We are still kids, but we're so in love
Fighting against all odds
I know we'll be alright this time
Darling, just hold my hand
Be my girl, I'll be your man
I see my future in your eyes
(Ed Sheeran, Perfect, 2017)

It was getting rather dark outside, but Marinette didn't even bother to notice. All of her attention was solely focused on the alterations she was making on the wedding dress hanging on the dress form before her. She quietly hummed the love song playing in the background, happily hemming and correcting the garment. She proudly took a step back, admiring her work.

It was a rather simple yet stunning dress. With a floor-length A-line skirt made of sparkling white tulle, the backless dress was really a piece of art, one of her best designs to that day. It sported a soft boat neck line, and the corsage was embroidered with ivory pearls in a very intricate pattern. A matching veil was waiting patiently on another work table, with so many pearls sewn into it that it was shining into the mild darkness reigning in her workroom. She was really proud of her work, and dearly hoped the client would love it as much as she did.

Suddenly, strong arms snaked around her waist, and a low, well-known voice whispered in her ear, "Do you remember our own wedding day?"

With a frustrated sigh, Marinette lashed out. "Adrien Agreste! I had scissors in my hands! I could have hurt you! Or even worse, gotten blood on the dress!"

He ignored her pleas, peppering featherlight kisses along the line of her jaw. "We were on the beach, you wore a dress so beautiful that I fell in love with you all over again."

"Adrien, don't try to distract me!" she shrieked, trying to escape her husband's arms, to no avail.

He only chuckled, refusing to relinquish his grip on her. "You looked so small as you walked up to me on your father's arm, him utterly glowing with pride."

"Adrien!"

He nibbled on the lobe of her ear, his arms circling her waist and swaying his hips in beat with the music. "We danced our first dance to this very song."

She spun around within his embrace, very clearly annoyed. "Adrien, this dress is due next week!"

"Then you have plenty of time to make another one," he pouted, leaning forward to press a kiss on her lips.

She frowned, trying to pull away from him. "Do you really want Chloe to go all Bridezilla on us?"

He shrugged, still hugging her tightly. "I still don't get her and Nathaniel getting married. They're like … water and oil."

Marinette smiled sweetly. "I do. Where she is flamboyant and loud, he is shy and composed. She makes him come out of his shell and actually try things he wouldn't try without her, while he tones her down and makes her think twice before acting. They complete each other."

Adrien kissed her collarbone tenderly. "Just like us. You're the yang to my yin."

"I am, kitty. I sure am." Marinette's lips met his in a heated kiss, as she knew fairly well she was done for. Even five years into their marriage, she couldn't refuse him anything, and that included kisses and cuddles in her workroom when she was behind on schedule. "So what are you up to tonight, besides preventing me from getting work done?"

"I missed you," he confessed without further ceremony, his voice muffled by her hair.

She laughed softly, breathing in his familiar, comforting scent. "We saw each other not even three hours ago, discussing the fall collection in your office. We even had dinner together, silly kitty."

"That's way too long ago," he answered, pouting like a child that had been denied a candy. "Why are we even paying all of those seamstresses if I can't have my wife to myself? Surely one of them can finish it?"

Marinette sighed deeply, hugging her husband tight by that point. "You're going to be the end of me, you know that? I don't want them to finish it, Adrien, it's my design. They're busy enough with the fall line as it is anyway."

He shrugged. "You can always finish that dress tomorrow."

"Yeah, I could very well. Until tomorrow night you find another excuse to keep me all to yourself, and the day after. You're getting selfish, Adrien," she chuckled lightly, gently booping him on the nose.

He smiled sheepishly. "Can I help it if I can't ever get enough of my amazing wife?"

"You're such a sap."

"Last time I checked, you loved me like that," he said, finally letting go of her. Marinette pecked him on the lips, ignoring Plagg pretending to gag in the background. Tikki was curled up against her counterpart, sleeping peacefully.

She chuckled lightly, returning her attention to Chloe's dress. "I do love you, minou. How was the institute tonight?"

Adrien smiled sadly, recalling the long way he and his father had come. It took Marinette the better part of two years to convince him to at least talk to Gabriel on the phone, if only to humor the psychiatrists who were sure that would help both men move on. It took another year of awkward and short conversations on the phone before he could bring himself to visit the psychiatric ward where his father was imprisoned. He had visited monthly ever since, trying to slowly mend the broken bond with his last living relative, constantly encouraged and cheered for by his amazing wife and guided by Master Fu's quiet wisdom.

Speaking of, Adrien stopped by the old man's shop at least once weekly, always bringing him pastries from his in-laws bakery. Plagg also greatly enjoyed those meetings and had taken a liking in pranking poor Nooroo, who had made a full recovery from his awful experience. Some jeweller Master Fu knew pretty well had been able to repair the brooch without much hassle, to Adrien's relief. The Guardian honored his promise of answering all of his questions regarding his mother and her past as a miraculous wielder, which surprisingly didn't caused her early death. As far as Master Fu knew, she really had passed away from natural causes. Both men built a strange but solid friendship on those premises, and the old man guidance and counseling helped Adrien greatly to cope with the entire ordeal.

"Great, actually," he finally answered. "Father's not rambling as much as he used to, and he can hold conversations most of the time, if we don't bring up any triggers. It's still a little weird to see him in those hospital clothes, but he's … we're making progress." He trailed off, unsure of the right way of formulating his thoughts, "Mari… I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you don't hate him, he … he almost killed you, and—"

"But he didn't," Marinette cut short, her tone gentle and soothing. "He's the last blood-related family you have, and he's already paying a really steep price for his wrongdoings."

"Still," Adrien prodded, his hand buried in his pockets, "it seems to me that it's an awful lot to forgive that easily. Heck, even I haven't forgiven him, how could you?"

She smiled, a pin between her lips. "I don't know if forgiveness is the right word, chaton. I think it's more about understanding. I've told you a million times already that he is sick, Adrien, and in his ill mind he was doing the right thing to protect you, to give you your family back. It doesn't mean that I'm ready to overlook everything he has done to Paris, to us, but for your sake, I think we have to try to work it out. I'm genuinely glad that he's getting better. Did he ask about the company this time?"

Her words made his heart explode in his chest. How in the world so much kindness, understanding and wisdom could fit in that little body? Adrien closed the distance she had put between them, and pulled her back into his arms, forcing her to stop her hand stitching, making her grunt in frustration. He ignored it, nuzzling his nose in her hair. "Not at all. He doesn't seem to care very much, if you ask me. All he ever talks about is me, my childhood and my mother. He did, however, ask about my lovely wife."

"Oh?"

He kissed the top of her head softly. "He wanted to know when we're planning to give him grandkids." Adrien felt her stiffen in his embrace upon hearing his words. "Hey relax princess, I was just—"

Marinette pulled back from him slightly, looking into his eyes and blurted out, "How about this fall?"

His mind short-circuited hearing those words.

He had been heavily hinting that he wanted children sooner than later for the past two years, but the timing had never been right for her.

The first months at Agreste had been harsh. He had kept the fashion line for her, because she enjoyed designing so much and was so good at it. It had the added bonus of keeping himself occupied and providing a living for both of them, so on paper it was the perfect solution.

Reality had proved to be a bit rougher. A lot of Gabriel's employees had quit after Hawkmoth's demise, to avoid being associated with the supervillain. The ones that remained were wary of the Agreste son, and gossiped shamelessly about how he had put his fiancée in charge of the fashion department without any formation whatsoever. To Adrien's utter dismay, Marinette had therefore overworked herself to the bone for weeks on end trying to prove herself while preparing their wedding, despite being the only employee in the building that didn't have to fear unemployment.

Her career as Agreste head designer had finally soared through the roof when Alya had conveniently let it slip to the press Marinette had designed her wedding dress herself. The day after, they had received hundreds of inquiries concerning the launching date for a wedding line of the Agreste brand. This had been her well-deserved and ultimate recognition, effectively silencing any lingering doubt about her competence.

But it also meant a lot more work for both of them even if Natalie was doing most of the managing, and she kept stalling the baby project, always giving him the same reason: they didn't have enough spare time on their hands to care properly for a child. They barely had time to spend with Alya and Nino, who already had their second child on the way and literally lived across the street. How could they expect to have enough hours in a day to look after a baby of their own? Tom and Sabine had dropped the matter a while ago, knowing that it was a sensitive topic between the lovebirds, but it was no secret to anyone that a bunch of little knitted socks were waiting longingly at the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

And because Adrien loved his wife more than anything, he waited patiently for her to be ready to take the next step in their relationship, in their lives.

"This fall? Mari, it's already late February and—and—Princess, are you trying to tell me something?"

The way she was staring at him, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and waiting nervously for his reaction, was enough confirmation for him. "YOU'RE PREGNANT?"

She nodded shyly, still watching his face closely, her whole body tensed as a guitar string.

"But—when? How?" he stammered, his heart pounding in his ears.

Plagg snickered in the background, disturbing Tikki who stirred up lazily from her slumber. "Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much…"

Adrien frowned. "I know how babies are made, thank you very much, Plagg." Taking Marinette's hands into his, he asked softly, "I thought you weren't ready?"

"I've been off the pill since around Christmas. I wanted to surprise you, I thought you wanted this…" She trailed off, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Adrien pulled her close, hugging her. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I want this more than anything. I'm thrilled, really. I'm just surprised, I thought you didn't want kids for the time being."

She wiped her tears, smiling as he kissed her wet cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm really emotional lately. I… I just figured that if I kept waiting for the right time, it would never come. Besides, I realized it was unfair of me to overlook your dreams in favor of mine, knowing you'll be there every step of the way to help me make this work."

He smiled at her, a smile full of love and bliss. "When are you due?"

"We'll know for sure when we see a doctor, but if my calculations are correct, early October."

Adrien cupped her cheeks with his fingers, peppering her face with kisses. "Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine. You won't have to sacrifice a thing, I promise. When did you find out?"

"This morning. I made three tests just to be sure," she added, chuckling. "I had a big scheme planned out at home for you to find out, but instead I ruined the surprise and just kinda blurted it out when you brought it up. Sorry."

She was obviously disappointed, and Adrien just had to try and comfort her. "I don't mind, princess. Perfection is overrated anyway, I prefer my spontaneous Marinette. That's the woman I chose to marry. She is my perfection."

She gasped, clasping her hands to her mouth, "Oh my gosh! I've been teasing you for years for buying a house without telling me, but I—I just basically did the same thing, didn't I?"

"Pretty much," Adrien laughed, "but you're talking to the man who couldn't even wait for you to be discharged from the hospital to propose."

Marinette wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder, "True. Tell me, what would've you done if I had forgotten in the morning?"

A kiss, Plagg silently gagging in the background, another kiss. "I would've proposed every morning, until you remembered." He kissed her again, this time a slow and loving kiss. She melted into his arms, taking in his scent, his heat. He smiled into the kiss and pulled back with a smirk. "We'll make a doctors appointment tomorrow morning. But right now, your husband is gonna take his beautiful wife home and make love to her like she deserves to."

"But—Chloe's dress?" Marinette supplied weakly, fully aware that it was useless.

He lifted her in his arms, like he had done five years prior on their wedding day and like he still did every chance he got. "Tomorrow. Don't even try to think I will leave you alone after dropping news like these on me."

Knowing pretty well that he had already won, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head in the crook of his neck. Tikki and Plagg flew into her purse, hiding from onlookers, while Adrien carried her out of the building, both impervious to the curious looks of their employees.

Adrien finally set her down as he reached the alley behind Agreste headquarters, pulling his car keys from his pockets.

Marinette obviously had other things in mind, pulling him down for a kiss and smiling wickedly, Tikki sitting on her shoulder, "Race you home?"

"But… Is it safe for the baby?" he asked, eyes wide.

Tikki giggled, "Thanks! Plagg owes me pats now!"

"Should have known he wouldn't even last an hour before worrying," Plagg grumbled, eliciting a laugh from the rest of their odd group.

"Don't worry, Adrien, the suit will protect the baby. Have your fun."

With a smile, both heroes called upon their transformations and took off on the rooftops in colorful flashes. They ran, both drunk on the familiar sensation of the wind caressing their exposed skin, on the flutter of their stomachs as they dived into the void.

From a street below, a civilian pointed to the dark silhouettes jumping from roof to roof and called out, "Look! It's Panther and Coccinelle!"

Adrien smirked behind the mask. He looked at the chocolate skin of his wife a few steps ahead of him, at the myriad of brown braids tied up in a ponytail at the back of her head, going down to her hips. Her suit was mostly red, with large black dots covering her back. He didn't have to look at himself to know his blond hair had been replaced with short brown curls, his eyes casting a yellow glow on his olive skin.

The glamour Tikki and Plagg had imagined was perfect.

All of those years, and yet nobody suspected that the so-called next generation of superheroes watching over Paris was simply Ladybug and Chat Noir in clever magical disguises.

Ladybug and Chat Noir, chasing each other on Parisian rooftops, like they always had.

Without surprise, Marinette reached their house before him. She landed gracefully on their bedroom balcony, dropping her transformation and flashing him a bright smile. He jumped beside her in one swift movement and took in the beauty of his wife. Her hair was back to a blueish-black that shone in the moonlight, her eyes to the beautiful blue he loved so much.

She stood on the tip of her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in the blond hair. "I love you, Adrien," she purred against his lips as he chased them, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

When they broke apart to breathe, he rested his forehead on hers and laid his hand on her stomach, a magnificent smile spread on his lips.

"I love you too, Mari. Both of you."

The End