Marinette stayed silent for a few minutes, her head bowed down, her fingers intertwined with his in her lap. After a few minutes that felt like an eternity to him, she looked up to his green gaze, her own eyes glossy and her cheeks already wet with salty tears. "Silly kitty..."

Her whole demeanor had drastically changed by then. Whereas she had been outwardly hostile upon his earlier arrival at the bakery, her stance was now relaxed, her voice soft and caring, yet a little bit shaky.

Adrien had done it.

He had fallen for her. For Marinette.

She wasn't a sorry backup plan or a mere consolation prize. He really did love her, and only her. All of her.

And there she had to go and put him through hell. She had been way beyond unfair to him, letting her own silly insecurities cloud her judgment. She started to feel a little bit guilty, but shook it off quickly, refusing to let the guilt taint their moment.

After all, over the course of the last few months, they've both had their fair share of negative emotions to last them for a long while.

"My silly kitty..." she repeated, ever so gently cupping his face with both of her hands. Her beautiful bluebell eyes were shining with pent up emotions. Adrien read a little remnant of anger into them, a little bit of guilt, and most of all, love.

"I've had a ginormous crush on this boy for a very long time..." she half-whispered, her lips stretched into a somewhat sheepish smile.

Adrien smiled back in disbelief, leaning in to kiss her softly on the lips."That much, huh? Since when?"

She chuckled lightly and put her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat going mad underneath her fingers. "Ever since I got stuck in your umbrella. That's when I heard you laugh for the first time."

His eyes widened with shock. "T-That was almost four years ago, Marinette! You've liked me for all this time? And never said anything about it?"

She nodded, a fiery blush now spreading on her cheeks.

The blonde pulled her into his lap, trailing feather-like kisses on her jaw and over her neck. "What about the kitty?"

She smiled fondly, leaning into his chest. "You made sure that I'd fall for him, hard. And I sure did."

All previous hesitations forgotten, Adrien kissed her properly then, his lips light and soft on hers, before burying his nose in her neck. "I love you, Marinette. More than my own life."

She kissed the top of his head before resting her own against his. "I love you too, Kitty."

---

When Sabine later went to check on them, getting somewhat worried as it was getting really late, she found the pair blissfully sound asleep on the couch curled up against each other. Adrien had wrapped his arms snugly around the lithe figure of her daughter, who was leaning on his chest, her head comfortably resting in the crook of his neck. They both seemed to be so peacefully sleeping she didn't have the heart to wake them up to make them move to the way more comfortable bed instead.

When she went back downstairs, Tom looked at her expectantly. "Well? Are they okay?"

The Asian woman smiled at her husband warmly. "Both of them are fast asleep. Hugging so tight it'd take us a crowbar to separate them."

The huge man smiled back. "Good thing I called his father's assistant earlier, then."

---

Somewhere along the night, in the wee hours of the morning, their rather uncomfortable position made Marinette unwillingly stir up from her dreams. She ever so gently woke Adrien up too, still half-asleep herself, and led the young man up to her bed. The last few weeks of restless nights had made them both way too wound up to think anything weird out of sharing the same bed, and Marinette deeply longed for the familiar comfort of her own bed replacing the weird and uncomfortable way they'd been intertwined on her couch. Even in their way beyond dazed state, she couldn't bring herself to let him lay awkwardly on the unfit piece of furniture on his own while her bed was more than wide enough to accommodate both of them anyway. He laid down beside her without offering any real resistance, his mind completely clouded with drowsiness, and she happily curled back up against his chest, his breathing quickly lulling her back to more than welcome slumber.

They slept better in these few hours than either of them had in the whole past week.

Sunrise eventually came, and Marinette felt the warmth of the sun on her face waking her slowly. She stretched her arms, welcoming the light of the beautiful morning greeting her outside her window. For the first time in a very long while, she felt at peace, soothed. She felt like every part of her, of her life had found its rightful place, and she reveled in the blissful yet unfamiliar feeling, letting it fully sink in.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was greeted by green irises gazing right into her soul. "Good morning, princess," he whispered tenderly.

A warm smile spread onto her lips. "Good morning, silly kitty."

Adrien raised a hand tentatively but hesitated and awkwardly let it drop to the mattress before reaching its destination, all of a sudden looking very uneasy. "C-Can I..."

Marinette frowned slightly, unsure of how to deal with his sudden change of mood. "What's the matter, Adrien?"

"Can I... Can I kiss you?"

She smiled warmly. "Please do."

He chuckled lightly, his sour mood already long gone.

To Marinette, it became clear rather quickly that all the young man had needed was her approval, a simple sign that he hadn't dreamt the events of the night before. Some sort of green light. So she leaned in to kiss him, aiming for a light peck on the lips, a little reminder of how much she loved him despite the regrettable events of the past months. She wanted him to know that they were still partners and that she was eager to fix their fragile bond. He leaned earnestly into her embrace and as soon as their lips touched, something sparked inside their wounded hearts. The kiss deepened quickly, becoming more and more heated by the second. The months apart had made them both desperately thirsty for the other's affection, literally aching for the other's touch. Marinette found herself dragged toward him like a drowning man to oxygen and she kissed him back fiercely, pouring all her love for the blond into her gestures.

"A-A-Adrien..." she moaned softly under his caresses.

His hands were slowly waking up, roaming over her body like they wanted to carve every curve, every line of her body into his mind. Daring fingers tentatively toyed with the hem of her shirt, too shy to remove it themselves. Reluctantly breaking their kiss for a second, she lifted it over her head and tossed it away before pressing her lips to his again. Marinette snaked her arms back around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Adrien groaned and cupped her breast with his right hand, the other slowly caressing her thigh over the thick fabric of her pants. Adrien broke their embrace to remove his own shirt, discarding it in one swift movement, and went back to her skin like it was catnip to him. He kissed her neck, and went down, kissing her collarbone, her shoulder, leaving a hot wet trail of kisses on her skin. He unclasped her bra, tossing it away impatiently before resuming his loving work.

Marinette arched her body into his, shivering with anticipation. There was nothing left in her universe but Adrien kissing, touching, biting, licking, and longingly exploring every single inch of her body with his mouth, his tongue, his hands. Everything else went to waste: superhero duties, school work, double identities... everything was quickly forgotten but Adrien's lips and tongue on her craving skin. His teeth found her nipples, his tongue playing with them lovingly until she moaned loudly, begging for more. She tugged on his hair, pressing her flesh against his. He went on with his exploration of her body, licking and kissing her abdomen, her navel. He unfastened the button of her pants, sliding them down her perfect legs, kissing every inch of them along the way. Her panties followed the same path promptly, and he drew back a little, contemplating the perfect picture before him. Suddenly very self-conscious under his scrutinizing gaze, Marinette tried to hide her bare breasts with her arms. Adrien stopped her. "Don't. You're beautiful. Magnificent."

She blushed deeply, but she abandoned hiding and instead reached to him for another kiss. He obliged happily, before returning to his study of her body.

With a movement that startled her, he coaxed her legs open with his strong yet loving arms, cupping her rump with both hands and lifted her hips to meet his emboldened mouth. With gentle, delicate flicks of his tongue, he toyed with the small bead of flesh that was quick to send her head spinning, clutching to his hair for dear life. His hands finally opened her, slowly, gradually, insistently. With his thumb, he softly spread the moistness around, grinning when it earned him a loud moan. He pushed one finger inside her, still licking and sucking on her clit, and he felt her nails digging into his scalp. Marinette was writhing under his caress, and, encouraged by her reactions, he pushed another finger inside her softness, eliciting more loud moans from her. Soon enough, she was shuddering uncontrollably under his touch, and he went back to her lips, kissing her like there was no tomorrow. She noticed, somewhere in her bliss, that he still had pants and boxers on while she was fully naked. She quickly remedied to the situation, unfastening his pants' button and sliding them down his legs, before discarding his boxers hastily. Once fully naked, Adrien stretched himself, crashing his lips onto hers.

Marinette smiled into the kiss, taking his scent in. Shyly, she reached for the soft head of his erection, tentatively lingering on it and exploring his length, running the delicate pads of her fingers over the heavily veined skin. She could feel herself blush, but feeling him grow even harder in her hand shot a raw dose of confidence in her. She squeezed instinctively, feeling his muscle throb against her palm, enticing her to tighten her grip.

"Mari... if we don't stop right now I won't be able..."

"Then don't."

He shook his head. "We shouldn't... I don't have any..."

She kissed him again, wanting, demanding. "I'm on the pill."

"But..."

He looked at her with heavy-lidded eyes. Was she really implying...?

"I trust you, Adrien."

That's all he needed. Without any further ceremony, he buried himself in her wetness, moving ever so gently inside her, pleasure slowly building up in them both. She gripped fiercely on his shoulders, throwing her head back as she squealed in delight, "A-A-ADRIEN!"

Hearing her moan his very own name instead of Chat's was quickly driving Adrien over the edge. He increased his pace, thrusting faster and harder, a wave of pleasure swiftly washing over them both. Marinette pulled him in for a deep kiss, bliss sending an earthquake through her loins, her whole body quivering as she reached her apex. He reached his own climax barely a second after, and let himself fall on her, his body resting heavily on hers.

She hugged him tightly, a loving kiss planted on his temple. Adrien smiled softly against her shoulder. "That was..."

"Incredible. Yeah."

He nibbled at her collarbone, unable to bring himself to let go of her just yet. She broke the comfortable silence a few minutes later. "I think I could use a shower."

Adrien snickered and stroked her bare arm lovingly. "Do you want any company?"

His lady wiggled her way out of the bed and quickly disappeared into the bathroom, giggling. "Not happening, Kitty, I don't want to spend the whole day in there!"

The young man leaned back on her mattress, a wide grin plastered on his face, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.