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Ladybug slipped through the window with ease, not sneaking in or anything, since this was already a home of her own. Getting inside the room of their apartment as if she were still hiding from someone out of mere habit.
It was something she was quite used to doing already. Her years of sneaking back to her own bedroom after patrolling had made her an expert on the subject. She could enter almost anywhere during the night with nobody noticing.
This time, and every night ever since they moved together, someone did notice her.
Someone had been waiting for her most of the night.
It was around 1am, and there was Lila, propped up against the pillows, covered in the sheets of their shared bed, half-asleep. Nowadays it was honestly quite silly to think they were actually the bane of the other's existence when they were teenagers.
Lila still used to bicker with Marinette , though. The difference being that it was all lighthearted now.
“Tough night?” Her wife asked gently, making room in the bed for Marinette.
She answered with a tired nod.
If you had told a fourteen-year-old Marinette that her future didn't involve Adrien Agreste, she would have cried. If you told her she was going to marry Lila Rossi instead, she would have bursted out in laughter, then called an exorcist once she realized you were being entirely serious.
Even if it wasn't exactly the life she had imagined, this was really the life Marinette wished for back then. She just chose an unexpected person to spend it with. She had a nice job as a junior fashion designer, and the hamster she had adopted was deep in his sleep already.
“Spots off.” Marinette commanded, and with the de-transformation came the exhaustion of the patrol taking a toll on her body.
Patrolling used to be the least of her obligations as a hero back then. She used to have more important, stronger things to fight. So, her tiredness was pretty much adult life and a teenagehood of endless fights catching up.
She threw herself into the bed, seeking for her partner's warmth. “It was alright, I’m just sleepy.” Marinette yawned, tucking herself into Cerise's shoulder. “Ma Cerise…”
Cerise, (Or Lila, as Marinette had met her. Though she eventually decided to settle for the name of ‘Cerise bianca’.) didn't hesitate. Taking Marinette into her arms, embracing her as close as she could, trying to fill her heart with warmth.
They both enjoyed the comfort the other brought.
Cerise ran her hands through Marinette’s short hair, from the top of her head to her nape. Marinette’s hair had always been so soft… “I kind of miss the twintails,” She purred.
Her partner giggled gently, the tiredness didn’t quite allow her to answer as she would have done so whenever she had more energy.
Marinette would've argued back about the multiple identities her wife used to have, about the wigs, about how freaked out she had been once Lila took the wig off for the first time. But for now, she decided to just try to fall asleep quickly and go back to bickering in the morning. “Do you now?”
“Mhmmm,” Cerise hummed, her hands going down, until she cupped Marinette’s cheeks with such gentleness, as if she were going to break if she touched her too roughly. “But you’re just beautiful, no matter how you look. Mask or not. Twintails or not.”
She lifted up Marinette’s chin, until their eyes locked together.
Then, she showered Marinette with kisses. They all came from the girl’s forehead to her cheeks, from her cheeks to little pecks in her lips.
And Marinette, not wanting to be the only victim to their love, immediately attacked her lover's jawline with the same kisses, the same intensity, until it came down to Cerise’s neck.
It wasn't long until they both fell asleep on the other's arms. Paris was quite cold during the winter, and sharing warmth with your lover wasn't quite a bad idea when it came to that. None of them could mind.
Chrysallis wasn't there anymore. Marinette didn't have any enemies. No more Akumas, no more villains, just peace and quiet.
They could allow themselves to love each other now.
To just live in tranquility.
Which was the life both of them have always wanted. Nothing more, nothing less.
Peace, their true selves revealed to one another and their wishes fulfilled. There was nothing else they could've asked for.
There were times where Cerise tried to check if this was an illusion or not.
And whenever she stole kisses from Marinette to try to vanish it, Marinette always stayed in place. Showing everything was real.
Cerise was glad it was.