MARINETTE

Oh my gosh.

I can't breathe.

Why do I feel so nervous right now?

Preparing something for your boyfriend is hard. But preparing something for your ex-husband who is currently your boyfriend is harder!

"First thing I need to do." I face the huge building in front of me, "Find a way to enter the school without him knowing."

"I don't want them knowing my relationship with their boss-"

"Miss Marinette?" A voice from my right stops me in my tracks. I am starting to panic internally. Someone here knows me?

"Who...oh!" I gasp when I come face-to-face with Karla. "Karla! Goodness, it's great to see you again!" I pull her into a hug.

"I could say the same to you!" She pulls away from the hug but still keeps her hold on my arms. "You never got to say good-bye."

"I know and I am so sorry for that." I apologize. "I was going through a lot that time-"

"But you should have found time to still say bye."

"I'm really sorry, Karla." I apologize, "How about we all go out for drinks some time? All of us, employees during the exhibit? I can make it up to all of you there!"

"Actually," she starts with a wide grin on her face, "most of them work here too."

"No way! Do the sisters work here?"

She nods and I smile wider than before.

"We should really have a get-together some time!"

"I see no problem with that idea." Karla giggles, "But you should see Mr. Agreste first. I believe that you are here to see him, not me."

"Y-yeah..." I feel my cheeks starting to flush and I turn my head away before she notices. "I hope that you wouldn't mind to help me..."

"Seeing you again is a treat and to know that you are here for Mister Agreste is even better. How could I say no to that request? Follow me, Miss."

She starts walking to the doors leading to the school. I follow behind her and the both of us enter the building.

To see the school filled with students and its staff gives a lively vibe.

It almost makes me not want to hate the school.

"Lucky for you," Karla starts, gesturing her head to me as we walk together. "Mister Agreste only has one class today."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. He told me last night."

She pauses to teasingly lift an eyebrow at me, "Last night?" She inquires. "I didn't know that the two of you would take it to the next level that fast!"

"Goodness, no!" I instantly deny as I wave my hands in front of her face. "We didn't do...that!"

"I didn't say anything about that..." She teases, "My, my, such vulgar thoughts, Miss!"

"Ugh." I roll my eyes and shake my head. "I'll let you believe what you want to believe. Just take me to him now, please." I gently push her to start walking again.

"I have to let you know that I love teasing you, Miss Marinette. And to think that my favorite pair is together in real life, I can't help to swoon." Karla informs me as she is being pushed by me.

"You're not the only one swooning here, Karla." I tell her and she flashes a grin at me. "Now lead me to my boyfriend."

After some time walking around the campus, Karla finally brings me to a door leading to one of the biggest rooms in the building.

"H-how come he isn't teaching in his classroom?" I ask nervously.

"This is one of the audio-visual rooms. Maybe he is presenting a video..." Karla brings her hand to the door and I immediately stop her.

"What are you doing?" I frantically ask.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to knock on the do-"

"And I don't want you to knock on the door, please." I interrupt. She shows me a face of disbelief.

"B-But you said-"

"I know what I said. And I let my feelings get ahead of me again. But I just can't barge in an important class!" I exclaim, my hands waving frantically in the air.

"Oh yes, you can." She says, her finger pointed at me with sass. "And you are doing it now." Suddenly, she pushes open the door and our view changes from the front of a door to a wide, air-conditioned room with about 50 students or more seated inside and a professor in front of them.

And that professor just had to be Adrien. And boy, does he look disturbed.

"Yes, Karla?" He says, acknowledging only Karla's presence. He rubs his forehead out of frustration. Maybe he hasn't noticed me yet.

And here I am standing awkwardly by the door while Karla looks regal as ever stepping inside the classroom.

"Excuse me, sir. Someone is here to see you and it seems that she is in a hurry." Karla takes me by the arm and brings me closer to her.

"Whoever that person is, tell her to...wait." Adrien, upon noticing me waving my hand at him with a weary smile, started to act nervously. "O-oh...um." He tugs at his collar and grabs a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe away his 'sweat'.

His students look at him weirdly except for two of them who just can't stop smirking. And goodness, they are the students who wanted me trip on moss during our other date. I cower more behind Karla's back but her grip on my arm was so tight, she would always move me back to her side.

Damn it. Those kids know.

"K-Karla, tell her to wait for at least 20 minutes. I'll start wrapping up things here." He instructs Karla before turning back to his students. He clears his throat before speaking.  "I'm sorry, class. Where were we again?"

"I think that you were about to ditch us, sir." The boy, one-half of the 'fantastic' duo, says while smirking. He elbows the girl beside him, the other half of the duo. She looks at him before taking a glance at me. "O-or maybe you are going to see someone, sir..." She utters.

The rest of Adrien's students started to murmur and whisper to each other, trying to make some sense out of what their two classmates said and why their teacher is acting weird. Adrien looks utterly deflated at the commotion and I feel that it was all my fault.

"Karla..." I sigh in defeat, feeling that my presence is being despised by Adrien right now. "Let's go-"

"Karla." Adrien says and takes a deep breath before continuing. "Tell that person to wait for me outside the room and you can leave that person there."

"Yes, sir." She says before bringing me outside with her and closing the door behind us. "Well," she says, "he's pissed."

"Oh no," I bury my head in my hands, "I knew that my presence here is not wanted."

"That's not true." Karla says and I can't help to peek at her through my hands.

"What do you mean?"

"If he did not want you here, he would have told you to leave the campus. Instead he told you to wait outside the room."

"But I still pissed him off..."

"Hmm, that's true." Karla says. Then she looks my way and shows a devilish smirk. "I hope you like angry men in bed."

"KARLA!" I reprimand, "Why utter such brazen words at a time like this?!" My cheeks are blushing like crazy and I can't stop my sensual thoughts running in my head.

Oh no!

What happens if he will do 'it' with me in his office?!

"You've pissed me off, my lady...and now I'll show you how mad I am right in this office-"

"Oh...no!!" I cry out loud and start to sob with my head in my hands again. I can't just let him take advantage of me like that!

"Wha..." Karla clicks her tongue upon seeing me in grief again. "And what is happening to you, again?"

"I'm scared!" I wail out. "I'm scared of...of him!" I point at the door that leads to the room where Adrien is in at the moment.

Karla scoffs and starts to walk away.

"H-hey! Where are you going?" I am suffering a crisis right now and you decide to leave me, Karla?

"I'm not leaving you, miss." She says, "I'm going to wait by the lockers until he comes out. Trust me, miss. I too am scared of him." She goes behind a locker and gives me a thumbs-up before placing herself against the wall.

I take deep breaths and calm myself as I prepare myself for the inevitable.

Suddenly the door flies wide open and out comes Adrien walking briskly towards me.

He grabs my wrist and roughly drags me with him. "Follow me." He mutters.

"A-adrien..." I try to talk to him but he seems to be too occupied.

I try to match his pace but I couldn't think straight. His grip on my wrist is too tight that it is starting to hurt.

We reach a big room with an office desk in the front, two chairs in front of the desk and a small sofa set in the middle. He brings me to one of the chairs and my butt lands roughly on the cushion. Then he places each of his hands on both sides of the chair, trapping me between him. His head is not looking up at me but he is breathing heavily maybe because he is tired from the walk or...or maybe he is in the mood?

I start to tremble somewhat out of fear. His body close to me is intimidating, so intimidating.

"You've..." He starts, still not looking at me. "Pissed me off, Mari..."

Oh no! He said the exact words!

I brace myself for what is about to happen. I shut my eyes and prepare for the-

"I will not let you take advantage of me!" I shout at him, "I will fight! I won't let you do that to me!" I try to shove him away from me but I'm struggling so much.

"What are you doing?"

I stop moving and slowly open my eyes. I notice that I'm not trapped between him anymore. Carefully, I bring my head up to look at the man in front of me. Adrien is standing tall with his arms folded in front of him. He looks at me skeptically and not only that, he looks so confused too.

"Let me repeat my question." He says, "What in the world are you doing?"

"I'm...I'm." I hesitate before hanging my head low.

"W-wha-"

"I'm sorry!" I cry out, "I'm sorry for disturbing you during class hours. I'm sorry for letting you feel all flustered in front of your students. And I'm sorry for pissing you o-"

I am interrupted by the feeling of soft lips on my forehead. Out of shock, I can't stop myself from furiously blushing.

"Don't you know how cute you are, my lady?" Adrien whispers, his voice all husky making me shiver. Slowly, he cups my cheeks with his hands and raises my head. "And I will never take advantage of you. Why would you say such things?"

He looks at me in worry and I start to hate myself. I'm causing him to worry over me.

"I-I'm sorry. I was overreacting. I pissed you off and now you are worrying over me. I was scared that you would...you know..." I start to blush and it is becoming hard for me to not look into his eyes when his face is right before me, "take advantage of me because of your anger..."

"Pfft...Hahaha!" Adrien staggers back as he laughs at me. "Mari, you from all people should know that I am not that kind of man."

"Sorry..."

"And stop apologizing, you have nothing to be worried about-"

"But I disturbed your class!" I interrupt.

"Touché." He says as he ponders on that thought. "Yeah you somewhat made me mad. But I choose to let that go. I'm not holding on to that anger so you shouldn't hold on to your worries." He crouches in front of me again and pinches my cheeks. "And this cute person told me that she is taking me out on a date. Where are you taking me, my princess?" He flashes me a gentle smile and I allow myself to melt into his touch.

"Before you go, you should take off your necktie." I start to untangle the knot on his necktie. And once it's untangled, I slip it off from the collar on his shirt. "There..." I say standing up and straightening his coat. He stands up with me. "A long-sleeved collared shirt with a coat and slacks. You're ready to meet our guest during the date."

"Guest?" He questions. "You mean a third-party?"

"Adrien, none of our guests in our date today are considered to be third-parties." I intertwine my fingers with his. "Now, let's go! I can't wait!"

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

"Mari? I just have to let this out of my chest. Why are we in a hospital?"

Adrien has been asking this question for the past 10 minutes since we arrived here.

"Be patient. Our first guest is here."

"Does this first guest work here?" He asks as he follows me into the elevator. "Because if it's Nath then-"

"It's not Nath." I clarify with him, "He is the real third-party, Adrien. This person we're seeing technically works here...I guess?"

"What do you mean by 'I guess'?"

We get off the elevator and I turn to the right and proceed down the corridor.

"Stop asking questions. We're almost there."

Finally, we arrive at the last door of the corridor. I knock on the door before turning the knob, opening the door.

"Good morning, dad!" I greet as we enter the room. I feel Adrien tense up behind me.

"D-dad?" I hear him whisper from behind me.

"Come on, Adrien."

"Mari, why did you not tell me?" He whispers wearily at my ear.

Dad props himself up on his hospital bed with the help of his elbows and he flashes a smile at me that reaches his eyes. "What brings you here during lunchtime?" Apparently, dad has not noticed Adrien standing behind me yet.

"We want to eat lunch with you! That's why I told you to ask the nurse to prepare three meals for today!"

"And I followed your request, madame." My dad exclaims, "But why three?"

I move to the side and dad gasps in shock as he now notices Adrien in the room.

"Adrien..."

"Hi, Tom." Adrien greets as he awkwardly waves a hand at him, not even moving from his spot.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought him toda-"

"I don't mind at all!" Dad interrupts me as his voice booms with happiness. "Oh my God, this is the best thing that has happened to me in this hospital! Come here, my son!" He gestures Adrien to go near him and he opens his arms wide. "Give me a hug!"

Adrien approaches him with a wide smile and they both wrap their arms around each other. I stand by my dad's bedside as my eyes start to swell up with tears just by seeing the two of them.

"I've missed you so much, my boy!" Dad utters. He wipes his eyes as tears start to fall down.

"And I've missed you too, Tom." Adrien utters back, a big smile evident on his face.

"My son," Dad pulls away from the hug but keeps his hands on top of Adrien's shoulders, "I believe 'Dad' is the appropriate term for this occasion."

Adrien chuckles as he embraces Dad again careful of the wires on Dad's body, "I've missed you so much, Dad. Gosh, you don't know how many stories I have to tell you! You are going to love all of them!"

Dad laughs heartily and pats Adrien on the back, "Well, we have the whole afternoon for everything!"

Adrien was always loved by dad because of his stories, whether they were true or not. And it was not only because of the stories, Dad also loved the idea of having a son even if it meant having a son-in-law.

Surprisingly, our meal tasted good judging from it coming from the hospital. The whole time I stayed quiet as Adrien did most of the talking and dad would always laugh or utter some snide comments. I don't mind them not giving me a chance to talk, I actually like staying quiet right now to observe them and just listen. Although I would laugh occasionally with them, but most of the time my gaze lands upon Adrien and I can't stop looking at him. The way he makes Dad beam with happiness makes me keep falling for him.

"Dad, it would be awesome if we're holding a bottle of freshly brewed beer!" Adrien says right after telling his tenth or eleventh story. There were too many stories already and that's why I lost count or my eyes were just really set on that cute blonde guy right beside me and I couldn't focus on anything else.

"Or a glass of whiskey? What about martini mixed with fresh orange juice?" Dad suggests with a huge smile on his face.

"Very tempting, dad. Those are very tempting."

Dad chortles a bit but immediately stops. He turns away to not face Adrien and I know that it has hit a spot on dad's heart.

"Tempting as it may be," he starts, "my illness has given me limits, my boy. I'm afraid that my drinking days are over..."

"O-oh..." Adrien wearily glances at me before continuing, "But who needs a drink when we can be happy even without it, right?"

"We can still be ecstatic!" Dad exclaims and they burst into a fit of laughter again. "Mari, my dear. I hope you won't mind if I speak to Adrien alone."

Abruptly, I stand from the chair beside his bed. "I don't mind at all! Adrien," I take ahold of Adrien's hand and squeeze it tight. "I'll be waiting at the garden for you."

He flashes me a gentle smile before I let go and walk to the door.

"Hand touching?" I hear dad say in a teasing manner. I do not dare to look back anymore. "I guess I also have to give you that talk, Adrien!"

Sorry Adrien!

I exit the room, close the door behind me and proceed to the garden. During the walk to the garden, I can't stop thinking about my big mistake I committed in the room.

Why did I hold his hand? And he smiled back at me too. I'm sure that Dad is going nuts about it with him right now.

I find a bench under a tree that gave enough shade in a sunny afternoon like now. Thank the heavens that this is also a secluded part in the garden. I sit on the edge and try to figure out what they are talking about.

I know that dad is telling him about me or maybe dad is asking what my current status is with Adrien.

But is dad telling him about his sickness?

I sigh, "I believe that dad is mentioning everything to him...even his due date..." My head is hung low as I try to find a way out of the inevitable.

Everyone is going to pass away...but why does dad have to go early?

"And it's too late for a miracle to happen..." I utter dejectedly.

"I never knew that my girlfriend could become pessimistic."

My head shoots up to meet Adrien looking down at me with a soft smile displaying on his face. "The spot beside you is not taken right?"

"It's taken now by you."

Adrien sits beside me and rests his elbows on his knees.

"How did it go with dad?" I ask him quietly and I hear him chuckle softly.

"He still is the same Tom I knew years ago...and he did question about the two of us."

"And what did you tell him?" I ask.

"Of course I told him the truth." He smiles at me before continuing, "That news made him happier and it gave me reassurance on 'us'."

"You really know how to make a woman swoon, Mr. Agreste." I lightly shove him and expect a witty reply or remark coming from him. But he stays quiet and now I'm starting to worry.

"Adrien?"

"Mari." He says at the same time as I, "May I ask for a hug coming from you?"

I am left speechless by his sudden question and I just nod. "S-sure." I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close to me. "Is this alri-"

Suddenly he wraps his arms tightly around my waist and leans his head on my right shoulder. I gasp as his shoulders start to shake and I hear soft sobs coming from him.

"I...I'm so s-sorry..." He cries, "I wasn't there when...when you found out."

And now I know what my father talked to Adrien about.

Dad told him my reaction to the news of him dying.

I start to tear up as Adrien still hugs me close. I press my lips to his head and kiss him again. "Adrien, it's okay..." I whisper.

"N-no...it's not." He sobs, "I should have been there. I should have been there for...you."

"Adrien, the both of us were selfish before. Of course there were some situations wherein we had to comfort our own selves." I grab his head and tell him to look at me. Softly I wipe away the tears on his face. "And that was one of those situations."

Adrien shakes his head, "But I should have still stayed with you...even if it was just for that time."

I cry harder as I realize that, yes, I have to admit that I really needed him that time.

"To be honest, I wanted you to be with me that day. That was my only wish that day...was I asking too much?" I start to sob as my head hangs low. "And the sadder realization was that you didn't even know a thing about dad until today. I too am sorry...I'm so sorry-"

Adrien interrupts me by connecting his lips with mine and I don't hesitate to kiss him back. His lips can even calm me down in a situation like this. I deepen our kisses by wrapping my arms around his neck again.

"Then I swear," He whispers as he pulls back but his forehead resting against mine. "I will make it up to you from all the times I've wasted not spending every day with you...and it shall start right now."

I'm scared, Adrien.

"And I promise the same to you, Adrien..."

I'm scared that the next place I will take you to, Adrien, will break your heart some more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello to the most patient people on earth! Thank you for waiting for more than a month :)

I hope that this chapter was worth the wait :)

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