Merlin wasn't sure how long they stayed up there, perched on the Eiffel Tower, talking and kissing and eventually dozing off against one another in the fading daylight. Time always seems to go faster when life is bright and happy, funny enough.
The day was a blur of happy memories and tender emotions that Merlin hoped he would be able to remember his whole life. He wanted to remember this day when he was old, dying and lonely, to have these moments, these kisses to look back on in the dark, loneliness of the early morning hours.
In short, Merlin was probably the happiest he had ever been.
But he was also dead tired and his butt was sore from sitting on the hard metal all day. So he roused Adrien and they agreed to head home for the day. After all, there was school tomorrow. And there was a certain transphobic bitch to show up.
Merlin's face hurt from smiling as he closed his eyes and layed back in bed, finally ready to say good bye to the best day of his life, in the hope of a series of even greater days in the future. It was hard to believe after almost a year of being awkward and flustered and very much not attractive around Adrien, and then in the last months, finally finding his confidence, he had still managed to find a mutual affection there.
It was hard to believe it was mutual, even knowing how much Chat Noir loved Ladybug and how much care and affection he had always shown Merlin.
Not that it was unwelcome. Not at all.
Merlin didn't really put a lot of effort into getting ready the next morning. Mostly because he was in too much of a rush to get to school and see Adrien. His boyfriend.
God damn, Merlin wasn't sure calling him that would ever get old. The jolt of unimaginable joy that he felt every time he so much as thought of the wonderful boyfriend he could now call his own was something he hoped would never fade. He never wanted to take perfection for granted. Never.
As a result of his rush, he got to school a little early. Okay, a lot early. For him at least.
Adrien got to school a few minutes after he did, beelining his way across the courtyard and embracing him for far longer than was necessary but no where near as much was welcome. "Good morning, monsieur." The casual use of Chat Noir's nickname for him left Merlin in jitters (good jitters), and the lingering feeling that absolutely nothing about this new development in their relationship could possibly be bad.
"Good morning, Kitty." Merlin smiled into Adrien's shoulder, turning his head to kiss his boyfriend's jawline softly before squeezing him a little tighter just before letting go. "What do you wanna do... you know while we wait for class to start?"
Good to know he was still a little awkward, no matter how close they were now. Merlin wasn't about to outgrow his ungainly nature that fast after all.
But Adrien only smiled, a cunning and suggestive little grin, so like Chat Noir that Merlin couldn't help but smile back. "We could kiss... you know... gross out all the normal people." So Adrien and Chat did have the same playful side.
Merlin smiled. His face was starting to hurt from all the smiling. He was going to have smile lines before he was 30. "Sure."
Adrien smiled a little wider before gently guiding Merlin's face to his own, pressing his still smiling lips to Merlin's. His mouth was just as soft as the day before, his lips warm and full against Merlin's. His soft smiled faded into Merlin's lips as he molded their mouths a little closer together.
It was settled - Merlin would never stop loving the feeling of Adrien's lips on his. They stayed like that for almost 10 minutes, lazily kissing off to the side of the courtyard as warm, buttery morning light filled the space and other students streamed in a few at a time. Merlin thought he might have heard Chloe's disgusted scoff in the background just before they broke apart, separated by the bell.
Adrien wrapped his hand around Merlin's as they made their way up to homeroom, swinging their wrists gently and talking about something... maybe biology homework. Merlin was too busy admiring his boyfriend and relishing the feeling of Adrien's hand in his to pay too much attention.
Someone, probably Alya whooped when they walked in hand and hand and Nino walked up to get a high five from the both of them. "Congrats, man!"
Merlin grinned, wide and proud, so very happy to have such a perfect human being for his very own.
Reluctantly, he let go of Adrien's hand and moved to go to his seat, not before Adrien stole one last tiny kiss though. Alya clapped him on the shoulder as he sat down and he heard a few more people mutter their heartfelt congratulations as he tried to focus back in on school and set up his notebook.
Not even Lila's comment about how Adrien was a pervert for liking a 'girl-boy' and how Merlin was a nasty person for 'deceiving him' (even though Adrien had known Merlin was trans all along and Merlin's birth assigned gender had literally no bearing on their current relationship) could take away from the bubble of joy he knew he would exist in for the next several months at the very least.
Focusing on class was hard but focusing on Adrien was so much easier. So he decided to focus on his gorgeous boyfriend instead of class.
God, he would never tire of it. Adrien Agreste, his boyfriend.
