Adrien Agreste took in a deep breath as he entered the bakery. Not out of nerves, but because the combination of sugar and vanilla now was something he associated with home.

"Oh, Adrien! Merry Christmas!" Sabine greeted him from the counter.

"Merry Christmas, Sabine."

"Tom and Marinette are upstairs. Just warning you now, it's a bit hectic."

Will they need my help with anything?" Adrien asked.

"I'm not sure, but bless Tom's heart he signed up for several food drives and may have bitten off more than he can chew."

"I will see what I can do." Adrien said.

"As soon as I can, I'll come and join you." Adrien nodded.

"Sounds great."

He walked up the stairs, his presents tucked away in his overnight bag.

"Where in the world did I put the thermometer?" Tom asked, his voice booming.

"It's right here, Papa."

Adrien opened up the door to his girlfriend's house to see Marinette running around like a madwoman, getting different things from all around the kitchen while her father was mixing something in a bowl.

"I need more thyme!" Tom called.

"Thyme, thyme, thyme." Marinette moved around the kitchen rifling through things. "Here it is!"

"Okay, now I need rosemary."

Knowing better than to interrupt the duo, Adrien got out the presents and placed them under the tree with the others. Grabbed the Ladybug themed apron Marinette had made him to match her Chat Noir one, he moved into the kitchen with the two of them.

"Where is the dang rosemary?" Marinette muttered under her breath.

Adrien spotted it right in front of him.

"Here, Mari." He said, handing it to her.

"Thanks Adrien." He smirked and started counting to see how long it would take her. "Here Papa."

"You're welcome." He said.

It wasn't like she hadn't done this before. He had snuck in multiple times as Chat Noir while she was in a designing spree and she hadn't realized he was there until minutes later.

"Oh my gosh! Adrien!" Marinette cried, finally realizing he was there.

"Hey, my lady." Adrien moved to hug her.

"Hey, when did you get here?" Marinette asked.

"Just now, but you two seemed pretty busy so I didn't want to interrupt anything."

"Oh well, we're trying to get twelve turkeys in the oven and so far we've only done seven." Marinette explained. "As you can see, Papa is a bit stressed."

"Don't worry, I'm absolutely fine! Gah! Where did I put the rosemary? I just had it."

"It's in your hand, Papa." Marinette giggled.

"Ah, right, of course."

"How many have you got done?" Adrien asked.

"We're working on the eighth one right now. So, we'll be pretty busy."

"Well, I certainly don't mind helping you guys out."

"Thanks, son, but you don't have to. You can go upstairs with Marinette. I'll come and get you when we're ready."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, your mother will be up soon and she'll help me."

"Alright."

As soon as they were upstairs, Marinette tackled him with a hug and a kiss.

"Sorry that I didn't get to greet you properly earlier."

"It's not a problem, you seemed pretty preoccupied."

"Papa is very kind, but he sometimes bites off more than he can chew."

"I can see where you get it from Miss. I'm-Going-To-Make-Sweaters-For-The-Kids-At-The-Hospital." Adrien teased. Marinette stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, you be quiet."

"Make me." He smirked as she pulled him in for another kiss.

Even after dating for as long as they have, every kiss still sent a jolt through him. He couldn't believe that this was real. That she was real and was kissing him.

"There, now will you quit?" Marinette teased.

"Hmm, I don't know, I may need another kiss before I am convinced." Marinette snorted.

"You dork."

"Your dork." He corrected her.

"And thank the Lord for that."

"Ugh, you two are cheesier than my camembert!" Plagg complained, phasing out of Adrien's pocket.

"You camembert it." Adrien smirked. Plagg, Marinette, and Tikki (who had come out of hiding) all groaned.

"Seriously, Adrien? That was absolutely terrible."

"You're the one who agreed to date me!"

"Remind me again why?"

"Because when I offered you my umbrella you fell head over heels in love with me and then when I showed you my dashing kindness as Chat Noir you fell for me yet again and then-."

"Okay, Adrien. I don't think you need to tell everyone our life story." Marinette said, cutting him off with red cheeks.

"Why not? And it's not everyone! There's only you, me, and our kwamis." He moved over to grab her hand and pull her up against him.

"And your kwamis would rather not be watching this!" Plagg cried.

"Oh, stop being a sourpuss, stinky stock! This is young love after all."

"It stops becoming exciting after a few millennia of witnessing it."

"Oh, don't listen to him. He's just grumpy because he hasn't received his present yet." Tikki said, shooting her counterpart a knowing look.

"A present?" Plagg said, perking right up. "Marinette, you shouldn't have!"

"You're just as much family as Tikki is." She said warmly. "You deserve a present for being the resident cat."

"What am I then?" Adrien asked, pulling out his best kitty eyes.

"Simple, you're the prince and I'm the princess." Marinette said, leaning forward to kiss his forehead.

Adrien let out a happy hum. He loved this girl. So much.

"I love you." He whispered, just because he could now. He had the freedom to kiss and hold her to his heart's content. Because she wanted it!

"I love you too."

And oh, how amazing it was to hear those words repeated. Words that he thought would never get repeated. But here he was, in the arms of his lover.

He backed up until his legs hit the chaise and then fell back, Marinette falling with him.

"Whoa!" She laughed. "You know, if you wanted cuddles you should've said something." She said, snuggling into his chest.

"Hmm. I guess." He placed a kiss on the top of her forehead as she relaxed into him. 

"So, would you like to know what's on the agenda tonight?" He nodded. "Well, Papa first has to finish making his turkeys. Then we'll eat dinner and open up one present each."

"Well, that's a good thing because I brought two for everyone."

"You didn't have to." Marinette protested.

"It's only fair that I return your kindness. You and your family have given me a home, something that I thought I would never receive." He said, stroking her hair softly.

"Imma punch your father." Adrien laughed.

"You don't have to do that. Seeing his face when I stop modeling for his brand and start modeling for yours will be enough."

"And you still want to do that?" Marinette asked.

"Do what? Model for you?"

"Mm hmm, you don't seem to enjoy it a whole lot."

"I don't enjoy it because my father makes it boring, but why wouldn't I want to support my wife's business?" He looked down at her affectionately as her blue eyes grew wide and her face grew red.

"Wife?"

Adrien blinked, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Sorry, was that too soon? I shouldn't have assumed anything! I just thought since you know..." He trailed off.

"No, no. Fourteen year-old me would've died if she heard you say that, though."

"Oh believe me, the feeling is mutual."

"We were dumbos when we were that young."

"We were teenagers experiencing love for the first time. Did we go a little overboard? Yeah, we did. But it was always with the right intentions."

"I stalked you."

"With the intention of making sure that I was okay! Not with the intention of making me your boyfriend."

"Still doesn't make it right."

"Well no, but it does put you above Lila and Chloe." Marinette snorted.

"Because I just love being compared to them."

"Hey, I was just as bad as you were, okay? We were both in the wrong sometimes. The important thing is that we worked through it and came out stronger in the end." Marinette hummed.

"I suppose that you're right."

"Of course I'm right! You should really listen to me more often." She let out a snicker.

"Alright, kitty. We'll see." He pouted.

"Why do I feel insulted?"

"You know that input is very valuable to me. When it's actually knowledgeable."

"When has it never not been knowledgeable?"

"Adrien, you literally suggested to defeat Mr. Pigeon by setting a bunch of cats on him."

"That was on off day!"

"And instead of fighting the akuma, you decided to fangirl with it because they were akumatized due to anime."

Adrien felt heat rise to his cheeks.

"That was one time!"

"And how can we forget your amazing solution to the summer akuma?"

"Okay, okay. So maybe I have dorky ideas sometimes, but I have just as knowledgeable ideas other times!"

"Oh believe me, I know. You make a fantastic Mr. Bug after all."

"Why thank you, but I prefer the spots on you."

"But your costume is so much better than mine! Mine is so boring!" She pouted.

"Well, it's supposedly what you wanted deep down, so I think you only had yourself to blame."

"Not all of us think about what we would look like as a superhero. I was freaking out and the only thing I could think of was 'what is happening?' there's hardly any time for fashion sense! Besides, what was I supposed to do? Show up to the akuma battle wearing a dress?"

"You still would've been amazing."

"It's not practical! And now I've grown too attached to the classic Ladybug suit to change it. It's nostalgic."

"I feel you. There have been a few times where I thought about changing the Chat Noir suit, but it's iconic now, you know?"

"Yep! What changed would you make to it?" She asked.

"Well, I would want to add a bit more lime green to it and maybe get rid of the bell."

"Aw, but I love your bell, my precious kitty cat."

"I know you do bugaboo, but when I first created the suit, I added in the bell because being Chat Noir and being with you was home. Now, I finally found home as Adrien Agreste." He said.

Marinette turned her gaze up at him, her eyes swimming with so much emotion that he didn't even want to name.

"I love you so much." She said, before connecting her lips with his yet again.

All of her love and affection was poured into the kiss. It was achingly sweet and made Adrien's heart feel full. Wasn't he supposed to have bad luck? How could he have gotten so lucky that he would be able to cherish his first love, who was most likely his soulmate? How could he have gotten so lucky to have her be his superhero partner? For him to be the one she was in love with?

It seemed to be a one in a million chance, even smaller if he actually wanted to do the math. But somehow, some way, he managed to make that chance. The gamble had paid off and God was he glad that he had taken it. Otherwise, who knew where he and Marinette would be?

He loved to think that even without the miraculouses, even if he had stayed homeschooled, they would've found each other. But the realist in him knew that it wasn't likely. Then again, his reality wasn't very likely either, so what did the realist know?

"I love you too. So, so much." Adrien replied once they had stopped kissing for air. 

"I'm glad that you've found a family with us, Adrien. It's all that I ever wanted."

"I'm glad, too. You're amazing m'lady and I'm so thankful for you and Sabine and Tom. So, thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving this stray a chance."

"Well, thank you." She said.

"For what?" He leaned up to kitten kiss her nose.

"For coming into my life and allowing me to take you in." She placed a light kiss on his nose.

"Of course, bugaboo. The honor is all mine."

She situated herself so her head was snuggled into his chest, one of his arms was around her, and their legs were tangled up. It was an intimate position that Adrien absolutely loved. He loved cuddling with her and spending time with her.

Whether that was while she was designing or while he was working on homework, seeing her was enough. Even akuma fights didn't seem as daunting as they used to be, because now they departed with a kiss along with their signature fist bump.

"So, what do you say about a Yuri on Ice marathon?" Marinette asked, smirking.

"I say heck yeah!" She situated her chaise so that way they could see her best top, and started up the anime.

They had made it halfway through the season before Sabine called them down.

"Kids! It's time for dinner!" The two of them reluctantly got out of each other's embrace and headed downstairs.

Adrien's eyes went wide at the feast in front of him. It was a mix of traditional French Christmas foods and Chinese ones.

"Thank you, Sabine. This looks delicious." He said, taking a seat next to Marinette.

"Of course, Adrien. We're so glad that you could join us!" He beamed at the woman.

"Well, thank you for having me." Marinette's hand found his and intertwined them.

He gave her a squeeze which she returned.

"Well then, let's dig in!" Tom said, grabbing some dumplings.

Adrien smiled, the happiness from this family was really contagious and he was so thankful to be a part of it.

With the twelve turkeys safely in the oven, Adrien dug in, finally feeling like he was at home for Christmas for the first time in a very, very long time. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it! Have a great day to those who don't!                                               -Colorado