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If anyone had told Claw Noir, the ferocious villain, that this was what he was going to turn into one day, he probably would have had a few choice words to say.
It would have been hard enough to believe that he could reform and switch sides. But to imagine him turning into this soft-hearted stranger who melted at the sight of his sleeping girlfriend - impossible.
Of course, this was an exaggeration. Adrien had been smitten with Marinette even when he had moonlighted as a punk supervillain. She had gotten under his skin without any effort so a part of him had always been like this. It was just that he wasn't afraid to show it more often now.
But Claw Noir might have found it hard to believe that it would be the annoying cockroach that he was hopelessly in love with. Fate sure had a sense of humour.
And just like that, with no prompt from outside, Adrien felt his lips stretch into a smile that was a far cry from the sardonic smirk he had once been known for.
It was just her. Even when she was out cold, with one arm under the pillow, her hair spilling around her and her legs hopelessly tangled in the duvet, Marinette had this effect on him.
Not that she wouldn't tease him about this if she could see him now. Sitting there in the darkness, watching the shadows play on her face and thinking it was impossible to love one person this much. Even reformed, Shadybug wouldn't resist poking fun at him. He needed his beaty sleep. It was creepy to watch someone sleep. He was a mess. But so was she.
Realising that they were on a self-destructive path and changing their ways hadn't happened overnight after all. They had had a lot of issues to work through. But they had done it together. And while they were doing much better now, they still knew that they had a long way to go.
Even if they had done their part helping take down the Supreme. Even if they had helped make their world better. Even if they still fought all the rogue Miraculous holders who had refused to give back their jewels. They could always do more, do better.
But Adrien didn't want to think about this in the calmness of the night. This was a moment of happiness. In his room, he now felt safe. It was his home, his father was nearby and he could always help them if they needed him.
It had also, in a way, become Marinette's home. She had gravitated towards the patches of warmth she felt there like a cat and he loved teasing her about it. But he loved her presence there even more.
He couldn't be happier about the fact that she also had a place where she felt loved and cherished. She had grown up missing this but it was never too late to catch up and he was determined to help her.
It had started with family dinners, movie nights, her sneaking out to spend every moment when she wasn't working at the bakery there. Sometimes she fell asleep there and he didn't have the heart to wake her up. So he would transform to carry her home or just leave her to sleep in his bed, while he took the sofa. Until he woke up one night and found her clinging to him, half hanging off the side and very much asleep, but obviously needing him close to her. Just like he needed her. So some changes had been made.
This had inevitably raised a few eyebrows and had prompted a very embarrassing talk with his father. His ears had been burning but he had refrained from trying and failing to explain to an outsider why the comfort they could give each other wasn't that. At least, it hadn't been back then. This also changed over time.
Now, years later, it often felt as if they were living together. Actually, it was something that Adrien had been thinking about more and more.
Marinette was always there, waking up next to her was nothing new, but he still sometimes worried that this would turn out to be just a dream. That if he blinked, Marinette would disappear and would be back to just imagining having her in his life.
It was a thin line between trying not to take something for granted and being afraid every second of every day that it could be gone just like that.
Losing his mother had left a mark on him, Adrien knew that. It was something he was still dealing with. It was better, of course. But sometimes it made everything feel so fragile, leaving him awake with worry in the middle of the night. While the love of his life turned on her back and kept sleeping, peaceful in the knowledge that he was there.
He didn't want to be afraid. He had let himself be happy and he cherished it immensely. He wanted to build a life with Marinette and to do this he should be brave.
But even as he thought this, he saw his hand move to touch the cheek that had been warmed up by the pillow, to make sure that she was real. It was a tender, loving gesture that had once felt foreign to him. Now he embraced the impulse to let his love show.
"Fleabag, get back to sleep."
The words were barely intelligible and her eyes didn't even open. But she knew.
Chuckling, Adrien leaned over her until his lips brushed hers.
"I love you," he whispered.
And the lady of his heart, the one who could be as fierce and scary as him, but also equally soft and loving, said it back. Well, more like mumbled, but it still counted.
By the time he lay down against his own pillow, she was sleeping as if this had never happened. But it had and it was enough to make Adrien close his eyes without fear that morning would take her away. He knew better.