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Marinette entered her apartment, trying to shut the front door behind her as quietly as possible. TIkki flew out of her small clutch to go eat some of the macrons on the marble kitchen counter. Marinette slipped out of her shiny red heels, dropping a few inches in height and then reaching down to place them next to the scattering of shoes near the door. She yawned, exhausted from a day’s work as the head designer of MDC Fashion.
Marinette hadn’t meant to stay way past her hours, she really didn’t. However, she needed to complete four designs by the week and she wanted to take Monday off to celebrate Valentine's Day. Being a designer, despite being now in charge of herself, never got easier. Luckily, she had a very understanding family.
Marinette shrugged off her overcoat, revealing the lavender blouse she had worn that day. Her pixie cut hair was being held up in an intricate design by pins, so she lighty took them out and tucked them into the pockets of the coat. She grabbed her phone, checking the time. 9:30. If her husband followed the rules, both of her kids should be in bed by now. But, she thought, smiling softly, her family hated going to bed without saying goodnight to her. And her tomcat of a husband claimed he couldn't even fall asleep in their bed properly without her.
Marinette climbed a stairway and walked into her kid’s hallway, missing the sound of her heels clacking on the marble floor. Even though her family was pretty well off (having a ex supermodel in it helped a lot, and Marinette’s company was as well known as Prada or Gucci), they decided to purchase a smaller apartment than a big mansion. Sure, it was still very large (with four bedrooms and a large third floor wing dedicated to the master bedroom), it was way bigger than the flat above the bakery that she grew up in, but it wasn’t as large as the cold unforgiving house her husband was raised in. Even though they owned that house too after Hawkmoth’s defeat, they both avoided living to those standards, especially with the hidden basement underneath still intact.
Marinette’s eyes caught on the family photos that lined their walls. Her husband was obsessed with capturing every moment of their children. First birthday, first days of school, first bite of spaghetti, everything was hanging up on their walls. Marinette traced finger on a drawing that her daughter had made of the family a couple years ago, which was also hanging up. She smiled at the four stick figures, helpfully labeled as “Maman, Papa, Hugo, and Me” in chunky five year old handwriting.
Marinette noticed then that the door to Emma’s room was slightly ajar, light pouring into the otherwise dark hallway. She clicked her tongue, upset that her husband let Emma stay up that late on a school night. Marinette carefully peeked into the doorway of her daughter’s room, her eyes adjusting to the bright teal walls and the colorful unicorn decor everywhere. She then noticed the pile of people on top of Emma’s canopy bed, and her heart melted.
Adrien was sitting upright in the middle of the bed, his feet dangling off and his head slumped to the side with sleep. On his left was Emma, her tiny body curled up like a cat into him, in her fuzzy pjs and her blonde bangs covering her face. On his right was Hugo, also curled up, though his fist was resting on the picture book splayed across Adrien’s lap. Marinette shook her head. They had fallen asleep reading a book, most likely about an hour by the way they were slumped against the bed frame.
Marinette reached into her pocket and snapped a photo. She knew her husband would get a kick out of it later. Because he was the official photographer for the family, there were too little photos containing him. Marinette wondered if she would have time to print the photo for Valentine’s Day.
Marinette then walked over to the bed, lightly brushing Adrien’s bangs out of his eyes, which opened immediately. Her husband was such a light sleeper. “Hi,” Marinette whispered, leaning across Emma to kiss him on the forehead.
Adrien, blinking sleepily, grinned up at her. “Sorry, bug, we fell asleep.” He looked down sheepishly at the two kids pressed up into his sides, ruffling his son’s hair with his free hand. Adrien sat up lightly, carefully trying not to wake his sleeping children. Miraculously, both of the kids had been blessed with their mother’s ability to sleep through a hurricane and didn’t even flinch.
Adrien slipped out of bed, falling off the end of it and collapsing in a pile on the shaggy teal rug. Marinette giggled, poking him with her bare foot as he whined, “I might just sleep here. Why is her rug so comfortable?”
Marinette looked at him, still in his professor uniform (khakis and a white button down). “KItty, you are going to have to get ready first.” She laughed, then glanced fondly at her kids. “Can you help me tuck them in?”
Adrien nodded, pulling himself off the floor by grabbing Marinette to stable himself. She giggled, in a way that Adiren couldn’t control himself any longer. He pecked her on the lips and then rushed to pick up Hugo before she could yell at him for “kissing in front of the kids.” Marinette had made him swear to keep the PDA in front of them to a minimum, even if they were sleeping. Marinette rolled her eyes at her goof of a husband, then tucked Emma into her bed, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
“Goodnight, kitten, I love you,” Adiren heard her whisper as he walked out of the room with his son in his arms. Adrien smiled what Plagg called his “stupid idiot grin.” Whenever he’s around Marinette being all motherly to their kids, it rarely leaves his face.
Adrien went into his five year old’s space themed bedroom, dropping him carefully in his rocket bed. Hugo didn’t even flinch, his fists curling around the stuffed duck resting in there. Adrien draped a blanket over his son, and he knelt down to the bedside to kiss him on the forehead, just what Marinette had done to Emma moments before.
He felt Marinette’s hands snake around his waist, and he turned, still kneeling, to find her kneeling too right next to him. She lightly kissed his nose and then bent down to whisper sweet nothings to her son. Adrien’s heart swelled.
Even though parenting was crazy hard (having two kids under two really added to the chaos), Adrien wouldn’t change the feeling of being a dad; being a part of a family, for the world. Especially since he got to experience it with the love of his life, his Ladybug, at his side. He wrapped his arms around her as they laid down on the floor to look at the galaxy painted ceiling above.
Moments like this, peace and quiet after a crazy day, are moments that Adrien and Marinette Dupain-Cheng wouldn’t change even if Bunnyx begged them too.