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🎄
Christmastime is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year
Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share…
🎄
It was Christmas and, try as Adrien might, he couldn’t seem to discover the cheer that his favorite time of year used to bring him.
His first thought was that it was only natural that Christmas didn’t feel the same without his mother. If Adrien even bothered to talk to his father about it, he knew Gabriel’s answer would be that nothing felt the same without his mother. But it had been several Christmases since his mother’s disappearance, now, and Adrien wanted more than anything to feel that joy again. As hard as it was to think, he knew Mother wouldn’t have wanted them to grieve forever.
The first Christmas without her, reality hadn’t sunk in yet. Father spent the day locked in his office and Adrien spent the day in the foyer, sitting where their tree should be and waiting for their front door to open and Mother to walk through wishing them a Joyeux Noël and with a very good explanation for disappearing without a trace.
Next year was different. It was the first year he had real friends and they’d all rallied together and really made it feel special, despite that Father probably would have rather forgotten about the whole thing. It was his first Christmas with Plagg and while Christmas started out by feeling depressed and alone, being Cat Noir kicked the humbug right out of him and then he was reminded of how NOT alone he was when all his friends and their families showed up.
It was one of the most humbling moments of his life and Adrien would never forget it.
This Christmas, however, was off to a…less promising start. This year, Adrien had been determined to make the day a jolly one, for himself, yes, but especially for his friends and family. They remembered him last year, and he would remember them this year! He been making plans for months, and he was determined to make them feel as loved as he had felt last year.
Of course, he didn’t count on the Secret Santa fiasco. Really, he should have. Lila was the one to organize the exchange and that should have been the first clue that disaster was impending. Marinette knew, but she (and he) just breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn’t stuck with Lila’s name (a disaster in the making) and decided not much harm could come from a simple gift exchange.
Ha!
Oh, how foolish. Adrien was the one that got Lila’s name. Not his first choice, but he could live with it. Taking a cue from his favorite gifts—namely the scarf his father made him and the Santa hat Marinette gave him last Christmas—Adrien went the homemade route for his presents this year. After all, what said “I care” more than taking your time to personally make a gift with love?
Not that Adrien wanted Lila to take the scarf he made her as a sign of his love. Rotten camembert, no! Anything but that! But he did want to express a…thoughtfulness. Maybe extend an olive branch of friendship. No more or less than he would do for any of his friends. But definitely NOT MORE!
Lila did not see it as an olive branch.
Beither did she see it as a declaration of his undying affection.
“You’re the heir to a publicly traded fashion company, Adrien! You’re supposed to give gifts in blue Tiffany boxes! Or at least Gabriel brand samples!” Lila said incredulously. “Not this cheep trash!”
Apparently, Lila had rigged the exchange so Adrien would be her Secret Santa. She’d known the whole time and expected him to go lavish with the budget, despite the fact the class put a price limit on the gifts.
At least his friends—except Chloe—disagreed and came to his defense. Marinette was steaming through her ears, but didn’t have to do much because Nino was giving Lila a lecture about selfishness, with a whole lot of dudes thrown in the more upset he got. But it was still a disappointment and wasn’t a very good first step to a holly jolly Christmas.
The next disappointment was when some disaster struck at one of the manufacturing branches and Father was ordered by the board to handle it personally since it was his oversight that caused the problem and they wouldn’t allow him to throw a tantrum and pass the buck again. He and Nathalie left the country a few days before Christmas, just after Gorilla left on his two week vacation to see his family. Gorilla had offered to take Adrien with him, almost insisted, but Father wouldn’t allow Adrien to travel out of town unsupervised. Apparently spending the holiday alone in a big city known for supervillain activity was safer than spending it with his bodyguard in a quiet ski chalet with a big family, eight of which were former or current military and two of which had served as security for the president.
So that left Adrien alone in the mansion with a stoic guard named Bob. When he spoke, Bob had that flat, bored quality to his voice that made it sound like he was saying “Whah, whah, whah…” instead of actual words. That was all Adrien knew about the man because he’d not said anything to Adrien after introducing himself and then going on to review the mansion’s security protocols and then patrol the perimeter.
It was almost enough to give Adrien the humbug dull drums, but he was determined to keep his spirits up!
Adrien wasn’t allowed out of the house alone, but Cat Noir had no such obligation, whatsoever! His new bodyguard only checked on him at meals, so Adrien was easily able to sneak away and quickly found a project that promised to be filled with the Christmas spirit!
Mylene’s church was working with a local shelter and the youth group was preforming a Christmas pageant as a fundraiser. Surely, this was activity that would not only be enjoyable but a joyful act of service! And many of his friends from school were volunteering, too! Not that they knew it was him, but he would know and enjoy spending time with them.
And he could interact with his friends without then being suspicious because, somehow, between the star appeal and the fact that their usual organizer (Marinette) was on a forced time-out from taking any more leadership positions (there was an incident with a class bake sale, an underestimated personal workload, and unexpected babysitting requests that was best left referred to as The Incident), Cat Noir found himself in the role of director.
It was great! He’d get to spread Christmas cheer! Teach kids the meaning of Christmas! Enjoy the fellowship of friends and the fulfillment of teamwork!
Except he forgot his friends, while wonderful, special people, were still distractible teens hopped up on cookies and chocolate.
Rehearsal for the big Christmas Eve performance was derailed as soon as he’d assigned the parts. Nino was playing piano with Luka on guitar and Alya started challenging them to see what Christmas carols they could play and who played it better. This led to dueling Christmas carols—like dueling banjos only…without the banjos—which led to an impromptu dance party.
Car Noir tried to recruit the more focused members of the group, namely Marinette and Mylene, to help him get them back on track but Alix had them cornered and was venting about the awful presents her brother always gave. This led half the friends to talking about what they wanted for Christmas, and led Alix and Kim to squaring off about who got whom a better present and who was the best at guessing and/or sneaking peaks at their presents.
It was their own fault that Cat Noir couldn’t get anyone else focused enough to talk about decorations for the humble nativity play. If they didn’t like his idea, fine! But he’d tried to get their attention and when he couldn’t, he took matters into his own hands.
The church didn’t have the budget for a full set production and Cat Noir didn’t know where he could find a crèche set to borrow on such short notice. Instead, he took some of the cash they’d budgeted and snagged Nino’s collar and made him go with him to pick out a Christmas tree.
That should have been a simple purchase.
It. Was. Not.
“Why are the trees spray painted?!” Cat Noir balked. “Why would you even buy a real tree only for it to look fake?!”
Nino shrugged. “This is Paris, dude. Why go old school when you can go avant-garde?”
By this point, Adrien’s holiday cheer as running on fumes. He missed his mom, his dad hadn’t said goodbye because he was too busy complaining about having to travel, his home felt like a mausoleum, his bodyguard was the most disinterested man on the planet, his friends were more interested in partying and presents than in focusing on their pageant…when had Christmas become so busy? So me-centric?
It was during these musings, with Nino blaring a Christmas remix on his headphones, that Cat Noir saw it. The little tree seemed somehow…a kindred spirit. It was tiny and alone but still standing. It was of the only trees on the lot that hadn’t been spray painted, probably because it was a bit scrawny and on the dry side. But it was…sincere. Sincere in a way that warmed Adrien’s heart and made all the other noise of the day fall away.
Ignoring Nino’s skeptical look and pointed comments trying to direct him to a flashier, bigger tree, Cat Noir proudly paid a surprised attendant for what the guy called “kindling” and carefully walked back to the church with his prize. Really, his friends didn’t have anything to complain about, the tree wasn’t even so heavy that Nino had to help carry it! And…almost no needles fell off during the walk.
The reaction his precious little tree received from the others was…less than merry.
“Did you pay money to be a chump?” Alix asked bluntly while everyone stared in dismay at the tiny tree.
“It’s not that it’s a bad tree!” Rose rushed to say. “It’s just…”
“I was thinking something that made more of a statement!” Alya said. “A little taller, maybe pre-lit…”
“Um…is it even still alive?” Marinette asked nervously, testing the branches and flinching when several needles snapped off in her hands.
“I think it’s a great tree!” Cat Noir said. “It’s…it’s down to earth, simple, sincere—it’s not pretentious and loud!”
“Maybe you should let someone else pick the tree?” Kim said.
“You do know Christmas isn’t supposed be depressing, right?” Alix asked dryly.
Did he know? DID HE KNOW?!
“DEPRESSING?!” Cat Noir exclaimed.
“I could see if I can borrow our fiber optic tree?” Max offered.
“Fiber optic…this isn’t what Christmas is about!” Cat Noir exclaimed. “Presents and technicolor trees and-and what is this?! I don’t even recognize Christmas anymore! Can’t anyone tell me what Christmas is really about?!”
Everyone was stunned silent for a moment and shifted awkwardly. It was the kind of silence that made you rethink opening your mouth instead of just nodding alone and getting a neon tree that glows in the dark.
A throat cleared. “Um…I can tell you what Christmas is about, Cat Noir.”
Nino took center stage and everyone turned to him.
“Lights please?” Nino called to the sound booth and suddenly Ivan turned off the house lights and put a spot light on Nino.
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night.” Nino said reverently. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them: ‘Fear not, for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a savior which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth, peace, goodwill toward men.’
Nino walked away from center stage and clapped Cat Noir on the shoulder. “That's what Christmas is all about, Cat Noir.”
Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Cat Noir smiled at his friend and walked in the still silence to the little tree and picked it up. Then, without a word, he walked off the stage and out the door.
The stillness followed him outside and Cat Noir breathed in the crisp air. A quiet peace was starting to replace the turmoil he’d felt for so long.
The park across the street was hosting a light display, maybe his little tree would be welcome there? He would give this little tree a new home and then go back to the tree lot and get a glow in the dark tree, or something. What did it matter what kind of tree they had? Nino was right, Christmas wasn’t about the tree anyway.
Leftover ornaments and a strand of lights had been tossed aside from one of the displays and he figured no one would mind if he made use of them. With a little smile, Cat Noir carefully took a bulb and placed it on a branch.
And the tree was promptly weighed over and bent nearly in half from the weight of the ornament.
“Ugh!” Cat Noir groaned. “I’m a walking disaster!”
Cat Noir walked dejectedly away and didn’t see his friends approaching from the church.
“Pitiful.” Alix said.
“I don’t know,” Nino shrugged, “it’s not so bad…”
“Maybe all it needs is a little extra love.” Marinette took off her scarf and wrapped it around the tree base.
One after another, the teens took up discarded decorations and propped up the tiny tree and wrapped it in lights and ornaments. When they were finished, they stepped back and the tree was transformed.
The tree was still tiny, dry, and a little sparse. It wasn’t the prettiest and it didn’t have that fresh evergreen scent anymore. But it was sweet and the tree glowed with the kindness and love that was put into its care.
“Hey, Cat Noir! Wait up!” Marinette yelled and ran after him.
Everyone waited until Marinette dragged their confused superhero director back by his tail.
“What is it? I have to hurry if I’m going to get back to the tree lot…” Cat Noir blinked and then blinked again in confusion.
His tiny tree was beautiful.
His friends made his tiny tree beautiful.
“Merry Christmas, Cat Noir!” They all exclaimed.
Someone started to sing “Hark the Harold Angels Sing” and everyone began to sing along, some very off key.
Cat Noir smiled. Maybe he was a little less of a disaster than he thought. But even if he was, his friends were anything but disasters.
🎄
“Master Adrien, you have a guest in the foyer.” Bob said.
Adrien looked up at him in surprise. It was Christmas morning and sunlight streamed through his window, shining on the tiny tree “Cat Noir” dropped off last night,after its debut in the pageant.
This was more than Bob had said to him in the whole time Adrien had known him and the first time he’d seen him since last night when their takeout had arrived.
“Really?” Adrien said in surprise.
He hopped over the back of the couch and slipped into his reindeer slippers. If Gabriel wasn’t interested in spending Christmas Day with his son, then he really couldn’t complain if Adrien spent the day in Rudolph pajamas and an oversized Christmas sweater, could he?
Bob didn’t say anything more, but followed Adrien as he hurried down the stairs.
“Nino?” Adrien grinned. “Joyeux Noël!”
“Joyeux Noël, bro!” Nino gave him a hug and a clap on the back.
“What are you doing here?” Adrien asked.
Not that he wasn’t glad to see him. This was great!
“I came to spring you!” Nino grinned.
“What?!” Adrien’s eyes went wide and he glanced nervously at his bodyguard.
Bob did not seem like the kind of guy to be bribed by superhero paraphernalia.
“You, my dude, are invited to spend Christmas Day with my family and we’re having a Christmas sleepover!” Nino explained.
That sounded awesome, but with one significant obstacle.
“Guillaume approved the visit and pre-screened the hosts and location.” Bob said, much to his surprise.
“He did?!” Adrien gaped.
“The Gorill—ah—Guillaume called me when he found out you’d be alone, dude.” Nino bounced a little in excitement. “He talked to my parents, my parents talked to Nathalie, and Nathalie sent a memo to your old man.”
“But Father doesn’t read his memos, he gives them to Nathalie to deal with.” Adrien blinked.
“Exactly.” Nino grinned.
Exactly.
Exactly!
Adrien began to grin.
“Joyeux Noël, my man!” Nino hugged him again.
Adrien laughed. And maybe cried a little, but no one noticed.
“You’re really going to let me?” Adrien asked Bob.
Bob gave him a tiny smile and shrugged. “This event has been approved, so long as I can supervise. The Lahiffes have been gracious to let me stay in their guest room.”
“Come on, dude, grab your stuff! My pop’s in the car and baby bro is itching to open presents, but we waited for the whole family first.”
The whole family. Yep. Those were tears.
“Nino,” Adrien said seriously, “thank you.”
Nino nudged his shoulder. “Brothers, dude.”
“Brothers.” Adrien smiled.
Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël!
I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Jeremiah 31: 3
ESV