Twenty-four year-old Adrien Agreste has everything he could ever ask for. A loving wife, a successful business and the nightlife super hero persona he called Chat Noir.
Twenty-four year-old Marinette Dupain-Cheng has everything she could ever ask fo...
(A/N) this one hurt. Song Rec: "Love Me" by Yiruma
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"I feel terrible, like there's a weight on my chest."
"A heart is a heavy burden."
-Howl's Moving Castle
He had expected himself to feel a lonely, quiet call when he saw Lila and Nathanael draped over one another cradling a baby boy in their arms. He was so small, patches of auburn hair and sea foam green eyes blinking as he tried to adjust to the hospital lighting.
Marinette let her hand linger along his shoulder, pulling him along to Alya's assigned room. Instead of feeling that gut-wrenching feeling, all he felt was happiness. Happy that they both found their peace after searching for it for so long. They were happy and that made Adrien happy, too.
Alya was laying in her bed with the sheets pulled up to her waist, Nino kissing one of the twins' foreheads. Their little pink and purple woven caps made Marinette almost want to coo. She always entertained herself with the idea of having children on day.
They both got to hold the little ones in their arms, gently rocking them back and forth as they slept. Nino and Alya looked exhausted, but relief and love filled their faces. There was so much raw emotion and love in one place that it made Adrien's heart swell.
He longed for the childhood he once wished to forget, of his mother and her soft voice as the fire glowed soft copper and gold embers. He had to officially talk to her at some point, waiting until he was ready to reopen that wound again.
Marinette was his life force through it all, making sure he did not fall too fast or too hard into the icy waters below. And for that, he was forever grateful.
Just as they were leaving the hospital, he stopped in the middle of the parking lot. Marinette glanced behind herself worryingly, asking if he was okay. Just hearing her voice and having her near was enough.
The distance between them closed, shifting into an almost desperate embrace as Adrien's eyes swelled up with fresh tears.
"What's wrong?" she cupped his face. "Babies got you all torn up?"
He laughed quietly, resting his forehead against hers. "They are not tears of sadness, bugaboo. I have never felt so more satisfied with my life than I have in this very moment."
She let her hands gently run through his blond hair, waiting for him to continue. He melted into the touch.
"As a child, I did not realize how surrounded by love I was until it was gone. I was so alone that some days it felt like an endless routine. Then I met this beautiful, loving, kind-hearted girl who wore a spotted suit and had the most gorgeous sky blue eyes."
She felt her face heat up just a bit.
"I know love at first sight is not the right words for it, no. Over the years we established a trust and connection that will forever bond us until forever and even then some. I learned to accept my faults because of her, learned how to love. I tried to deny these feelings, pushed them down in a fear that it would ruin our partnership. If anything, I think it brought us closer than ever before."
She was crying now, too.
"Somewhere in the middle of it all, I fell back in love with this amazing woman who somehow puts up with me despite wanting to claw my eyes out at every cat pun." he kissed her temple. "We learned to grow and better ourselves, something that did not come easy. If I had to do it all over again, I would do it in a heartbeat. To spend the rest of my life with you is a gift I never thought I'd be able to have."
Adrien kissed her slow and full of love. Not burning or desperate, just of an innocent and joyful love.
"I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he lifted her hand with the engagement band winking gold up at him. "I want to marry you. I want to start a family with you. I want to wake up every morning and see you beside me. I want to do it all for and with you, forever."
"Forever and then some?" her eyes glistened underneath the bright moon above, the dark clouds parting away.
"Forever and always."
FIN
extra
On a frost-biting winter's evening, Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Agreste lay surrounded by her friends and family. She saw her three children, all grown up now and living lives of their own. They took turns holding her hands in their own, holding on tightly as her face fell into a quiet smile.
Her grandchildren were already fast asleep on the little green couches pushed up against the big windows. Her body felt heavy, yet her heart was full. Full of the love all around her, staying by her side until the very end.
Alya and Nino were tearing up, their daughters holding onto them as if they were going to disappear into a puddle of tears at any given moment. They weren't all here, watching the snowflakes dance outside and stick to the glass.
Holding up a shaking hand, she pressed a kiss to the golden band around her ring finger. Most days she forgot he was already gone, the feeling of him never truly leaving her side.
Adrien was waiting for her.
"Thank you," her voice was low and hoarse. "I could not have asked for a better life. I will cherish it forever."
Forever and then some? Her ring asked, Adrien's bright smile reflecting back.
"Forever and then some."
Resting her head back against the ungodly amount of pillows Alya insisted on setting up, she never let her small smile dull even for a second. She whispered those two final words confidently, her vision fading before a burst of beautiful golden light awaited her at the end of a tunnel.
She saw her parents and Emilie already there on the other side.
Adrien's hand was out, waiting patiently for hers.
