."

Nathalie leads them all into the dining area, where they each set a meal or dessert on the table. Adrien scans the crowd and hurriedly takes the seat next to Marinette.

"I'm surprised you actually came," Adrien says when he catches her attention.

"Like everyone else here, I was worried," Marinette says, making his heart swell.

"Thanks," Adrien says.

"You're not going to tease me?" Marinette asks.

"It's Christmas," he says. "I'll lay off the teasing just for today."

Marinette laughs. "Alright, but only for today," she says.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Merry Christmas, Adrien!" everyone at the table exclaims before proceeding to eat the food.

"And Merry Christmas to you all," Adrien smiles.

While everyone chats with each other animatedly, Adrien looks over at his family's portrait hanging on the wall, and his heart doesn't drop as he expected it to. Instead, he just looks at his mother's face, and smiles.

"Merry Christmas, Mom."

Later that evening, Adrien's in his room, preparing to get into bed, when hears something tap his window. He walks over to it and looks down, surprised to see Ladybug on the ground holding a bag in her hand.

"Ladybug?" Adrien asks, opening his window to let her in. Ladybug's yoyo comes flying in not too long after, latching onto his foosball table's leg. She comes flying into his room not too long after.

"Adrien, I have a delivery for you," Ladybug says, handing him the bag. "Santa Claus said that he wants you to keep it. And I found the other little thing while looking for you when you disappeared. I thought you might have wanted to keep it."

"Oh, thank you," Adrien says. He looks into the bag, shocked to find the card and Santa Claus hat from Marinette. "I gave this to Santa Claus, though."

"He said that he'd rather you keep it," Ladybug says. She then nervously laughs, "Apparently, you said something about a special friend giving it to you?"

"Oh… right," Adrien says, his ears turning pink. "Well, um, thank you, Ladybug. Sorry for all the trouble."

"No problem," Ladybug says. "Merry Christmas!"

With that, she leaps out the window, and she's gone just as quickly as she came.

"Hey, you got your stuff back!" Plagg exclaims, flying out of his user's pocket. "You know, you really should be taking care of your stuff more. Especially when they're from the girl you like."

"Yeah, I really should—" Adrien stops, and his face turns crimson red upon realizing what his kwami just said. "Don't say things like that so casually!"

"Why not? It's the truth," Plagg teases.

"I'm going to sleep," Adrien says, walking off to head to his bed.

"You didn't deny it."

"Plagg!"

The following evening, Chat Noir and Ladybug meet up for patrol as usually. After going around the city twice, they decide to go sit at their favorite spot, at the very top platform of the Eiffel Tower.

"Did you have a nice Christmas, Chat Noir?" Ladybug asks.

"I did," Chat Noir says, smiling at the not-so-faraway memory. "I spent it with my family and friends."

"So did I," Ladybug says. "It was tons of fun."

"Hey, since it's Christmas and all," Chat Noir says, unclipping something from his belt. "I kind of got you something."

"You did?" Ladybug asks, excitedly clutching the tote bag she brought along with her. "I did, too."

"I know that we're rivals and all, but we've been fighting together for a while now, so I thought that it's only right I get you something," Chat Noir says, giving her the little box.

It's clumsily wrapped in red paper, and he may have gone overboard with the curly ribbons, but Ladybug loves it nonetheless. She rips off the paper and opens up the box, gasping at the sight of the little snow globe resting on top of black, plush velvet. Inside the sphere is a figure of a ladybug sitting on a little black cat's head. She takes it out of the box and shakes it, making little snow-like crystals fly around before piling up at the bottom once more.

"Thank you, Chat," Ladybug says, hugging the gift. "I love it."

"You're a pretty simple person, aren't you?" Chat Noir says with a laugh. "It's a very common gift."

Ladybug just stays quiet and looks down at the gift with sparkles in her eyes. What he doesn't realize is that she just received a gift from the person she likes; of course she'd react in such a way.

"Here's your gift," Ladybug says, carefully placing her gift next to her. She then reaches into the tote bag she brought along and takes out a little gift wrapped in yellow paper and topped with a pretty blue ribbon.

Chat Noir takes the gift and rips the paper off, gasping when he sees black mittens with a beautiful white snowflake design on it. "Mittens?" he asks out loud.

"I… made them," Ladybug says, looking down at her hands shyly.

"You made them?" Chat Noir says. "Hate to admit it, but you're actually pretty talented. I didn't expect a klutz like you to be so good at something like this."

"Thanks a lot," Ladybug huffs, making her rival laugh.

"I'm kidding. I really like them," Chat Noir says, holding them tightly in his hands. "Thanks, Ladybug. Merry Christmas."

"You're welcome, Chat," she smiles. "Merry Christmas to you, too."

end card

A/N: Hi, everyone! It's taken a while, but I'm back with Season 2 of Who Needs Love? I've been asked many times if I was going to be writing for Season 2, and although my answers were no at first, I changed my mind and went straight to working on Season 2 and Season 3. I just loved the idea of our two lovebirds being rivals, and with Luka and Kagami now added into the mix, I feel like it'll make things a lot more interesting. (Also, ongoing gag about Alya still not being able to film Chat Noir capturing an akuma. The Miraculoua Chat is suffering!).

I couldn't make them sing in this episode because I'm technically not allowed to use lyrics. I also found it a bit too awkward, so I just turned everything into text. I also made a few changes this episode, with Adrien getting Marinette's gift back being the biggest one. I really did hope for him to get it back by the end of the episode.

For the new readers, here's the AU in fuller detail:
- In this AU, Adrien and Marinette don't get along and claim that they both dislike each other (or so they say).
- Ladybug and Chat Noir are rivals as well. However, they aren't afraid to help each other out from time to time. Chat Noir wants to stay rivals, while Ladybug—even though he comes across as a jerk sometimes—would actually like to be partners with him.
- Reverse crush AU. Adrien likes Marinette, and Marinette likes Chat Noir.
- Chat Noir is also able to capture akumas. This is so that they both have an equal chance of saving the day and de-akumatizing victims. Since the Ladybug earrings and the Black Cat ring are the most powerful Miraculous, I made it so that the ring is also able to capture akumas.
- There is also a rivalry between fans: Team Ladybug and Team Chat Noir. Alya is the admin of both the LadyBlog and the Miraculous Chat. Both blogs have a tally board that shows how many akumas Ladybug and Chat Noir caught.
- Ladybug still has the power to create, and Chat still has the power to destroy. Chat Noir does not have Lucky Charm—he only has Cataclysm.
- Ladybug and Chat Noir catch akumas off screen too, but in this AU, they do not. All the villains introduced in the show will be the only akumatized victims in this story. (This is so that the tally board won't jump numbers each chapter).

If you haven't read Who Needs Love? yet, I really do suggest that you do. I will be making a few callbacks here and there in this story.

Akuma Capture:
Ladybug: 0
Chat Noir: 1

Thank you for reading!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Next Episode: The Collector