Marinette leaned on the nursery door, cradling her prominent belly with one hand as she lovingly eyed her husband eagerly painting the walls. He hadn't noticed her presence yet and was biting his lower lip as he carefully dipped his brush into the blue paint. There was a tenderness in his unwavering dedication, in the way he obviously strived for the room to be perfect for the big day that was coming rather quickly. A playful smirk spreading on her lips, she quietly stated:
"That's the wrong shade of blue, Chaton. That's powder blue, not baby blue."
Instantly spinning on his heels, Adrien faced her with blatant despair in his grassy green eyes.
"Awww, you can't be serious, princess, I'm almost done!"
Chuckling, Marinette stepped into the room and looked around her, trying to look like she was genuinely analyzing the color:
"Hmmmmm, let's see. Nope, that's definitely two shades too dark."
"Mari!" Adrien whined loudly, his brushed dangling from his desperate fingers. Suppressing a giggle, the young woman shook her head:
"It's going to mess with the twins' chakra, Minou. We have to start over."
"Mama, stop teasing Daddy, it's mean."

Grinning, the designer picked up her daughter in her arms, planting a kiss on each of her cheeks.
"What makes you think Mama's teasing Daddy, Emma?"
The little girl flashed her a toothy grin worthy of her father:
"Because my brothers' room is really pretty. We worked really hard, Mama."
Taking in her daughter's appearance, Marinette burst out laughing loudly. Her dark as could be locks had been tied back into a neat french braid, again a testimony of Adrien's newfound skills, all thanks to online tutorials. Her bright green eyes, a legacy of her handsome father, were shining with sheer pride as she gestured to the bare room they had obviously spent the afternoon painting. She had blue paint smeared on her chin as well as all over her shirt. Her shorts had miraculously been spared, but her legs hadn't been that lucky as blue paint spots were tainting her milky skin.
"Did you help Daddy paint the room, Emma?"
Beaming, the little lady answered eagerly:
"I did! Can't you tell? Does it look pretty Mama?"
"Of course, kitten. You two did a great job, your brothers gonna get the prettiest room in all Paris."
Wiggling out of her mother's embrace, Emma jumped back on the floor, pressing her cheek to the pregnant belly. Sighing, she whined softly:
"Mama, are Louis and Hugo going to arrive soon?"
"In a few weeks, baby girl, answered her father as he wiped his brushes clean. For the time being, they're really busy growing up in Mama's belly."
Seeing the huge pout instantly taking over her daughter's face, Marinette stepped in:
"What's wrong honey?"
"If they grow up too much, they won't fit into my dolls clothes, just like Daddy, and then I won't be able to play with them."

Unable to resist her baby's antics, Marinette scooped her back up into her arms, ignoring the uncomfortable tug in her midsection the movement provoked, and brought her into the kitchen with her to get started on their dinner, leaving Adrien on his own to wash his painting material and tidy up the twin's nursery.

A few hours later, an exhausted Marinette closed Emma's bedroom door on a very asleep young lady and crept back into the kitchen, planting a loud kiss on her husband temple, grabbing a discarded rag to dry the dishes he was currently absorbed into cleaning.
"Hey. I missed you today."
The young man looked at her from the corner of his eyes, a loving smile dancing on his lips:
"I missed you too, Princess. How was work today?"
"It could be better, sighed Marinette loudly. I could really do without your father checking on me every now and then. He is almost expecting me to deliver right in the middle of the sewing room, no matter how much I stress that I'm feeling fine and that the twins won't be coming out until a few weeks at the very least."
Adrien giggled lightly, handing her a wet plate.
"He sure is a different grandfather than the father I had, even if his tendencies to be overprotective are definitely still there."
As she put away the now dried plate, Marinette sighed:
"I think he's trying to compensate the absence he had been in your life by being present in hers."
The blond shrugged, grabbing another plate to clean. They did own a dishwasher, but this was their moment, the one chore they always did in tandem while talking about their day. They had gotten the habit in the first weeks of their marriage, when their dishwasher had gotten lost somewhere in the delivery, and it had stuck with them. It was their favorite moment of their day, something they both were looking forward to.
"He still spoils her way too much. Emma's four years old, she doesn't need all the things he buys her all the time."

Bracing herself for the upcoming confrontation, Marinette tried to sound casual as she spoke next:
"Speaking of, your dad asked again."
"And my answer's still no." the answer came without delay, in an icy tone unfamiliar in Adrien's mouth.
"Adrien, you do realize that you're walking in your father's steps out of sheer stubbornness?"
Her husband shook his head vehemently, furiously washing the cutlery, carefully averting her eyes.
"I'm not going to let my father ruin my daughter's childhood with modeling."
Marinette cringed internally. She hated to push Adrien's buttons, but her daughter's happiness was on the line.
"But Emma wants to. She's been bugging him ever since she saw that old perfume ad you did when we were fifteen. She wants to follow her Daddy's path."
"She's barely four years old, Princess. She's way too young to work in the fashion industry."

Throwing the rag she had been holding in the sink out of spite, Marinette crossed her arms over her chest as she faced her lover that was still avoiding her gaze at all costs.
"Okay, now you're just being childish, kitty. The upcoming collection, which, let me remind you, I am designing, is completely based and inspired by her. Emma is dying to dip her toes into modeling only because her Daddy is her freaking idol. Your father is eager to indulge her, because, let's face it, it really does make sense and he can't refuse her anything. Why won't you let her give it a try?"
"Sorry for wanting her to be allowed to be a child."
The blackette's features softened as she took in her husband's obvious concern toward their baby girl.
"Which is why she has an awesome and overprotective Daddy that knows the industry well enough to pull the plug as soon as it becomes work instead of play. Gabriel intends on supervising every photoshoot personally should you agree, and I have no doubts that you'll be watching very closely too. She'll be safe."

The young woman felt Adrien still beside her, his arms resting on the countertop, his head bowed in defeat. When he spoke, his voice was low, tentative:
"She wants it that much?"
Marinette nodded, even if he couldn't see her. Yes, Emma wanted it that much. She wanted to come to work with Mama, to hang out into Grandpa's office despite all the rules she always failed to follow, and take pretty pictures with Daddy. It was all she was talking about, and she couldn't for the life of her fathom how Adrien, who literally spent his days with his daughter, failed to see it.
"More than anything. The twins are about to turn her whole world upside down, Adrien. She's going to need special time with both of us, and if playing dress up in Mama's designs and taking cute pictures with Daddy pleases her, I don't see the harm in it."
The blond sighed deeply, finally turning around to face his wife:
"I'll think about it. I guess you're right, she can stop whenever she wants."

Embracing Adrien tightly, her slender arms safely locked around his waist, Marinette rested her head on his shoulder. Like they had done countless times in the previous five years, the young man's arms circled her waist, pulling him closer to him. He buried his nose into her hair, inhaling the scent of her shampoo.
"Before I forget, your parents said hello."
Giggling into his shirt, Marinette retorted:
"You went again? And you accuse your father of spoiling Emma?"
"We both know I'm spoiling Tom and Sabine by dropping by every morning. And I don't see anything wrong with Emma seeing her grandparents every day. Besides, they stressed again about just how much they're thrilled about the twins. Wanted to know if we had received the cribs already."
Cringing into his hug, Marinette tilted her head up to actually look at him.
"Please tell me your dad somehow restrained himself when he ordered them. I really don't want to repeat the golden crib set with diamonds incident."
"I wish I could, laughed Adrien as he rested his chin on the crown of her head. I'll remind you we're speaking of the man that has launched a kid's haute couture line for the sole purpose of his granddaughter being clad in top quality clothes at any given time. And may I remind you that he expects you to launch a baby clothing collection before you give birth? For Hugo and Louis' sakes?"
She tightened her grip on her husband, taking in his scent, his touch on her back. The expecting mother didn't want to sound ungrateful, but Adrien's father had a definite tendency to go over the top when it came to his grandchildren. He was obviously trying to redeem himself for the years of neglect his own son had gone through, but it was becoming ridiculous just how much he was willing to spend unnecessarily on either the twins or Emma.

Marinette stretched on her toes within her husband's embrace, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Let's head to bed. We're both exhausted."
Adrien nodded, taking the hand she offered him without any reluctance. As they both were slipping into their pajamas, the young woman suddenly recalled she had news to tell her man:
"Oh, I almost forgot! Chloe heard from Sabrina this week. Apparently, she's pregnant with Nate's. London's life is treating them well, he's less struggling to sell his drawings in a city where he's not labeled as a rapist. They have postponed the wedding because of the pregnancy, but overall they are doing good."
Searching for the container for his contact lenses, the blond hummed in agreement before commenting with a coy smile:
"I'm beginning to feel a little bit jealous of Chloe, my lady. You are spending so much more time with her than with me!"
A pillow hit him in the chest as Marinette answered, not taking his bait the slightest:
"Well, you're the one that left me on my own to go and play Daddy-at-home with Emma."
"You aren't going to give up your whole career when I'm the one severely allergic to nannies, Mari. As long as I'll be able to manage my lovely wife's collections from home, I'll stay with my children where I matter the most. And the day it becomes too much to bear here, we'll figure out a way to bring them to work with us."
She smiled at him warmly, pulling him to her into their bed.
"That being said, your… reshuffle of our partnership left me in dire need of an assistant to cope with your absence in our awesome office, and since Chloe's divorce had been so difficult and hard to go through, I think she's welcoming the distraction with more than open arms."

Sliding under the covers beside her, Adrien pulled her close to his chest.
"Hey, have you heard from Alya today?"
"Actually yes, they had another appointment at the fertility clinic today, and the baby has a strong grip it seems. She's twelve weeks along now, so it's relatively safe to say this one will stick around."
Adrien kissed her chastely, whispering against her lips:
"I figured something big had happened, Nino has yet to send me nonsense today."
"It's weird, whispered Marinette into his warm embrace, it took them five years to conceive, and yet, they never seemed to lose hope."
"I guess that's what love does. Make you believe that no matter how hard the road is, you'll reach your destination eventually."

The young designer let his heartbeat lulled her into a half asleep state, her hand affectionately draped over her pregnant belly. Before Morpheus grabbed her for deep slumber, a sudden thought occurred to her:
"Adrien?"
"Mmmh?"
Giggling to herself as she realized Adrien was as on the verge of falling asleep as she was, Marinette whispered against his skin:
"You won't believe what I did today."
"Mmmh?"
"I sent images of the latest ultrasound to an important fabric supplier and kindly asked Alya to ship me a thousand yards of light gray muslin."
Chuckling into her hair, her husband tiredly answered:
"I really love it when you swap SMS recipients. Those truly make miracles happen."
Through her tired state, Marinette managed to smile and kiss the man of her dreams tenderly:
"Texting you at 5:30 a.m. was definitely my most beautiful mistake yet, mon minou."

And... this is the end of a fantastic adventure.

If you are among the readers that followed me on FF, I'd invite you to check out the awesome fanfic website that is "Archive of our own", and find me there under the same username, since I won't be posting onto FF anymore. Their website makes it too tedious to post and/or edit a fic. I'm sick and tired of it.

It's been quite a journey, diverting me entirely from my original fanfic (Both of you) which I'm out to finish now before focusing 100% on a new project (Bring me home).

Thanks to all of you for commenting, leaving kudos, following or even anonymously reading this. I'm really proud of this fanfic, I've tried really hard to wrap it nicely without leaving any loose ends, and I truly hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it for you. Never in my life have I been anxious to read my e-mails as I've been the days after I posted new chapters. Your comments helped me keep up my insane posting schedule and helped me up when I was feeling down.

All in all, thank you. Thank you for reading all of this, for sticking with me through the end.

I hope to see you on my following projects, and, just so you know, I'll gladly accept prompts! Find me on Tumblr ;)