Chapter Text
“It’s three in the morning,” Adrien says, rubbing an eye and trying to focus on the person sneaking into his room.
“I got that, Adrien,” Marinette says. She’s detransforming before her feet hit the ground, hand already swinging the window shut behind her. It’s not her first time sneaking into Adrien’s room and definitely won’t be her last, but Adrien can’t help but ask a few questions, if only to make his brain start up again.
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at your ho- “
“I can’t sleep,” she tells him.
Marinette crosses the distance between the window and the bed before he can respond, digging underneath the comforter and crawling up to the pillows. She stops once she’s laid next to him and turns her body so they can face each other, the heat radiating off of Adrien and warming her up. She’s cold, nearly numb after running through Paris in near freezing temperatures. Marinette doesn’t care much for it however, more interested in the way Adrien looks at her.
“You look tired,” he lets out, moving a hand upwards to brush away strands of hair.
“I am,” she says, already leaning into his touch. He’s warm, familiar, and as gentle as ever. Adrien’s an easy fix to her nerves, already allowing her to close the eyes that had been struggling to remain shut for hours on end. It’s a comfort she’s been indulging in ever since they revealed their identities, and the only form of therapy she’s given herself since taking on the task of wearing the mask.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Everything.” Marinette flutters her eyes open, taking in the bright green that just seem to shimmer in the dark, like he’s actually part cat or something. She takes in the blond hair falling over his forehead and just hovering slightly on his eyes, the strong arch of his jawline and gentle sweep of his brows. She feels her eyes closing on their own, and takes their lead, finally ready to sleep without the worry of monsters to lurk underneath her eyelids.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, but even before he finishes he already knows the answer. It’s a strong no and will remain like so for as long as needed, should that be weeks, months, or even years. He knows without a sense of doubt that whatever keeps her up at night is the same thing making sure he can’t rest without a sense of anxiety. A fear for what could occur if they, if Ladybug and Chat Noir, were to fail. The fear that Papillion could only be waiting in the shadows for a moment of weakness, on the verge of taking away everything they love, even while Adrien himself holds it in his very hands.
Or her, he should say.
“Do you just wanna sleep?”
She nods, already moving so he can hold her closer to him. Marinette uses him as a pillow, and he places his lips onto her forehead in a permanent kiss. They’re beyond all the awkward conversations and hesitate touches, now to the point where they don’t go too long without finding each other again. They can vent and complain about things only known to them and stay silent when a nightmare gets too hard to talk about.
They complete each other, and for now, they keep each other sane.