“Marinette!” Alya squealed, “you look amazing!”

Adrien looked up at Alya’s declaration, along with the rest of the class, wondering what the fuss was about. A quick glance answered that; Marinette had changed her outfit. Instead of her usual white shirt, black jacket, and pink pants ensemble, she was wearing something strong enough to withstand the cold. She wore a light pink pea coat that reached mid-thigh with black buttons in 3 sets of 2 spanning the front of the waist. The bottom gently flared out and was trimmed in black, as though she were wearing a dress. The black contrasted against the white leggings with a hand-knitted pattern that she wore. The outfit was completed with flat, black ankle boots lined with fur and a white beanie with her signature flower design on the brim.

She looked adorable in the outfit.

“Why did you suddenly change your outfit?” Alya asked.

“T-the cold hit me a lot more than last year so I’ve been working on this outfit for a while. I finished it yesterday,” Marinette quietly explained.

Adrien smiled at her as she passed by his desk. “You look nice,” he complimented. A strangled sound resembling a squeak followed and, in the blink of an eye, she was at her desk, hiding her face behind her backpack. He gave a curious glance and wondered why she had reacted in such a way but turned back to the front as the teacher entered the room.

~~Later that day before a public opening of a new library in which Ladybug and Chat Noir were to make an appearance~~

Chat’s ears perked up at the light thump of feet landing behind him. He was on top of a building, so the only person who it could be was his lovely lady. He smiled, turning, “How nice of you to drop in, M…”

The rest of the sentence dropped off as he stared at Ladybug. She, like Marinette, had changed her outfit. She was wearing a red wool cape outlined in black with a red hood trimmed in warm, black fur. The cape dropped down to just above her elbow when her arms were down. The part covering the neck had black spots circling it, with a small black latch ensuring that the cape wouldn’t fall. Paired with the cape were warm, black gloves that tapered off to a point an inch below her elbow and flat, red boots with a black top that folded over and spotted with black spots that skirted the bottom of her knee. The additions went with the original skintight outfit perfectly and she was stunning.’

“Cat got your tongue?” Ladybug asked him cheekily, a smirk on her face.

“I..um…,” he found himself unable to properly think, mesmerized by the sudden change. She laughed at his reaction, the sound bright and clear.

“Did you make it yourself?” he blurted, saying the first thing that came to mind.

She looked surprised, then beamed happily, “Yes, yes I did. And I’m quite proud of it.”

“It looks amazing.”

“I’m glad you think so. After all, it simply wouldn’t do,” she presented a pile of neatly folded, black clothes from behind her back, “if my partner didn’t like his new outfit.”

He squealed, hands pressed to his mouth to muffle the sound. “Y-you made one for me?” he asked, touched.

“Of course! You’re my partner,” she reminded him with the confident grin that he had always loved and his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“Thank you,” he whispered, his voice filled with gratitude. Never mind the fact that this was the first present not given to him by Nathalie, he once again reminded by the fact that she cared. And she cared for him, not for his looks or family. “Thank you,” he repeated, smiling at her thankfully.

She was somewhat taken aback by his strong response, and made a mental note to give him gifts more often. “No problem,” she responded cheerfully. “Now go try it on!”

Happily, he obliged. After a minute of fiddling with the various parts, he pulled on the last glove and posed, waiting for her verdict. She applauded and he beamed, continuing to go into a series of poses and admiring himself in a window. He really did look nice, she mused. His look was rougher, something befitting an alley cat rather than a refined pet. His cape was longer in the back than the front and had a jagged hem. The cape was decorated with lines and dots of acid green that lined the edges of the cape, and had cat ears on the top that fitted over his original ears and was acid green on the inside of the ears. The cape was held together by a bell, stitched onto the fabric and pushed through a loop to secure the cape. His gloves were fitted around the hands but was slightly flared at the wrist. Like his cape, the hem of the glove was lined in a thin strip of green. Claws had been sewn on as well, fake nails painted black and then trimmed to a point. His boots were flat and black, fitted to the foot and ankle but then flared out and lined with green.

Chat smiled, satisfied with the look. Turning to Ladybug, he bent into a bow, sweeping his arm to her, “Shall we go M’lady?”

She rolled her eyes but played along, “Lead the way.” They proceeded to the ceremony, where they were promptly bombarded with questions about their new outfits.