The Waiting Game

Chapter One - Our Beginning

In the few moments that Adrien had to himself, he would often let his mind wander, and his mind always settled on people he knew. At work, if he ever had a quick break he would think about Nino, his high school best friend. Nino and Adrien exchanged emails profusely, normally they would talk about Nino's low-budget films (that were actually really good) or Adrien's current job as a bartender at a very popular jazz club in New York City. Nino would talk about how Paris was still thriving, but it has "never the same since Adrien and Marinette left", that's how Nino puts it anyways.

Other times Adrien would think of his father, although they fought like cats and dogs Adrien misses him. Gabriel Agreste's sudden passing five years ago took Adrien by surprise, the man was in excellent health, which is the reason why everyone in Paris was taken aback by the abrupt news. Just goes to show how quickly someone can leave you. Adrien mourned the sudden loss of his father until he realised that he was now free. Free from his father's clutches, he could now do whatever he wanted. So he left his father's agency in New York and began work at Blue Note, a popular club not too far from where he lives.

But sometimes a girl with blue eyes or a girl with dark blue hair will walk in and remind Adrien of the very person he is trying to forget; Marinette Dupain-cheng. It's been five years since he has last seen Marinette. When their class graduated from high school Adrien already had plans to move to New York City, his father's idea of course. Marinette was going to study fashion, so it only made sense to the both of them to travel there together. Once they arrived they got another bright idea; become roommates and save money by sharing an apartment. Also, it seemed like the less lonely option. At this point, Marinette had gotten over her crush on Adrien and was more than happy to live with a close friend. The apartment wasn't much; it had two bedrooms that took up most of the living space, a bathroom with the world's smallest shower, a kitchen that barely fit their fold-out dining table and a living room that luckily wasn't too small.

They both loved it.

They lived happily together for three years. During that time Marinette was studying fashion at university, whilst Adrien was still modelling for his father's company. He would often come home and rant to Marinette about how his day was filled with endless demands and picky photographers. Marinette was always there with a kind and reassuring word that made Adrien feel better and less drained.

And then he had to go and destroy it all by doing something unexpected.

It was raining heavily the day Adrien received word that his father had passed away. Gabriel had a heart attack early that afternoon, he was rushed to hospital but sadly died an hour later. Adrien was able to feel every tremor in his body, every skipped heartbeat and every quiver of his lungs. He never thanked the person on the other end for telling him of this news, he simply hung up, dropping the phone to the ground. The little crash got Marinette's attention, who came running out of her room to find Adrien sitting on their three-person lounge crying silently. His head was in his hands, but the way his shoulders were shaking Marinette knew that something was very wrong. Her small, warm body enveloped him in a gentle hug, but her best efforts to comfort him were short-lived, he quickly dismissed her talk. She could no longer reassure him of anything but she would rather be damned to hell than stop trying. Finally, she said something that got his attention.

"This is all temporary."

Adrien moved his cold hands from his face and looked up at her. She could clearly see how devastated Adrien was. Just the mere sight of him made her want to burst into tears and protect him from the pain. But she put on a comforting smile for him.

"This pain that you are feeling is all temporary. I know how you feel, and I know it hurts," Marinette's voice broke slightly, she was losing control over her calm demeanour quickly. "You have every right to be upset and angry and I'm so, so sorry about your father, but don't think that this pain will last forever. Time is fleeting and this is temporary." By now Marinette had watery eyes.